Evening Star Newspaper, June 24, 1932, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. June 24, 1932 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: 48c per menth T 60¢ per month ar 85 per month | Sc yer copy | ¢ ‘each month or telephone A n| Sunt by Wy ol Yorlection made at the end o !n‘T.’ be sent in by mail Ational 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. | ang Sunday....1yr. 310.00: 1 mo. g8 only . 131’ 3600 1 mo. 30c ay only 151, $4.00: 1 mo.. 40c All Other States and Canada. and Sunday...] yr..$12.00° 1 mo., $100 7 Sniy 1yr., $800; 1 mo. T8¢ n 1 s0c | Member of the Associated Press. e Associated Press is exclusively cutitled ay only . $5.00; 1 mo.. | e ‘use for republication of all new | tches credited 1o it or not otherwise cred- Jisd 1n 1bis paper and siso the local ished herein = All riehts of publi pecial dispatches herein are also reserved. - En— stage, for about fifteen ballots, Smith was in the lead. Smith was the leader on the 100th ballot, with Davis second and McAdoo third. A break came on the 101st ballot, when Davis went to the front, with Underwood second and Smith fourth and MeAdoo seventh. Davis and Underwood both gained on the 102nd and Smith dropped to sixth place and McAdoo held seventh by a tie. Davis was nominated on the 103rd bal- lot, thus ending the long:st contest in the history of American political parties. The photograph of Smith and Mc- Adoo in happy communion shcuid be preserved in political archives. But more interesting than even such a pictorial representation of amity would {be & full and faithful record of their | conversation behind closed docrs. They have perhaps chenged their views re- garding the two-thirds rule since 1924. Certainly they are not for its abroga- tion mow, and if an attempt is made | to change it they will probab'y be out in front next week fighting as desper- ately es did their own follcwers in | Madison Square Garden eight years ago | to nominate one of them under that rue. ——— - Relief Versus York. Following the road of other important | measures this year, the Wagner relief | The Investigation of Rents. There is nothing to be lost and there | s certainly something to be gained by | Benator Capper's proposed investigation | of rents this Summer. Senator Cap-' per's friendly intercession on behalf of | the tenants Is characteristic and he is gulded by the best motives. It is his ‘elief that rents here are too high, and there is no doubt of the fact that,! unless the rental level is lowered in| some proportion to the reduced pur-, chasing power of the tenant class re- sulting from the Federal salary slash- | ing, many tenants, held by lease to a contract written in other days, will suffer. It is believed that this level will lower itself automatically. But an investigation by a subcommittee of the Senate would at least serve to produce | the facts and center the weight of public opinion on remedying any in- equities so revealed. The Federal employe whose earning | power has been reduced and Whose chances for continued employment at & | living wage have been rendered pre-| earious by the various budget-balancing economy moves of Congress this year needs & friend in court and one Who possesses a powerful voice. The matter | of rentals is not the greatest of his, worries. 1f he is a home owner and has entered into a financial contract for the purchase of his home, he is facing the unaltered terms of that contract as to the payments that must be made and will find no relief in the size of his tax bill. The cost of living has gone down, | but the cost of taxpaying has gone up. 1 there is no change for the time being in his Jocal taxes, the Federal tax bill, | by direct or indirect application, will, | of course, hit him. If he is a tenant his rent should be reduced. But at the same time one cannot forget that the iandlord, also deserves consideration. Landlords are merely human beings who have invested in rental propertics. They are not all gougers. Too many of them already have gone into bankruptcy. They must also pay off obligations incurred in an- other period and they must also pay taxes. One method of reducing their fixed charges, of course, lies in reducing pay and the number of their em- and this, unfortunately, will be ‘phase of the vicious circle set in by wage-cutting. They must aiso content themselves with less profits, and this will result whether or not the landiord chooses. The reduction of profits in all Jines of business is one of the most familiar aspects of the de- Dression, and the rental business is no | exception. The real value of an investigation this Summer will, therefore, not only lie in protecting the tenant, who should be protected against exorbitant rentals in those few cases where he does not have the remedy in his own hands, but in sifting the rather generalized charges against the landlords and, on the basis of facts, determine whether there are any individuals who have laid themselves open to violation of law and whether there are any of them, who, keeping within the law, are vic- timizing their tenants. | There is no occasion, on the other hand, to consider the drastic procedure | of the Government during the war, when Jeased dwellings in the District were, in | effect, commandeered and when lawful owners were deprived of their control. | The situation then was entirely differ- ent. The city was greatly overcrowded. | | goes to conference for the most portant battle over its provisions. It will meet in the conference rcom the Garner bill, condemned by the Presi- dent as a pork barrel measure without precedent. And as the Wagner bill is not itself free from pork, despite its many good features, it stands to reason {that the finished product that comes | from the conferees will likewise contaln pork and in an amount now that is the subject of much conjecture. For better or worse, however, the combined Garner and Wagner bill will represent the only achievement that a majority |of the members of Congress have con | sidered possible or practical toward relief of distress and relief of unemploy- | ment at this session. It may accom- plish much that is good. But if the country as a whole has been’ expecting that there would emanate from the ccnfusion of this session a panaces or a real remedy for the ills that beset disappointment. The Wagner bill carries $2,300,000.000 for relief in various forms.. The bill providing $300,000,000 for direct relief of distress, loaned to the States on a population basis, has already passed the Senate, but the Senate decided to incorporate it in the second Wagner bill in hope of expediting its passage in the House. In addition, the Wagner bill authorizes a half-billion-dollar bond issue for emergency Federal con- struction, the work to be spread over the entire country, and the projects to be selected by the Secretary of the Treasury from the list of those author- ized by Congress but not appropriated for. It authorizes the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to lend up to $1.