Evening Star Newspaper, September 18, 1932, Page 26

-2 THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C SUNDAY.....September 18, 1932 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office 11th 8t i New York Office t 420 Chicago Office: Lake Michigan European Ofice: 14 Regent St.. London, ©" Enslan Ave. nd St ullding, Rate by Carrier Within the City. The Evening s‘a“s eyt 45¢ per month vi nda; The Evening an¢ e ae aay’ Star (whe 65¢ per raonth The Sunday Star.. .. _..5¢c per cony Coliection made at the end of each month. Ordsrs mav be sent in by mail or telephone NAtional 5000- Rate by Mall—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Dally and Sunday....1yr, $10.00: 1 mo., 85c Dally, oul, b 198 1me: il All Other States and Canada, Sunday.. 1yr. 31200 1mo. $1.00 Datly and mo.. 31,00 1350 3300 imel soc Daiy enly Sinday oty Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of sl news dis- patches credited o it or not otherwise cred- fted in this paper and also the local new: published herein _All righ publicatior special dispaiches herel; iF Already Elected. A candidate for office must always | manifest in public confidence in his own success in his appeal to the voters. In his addresses he must give his hearers credit for possessing sufficient common sense to recognize his superior ability and to avail them- selves of the benefit of his services That is a fundamental principle of campaigning. To express any doubt of victory, on the score of the public’s incapacity to think correctly, is to in- vite disaster on election day. It was doubtless in accord with that elementary precept of candidature that Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York, who is now on tour in the West as| nominee of the Democratic party for President, spoke as follows at Denver: 1 am having a hard time to make the press and the people of the country understand that this is not a campaign trip, but one to permit me to gef quainted with the people and find out what their nceds and thoughts are, so that when I go into the White House on the 4th of next March I will have first-hand knowledge. In the same vein of assurance, hav-| ing thus disclosed the fact that it is as| President-elect and not merely as Pres- ident-prospective that he is touring the Western States, Gov. Roosevelt went| on to project himself into office in these words 1 think I shall apply to the national Sovernment the same policy that I have | put into effect in New York State. and get around and find out what the coun- try wants frequently, instead of waiting | v rearing the walls of the Pantheon or those cf the Parthenon was. But the tempo has changed. Percussion drills and trip-hammers have a staccato acuteness of penetration. However, the work proceeds at & faster pace, and the structure is more rapidly completed. That represents a gain, Living within earshot of a nascent Post Office Department or Supreme Court Building implies a certain degree of discomfort. and human patience is! a sensitive and fragile quality, easily af- | fronted But there is one element of | gratification in the racket. Each indi- vidual note in the medley signifies a man engaged in earning bread, perhaps earning rose:, too. In times of eco-| nomic stress, if not in normal times, that thought is cheering. Milwaukee's Tax Revolt. Last year Milwaukee received consid- erable publicity through news dis- patches which pictured it as one of the Nation's municipalities that through sound local government had achleved & balanced budget and reductions in local taxes while other cities were groaning under a tax burden threatening muni- cipal bankruptcy. For this reason, if for no other, the news story tn today's Star reporting that everything is not as bright as pictured in Milwaukee is in- | teresting. Part of the discontent by taxpayers in Milwaukee may be attrib- uted to politics and efforts to capitalize |thé local tax burden for purposes of | defeating the Socialist city administra- | tion. But without regard to the political complications, it is interesting enough ' | Il payers in this admittedly well-governed municipality to decrease their tax burden. Taxpayers have formed organizations to bring about a $5,000,000 reduction The fate of the ordinance will depend upon the result of a referendum vote in November, by which the voters will express their choice regarding initiation of the tax-reducing legislation. Should the vote favor reduction, the tax rate would be cut by about $3 a thousand of assessed valuation. This effort of the ac- | taxpayers to take budget-making into their own hands is in addition to law suits contesting assessments, the resuit of which might be to hold up collection of taxes, as in some sections of Cook County, IIl, and by petitions to the State Tax Commission to reassess real estate, the petitions alleging unequal and exorbitant assessment. The 1930 census figures give Milwau- kee a population of 580.400; a realty assessment of $883874,190 and a total property assessment of $1,121,989,246. The figures for the same year for Wash- ington are: Population, 485,700; realty | assessment, $1,182.463,345, and total for the country to come to Washington. So that is that he Governor is jus!; touring the country—that is to say. a | minimum section of it—to find out what | 1t _wants, so that when the formalities of vote casting and counting and can- | vassing and administrative organization ; and inauguration are concluded he \\'lll‘-‘ know what to do. It may be asked | whether he should not carry his research | further, go into other States than those property assessment, $1,834,858,008. Milwaukee's total tax levy, less inter- est on. bonded indebtedness, is $32,577,- 031 (for 1930), as compared with Wash- ington’s $26,878,730. From these com- parisons it is seen that Washington, with practically one hundred thousand less population than Milwaukee, pays taxes on an assessed valuation that ex- ceeds Milwaukee's by something more than $700,000,000. If the relation be- that have been chosen for this SUIVey |y yoo; " Mywaukee's and Washington's of needs, of course regardless of the i.)4ay levy (less Interest) is the same fact that their electoral votes Will be |, 0y i Yye acca vear 1930, Milwau- essential to success in N""Z"b“& ‘d‘:d | kee would reduce its tax levy to a figure | learn about the, requirements an | approximating that of Washington. Be- sires of all the/peaple instead of those, .