Evening Star Newspaper, October 1, 1932, Page 8

A8 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY. October 1, 1932 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Offic . ‘and Pennsylvania Ave. LY 42nd 8t. Chicago Office: Lake Michiga: European Office: 14 Regent St.. London. England. Rate by Carrier Within e Evening Star the City. 5 5 e Evening and Sunday Star days) . 43¢ per month 60c per month .65¢ per month The Sunday Star.. 11 5c per copy Collection made at the end of each month. Orders may be sent in by mail or telephone NAtional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. di 1yr., $10.00: 1 mo.. 85¢ yr., $6.00: 1mo.. S0c Sunday only 1yr, $4.00; 1mo. 40c All Other States and Canada. Dally and Sunday...1yr., $12.00; 1 mo., $1.00 Daily only 1yr, $8.00: 1mo., 75 Bunday only 1yr, $5.00; 1mo. 50c Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled o the use for republication of all news dis- atches credited to it or not otherwise cred- ted in this paper and glso the local news published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. Editor Smith's Salutatory. If Alfred E. Smith did not mention the name of Governor Roosevelt in his “New Outlook” salutatory he at least indorsed the Democratic party. He re- mains regular, but he demurs to the present composition of the party of which he was so recently the standard | bearer and he calls for a corrective process. With some of the elements and forces in the party he says he is “com- pletely out of sympathy, not for per- sonai reasons, but because I believe they are inimical to the best interests of the country.” Mr. Smith gives no specifications, nor does he hint at the identity of these “elements and forces™ of which the Democratic party “must purge itself if it is to serve the Nation in this crisis.” Qmission of any details in this mat- ter of objectionable Democratic factors does not necessarily imply that Mr. Smith by failing to name the present presidential candidate of the party puts him in that category. It would ‘have been more satisfactory to the rank and file of his party if he had been more explicit on this point. Espe- cially as he takes a very obvious fling at Govesnor Roosevelt by de-| nouncing the “forgotten man,” the Governor's pre-convention contribu- tion, as a myth, of whom he says that “the sooner he disappears from the campaign the better it will be for the | country.” | There can be no Democratic com- plaint of Editor Smith’s lack of fidelity to his party’s cause on the score of his attitude toward the Republican party and the present administration. He is quite the Smith of 1928 in his attack upon the Republicans. The administra- economies effected in the name of the taxpayer as direct ‘“savings.” For when one taxpayer is relleved of the cost of the cupola, it means that his relief is being furnished at the expense of another taxpayer who depends, di- rectly or indirectly, upon expenditure of public funds. Whenever public works are postponed, salarles cut, jobs abol- ished and retrenchment schemes un- dertaken, the community fn which these things are done suffers. And it always means that a certain amount of money that would normally go into construc- tion of public works, for instance, must be raised and diverted into another channel for relief of those who are made public dependents by the loss of employment opportunity. Cupolas, of course, must be elimi- nated and other economies effected. For the tax burden is entirely too large. But at the same time, cities everywhere are seeking ways and means of offset- ting the accompanying evils of drastic retrenchment. One of the interesting movements of the times is the consider- ation of construction of self-liquidating enterprises, such as toll bridges, water works, vehicular tunnels and slum clear- ance with credit made available through the Reconstruction Finance Corpora- tion. This expedient, if successful, would keep wheels turning when, other- wise, they would be stopped by the elimination of cupolas. And at the same time the desideratum of tax re- duction will be accomplished. -t — Political Murder in Cuba. About the time unknown miscreants in Massachusetts this week were bomb- ing the home of Judgz Thayer, who sen- tenced Sacco and Vanzetti to death, Dr. Clemente Vasquez Bello, President of the Cuban Senate, was murdered by & gang of Havana assassins. The crimes at Worcester and Havana are, of course, wholly unrelated. They are here brought into juxtaposition merely to suggest that Americans who criticize such exhibitions of violence abroad should not forget that they themselves live in glass houses. Dr. Bello's assassination is noteworthy because it is a fresh reminder that the political unrest which dogs the foot- steps of President Machado's govern- ment is far from suppressed. The mur- dered President of the Senate was & stanch Machado ally. The Cuban au- thorities are in no doubt that he was struck down on that account. Politics in the Pearl of the Antilles appears to be conducted more ar less on Chicago gangster lines. At any rate, the killing of Dr. Bello was speedily followed by the slaying of three brothers named Freyre de Andrade and Representative Angel Aguilar, leaders of the opposition to the Machado regime. That is retri- bution of the most approved Capone- Bugs Moran pattern. ‘While the police were running down clues leading to the discovery of the authors of this orgy of assassination they ran across & chain of dynainite bombs placed in the Colon Cemetery, tion, he says, cannot begin to solve our present problems; it has had a chance to do it and has failed utterly; the hope of the country lies in Democratic success. And the Democratic candidate emeritus concludes: The one great chance that the Democratic party has had during my lifetime is presented to it now. I believe it is able to meet it. I believe it can go as far as Government can go to solve the problems which are as far away from solution today as they were when the depression started. I believe that the success of the Democratic party in the coming election is essential to the upbuilding of our national prosperity and our national wellbeing. ‘With these kind words Editor Smith Jeaves the matter for another month. He has not and he probably will not utter the names of the party's candi- dates in approbation and indorsement. He probably believes that he has gone quite far enough in his testimony of faith. — e 1t is unfair to suggest, as some eminent citizens have done, that Amer- icans take more interest in base ball then in politics. Radio reports of a series game do not prevent a vast public from reserving enough energy to provide loud cheers and prolonged applause for presidential candidates. * — e One of the unpleasant