- 1 460,000,000 to States and cities for ‘self-liquidating” construction projects, and to lend money to private corpora- tions engaged in such semi-public en- terprises as bridge building, construc- ton of docks, tunnels, etc. It also authorizes the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to. make available to the Secretary of Agriculture $40,000,000 for financing sales of agricuitural prod- ucts abroad. The Garner bill, with which this Wag- ner bill will joust in conference, provides $100,000,000 for direct relief of distréss; increases the Reconstruction Finance Corporation's lending powers by a bil- lion dollars, and, in addition, suthor- izes a tremendous Federal public works program of $1,150,000,000—financing the measure by a Federal tax of one- fourth of one cent per gallon of gaso- line. 1In both measures the public building program has been attacked as pork by administration leaders. The relative degree of “‘porkiness” in the Wagner bill and in the Garner bill may be judged by their authorizations of $500,000,000 and $1,150,000,000, respectively, for Fed- | eral building. Criticism has been di- rected chiefly to the pork-barrel prin- that the expenditure of this money would not do nearly so much in the way of actually putting men to work as its sponsors have claimed, although no- employed. bullding program in these measures 1is to-cost & tremendous lot of money, that the money will be raised by texation eventually, and that the expenditure is to be made in a year when Congress has been moving heaven and earth to Money was plentiful. Prices were high. |, .00 the budget in order to protect The Federal Government was forced to | take measures to deal with an un- peralieled emergency. No such condi- tion prevails today. Nobody defends a profiteering land- lord, and those who profiteer should be exposed. They cannot be exposed un- il the facts are known, and for this reason the sctual facts regarding the rental situation in Washington should be obtained. - ——— T did not need former Senator Prance's experience to remind Alfred Bmith to provide himself with creden- tials that specifically carry the speech- making privilege. Smith and McAdoo. The old adage that politics makes strange bedfellows is being illustrated in Chicago, where Alfred E. Smith and | Wwilllam G. McAdoo, who fought for the Democratic presidential nomina- tion in Madison Square Garden, New York, in 1924 through one hundred and three baliots in a veritable Kilkenny | Committee on Banking and Currency.| cat fight, are now in a huddle in the stop-Roosevelt movement. ‘They met yesterday, held a secret conversation, from which they emerged to pose be- fore photographers in the act of shak- ing hands. There was never a more specific instance of a public burial of the hatchet. ‘This spectacle of Smith and McAdoo | fn harmionious conjunction against the Jeading Democratic candidate for the nomaination revives the memory of those long, hot days of eight years 8go, days of repeated halloting started by the stentorian slogan of “Alabama | gives twenty-four votes for Oscar W. Underwood.” Will this present meet- ing, that is to begin on Monday, be marked by & similar deadlock with different figures in the picture? Bight years ago McAdoo held the posi- tion of leader in ‘the voling, held it for eighty-four ballots, with Smith as a the national credit and to ease the drain lon the taxpayer. The effect on the national credit is problematical. The Nation will survive, at any rate. But the effect on the taxpaver is no longer | & matter of doubt. and plenty. 1f the soaking promised any real relief in this situation it might be justified. But that is the question— will 1t afford any relief? Both Mr. McAdoo and Mr. Garncr evidently think Horace Greely was right | when ne asserted that the West was the place for A man to grow up with the country. 1 S =% New York City is again displaying | confidence 1n its ability to conduct the Nation's affairs better than it has con- | ducted its local government R (TR Shorn Lambs and Brokers. Shorn lambs are now testifying in the , case of the people against the stock manipulators on trial before the Senate | Two wcmen appeared yesterday before the committee to tell of their experi- ences in buying securities at high prices, which afterward went off to very low quotations. In one case the stocks, | said the witness, were sold with a Vir- | tual guarantee of value, although at | that time the concern from whom she bought it was engaged in selling the stocks “short.” She afterward entered | suit and secured judgment, and then carried her complaint to the Business Conduct Committee of the Stock Ex- change, which refused to discipline the firm. There are innumerable instances of investors who have been in effect mulcted through the buying of securi- | ties upon representations of immediate | yalue and prospective advances which | have not been justified. It does not fol- low, of course, that there was deliberate misrepresentation. In many, probably | bill passed by the Senate yesterday now | im- | the Ngtion, the country is doomed to, ciple, which is obvious, and to the fact | body knows how many men would be There 1s little controversy | over the