\ ¢ tpo gifterence in population | Ofigne secuin. | the per capita tax burden of Milwau- on the part of President Hoover on im- ; portant issues. For example, he has not hesitated to say to the country that he will continue to oppose to the utmost the present payment of the sol bonus, on the ground that it would w tremendous barm to the entire people at this time. Yet when Mr. Garner is asked what his attitude toward the pay- ment of the bonus may be he side-steps | the question. Perhaps he is waiting for some word on the bonus from his “com- mander in chief,” Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt. Gov. Roosevelt has beer no more willing to. mnkly with the bonus questiort tk apparently is Mr. Garner. $ Norman mas, the Socialist candi- date for dent, has made his position clear in opposition to the payment of the co'digra’ bopua at this Ume. But It seems ‘that the Democratic national ticket is still tongue-tied on this subject. Probably Gov. Roosevelt and Speaker Garner woula like to make up their minds on this ticklish subject after election day. S Ambassador von Prittwitz. It will be & cause of genuine regret in official and unofficial Washington if Berlin reports of Ambassador von Prittwitz's impending retirement turn out to be true. The cables intimate that he is about to fall a victim to the ax which Baron von Neurath is wielding throughout the German diplo- matic service and which, before he is through swinging it, is to end in the decapitation of the German Ambassa- dors to London, Paris and Rome, as {lo note the methods taken by tax-|ell as Washington. If Dr. von Prittwitz's professional . head is to roll in the sand, the cause of his fate will not redound to his discredit. Of the noblest Prussian militarist extraction and scion of a |in the city budget by charter ordinance. | family which served the old imperial regime long and loyally in the fields of both war and peace, Ambassador von Prittwitz promptly became a con- vinced Republican when Germany threw off the Hohenzollern garb. He identi- fied himself with the school of inter- national thought which the late Gustav Stresemann personified and was a favorite of that lamented statesman. To ihat circumstance, Berlin dispatches narrate, Dr. von Prittwitz apparently owes his diplomatic downfall. He does not fit sufficiently into the picture that monarchist-militarist Berlin now pre- sents to most of the outside world as governmental Germany. Though the rancors of war long since departed from German-American rela- tions, the position of the Relch's envoy at Washington has not always been a bed of roses. Whatever his present superiors in the Wilhelmstresse think #bout him, Dr. von Prittwitz would | leave the United States with the repu- | tation of having served his country faithfully 2nd effectively here under conditions which periodically bristled with difficulties. The urbane and skill- | ful young statesman will quit the em- bassy in Massachusetts avenue with a wezlth of American good wishes and a cordial “auf wiedersehen.” v Habitual speculators have invented the term “political market” in connection with changes of quatations that follow | an important announcement in public affairs. The stock ticker may even- tually claim as much influence as the magezine printing press. ] Would it not be advisable, inasmuch | as this is not a vote-seeking but a need- hunting tour, for the prospective Presi- dent to save his strength and eschew | speechmaking, to listen to representa- | tive voices instead of projecting his own into the ears of the already satis- fied voters? Unless the prospective President, now surveying the already won West, fears the confusion that would arise were all comers to his recep- tions to vent their wishes on economic and social, financial and international questions of present moment. There may be wisdom in taking the initiative and telling the people what they want at the same time that they are assured that they will get it as soon as possible after March 4 next e This Nation has created surprise by tumultuous demonstrations. Close ob- | servers of German affairs say that if it is desired to make a study of tempera- ment in politics it would be a good idea to keep an eye on the Reichstag. - ———— The man who is professionally “dry” but perscnally wet corresponds in some ! measure to the statesman who com- mends disarmament for other nations, but seeks to evade it for his own. - e Construction Obbligate. John Milton, three hundred years be- fore the invention of the skyscraper, | sang of “towered cities” and “the busy ' hum of men” And John Keats, no less inspired, noticed “the hum of mighty workings.” Neither poet was acouainted with the roar of modern | industry. They lived, wrote and died and never guessed the full-throated dia- | pason of expancing towns as denizens of the twentieth century know it. There once may have been quiet on this planct Earth, but if so it must have been the quiet of desuetude and stagnation. From the beginning of man’s career in the world there have' been hands to make a constructive racket, ears to hear it and minds to understand it. An inseparable con- comitant of nearly all the useful arts and crafts, noise is a symbol of man’s energy and animation. The heavy monoliths at Stonehenge and Avebury were not hewn from their quarry beds, dragged to their destina- tion or set up in somber silence. The obelicks and pyremids, palaces and tem- ples of ancient Egypt were not raised without waking the echoes of the pali- sades of the Nile, Knossos and My- cenge, Tiryns and Troy, Athens and Corinth were hives of articulate enter- prise, building and built. The Seven Wonders were not erected by muted men wielding padded hammers. Even siaves have vcices. Freemen tradition- ally sing at their toil. Perhaps it was to the rhythm of drum beat that stone was laid on stone to defy the centuries and gain the admiration of generations unborn. Each tool or instrument of man has its own distinctive sound, and it always has been so. Thud of sledge, clink of chisel, buzz of saw, scratch of | pen, all participate in the harmony or | | There scems no doubt that he will be dissonance of business. Perhaps the turmoil of construction increases with the passing of time. Setting up the steel armature of a modern office bullding or apartment Mr. Garmer may say ahout it, is st least said Uncle Enen, “as dar is Bouse /probably is a noisier affair than a bold one, “There is no holding back bag 0’ corme” ' defeat in Maine. kee would, of course, be less. An arbitrary declaration by taxpayers that their budget must be reduced by as much as $5000000 is a hazardous method of effecting economies. It is apt to destroy essential activities and result in no real savings. The interest- ing about the taxpayers’ revolt in vaukee, however, is the illustration of how the taxpayers