characteristics of statistical information is that it keeps many a man without fifty cents in his pocket standing in the open to hear speeches about billions of dollars. — e Russia’s Soviet government, if it ven- tures supervision of Chinese and Jap- anese differences, may need more than a five-year plan to settle them. B Cupolas and Employment. A correspondent whose letter ap- peared yesterday on this page com-; mends the Engineer Commissioner for| his elimination from the architect’s plans of a cupola for the proposed Taft Junior High School. His praise, one might infer, springs in part from an esthetic objection to cupolas—an ob- Jjection that is shared by other critics, such as Representative Simmons of Nebraska. But it is interesting to note his reasoning as it apglies to the $3,875 saved by the change: ‘That amount will keep two $1,900 men usefully employed for a year, two homes intact, the children in school and provided for and two home makers out of bread lines. It will do the same, relatively, for three $1,200-a-year men and their dependents or four $800-a- year men and their families. Unfortunately, it is not quite as sim- ple as that. The cupola incident dem- onstrates the vicious circle of this de- pression. Instead of keeping two $1,900 men employed for a year, the elimina- tion of the cupola means that a certain number of iron workers, carpenters, painters, etc., who otherwise might have where it was supposed Dr. Bello's body would be buried. The chaplain and priests of the cemeiery have been arrested on charges of guilty knowledge of the preparations for blowing up the cemetery, which had been carried on under cover of the night during a period of five weeks. President Machado long hes ruled with the knowledge that his political foes would shrink from no measures to overturn him, not even excepting revolution, if they thought they could seduce the Cuban army from its sup- port of the existing government. As long as the Machado party can retain control of the island’s military forces its tenure of office will probably con- tinue, but the week's events indicate that it is a tenure fraught with san- guinary peril and incessant danger of wiolent termination. Americans must always view such extra-legal developments in Cuba with more than passing interest because of the obligations resting upon the United States for preservation of law and order there, obligations that are im- plicit in the Platt amendment. [ In making his announcement of po- litical affiliation this year Senator Norris has managed a spectacular incident with admirable discretion. For a moment it seemed possible that he might tempo- rarily take the spotlight away from the Democratic star performer himself. ————— His words in behalf of the children placed President Hoover on record as one who believes that this generation should work faithfully to equip posterity with health and wisdom to meet the problems that will inevitably be left to it. ——————— Indorsement of the League of Nations by Premier Herriot is encouraging to the world. He even goes %0 far as to intimate that patient study and practice may enable it to dispense with that ancient institution, secret diplomacy. Campaign Crowds. Morris Hillquit once ran on the So- clalist ticket for mayor of New York. His campaign was an exciting experi- ence. Wherever he went in the city he was cheered by multitudes. His meet- ings were packed to the doors with enthusiastic followers. One rally, at Madison Square Garden, called out forty thousand people. Indications were that he might win. The masses ap- peared to be for him. But on election day he went down to defeat. Not one person in ten who had followed his banner could vote. ‘The same principle holds good of po- litical crowds in general. Candidates go on tour. Their path is thronged with applauding millions. Their ears are deafened with friendly cheers. Their hopes are stimulated. Returning been employed to contruct the cupola will not be employed. And because they are not employed their purchasing power is by so much diminished and a clerk in a store, whose job depended upon supplying the wants of these ar- tisans, is apt to lose that job. At the same time, the men otherwise engaged to supply the raw material for that cupola will be dropped and their pur- chasing power destroyed. And so it goes. On the other hand, the saving from eliminating the cupola is a saving, no matter how small, to the taxpayers. And treating the cupola as an economic emblem, it is essential that cupolas be omitted in order to lighten the burden of the taxpayers, who will have their purchasing power materially decreased, and possibly face loss of property and other hardships, if the tax burden is not reduced. The tax burden must be reduded. ! 5 Bug it Is erroneous to conceiviy these home, they await with confidence the counting of the ballots which they fondly imagine will carry them into the offices they seek. It is with certain amazement that they then discover that the practical value of a crowd may be pathetically small. In the 1928 campaign Smith was far more abundantly encouraged than Hoo- ver, but Hoover won. In 1912 Theodore Roosevelt was accorded much more ex- uberant receptions than Woodrow Wil- son, but Wilson was chosen. Bryan complained that the people came to cheer him but forgot to go to vote for him. Le Bon, the French psychologist, who understood mobs, realized the contagion of a political spectacle. He saw that much of the noise arises from the throats of hundreds of civic nonentities. Small boys in sufficient numbers can raise considerable din. Grown men on occasion may cheer for the sheer hap- THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGYON, D. C, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1932. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. piness of cheering. Rivals are applauded by the same audiences. Contradictory doctrines are given like approval. Citi- zens are capable of forgetting to con- firm their attendance at a partisan rally by visiting the polls to register and again to vote. It is exceedingly difficult to estimate the value of a vast nutpouring of the commonalty. Cicero, with fine contempt, said: “The rabble estimate few things according to their real value, most things according to their prejudices.” A statesman, finding himself in- ordinately popular, may well question the soundness of his views. Much sound doctrine, as Shakespeare prompted Hamlet to say, is “caviar to the general.” ‘The United States is a democracy, and its people have the privilege of bestowing their favor where they will. But it does not follow that they are infallible in judgment. A popular candidate may make an unpopular official. Ideas ap- proved today may be rejected tomorrow. In one of his plays John Galsworthy represents the people as stoning a man to death and then raising a monument to his memory. He found the theme in the Scriptures. He just as easily might have found it in the great unwritten chronicle of universal experience. ~Campaign crowds are news, but their practical as well as their idealistic significance may be subject to legitimate question. e r———— Bus Terminal Benefits. ‘There is precedent of a sort for the Commissioners’ decision to widen New York avenue by pushing back the north curb eight feet between Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets, in order to fa- cllitate traffic flow after the bus ter- minal has been established, and to di- vide the cost 50-50 between the bus company and the District. The prece- dent has been established in cases where a single property owner requests a sidewalk and is willing to shoulder half the cost for the entire block, the District paying for the other half. Usually, the laying of the sidewalk would await the time when all abut- ting property owners can be assessed half the cost as a benefit. And usually the New York avenue widening would awalt the time when the ordinary traf- fic demands justified, in theory, at least, assessing all abutting property owness for half the cost. But while the cost of the New York avenue widening is nominal—the esti- mate being about $1,500—the principle is interesting for these reasons: It was not considered necessary to widen the street in this block until the bus com- pany applied for and was given permis- sion to establish its terminal there; the Public Utilities Commission made its permission for establishment of the ter- minal contingent upon the Commission- >rs’ authorization of the street widening; to allow the bus terminal to be estab- lished, the people of the District must be taxed for half the cost of widening the street. The Commissioners doubtless consid- ered both the establishment of the bus terminal and the widening of the street as a public benefit, justifying assump- tion of half the cost by the District. There is no doubt about the improve- ment in the traffic conditions that will result, and there is no doubt about the added public convenience gained through centrally located bus terminals. et S T, Orators have been observing courteous restraint, although there are occasional fears that asperity is just around the corner. No two wood fires on the hearth are alike, even if made with logs from the same cord. The game in the fireplace is like the game of chess in this respect. Just as no two games of the ancient indoor pastime are exactly alike, so there is a great deal of difference in two fires kindled from logs similar in appearance. Now that the coolness of Autumn is stealing over the land, bringing with it the first brown patches in green grass and the first tinges of red to certain leaves, the desire for a fire in the fire- place buds in every household. All Summer long this central point of the living room stood almost un- regarded. It was a place to pass by without much thought. Its mantel shelf held many an object which perhaps ought not to have burdened it. Its chief function was in abeyance. With the first breath of cooler weather, however, a transformation came over the thoughts of men; the first thoughts became yearning ones to- ward more and better heat. Nothing seemed quite so natural as a fire in the fireplace. No matter what modern forms of heating a home pos- sessed, all those who lived there turned instinctively to the hearth. ‘Thus, they were llving over again, for a brief moment, the ancestry of their race. As they gathered kindling and logs and began the happy preparation for a nice fire one morning they did not think of themselves as pioneers ex- actly, nor were they in one sense. In another, however, they were dis- tinctly and entirely pioneers, almost as much so as the men and women of long, long ago, who had no other way of Keeping warm. It is difficult, practically impossible, for many men and women of this era to realize that other men and women once had no other method of keeping warm in Winter except by the use of iog fires at the bottom of huge chim- neys. ‘The crudest of stoves, of types no longer to be found in commerce, owing to their inefficiency, were only tions of a few hundreds of years ago. All during the ages the hearth, the fireplace, the chimney, have constituted the one indespensible way of control- ling the use of fire in the home. If mankind lost its furnaces tomor- row, it still could keep itself warm (fairly) with its wood-burning fire- places, eked out with coal-burning grates. There will always be a dispute about the relative merits of wood and coal burning fire grates. ‘The utilitarians will argue that coal in the fireplace burns longer and gives more heat. Those opposed declare that coal fires are dangerous—did not the great novel- ist, Emile Zola, die from the fumes sent out by such a fire in his bed room? The real winning argument, however, in favor of the wood-burning hearth lies in the real difference between every batch of logs. Coal fires are more or less the same. | They are efficient, but, like so many | efficient things. quite monotonous. No two log fires are ever the same. Superficially they may seem to be so, and some watchers who have not watched at all but only think they have | may have the temerity to dispute the assertion. Those who watch best will know that the truth of our prime assertion stands, | and will forever stand. | Games of chess may have the same “openings,” but just let one pawn be given a different move from the one it received, at the same point, in the last game, and the whole plan of action of both sides must be changed. With wood fires it is much the same. But here the very “openings” are dif- ferent. We have never seen two fires begin in the same way. One will catch gradually. until the fireside sitter thinks something must be wrong with the con- struction of the pile on the andirons. All of a sudden a row of small flames will run along the bottom of the outer | gives. | inculcate such a theory, that motion is log. Or it may be the top of the log. Or of the great backlog. ‘There is no telling, in advance, where fl;le first real progress of the campaign will be. It is as thrilling as a political con- test, if one is able to find it so. Always 5 “If” is what makes the world go ‘round, what gives life its zest, what creates interest where others may find only boredom. Kipling summed it all up in his fa- mous poem, but one does not have to be a poet, or even reader of poetry, to be able to understand the importance of “if” in the everyday life. If one is able to see adventure in small things, where others might find only boredom, he is