fact, however, that the Federal | He will be soaked, ~LHE are themselves deceived. As a rule the] brokers have no interest in the specific ! stock, acting merely as purchasing agents for customers. The danger of deception comes when the brokerage house has such an interest, is engaged in promoting a certain stock and is it- self speculating in the security. Such a practice is disapproved by the Stock Ex- change. Its rules forbid the manipula- tion of securities by its members in » manner to prejudice the interests of i those who buy in good faith either for investment or in speculation for a rise. No protection can be given by Stock | Exchange rule or by the law to the person who buys stock hoping for an advance in price, only to find the se- curity affected by adverse conditions, either general or specific, which send | the price below the buying point. The | broker cannot guarantee an advance and cannot guarantee against a de- cline. If, however, the sale of stock is effected or accompanied by promises | of profit the element of fraud appears. The old rule of caveat emptor, or “let ! the buyer beware,” prevails in stock | transactions as in horse trading. But| this does not run to the extent of per- mitting the seller of the stock or his agent, the broker, to make representa- tions of value which are not justified, or concealing known facts of adverse influence. The broker who sells & se- | curity which he knows to be insecure and to be on the verge of decline, | especially when he is himself engaged In dealings which are calculated to lower the price soon afterward, is not | discharging his duty toward his client | or customer. | Stock buyers should always seek the advice before purchasing of those who are not themselves interested in any manner or degree in the vending of the | particular securitics, as elther agents or | principals. Most of the grievous losses | that have been incurred in stock trans- | actions have been due to failure thus to | cbtain information regarding the sound- {ness and value of the stocks which have | been bought. The Stock Exchange rules i { | | | | i | | | { cannot possibly protect heedless hu,\'ersE who disregard this fundamental prin- ciple of investment, but they can and | should protect stock purchasers from |the dishonesty of agents who by con- | cealment or by direct misrepresentation | induce investment in immediately or prospectively valueless securities ———— In trying to persuade European na- tions not to equip for more wars, Uncle Sam can at least bring %o bear a deterrent influence by a flat reminder | that he will be unable to lend any more money. AT PSS It may be a relief to Senator Borah | to contemplate preparations at Chicago | with entire confidence that one political crisis is at hand in which he wilk be expected to assume no part except that of innocent bystander. —————— 1f he had time, Mayor James Walker might be persuaded to write a cam- paign song for the nominee, inquiring “Will you love me in November as you did in June?” e Where there are so many presidential aspirants in one party, discretion must be exercised to avoid rivalrous discus- sions suggesting reasons for not choos- ing anybody. —— ‘The mayor of Chicago is expected to be in attendance again to Ascertain whether the platform will develop any budget-balancing ideas that can be locally applied. .- Stories of a motor car load of TNT| meant for delivery in this neighborhood may prove only a reminder that one of the things this country needs is a set of reliable anti-hoax laws. P Railroads may find a little satisfac- tion in the way conventions produce a certain amount of passenger traffic at a time when every little bit helps. In addition to a chicken in every pot, there will doubtless be luxurious men- tion of pork anc apple sauce, ———— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. | Riches in Reserve. There is no inexhaustible supply | Of cotten, corn or rye. | There is a limit to the worth untold | Of silver and of gold. | Our progress must depend on thought | intense | And splendid eloguence. We have a wealth which cannot leave | us broke | Of speeches still unspoke. Out in Front. “Is that antagonist what you would | call & political leader?” | “Not a real leader,” answered Senator | Sorghum. “He’s just one of those fel- lows who keep nudgin' up from one vacancy to snother until they finally| 1 Jud Tunkins says a candidate has to: idfl more than throw his hat in the ring. | He has to be a ventriloquist and throw his voice along with it. | 1 Rude Intrusion. [T do not care for gin or beer; 1 disapprove of whisky, When they make politics appear Undignified and frisky. Disaj inted Patriot. “Are you going to Chicago?” “No,” answered Cactus Joe. "It looked like a chance for some real ex- citement, with need for a prompt and job I wanted, so I'm stayin’ home.” “What job did you desire?” “Sergeant at arms.” “A man who speaks but seldom.” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “saves | time by piacing himself under no cour- teous obligation to listen to others.” Telling Our Troubles. To a policeman, in the days of old, We told our troubles as they might urnfold, | But times have changed, as every one must know, | And now we tell 'em to the radio. “I don’t believe in ghos' said Uncle Eben. “But jes' de same I ad- mires de cautious smartness of de neighbor dat put his chicken bouses clcse second. 