Evening Star Newspaper, July 22, 1932, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C July 22, 1932 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Oftce: | 11th St and Pennsyl : New York Offce: 110 and ot icago Office: Lake Michigan Building. ropean Office: 14 Regent 8t.. London. England. Rate by Carrier Within the City. venine Btar a0 45c per month vening and Sunday Star, o cnth when 5 65¢ oer month The Sunday Star ....0.0...0....5c per copy Collection made af the end of cach month Orders may be sent in by mail or telepnone KAtional $000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. iy und Sund: iz, onlx unday only All Other States and Canada. aily and Sunday..1yr. $1200: 1mo. §1.00 aily only ... + $8.00: 1 mo.. guna-y only 1yr.. $5.00: 1mo.. Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press Is exclusively entitled to the use for republics of ali news ris- patches credited fo it < ot otherwise cred- ited in this paper 0 the local 1ews anG published herein Al rights of publication of Eoecial dispatches herein are also reserved 36100, 1 mo.. 50¢ $4.00. 1 mo’. 40c s0¢ = Orders to Evacuate. The District Commissioners, after a Jenient toleration of the use by the bonus marchers of public grounds and other spaces as camps for & period of two months, have mow ordered their evacuation, to be completed by noon on the fourth of August, two weeks from vesterday. Instructions to this effect have been given to the chief of police, who it specifically asked to “see that the members of the B. E. F. are notified in order that they may not rest under | the belief that they will be permitted to remain in their present unsanitary locations throughout the Summer. After the dates fixed—August 1 for the quitting of certain Government-owned buildings by midnight on Sunday, the return of all tentage and rolling kitchens loaned by the National Guard by noon on August 1 tion of sll park areas by noon on August 4—the chief of police will “make no exceptions” in the enforce- ment of these orders There is no reason whatever for these men to remain in Washington now | that Congress has adjourned and all chance for legislation short of nex December has passed. The efforts t induce the President to summen Con- gress in extra session are hopeless. Nothing whatever can be accomplished by remaining in Washington. On the other hand. even if permitted to con- tinue in their present camping places their plight, now lamentable. is certain to become increasingly serious and a | menace not only to themselves but to the health of this communi Under the orders given to Glass- ford. which are not at all likely to be changed. he must evacuate the bcnus msrchers from their housings and en- eampments by force if they will not willingly depart. They may resist evac- uvation. Their leader now decl that they will not move. Such resistance is likely to I~ad to physical injuries. re- eponsibility for which will rest upon the heads of those who are ncw encouraging | | the men to remain. The hope. of course, that there will be no resistance, that the marchers is 10.00: 1 mo.. 88¢ | and the evacua-! Imeml in accord with America’s hopes, it Tepresents all that is attainable now. It carries a specific pledge to submit the Hoover plan to conscientious scrutiny during the recess interval. | Porelgn Minister Mussolini demurs. 'He directed his air minister, Gen. Balbo, to drop a bomb on Geneva to the effect that, with such an ending as the recess resolution would provide, “the confer- ence is undeserving of the hopes of the peoples of the world,” and that “the Fascist government can take no part in the adjournment vote.” Soviet Rus- sia, through M. Litvinoff, at Geneva vesterday, assumes a similarly scoffing attitude. It is not yet clear whether Il Duce deplores the setting up of & smoke screen to conceal the failure he con- siders the Geneva conference to be, or whether the Mussolini susceptibilities have been rubbed the wrong way by the Pranco-British entente. That very keen observer, Mr. Paul Scott Mowrer, sc | cabling from Switzerland to yesterday's Evening Star, suggests that Italy bit- | terly resents impending Franco-British | dominance in Europe. Other dispatches hint that Signor Grandi was dropped by Il Duce because the new entente was fashioned at Lausanne without Italy's knowledge, to say nothing of her participation. At any rate, as far as Geneva is con- cerned, and whatever the basic cause of his umbrage, Premier-Foreign Min- ister Mussolini, like the pecved little girl of the story. is goirg to take Italy's playthings and leave the party. = ——— Railroad Merger. For years railroad mergers on a larg= scale, in the interest of the public and better service as well as in the interest of the railroads and their owners, have been proposed. The Interstate Com- merce Commission vesterday handed down a far-reaching repor: consolidation of all the Eastern rail- roads, except New England. into four great systems railroads themseltes to accept the plan cf merger laid down by the commission. In the main. the commission has fol- {lowed the merger plans recommended by the four major lines. the New York Central, the Pennsylvania, the Balti- Chio-Nickel Plate. Unless. therefore, there should Arise some strong opposi- tion to the final adjustment on the part f one of these roads, the plan may be ut into operation. The commission that the Pennsylvania system must di- vest ftself of its large New England holdings. How the Pennsylvania will | relish this remains to be seen. | Two members of the Interstate Com- | Manamy, dissented from the report of {the commission, which was handed |down by Chairman Porter and con- {curred in by the other commissioners, "M:h three ol them concurring in part. | The opposition to the merger plans on the part of two of the commissioners is |likely 10 be reflected in Congress, | where efforts to prevent consolidations ,until after final approval of the plans has been given by the Congress are now | | junder way. Chairman Couzens of the | Senate Interstate Commerce Commit- ( tee has been insistent in the past upon such reference to Congress. The four systems proposed for the Eastern railroads in the report of the | Interstate Commerce Commission will approving | 1t remains now for the ! more & Ohio. and the Chesapeake & ! in its decision on merger plans decreed | merce Commission, Eastman and Mc- | mond, will show the same interest in Arlington County that it does in those counties not 30 remote? The most objectionable feature of the plan, however, is the proposal of the State Highway Commission to use convict labor on the secondary road system. In rural sections convict labor cannot be considered objectionable ex- cept. perhaps, on the ground that it deprives unemployed men of work. But in an urban community it would have & decidedly unsatisfactory influence on the population, Wholesale Midsummer Illness. ! 