Evening Star Newspaper, December 16, 1932, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY......December 16, 1932 THEODORE W. NOYES.,,.Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: European England. Rate by Carrier Within the City, e Evening Sta: 45¢ per month e Evening and ndays Sunday & c per copy end of each month. Jn by mail or telephone NAtional 5000. Rate by Mafl—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. B:(Iy and Sunday. } ;{ . l}fl 00 } mo.. 85¢ ily only . mo.. Bunday only . $4.00; 1 mo., 40c Daily and Sunday...1 Datly only . D1y . $5.00; 1mo. 50 Bunday only 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- fted in this paper and also the local news published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also resgrved. No Words. Men is the most articulate of crea- | tures. Perhaps he may be the only animal possessed of the capacity to communicate thought, the only animal | with & language. Science does not/ know for certain. If the birds of the air, the creeping things of the earth, | the denizens of the jungies, have any technique of organized utterance beyond { instinctive songs or cries of satisfaction | or pain, the fact remains to be demon- strated. But the being created in the image of God has “a kingly prerogative.” He has & means of sharing with his fel- | lows the inmost images of his mind, the | deepest emotions of his soul. He has | & method for describing, for reporting, | for explaining what he has seen, heard | and felt, Such, at least, is the theory. | A man may tell his needs to his com- | penions. He may reason with his| friends and challenge his foes. He may | argue and debate. He may plead. He | may pray. It lies within his faculties | to express all the multitudinous shades | and variations of desire, hope, fear, re- | Lief, gratification and joy. He may stir | crowds with the eloquence of oratorical | art, He may lead armies to battle with shouts of militant hate. | And yet there come moments in every | human life when there are no words| meaningful enough to carry from one | spirit to another the thought or the“ feeling which the former would so | gladly say and the latter so gratefully | hear. The poet Whittier knew the handicap when he wrote: | With silence only as their benediction, God's angels come, | Where, in a shadow of a great affliction, | The soul slis dumb. There are overiones of music, the master composers declare, which no ear * can catch and no instrument reproduce. So it is with even the most sensitive and facile of languages. Back of any- thing that men may phrase in syllables are concepts, muted responses of heart to heart, for which there are no words. | But possibly the incapacity to .!peak.; the inability to express the deepest and | most intense emotions, may be in itself | a sign of understanding and love.| Silence on occasion may be more mean- | ingful than language ever can be.! Keats believed that: | Heard melodies are sweet, but those | unheard Are sweeter. And Shakespeare, mightiest master of | the English tongue, never wrote more | poignantly than when he put into the mouth of Richard II the lines: ! My grief lies all within; | And these external manners of lament ‘Are merely shadows to the unseen grief | That swells with silence in the tortur'd | soul. oo In view of the complications attend- ing the settlement of the World War, it seems unreasonable to suggest that anybody is hoarding ammunition with & view to another. B With no vote, the District of Colum- bia must be accorded the melancholy satisfaction of being held in no way re- sponsible for some of the strange things that are happening. ———ae A numerous presidential private sec- retariat may have to come under con- sideration as an incident of overlap- ping in governmental functioning. —oor—e- The Hardships Still Remain. When the President signed the econ- omy bill last Spring “with limited satis- | faction” he noted that “it imposes un- | necessary hardships on Government | employes in minor matters of little consequence economically. Some of these | hardships should be remedied at the| next session of Congress.” In the course of applying the provisions of the economy act, administrative officials sought ~ clarification from Controller General McCarl as to its meaning. Mr. McCarl rendered nearly three hundred opinions. Peculiarly enough, this activity on the part of the controller general is| now being used as an argument Against remedial amendment of the economy | act provisions at this short session of Congress. The reasoning in this con- nection is that amending the act would merely lead to further complications, and that the Government personnel has by this time become adjusted to whatever was wrong with the workings of the legislation. It is now apparent that whatever re- | lief is afforded will come from the Econ- omy Subcommittee of the Senate Appro- | priations Committee, and, if the Appro- priations Committee amends the act, | changes will be worked out in confer- | ence with the House. The Economy Committee of the Senate, headed by Senator Bingham, has shown sympa- | thetic consideration of the arguments against the economy bill presented by Government officials and those repre- | senting the personnel. How far it will | Dbe able to go in changing the economy | act remains to be seen. The recom- | mendations it makes will probably not | be known until the full Appropriations Committee makes its report. Passage of the Treasury-Post Office eppropriation bill by the House yes- terday was marked by two minor amendments by Representative La Guardia of New York, both of them bringing some relief to a proportionately £mall number of -employes. Many -n"lmdmzm.s were pfoposed, but each ' was voted down in turn. Remembering the long-drawn battle over this measure at the last session of Congress, the members are apparently afraid that once the appropriation bills are left open to amendments affecting the em- ployes, more time Jill be consumed than Congress can dfford at this short session. The question which probably interests employes above everything else in the economy bill is whether the furlough will be ccntinued or changed to a straight salary cut. Spokesmen for the employes are, correctly, opposed both to the furlough and the salary cut. But if one of them is inevitable, and that fact might as well be faced, there is considerable merit in the proposal to abandon the so-called legislative fur- lough in favor of a straight pay cut; to re-establish the leave with pay and to retain the so-called administrative furlough for the use that can be made of it in saving jobs. The basis for that argument is that, no matter what the intentions of its sponsors may originally have been, the legislative furlough has not saved jobs and has merely been a pay cut under another name. In one of his decisions Con- troller General McCarl ruled that if the furlough was applied as a five-day week plan, the salary deduction would be one-eleventh, instead of one-twelfth, of annual pay, thus imposing an actual penalty upon those who preferred the five-day week. The