1In the next to the last in most, oases-those who sell the stock right close up to & graveyard.” ’ VENING STAR, WASH | get to the frent place in the machine.” |, fearless patrict. But I couldn't get the ! INGTON, D. C., FRIDAY, THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. Those who love the printed word | will feel that something is awry in the | world at last. The Atlantic Monthly has changed the color of its cover! | Most of us thought that not even | the green of the leaves was more un- | changeable than that brown cover of the Atlantic. Now it has gone into a reddish tone, almost like that of Harper's, and has | seen fit to change its cover typography, too. So the old order changeth. “Even this must pass away,” ancient king had engraved on his| Tooay external changes are made ‘n products of mind and hand with the idea of attracting renewed attention to them. Of course it works. One might have thought, however, that the old brown cover of the At- lantic was one thing which might have been left alone, even in a changing world. o * That exact brown and the Atlantic Monthly comehow went together. Thousands of persons were brought up. intellectually, to look upon this particular magazine as the very last word, as well as stand. The last word in “high-brow” writ- ing and the last stand of the publish- ing world In putting forth such a journal. In the early 90s and before, such magazines were encountered more often on the newsdealers’ stands and in the homes of people who prided ihem- | selves on their culture The ouick changes ushered in by the World War saw a decline in the pub- lic interest in this type of magazine and a growth in the reading of various other and what might be called gener- ally more “peppy” types of periodical. x %% x People were inclined to speak of the Atlantic as single, alone, not only be- cause of its unique and long history, but also because it adhered steadfastly to a certain spirit. That spirit still holds, cover or no cover. Although it has tried various well- bred expedients to increase the appeal of the magazine to those persons who respond more readily to the sophisticat- ed, it has steadfastly held fast to its anclent traditions. The result is that the Atlantic today is as much the magazine of the “intel- | lectual” as it was in the old days. Just a trifle dull. it must be admitted, as we fear the eminently well bred al- ways is dull, if one wants to call it so. There is a lack of sensationalism, of a striving for an effect outside and above what the words call for. Some call this Jack ultra-conserva- tism. Others, getting their Alll of “pep” and progress, call it common sense. % % %% One of our favorite stories about the Atlantic Monthly is that of the Govern- ment clerk—this was well before the world conflict—who happened to be ! rather small in size and who preferred o wear a cap. Being somewhat chinless into the bargain, he sometimes impressed those who were not very discriminating as being extremely youthful. He was, however, a mature man unusual seriousness in all his ways life, especially in his reading habits. The Atlantic, of course, was one of his_favorites. | One day he happened to enter a| downtown newsstand, where he spent | several minutes looking over the various offerings. The proprietor, not being distin- guished. evidently, for that perspicacity which every proprietor ought to have, for his own good and that of his pa- | trons, thought he would take the meas- ' | of | of | TRACEWELL. ure of this customer and send him packing. X ‘Underestimating the patron by many years, the newsstand A owner forgot everything except the cap and the small stature of the man. “What do you want?” he asked. “Tip Top"? He referred to the popular nickel “weekly” bearing the adventures of Frank Merriwell and his brother Dick. The Government worker, who hap- pened to be brief of speech, bobbed his chin in dismay. “Atlantic Monthly,” he blurted out, dismaying the shopkeeper in turn. > For many years in this republic a copy of the Atlantic on a sitting room table, as the living room was called, gave an entirely well-defined atmos- phere of intellectuality to that house. Mostly those who read it with real interest were better trained in scholastic requirements and had a more firm re- spect for educational standards, as such, than the thousands of scoffers who looked upon the magazine as “too high brow for them.” It was a dull magazine in the large only to those readers who refused to go the whele way in reading and writl — that is. who were unwilling to begin, | go through an article and come out at the finish exactly as & writer must | write. The tendency of the last 100 years, in all types of writing, has been to throw the thunder at the beginning, rather than the end. ‘To many, however, this smacks of the cart oefore the horse. In the presenta- tion of news and certain other matter it has its place. Certainly most re- ports of Government officials would be better reading if the “recommendations” 1 were put at the beginning, rather than at the end, of those annual docu- ments. xR In the rmall, however, the Atlantic has struck many a faithful friend as ! Nightly dull, not because of manner of writing, but mostly on account of the limitations which the so-called “in-| tellectual” has placed upon his own | interests. This esteemed old journal came to have a perfectly standardized manner of approach to any subject, and, worst of all, it tended to limit its very in- terests to a point where the smaller affairs of life were non-existent. Life was approached in such a well- bred manner that it tended to run away from its observers. The rough, hearty | subject matter of a De Foe, or a Le Sage or Boccacio did not exist in these classical pages. Social service might be discussed, in any of its interesting aspects, but b\" no means would one come Aacross a plain statement that the teeth of thou- sands of school children were decayed. Decayed” was not & nice word, and it didn’'t get in the old Atlantic often. * K x *x Good literature defeats its own pur- pose when it becomes too squeamish. Then it tends to turn “literary,” in the lesser applications of that perfectly sound word. ‘Those of us who, loving the printed word, yet found the supreme literary tone of the Atlantic at times a trifie boresome, still managed to recognize to the full the high goal which the maga- zine set for itself, and the scholarly rtandards to which it adhered, and still adheres. It is this, together with good writing, which has made the Atlantic Monthly a seemly thing to have on the living room table, read or unread. ‘There seems to be no diminution whatever in these good qualities, in the latest issue, despite its changed cover. After 211, beauty is more than skin deep, especially in a magazine, else most of us could read all we wanted of them by standing at