1t there was carelessness in tne prep- | aration or negligence in the handling of the food which yesterday caused the illness of several hundred persons on ! the occasion of a river excursion, analy- {sis and investigation will later deter- | mine the fact. In cases of this kind .lhere is always the question whether sanitary rules have been strictly and faithfully observed. It is possible that the atmospheric conditions were alone the cause of the simultaneous ilness of | those who suffered. Yet the fact that quantities of the surplus of this par- ticular food supply were sent as dona- tions to some of the bonus marchers, who later became ill, suggests that the cause lay primarily in it. quantities for picnic supply in Mid- summer is always attended by a certain degree of risk. The most scrupulous care must be taken at all stages. The intense heat of the atmosphere some- times cauces ferments despite every pos- sible precaution. It is not to be sug- gested that there was any consclous | neglect in this instance, as, indeed, in jany other that has ever occurred. In one respect there is ground for gratification. No deaths have occurred, althcugh many scores are desperately ill. This is perhaps due to the prompt- ness with which medical and hospital service was rendered the sufferers. Capt. Turner. in command of the steam- er bearing the stricken people back to Washington. is due high commendation for his forethought in summoning aid to meet the boat as he passed Alexandria. In consequence of this action, it was possible to give the patients medical attention immediately upon arrival here. Excellent hospital service was also ren- dered to the limit of facilities. Never before, indeed, has any such pressure been placed suddenly and simulta- neously upon the institutions of care &nd service, which yesterday acquitted themselves splendidly in behalf of the sufferers. Mmoot Leading men of Atlantic City holding conferences with a view 1o im- ! proving local business conditions. | famous resort, so well known to pleasure seekers, will be observed with new in- terest as a source of possible suggestion | lating a reluctant though obviously as- ! sured eventual prosperity. Students under the general super- vision of Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler Imust ezpect little Summer vacation. | His remarks addressed to the general public may demand closer attention than the lectures for which he stands responsible. —— Statement on behalf of John Hughes Curtis that he would continue & search | for kidnapers if he were mot out of | will eva~uate not only their present place in these systems three hu-dred | funds again calls attention to the power places of inadequate shelter and en- campment. but for their homes. Many have already gone, taking advantage of the trans- portaticn and subsistence loans ad- vanced through the Veterans’ Bureau. Now that a definite date for the evacua- | tion of the camps has been set, all the ' others should go if it is possible for ! them to secure this essistance before the expiratin of the extended time imit at midnight on Sundav. These men have presentsd their pe- tition to Congress in a manner never before known in this country. It has been denied. Responsibility for thet d=nial rests. not upon the local authori- ties. not upon the President of the United States. but upon thcse who voted in Congress against the bonus payment bill. An orderly retreat from the present impossible situation is dic- | tated by common sense. stence in remaining Further per- in Washington ter all chance of legislation has van- | ithed. especially in the light cf the Commissioners’ order to evacuate their encampments by August 4, will only play into the hands of those radicals whom the great body of the marchers have thus far denounced a- public enemies. e There is a strong element of conser: atism even In America’s dashing me- tropolis. Despite the development of transportation to include even sky routes, New York is preparing to add to her equipment more of those old- fashioned institutions known as ‘“sub- ways.” - Mussolini and Geneva. Premier Mussolini, newly self-created Italian minister of foreign affairs, has characteristically lost no time in assert- ing himself in the international realm. Within twenty-four hours of the dis- missal of Signor Grandi from that post and his own assumption of it. Il Duce barges full tilt into the last act of the Disarmament Conference and wrecks the cherished hope of ringing down the cur- tain with a show of accomplishment branding Geneva “an utter fallure.” "The Mustolini message was conveyed to the conference yesterday by Gen. Italo Balbo, Italian air minister. who flew from Rome with it, the Fascist dic- tator's first fulmination in his new role. Drama is of the essence of T Duce's political psychology, and he chose a dramatic moment for reminding the world that he is more than ever in su- preme charge of Italy, including its ex- ternal relations. The Geneva confer- ence, after six months of persistent but inglorious eifort, is on the eve of adopting a recess resolution, prolonging the agonies of disarmament discussion until next Fall. The resolution embraces half a dozen points on which the war- ring elements at Geneva have agreed— points which on their face represent progress toward limitation and reduc- tion of various forms of so-called ag- gressive warfare. In the recess resolution, too, academic homage is paid to the “principle” of President Hoover's recent proposal that the nations should make a flat cut of one-third in all grades of armaments. Ambassador Gibson has approved the retolution on behalf of the United T w:, explaining that while it is by no will leave the District | bonus railrcads. While they look to improve- ments in service, to the strengthening of the weaker roads by consolidation i with the stronger, there will still re- main a very large measure of competi- tion as between the systems. The mergers should make possible many im- portant economies. The willingnes Commerce Comm these merger plans was interpreted in 2ilroad circles today as a hopeful sign that at last something is to be done to of the Interstate help the great transportation industry of the country back to its feet. The railroads themselves, through their as- sociation of exccutives, have announced plans for cutting