saved from the same boredom, and he gets a mighty| good show, too. ‘The poet Wordsworth mission to the heart of a river's brink. He said he did, at least, and seemed quite proud of himself. If one has a genuine interest in life and its affairs (not just its important affairs, mind you), it'is not at all diffi- cult to become intrigued with the way fires in the fireplace begin their job of burning, carry it on, and bring it to a conclusion. N Each stage of the process has its own charm, its own pictures, its own ways of bubbling, of sizzling, of smoking, of bursting into luminous flames, of B:ppinl, of crackling, of puffing, of ing its individual self. Strange guttering noises will arise in the midst of the logs, as if small jets of g:etfr were being played upon tiny fairy There will come, in the midst of a steady burning, a queer, unearthly poufl.” The soul of some wood borer, enjoying life in its queer way in its snug retreat, had found out its vast mistake at last. No man, not even if he can forecast the results of a national election, is able to predict when the next “pop” will come in the fire burning in Temple- lor;‘donrs' nr;"plnc('. or can the course of P35 the spark be m’lzlmny fly straight along the hearth, may trace a trajectory like a bij gun in miniature. ! > . i I:n;r;ny ]pdlng llgdlnsl the firescreen, or y slide alon, nogelesuy. g the hearth stones 0 man can say, and few will have enough sense to care, it would seem. But the wise man, who knows that many things are only small or great as one sees them, will care a great deal about every picturesque thing. He will take an interest in the fires in fireplaces, as well as the fires in the human heart. He will recognize in logs the physical materials akin to emotions in human life and living. Fire springs up, and from it heat, and from heat either good or bad results, according to the rules of the game, and the state of weather, and too many other matters to take into account. The fire in the fireplace blazes, but it ever blazes quite the same. ere to build a thousand more in the | same place, with the same draft, and the same variety of wood, he would find them all different from each other, provided he watched them closely enough, and were interested in some- thing else beside the physical return in physical warmth. The B. T. U's might be the same, but the artistic quality would vary from fire to fire. And he who watched from the artistic standpoint might not care in the least to know that those mystic initials mean “British Thermal Units,” the standard of heat measurement. Heat is not all that a fireplace gives, any more than motion is all that life Many persons have sought to t free ad- ower by the life, and that without motion there is no life, and that_therefore one should move as often and as fast and as much as one can. But the divine common- sense of mankind turns thumbs down on that theory. No two fires in a fire- place arc ever the same, and whether the fire is glowing, or whether it is out the fireplace is always a fireplace, if only one in dreams. —ao—e Goering, Socialist leader, says that Von Papen is using Hitler's ideas. In politics there is no copyright owner. ) Consistently broad-minded, Gandhi serenely congratulates his countrymen on his recovery cf appetite. ———— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNBON. Differences. If everybdy thought the same As every other person, This world would be so very tame, No world could be a worse 'un. So, when your views don't coincide ‘With those of friends and neighbors, Do not neglect while nursing pride Your ordinary labors. 1If you are right, don't let that fact Cause those in error sorrow. ‘The human brain is inexact; You may be wrong tomorrow. And while each seeks as best he can ‘Thoughts loftier and braver, Be patient with mistaken man And he’ll return the favor. Sleeplessness. “A statesman must be wide-awake in the interests of the people.” “The wide-awakeness is easy,” replied Senator Sorghum. “The hard part of the trick is to avoid the insomnia that makes a man irritable.” Relief. “Is your daughter improving in her music?” “No. But the next best thing is happening. She’s getting tired of it and won't practice.” Dangerous Mood. The man who makes election bets Is doing something rather rash, If patriotism he forgets And figures solely on the cash. Human Unrest. “Everybody has more or less trouble.” “Yes,” answered the observant wom- an. “If a man can’t find anything else to worry him he goes to a ball game and gets highly indignant at the ‘umpire.” A Neglected Literary Find. “Why did Columbus die in poverty after discovering America?” “T suppose,” replied the editor, “that it was due to the lack of enterprise on the part of magazine publishers.” Truly Admired. A hero in whate'er may come, Though passing desperate be the game, With courage fit for martyrdom And caution to avoid that same! In fascination still I gaze, For it depicts man's perfect state ‘Whose vast attainments must amaze— The portrait of & candidate. “De queerest thing about a fault- finder,” said Uncle Eben, “is dat he kin always git a few people worryin’ deir heads off tryin’ to please im.” Inspiration. Prom the Indianapolis News. A black walnut was found in the heart of an oak tree at Columbus, and if that doesn’t inspire a fieck of poetry, nothing will . President Nicholas Murray Butler of Columbia University has initiated a great national debate by his plan for handling the liquor business of the country, in the event that the prohibi- tion amendment is repealed. Some of his ideas impress those who comment on the subject, and the question as to what influence will be exerted by the liquor trade is uppermost. “Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler’s plan of liquor control, to be established after the folly of Federal prohibition has been ended, is based on clear recognition of certain facts that should be generally understood,” in the opinion of the Haverhill Evening Gazette, which is “inclined to agree with Butler that it is futile to attempt to retain any phase of Federal control of liquor,” and doubts “that President Hoover, if he is re- elected and if the anti-prohibition sen- timent continues to increase, will ad- here to his stand for Federal protection of prohibition States.” Summing up its understanding of Dr. Butler's sugges- tions, the Hartford Daily Times says: “The main idea is that there shall be no saloons; that there shall be no com- mercialization of the liquor business: that liquor shall be manufactured and sold under the control of a State au- thority which shall be non-partisan and not subject to political influences; that the net proceeds shall go to the State treasury, and that the prices shall be 50 arranged as to