any counter and gazing our fill at the dazzling array of Holly- wood teeth. CHICAGO OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. CHICAGO, 1ll, June 24—Chicago is pow a city of treason, strategemd and | spoils. Plots are being laid and conspiracies concocted. Trades and deals are fever- isbly under way. There is dirty work at the cross roads in whatever direc- tion you look. All and sundry of these activities and machinations revolve around the fate of Franklin Delano | Roosevelt. To prevent his nomination for President on the first ballot in the impending Democratic National Con-| vention is the paramount issue at Chi- cago. It is more than that. It is about the only issue. Other things remain to be done. There will be a knockdown and dragout, for instance, over the per- manent chairmanship, whether it is to be Jouett Shouse or se:::orwvz:lsh ‘:( Montana. A platform writ- ten, with mmpol kind of a prohibition plank in it. Somebody has to be nomi- nated for Vice President, too. But each and every one of these things pales into utter insignificance alongside the ques- tion of questions, can the Roosevelt bandwagon be stopped before it is thun- dered victoriously across the winning line, the goal known as 7702 & RN At this hour, the goal is 770, repre- senting two-thirds of the delegates in the convention, but before many hours are past the number necessary to 2 choice may be reduced to 578. It will| be if the new declared purpose of the Roosevelt managers can be effected. | Rather to the surprise of the conven- tion community, they determined late last night to move for abrogation of the century-old rule governing Democratic presidential nominations. They will es- | | do. say what has often been tried before and regularly has failed. Militantly confident that they control | the situation, the Rocseveltians “pledge | | togther 28 such banks have gone out of themselves to do all within their power to bring about the abolition of the two- | thirds rule and the adoption of the ma- | jority rule in this ccnvention.” The uncil of war which decided upon this revoiutionary attempt to upset a tradi- tion rooted in the party since Andrew Jackson's time also proclaimed its abil- ity to make Senator Walsh permanent chairman instead of Jouett Shouse. * ok % * Let it be thoroughly understood that | if the Rcosevelt group forces the right | to nominate by a majority instead of by two-thirds the Democratic conven- tion will end as abruptly as last week's | G. O. P. ratification meeting ended. It will be Roosevelt for President almost before the first roll call is half over. Even the Smith camp admits that the | New York Governor has 570 votes in sight, which is cnly 8 short of wrat Rooseveit would need for a majority. So when an anxious Nation reads or hears by radio that the convention has turned its back on a hundred years cf Demo- cratic tice the folks at home will know that the jig is up and that Frank Roosevelt is the man Herbert Hoover has to beat in 1932. ‘Ttat is all there is to this Chicago convention situation now and until further notice. * ok ok ok Just how can the two-thirds rule be scrapped? That is the first hurdle the | Rooseveit Rough Riders have to take. The Democratic doctors differ on the i vote question. Some say the convention | can abolish the rule by a mere majority vote. Others are as tive that it takes twc-thirds to 1l two-thirds. the Rough Riders, the anti-Roosevelt leaders insist that the historic rule can- not be wiped out in this convention by fewer than 770 votes. J. Bruce Kremur of Montana, designated by the Roose- velt forces as chairman of the Rules ‘Comnl‘_lttu, Mlenumwm thelr tactics \are, He says a special rule wili be pro- posed empowering the convention to do sway with the ancient s¥stem -w time, Once such a special rule is | Signaling a - last-ditch fight to thwart| Kremer holds that it would be a simple formality to shake off the two-thirds nominating rule. Differences on this | point are, of course, exactly the differ- ences that separate the Roosevelt crowd from the -Roosevelt crowd. They are as bitter as any differences in con- vention history. The stage is therefore set for an early, a spectacular and a decisive struggle. On its outcome Gov. Roosevelt's fortunes directly depend. L James A. Farley, Roosevelt captain general, is a new figure in Democratic politics, as far as the country-wide rank and file is concerned. He is an un- doubtedly impressive figure. Immensely tall, broad-shouldered. young, and forceful in manner and movement, he locks like a heavyweight prizefighter 1n the pink of condition. Probably he is pretty handy with the mitts himself, or at least knows the game, for he is a member of the New York State Boxing Commission. Hav- ing been identified virtually from their start with Gov. Roosevelt's presidential ambitions, Farley ranks as the logical choice for Democratic national chair- man if the Governor makes the grade at Chicago. Meantime, he is cement- ing friendships and establishing con- tacts and busily fixing up fences which will be useful if events next week shape as the statuesque Roosevelt field mar- shal hopes they will. On all hands he is regarded as an uncommonly wise bird. * ok ok ox Cm({fllfl l’lls1 other things on its mind outstripping in gravity anything the Democratic National Conve};lflt‘;:lg may It is the financial condition in which not only the city, as a munici- pality, finds itself, but the local banking world. Within two days this week 13 neighborhood or outlying Chicago banks closed their doors. It is said that al- business here during as many days. All through the convention %obblrs | last night and early this morning ran portentous rumors that today might bring forth something nser:blmg‘n | climax in the situation. The big Loop banks are believed to be impregnabl sound and capable of preventing & criss from drifting into a disaster. Wise heads, like Dawes, Traylor and Reynolds, :}l“e' on lhe"joll:. Public confidence in eir capacity to see that th ridden is invincible, i * % x Representative Mary T. Norton of New Jersey will be the chief woman delegate to second the nominaticn of Al Smith. The Democrats have heard that the Republican convention and platform paid relatively shabby attention to the | women. It is thercfore in the cards that | no such blunder must be committed in | Chicago next week. Former Gaov. Nellie | Ross of Wyoming is here, ghere and everywhere during the pre-convention | hubbub. 