Evening Star Newspaper, July 25, 1932, Page 8

THE ' EVENING STAR, WASHINGTO D. C, MONDAY, JULY 25 1932 A8 ______THE EVENING STAR’ WASHINGTON, D. O, MONDAY, JULY 25 1088 e Political Mill | THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY..........July 25, 1832 TIEODORE W. NOYES. The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Cffce: ke Michigan Buildine. Chicako Office: Lake Michigan 3 European Cfice; 14, Regeat 5t.. Landon. ngland. Rate by Carrier Within the City. h v z ar 45c per month Sunday ‘Star d Sunday Star ays) % 60c per menth ny nd: 65¢ oer month day Star ... ... Sc per copy fon made at the end of cach month. | nay be sent in by mail or telepnone 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Mar land and Virgi Deily und Sunday Daily ‘or mo., 8¢ S 0., 50¢ Sunday only . 36.0 mo.. (¥ 3300 1 mox 40 All Other States and Canada. Daily and Sunday..l $12.00: 1 mo.. $1.00 | (135 5800: 1 mo. 75 $5.00: 1 mo.. 50c Member of the Associated Press. he Associated Press is exclusively ent itled ¢ republication of ail news ris- edited to it or not otherwise cred- the Half a Loaf at Geneva. Six months of well intentioned effort but only meager accomplishment have | me to an end at Geneva, and the World Conference on Disarmament has adjourhed. It has not folded up its tents sine die. A recess resolution, in- corporating the “maximum of general accord” obtainable now, provides for & reconvening of the conference in Janu- v, 1933. Meantime the arms truce, inally fixed for the duration of the cneva meeting, is extended to cover the period of the recess. The world at large is not much con- c-rned with the various technical points | on which the conferees were able to cgree. Each of them is important in | jicelf, but they do not go to the root of the disarmament problem. They fix certain limitations on the use of bomb- ing aircraft, lethal gas, heavy artillery and tanks and in some other directions scck to minimize so-called aggressive warfare. Mars, on the whole, emerges from Geneva with little of his power | for evil impaired. Not a nation at the conference is deprived by its “maximum accord” from striking about as heavy a blow at a poteftial foe as before the much-heralded “greatest parliament of | man” unfurled its standards with so | promising & flourish of trumpets last | February. Yet, as in most of the affairs of men, balf a loaf at Geneva is better than no disarmament bread at all. The con- ference may be fairly described as an incomplete success. It is beside the| mark to stigmatize it as a total failure. Disarmament is not a Rome that can | be built in a day. Its facets are to0 many, its technical aspects too compli- cated, the selfish interests of different countries too insuperable to expect that generations of war psychology can be | cbliterated in half a year cf peace- mindedness. Unfortunately, Geneva broke up in ciszord. The conference adopted, forty-one to two, the general accord | Zor taking up in January where things | gre left off in July, but Germany and| Russia dissented and eight other na- tions abstained from voting, including; Italy and Japen. Yet the world's three most strongly armed countries—Great Britain, France and the United States —accept the final deocision whole- heartedly and by that token are formally pledged to real, substantial and fuil limitation of their sea, land and air forces. The attitude of Ger- many, Russia, Italy and Japan, Geneva dispatches indicate, has strengthened the determination of the two Eng]l.s)h‘ epeaking powers and France to pursue their goal intensively and in unison. They will do so, apparently, within| the framework of the recent Hoover proposal that all countries should cut, their armed establishments by a flat one-third all along the armaments| line. ‘The Hoover plan failed of edoption at Geneva, but the world's hope that it, or something approximat- ing it, may eventually ensue lies in the fact that the President’s program | remains the real basis of continu- | ing negotiation. The conference recess 15 to be employed by all concerned to | make its re:lization more practicable than proved possible this Summer. America is entitled to be disap- pointed that immediate results are not farther-reaching, but the time has not yet ¢ome to throw up the disarma- ment sponge e = So far the people who appear to have | €ert most comfort from peace nego- tiations are the ccurteous and deserving Ewiss hotel keepers. r————— Two Local Budgets Needed. The Commissioners’ experiment this | year in the formation of an “Econcmy | Committ ise the department heads in keeping down their preliminary estimates seems to be producing results | already. As everybody knows, these | preliminary estimates are usually drawn | in a spirit of unbounded optimism by department heads who know that their requested totals will be cut many times before they ever reach the committees of Congress, and who make them, there- fore, as large as possible in the begin- ning in order better to stand up under the trimming proce: This year the Committee” at the District s held hearings with the heads of the departments, questioning each item submitted and allowing only justified by necessity place on the list that finally will b handed over to the Commissioners While these preliminary estimates last vear reached a total of $57,000,000, they have already becn cut to about $47,000,- €00 and the end is not yet. With the lump sum temporar @uced and with the District’s cash op- erating surplus practically wiped out and revenues from local taxation falling of, the need for economy is obvious. “The Commissioners and the Budget Bu- ' yeau must confine the local budget to drastically curtailed revenue availability and anticipate nothing beyond what can be raised under the present system of fiscal relations. This, in itself, is an obviously simple task. It merely means the arbitrary elimination of all items that cannot be financed under the pres- ent program. But the Commissioners have an added Tesponsibility that is not met by their draft of the formal list of items to be those {or the District for the cw:rent vear was L] to find a| brought about as & contribution to Fed- | dearth of whose products has created a eral budget balancing, but at the cost of putting aside, for the immediate present, & number of important mu- nicipal projects. Such arbitrary elimi- nations, however, mean the accumula- tion of needs for future financing, and | these postponements cannot be made indefinitely. ‘The Commissioners this year should be ready for Congress in December with two municipal budgets—one of them fulfilling the formal requirements of listing those projects that can be financed