favor consumption of beer and wine, rather than spirits.” As to the plan, this paper says: “We fear that if the Butler scheme were adopted, it would not work as well as he hopes. The moment Government forces up the price of liquor, bootlegging becomes in- evitable,” it declares, pointing to Cana- dian experience for verification. “Be- tween the saloon and putting the Gov- ernment into the liquor business it is an question which, in the end, would prove the greater evil,” this jour- P i a personal tribute to the pro- aying & nal ponent of this plan, the Salt Lake City Deseret News says: “One of the most brilliant_intellects of the country is by Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, whose nature is sympathetic Wwith numerous phases of human life— education, politics, dipiomacy and so- clal improvement. No one would raise a question as to Dr. Butler's honesty in his views on the liquor question, but it does not require much subtlety to discern a serious flaw in his latest pro- posal.” Holding that “private capital will use every means known to the human brain to prevent this prafitable traffic from becoming a State monop- oly,” the Deseret News predicts that “influences will be exerted on Legis- latures such as we have not known since saloons and breweries fought for litical favors in our cities and tates.” With this pessimistic view the Boise Idaho Statesman agrees, de- cl : “Without wishing to condemn the idea with a wave of the hand, the Statesman thinks it not imperti nent to point out several obvious flaw: among which is the certainty that “the opportunity for graft and corruption under a State monopoly system would be great, as witness the experience of South Carolina with such a plan, an experience ending in dismal failure.” To the suggestion that “graft and cor: ruption have not characterized admin- istration of the Quebec law,” this jour- nal answers that “one must reluctantly admit that Canada has never been vic- extent which our own United has.” The Hattiesburg American is convinced that “the American people . have too long disregarced the prohibi- Teatric Flaws and Merits Are WFound In Butler Scheme for Liquor | have the problem of handling the tion law ever to any - tions on sale of liquor from stations.” specified | rather well acq lold American art of Of the opinion that “when States liquor traffic, it should be done in a way to restore individual liberty, pro- mote temperance and prevent abuses growing out of the saboon, speakeasy and bootlegging,” the St. Louis Post- Dispatch declares that “Dr. Butler has at least offered valuable suggestions to this end.” On the other hand, the New York Times thinks he has “nothing practicable or safe or sane to offer in lieu of outright prohibition.” The| Spokane Spokesman-Review is certain that “local sentiment on the liquor | issue would be as variable as local sen- timent on divorce,” and predicts that “as there are 48 States, there would be 48 different ways of dealing with the liquor traffic.” This paper is convinced that such chaos would please the traffic, as “the brewers and distillers could bet- ter cope with a State than with the United States Government. What they fear is retention of the national motto, ‘E pluribus unum,” in this journal's opinion. But on this point the Rutland Daily Herald remarks: “If experience under the eighteenth amendment has proved anything it is that the theory of concurrent jurisdiction over such a matter as the manufacture, sale and transportation of liquor is a myth.” Objecting to Dr. Bltlers plan of “putting the cost of hard liquor high,” the Topeka Daily (Capital contends such an arrangement would play “directly into the hands of the bootlegger,” and suggests that “if the price were at cost ‘without profit, it would leave no place for the bootlegger.” The San Jose Mer- cury-Herald is gratified that the Re- ublican platform has forced Dr. But- to do some tl g. “There must be merit in a platform which compels the distinguished president of Colum- bia University to admit there are seri- ous evils attendant upon the traffic in alcoholic beverages, which require the exercise of the police powers of govern- ment,” declares the Herald, which pic- tures Dr. Butler, up to the time he de- livered his last speech, as appearing “to have but one idea, and that was to get rid of prohibition.” The Cleveland News also supports the Republican prohibi- tion plank, saying: “Dr. Butler is doing the country and his party little good by attempting to tinker with that plan, and he will not distinguish himself by going over to the camp of the enemies of his party who have no plan.” ————. World Market Opinion. From the San Jose Mecury Herald. A recent survey of foreign market opinion, shows that it is in accord with American opinion that the upturn has begun. In London, Paris and Berlin it was found to be the generally accepted view that the rise in commodity prices is not a temporary flurry, but a real ad- vance on a broad front. There is' no expectation of a sudden rebound to normal business. Nor is it believed that the forward movement will be continuous. Temporary setbacks are anticipated. They will cause no dis- couragement, because they are already discounted. ‘This view in European markets means that Eurcpean industrial leaders are satisfied that the financial crisis is over and industry is beginning to recuperate. —————————— Gandhi’s Game. From the Charlotte Observer. Of course, it is rather difficult for people in this part of the country to fathom the mind of the eminent Mr. Gandhi, but to us it looks as if he is THE LIBRARY TABLE BY SARAH G. BOWERMAN. An interesting supplement to the “Journal” of Arnold Bennett, of which the first volume was recently pub- lished, is the small volume, “My Arnold Bennet{,” “by Marguerite, his wife,” publishéd shortly after his death, March 27, 1931. Arnoid Bennett mar- ried Marguerite Soulle, in Paris, July 4, 1907. They lived for some time in Paris and Fontainebleu, where he wrote what is considered his best work, “The Old Wives’ Tale.” They then returned to England and lived part of the time in London and part at the country es- tate which he purchased and renovated at considerable expense, Comarques, Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex. This home, where she spent seven of her happiest years, his wife especially loved and she was deeply grieved when her husband, zlways restless and anxious for change, she says, decided to sell it. To her it represented permanency and the se- curity which she sought from life. At Comarques officers of troops quartered in the district during the World War found a hospitable and luxurious home. After Arnold Bennett's death his wife sought permission to piace a memorial tablet in the Church