31 prominent Democratic woman on the scene, now in a vate | capacity, is Emily Newell Blair o‘;fl Mis- | sourl, former vice chairman cf the Na- | tional Committee.* Mrs. Blair is now & | journalist. *x % ox Laugh this one off. se S. Copcland of New yom“"vfm by a professional Chicago crystal gaszer | this week as the dark horse who will | walk off with the presidential nomi- nation. His strength with the women's vote, through his syndicated writings on health and his radio talks. was ad- duced as the factor which will incline | JUNE .24, 1932 ‘Problem of Rents In Washington To the Editor of The Star: ‘The pressure being brought by Con- gress for reduced rentals as an offset to Governmental salary reducons, | opens up a wide field for inquiry, and your editorial on “High Local Rents” is a fair presentation of this subject. As you suggest, the Jaw of supply and demand has control of the rental situa- tion in Washington, and the Nation has had ample evidence during the past few years of the folly of attempting by legislation to set aside this inexorable law. The charge of a local conspiracy to maintain rentals is without foundation. No industry in America today is subject | to keener competition. It is now pos- | sible to obtain irom two to four months |free rent in a number of local apart- | ments, and many landlords are openly | soliciting their neignbor’s tenants. This |situation also applies to residential property. | It Congress investigates the rental | situation, it should also make a study |of the current excessive interest rates |and commissions, as well as the almost |connse-v.ory assessments and tax levies. These items dominate the rent schedule, | and a large per cent of Wash! real jestate i3 pressing for sale at sub- jstantially ‘bglow the a value. | During the fast few years hundreds of | homes and apartment houses have been | foreclosed because of excessive demands | for curtails. This is the principal cause {of the loss of property at the present i time, and the question of interest rates, amortization and taxes is indissolubly linked with’ the question of rentals. The banks, mortgzge and insurance companies have been drastic in their demands, and as a result many million | dollars’ worth of property has been | foreclosed. Notices of foreclosure proceedings contained in your columns during the past few years furnish evidence that the income from properties involved is not sufficient to meet interest as well as operating expenses and taxes. An impartial investigation would show that there is not an apartment house in Woshington producing a fair return on the investment I am familiar with the affairs of a local corporation own- | Ing ungvard of $2,000,000 of real estate and the met annual return is less than cne-half of 1 per cent, without allow- |ing anything for management expens |end overhead. The stockholders have | never received a dividend, and further | rent reductions would mean insolvency. Many similar instances can be cited. Vacent apertments and a fear of |loss of tenants is enabling renters to dictate terms, and in many instances they have conspired to force wholesale reductions. This is the newest form of racket. If Congress wants the truth, {1t should call the leading real estate owners—men of unimoeachable in- tegrity—and ascertain the fa~ts before thev bring about a reel penic at the | Nation's Capital. JOHN R. WALLER. BRI NG ‘Protersls Against VAnimal Performances as Cruel | To the Editor of The Star: See! aaimals perform in the circus 1and the vaudeville is always amusing to some people. These acts are par- ticularly amusing to children. An analysis of the reasons for such amuse- ment is not difficult. The emotion excited by the wonder of the thing, Jjust as one's wonder is excited when & magiclan changes a silk hat into a bathing suit, or some other piece of chicanery. We all know that he does | no such thing—that he can do no such thing, but he apparently does it. In the same way one's wonder is ex- cited by a trained animal performing some wonderful stunt, like telling time or keeping step to music. We all know | it does not actually do these things, that it cannot do them, but it appar- ently does, and so our wonder is ex- cited by the fact that an animal can accomplish such a marvelous feat. Animals used in the trained animal acts are generally of a higher order yoldmanlllltl.y than l;,!;(‘e that cannot perform, Lorder t they may per- ‘rnr&" must be endowed with two attributes—memory and subordination. They must be able to remember that which has been taught them and they must be subordinate to their masters. Memory is engendered by ceaseless rep- | etition: subordination is taught by pun- | ishment. An animal may have a wonderful ! memory—for him—and may be taught | all sorts of tricks, but he will not do them when he is wanted to do them unless his memory goes hand in hand with subordination. No master of a troupe of trained animals can afford to have his performance spoiled by an animal’s failing him at an inappro- priate time. In consequence he stimu- | lates the animal mnto a fictitious de- | sire to do the trick by swift and cruel punishment for the slightest deviation from the way it has been taught to do it. This is inevitable, as it is the |only way the master may prevent his ishaw from turning into a farce. A | dog or other animal must be soundly | thrashed when he goes wrong in the rehearsals, so that by a continued repe- | tition of these unpleasant events he knows just what he may expect should i he fail to perform properly before the footlights. A troupe leader cannot put an animal on the stage until it been tried out again and again, soundly switched for each error, or lack of | subordination, and it is positively | known that the helpless creature