without increasing the cur- rent year's allotment of revenue, the other listing those items that are neces- sary for normal, ordinary development of the Capital, but which cannot be financed under a system of fiscal rela- tions that permits the Federal Govern- ment to repudiate at will its fixed cbligations. e Borah Leads the Way. Senator Willilam E. Borah lifts a powerful voice in the interests of in- ternational harmony. Only out of such harmony can come, in the opinion of the chairman of the Senate Foreign Re- lations Committee, revival of world trade, the return of millions to fac- tory and bench and to the farm. If Senator Borah was ever at heart an “isolationist” he has at last written that off the books. He has always had at heart the interests of the American people, and it is in their interests now that he proposes an immediate inter- national economic conference, to search deeply into the needs of all nations and to bring unity of action for the benefit of all. Practical or not, it is & great conception. Apparently in the mind of Senator Borah the time has at last arrived When such an attempt may be made with recent Lausanne conference the devel- opment of & new spirit among the na- tions of Europe, & desire for peace and for new adjustments. “That which gives hope,” he says, “the promise of & new era, is the spirit which came finally to pervade the conference. The old deadly doctrine of ‘strict executions’ died at Lausanne, and for that let the world rejoice. The Versailles treaty is no longer sacred.” The willingness of France and Eng- land to act in friendly accord to meet. the economic situation; the willingness of the allies to pare down the German reparations fixed in 1921 at $31,680- 000,000 to & mere $714,000,000, are, ac- cording to the Idaho Senator, evidences of a new and beneficial spirit growing up in Europe. With regard to the debts owed the United States by the nations of Europe, growing out of the World War and out of post-war-loans by this country to aid the allied nations, Senator Borah is willing to go to the length of revision or even cancellation, provided America can gain in the end from a real revival of world trade. He is apparently con- vinced that the great depression which has gripped this country as well as the cther nations of the world is something that can be dealt with only through concerted action. For that reason, he proposes the calling of an international conference, not next Winter, not next year, but now. At this conference he would have the nations deal with the problems of reparations and debts, dis- armament, the re-establishment of the gold standard—from which thirty-one nations today have removed themselves —the stabilization of silver in the Ori- ent, and “possibly other questions.” Senator Borah, inveterate foe of the Versailles treaty and the League of Na- tions covenant, has been regarded as an irrecchcilable isolationist. But, despite his frequent declarations that the United States has nothing to do with main aloof from them, the Senator has a record for far-seeing and far-reaching proposals to bring the nations of the world into accord. He was the original proposer of an international conference on naval arms limitation, a proposal that eventually was adopted by Presi- dent Harding and resulted irf the Wash- ington conference in 1921-22. In Jan- uary, 1925, Senator Borah was vitally interested in the calling of an inter- national economic conference to deal with the adjustment of economic prob- lems, international debts and arma- ments. In his proposal now for an economic conference and his willingness to can- cel debts owed this country Senator Borah lays down the flat condition that there must be real disarmament agree- ments, as well as cancellation of re- parations and the breaking down of some of the provisions of the Versailles treaty. European nations must under- stand that if Senator Borah is to go along with them they must come to some agreement on these matters. At the close of the World War the Jate William Jennings Bryan suggested the cancellation of the debts owed this country by the allied nations. There was an immediate uproar. Had Mr. Bryan suggested the cancellation of | German reparations, too, there would have been even more uproar, but from a European quarter. Perhaps at last the way may be open for such a con- clusion of the World War as Mr. Borah + now visualizes. ) The affable King of Siam is by no means the first monarch who welcomed an opportunity to step gracefully from a throne without waiting to be shoved. Evolution in Russia, ‘The history of Communism in Russia during its nearly fifteen vears of estab- lishment has been marked by repeated | recessions from the original principles of collectivism. Lenin started the process, a few years after the revolution, with his *ney economic policy,” which materially altered the basis of Soviet control of the | Russian people. From time to time | other changes have occurred in principle |and practice tending toward a larger | degree of individual initiative and re~ ward. The latest of these steps toward liberalization has just been taken in the promulgation of & decree extending | the rights of the Artisans’ Co-operative | Associations. Hereafter, it is reported | from Mcscow, such organizations, which produce a large part of the goods of every-day consumption, can buy certain kinds of raw material from the state supply organizations and can charge whatever prices they like for goods made some chance of success. He sees in the |, yygepengent, he must take a careful the quarrels of Europe and must Te- serious economic problem. In recent months decrees have been issued giving peasants a greater degree of liberty in selling their goods in the open markets. It is the judgment of many who have studied the Soviet experiment, both from s distance and at first hand in Russia, that this evolution will steadily proceed until the ideal of the strict control of the people through virtually self-selected commissars has been Tre- placed by only moderately directed in- dividualism, with the central organi-. zation acting as guide rather than dic- tator. The literal application of the princi- ples of communism as conceived by | | Lenin and his associates in the estab- lishment of the Soviet state would have created two planes of pressure upon the people, one from below to raise them from helpless subservience and a low economic condition and the other from above to prevent their advance as in- dividuals beyond a prescribed level. With virtually universal education pro- |vided by Soviet-controlled schools it was inevitable that individualism would result. It was merely