themselves feel toward their tax burden. This is espe- clally interesting to Washingtonians, who not only have no power to express themselves on how much or why they are taxed, but who are denied even the privilege of knowing the size of the budget now being prepared for them. A Stanford professor has made ob- servations which incline him to the be- lief that as 2 man goes beyond middle age he is likely to compensate for physical deterioration by mental devel- cpment. Many have held this belief, at the same time wondering why ancient | history has not placed a higher riting on the intellectuality of Methuse'-h. There is no reason why Huey Long should not entertain high personal re- gard for Mr. Broussard, after the man- ver of the politician who is willing to :!nrgive his enemies but takes pains to whip them first. e When a man obtains great authority in European affairs at present a ques- tion almost invariably remains as to what he is going to do with it. ————— G. 0. P. Support Growing. The resu’t of the Maine balloting, in which the Democrats elected a Governor and two out of three members of the House of Representatives, has proved a Republican biessing, according to Treas- urer J. R. Nutt of the Republican Na- tional Committee. Before that election and its implication ¢f Democratic na- tional victory the collections for the Republican campaign fund were slow. But now, Mr. Nutt says, the people have become aroused to the need of defeating the Democrats and money is rolling in mcre rapidly. can campalgn fund goal. $1,500,000, now to be reached withoyt difficuity. There has been, indeed, a stiffening of the Republican lines since the party Under the spur of President Hoover's call to the party workers throughout the country. the campaign is being speeded up and or- ganization more effectively carried cn. Speaker John N. Garner, the Demo- cratic candidate for Vice President as well as for re-election as 8 member of the House from his Texas congressional district, returning to Washington, de- clares that the Republicans are “in a penic” and predicts that the country will give the Roosevelt-Garner ticket a lead of 10,000,000 votes over the Re- publicans in the Noyember election. Mr. Garner, however, still continues to have his anchor cut to windward, in case the 10,000,000 lead should vanish into thin air in the next seven weeks. elected & member of the House from ‘Texas. The Republican campaign, whatever He expects the Republi- | Bome of the confusion may arise from an impression in uninformed circles that it should be as easy to inflate cur- rency now as it was to water stocks some years ago. | r—————————— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. A flower radiantly fair Is blooming in the fleld. We wonder as we see it there At all the charm revealed. It smiles toward the ganerous sun, Who takes no count o€ cost. But pours his wealth on every one— And then there comes a frest. The foliage of a massive tree Spreads forth its grateful shade. Its sturdy grace is fair to see, Yet it must also fade. Before its branches gaunt and bare 'Gainst stormy skies are tossed, 'Tis touched with colors rich and rare. | And then there comes a frost. As glories all inanimate Gleam bright ere they decline, 8o Is it oft with mortal state 'Neath fortune's gayest shine. ‘The music sounds with welccming thrill And caps on high are tossed, But seasons change and always will. And then there comes a frost. Not Out of the Combat. “I am afraid our candidate’s voice is giving out,” said one campaigner. “Never mind about his voice,” replied Senator Sorghum. “He is still in form for shaking hands.” His Pesition. “Life is something of a game, after all.” said the cynical person. “Perhaps,” replied Mr. Meektan, “but I wish Henrietta wouldn't regard it as bridge, with me forever playing opposite as dummy.” The Vacillating Voter. I hark to wisdom's voice so strong And am quite ready to obey, When some new prophet comes along Instructing me the other way. The Gloom Expert. “I have a method.” said the scientist, “of showing a month in advance pre- cisely what the weather will be.” “Possibly.” replied Mr. Sirius Barker. “But what's the use of anticipating trouble?” The Open-Air Cure. “I told dat feller I was so flat broke I had to sleep outdoors,” said Plodding Pete. . “Did it touch his heart?” Meandering Mike. “No. He sald he was doing the same thing, an’-had to pay de doctor for tellin’ him what a blessin’ it was.” asked Ugreconciliation. The man who cannot change his mind, In same dark corner, lost to fame, Engaged at solitaire you'll find. l While others play the real game. . “Dar ain't near so much to be gained by carryin’ & chip on yoh shoulder,” by totin’ & o " TWO-STORY LIVING § ¢ VBY THE RIGHT R » Bishop of In one of His great utterances Christ declared, “I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.” In His every teaching and attitude He persistently sought to give men a higher and more satisfying view of life. Any discipline that He imposed had this end in view. He did not attempt to restrict the area of life, but rather to extend it. Somehow, through a mis- conception of His teachings, many have come to believe that His plan of life contemplates practices that are restric- tive and limited. In many respects He is the most misunderstood teacher the world has ever known, or, to put it in the language of another, He 1§ “the Man whom nobody knows.” Recently we read a charming book by the distinguished French abbe, Dimnet, “What We Live By.” The book is full of wisdom, and answers many of the inquiries that have come in our age. Its whale purpose is to give a finer out- lock upon the purpose of life and to provide a_formula for daily habit and practice that shall give satisfaction and wholesome enjoyment to thoee who fol- Jow it. In a striking passage in the preface Abbe Dimnet say: “We are all conscious of living our moral life, it were, in a two-storied house. ownstairs goes on what has too e dent a claim to the painful label, ordi nary. Upstairs we have a different out- look and assaciate with better company. We know perfectly well when and how we can be upstairs and when and how we linger downstairs. He then pro- vides a chart which graphically sets forth the thoughts and practices in which we indulge in our two-storied building. He makes it quite evident that it is as easy to live on the upper levels as on the lower. It is only a matter of the will, and he affirms that “intention is the soul of action.” If we definitely set ourselves to live on the upper floor, we become so habituated to the practice that it becomes our normal habit. By the same rule, if