of Thorpe-le- Soken, but this was found not to be possible, 8o she secured the consent of the owners to place one on a wall of the house which had been their home. * & £ ‘The story of the separation of Arnold Bennett and his wife is told with sim- plicity and pathos and one cannot doubt that, whatever the real cause of their lack of harmony, Marguerite al- ways retained her admiration and love for him. She says: “As a resuit of a misunderstanding with my husband, I was asked, to my great surprise, by our solicitors to leave our flat at once for the sake of Arnold's work. I obeyed like an ignorant fool and I was never allowed to return to it. There was no judicial separation, but a deed of separation was drawn. We have lived apart eyer since. To me years of in- tense loneliness and suffering. * * * I think my husband came to the con- clusion, after a while, that our separa- tion was a great mistake, but circum- stances overwhelmed him. * * * He was in love with life, not with security. We felt no resentment, but I have always felt, and I still claim, that our separation was a great mistake which could have been easily avoided if other people had minded their own business and if my husband had not been an influential man that people played up to. * * * Those around us, knowing us both, were well aware that, funda- mentally speaking, Arnold and I were born for each other. That has been pointed out by a famous writer who appreciated us, knew us both well and knew what he was talking about— Hugh Walpole.” Perhaps the wife has found the real reason for the separa- tion when she says: “Armold was by nature a bachelor. He was, then, un- consciously striving to regain his free- dom * * * if only for a time” Of her own life she says: “Personally I have hated my freedom, not wanting to make use of it. I have a home in London and all these years (the separa- tion occurred in October, 1921) I have followed the wonderful progress of Ar- nold’s success up till the end. I have heard from him every quarter, when sending my allowance (not fixed by law but by himself of his own free will) and when writing to me at Christmas and on my birthday without fail. Can I believe Arnold no longer loved me? I cannot * * * and death has taken him away. * * * He was too ill to ask for anybody but his valet and his sec- retary. I was anxiously waiting for him to ask for me. Alas! no one suggested to him that I desired to see him, to nurse him. (He used to say: “Marguerite is a born nurse.’) Through our deed of separation, though there had never been bitterness between us, I had been asked to give my oath| never to enter his home again unless he asked for me.” ¥k “My Arnold Bennett” contains many interesting anecdotes. It is her story his is in the “Journal” After his father's death Bennett took upon him- celf the responsibility of his mother and his one unmarried sister. His mother he settled in a home in her na- tive town, Burslem, in the Midlands. The sister he wished to see married, so | he invited three of her admirers in turn for week ends and said to each, “No good coming again if you don't make up your mind about marrying my sister be- fore you leave.” His sister was soon engaged and he then felt free to go to Paris and live and write. Soon after hic marriage he and his new French wife visited “the mater” at Burslem. The elder Mrs. Bennett liked her dzughter-in-law, in an undemonstrative way, and just before she left said to her, “Rememper that if at any time you don’t get on I shall know it is not your fault.” When Bennett's father died, “his father’s last breath had hardly left his body when his son, such a horror he had of corpses, ordered that it should be put immediately into a coffin and taken out of his bed room to the green house. * * * He always hated illness and he had no use for what was useless. He wanted others to think as he did in these matters and set the ex- ample by acting according to his own idea, regardlcss of hurting other peo- ple’s feelings. He was true to himself and he followed his impulse.” Once when his wife was obliged to go to Paris for a serious operation, he let her go alone, to the surprise and disap- proval of her French friends, who found no excuse in his dislike for everything connected with illness. An amusing episode is told in connection with Amold Bennett's first meeting with George Doran, the American publisher, who was in Paris and was to meet Bennett to talk about American publi- cation of some of his novels. Bennett was very anxious to make a favorable impression and wished to entertain him in their own home, a rather old- fashioned flat, for dinner. Mrs. Bennett did her best, with her one incompetent young servant and the aid of a first- class caterer, and on the evening of the dinner, dressed in her best white lace gown, felt that the results were rather satisfactory. ter the reception of the‘ guest in the drawing room, when they left for the dining room the nervous author turned down the kerosene lamp, or thought he did. Before coffee, which the nervous wife intended to make in a machine on the table, her husband asked her to go to the drawing room on some trivial excuse, really so that he could talk alone to Doran. In the draw- ing room she found that the lamp had been turned up instead of down and everything was covered with soot. She and the maid worked frantically to air the room and dust everything before the men came in, and in the process her dress, face and hands were badly smudged. In the dining room Arnold had upset the coffee machine and spread a black pool over her white damask tablecloth. In spite of all this, Mrs. Bel nett comments: “With “The Old Wives’ Tale’ and Mr. George Doran riches en- tered our house and stayed there for good.” Marguerite tells, with almost childlike delight, of the naming of her husband's second yacht after her, the Marie Marguerite, for, she says, he had shown her few public attentions and had always refused to dedicate a book to her. He would not allow her to visit his clubs and “was for years asked out alone by many and he entertained many of his friends of both sexes in restau- rants without me.” o A mystery story with more originality than the standard type is “Five Fatal Words,” by Edwin Balmer and Philip Wylie. Melicent Waring gladly takes a position with Hannah Cornwall at a very good salary. Her duties prove to be so light as to arouse suspicion. She soon learns something about the family affairs of her employer, who is one of six brothers and sisters. All six are heirs of their father, Silas Cornwall, whose will has provided that the trus- teed estate shall go intact to the last survivor—a very bad will. All six make cvery effort to keep alive, but to one after another death comes in a mys- with the good word warning. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Have we had the pleasure of serving you through our Washington Informa- tion Bureau? Can't we be of some help to you in your problems? Our business is te furnish you with authoritative in- formation, and we invite you to ask us any question of fact in which you are inf . Send your inquiry to ‘The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washing- ton, D. C. Inclose 3 cents in coin or stamps for return postage. Q. How long does it take a batter to get to first base?—P. B. A. Paul Gallico, a sports writer, has | studied such prcblems, and says that a | good man will get down to first in 4 seconds. A fast man, or a left-hander, | will do it in 3.8 or 3.9 seconds. | Q. What is the volume of business | done by funeral directors in the United | States>—D. T. | A. It amounts to about $380,000.000. The average expense of an individual funeral for an adult is $309. This is | exclusive of grave, tomb or monument. Q. What is the most celebrated whirl- pool in the world>—E. R. A. Charybdis, between Sicily and Italy, and Maeistrom, off the coast of | Norway, are perhaps equally famous. Q. How many foreign-language news- papers are there in the United States? | —H. S | A. There are about 1,300. Q. What does the word Sault in Sault Ste. Marie mean?>—A. W. A. The name is French and is trans- lated, Falls of St. Mary. Sault is the same word that appears in somersault, meaning leap. The word should by right be pronounced So. but custom has given it the pronunciation, Soo. Q. How many railroads are there in | Jerusalem?>—C. H. N. | A. In Jerusalem there is one narrow gage railway, 54 miles to Jaffa. The traffic of Jerusalem is conducted either by caravan, motor coaches, donkeys, or | pedestrianism. Recently there have been roads made fit for motor traffic | the vear round between Jaffa, Hebron, | Jericho and Damascus. Q. What is a proof gallon?>—C. D. A. It is a wine or liquid gallon con- taining 50 per cent of absolute alcohol of 100 proof distilled spirits. Q In last January's examinations for engineering draftsman, how many passed’—A. H. A. There were 3420 applications for principal engineering draftsman and | 59 passed; 2,334 applications for senior | draftsman, 60 passed: 2,821 applications for engineering draftsman, 89 passe 959 applications for assistant draftsman, | 57 passed; 2.426 applications for junior | draftsman, 115 passed. | Q. Is an Abyssinian a Negro?—L. W. | A The Abyssinian race is exceed- | ingly mixed, but the larger percentage is Negroid. | Q. Why do the stars differ in color? —Q. C. | A. Mainly because some stars are hotter than others. The hottest ones contain certain gaseous chemical ele- | ments which shine with an intense | white heat. The stars which are a little | less hot shine with a yellowish light and the coolest stars shine with a red- dish light. | Q. Why are there no fish in the Dead Sea?—L. B, A. The Dead Sea contains almost 25 per cent of salt, and there is no fish known which can live in so strong a salt solution as thi: Q. Who was the first child baptized in this country?>—M. A. A. A. Virginia Dare. She was the first white child horn in this country and was baptized on Sunday, August 20, 1587. She was given the baptismal name Manteo, for a friendly Indian chief who had been baptized on the preceding Sunday. Q. Which Presidents of the United States occupied a cottage in the Sol- diers’ Home grounds as a Summer resi- dence?—H. F. A. Presidents Lincoln, Hayes and Arthur. In those days the Soldiers’ Home was in the quiet country, but to- day it is in a populous section of the City of Washington. It is three miles from the Capitol. Q. What kind of currency is used on the Island of St. Thomas?—A. M. S. A. The currency is still Danish, though United States currency is always accepted, an American dollar being worth $1.04 in Danish money. The charter of the National Bank of the Danish West Indies expires in 1934. Q. Are there more or fewer deaths due to industrial accidents?—W. T. A. The Safe Worker says that in 1931 there were 17,000 industrial deaths, while in 1930 there were 19,000. Q. Is it necessary for a person who raises rabbits for fur to know how to grade his pelts, or how to tan and dye them, so as to find a ready sale for all he grows?—O. G. A. Sorting, grading snd marketing is the specialty of the ren who buys your pelts. Tarning and preparing Ppelts for manufacture are operations re- quiring many years of experience and large facilities for handling. Each spe- clalist should be given his proper work to do. The man or woman who grows the rabbits is a specialist and need not Jearn the intricacies of the fur manu- facturer. Q. How many descendants are there of the people who came over in the Mayflower?—D. L. A The number is not known. Ths Society of Mayflower Descendants has more than 2000 members. There are numerous State socleties of similar | character. Q. How long does it take a radio message to go around the world>—H. R. A. Only a fraction of & second. The speed of international radio communi- cation has shrunk the world to the di- mensions of a room only 75 feet long, as demonstrated in a recent round-the- world broadcast. In this demonstration, the voice circumnavigated the globe from Schenectady to Java and Austra- lia and back again in the same fraction of a second required for the words to echo from a wall of the experimental studio 75 feet from the michrophone. This broadcast made the round-the- world journey in less than one-seventh of a second. LQ Is Jascha Heifetz an American?— "A_ He was born in Vilna, Russia, February 2, 1901. He is now a natural- ized citizen of the United States. Q. Are Catholics permitted to eat frog legs and turtles on Pridey’—D. G. A. The Extension Magazine says that both are considered fish and may be eaten on Friday. Q. What are pinnate leaves on trees? —S. 8. A Pinnate leaves have the power of turning to adjust themselves to the light; if the rays of the sun are too powerful they turn upward; if gloomy weather. such as occurs before the rair they sink again, and when the rains be gin they at once assume the position in which they will offer the least resist- ance. Highlights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands E SOIR. Brussels—Some one has | just invented a “dog's chair.” ‘That is to say. in more familiar language, & “chaise pour chien.” | But, of course, it is more chic | and more elegant to refer to it as a “dog’s chair,” for this gives the little | ingredient of mystery *and sophistica- | tion always effective in stupefying the | gallery. And now, then, for the “dog's chair” Yes, madame, you've guessed it. | There 1s no longer need of your knees for the dog to sit upon, when you