a question of how long it would be before the awakened | millions, however strictly trained in communistic beliefs, would remain con- tent to be restrained from seeking op- portunities for betterment of their con- dition beyond the limits imposed. new generation has now come upon the scene, not yet fully evolved into con- scious citizenship, but on the way to that stage at which the natural human disposition toward competition for ad- vancement will manifest itself. r—e———— A return to Towa will enable Senator Brookhart to decide how much demand there is for him to run as an independ- ent. In politics, before a man can feel warranted in asserting himself as census of those on whom he can depend. And even then there is always & chance | of his figures going wrong. et Racketeers are promoting the enter- prise of smuggling aliens to compete with American working men for available jobs. In addition to being viclous, the racketeer is painfully versatile. A e A determined attack on crime is plainly under way. Even though his wishes were not consulted in the matter, Al Capone could not have selected a more desirable time for residence in | high-walled seclusion. e r——————— Efforts to re-establish Germany in ways of thrift and good order do mot | find as much encouragement as is desirable in the persistent determina- tion to play flerce politics in local affairs. —r————————— An effort is being made to persuade the Prussian Socialists to be guided by the example of G. Bernard Shaw and avold taking socialism too seriously in practical affairs. Cost of food has undeniably dimin- ished. domestic budget balancers to suspect that the quality is deteriorating to fit the price. ‘The Japanese beetle is again in evi- dence, justifying a hope that a people 50 eminent in horticulture will turn their attention with equal efficacy to Al ———— ! 1t would be disappointing to the | practical entomology. B SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Responsibiltes Lightly Assumed. ‘Whenever affairs bring additional cares, With problems on land and on sea, ‘There’s always & man with a wonderful plan ‘Who says, “Simply leave it to me. “You can all go and play on a glad| holiday ‘With hearts that are joyous and free, While with methods polite Tl make everything right, If you simply will leave it to me.” Perhaps he will fail and pursue the old trail To the realms of the old “Used-to-Be." | Then another appears who says, “Banish your fears! Good friends, simply leave 1t to me!” Trying to Shift Attention. plain people? “Absolutely,” answered Senator Sor- ghum. “But I haven't yet succeeded in getting the immense amount of men- tality devoted to contract bridge to con- centrate on my speeches. Jud Tunkins says most people are 50| intellectually modest that they admire anything they can’t quite understand. Facts and Figures. The costume which now assumes scanty ] disguise On observers abruptly reacts, And figures appear to our wondering | eyes As incontrovertible facts, In Crimson Gulch. “ rou mot th | ‘Have you got those old loaded dice | athor of - the. mow. abandoned Young where you can find 'em?” asked Cactus Joe. “Sure,” answered Mesa Bill. “And the three shells and the little pea?” “Right on the cupboard shelf, next to the marked deck and the six shooter.” “Good. That benevolent tenderfoot is in town again, Let’s organize another conference and invite him to sit in.” “Happiness is insecure,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “when it de- pends on efforts to disbelieve ‘what Ex- perience has taught.” Garden Note. Insidious selfishness assumes Affairs to regulate, And anywhere a flower blooms The caterpillars wait. “Don't imagine,” sald Uncle Eben, “dat George Washington is bein’ overlooked, simply because he didn’ show political influence to keep his pjcture on de new postage stamp.” e Differentiating. Prom the Omaha Evening World-Herald. from such materials. They can also deal more freely with state factories and distributing organizations. Until eubmitted to the Budget Bureau. The ! now these organizations have been sub- drastic reduction in the appropriations ject to bureaucratic supervision tending to decrees> the output of artisans, the ‘The idea seems to be that European statesmen who enter into “gentlemen’s agreements” are no gentlemen. — et Qualification. From the Columbla (8. C.) Btats. 1t Wl:amevelt can keep both rural sup) an e p, international diplomacy won't baffie THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Happy is the homecomer who has more than one path. A house that may be visited by one road, and none other, is not so felic- itously situated as one which may be arrived at by several ways. The return home may properly be made a small adventure in the every- day, if one will take a different route now and then, and come along & new | path. The city worker inclines to fall into a set course, which he takes over and {over again, day after day, week after week, until an observer might think his comings and goings were circumscribed by laws, or dictated by a stern economic order. N;),lhlng could be farther from the truth. While it may be expedient to set up 8 routine, usually the quickest and shortest path between two points, al- most always there is more than one en- joyable detour. The person who takes his daily route is the one who benefits most from a change, but other people are to be con- sidered, too. Householders along the way, if they are at all human, may become tired of seeing the same fellow go along at ‘exactly the same time every morning. Once there was a man whose parking light on his car had failed. Instead of getting it fixed. he began to hang a lantern there, when he parked the car in front of his home at night. “Here comes the man with the lantern.” he heard a neighbor say. He realized that. simply the Man with the Lantern. No doubt there are thousands of men, | and women, too, who, on their ways to and from work, become known by heaven knuwa what nicknames, based upon personal peculiarities, or the like. Many city workers are extremely punctual in their habits. This leads them to pass given points along their routes with almost clock- like regularity. This should enable householders along | the way to set their timepieces, almost, | by the comings and goings of such men. It will be discovered, in almost all such cases, that the very persons who are not required to be on time, through | one reason or another, are the most methodical in their habits. And that, conversely, those who re- port to work according to the most stringent regulations, are those very persons mostly likely to be a minute or 2 minutes, or 3 minutes late. It is easy