out waste and have asked for & square deal frem @ongres iand the American people. so A their competitors, the motor, water and air carrierr, may 2lco be regulated by the Federal Government The Interstate Commerce Commissicn in its report has stressed the nced. par- ticularly at this time. of making the propoced railroad mergers fall as lightls as possible on railroad labor. This is no time to throw more men out of work. But the time is certainly at hand to 2id in the revival of the railroads. | and through such mergers as are n proposed much may be done strengthen the weaker roads and to improve the stronger. One matter of Ivital interest to the public will be | found in the refinancing of the roads. i Rates in later years will depend upon )!hr financial set-ups of these railroad tems. It is a matter of great in- too. to the thousands of holders lnf railroad securities. Undoubtedly the Interstate Commerce Commission will scrutinize these finencial arrangements with the greatest closeness. = ] The bonus men threaten to “dig in" until 1945. The declaration is not taken | o seriously as to cause a violent change in local census atatistics. The Byrd Road ler Voters of Arlington County, Va.. will %0 to the polls August 9 to decide | Whether to accept the Byrd road plan, | placing all highway improvements and ;‘ maintenance, secondary as well as pri- | mary, under exclusive jurisdiction of the State Highway Commission. The plan undoubtedly will benefit a number of counties in the State sparsely populated and financially un- able properly to maintain the secondary roads. The situation, however, is radi- cally different in Arlington County, and rajses the question of the advan- tages to be gained by a change in the Ppresent system. i Arlington County, though the small- est in the State, Is reputed to be one of the wealthiest, and boasts the largest Population. It also is more urban in character than any other county In the State. It has streets, sidewalks, water and street lighting systems, gas and electricity and other modern conven- fences that cannot b: found in rural sections of the State. Is it reasonable to suppose that the State will continue the construction of sidewalks, pave streets and install curbs and gutters while denying these im- provements to other counties which do not need them? Is it reasonable to suppose that the State Highway Com- mission, with its headquarters in Rich- on to agree upon | i m! | “Have you ever tried to convince your | priations, not literature | sounds | of finance. Even a hoaxer needs to be | capitalized. | S Public ———e discussion of abstruse eco- nomic problems is available in increasing | abundance to avoid those experiencing | enforced id'eness from being entirely ! dependent on cross-word puzzles for ! mental occupation. ——— ! SHOOTING STA BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Confidence. ! Oh. de birds dey is a-singin® Very aweetly in de tree | An' de music dey is bringin’ Ic as sweet as it kin be. De songs dat comes a-strayin® | I has heard 'em all befo’ Though T don't know what dey’s sayin’, Dem’s my sentiments foh sho'. Oh. a speaker come oratin’ An’ he sounded mighty fine. In his talk so jubilatin’ I was jes' compelled to jine. An’ I says, “I got to hand you My applause, wifout del Though I can't quite understand you, I approves of what you say.” His Mission. constituents that you were another Daniel Webster?” “No,” answered Senator Sorghum; “what my constituents want is appro- Fond Imagination. “What a voice that child has!” “Yes,” replied the proud father. “It's wonderful how he takes after me! Do vou know, some parts of his vocalization exactly like my old college yelis!™ Lashed to the Camera, different poses. This occupation he would never shirk. The only serious question is the matter that arose is How he got the time to do some real work. Chances. “Does your husband ever gamble?” “No,” replied young Mrs. Torkins. “Sometimes I wish he would gamble a little instead of waiting for those sure things that somehow go wrong.” A Leader Recognized. My Uncle Jim, he has us all Admirin’ him a heap. For we agree, he's what you'd call A thinker mighty deep. He turns the tariff inside out With eloquence complete. He knows jest what he's talkin' Thats where he has us beat. "bout, He tells what the effect will be Of duties low or high. And what the country’s goin’ to see Occurrin’ by and by. His words are very far from small, ‘Too fine for me and you. He knows the meanin’ of ‘em all— At least, we think he do. “De man dat keeps wirepullin’ in politics,” said Uncle Eben, “is g'ineter grab a piece o' barbed wire sooner or later.” i especially the children. ; The preparation of food in large ! To ! are | This | for new and modern methods of stimu- | He had his picture taken in a dogen | AR, WASHINGT ON, D. C., FRIDAY THIS AND THAT “What do you call your clams?” & friend asked Templeton Jones as they stood in front cf the water lily pool looking down at the sharp edges of the two fresh-water mussels. “I just call 'em clams,” replied Jones. “I mean, what have you named them?" Jones smiled. “I haven't named 'em,” he said. Templeton Jones would have named them if any cne would, no doubt of that. But somehow a clam rates no name, not even with an imaginative and sentli- mental person such as Jones. He no more thought of giving them separate names than he did his trio of goldfish. He had, it is true, made a beginning at naming those entertaining rascals, but shortly had given up the attempt. They are known simply as the Big One, the Middle-Sized One and the Little One. Perhaps those are names, after all. but Jones did not regard them in that light. They were simply designations. ‘The Big One is red, almost crimson, with white on either side of his mouth. lives up to his official name, gcldfish. He is the bright, shining color which made these fish famous the world over. The Little One is gold also. but is about half the size of the Middle-Sized e. These fish seemingly have enjoyed themselves in their' new home, which they share with the clams, a water poppy, a cat-tail, a snail and a minia- ture water lily. The cat-tail, reaching a stature of nearly 6 feet, had kittens recently, sending up two shoots at one side of the pool. These reached the height of 2 feet in & few days and were remark- ably thick. Templeton Jones is willing to admit to all Interested that the cat-call, while & most thriving and interesting plant, was a mistake for a small pool. It would do better for the center of a large round pond, where it could grow to its heart's content In the Jonesian pool it simply steals