Evening Star Newspaper, June 30, 1932, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edit;l!ll. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY . June 30, 1932 .. .Editor THEODORE W. NOYE! The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office 1ith St and Penasyl Ave 42nd St - Bundine New York Office. 110 Eas Chicago Office: Lake Michig: 14 Regent M. London. Sngland European Office Rate by Carrier Within the City. The Evening Star 45c per menth The Evening and Sunday Star ¥ 60c per month nen 4 Sundavs) o ¥ Sunday Star he v5) 65 per month ScTer copy (when 5 ne of each month Sunday Star Collection made at the end by mail or telephone Orders may be sent in by m NAtional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. $10.00: 1 mo.. §8¢ $6.00. 1 mo. 5 . 34.00: 1 mo.. 40c 1yr All Other States and Canada. 1yr.$1200 17 1yr. $8.00: 1 mo. 1¥r. $5.00: 1 mo. $1.00 3¢ soc Datly Daily Bunday and Sunday only only Member of the Associated Press. s of publ herein A n dispatches herein are also reserved. They Make It the Issue. By a stroke that throws compromise and caution to the winds, the Demo- crats have made outright repeal of pro hibition & partisan issie in‘the forth- coming campaign. The compromisers and the cautious have been run down; and run over roughshod. Those of them who are Democrats, who picked th selves up battered and bruised on this morning after the night before, can do one of two things: They can take it or leave it. But there is no middle ground left for them to stand upon. Dry Pemocrats who will now enter the lists, head= bloody but unbowed, must re. pudiate e platform of their party. The prohibition plank adopted last night by the overwhelming vote of 9343 | to 2133,— four and one-half votes not being recorded—is plain enough and definite enough to avoid all confusion over its meaning. It is not only wet. It is, weighed by standards that up to this time have prevailed, dripping wet. The full significance of its proposals, however, are best understood by a com-| parison on four points with the re- cently adopted Republican plank. 1. The Democrats asa party champion naked repeal of the eighteenth amend- went and the removal, “body, bones and f#ymn book, too,” of constitutional con- trol over the liquor traffic. ‘The Republican plank champions only the submission of a substitute amendment to the Constitution, modify- ing the eighteenth and retaining in the Federal Government the right to super- visory control of the liquor traffic. The Republican party, however, does not champion the proposed substitute as against the eighteenth amendment. 2. The Democratic plank binds its partisans, as much as any plank can, to its support. If they can bolt the plank without endangering their party allegiance, the method and procedure Temain unspecified. The Republican plank specifically recognizes the right of Republicans to vote wet or dry without putting in Jeopardy their standing as Republicans. 3. The Democratic plank would return th2 control of the liquor traffic to the States and ‘“urge” the enactment of State measures to promote temperante and “effectively prevent the return of the saloon.” It demands that the Fed- eral Government “effectively exercise its power” to protect the dry States against the wet States without mefitioning the source of such power. ‘The Republican plank would return a part of the control of the liquor traffic to the States, but by constitu- tional amendment retain in the Federal Government “power to preserve the gains already made in dealing with the evils inherent in the liquor traffic” with a constitutionally derived power of the Federal Government utilized to protect the States where prohibition may exist and “safeguard our citizens everywhere from the return of the saloon and at- tendant abuses.” 4. The Democratic plank contains nowhere any mention of enforcing the law as it stands, but proposes the “im- mediate” modification of the Volstead act to “legalize the manufacture and sale of beer and other beverages of such alcoholic content as is permissible under the Constitution” Under the Constitution the manufacture and sale of “intoxicating” bevesages are forbid- den The Republican plank specifically de- clares for enforcement of the law and binds members of the party who are officials to enforce the law “as they find it enacted by the people” It IS against nullification “by non-observance by individuals or State action.” The planks are in agreement on the reference of the amendment to State conventions as against State Legls- latures. But the Republican i declares, “We do not favor a subn ion limited to the issue of retention or repeal.” And the Democratic plank say:, “We favor the repeal of the elghteenth amendment.” ‘That is the issue on prohibition that the Democrats have boldy decided to make their issue with the Republican party. pl ———— - In providing local revenues Chicago might have found concessions for sale of throat lozenges of some practical | advantage -———— nd Foreign Affairs. statesmen abroad read the ternational plank written into tke platform of the Democratic party 3t Chicago they will take note of a sig-( nificant fact. They will observe that! a principle more familiar in Eurepe and Asia than in America has at length taken root in the United States, namely, continuity in foreign affairs. There is now no appreciable differ- ence between the programs of the Re- publican party in office and the Demo- cratic party, which seeks office, so far as America’s external relations are concerned. The Democrats take a dig at the State Department for “usurpa- tion of power in assuming to pass upon foreign securities offered by in- ternational bankers” Otherwise Amer- ican foreign policy, as conducted un- der current Republican rule, finds no Democrats a As in- E THE EVENING |15 undoubtedly as anti-cancellationist | estabiished by the Department of Com- | as the Democrats, despite that omission.