enough, around any large firm, to know the time almost to the minute, by the comparatively large number of employes pouring in at 8:32 o'clock, for instance, and at 9:02, say. These are the ‘“invariable laters,” who might purchase a dozen alarm clocks, and roll over and go to sleep again after every one sounded the time to leap out of bed. Such people are always too busy hurrying to get any enjoyment out of the mere process of going to work, or returning therefrom. Punctual persons, wWho realize that there afe many reasons for being on time, in_addition to the apparent one, will see to it that they get all the hap- piness possible from the daily physical necessity of going to work and return- ing. One way, open to every one, is to take a real interest in the route which lies between the front door and the office {or other place of employment. Today this route is divided, about half-and-half, between those who op- erate their own automobiles, and those who depend upon public transportation. ‘The automobilist often overlooks the beauties of his route, especially after he has made it time after time. There is always a danger of this happening, even on unfamiliar routes, due to the for all practical | purposes of designation, he was to them | overwhelming desire of so many motor- ists to boast of their road record after they get home. No doubt many a sight- seer fails to see as much as he other- wise might, because he is more inter- ested in his recording gauge than he is in_the scenery. The pegestrian has no such trouble. If he gives himself plenty of time for his daily journey, he will be able to pay himself big dividends in interest, pro- vided, of course, that he has the inter- ested mind. Not every one has it. It might seem that every human be- ing would be truly interested in all that goes on around him, but such a thesis could easily be disproved. One has but to talk a few minutes with what is called an “average” man to discover that his mind is amazingly closed on certain subjects. He resents any variations, and such are not at all interesting to him. No matter how brilliant the deviation or how colorful, or how filled with ex- citement, this average man fails to see any of it, because he is too busy argu- ing in support of what he knows, likes | and believes in. Loyalty thus becomes a sort of mental ‘brake on the human powers of appre- ciation. Conservatism prevents the mind from comprehending good quali- ties in something or other, even the eves from seeing plain attractions. It is here that a dash of cynicism is | a useful ingredient in human character. Not only will it not sour a man on the world, in any real sense, but it most certainly will, on the other hand, cause him to keep an open mind for opposites, differences, strange and “outlandish” things. This attitude will make certain that such & man does not miss much, in the general sense of that term: it will make sure that when something excit- ing is happening, either in local, na- tional or international affairs, he will be on the cheering line, popeyed with interest, because he has enough ordi- nary gumption to realize that, in a world which is built on incessant | change, nothing can really be station- ary; that excitement is the prelude to change, and that change is but natu- ral movement, one way or the other. Brought down to the everyday life, this attitude means that the home- comer will select a new route now and t?;tn, in order to get a new slant on life. A street which he has not walked down in his own neighborhood or city is just as new to him as would be a | similar street in a foreign city. It all depends upon whether he has, in his mental make-up, the ability to see interest where many of his associ- ates would see only more matter for boredom. Why, there are streets in Washing- ton which few people have ever been on except those who live there, and they are just as interesting streets as any others. Especially in some of the older sections of the city the way- farer will find old wrought-iron bal- conies and the like worth going miles to_see. Ironwork of that sort is not made any more. It will be only a matter of a few years until such things are mu- seum pleces. One might as well see them now, and a hundred more interesting side- lights on life and living as it has been, but probably will not be much longer. In addition to this one angle of the new route, there are all the unsus- pected beauty spots, such as gardens, which one may see along the way. There is every reason for varying the route from time to time, but the great- est, no doubt, is this, that it helps one see the familiar, too, in a new The Democratic votes in the Senate against the Bingham beer bill are com: ing home to roost already. Labor’s N tional Committee for Modification of | the Volstead Act today, through its president, Matthew Woll, put out a long statement in which the committee said flatly that the declaration of the Dem- ocratic national platform for “immedi- ate” modification of the Volstead act so as to permit light wine and beer ap- parently meant little, because important, Democratic leaders in Congress since the adoption of the party platform in Chicago “have failed to observe their | recent political party pronouncement under the plea that a scientific study | must first precede any attempted legis- lative modification «f the Volstead act.” oo ox The committee statement adds that such a study is demanded by the| Democratic_Senators ‘despite the fact that there have been innumerable con- | gressional hearings on this subject, and with all shades of views, opinions and convictions presented, including the studies of scientists, physicians, sociclo- gists, educators, statesmen, labor offi- cials and others, despite the exhaustive study of the Wickersham Commission, whose membership was in unanimous agreement as to the validity of organ- ized labor's demands for the return of a beverage of 2.75 per cent alcoholic content by weight. “Again, other Democratic leaders have since held that the recent Democratic convention pronouncement was de- signed to guide members of both Houses hereafter elected, and not in- tended for those now honored as Senators and Representatives. Thus, the word ‘immediate’ would seem to | be designed to mean merely immediate | political propaganda and some vague | and far distant legislative action. On the other hand, there are quite a num- ber of influenifal Republican leaders who worked for modification of the Volstead act by the Congress which has just adjourned, despite silence on this subject on the paft of Republican party platform. It is thus evident that in relation to any party pronouncement, consideration