we will to live on the lower floor we form a habit that is difficult to break and that in- evitably ends in disillusionment and disappointment. There is nothing im- practical in the abbe's suggestion. He does not fail to recognize the necessity for doing that which is commonplace and essential. On the other hand, he insists (and we believe with reason) that a proper recognition of the two- EV. JAMES E. FREEMAN, D. D., LL. D, Washington. floor way of living is the only one that brings consistent compensations, happi- n and peace. We are bound to be: lieve that his observation has lari value, and that it is in consonance with the teachings of the great Master. That Christ had a philosophy of life, and a practical one, is clearly evident as one studies His teachings. He related the spiritual to the physical and the physi- cal to the spiritual, and reckoned always with the needs of thase to whom He ministered. He made it clear that the essen toil_and drudgery of life, its pain and sorrow. could only be lightened and softened as men came to under- stend life's true purpose and degign. In every contact He had with men and women He sought to ease their burdens by broadening their horizons and quick- ening their aspirations. Well does Abbe Dimnet say: “Look at the people whom your better judgment and higher aspi- rations rightly cause you to envy; you will Aind lfhu they distinguished In three ways—the superiority of their thoughts, their enjoyment of beauty, or their effort to ralse themselves ' g others to a higher moral level.” Ui !onun-uly for most of us, we see the relation that our religifus faith and practice bear to our [an and commonplace Hal Wi wholly misconceive Master meant by the “al life.™ We sig- nally fail to make our religion practical by bringing its »ruefit: and teachings to bei 1l that euc&rl:u 11:- 588 1O poasible rela- tion between.the and the lower floor of the an:en we live. No teacher cf religion has ever sought to make the scheme of life more helpful than did the great Master. “He knew what was in man"—his every impulse, his every desire, his every weakness, &s | well ,as. his potential strength. He | sought to remove hindrances from his path, to stir his latent capacities, to | quicken his zeal; in fine, to make him see and understand the meaning of the “abundant life.” Some day the world , will rightly appraise Christ; some d; men will s0 regulate their habits, so order their lives, that their high thin ing and idealism will be brought to bes upon their occupational and daily habit. The house in which they live will be so ordered and regulated that their two- storied dwelling will function normally and to their largest satisfaction. BY WILLIAM HARD. Intense curiosity is now felt in Wash- ington as to the coming political be- havior of William Edgar Borah, senior Senator from Idaho and the whole world's champion piayer of political solitaire. 1t is well known that the Senator thinks little of Mr. Hoover, but rather less of Mr. Roosevelt. The effect pro- duced upon him by Mr. Roosevelt's utterances in the Wast is likely to be-| come apparent in the speeches which | the Senator will probably soon resume delivering to Western audiences. Mr. Hoover's present presidential chances in the West are extremely gloomy. If Mr. Borah's coming pro- nouncements should be hostile to him, his _chances the Western region would beceme black indeed. If. the other hand, the Senator should train his guns on Mr. Roosevelt and on Mr. Roosevelt's policies, the Repub- lican managers would get a consid- erable breath of encouragement. * % % As usual, Mr. Borah's vaice is Te-| garded as the most influential solo voice in existence. It will be raised this month and next in no harmony | with either the Republican or the Democratic orchestra. It will deliver a tune entirely the Senator’s own. That tune, however, might lead & multitude of voters either towara thinking more unfavorably of Mr. Hoover or toward thinking more uniaverably of Mr. Roosevelt, The consequences in the polling booths in some of the Western States might be decisive. A leading political personality here has expressed the situation aptly, thus: * ¥ ¥ ¥ “We know that Mr. Borah is not for Mr. Hoover. We know that he is not for Mr. Rooseveit. We know that he is against Mr. Hoover. We know that he is against Mr. Roosevelt. We further additionally know that he is against Mr. Thomas, tne Socialist can- didate, and also against Mr. Poster. the Communist _candidate. We finally know that he is not supporting Mr. Upshaw, the Prohibitionist candidate. We belleve, thereupon, soon inevitably indicate his preference between the two leading candidates. Mr. Hoover and Mr. Roosevelt expect him to indicate It oy letting us publicly know which of the two he regards with the mose distrust. he think that Mr. Hoover would make the worse President? Or does he think that Mr. Roosevelt would make the worse President> Which of them is he superiorly against? That is the biggest one remaining problem in this campaign.” . * K k¥ On the record it wouls Mr. Roosevelt in 'four matters has annoyed Borah more than Mr. Hoover has. These four mat: ters—fundamental to Mr. Borah—ar Prohibition, international debts, the bonus and farm relief. On_ prohibition Mr. Hoover has an- noyed Mr. Borah by suggesting & vast weakening of Federal control, but Mr. Roosevelt has annoyed him more by suggesting an even vaster weakening of it. On international debts Mr. Hoover has rather grudgingly accepted Mr. Borah's idea that we might trade the debts off for some more useful gain in trade or in disarmament or both. Mr. Roosevelt has come forward with no corresconding acceptance at all. Add!