the nourishment away from the water lily. Unless the latter picks up consider- ably in its growth, Jones says, it will be a failure. Its leaves were pretty enough until about a week ago. when they seemed to develop & sort of rust on the upper surfaces. - If it does not bloom. that in itself will prove nothing much, for many of the water lilies do not bloom until their second year after planting in a home pool Whether they are shy, or were sent out in an undeveioped stage, makes 1o difTerence after all The first and only flower to show irs head in the Jones pool was a blos- som of the water poppy, which ap- peared for a few hours one Sunday recently, then closed up forever. It was a most interesting flower, be- cause it had but three petals, a some- what unusual arrangement. It was held racher high off the water and was {of a very pale vellow, greatly resem- I bling in this respect the blossoms of | the evening primrose, whose flowers ! have four petals. Unlike water lily blossoms. which | close in the evening to unfurl again in | the morning, the lone water poppy flower was but for a day, refusing to uncurl the next Templeton Jones looked at his cat- ! tail and family and placed the biame upon them. Surely they were reaching their long roots into the recesses of | the earth and sand. abstracting there- | from large quaniities of bone meal ! which had been intended for the water | illy. As Jones looked he made up his mind to one thing. Next year he would re- | vise the inhabitants of the pool. not | select such large growers, go in for { things on a smaller scale. Too often the beginner, unable to find precise directions. chooses plants to suit his own fancy. and thereby makes one or more mistakes. WASHINGTON BY FREDERIC ‘To this observer comes the interest- ing. mot to say sensational, report that President Hoover has offered, or will offer, the presidency of the Reconstruc- tion Finance Corporation to Alfred E. Smith. The impiications of such an appointment at this time would be enor- mous. As to its popularity in wide sec- tions of the country. Republican as well as Democratic. there would not be the slightest doubt. As to Gov. Smith's capacity for the job recently filled bv Gen. Dawes. there is equally small question. Little that an incumbent President running for re-election does in midcampaign is devoid of political bearing. so Mr. Hoover's offer of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation post to Smith would be inevitably inter- preted as a bid for the good will of Al's supporters who have not yet come over into the Roosevelt camp. The state- ment that the appcintment is in_ the wind originates in quarters which strongly suggest that it has more than a vestive of foundetion. Gov. Smith's friends asserted at Chicago that he 1ooks upon the management of the Em- pire State Building in New York as a man-sized business and feels it up to bim to put Manhattan's tallest sky- scraper on a paying basis, where it isn't vet. Al is still talked about, too, as the next mayor of the big t:l}t ox % Many eyebrows in Washington were raised_this week by a news dispatch from Dallas, stating thet for 50 miles east of the Texas metropolis Speaker Garner's train was convoyed by a fleet of nine Army planes. There seems to be romething wrong about that. Over at the War Department, where that perfectly good Republican. Secre- tary Pat Hutley. is monarch of all he surveys, including the Army Air Corps, 1 it is vehemently denied that Army ai | craft is ever used to convoy any po tician, Republican or Democrat. Near Dallas is a National Quard air unit. which uses Army reserve ships. and it's possible that some of these, manned by Mr. Garner's fellow Texans. may have | done escort duty when he was welcomed | to native haunts. ! R | Senator Henrik Shipstead of Minne- | <ota. Farmer-Labor lone eazle of the United States Senate, observes with satisfaction that the adjournment of any other excitement in Wall Street this week. . Mr. Shipstead has always bitterly resented the popular belief that adjourtment. He particularly scouted this year's theory that depression would vanish like an icicle in mid-July the moment the recent session of House and Senate wound up. The tall syca- more from the gopher country will not be surprised if the President finds it necessary to reconvene Congress in 60 days to minister to urgent national needs. . “I hope not” says Senator Shipstead. “but I am’ prepared to be dissppoinied.” " President Harmodio Arias, President- elect of Panama. who has just reached Washingion. s a gentleman of signt h que and notable intellectual at- tainments. For many vears Dr. Arias ama and is a former member of the National Congress. He is 46 years old and was Provisional President for a fortnight following the revclution in January, 1931, which set up a reform administration and recalled Minister Ricardo J. Alfaro from Washington to assume the leadership of the govern- | ment. Dr. Arias was elected President Alfaro's successor last month and will take office October 1. Just about the time he was taking ship for New York last week. 3.000 Panamans marched to the presidential palace in Panama ‘The Middle-Sized One more nell’l)’l Congress produced neither a rally nor | business is good when Congress is in, has been the leading attorney of Pan- BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. | . It Jones had deliberately been choos- ing plants for a veritable pond, he | could not have selected those more ap- propriate for a large expanse of water. |~ The water hyacinth, a floater, he dis- | carded & month or s0 ago, because it | was growing over the entire surface of | the pool. and many of its leaves were in a yellow condition. This state of | affairs no doubt was aided by the gold- | fish, which kept nibbling at the roots. | The water poppy, which would be a | nice plant for a I l, was just a bit too much of & thing for one | the size of the Jones water garden. As for the cat-tail, was it not the | old bulrush of the Bible, among which | Moses was found? That should give it a growing status, indeed, and the | Jones specimen fully lived up to its reputation. We see that the small pond had | worked itself out, naturally enough. |into a cat-tail and goldfish pool, with the water lily, which was intended to be the centerplece, occupying & minor position. | The tadpoles long ago had succumbed nd had not been replaced. What would be the use? At least so thought Jones, and probably he was right. The black snails had departed one by one, succumbing to causes unknown. | "The fish thrived and grew fat on| | their diet of prepared