be given to the attitude of individual Senators and Representa- tives and of candidates aspiring to membership in either House and the voters be not misled in giving greater attention to political party declarations than is accorded them by the Senators and Representatives of either party.” o = Here, indeed, is a remarkable and a discriminating discussion of the atti- tude assumed by the Democrats toward their platform liquor plank. The Labor Committee does not give the Democrats much credit for having placed in their platform a pledge to modify the Vol- stead act, for the simple reason, as it says. the Democrats apparently are not going to be bound by the platform. Furthermore, while the Republicans did | not place in their platform any pro- | posal for the modification of the Vol- stead act, which the Labor Committee desires, there are a number of Repub- licans in Congress ready to support such a proposal, as shown in the fight over the Bingham beer bill. So far as President Hoover is con- cerned, the Labor Committee does not at this time accept the Democratic suggestion that Mr. Hoover is entixly dry and opposed to the modification of the Volstead act. It says in this con- nection: A% ** “As for the attitude of the Democratic presideptial cancidate, he has manifest- ed his approval for the immediate modi- fication of the Volstead act, while the Republican presidential candidate has not as yet announced his attitude on this subject, though his point of view, while food Mdministrator, was against |light. Old lights are good, but new lights also shine. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. In British politics it's a generation- old aphorism that what Manchester thinks today London says tOMOITO During the past three Republican ad- ministrations at Washington transpired more than once that what Senator Borah says today, the White House does tomorrow. All over Wash- ington the query is reverberating, whether the Senate foreign relations chairman’s radio blast Saturday night in favor of a world conference to con- sider revision or cancellation of war debts refiects Hoover sentiments and foreshadows Hoover action. It was a Borah pronunciamento that was fol- lowed by President Harding's convoca- tion of the Washington arms confer- ence of 1921. It was on the Idahoan’s initiative that President Hoover con- vened Congress in special session in 1929 for enactment of new farm relief legislation. Senator Borah was at pains to specify that he was speaking only for himself in advocating broad- gauge treatment of the debts issue. Nevertheless it is known to most in- siders that his views run parallel, at least in their broad purpose, with those of Mr. Hoover. Borah stresses America’s own interest in economic rehabilita- |tion as the thing thet must solely “Do you still trust the wisdom of the | actuate reconsideration of the debts. That has always been the President’s reasoning on the subject, too. * kK ok 1f the Borah plan becomes the Hoover plan, the Democrats have evidence in hand to prove that as long as Febru- ary 2 last their nominee for President | came forward with practically the same suggestion. On that date Gov. Roose- velt, in the course of expounding some of his international views, declared in favor of convening a debts conference in Washington. Just about the time Senator Borah was making ready to broadcast his statement Gov. Roosevelt was in conference with Owen D. Young at Hyde Park, N. Y., on the interna- tional phase of the Democratic cam- paign. One of the major speeches the Governor s {flnnnlng for the Summer and Fall will deal with world affairs. 1t was acknowledged at Hyde Park that the Lausanne agreement and the “gen- tlemen’s agreement” on Europe's debts to America were main toplcs of dis- cussion. Also it was indicated that the plan would be frequently at Gov. Roose- velt’s elbow as the 1932 fight proceeds. * ok oo There turned up in Washington dur- ing the past fortnight a tall, sturdy Westerner, who is approaching 70, but doesn’t look it and who claimed he had walked all the way from the Rocky Mountains in quest of a jcb. He iden- tified himself on Capitol Hill as the son of a famous Union clvil war gen- eral whose statue stands in the center of a Washington circ named after him. The workless wayfarer said he is an_ accountant by occupaticn, and hadn't been employed for more than a year, In desperation, he sallled forth across country to call on _ope of his Senators in Washingtcn. The best that could be done for him at the moment was to get him temporary occupation, addressing envelopes. * % ox % From the region of the Beeches at Northampton, Mass,, there wells up a silence now merely ominous, but which may became oppressive if it persists. Which is to say that the high command of the G. O. P. is beginning to edge toward the anxious seat with respect to the role which Calvin Coolidge may choose to play in the 1932 presidential campaign. To date the Vermonter’s indorsement of his successor has been confined to some general statements in a Saturday Evening Post article writ- ten last year. Since Mr. Hoover's Te- nomination the sphinx has maintained what might almost be called a deafen- ing reticence. When Everett Sanders was named Republican national chair- man at Chicago in June. the idea in most politicians’ minds was that_at lying reason for the In- was his supposed abllity to bring Mr. Coolidge into the Hoover camp in a big way. Cal has it's | | never aspired to a reputation, Massa- | chusetts friends say, as a ter of | anybody else for public office. | * K ok % | put much of a crimp in globe-trotting. | During the fiscal year 1931 the State for foreign travel. as compared to 158,779 in the fiscal year 1932, recently ended. The decrease was a mere 3.12 per cent. The decrease in 1931, as to 1930, was 21.6 per cent, so while this year witnessed a decrease, it is a de- creasing decrease. May, 1932, registers an increase of 6.76 per cent over May, 1931. June, 1932, records a passport increase of 5.7 per cent over June, 1931. Possibly reduced transatlantic steam- ship fares are the explanation. What | is sure is that Yankees still lust to see | the world and have the wherewithal to 0 s0. * ok ok X% Assistant Secretary of War F. Trubee Davison, who supervises the aviation affairs of the War Department, has | what he calls a sure-fire antidote against the rigors of Washington Sum- mer climate. He hops into his Army plane and cruises at an altitude of 5,000 feet at a speed of around 90 to 100 miles an hour. “By-by humidity up in the sky,” says Davison, which phrase ought to give George M. Cohan a theme line for a song entitled, let's say, “Up