| merce It cannot be enlarged without Both platforms espouse American entry | the enactment of a law which will allow into the World Court. Both warmly |the closing of a road. The hope is that | espouse peace and arbitration. Both|this deficlency will be made possible by {advocate reduction in armaments by |ccngressional action at the next ses- | international sgreement. Both recog- ! sion. | nize the desirability of close relations| No other city has an airport quite so among the nations of North, Centnllwn\-ememly located as that which now and South America. Both pledge the|serves the Capital. Outgoing passen-| respective parties to adequate national| gers can reach it from the center of the defense. city within fifteen minutes and incoming To judge from the eloquent silence | passengers csn be similarly accom- of its platform on that subject, the modated. It is therefore most desirable Democratic party looks upon the League | that the present field be retained in {of Nations as a closed incident. The ! service for passenger transport, and to | great Wilsonian ideal is not done the | thisend that the arrangement that has | reverence of even a passing mention. | peen tentatively agreed upon for the In other countries, especially Great| enlargement of the field and Its pur- Britain, it long has been a tradition chase by or lease to the Government | that partisan controversy over foreien pe effected to insure its permanent estab- {affairs ends at the water'’s edge. 1In jishment as Washington's air terminal. | consequence, Britain pursues an exter-| Commercial airplane service was slow | | nal policy that seldom fails to command in development in this country, Ithough | universal support at home. The plat-|it w:s here that the heavier-than-air {forms adopted by the two dominant | machire was evolved. Long before regu- | political parties of the United States jar fy: riutes were installed in seem to usher in an era when America’s| America several were in operation in international policies, too, will be dis-| European countries, to the chagrin of tinguished by that united front which | American believers in the airplane as a is essential if they are, from time 0| means of practical transport. Now this time, to command proper respect beyond | country is sustaining numerous inter- STAR, WASHINGTON. THIS AN D. C.. THURSDAY, D THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. About this time every year our good friend Templeton Jones revives in his own mind his ancient desire of living an entire year at the seashore. Since Jones hasn't been there for a | long time, not even for a week, his friends might look upon this wish as childish, so he says nothing about it. It does, indeed, date from childhood. Its persistence in the Jonesian mind makes that worthy gentleman quite sure that the most vivid impressions are made on a human being in the carly years. No amount of living can quite get that picture of sandy beach, far-flung horizon, rolling ocean and masses of great white clouds out of his mind’s eye Again and again, especialiy in hot weather, it flashes across that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude, or however the poet said it. Jenes had a very poor memory—for mathemstical figures and for poetry. Detesting mathematics in all its phases, he is equally at sea in the memorizing of ms. Sne might think, to know Jones, that he would spout appropriate verses upon all occaslons, because he has read them all, from chiidhood up, with real appre- jour shores. On broad issues, no di- | vided counsels are likely henceforward to compromise the Americen viewpoint. | That is a consummation, the full import | |of which will not be underestimated ! | overseas. R The Lausanne Conference. After the flurry caused by Col. von! Papen’s somewhat unpolitical statement | of yesterday that world confidence could | be restored only if the victorious na- | tions of the World War decided to| abolish the discriminations contained in | the Versailles treaty, the Lausanne | Reparations Conference settled down to | work again this morning. Ramsay Mac- Donald is responsible for having sal- vaged the sinking ship. The six conferees at Lausanne are likely to reach a solution soon. There will be nothing spectacular in that so- lution. It will merely indicate that the interested powers have agreed not to disagree for the time being: that the conference will continue to sit and pre- pare the agenda for the coming inter- national economic conference and that in the meanwhile Germany will not be compelled to defeult. | Palliatives are sometimes successful in international politics. The Lausanne palliative is considered necessary be- cause Europe hopes that at the inter- national economic conference America will participate, and by that time, with the American elections out of the way, the administration will be in a better position to co-operate with the other nations for the economic, financial and political reconstruction of the world. Lausanne has been described by the leaders of the world as the most mo- mentous conference held since Ver- sailles. It was called to discuss Ger- many's ability or inability to continue to pay reparations. It degenerated into a political conference of the first mag- nitude. At first, political questions were dis- cussed in camera by the prime minis- ters and their immediate assistants; yesterday Chancellor von Papen indi- cated the real significance of the con- ference when he bluntly brought before | the world the most feared political con- troversy which has existed since the end of the World War—the revision of the Versailles treaty. Von Papen's action is described in many quarters either as foolish or as a naive attempt to | an inexperienced politician to gain the popular vote in his own country at the coming Reichstag election. But the Von Papen move, regardless as to what his cbject was, is likely to have important consequences. He told the world plainly what most impartial cbservers have felt, namely, that the nations of Europe cannot continue to live and hope to go back to a normal state of things under artificial condi- tions. He declared that some of the clauses of the treaty of Versailles which are patently unjust must go be- fore the question of disarmament and general reconciliation in Europe can be settled. . This point of view is shared to a great extent by the administration and the people of this country, and was made plain to the former prime minister of France, M. Laval, during his visit to the United States last Fall. Von Papen's tactical error of bring- ing up this question at a time when | Europe has almost reached its boiling peint may have a salutary effect on those nations which have been opposing the Hoover disarmament proposal, It may force them to accept a greater part of the President’s proposal earlier than it was expected, in order to avoid the bringing of this question of the re- vision of the Versailles treaty to the fore again. 