food and angle | worms. How they loved fishin' worms! An carthworm was the full equivalent of a 10-course meal to & goldfish, evidently. The Big One, the Middle-Sized One, the Little One, each opened his mouth | as far as he could, when a segment of angle worm was tossed into the pool. Now when the Big One opened his mouth it seemed as if the entire front of his head was coming apart. Much the same could be said for the two other fish, except that the Little One, probably owing to his size, did not seem quite as mouthlike, as he ! made & dart at the worm. The advent | |of the creeper, very much out of its clement. spurred the goldfish on to their quickest darting. The speed at- tained by these bright fish has been discussed in this column before. At that time we made a guess of 30 miles | an hour, as time goes on we would be inclined to increase it, rather than lower the speed. Goldfish are able to turn_squarely in their tracks. and execute a flip across & pool %o quickly that the eye cennot follow them. In other words. one sec- ond they are at one side, the next at the other, and the watcher has not been able to say exactly how the change was made. Whether the fish smell the worm. or see it, or have some other way of being apprised of its presence, the average owner of a water lily pool will not be able to & but of cne thing he is sure. and that is that they do know, and act accordingly. Their eyes are surely large enough to enable them to see all that looms zbove thelr home. but their lack of brains probably deprives them of any ability whatsoever at putting two and two together, even when it comes t feeding. It is true that when they are fed on’a regular schedule they seem to know when to come to the surface, but after they are used to their quar ters they will do this. anyway, even darting up for & finger poked in the water at them. Jones had seen his goldfish repeated- ly rise to the surface and poke their noses in the direction of the family cat. sitting on the edge of the pool The cat registered great interest. but restrained fitself, being a well trained cat. but the Big One. the Middle-8ized One and the Little One seemed to re- gard it as a_possible source of food. The Big One stuck its snout above water and blew a few bubbles play fully in the direction of the cat. The latter stopped watching the arrow of red. for the time being, and followed the trail of air. The Little One burst the surface and added a quota of bubbles. But the Middle-Sized One. manifesting at least a grain of piscatorial sense. went and hid beneath the 0o profuse growth of one of the oxygenating plants. OBSERVATIONS WILLIAM WILE. City in protest against an order just is- | sted by President Hoover. The order in- corporated 4'; miles more of tarritory in ihe Canal Zone. The demonstratcrs declared that the decree which gave| Jurisdiction over the strip in question— the roadway adjacent to the Madden dam—was the result of negotiations conducted behind the country's back. | (' oo o Senator David A. Reed. Republican. | of Pennsylvania, is one of the vanguard of members of Congress who, despite depression, are touring Europe this Summer. ' He salls next week. The Pittsburgh statesman is a member of Senate Committees — Military Affairs, Finance and Foreign Relations—which will be in the thick of things at Wash- | Ington next Winter. While pleasure i his principal pursuit “over there.” Reed hopes to come home in the Fall loaded with up-to-date dope on the European situetion, particularly re- specting debts and armaments. Inci- dentally. he and Mrs. Reed will renew | many pleasant ties formed in_august political circles when the Senator was | in London at the 1930 naval conference. | *ox %o No subordinate division of the Gov- | ernment at Washington has grown in siz> or expanded in usefulness more rapidly than the fingerprint branch of the United States Bureau of Investiga- tion. Established in 1924 by J. Edgar Hoover, director of the bureau in the Department of Justice, there were re-' ceived in 1932 a total of 573.731 finger- | prints. as compared to 87.918 in 1924. During the same period the number of identifications made rose from 12.684 eight_years ago to 208.715 last year. Mr. Hoover now has on file 3.078.572 fingerprints. It is considered by Au- thorities a phenomenal development of this particular phase of Uncle Sam's law enforcement work. ' * xox In Washington there’s a high Gov- ernment official who says th> recent all- | night session of the Democratic mn-‘P vention in Chicago wasn't a flea bit compared to the siege the Dem | cratic Resolutions Cemmittee underwent | at the 1904 St. Louis convention, which nominated Alton B. Parker for Presi dent. It sat uninterruptedly from 9 a.m. on Tuesday until 6 p.m. on Thurs- two whole days and nights. The aly breaks were for food. No time off was taken for sleep. It was the wrangle over the gold and silver plank that deadlocked the committee for 57 hours. This is beiieved to mark an all-time convention record. The Federal official who recalls the episode was a member of the Resolutions Committee in ques- tion. * ook ok | | Just before Congress journed, a | certain Senate committee directly con- cerned with at least three-quarters of | the $4,500,000,000 recently appropriated | for varfous relief purposes, wasted 20 minutes over a $44 expense item. It was & bill for public stenographic serv- ice in New York. A well known sen- atorial watchdog of the Treasury thought it was t0o much. and on his motion. and "after much haggling, it Wwas returned with a request for a Te- bate. (Copyright, '932.) | — e It Might Work. From the Minneapolis Journal. A few optimistic persons still hope to get their letters through on two-cent | stampe. ————— | Hardened. From the Dviuth Herald. | We have become so accustomed to | submission that resubmission should not eriously disturius. Pleads to Prevent Potomac Pollution To the Editor of The Btar: Our Potomac River, with its wondrous waterfalls and cataracts, its island gems and bay mirrors, 18 the most fascinating attraction of our National Capital. In the charming waters of Potomac are reflected the stately monuments of our great Presidents and on its banks are sleeping in their last sleep our heroes— the unknown one—who have :t‘an their all to this land of the free and home of the brave. Its expansive reaches are spanned by graceful bridges, costing m! dollars. Along its lovely shores and over its enchanting bays runs the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway—the most_exquisite Toad ever built by man. Our Potomac furnishes a captivating playground for us