‘ tionally, Mr. Garner, Mr. Roosevelt’s running-mate, hlstex‘prelssefl himsel vigorously on this topic in & Rl o acceptable to Mr. Willlam Randolph Hearst than to Mr. Borah. The general Demacratic attitude toward the collection of the debts in full is to- day, on the whole, much firmer and more drastic than the general Repub- lican attitude. Mr. Borah thereupon in this matter, as is not unusual with him in many matters in a presidential year, finds himself more Republican, after all, than Democratic. * K X ¥ nus Mr. Hoover has taken a poasnit‘lg: D B aimest dentical with Mr. Borah’s. When the bonus army was in Washington it sent a delegation to see Mr. Borah. He welcomed the delegation and spoke to it in words that wWere very friendly, but very frank. He said that many of the veterans were loyed and that the Government at his Yme had a chief duty to the un- employed. He then added that the Government should not do for unem- ployed veterans anything that it did not do for the unemployed in len:n‘l; In sum, he told the delegation “no.” He approves of Mr. Hoover’s similar “no. He has heard no such prompt “no” from Mr. Roosevelt. At the moment when these words are written he has heard from him no “no” at all. d seem that fundamental ) that the House of Representatives, un- der Mr. Garner's’ leadership, accepted and passed the immediate bonus pay- ment idea in the last session of the Congress. These facts regarding the bonus problem are e here to have considersble weight with Mr. Forah whil> he is decicing which of ihe two major parties he detests and loathes. more than he loathes and de- tests the other. ** k¥ Finally, has besn Qp] debenture” his recent speech at Political World Awaits Borah’s Word on The Opposing Presidential Candidates He additionally is obliged to reflect on farm relief, Mr. Hoover d to Mr. Barah's “export n, but Mr. Roosevelt, in , seems sim- unlywwomudwizmdmld- Jdumnllly to entertain a sympathetic view of certain features of the “eq | lzation fee” plan which Mr. Borah vehemently denounced in 1928. Mr. Roosevelt si that his ideai plan of “farm relie | selt.” Mr. Borah's “export debenture” plan does not finance itself. It proposes that on exports of given agricultural commodities there should be issues of “debentures” which could be used in payment of duties on imports. Such use would diminish the cash received by the | Federal Government in iis customs | houses. It would diminish it—in the bill introduced into the Senate last | Spring—by $146,000,000. That $146.- 000,000 would be the Government's con- | tribution to the financing of Mr. Borah' | “export debenture” plan of * n | lef * X ok % Mr. Roosevelt, on the other hand. snifestly leans toward the so-called |“'self-supporting” methods involved in | either the “equilization fee” plan or the | domestic allotment” plan of “farm re- His specifications of his deal plan al Topeka were essentially satisfactory to the supporters of both of those plans. The American Farm Bureau Federa- tion favors the “equalization fee" plan. The Farmers' Union in many localities favors the “domestic allotment” plan. liet " P Those are the two principal general farm organizations in the West. Mr. Roosevelt has pleased them both. At !the same time it is manifest that he has not pleased Mr. Borah. The per- son to whom he has given the most | pleasure is Mr. George N. Peek, the author of the “equalization fee” plan, | who says that Mr. Roosevelt's Topeka | speech is the greatest farm speech ever { made and who thus indirectly expresses a very different opinion of Mr. Borah's 1928 Kansas City convention speech. n which he denounced the “equalization fee” plan as a menace to the welfare of the American farmer. * iR | These considerations, when combined | and accumulated, may throw some light lon Mr Borah's present edition of the ;quadrennill internal struggle through that he must “hich he arrives at his policles toward | the candidates for the presidency. They may throw some light. but at the same ‘We ume they may not throw a determining | 1ght. It is quite possible for Mr. Borah to_come foyward and announce his Does | Folicies on the ground of arguments | Which never before had occurred to | anybody. The only thing that seems impossible in Mr. Borah's case is that he should let the campaign come to a close with- out influencing it with his_eloquence |and with his convictions. Washington calculates surely not that he will say | this or that, but only that presently | he will say and tell the world. | (Copyright, 1932.) s Bare Shelves of Business Held as Hopeful Sign BY HARDEN COLFAX. ‘When, in this month of September, | the Old Mother Hubbard of business goes |to her cupboard she finds the shelves | barer than they have been in many a |day. This, in the opinion of business | leaders and Government experts, is the | most hopeful sign on the business hor- izon for a revival of consumer buyin, | Domestic stocks of the principal raw | materials and manufactured goods are manner | getting lower and lower, according to | | figures just compiled by the Department |of Commerce, although those of raw materials are not as low as those of | manufactured goods. World stocks, on | the other hand, are still very large ‘and above the apparent consumer demand. * ¥k x In most of the important commod- ities there has been a gradual decrease in the stocks on hand in this country since last Summer. Take rubber, for example. In July, 1931, the stocks on hand were 113—that is, 13 per cent above 1923-1925 average, used as the base for present calculations. Prac- tically every month since then they have decreased, until they are now at 70 77 cent, 30 per cent below. Take textiles. In July, 1831, they were 89 today they are 75. Pood products ‘were 111 in July, 1931, this month shey are 101. Iron and steel were 130 in July last year, now they are 98. Chemicals were 116, they are now 1. Forest products were 104, now 97. Raw materials show less change. Some of these also, however, show decreases. Foodstuffs, which stood at 192 in July, 1931, are now 162. Metals have come down from 138 to 128. On the other hand, chemicals show the same percentage of stocks and textile materials an increase from 134 to 193 World stocks of foodstuffs and raw materials show increases. Coffee, cop- per, cotton, rubber and silk are up, while tea, tin and wheat are down. * ¥ x ¥ | Dr. Jullus Klein, Assistant Secretary | of Commerce, in ‘commenting on the gain which recently carried the whole- sale price level of 784 commodities to the highest point since March, de- | clares that has been largely at- | tributable to the replenishms h low inventories hment of stocks. 8 obtained of ‘Them Bad”eome not oniy desir- D. C, SEPTEMBER 18, 1932—PART TWO. Capital Sidelights BY WILL P. KENNEDY. Leading economists, as well as poli- ticians, .are now emphasizing the fact that States and cities and smaller sub- divisions, even more than the Federal Government, must reduce expenditures before there can be any permanent re- lief from the business depression and unemployment. “‘\merican cities are like families living beyond their means” is the finding_ of such authoritative spokesmen as Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Brown, chief of the United States eau of Efficiency, and A William Williamson - of former chairman of the tee on Expenditures departments and a cial Economy ‘Wiiliamson _pof Mareh by former Pres- _Representative the warn! lasy ident that taxes—local, State and Nationgl—had ¢climbed from 6.4 per cent of our natfonal income in 1913 to 14.4 per cent-of our national income in 1930. Since then our national income has '1'-1' fallen, Mr. Williamson e o s 32 the total tax burden will run -close to 20 per cent of our nation: me, and he says “manifestly such a d is beyond enduranc He sees the greatest danger in the tremendous increase of expenditures by States and lesser subdivisions. He is now mklntl segregated data for the smaller units, such as townships and school districts. He has had a table prepared from data gathered at hig re- quest by the Census Bureau which dis- closes that State revenues increased from $458,232,697 in 1915 to $2,243,110.