1 | | { | ———— Even the obscure song writer deserves his slight share of fame. It was a man named Charles Lawler who wrote “Sidewalks of New York.” He has been almost as far forgotten as the author of “Dixie.” | | Like the boy who stood on the burn- ing deck, statesmanship was found on duty in Washington, D. C, in the| severest Summer heat. st — One Hundred Thousand b; Air. Yesterday one of the air lines op- city lines. The record just made of one hundred thousand patrons in twenty- one months on one line over the most important route in the country is grati- fying demonstration that the plane has become one of the fixed forms of pas- senger carriage. ] Casual remarks sufficed for Gene Tunney, who saw no need of pledging his stalwart service, in emergency, to the sergeant at arms. A well regulated convention these days is emergency proof. I ——— As in the Republican convention, there were slight mispronunciations. Miss Democracy is entitled, like the gentle lady of the Sheridan comedy, to Tesent aspersions of her parts of speech. — No one has been able to determine whether the resentment of the eight- eenth amendment is caused as much by ideas of public economy as it is to a growing resentment of home brew. — A fine example was set by the con- vention's radio entertainers in organiz- ing an impromptu mutual admiration soclety whose sincerity of expression could not be doubted. oo Clarence Darrow was present, but the delegate who proposed “home rule for Hawaii” could not tempt him to seek permission for a personal expression on the subject. Chime s American fournalism has again triumphed. The radio editorialists were smong the few who always seemed absolutely clear as to what was going on. ————— Nobody desires the oldtime saloon. To this important extent the Anti- Saloon League may claim a unani- mously conceded victory. ———— The alertly apropos convention or- ganist neglected to salute the always esteemed Josephus Daniels with Life on the Ocean Wave. - The radio announcer who says “You have just heard” is sometimes compelled in politeness to ignore the demonstra- tion from the galle - Enough oratory was inspired in both conventions to justify an effort to facetious reference to a committee on irresolutions. e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Identical Ob, ve. The good old world still goes ahead Just like it used to do. With various good intentions spread For all mankind to view. And all of us some plan contrive, ‘To banish all dismay, All for the same result will strive— Each in his own sweet way. “We're for the good of human kind,” Philosophers contend, But each a different means will find To reach the common end. And ever since the world began We'll hear the leaders say They seek a plain unlifting man— Each in a different way. A good professor used to tell (We called him Uncle Sam) Of how contentel forces dwell In parallelogram. And forces in all times transmit Their powers great today, For progress they must do their bit, Each in a different way. Another Economic Theorist. “Do you approve of the use of money its economic advantage,” answered Senator Sorghum. “I know of nothing more calculated to keep & man from hoarding.” Jud Tunkins says when a feller gives you a kind word these days, you always hope he isn't goin’ to spoil it by tryin’ to sell you somethin’, The World Amuses Itself. ‘The mighty orators 1 hear ‘That thrill a listen nation— erating between Washington and New York carried its one hundred thou- sandth passenger after twenty-ohe months of service. This is a notable record and one that demonstrates em- phatically the rapid development of | the air service for personal trans- portation Not only has the air service estab-| lished itself as & safe means of trans- port, but it has progressed to the point of time economy at which it offers an especial inducement. A regular service of one hundred minutes is maintained with a frequent express service of eighty minutes. This permits round- irip intercity visiting within a day for business purposes and offers strong competition to the rafl Mnes in conse- quence. Whether further reductions in time will be effected is not certain, although in the light of the advances| within two years it may be expecud' that eventually, perhaps soon, sixty- | And then the vaudeville draws near And grabs the big ovation. Speech That Signifies. “A woman can make as good a speech as a man.” “A better speech” said Miss Cay- enne. “When & woman makes a speech she is never satisfied with mere com- plimentary applause. Her ago-old ex- perience leads her to expect results’ every time she talks in real earnest.” Chinatown, “are like aviators. He who aspires to the loftiest flight risks the | most conspicious tumble.” ! En Rapport. ! My Radio! My Radio! { I follow all that you relate. Had I a plam leaf fan, I know, T'd feel just like a delegate. “I likes de good old tunes,” said Uncle Eben, “but I can't git no special satis- faction fum a parade dat is all band wagon.” minute transport by air between these two points will come to pass. It is unfortunate that the legislation necessary to permit the desirable and critieism. The Democrats go flatly on record against the cancellation of debts owing to the United States by foreign, nations. Republican platfaen no tion of the debts, bed the G. O. P. necessary enlargement of the Washing- e =% ton eirport hes not been and probably Propensity, Not Politics. cannot be obtained at the present session From the Duluth Heraid. of Congress. The field is not now large ¢ ntc:t mw:':e like to enough to meet the full requirements. p, mean that It does not conform to the standards their adult lives in play in dirt. doesn't | turn toward tetler days. Whose opinion clation. There are two good reasons, however, | which prevent him from sprinkling either his conversation or his writing with “appropriate quotations.” In the first place, he can't remember them when he wants them. In this he is in much the same boat with the host | of worthy persons who cannot say the “right thing” at the right time, but always think of it hours arter the occa- | slon has gone by. | In the second place, Jones does not adorn his talk with poetical flowers be- cause he abhors such a practice i Poetry, he fecls, is someihing in itselt, and for itwell; its best use 1s solitary, not as an addenda to anyining else. Hence we find Templeton Jones, on a hot Summer day, dreaming about the time when he will be able to go down to the