is| thoroughly broken in to the work ex- pected of him. The cruelty imposed on animals that perform in public is such that if the great bulk of people who see these acts were really cognizant of what goes on “behind the scenes” they would never consent to participate in such a performance, even to so mild an extent as to witness the same. If one | doubts that cruelty is used in training | the unfortunate animals used in the | trained animal acts, we ask, “Why does the master of the troupe invariably carry a whip when conducting the performance?” ROWENA HALSTEAD. o arving Women and the Bonus Seekers To the Editor of The Star Pecple say a woman died here of malnutrition recently. My own ac- | States has nothing to do | Antonio Express, “ | War—in which he y eral cabinet since 1919. | ship. quaintance is limited, yet even I know of several women, highly educated, hard workers, supporters of every pmmei good work, members of churches, resi- dents here during some years, reduced to beggary and starvaticn and with no backers. | One has tried two of our best agen- | cles to get help; is told only families | can be helped; is told no one can be | helped as long as so much has to go to | help the benus group. A Senator promised a job to one of these on a certain date. When she went on that date he laughed at her, saying there were no jobs. Is it fair that delicate women, eager to work, must starve because of the bonus men, whose States shculd gelg, them? [ Cogswell Fountain Is To the Fditor of The Star: Dr. Henry D. Cogswell of San Fran- cisco, Calif., a deadlocked convention in the doc's | favor. * K ok % James Bone, one of the editors of | Manchester Guardian, has the he describes as “American democracy in u::n.;;fl u.l‘tu: lml;rs‘:‘lom will be record neously anchester and in the Baltimore Sun, - > (Oapyright, 1932 ) supplies ice] degn who have faith in the “hot-water England’s famed Liberal organ, the|This joined press gallery for a close-up of what | pa In Need of Attention ; ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERI are working of all citizens of the They will work directly for you if you lell use our Washington Bureau. This newspaper employes Mr. Haskin to act as an agent for its readers. He will take your matter to the proper au- thority. ~State your inquiry briefly, write clearly and, inclosing 3-cent stamp for a personal letter in reply, ad- dress The Even! Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, ‘Washington, D. C. Q. In contract bridge one side is vul- nerable, the other invulnerable. If the vulnerable side sets the invulnerable side one trick, does it score 50 or 100 points? If invulnerable side sets the vulnerable side does it score 100 or 50 points?>—J. D. A. In contract bridge the penalties are assessed according to the vulner- ability of the declarer. If his side is not vulnerable the other side scores 50 a trick for undertricks, regardless of whether it is vulnerable or not. Like- wise the first trick counts 100 if a side making the declaration is vulnerable. Q. Is the business of supervising the recipients of Government permits for the use of alcohol a large one?—T. D. A. Since alcohol has many lawful uses, the magnitude of the task of con- trolling its use may be realized by the statement that there are more than 177,000 individuals, firms and corpo- rations under the Government's super- vision by virtue of permits issued by the Bureau of Industrial Alcohol. Q. Does each member of Congress have a page?—J. 8. A. He does not. At the present time there are 21 pages in the House of Rep- resentatives and 20 in the Senate. Q. Are there extant any done in the time that Greek cul at its height?>—R. D. A. No Grecian paintings are knpwn to be in existence, but there are records of artists and their works. Q. How much hard money is in_cir- culation in the United States?—V.B. M. tings ture was A. The total amount of money in cir- | culation according to the last circula- tion statement is $5464,626961. Of this amount $411,046,905 is in gold coin and bullion, $50,393,367 in standard sil- ver dollars, $256,716,740 in subsidiary silver and $113,663,127 in minor coin. yosrms | How far is it from Naszareth to Q. Bethlehem?—C. M. P. A. By the usual route it is about 110 miles. Q. How are mental defectives c! —W.F. W. tion for the lassed ? A. The American Associaf Study of the Feeble-minded defines the classes as follows: Idiots, mental age below 2 years; imbeciles, mental age from 2 to 7 years; morons, mental age between 7 and 12 years; subnormal va- riety, mental capacity slightly above the average case. Q. How is vinegar used to mvent‘ or relieve sunburn?—P. D. A. Vinegar is patted on the skin, the face and the neck to prevent and to re- lieve sunburn. using vinegar, however, usually tan. tobacco, were maize, a certain type of pear and a small variety of tomato. In Central America and the toes. Brazil, wild potatoes were in abundance, so much so that in about 1840 it was necessary to import thou- C J. HASKIN. potato crop of the ally thought thet bananas were first found in Central South America and the islands, later this theory was the sul much debate, and it is ge be- lieved today thag. le bananas were originally in that of the world, they were also fouhd in tropical see- tions of the Eastertt Hemisphere ut the ‘ume time. &P‘;"‘;flfi ‘:.the origin of the word . It is of Persian origin, | meaning an Mol’tmpleg i Q. Where is t f - ”s‘u{l Csmn,led !anne??mb:ru;l;l: | _A. Prancis Seott burl, | Prederick, Md. il * e | Q what is a moonstone?—. B. b A lA mtwmmmar“ a transparent or Tenslucent. stone, of pearly or opaline luster often exhibiting a pale tint of blue, green or red on a gray background. | used as a gem. Mineralogics |is a feldspar. - oo | Q How many wars or armed e flicts have taken place in the worl ar?- T. flInAce t_lx% wmd‘,w . b ere have been at least 24. Civil & }er in Ireland; Great Britain, Turkish Natlonalists and Arabs in M 3 | France in Syria? Poland-Soviet Russia: Baron Wrangel-Soviet Russia; Greece- Turkish Nationalists: Revolution in Egypt: Turkey-Armenia; Soviet Russia- Persia; Soviet Russia-Japan; Oivil War | in China; Korean Revolt inst Ja- | pan; Fiume-Italy; Poland- uania; Georgla-Rumania; Italy-Greece; Polish~ Russis ‘War; Greek-Turkish War; Spain-Morocco; 3 Fode Mexico, | France-Morocco; : 4 K sy Jucaragua; Obthesy o What is {he Epistle of Jeremy?