all—resident citizen and tourist, young and old—where we may go rowing, sailing, canoeing. motor boating, picnicking, swimming, fishing, ete. But now our Potomac appears as a sewage ditch! For we, the resident citizens of the National Capital and land, have made it so. We dump and discharge our industrial waste an human sewage into its waters. We do this knowing full well that the pollu- tion of public waterways and water- playgrounds is below common decency is detrimental to public interest and & menace to public health: that it de- stroys natural beauty by driving awav shore and water animals; it ruins their natural food, such as aquatic wild grains and grasses, and that it also does away water lilies and others. This all means a great loss of esthetic value along the Potomac. Then. too, the industrial waste dumped into the Potomac causes real estatc damage to Washington and other communities perched on its banks. the Potomac River day and night in unrestricted huge volume. Who cares to swim in such horri¢ waters, or who cares to fish in them? Many cities in this country and in foreign countries, though poor thev may be, have cleaned up their stream and waterfronts by building and ma taining sewage and waste disposa’ plants. But why have we not cleaned up Potomac before, and why are we not doing it now? Why such a scandal! Is there any bullding and maintaining sewage dis- posal plants? Our dangerous and ugly neglect is perhape, explained by our inertia and lack of will power. PETER A. SPEEK. Filipinos Are Entitled To Their Independence To the Bditor of The Btar Abandonment by the Senate for the session of further consideration of the jHAwu-Cumnu Philippine bill is tanta- !ican dignity and altruism vho claim economic stability as the | determining factor of Filipino freedom | have lost sight of the fact that Ameri- an policy toward the Filipino people 18 “to introduce and develop the basic | conceptions of free government.” The | Filipinos have already worked out and |a free-governing and | existence. The advocacy of the eco- smic problem is entirely out of con- ideration in the solution of the Phil ippine question. That phase of th~ independence problem is to be wholly in the hands of the people after the grant of their coveted and much-sought freedom, which prob- {lem will be better worked cut and pro- ‘moted by them under an indcpendent I status, for they would then be in a | position _to _develop their coun such fashion as they would see fit bring ebout their economic salvaticn No_ right-thinking person will deny I the fact that economic independence or self-sufficiency has been reached b hardly any country in the history of the world. The Philippines canno reach that stage even if they remain forever under the influence of Ameri- | can tutelage. The Filipinos believe that they can face and stand the bit- ter turmoils of economic indepencence as much as the world tod: and they are as much tling economic derangements. The American Senate, in sidetrack- ing and pigeonholing thc Philipp of the Btates of Virginia and Mary- | with the beautiful plants, such as reeds, | { i the name shortage of hands for| A. To the daughter of Princess Bea- | Rain water is not distilled water. B mount to a clear renunciation of Amer- A Opponents of the Philippine inde- | dates back 1o | pendence measure, more or less those | 15 the comm | | are ready to assume the acid tests of | indepencent | lefi | Pilipino | 3, ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Stop a minute and think about this fact. Bureau any question of fact and get the answer back in & personal letter. It is a great educational idea intro- duced into the lives of the most in- telligent people in the world—Ameri- can newspaper readers. It is a part of that best purpose of & newspaper— service. There is no charge except 3 cents in coln or stamps for seturn postage. Get the habit of asking Address your letter to The ngton Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washing- ton, D. C. Q When did Babe Ruth make his | 600th home run?—T. M A. On August 21, 1931, in St. Louls, he made his 600th home run in major league base ball. He gave the boy who retideved it $10, as Ruth wished to keep the ball as a souvenir. Q. What was the value of foreign goods imported into the United States in May of this year?—A. E. C. A. The Department of Commerce says that 1t was $112.274,000. Q. By what precious stone in_the breastpiate of Aaron was the royal family of Judsh represented>—S. H A. The stone representing the tribo of Judah in the breastplate of the high priest was an emerald. Q. Please describe a praying mantis. A A In appearance. it is quite unlike any other insect. The head pivots in all directions on a thread-like neck The body is very long and slender and is supported by six long legs, the front pair of which are used for grasping its rey. When in repose these front legs Still worse conditions are created by are held in the position a person as- the discharge of human sewage into sumes when kneeiing to pray. When il grown the insect is about 3 inches long and a pale green color. Q. What is the origin of the expres- sion, “Wet as a drowned rat"?— W. H. C. A Like many obvious similes. the exact or'gin is not known, but this ex- pression appears in literature as early as 1500, Q. To whom did Queen Victoria_ give “the Jubllee baby"?—G. C trice-now the former Queen of Spain. Q. Is rain water or melted manu- faciured ice distilled water’—T. H. F. A. Melted manufactured ice is not distilled water unless the ice was orig- inaily frozen from water 8o prepared. Dis- tillation 15 the process of heating im- pure water in one vessel and condens- ing the vapor in another. many partners are there in n & Co.”—C. C. H. are 20 in the list. Q. Please give the the Olympic games.— 4 The origin of Olympic games mote antiquity. pric ‘ment of the histor era in Greece, and by the Greeks them- selves wa: ibuted in various tradi- tions to a d source. Thev were generally held in midsummer. For the first thirteen Olympiads there was onlv one contest, a foot race. In ccurse of time the number was mncreased to 24, shorter and lenger foot races g. boxing chariot racing. horee racing. foot racing in heavy ermor, etc The prize avarded to the victors was of wild olive. Necne but pure descent were allowed e to take part in the games, conquest of Greece by the Romans. when the latter were admitted The ancient Olympic games died out in the fourth eentury A. D. 2nd were no revived until 1896. when the first of a new series were held in Athens. b3 A. There early history of . E. J You can ask our Information | | Q. Where is Ma). Andre burled?