seashore for an entire year. “Oh you wouldn't like it!” some of | his friends say, with that hearty as- surance which 5o many of one's dear | friends so often display. | How do they know Jones wouldn’t? Those who know him best rather feel that he would. Of course, by seashore | Jones means one of the less frequented | places where an all-year 'round visitor | would be a day's wonder. | Even at such places there are hotel | maining after “the season” is over, find- | ing it the cheapest place to live, and | wanting to keep their eye on their es. i Very few families, however, stay after October 15. Right then is where Templeton Jones wants to begin. : | He has his eye on a certain place down on the Maryland shore, where the | dawn coesn't come up like thunder, ex- | actly, but it does come up—— And how! ‘There is a great flush out over the water, a radiance mounting from the sea, a dimming of grays and blues and greens, an increase of light— And the sun is up, early in the morn- ing, casting long rays of beams across the flecked breakers. The wind blows strongly, but with that complete lack of harm which dis- tinguishes the shore breeze from that of any other place in the world. Sharp tang of salt air here mixes with | the peculiar odor of sea weed. | There is no danger of “catching cold™ in this dampness, for it carries the healing properties of salt, antiseptic, beneficent. Jones indulges in this dream for a few days every year at about this time, jand then proceeds to forget it for an- other 12 months. He. often tries to think whether he should begin his year’s sojourn with the leaving of the Summer crowds, and end it a year following by going home | i with them, or begin it with their Spring ' keepers and the like who insist on re- | g return and go home a year later just as they coming back again. His majority vote goes to the former plan, because this would him to settle down almost as an “old resi- denter,” and have considerably more than half a year, almost three-fourths of one, to himself and the sea, and the vestige of a town. The Summer crowd is a part of any seaside resort, and Jones would want to be there to see it come in, just as the villagers and the visitors go down to the station every evening at 7:30 o'clock to watch the train come in. Does that old train still come in? Years have gone by, and the auto- mobile has made great advances, since Jones stood on the wooden platform and watched that evening train come in He supposes it still does, but probably with not so many passengers. The station is down in a sort of pocket, about two blocks from the beach. No breeze from the sea reaches there, except when a great storm sweeps in from the northeast. The nor'easter carries everywhere. On ordinary nights, however, a com- plete calm enshrouds the railroad sta- tion, with its wooden platform, its ramshackle waiting room and straggling board walk leading up to the post office. Man or child, the visitor is disap- | pointed upon his first arrival in this station. So this is the seashore! And where is that great breeze they talk about so much? One sniffs the air eagerly, intent on inhaling an entire oc All that arrives is & moist, slightly sour smell of damp sand. Silently one trudges along the walk, catching heels in the cracks. Occasionally slight traces of enthusi- asm salute the nostrils—some place, somewhere out yonder, something is going on which—— Then one’s head bobs above & certain level, as one steps full on the great boardwalk— A great blast of dampy, salty air, right out of the kingdom of Neptune, catches one by the nose: it pulls and hauyls at one’s clothes, attempts to blc v one's hat into kingdom come, and flaunts one’s necktie out to one side like a banner. Well, well, well! is is the sea breeze, and no mistake! ‘The visitor faces to the right, into that sharp gust, so vigorous, yet so my. He catches glimpses of long, moving lines of white, which next day shall reveal to him as the always moving, ever fascinating foam of the breakers. His ears catch gratefully the boom- ing crashes of those mighty heaves of water, those long surges which are forced tn by the movement of an entire ocean and which come to rest here on the beach because there is no other place for them to go. Jones remembers those sensations, caught in childhood, almost in infancy, never to be lost, any more than his desire for a full year of that life is ever ended. The noise of the surf is not a noise, but a music, a sort of “ground bass, which swells and recedes, according to | the ‘invisible baton of a still more in- visible leader. To face into the gale, hair blowing, without one danger of getting a grain of dust in the eye— There is no dust there! That glorious air comes filtered over thousan of miles of salty water, washed and cooled by a system coeval with the everlasting hills. It has something in it for the mind and the body and the soul; it speaks of energy colossal, of something vaster than eternity, even. In the city, far away, Templeton Jones bares his head, and those who | happen to notice him may think he is simply taking off his hat to ease his old head. What they do not know is that for a moment he smells salt air. Gen. Charles G. Dawes has impressed | on the country his belief that better conditions, which he finds already under ‘way, will be built up from the bottom and not in any other way. His theory of development from small units is hailed as distinctly American doctrine, and acceptance of his standing as & | financier is such that his announcement | that the turning point has been reached | is declared to offer grounds for con- fidence. “The Dawes statement,” according to the Rochester Times-Union, “is impor- tant because he has been in position for the last several months to know intimately what is going on throughout the entire financial and business structure of the country. And further, because Gen. Dawes has established a reputation for talking to the point. He has not been engaged in making many and vain predictions; he has not been ‘whistling for the purpose of keeping up his own courage or that of other people; he has never exhibited an inclination to fool the public. He has made this statement in the full belief that it will | be verified by conditions, and while he may of course be mistaken, results are likely to justify his belief.” “Blunt and outspoken, Gen. Dawes,” in the opinion of the Boise (Idaho) Statesman, “is not the type of man who deals 