- 687 for 1930, while expenditures for the same period increased from $494,907,084 to $2,200,270,060. State expenditures continue to mount higher and higher, he says, with every passing year and to outrun revenues, so that the net result was to increase the gross débt of the States for the period under considera- tion from $530,408,081 to the stupendous sum of $2,444,122,201. In other words, notwithstanding the tremendous in- Icrease in taxes, expenditures exceeded i income by $1,290,270,059. Representative Williamson has made a similar study of cities having & pop- ulation of 30,000 or over. 1In 1913 these | cities had an income of $866,277,110, with total expenditures aggregating $984,141,689. By 1930 income had in- creased to $3,418502,995 for the year, but expenditures had increased to §3.- 810,681,763. With only two exceptions the annual expenditures for the period | had exceeded income, with an ever-in- ing volume of indebtedness, which redched a staggering total of §10.- 018,416,034 for 1930. This indebtedness has been g-eatly augmented during the last two years, Representative William- son_warns. ‘The counties have followed the same | course. Their revenues for 1912 were | $370,043,046; expenditures, $385.181,760, } and gross debts, $395.207.409. Ten| years later taxes collected amounted to $745,000.000 and the gross debt stood at $1,386,430,000. During the next dec- | ade ending with 1932 revenue, expendi- | tures and indebtedness have continued | | to mount. Giving a slant on what he has in mind to urge when Congress reassem- | bles, Representative Williamson sa “It is clear that this trend cannot be allowed to continue without bringing | ' sbsolute disaster. In many parts of the country taxes already are confisca- tory. Unless there is to be a complete socialization of land we must face about and end it by reducing expenses of government”—State and municipal and | 'county and township and school district, |as well as National—“to a point where the cost will be brought to a level that | the people can afford to pay. I “It is time we were devoting more at- tention to sound economics and less to | relief panaceas that are only tempo- |rary and indifferently effective at best It should h> possible to work out our financial. i:dustrial and agricultural | interests In such a manner s to giye| | stability to commodity values, insure| employment at fair wages and prevent ; recurring booms and corresponding de- | pressions. Until this end is realized. we | shall not have reached that economic | sul::’llty to which the people are en-| titled.” * * x ¥ % “Shall we cripple the Constitution to remove ‘lame ducks'?” is asked, rhetori- cally, by Representative Byron B. Har- lan of Ohio, who p-ints out that William ! McKinley, Abraham Lincoln and Champ | Clark are three of the many hundreds of defeated Congressmen who have served their communities as“lame ducks.” While | the ratification of the amendment pro- posed to the States by Congress is being ' awaited, Representative arlan and | others are endeavcring to ‘educate” the people back home that the multi- plied duties and activities which con- front a new member of Congress “re- quire considerable preparatory education. ‘The governmental departments all have to be learned,” he says. “The necessary contacts have to be established and four months’ time is all tco short to permit any Congressman to prepare himself to render real service to hi community.” He argues also that “most Congressmen are men of standing in their communities, who have consider- able buciness or professicnal activity to adjust before starting in on their duties, and all this must be done if a public fficial is to give his whole time to his | | able but course, pri ing on the part of the general con- sumer. It also assumes that the per- sonal reserve stocks, which the con- sumer acquired during prosperous times and has been drawing on ever since, are now coming to their end. No one knows how many suits of c'othes or pairs of shoes, how many other things of personal or household use were accumulated by well-to-do individuals in boom times, and how soon these will have disappeared and foree new purchases. But they seem to be doing so, if reports from retail establishments are to be believed. LI Foodstuffs and textiles also are in- teresting i.lusirations of the situation. Ccmmenting on .he Government's warehouse report issued this week by the Dzpartment of Agriculture, one of the best known food economists de: “acute shortage in the holdings of es- sential foodstuffs in almost all the warehouses of the country. Eggs, poultry, butter and other dairy products are likely to be scarce this Winter, and higher prices, therefore, would seem to be inevitable. As a result, it is hslieyed. of thei rush on the part of manufaciurers to place orders to fill their depleted shelves when they learned of a smaller coiton crop in prospect, a very gratify- ing increase in the production of coi- ton cloths was reported this week by the Association of Cotton Textile Mer- chants of New York. * K Xk For the four weeks in August the vardage of cotton goqds production re- ported was just over 180,000,600, The sales were more than 500,000.000, mak- ing a ratio of sales to production of 282 per ceni. Fancy any industry in these times recording an advance of 282 per cent in production to meet consumer demand! On August 1 some 280,000,000 yards of stocks were on hand, while at the end of the month this had been cut down to 209,000,000 yards, 8 decrease of some 25 cent. Unfilled orders were some 240,000,C00 yards less than at the end of y. These figures show the lowest ever recorded since comparable statis- tics became available in January, 1928. The figures of sales are the largest for any month. As further confirming cheerful news, the New England Council has just pub- lished a rather substantial list of re- ports of improved business received by it from chambers of commerce, boards of trade, trade associations and similar sources. As a result of low stocks, tex- tile production was shown to be par- ticularly active. The same is true of he replenishment ghoeq, (Copyright, 1933.) - | which new Americans are | ters customarily dwell at home. o o e T Foreiglérs Chief ‘Home Ownerg s the foreign tales of In spite of all the rhBete bol d'ed in big city orl?;’\h company shacks of the foreign S ethoee m"::elfl’flld stat! take home, B‘u:elu of the Census reveal thlr:p ‘vi:el foreign-bor» American is the pri Py home owncr in the ur‘::!