There.” * X ok % Over in the solicitor’s division of the State Department, where they unravel Secretary Stimson’s legal entanglements —there’s much rejoicing over the recent termination of an important arbitra- tion in America’s favor. Uncle Sam during the war detained a couple of Swedish merchant ships which he had reason to believe could be properly Te- strained from re-entering the trans- atlantic carrying trade. Sweden claimed heavy damages, but finally agreed to submit the dispute to neutral arbitra- ment. M. Borell, a distinguished Swiss international lawyer, was selected, and he has been handling the case at ‘Washington for the past two years. He found the case in America's favor. Green H. Hackworth, legal adviser of the State Department, bore the brunt of the United States’ representation in the arbitral litigation. * KK K That talkie of Washington political |and social life now being screened throughout the country unwittingly or otherwise, smacks strongly of Demo- cratic anti-power origin. At least, its plot revolves around the power pro- ‘Well, depression doesn't seem to have | | Department issued 163,904 passports | gram sup) to be espoused by Gov. sive friend, Senator Norris of Nebraska. o oo Labor's “Natlonal Committee for Modification of the Volstead Act” per- forms a useful public service in point- ing out that the President of the United States “has very little to do with legislation modifying the Volstead act until after Congress has voted favor- ably thereon.” Because of that not genetally recognized fact, Vice President Matthew Woll of the labor group now “advises those sincerely ng modi- fication to pay but little attention to party platform declarations on this sub- leaders themselves to adhere to party declarations.” This is one in the eye. apparently, for both Mr. Hoover and because the Democratic platform is the only one that declares for beer. Labor will concentrate its energies, Mr. Woll says, on electing| Representatives and Senators who will particular, Roosevelt and his Republican progres-. i Gov. Roosevelt, but the Governor, in| as soon as possible vote Volsteadism onto the scrap heap. (Copyright, 1932.) e A Vanishing Objective. Prom the Nashville Banner. An is defined as a fellow Who knows more and more about less and less. The definition is especially ap- ite 1 industrial m. lor an yexpert on the Federal Gévernment prohibiting the manufacture artd sale of a beverage of not more than 2:5 per cent alcoholic comtent by weight, which attitude was, and is, in complete axcord with organ- ized labor's demand forthe immediate restoration of a beverage cantaining not more than 2.75 per cent alcaholic con- tent by weight.” \ The Labor Committee is t com- mitting itself or organized IRbor to either of the presidential candidates, nor to the support of either the Repub- lican or the Democratic candidates.for Congress. It will work, the commiftee to bring about the election members of Congress honestly in favo: ol‘&odltflcnt}isnhol g_l:e Volstead act, no matter to which party the; And there you are, > (Y T8 belong. L Perhaps the speech made by Gov. Franklin D, Roosevelt's son, - James Roosevelt, at & clambake of the Wor- cester Democratic Club yesterday, was intended as an answer to the criticism that the Democrats did not intend to stand by the platform declaration for the immediate modification of the Vol- stead act. Young Roosevelt said that his father, if elected President, would call a special session of the Congress, “if mecessary,” after March 4 next, to modify the Volstead act and put a lot of citizens back to work thereby, i x ¥ E > e Democrats have already begu count their electoral vote “yihickegst.g although the campaign is not yet under way to any appreciable extent. James A. Farley, in New York, has listed the electoral votes of the States in four columns, one of which he désignates as “Democratic,” another as “probably Democratic,” & third as doubtful and a fourth as “probably or safely Republic- an.” In the sure Democratic column Mr. Farley includes New York, all the Southern and border States except West Virginia, South Dakota, Montana, Ne- vada, New Mexico, adding up to a total of 247, or just 19 votes less than the 266 electoral votes needed to elect a President. He lists 99 other electoral votes as probably Democratic, including those of Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, ‘Wisconsin and West Virginia. He can find only five States, with 85 electoral votes, to set down as probably or safely Republican, and of these only two are actually conceded to Mr. Hoover, Vermont and Maine. The other three are Pennsylvania, California and Michigan. Ohio and New Jersey are two of the “doubtful States” in this tabulation. * ok ok ok Certainly the Democrats are a con- fident lot today. Yet they still have to accomplish the ironing out of differ- ences among themselves in some of the big Eastern States, and in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota 'and several other States where the Al Smith following is large. The fact of the matter is that many of these Smith supporters feel that the Democrats, in their national convention, defeated Mr. Smith in just about the same way and for the same reasons that the Republicans won from Smith in 1928. They do not like this. resentful against their standard bearer of 1928. Any one who attended the Democratic Natfonal Convention will realize the extent and depth of this feeling of re- sentment. There were Smith delegates ;ln Roosevelt delegations from Minne- | sota, Iowa, Wisconsin and other States who sought in vain to break the in- structions by which they were bound, so as to tear into the Roosevelt dele- gate strength. With the nomination of Ject, in view of the refusal of party| Roosevelt, the bitterness of these dele- | gates and the people back home whom they represented, did not disappear. A good deal will depend on whether it cvaporates during the next three months. * oo Out in Minnesota this year all can- didates for Congress must run in a State-wide election. This is giving the politicia,.s there something to Worry about. 7he talk has been of a pos- sible coalition between the Democrats and the Farmer-Laberites in Minne- sota, with the Democrats throwing their support to the Farmer-Labor candidate for Governor, Floyd B. Olson, the in- cumbent, and the Farmer-Labor people supporting Democratic national ticket. But are more compli- cated than that, with a row among the Democrats themselves growing out of | the declaration t! ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN. What do\you need to know? or personal life that puzzles you? Is there something you want to know without delay? Submit your question to Prederic J. Haskin, Director of our Washington Information Bureau. He is employed to help you. Address your inquiry to The Evening Stay Informa- tion Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Di- rector, Washington, D. C., and inclose 3 cents in coin or stamps for return postage. Q. Who won the last interscholastic golf championship?—W. H. A. William Dear of the Hun School, Princeton, N. J., is the new holder of the interscholastic golf title. Q. How much money do all the boot- leggers make in a year?’—D. R. K. A. Edward Dean Sullivan estimates that in 1929 bootleggers netted over $2,000,000,000 from the sale of intoxi: cating beverages. Q. What is a gibbon?—M. B. A. A gibbon is any of several apes constituting the genus Hylobates. They are the lowest of the anthropoid apes and the smallest and most perfectly arboreal in habits of that group. Their arms are very long and they have dis- tinct ischial callosities, but no tail or cheek pouches. They are found in Southeastern Asia and the East Indies. A number of species or_ varieties are known as the siamang, wou-wou and hoolock. = / @ When was the first piano made?— 'A. The first pianoforte was made by At almost the same time a pjano was exhibited in Paris, and a similar jnstru- | ment was claimed to have been con- structed by the German, Schroeter. Q Why did not Washington accept from the French King the large carpet 'made for the President?—P. D. A. Gifts from foreign powers could not be accepted by the President. Washington, ~therefore, declined the carpet. It was then sold to Judge Yates of Lancaster, Pa. It is now in the west parlor at Mount Vernon. Q. What is meant by the expression “1 hold no brief for him"?—G. H. A. It means, in other words, “I do not attempt to defend him.” It is taken from legal phraseology. A lawyer pre- pares a brief defending the position of his client. Q. When is Hegmanay?—D. S. N. A. It is the last day of the year. On that day in Northern Engiand and Scotland children go about singing, being rewarded with some gifts, usually cakes. The word is also applied to the entertainment of visitors or gifts made to applicants. Qb.,flaw long ago did Dante live?— A ‘He was born in 1265 and died in 13: Q. Why do ocean-going vessels have to be piloted out of New York Harbor? Al The bays have a depth of about 30 feet, while the larger steamships de- been dredged and cut open, and through these the ships are piloted. Q. What was a yellow-dog contract? —~H. C. W, A. It was a contract sometimes en- forced between employers and employes which the American Federation of La- bor denounced es unfair and working | great hardships to the laboring*man. It was an obligation which certain em- | ployers compelled their employes to sign | when entering their employ, stating that during the period of employment they would never enter into any nego- tiations or activities calculated to upset the present system of rates of remu- neration. The contract was aimed to s there some point about your business | Cristofori of Italy and exhibited in 1709. | mand 40 feet. Several channels have | prevent activities by organized bodies on behalf of workmen such as the Ameri- can Federation of Labor. Q. Who was called the Morning Star of the Reformation?—N. T. A. John Wyclif, an English religious reformer. He was the first to translate the Bible into English. Are marriages and divorces in- creasing or decreasing in the United States?—D. C. A. In 1931 there were 1,060,005 mar- riages performed’and 183,695 divorces granted. This was a decrease of 68477 marriages and 7.898 divorces when com- pared with the previous year. Q. What causes air bubbles in natu- ral jce?—L. P. A. The Bureau of Agricultural En- gineering says that one of the most common causes is a turbulent inlet into the pool or lake. Q. Why is Baltimore called the Mon- | umental City?>—E. C. D. A. it had monuments in fts square before cicr citles in the United States had, and also had the imposing monu- ment to Washington. Q. How large is the chandelier to be used in the new R-K-O Theater In Rockefeller Center?>—A. G. A It is 25 feet in diameter and weighs 6 tons. It will burn 104,000 watts of electricity, a special ventilating tem having been designed to carry ff the intense heat generated by the lights. The fixture was designed by Foster Gunnison and it will require three months to complete it. Q. What is Mrs. Dolly Gann’s first name?—B. P. | " A. Her name 1s Teresa. | @ How many ecumenical councils of e Roman Catholic Church have there been?—T. E. W. A. The ecumenical councils recog- nized by the Roman Catholic Church are 20 in number. The first eight, held |at Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, | Chalcedon, Constantinople, Constanti- nople, Nicaea and Constantinople, were pexiieiubsd by st Enristian | church. | Q. What is Ellery Queen's real name? M. H A. Ellery Queen writes only under his pseudonym. Information concern- ing the identity of the author is not | available to the public. | th | Q. How could the price of air mail stamps be advanced when they were | mot, mentioned in'the revenue act?— A. The act of May 10, 1918, provides | that the Postmaster General may re- quire payment of postage of an amount not exceeding 24 cents an ounce or frac- tion thereof for mail carried by airplane. | It was under this statute that the air | mail rate was raised to 8 cents for the first ounce. | Q. How long did it take Edmun® Burke to make his speech on concilia- tion?—M. G. A. Between two hours and two and one-half hours. Q. Can you tell me anything about the phrase “Agathocles’ pot” (a tyrant | of Syracuse, 361 B. C.-289 B. C.)7—C. R. A. It is & phrase which might be Te- garded as symbolic of his power. He | was born the son of a poor potter and himself learned the trade, but, as the fisherman evoked the powerful jinn out of his pot, so Agathocles evdked from his one of the most powerful reigns of any tyrant of Syracuse. Marrying an | heiress was a help to him. Q. What States have laws prohibiting | hitch-hiking?