1n buncombe about business recov- ery, and for this reason, coupled with the fact that he is one of the shrewdest financlers in the country today, his | optimistic statement concerning con- ditions and prospects for the future | should prove heartening to millions of | . * * * The following words | of Gen. Dawes are worth repeating: | ‘The recovery in the depression will | start from the bottom up, not from the | top down. For the real evidence of | reaction we must look to the mass | attitudes of our people and not to the | shifting opinions of certain sections of it. For instance, I would attribute {much more importance to the ‘increase | {of electric power consumption in the | | country during the last two weeks than | to stock or bond quotations. It is the average man's business which is the main factor in the situation. His busi- ness in the aggregate is enormous.’” * koK “This thing of a turning point, marks the Port Huron Times Herald, “may not be nearly as sharply as we | may have wished. But Gen. Dawes’' opinion on the matter will carry more weight than that of most other men, even more than some who may be in | better position to judge business and financial conditions throughout the country. Small business is going to feel it first, says Gen. Dawes. And that sounds logical. The foundations must | be good if the superstructure is to be | solid. It has long been recognized that | emall business, the small farmer, the | small group like the American family, | | | Te- “All men,” said Hi Ho, the sage of , Make up the backbone of the country | to prof and its social structure. Which brings smal group, like the American family, And a little faith might bring a quicker response to the situation which Gen. Dawes envisions.” “The common mal community prosperity,” declares the Portland Oregon Journal. “The pros- perity of the worker and small business is the community’s prosperity. The prosperity out on farms, orchards, gardens and stock ranches is a State's prosperity. = And the Dawes opinion is worth other considerations. It is a great Amcrican's recognition of the prosperity is | is entitled to greater credence? Whose opinton could be more welcome?” The Chm“l!‘!t Small Business_ By Statement From Dawes Encouraged happening in this line was the ability of America to withstand the French gold withdrawals without damage to the dollar. Scattered here and there, however, in recent weeks have been a large number of minor developments in the way of orders and trade pick- ups in various lines that, together, are not without significance as straws.” R “Decentralization is the keynote of Government reform,” thinks the Harris- burg Telegraph, with the conclusion that it may be also a powerful factor in the return of prosperity and the cure of unemployment.” That paper says of the Dawes idea, “Trade rivalries and a better understanding of merchandis- ing opportunities brought back the small shop until today these are more nu- merous than ever. That this is going on in industry today is the opinion of no- less an authority than Horace P. Liversidge, vice president of the Phila- delphia Electric Co., recently expressed in a public address. The small manu- facturer, he says, has entered into ac- tive and successful competition with the big fellow. ‘This competition,’ he sald, ‘has come about historically through the development of adequate transportation facilities, through the long-distance transmission of economical pover, the widespread use of such cul- | tural agencies as newspapers, maga- zines and the radio, through the gen- eral forward movement of our times. “The general looks forward to a nor- mal future, but it will not be such normal as ‘marked the boom periods, suggests the Rock Island Argus, while the Pasadena Star-News holds that “the time is ripe for a better psychology among_the people,” and that ‘“pessi- mism has about run its course.” The Spokane Spokesman-Review predicts “a long period of sane and substantial prosperity.” - Gold and Silver. Prom the Pasadena Star-News. Demand for an international mone- tary conference has not been quieted by failure of the idea to develop. Occa- sionally new life has been injected into the project by some such major event as Great Britain's “temporary suspen- | sion” of payments in gold, or by the more recent “attack” by European countries on the American dollar. Such a conference, unless hedged at one breath. | JUNE 30, The Political Mill By G. Gould Lincoln. | i CONVENTION HALL, Chicago, June 29.—The Democrats have gone and done it. They have made repeal of national | prohibition a party issue. “We (the Democrats) favor the repeal of the eighteenth amendment.” Just like that. No equivocation there. They stand as the party of repeal. The Republicans are the party of revision. Where do the drys get off with such a choice staring them in the face? It does not seem possible they will go to the Demo- crats, even to spite the Republicans, who have abandoned the ultra dry | cause. Their alternative is to back the Republicans as the lesser evil or to put up a third independent party. The chances are that they will much prefer ent Hoover, on the Republican pledging the G. O. P. to retain the “gains” made under the eighteenth amendment, to any Democrat who Is {likely to be nominated standing on the Democratic plank. * * | * Perhaps the Democrats have made a | mistake in going so far, though it is becoming more and more doubtful as the weeks go by whether there are any | last-ditch supporters of the elghteenth amendment left in this country. That is in sufficient numbers to amount to anything in a national convention. It does seem as though the Democrats | could have accomplished their purpose just as well by adopting the minority report on the prohibition plank, pledging € definite repeal amendment to be submitted to state constitutional conventions, without attempting to | make all the dry members of the House | end Senate from Democratic states | subscribe to the declaration that “we { favor repeal of the eighteenth amend- ment” and also modification of the Volstead act so as to permit beer and wines. However, that is a thing of the past. The Democratic nominee for President could, if he followed the pre- | cedent established by Alfred E. Smith iin 1928, send the convention a message jafter he shall have been nominated saying that he does not agree with the party’s prohibition plank, but prefers the minority plank. If Roosevelt be the