‘:( 31. e highest percen h owflf:hlp":or the entire United States. 518 per cent, is shown b: born. To emphasize the d in the mine flelds an adventurers who come make money 0 & siatistics of the tent to ex B econd mignest ownership, 516, 1% heads of which born or mixed themselves firmly. percentage of home shown by hml.llru ;he are of either forelgn-| parentage, with a strong forelgn ml'fl much in evidence. These neweomgrd to American shores are taking up title to property in their own nal and, obviously, are here to stay. In ‘Teporiing that the foreign born show a 51.8 per centage of home owner- ship the Bureau of not mesn that forelgners own more then half of all the homes. The fllfi ure means that of the homes occup! \t by the foreign born more than ha are owned by the immigrant occupants. This bi;f dtrue of no other class within our ers. The numbers of these jmmigrants are large. Of the foreign born, the largest home-owning elass, there are 5,736,491 families, Of the second class menticned, those of foreign or mixed parentage, there are 5460810 families. Here are more than 11,000,000 families, Tepresenting about half the population of the entire country. And more than half of them own their own homes Mixed parentag: refers to persons one of whose parents is of forsign birth and one a native. In many cases, even the native is the offspring of im- migrants and bears the forelgn stamp. or consult a city directory, newspaper or the signs of business tablishments without sometimes won- dering if he does not dwell in some foreign land. These figures relate only to persons of the white race. Basis for Census Figures. s While the number of foreign-borp families and those of mixed parentage is less than half the total mm; T of families in the United States—20,904.- 663 — foreign-born residents = usually show a larger average number of chil- dren ger family, so that a total of some 11,396,000 of foreign-born and mixed- | parentage families accounts for not far short of half the entire popul-tlor; In Census Bureau fl(gru a family is fig- ured in terms of home establishments. Each family is fegarded as & unit. A single person, living alone in a house or apartmept, is reckoned as head of a household and a family unit for enu- meration purposes. If he is a lodger in another house he is not so regarded. Inasmuch as very few of the foreign born or even those of mixed parentage maintain independent establishments when single, it is regarded a wholly safe statistical assumption to state that a larger average population per family is represented in the families of for- eign strain than those of pure native strain. Every city has developed its for: quarter and unmarried sons or dau When immigrants send home for single broth- ers or sisters or other ns, the BY FREDERIC ) HASKIN. jes and Polacks dwelling in | y the foreign | the Census does| A | pewcomers are likely to liye D etoids of their kin, An ey should be made of the d Marlene Dietrichs, their luxurious vilias uses and reside in solitary sigy, They, indeed, are enumerated as famy lies in themselves, inasmuch &s they constitute heads of households. 1t is shown that the members of the Negro race, although resident in this country for so much longer than the fmajority of the foreign born, have br:: Slow to acquire their own homes. O 669,645 Negro familles. or but 23.9 cent of the total number of such ! lllat % the United States, are of ‘their own dwelling places A el of 2080211 Negro families a1s ters. "g‘he figures for total white pop tion, ineluding both the native Ameri. cans and those of foreign original and mixed parentage show that only 415 cent own their own homes. Inas. | Paiich as more than haif of the fore: | strain Americans do own their homes, the figure for the natives comes down considerably. Tenure of Farms. The rural population, taken by itself, tells s differen ‘the whole gountry that there 3,498,688 farm families in the United States, or 525 per cent of all farm families who own their own homes This leaves 2,968,268 families on rented farms. The question of tenure of farms is as one of great soclological im) nce in America. A great man publicists have expressed the fear that America may become a Nation whose brosd farm acres are in the hands of a tenant class and that abse nd- | lordism may become as serious a propb- |lem in America as it was at one time in Ireland and igp some coun'ries on the Continent of Europe. The yeo- manry of & land has traditio tod clared by some to be weak. The Census Bureau figures show a steady decline in ownersnip of farms end an increase in tenantry. In 1910 there were 3,838,331, or 627 per cent { or 37.1 per cent. of the families In 1920 the number of owning f. had fallen to 3,825.677, or 567 pe cent. while the tenantry had increased to 2,755,487, or 40.8 per cent. The 1930 th its figures of 525 owned and 445 per cent rented, rapid the change has been rate of change another census de will see the tenure about eve: anced and still another will tenantry in the majority. Such & trend may be altered | changes in economic conditions. A | icans may move beck to tne farm experience points to different co: sions, however. It does seem | that the rural districts of much | country will fall into the hands o | foreign born or those of mixe opean peasants, eager land ownership, are becoming the new owners of the American farms, inir | ducing intensive methods of cuit tion and Yying at & lower scale than | native Americans have been accus- tom se T Even now. in many sections of the country. the country boy of the L | coln type and the type of Whittier's | “Barefoot Boy" are rare. One sees, | instead. a surdy but outlandish peasant. Fifty Years Ago In The Star Although not &s numerous or as man- ifest as at present, the advantages of Washington as an z“:‘:."":&'-' i cational cen- Educational Center. {2U0RT TO0" ognized and frequently urged by the newspapers of the Capital. The Star of September 18, 1882, says: “Washington City, as is fitting, is taking a national position as an educa- tional center. The public schools of the city have obtained reccgnition as among the best in the country. They have grown up from the rank of ‘pauper schools’'—the old epithet of derision—in such sort