— A. 1t is one of the apoc: 2l hooks | of the Qld Testament. Wmnburwrb ing to have been written by Jeremiah, the author is presumed to have beem an Alexandrian Jew. The book consists | chiefly of a bitter attack on the idols of Egypt and Babylon. | “Q‘, é’ld ‘Washingtéh shave himself?— A. He'always ghaved himself, Q. Will Bear Mountain Bri to the State or will it -lwuld;. & pri- Ivnlely owned bridge?—P. J. M. 'YuAr.k 1;0“” rm;; to the State of New | years from th | 424 the date of its Q. How man; | the United H K. » A. The total niumber of persons em- ployed by the service at pt;e time is between 2,700 and 3,800, | 250 of whom are employed in Wi 4 ton, D. C. The number varies slight | from month to month. . How are women's hosiery sizes nAunGT—T. L. g . *CO] standard method adopted by the' tional Association of Hosiery and Un- derwear Manufacturersy size 8 in wom- |en’s hosiery measures 8 inches from top of the toe to the end of the heel. Each larger size is half an lna'lu'. The sizes of men’s hoslery are the same. Q. How many Negro newspapers are there in the United Stdzes?—P. C, 5:. A recent compilation lists some Tevert y ‘men are employed in States Forest Service?— | wQ.x Was Swinburne ever married A. He never . His f caused him to :w:h of ‘life in. comparative retirement. —yfy Americans Analyze Efforts _To Improve Foreign ‘The eyes of the world are focussed upon the European conference at Lau- sanne, with a dispecition in this ‘coun- try to find difficylties in the way of set- tlement of reparations and debts. An- nouncement by the American Govern- ment that so long as the European gov- e ernments continue heavy expenditures | tions. for armaments they need expect no re- vision of the war debts is seen as a |the Wi factor in the discussions by other na- tions. The French attack on the Young plan also has a place in the negotia- tions. The American press reflects a rigid attitude toward European efforts to establish new debt policies. “In theory,” says the New York Sun, “the Lausanne conference is too busy itself solely with economic questions in- volving intergovernmental debts, but in- ternational economics cannot be se) rated from international politics. * * ‘The Briand-Kellogg pact is almost cer- tain to be dusted off so as to be pre- sented in the discussions.” “While reparations have their com- mercial aspects,” according to the Los Angeles Times, “these apply rather nar- rowly. With reparations the United , not receiving any part of them, but being forced to recognize the fact that their receipt by our debtors would help them to discharge their obligations to us. This Nation, however, must continue to point out that savings in armaments would equally help these debtors to pay what they owe without sacrifice.” L “Chancellor von Papen, Germany's principal spokesman,” observes the San that a mora- torfum on private debts might be neces- |sary. Such German obligations, | about $355,500,000, ]ll’tu:l-y are 'h‘:l‘du?: this country. Von Papen is not a financier, however. ince the Great rved as a fleld officer—he has been affiliated with the Centrist party. That organization— moderate in policies, on the whole—has been represented in every German fed- It is consid- ered predominantly republican and never has been narrowly nationalistic. Before going to Lausanne Von Papen announced that he would follow & con- ciliatory course during his chancellor- i His attitude doubtless helped bring lb?ul the understan Herriot of France to state that repara- tions and war debts proper form only ‘one element of the world’s troubles’.” “It is hard to look forward,” says the Baltimore Evening Sun, “to any hopeful conclusion from the present conference. The statesmen who eye each other in who have P e question, are not loo‘in] ncipally to a sensible settlement olmm of the ting problems. the voters back that reparations, war debts and tariffs should not be taken up on that coca= sion. 1t is hard ‘to how such mat= ters could be excluded from a discus- slon ‘of the world' c problems. | Any plans which Europe ‘might make |must take account of reparations, snd these in turn are ingxgricably 'tied up with war deBts. Moreover, until the European problem is clarified Ametican business will suffer, directly as well as lngge‘:tly." " ) 3 war debts and reparations probe lem will have to be Veevd‘," advises the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “and the best intelligence and steadfastn of purpose is needed fl'*‘ part of who shall lead for the gnlhd States in the various coancils and tions.” The Hamilton (Ontario) tator, however, suggests that * is something farcical aboft these deliberations as to how debts may be collected, in face of the general - nition that they never can be mllx" ?Bonus Seekers Are | Not True Patriots | o the Bditor of The Star: Peace is a better test of patrictism than war-and its revelations are illumi- nating. The true character of many | of the World War soldiers has revealed to all the people in a manner easily understood shadow of a doubt, The bonus- men who went to Washington, would-be matricides who seek to ham- string the ent that has trested them more y than any other gvemmmt in the world ever treated soldiers, who hang around the - itol like a pack of wolves seeking raid and plunder a frontier -fl% these soldiers are not patriots. a travesty on patriotism is their pa- rade beneath the starry bannef! ‘What hypocrisy! i a sham! ‘When the come down the street with banners fiying bands pl: do not be deceived. fr?f Dt u:(?izn“‘mu oo, p e pa s e legion, 1 those who refused to demand the bont the volunteers in peace and war served with love in their hearts for the people. Better have lost the and paid tribute ta an avowed than to have tribute. exacted by subtle, selfisht foe in querading .as frignd and patriot. ‘The America p'e;;li‘:‘bshoug E:wnw In' - is due. fling the