at- tend a concert in the open air, either | at the parc, or in the Bols de Cambre. | A friend of dogs, doubling as an in- genious artisan, has devised a folding chair, of most comfortable and orna- mental type, covered with any material | you desire, on which your canine may rest himself while his mistress plunges into rhapsodies and inspirations musical. The same “chaise” (pardon—the same dog’s chair”) will serve when madame goes to partake of some cakes and chocolate at the pastry shop, or when she is making calls. And it is quite the mode now to go promenading with Azer, Medor or Chouchoute, at the end of & long leather leash, and a “dogs chair” under your arm. * x ok x Chilean Auto Blockade Protests Gasoline Tangle. El Mercurio, Santiago—Due to | exercise of the government monopoly and control of gasoline supplies and ir- regularities in the distribution thereof, some 300 cr 400 taxis and other pas- senger cars were conducted into the| Alameda and abandoned before the palace of the national government. Each car bore a placard with “No mora gasoline!” or “We want gasoline!” writ- ten upon it. All other traffic was s pended, due to the unprecedented con- gestion in this quarter of the capital. Police were unable to move the cars, | except by towing, which added to the labor and still more obstructed the ave- nue. Five liters is the maximum volume that may be sold to the driver of any taxi or private car, and the demand for the essence is so acute that many own- | ers remain in line for a whole day to| secure even this small quantity. The demonstration of the taxi chauffeurs was in the nature of a protest against these conditions, which have virtually ended the city’s motor traffic. The government 1s expected, in view of these disgusting | eventualities, to exercise some prompt remedies to improve the situation, but Jjust how soon sufficient supplies cf gas- oline and oil will be made available has not been officially annonuced. * % %X % Return to Penny Postage Welcome. Evening Post, Wellington.—The re- version to universal penny postage is welcome as giving some relief to busi- ness houses. So far they have not had special consideration, though some will share in the benefit of rent and inter- est reductions—and some will lose. Probably this consideration has chiefly influenced the government in deciding to make the change. Business is dull, and whatever helps to promote a re- vival is good for the business people and beneficial to the workers. This is the answer to those who may say that, it the concession means a surrender of revenue, there are other ways in which the revenue could be better applied. Probably ‘the revenue cost of reversion is not so substantial as some might think. It is well known that two-penny postage never gives twice the return from the penny post, and if the reve- nue in the two-penny period has been dwindling the government is taking the wisest course in reverting quickly to the old rates. The temporary loss will be bread cast upon the waters to return in the form of revived business for the government and for users of postal facilities. Y Mexico Starts Drive Against Quack El Universal, Mexico, D. F.—We e oS aipariingnt ok Beatth that the sanitary authorities intend to Drosecute a brief but energetic cam- paign to terminate the operations of certain foreigners who, admitted to the country in the guise of colonists, or transient traders in legitimate mer- chandise, have freely and with impun- ity busied themselves with the selling of various “panaceas” and instruments which they call scientific, upon irre- sistible and eloquent assurances that they will cure all infirmities. Said individuals, claiming profes- sional titles, supported by documents of dubious authenticity, have been easily able to impose upon the credul- ous, and swindle them out of their money. Complaints have been made by those relieved of their funds by these charlatans that the promised cures were never realized. and on the strength of these charges efforts to end the op- erations of these undesirable elements will be brought under application of article 23. A Transvaal Troubled | By Enforcement Problem. The Star, Johannesburg.—Has some- thing gone wrong with the administra- tion of the criminal law in South Africa? Indications are plentiful that it is easier today for a guilty person to escape justice than at any period in our history. In illicit diamond-buying cases, which are responsible almost every week for improper jury verdicts, one can understand the reason without sympathizing with it. But the immunity accorded to murderers is a new, disturb- ing and incomprehensible phenomenon. Fecr an outstanding example, we need only refer to the notorious Van Wryk, who obtained an acquittal in the face of the clearect evidence of deliberate murder, only to commit another murder a few months later. On the second cecasion, it is true, he was convicted and hanged after confessing to the first. But the state cf mind of the jury which first acquitted him must remain a | puzzle. Is the explanation that public sym- athy has been tmnsferreg from yme ictim to the murderer? It would almost seem so, if we may judge by the inde- cent applause and congratulations ine variably showered on an accused person who may have escaped by a technicality of evidence. But too often, we fear, this perverted sentimentality is rein- forced by weakness in the prosecution or on the bench. The good old maxim, Judex damnatur cum nocens absolvitur— the court is guilty when a guilty person is acquitted—appears to be becoming obsolete. Honor System. From the Oakland Tribune. The honor system at the University of California, in the keeping of the students, may yet be lost. If it is to be saved, that minority of students who have defied it must either reform or be banished from the campus. Upon a number of occasions the honor system has come under attack, often from students who, adhering to it, note their fellows sliding through courses on the back of a traditional “pony.” Resented is the intrusion of monitors or any act of instructors which indicates a lack of trust. If the system is really held to be sacred at California it will not be abused. If it is violated it is because there are’ students present whose so- Jjourn at the university is not worth the money the taxpayers are laying out. President Sproul, speaking forcefully, calls upor: the custodians of the honor system to guarantee its worl effi- clency and his remarks are aj \uded by most of the students and all the rest of the State. —_— v A Political Need. From the Lowell Evening Leader. A doctor is said to have invented a device which will quickly strengthen s weak voice. And something to fortify the weak arguments of the politiclans would nat,