that the children of million- aires, cabinet officers and Congress- men now eagerly elbow their way with the pauper children for admission. But the success of the free schools inter- fered with the growth of the private educational establishments. No other city of its size in the country has prob- ably so many successful private schools in operation. The list of such estab- lishments advertised in The Star has grown formidal gle proportions. In the cala- | logues of these schools will be found the | names of pupils from every State in the Union and from all parts of the world. “Many cayses combine to give Wash- ington this advantageous position as an educational point. The equable climate and the dry, well paved sireets and well kept parks, allowing helpful exer- cise in the-open air almost every day in the year, are physical advantages that count for a good ceal. Exceptional helps to study in almost every branch can be found in the national city. The agricultural and botanical gardens, the Smithson Institution, the National Museum, Patent Office, Signal Service Bureau, the National Observatory, af- ford a varied supply of information upon natursal history and the applied sciences. The art student finds in the Corcoran Gallery the best collection of casts of the antique in the country as well as varied illustrations of modern_art in painting and sculp- ture. The law student has the ad- vantage of access to the Government law libraries and to the SBupreme Court and District courts, where the lead- ing lawyers of the country may be heard in cases of national interest and im- portance. The medical student finds in the vast collection of the Govern- ment Surgical Museum a valuable aid to study; students of all kinds find what | they need in the great Congressional Library and in the special libraries of | the several departments. It is conceded that the best equipped candidates for ‘West Point and the Naval Academy and also for the leadi: colleges of the country are those fitted in the Wash- ington schools. Unquestionably Wash- on must become the educational as well as the political center of the Nation.” * % % Although no formal decision has been reached regarding the policy to be pur- Plan for River :ge-zh zln respect Work Approved. flats improve- ment, whether to wait for judicial decision’as to the ownersnip of the “hottoms” that were to be reclaimed or to undertake the work without delay and leave the mat- ter of title and subsequent compensa- tion of claimants to the courts, Maj. Peter C. Hains, as stated in The Star of September 21, 1882, submitted to the chief of engineers a detailed plan of operation which he to follow as engineer in charge of the work. The plan was promptly approved by the chief of engineers and by Secreta Lincoln. K was in but details the project that was ultimately carried into effect,, Maj. Hains recommended that the work should be done by contract with the lowest bidder after advertise- ment for proposals, and he expressed | s the belief that there was no reason why the work of dredging and fl]l!n: should not be garried on with advantsge rt of the Winter. the first work to he | solve the wi g chanpel, and Maj, Halns' expec- tation was that if ti "o.k should be orized to start at once this. part of well under way by ' . ear by year to the present | ry | Ri |Gandhi’s Threat Causes Keen British Concern BY A. G. GARDINER. LONDON, September 17.—The dect- | sion of the British government to re- | lease Mahatma Gandhi, when he begins | to earry out his threat to starve himself | to death, was generally anticipated here, | The government is under no misap- | prehension in regard to the gravity of iu-u consequences in India of a fatal issue of the threat, for the popular | worship of Gandhl has passed bevond i‘l:‘y rtu“'l.'.lvn‘l of reason ns.hu death § mstances, T S especi by his own l:tiompsnev?uhl,\‘wlu.d create a convulsion throughout the de- | pendency. But the consequences would | be acutely aggravated if the event | occurred while Gandhi was in prison, {and tne government has wisely tasen the precaution to eliminate that possi- | bility. *x ox ok The public is more bewildered | Gandhi’s reason for the desperate act | than at the decision itself. Fasting has |always been his palitical weapon. -and | his resort to this weapon has been une:ficua since his arrest. but the grould chosen leaves the pub!ic bewil- | dered. If he had decided to become & | martyr for civil disobedience or & & | gesture for prohibition, the pubiic would | ot have been surprised. But in de- | claring war literally to the death against | the proposed separate electorates {of | the “untouchables” he baffles under- ;undlng. No one has more eloguently the depressed classes under the Hi caste tradition or necognized more fully the failure to secure reforms within that tradition. Moreover, while faitnful 10 Hinduism, he has aiways repudiated 8 :a“rm:e:c{-nll;l attitude and aimed y: al rel on w] ts tl vlr}t{uu ;)l: all cults. e ow he proposes to die as a protest against the political independence of the ‘untouchables” and in defense of the political solidarily of Hinduism. HS tion 1s that to reform the * nmut{h‘ source of those rather than mnsenfl.xte v:‘r)m;c!.:o : without he will die to preserve ileges of the Hindu system, is perged i0 general electarates it will bq:o‘um;lner St of the Tepresentation of the d i c , ang Propasing oc- torate the government, is faring (b most direct means to secure redress o the grievances of the depressed ! idea of communal represen:ation emanates not from the gavernment, but lf,mmfilh‘ lntle.rfim clash of th reeds, especi .’:flndu‘l and l‘um. G ammunal expedient i any case it is in thluno!'f;e d‘nmuctll;gu"“vhn are ouf an soclety and by caste cads : be anything else. Inmd‘u;:nrr;;‘r: sentation is the only weapon that gives them a chance of achieving emancipa social degrc tation that 60,000,000 teasts in In- of caste liberal Hindus. is designed to element cf aristocracy, and more like Bannerji, declare it appeal to the most b caste system. Xk k¥ In any event, government, it {a irrely ern\ient electaral attack on the ehems vas wy it ul forward ow the num':ny Tre tectarian facf of Indlan opinion to agree on an uhruuuu Bolicy. Premier th.mt my W.Mermnth“ made it clear accept such a sghe; coming. still is ready to 'me when forth- f he e of India would be to death unless the Hindus and ‘n‘:ur:tlen'x: ee to formu'ate g3 common ey of electoral resentaticn. would le problem, buf I fe Gandhl wants no golution. He :::r:h :«: ?nldve ‘fuc wezu?\"clvfllutbn from India Pprepare invite haos {10 achieve this goal, oo CHAGK, (Copyright, 1982)