nominee, he might find it more difficult to carry the Western and border States on the wringing wet platform now adopted. However, Roosevelt is 1 himself for repeal, as he has sald, so it would not help him much now to come out for the submission plank, and would_probably hurt him in states like New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, where he needs strength. Of course, if the convention should nominate Gov. Albert C. Ritchie of Maryland for President, the Maryland Governor could ride along on the plat- form with perfect comfort. It is Ritchie's plank itself, and also Al Smith’s, * kK % _The Roosevelt leaders and the New York Governor himself made no at- tempt to line up his supporters in the Resolutions Committee in favor of a mere submission of repeal of the prohibition amendment, except perhaps in the sub- committee of the Resolutions Commit- tee. There a majority of the platform drafters favored the minority plank. But when the matter was taken to the full committee things got very much out of hand and the Roosevelt leaders, heving an experience with the two- thirds rule issue in recent days, de- cided that this was one fight they had | better keep hands off. * o ¥ Henry H. Curran, president of the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment, has doped it out that the Democrats will benefit by adopting a glelnk placing the party on record as ing willing to work actively for the repeal of national prohibition, Here is the way he puts it: “There is obvious advantage of such a position in the 17 presidentially pivotal States of Vermont, Massachu- setts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, ‘Wisconsin, Wyoming, Arizona, Nevada and Washington. “These States cast 259 out of 531 votes in the electoral collage. And one of them can be carried by either party in this year of 1932. The senti- ment for repeal i these States is so strong that their vote in the Literary Digest poll was about 80 per cent for repeal, while their vote in the House of Representatives was 126 for the Beck - Linthicum resolution to 79 againct, and the delegates from these States to the Republican National Convention voted 387 for the Bingham plank against 168 for the Hoover plank. Furthermore, the recent Demo- cratic convention in 10 of these 18 States have declared flatly in favor of repeal of the eighteenth amendment— these 10 States being Vermont, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Penn- sylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada. “This tactical set-up for the Demo- crats gives them & practical political reason for going the whole way by pledging the party to work actively for repeal instead of confining itself to a mere neutral and non-commital sub- mission of the ‘question to the people.’ ” |, There you have the wet argument for party alignment in favor of the re- peal of the eighteenth amendment. Probably the drys will have something to say about this later. They have been waiting until the Democrats acted in convention on the prohibition issue, promising then to make a decision re- garding the two old parties. * % > Wanted, a martyr to be thrown to the Roosevelt lions. This is the object of a search on the part of the anti- Roosevelt Democrats since they as- sembled in Chicago. They want in other words, a candidate who is willing to offer himself as a sacrifice in the stop-Roosevelt movement. Obviousl they say, the man who actually “stops’ the New York Governor and prevents his nomination is not likely to be nomi- nated for President himself. The last- ditch Roosevelt men will prevent that. It is necessary. however, to have one man behind whom the anti-Roosevelt delegates can center if they are to hold together long enough to prevent the nomination of Roosevelt. Al Smith offered himself as the political sacrifice in the siop-McAdoo campaign of the allied candidates back in 1924. This year Smith might like to offer himself again as a sacrifice to stop Roosevelt. ‘The trouble there, however, lies in the fact that the other favorite fon candi- dates and lesser candidates would not hand their delegates over to Smith. ‘They fear ‘that would be the end of about by national or financial interests!their own aspirations in this conven- that refuse to be reconciled, and, there- fore, are unwilling to co-operate, should be of great value in lifting the doubts that now stand in the way of a well bal- anced exchange. and it also should nul- lify the destructive propaganda that has kept nations apart heretofore in a very important particular. ‘The immense stock of gold that the United States built up during and fol- lowing the war is still of sufficient size tect the dollar in its position of supremacy. All of the balances main- tained in America by foreign countries could be withdrawn, and still a hand- some surplus would remain. The weak- ness is not in credit standing of this Nation, but in the constantly changing lue of the monetary units of other lands, and in the wide discrepancy be- tween gold and silver. ‘Whatever will correct either one of these defects will exert a large inn::muo‘: toration will be very nearly won. That |Mr. the tendency is in the direction of this better understanding of the money mys- tery is reassuring. Planning Time. Des Moines Tribune. the view of the rather unusual cir- tion, where it is unlikely that Smith could command 200 delegates of his own. * x kX When one candidate has been ap- proached on the subject of sacrificing himself to the cause he has said, “Let Harry Byrd do it.” and Harry Byrd has , “Let Al Ritchie do it,” and Ritchie has said, “Let George White do it.” But none of them seemed inclined to do it himself. As a matter of fact, the ?omflelt camp, with its big mass of elegates, Is in a position to offer more han any other candidate for the nomi- nation can at this time. And some of these other candidates for the nomina- tion are open to offers. * X X x If the Democrats should nominate didate, there would be considerable unanimity in the party back of the nomination. No candidate has received ‘hole-hearted pinc! men. Rogers on We 'h-hitting for more states- The country would enjoy a laugh. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS When troublesome questions arise avail yourself of the service of this de- partment. It costs you nothing. You have only to send 3 cents for postage jon the personal letter you will receive in reply. Any question on any subject of fact will be answered. Address your letter of inquiry to The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C. Q. When will the first returns come in under the new tax law?