—L. J. J. A. This list is subject to change. At | last compilation it contained Connecti- cut, Delaware, Mainc, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Wiscon- sin. National hopes for adequate relief as a result of the measure passed in the closing hours of Congress to meet con- itions produced by the depression, ca¥ry a strong feeling of optimism. The as to States, are expected to be ed in improved conditions of em- Much attention, however, is given the last-minute amendment providing\for publicity of loans through reports to) Congress, with a diversity of opinion ¥s to its desirability. “The $2,133000,000 reliet bili should, by all tokens, \prove adequate to the temporary needs\of the country,” says the Cleveland News (Republican), with t “the ‘publicity clause,’ requiring xpl Finance Cor- poration loans be made public, though inadvised, may not pfove obnoxious.” The Hartford Daily 1%95 dent Democrat), feels that quate direct relief of unemploved, suf ficlent to meet stark necesities next Winter, seems assured; work Will be made for many hundreds of theusands, and the national credit structui¢ has “an ade- dent’s forecast of salutary effects §§ in- dorsed by the Indianapolis News (Irde- pendent Republican), with emphasis the belief that the plan sets up a “soll backlog of assurance that there need be no hunger and cold.” “How a nation with an empty Treas- ury can finance such a vast relief pro- gram,” advises the Rockford Register- Republic (Republican), “is explained by a provision empowering the Recon- struction Finance Corporation to issue notes, debentures or bonds—in other words, to borrow up to 6 3-5 times capitalization of $500,000,000.” That paper points out that “any project which 1s self-liquidating will be eligi- ble for a Federal loan, whether it is built by a Government agency or a pri- vate corporation” and that “the latter can obtain loans to build bridges, tun- nels, docks, viaducts, waterways and canals.” “There is reason to believe,” com- ments_the Springfield (Mass.) Union (Republican), “that strictly limited Fed- eral aid will have beneficial results without, however, changing the fact that the real hope of overcoming the depression must be in the capacity of the Nation itself to initiate its own en- terprise. Only within narrow limits can the Government really be a help in such a public process. It has bcen some- thing of an achievement to hold Con- gress to safe limits of actual aid to the people. A weak President, or one too easily moved by sentiment, even of his own party in Congress, might by acquiescing too eastly in many of the proposals have only served to piinge the country deeper into the depression.” The Davenport Democrat (Democratic) belleves that “passage of the relief bill may confidently be set down as an im- portant step toward general business re- covery.” On the subject of publicity for loans, the Salt Lake Deseret News (independ- ent) remarks: “While 1t is manifest that in a situation where fear dominates the public mind and suspicions have wrought havoc to banking, secrecy of operation may be necessary, yet the public will be sympathetic with the attempt to make this use of their morey & matter of knowledge. Pub- liclty 1s a very cleansing element in public_action. * * * At any rate, the publicity of loans will be made un- der the new relief measure, and it will be interesting to vbserve whether the harm so much feared will be done.” 5% e “There is at least as much reason,” thinks the Newark Evening News (inde- tne Roosevelt nomination, not to men- tion the situation regarding the election of members of . brought about by the failure ly to redistrict the State under the new congressional ap- (Indepen- | been already strengthened.” The Presi-| Fede;'al Reliei Bill Received - : With Approval by Country | pendent), “to believe such publicity will be beneficial as to assume it will be | hurtful. No calamity has followed | revelation that the corporation lent the Dawes bank, in Chicago, $80,000,000." s to industry and agriculture, as| The Altoona Mirror (independent) be- | lieves that “the members of the Recon- struction Pinance Corporation will be just a little more careful in extending ioans if they know that the loans are to be scanned by the public.” The Dal- las Journal (independent Democratic) feels that “report on loans should work | no injury to borrowers,” but that “gos- sip that secrecy would provoke might prove harmful.” Maintaining that the plan is poten- tially harmful, the Oakland Tribune (Republican) makes the comment on the provision: “It is obvious that if the Reconstruction Finance Corpora- tion is to serve the cause of returning confidence and extend its credit to in- | dustries in need, publicity as to the plight of these concerns might react in ways to offset much of the gain af- forded by the loans. There is no ob- jection to reports upon refinancing op- erations once they are complete and, | in many cases, there might be no cause | for alarm with a forced report at any time. Monthly accountings to Con- gress as to future loans, however, might “easily start gossip and rumor concern- 138 industries to be aided. The amend- | m@t, which came from Speaker Gar- | ner, was for political effect. It is not | likely" that any Congress will insist | upon tife reports being rendered.” * ok x “The belpf is expressed,” remarks | the Roanoke World-News (Democratic), | “tnat solvent banks with slow paper, | that might be'n a beter cash position ibv depositing scpe of that paper with the Reconstructita Finance Corpora- tion as security fx cash loans, may hesitate to do so fot fear it would be | construed by their owh depositors as a slgn of weakness, and so-bring on the very demands they are nits anxlous to avoid. The publicity chise has never applied to rediscounts at Fderal Reserve banks. The whole debat® & Corgress indicates an air of political opportunism rather than a desire to keep solvent banks in a position to | serve their communities. The Senate rather unwillingly assented to this House provision in order to bring an overlong session of Congress to a close, Had there been more vigorous leader- | ship in that body or in the White | House, there is little reason to beliefe the House would have insisted, after it had made its political demonstration against Gen. Dawes. on a provision that must considerably hamper the very cb- Jects for which the Reconstruction Flf:lnce Corporation was created.” ‘How many banks in need of aid to protect their depositors would apply ‘Iar loans that they knew would be in- stantly broadcast over the country?” asks the Cincinnati Times-Star (Re publican), while the Providence Jour- | nal (independent) advises that “it | ought to be generally understood that there are already some established | limits to publicity in the fleld of public | business.” +—oo—s Rough Going. From the Roanoke Times. A British woman has written | first Tiovel at the age of 80. The eighty years of a movelist’s life are hardest, we should imagine. et Lucky Dieters. | Prom the Pasadena Star-News. “Hard times” prolong the lives of many by compelling them to stop over- eating. e Post-Balloting Speed. From the Nashville Banner. In the Latin American political set- candidate tskes part in a runs . pertionment ICGA :g ?}gfl' electicn.