— M. S A, In 1821, his body was burled in Westminster Abbey. [ | Q. In “Caliban Upon Setebos™” Brown- ing uses an apostrophe at the beginning of nearly every sentence. Why does he do this?—D. K. A. The pronoun referring to Caliban is omitted where the apostrophe is thus used. Writing of it, George B Ives seys that, 8o far as his experience is concerned, this is a unique cas of the use of this device, Ives disapproves of it. Q. How many cases of Kidnaping have there been in the United States recently?—B. G. A. Joseph A. Gerk, chief of police of 8t. Louis, in February. 1932, told Con- gress that there were 282 cases of Kic- naping reported officially in 28 of the 48 States in 1931 and at least 3002 cases not reported. Gerk’s survey re- vealed that although some 2000 were actively and gainfully employed in kidnaping in 1931, only 65 were con- victed. Q. How far can a man walk daily ver a period of weeks?—W. O. A. Edward Payson Weston walked 50 miles & day for 100 days between 1883 and 1884. With modern improved ~oads, it is probable that this record could now be slightly improved. ov Q. What were the season’s best plays? —8. G A. Burns Mantle lists the best pla; of 1931-2 as follows: “Of Thee I Sing by Grorge S. Kaufman and Morria Ryskind, with music by George Gers win and lyrics by Ira Gershwin; “Mourning Becomes Electra by Ei gene O'Neill: “Reunion in Vienn Robert E. Sherwood: “The H Connelly,” by Paul Green: “Tt mal Kingdom.” by Philip Barry. “TI Left Bank.” by Elmer Rice. “Another Language.” by Rose Franken: “Brief Moment,” by S. N. Behrman: “The Devil Passes.” by Benn W. Levy, and “Cynara H. M. Harwood and R. F. Gorz-Browne. Q. What do the letters “F stand for on the banners Columbus when he landed Salvador>—N. D A. The letter names of Ferdinand an. latter name is not infrequentl with “¥.” Q. Wil awarded this The future p of the Edicon 8cholarthip Committee have not been announced. Q. Why is Indian Summer sometimes called St. Martin's Summer?—S. McC. A. The legend of St. Martin relates how on & cold November dav Martin saw 8 beggir crou ch door shivering. Martin tore his cloak in two and gave half to the beggar This half wermth provided gave its name to St. Martin's Summer. a semi- Summer, which occurs in November. Q. What country has been called “the land of rocks ard stones and sanguinary feuds™>—R. M A. Afghanistan. Q1 seren + and “Y" used at San The pellad be scholarships se glass jar tops in nn contents zre hot. W the tops an cxtra tur the canned goods spoils wrorg?—S. V. M A Y the real. A sealed. you sheuld the caps when cold ~sull_much of What 18 ™ there the most accidental BT A. Julv heads the list. June is second, August third and May fourth Rapid Change in Liquor Laws Is Subject of Warm Debate v other free people in | courageous as any American in wres- | | Senator Bingham of Conn question, has made a cowardly retreat | from the priceless principles of libarty for which that greatest of Americans— George Washington—fought and domineering and ruling nations. failure on the part of the Senate body o fi a definite solution of the Philip- pine problem leaves America under the mocking rebuke and criticism of the iTest of the world. LEON DIAZ FRIGILLANA. - Protests the Continued Presence of Marchers To the Editor of The Star Your recent editorial “Congress Should Act” is most commendablc. I quite agree Congress should have dealt firmly with the veteran problem. I it is not expedient to pav the bonus now as demanded. snd evidently it is in-! Istalled as an ingenious challenge to ‘This | not. then they should not be permitted | to remain here a burden on the D.s trict. Of course. they have the sympa- thy of the public, but they should realize that their position is similar to millions of others also deservin | have to grin and bear with the times. | If they are as patriotic as when they sailed away to France I believe they will forego kicking Uncle Sam while he s down and accept the courtesy of | sending them back on the cushions in- | stead of later having to bum their way As already suggested. some of them might be again inducted into service. It seems as though some of the Regular Army might be furloughed and fill in the gap with thess fellows who have no home or dependents. I am inclined to think manv of the vet- erans were pe:suaded here against their better judgment by would-be po- | litical climbers. PERRY F. SKINNER. otomac Power Project Urged as Relief Work ! To the Editor of The Star Among the projects that will be pre- sented to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation as shown In The Sunday Star is the water supply of the Sani- _tary District of Maryland in this metro- politan area. The map shows only too clearly that this problem is natu- rally linked with the development of the Great Falls on the Potomac. If a hydro-electric development with .the, necessary dams were constructed. sufficlent water would be provided for this metropolitan area of Washington as well as a large horsepower in elec- tricity, which is necessary to the proper development of industries fn this terri- o Ty. Many industries that are clean and noiseless, using electricity for power, could take advantage of the wonder- ful water transportation available here : for distribution along the Atlantic sea- board, Why should the native children of this territory be ccmpelled to emigrate when they become wage earners? Thic project would give much-needed em- ployment during construction and in- dizectly ever afterward. This could be financed by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and should be pro- moted by private enterprise. DILWORTH POWELL. ———or—s. Chronic Takers. From the Hamliton (Ohio) Evening Journal. “The art of receiving gifts”’ is said to be taught in a girls' schoel in Paris, but the course certainly is not predi- cated on the theory that they ever fail to take them. the | | that “the only Efforts by members of both parties to bring the liguor question to a vote in Congress in ihe last days of its session have become the subject of warm de- bate throughout the country. With cut, Re- publican. proposing changes in the Vol- stead law, and Senator Glass of Vir- ginia. Democrat, introducing a measure looking to repeal of the eighteenth amendment. it is generally felt that, in view of the wet planks of both party platforms. the moves were entirely litical in character. with a view to plac- ing the members of Congress on record for campaign purposes. Some opinion upholds the slow process of constitu- tional change. The Bingham measure, attached as a rider to the home loan bank