—M. S. A. The new taxes were effective as of the beginning of business June 21, 1932, except the tax on theater ticket brokers, which became effective June 6 at 5 Ipam., and the tax on electrical energy, wiich became effective June 22. The the period_from the effective date to June 30. These returns must be filed and tax paid on or before July 31. Each month thereafter returns and taxes for the preceding month’s business must be sent in. Q. Have the major ies ever adopt- ed lnxll-prohlbmon planks?—P, F. A. In adopted a plank declaring opposition to “laws for the purpose of removing evils by interference with the rights not sur- rendered by the people to either the State or the National Government.” This was generally regarded as an anti- prohibition plank. In 1884 the Demo- cratic party adopted a plank reading: “We oppose sumptuary laws which vex the citizens and interfere with individ- ual lberty.” Q. Does John D. Rocketeller, jr., look like his father?—T. K. L. brow and strong nose of his famous parent, but there the likeness ends. He is a man of medium height and square build. The thin, tight lips of the elder Rockefeller are not part of the son’s countenance. Q. When are gold and silver coins considered mutilated?—A. B. A. Gold coins are mutilated when so punched, clipped, chipped or otherwise defaced as to result in any loss of metal. Silver coins are mutilated when so punched, clipped, chipped or other- wise mutilated as to be apprecisbly re- duced in weight, or when so defaced as to be not readily and clearly identified as to genuineness and denomination. Q. Can snakes bite and breathe under water?—E. " Z. A. Snakes do breathe under water, is_possible for a swimming snake to ctrike a swimming man. It is said that ater. There are species of sea snakes that strike only when in the water. Q. What is the range of salaries of coflm,r:mmoned officers in the Navy?— A. Pay of commissioned officers be- low the grade of rear admiral ranges from $1,500 to $6,000 a year, according to length of service. § % Vo comprised the lake poets?— “A. The Edinburgh Review so named ‘Wordsworth, Coleridge and Shelley. Q. Where was the Crystal Palace in New York City?—E. E. B. ryant Park, A. It was located in which occupies a tract of from five to six acres in the west half of the tract extending from Fortieth to Forty-second streets on Sixth avenue. It was opened in 1853 and destroyed by fire in 1858. Q. How can return postage be sent (toa dent in Europe?—H=C. M. A. United States stamps are not good on mail from foreign countries to the United States. In order to send return postage it is necessary to use an inter- national reply cou which may be secured from the office. Q. What are the rules for displaying first returns to be rendered will cover | 1872 the Republican party | A. He has the long head, the broad and the Biological Survey says that it | he cottonmouth snake strikes in the | BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. the American flag when it is not on & stafl?—E. A. The flag code as adopted by the National Flag Conference, Washington, C.. provides as follows: When the flag is displayed in a manner other than by being flown from a staff, it shou'd be displayed flat, whether in- doors or out. When displayed either horizontally or vertically against & wall the Union shoul be uppermost and to the flag's own right, ie., to the observer's left. When displayed in a window it should be displayed the same way—that is, with the Unien, or lue field, to the left of the observer in the street. When festoons, rosettes, or drapings are desired, bunting of blue, white and red should be used, but never the flag. Q. What is the Spingarn medal?— H.N. A. This medal was instituted in 1914 by J. E. Spingarn. then chairman of the board of directors of the National | Association for the Advancement &2 | Colored People, who gives annually & gold medal to be awarded for the highest or noblest achievement by an | American Negro during the preceding year or years. . Why was Christopher Columbus returned to Spain from his third voy= age to America in chains?—E. T. A. His enemies had informed Ferdi- nand and Isabella of Spain that Co- | lumbus had abused his power and was planning to make himself independent. Upon investigation of his conduct, |mowever, he was released and ex- | onerated. Q. Is the mak practice?—W. C. A. A will, writ prepared about B the oldest one know a priest left his propertv to a fellow priest. Both Greece and Rome had manuscript wills. In the seventh cem- | tury wills in parts of Europe were | written on bark. Q. Do the bodies of Robert G. In- gersoll and William Jennings Bryan lie close to_each other in Arlington Cem- etery?—B. L. 3 A. The ashes of Robert G. inger- soll are burled a few paces from the | tomb of William Jennings Bryan. Q. Do all the States have mottoes?— w. W. A. Indiana, New Hampshire and Texas have none. Q. Please give the words for which | the abbreviations stand in boxing rec- ords—L. U. A. K. O., knockout; N. D, no deci- |sfon; N. C., no contest; W. F., won on |foul; L. F., lost on foul. | Q. How long have we had florists in the United States?—S. C. | A. Growing flowers as a business was unknown in America before 1825. The daté of the opening of the first florist’s shop is not ascertainable, but 60 years ago it was impossible to buy cut flow- ers in some of our leading citles. Q. What military _organization es- corted Gen.and Mrs. Washington when ever they passetd through Philadel- phia?—A. S. A. A troop of lighthorse called “the 1st Troop.” “During the first presi- dency,” says one authority, “it consti~ | tuted | ing of wills an ancient . A on papyrus and 0_in Egypt, is By its terms itself their guard of bonor.” Q. Can the rings of Saturn be seen thout a telescope?—A. F. | A. The Naval Observatory says that | the rings of Saturn and the satellites | of ‘Jupiter can be detected with a | opera glass in favorable weather and | appear quite plainly in a small field glass with magnifying power of 5 to 10 | diameters. Q How many stills were seized in | 19319—B. D. | "A.'In the fiscal year ending June 30, 11931, 21,356 stills were seized. Highlights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands ANGKOK DAILY MAIL—Lon- don criminals are developing a ing young talent for their schemes. The older and more notorious police characters, knowing that they are con- stantly watched, dare not take unnec- esssary chances by actively plné:‘:-t- ing in a hold-up or burglary. ise- quently they plan the raid and persuade some clever but obscure first offender to_carry it out. Thus it was dicovered that agents of well known criminals are constantly at- tending court trials to spot likely look- ing young thieves. Other agents sta- tion themselves outside prison gates to receive first offenders, furnish them money, tutor them, and engage them for dangerous crimes. Once the young criminal is in the hands of a modern Fagin he has small chance of escape. A specially picked squad from Scotland Yard, therefore, has been assigned to ferret out the master criminals and their scouts, waile the home office’s department dealing with juvenile crime is helping to put first offenders back on the straight path. Virtues of Soap | Extolled by Health Chief. ‘War Cry, London.—The virtues of soap were recently referred to by Dr. Andrew Trimble, chief tuberculosis offi- cer of Belfast, during a discussion on “Causes of the Decline in Tuberculosis Mortality” by the Scciety of Medical Officers of Health in London. Clean: liness, he urged, was one of the causes which reduced the s read of the infectious diseases, and the index of soap used by the public was interest- ing. At the beginning of the nine- teenth century (when the tax on soap was practically equal to the cost of the soap itself) the amount used Ler head per annum was 5.5 pounds. When the soap tax was repealed, in 1856, the fig- ure was 7.7 pounds. At present, when the tuberculosis death rate, which had been steadily falling, was at its lowest, 17 pounds per annum per head of popu- lation was being used. Dr. Trimble held that in this increase in the use of soap there was a striking indication of the growth of cleanliness among the people and a sign that they had attalned a standard of personal cleanliness they had not known before. | As a reward there was a reduction in | the risk of infection with, and death | from, the activities of the tubercle bacillus. He stressed the need of ade- quate washing accommodations for children attending school, so they could acquire the habit of personal cleanliness and reach adult life convinced that un- cleanliness was both unhealthy and un- desirable. * ok ok K W French Writer Agrees. With Ideals on Women. Le Matin, Paris—Some students of a college in Illinols recently voted to at by stipulating just what, in the By a ballot of 45 to 14, it was decreed that the feminine ideal does not drink mflmt ; only four votes were cast favor of the girl who smokes, while ‘were her assumption of masculine are | Labrador Indies, g scouting system to find promis- | define an ideal of American young| womanhood. The decision was arrived | opinion of the masculine contingent, the | girl student should or should not do.| be believed that a jury, no matter how | prejudiced or tolerant, considering the case of the French girl student, would esteem it a charming peccadillo to | swear like the most classic of troopers! * x % * El Salvador Parents Advised to Help Children. Patria, San Salvador.—Most people have trouble in disciplining their chil- |dren. In a world where nearly every possession and portunity affords rather more of trouble than it does of benefit, such difficulties within our own families are perhaps to be expected, but it is indubitable that a certain excess in these puerile rebellions and animosi= ties could be avoided were we to exer- our responsibilities with a little more discretion. | A state’ of contumacy in a child is generally caused by too intemperate a tendency to criticize all his acts. A | mother’s utterances to her offspring are too often only a series of reprimands | and refusals. A child’s life cannot be properly regulated by simply saying “No!” ‘There are plenty of occasions when “Yes!” is the preferred response. | _Children are more inclined to be con- | fiding and obedient when they know that their little petitions for liberty to do this or that, or requests for some | benefit or favor will not be met with blunt rejection. Children learn, even at the tenderest ages, that their desires are |only too sure to be answered with de- | nial, and so they no longer consult thet parents about what they should or |should not do. And thus excessive severity and impatience on the part of fathers and mothers produce too much ‘tolerat)on and indifference. Be fair and sympathetic with your | child and you will be enriched with no minimum of his affection and ac- cord. ————— Stimulating Ocean Travel. From the St. Louls Post-Dispatch. Reduced incomes and the consequent reduced budget appropriations for fam- ily vacations, to which we called at- tention recently, have wrought inter- esting and significant changes in ocear travel. The de luxe passenger travel | In which the bull market boomers in- | dulged themselves during their Summer | rest periods went out with the crash, | and in its place is cheap travel made possible by shorter trips and lowered costs all around. The steamship lines, like'our own railroads, are finding that the way to stimulate travel is to offer cheap rates. | Business Week sums up the decrease | in costs by saying that cruise and tour rates, which not long ago amounted to $10 a day, now stand as low as $7. With college students in great numbers serving to dignify third-class travel, that mode of steamship life has come into widespread popularity. Since i{ has become the thing to do, many per: sons who once took better accommoda~ tions eagerly take advantage of the cheaper class. That the reduced fares are attracting more peoplg to the gang- planks was evidenced recently, when five ships sailed for Europe in one day with about 7,000 tourists, the hedviest passenger lists in a day sinfe 1929. The week end cruise, a three or four day affair, de d to keep ships run- ning in the ice of transoceanic travel, has given way to the six-day cruise, which is more popular as the vacation season gets into full 5 . ‘e attention is being paid to its. easy reach of New York ova Scotia. the Saguenay River, the coast, Bermuda and the West and numerous cruises are planned to take first-class steamers to their ports. Perhaps the most cignificant ebout ocean travel now i3 the b trek to Soviet Russia, Last year, 9,(: Americans visited Moscow, and alresc Russia. have ftrehled the are to Russia