bill. is de- clared by the Lexington Leader (Re- publican) to raice the question of viola- tion of the Constitution, and that paper feels that “neither Republicans nor Democrats have any intention of modi- fying the Volsts act at this time.” It contends that “members of neither party believe that the party platforms make it incumbent upon them to vote against their convicions.” The Rutland Herald (independent Republican) feels that “the serious problem of govern- ment known as national prohibition ought not to be sniped at.” as it “calls for the heaviest artillery at the com- mand of both si " and is convinced to settle it is for Congress to adopt a resolution repeal- ing the eighteenth amendment, and for that resolution to be ratified or repu- | diated by the people of the several States through conventions crlled for the pur- e * ok % % “Since no form of submission or re- peal or change of aay kind will be sub- mitted to the States until the new Con- gress is elected and meets.” says the ke World-News (Democratic), “there will be ample time for a full and free discustion of the form that refer- endum is to take.” The World-News gives the analysis of the Glass propos- al t does three things. It repeals the present eighteenth amendment and substitutes a new one. It provides in that new one that nowhere in the United States or its dependencies may | any alcoholic beverages «be sold to be drunk on the premises. thus imposing a direct constitutional barrier to the re- | turn of the saloon and making the speakeasy as much of an outlaw as it is at present. It gives constitutional authority and pledges the efforts of the Federal = Government to protect dry States from their wet neighbors. “The fact is.” thinks the Youngstown Vindicator (independent Democratic), “prohibition is so deeply imbedded in the Constitution that it is going to take more than a vote of Congress to get it out.” The Cakland Tribune (Repub- lican), howcver, finds that “the attempt to pass the legalized beer bill in Con- gress was decidedly embarrassing.” for “members there could not aj measure without reversing their attitude as expressed during the same session.” | The Tribune adds: “Democrats, voting it down, had to turn their backs on the plank in their platform. It is a long road bewween a Chicago convention hall and |!le Democratic majority in Con- Bress LR Contention that the Bingham meas- should ot been attached a5 a rider to the home loan bill is made by the Topeka Dally Capital (Re- publican’ and the Oshkosh Daily Northe | western (Republican), The charge that Senator Glass, by advocating the elimi- nation of the saloon, is not in harmeny with the platform of his own party is made by several papers. The Boston Transcript (independent Republican), comments: “The crux of the situation is the doubt in the minds of many whether prohibition of the saloon should | be embodied in another constitutional amendment or the States themselves should outlaw the institution through their own action. The achool who be- lieves that tigg old-fashioned saloon can be kept out better by police forces th: the Federal Gov- ernment is a le Tt ubli- cans would have the Federal Govern- ment continue the atiempt. The Demo- crats ‘pledg efforts’ to induce the States to legisiate against the sa- loon. That is the vital distinction be- tween the two pe with the Demo- cratic Senator Glass already kicking over his party traces.” * ox o ox That Senator Glass “bolts the plat- form whi porting the Democratic ticket” is the belief of the Sioux Falls us-Leader (indcpendent Republican), ile the Hartford Daily Times (inde- pendent Democratic), savs of the situa- tion: “If we are to change the eight- | eenth amendment. the Glass proposal will appeal to many citizens because it writes the ban against the saloon into the Constitution itself and does not leave it to chance that the States will take appropriate action. Per contra those who object that the eighteenth amendment is a police regulation, with no prover place in the Constitution, are likely to feel that the Glass plan per- petuates the same mistake. It is, per- haps. well to have a definite proposal before Congress as the presidential cam- paign is about to start. We see noth- ing in the situation. however which sug- gests that a proposal to repeal the eighteenth amendment, or to enact a substitute, can secure a two-thirds vote in either House of Congress at present. The Glass proposal probably would offer as satisfactory a test as is likely devised.” “The issue really goes to the Ameri- can voters, and that may prove the wisest course. after all.” as viewed by the Rock Island Argus (independent). The Indianapolis News (independent Re- publican) offers the opinion: “Senator Bingham's rider went to its death by a vote of 50 to 25. Only 11 Democrats voted for immediate beer and 24 voted against it. In response to his taunts, emocratic Senators explained that ‘im- mediate’ m er November elections, if the Democrats win. So it appears that the demand for immediate congressional action to legalize beer was for the purpose of obtaining votes rather | than getting beer.” In view of Democratic hopes in the election campaign. the New York Sun (independent) comments: “With the Democratic party in_ posscssion of the executive and the legislative depart- ments of the Government. the wet North wil] look for repeal in jig time. If it should not get it the reaction would be so great that faith in the Democratic party would be lost for years. The people would say that the Democratic Convention of 1932 had its | fingers crossed.” _— State and local Inhumane Treatment Of Unwanted Animals To the Editor of The Star: May I have & little space in your valued paper to protest against the in- human practice people have in getting rid of animals? Last week my son saw & bunch of kittens some one had dropped In the hollow. One had been killed by an automobile. Yesterday an- other of these same kittens, I take it, found its way to my home. and had I not been able to hear its first cry and call my dogs they would have torn it to pleces. Fortunately, it was not even scratched. It was a very tame and half-grown kitten. How any cne can be so inhuman as to drop animals out in the country, or anywhere elss, far that matter, I can't imagine. Surely jt !1s far more humane to have them put to sleep by the Animal Rescue League than to leave them to their awful fate here in the country. a thing that is done repeatedly by many. I can truth- fully say also that it is just as bad as to give it to just some one regardless as to how 1t will be treated. HELEN J. BEALL. rove the |