Post Office Depart- ment, where it was hoped the furlough would work to give part-time employ- ment to substitutes, has been unable, generally speaking, to apply the fur- lough because of the decrease in volume of business. It has generally failed everywhere to spread work. In the light of that failure, it is a question whether its ponderous machinery should not be scrapped, and along with it the “unnecessary hardships” which it imposed and which have not been removed. ———————— Tea and the D. of C. For one hundred and fifty-nine years the dumping of a cargo of British tea into the murky waters of Boston harbor has been the legendary symbol of the American colonists’ revolt against taxa- tion without representation. By that picturesque method of evincing their determination no longer to pay on tea a tax levied without their consent the Americans of 1773 rose against a fun- damental act of tyranny. Their pur- pose was to show, in the language of the subzequent Declaration of Inde- pendence, that “governments are insti- tuted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the gov- erned.” No power vested in a government out- strips in importance to the individual citizen the power to impose taxes. When the power is exercised without consent | of the taxpayer, it is no longer a “just” | power, in the sense laid down by the Declaration of Independence, and be- comes tyranny. Against such tyranny, the Boston tea party was meant to in- veigh and protest. The five hundred thousand Amer- icans resident in the District of Columbia protest against the tax tyranny of which they are doomed to be victims. They are subject to every Federal tax for which other citizens are liable, but, unlike those citizens who are inhabitants of the States, Washingtonians have no vote or voice in the imposition of Federal taxation. Disfranchised, politically ostracized, discriminated against like no other community in the Union, they are obliged to submit meekly, helplessly, to whatever the Congress, in which they are not represented, sees fit to lay upon their backs. States with individ- ually smaller populations than the District of Columbia, and whose con- tributions to the Federal Treasury are correspondingly and immeasurably lower, each have two spokesmen in the | United States Senate and representa- tives in the House commensurate with their voting numbers. Only Washing- ton remains an imrotent entity in the Federal scheme. It is an unfair, an | unjust and an utterly indefensible state of affairs The fight to rectify so un-American | a condition is decade-old. It will go on. Temporary setbacks, popular apathy outside of the District of @olumbia can- not and will not arrest it. The cause is too solidly rooted in the bedrock of | fundamental American justice and fair | play. Its triumph may not be within the realm of immediate accomplish- ment. But like truth itself, “crushed to earth,” it will rise again and again until the people of the Republic, acting through Ccngress on a constitutional amendment fo enfranchise the Wash- ingtonian, and eventually through rat- ifying action by the States, lift the District of Columbia out of its present humiliating disability to the self-re- specting level of a sovereign munity entitled and able to speak for com- | long in learning how helpless the coun- try was without its own overseas mer- chant . And when the United States itself became involved in the war the country, with feverish haste and at an expenditure of billlons of dollars, undertook to build up & mer- chant marine as & military and naval auxiliary to the armed forces. Following the World War the Con- gress determined that never again should the United States be permitted to suffer as 1t had from lack of an ade- quate merchant marine. For a time the Government, through the United States Shipping Board and its Fleet Corporation and its agents, operated the overseas American merchant feet. But the intent of Congress was to get the Government out of the ship- ping business as speedily as possible. ‘With that end in view steps were taken to make it possible for Americans to compete in the foreign carrying trade with other nations. These included loans to Americans desiring to extend the merchant marine and the so-called mail subsidies. And now, in some quarters in this country, there is de- mand that this policy be discontinued. There could be no more foolish and unpatriotic course. There could be no course that would more delight the foreign shipping nations. These com- petitors of the United States in the carrying trade had come. before the war, to look upon the business of car- rying American commerce as & vested right. They still so look upon it, and they have moved heaven and earth to disparage American shipping and to stir up resentment against it in this country. - There are two reasons why Ameri- can ships cannot compete on all fours with those of foreign nations without some aid from the government. First, ships cannot be constructed in Ameri- can shipyards for as little money as they can be constructed in foreign yards. Second, under the laws of the of living set in this country, they can- not be operated as cheaply as can forelgn ships. And in addition to these reasons for government aid in- vestigation has shown that foreign governments have given many subsidies to their merchant marines, and are | still giving them. The appropriation for the transpor- | tation of the foreign mails, as it is formally called in the appropriation | bill, has still to run the gantlet of | the Senate committee and the Senate itself. The total carried in the bill is $35,000,000, of which not to exceed 7,000,000 may be used for carrying foreign mall by afrcraft. The total is small in comparisorn to the benefits which the country recefves from a merchant marine that, despite the depression, has made rapid strides in service. ——e——————— Speculation is general as to what President Hoover will do in the future. |and the next inauguration day fs re- .‘garded as most important. N | It becomes evident that in some | social gatherings a rule should be en- forced for having all guests searched for | firearms. — | In an international debt transaction | it is not easy to arrive at an arrange- ment that will simultanecusly please the taxpayers of all nations. Y SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Cashin’ In. | We had a little poker game In Crimson Gulch last night. | We called it friendly. Just the same It turned out impolite. It was with many a joyous thrill We sat down to begin, And nothing was unpleasant till It came to cashin’ in. The hard luck fellers would apply For many a little loan, | Which sympathy could not deny, As beaten hands were shown. | The sympathy was with them still | But grew a little thin | And did not disappear until | It came to cashin’ in. | The losers had a nasty way | That sounded mighty sad | Of claimin’ they were asked to pay | For “fun” that we had had. | Cold lead they hinted they might spill. | They showed us, lose or win, | The game is never finished till | It comes to cashin’ in. Rough. “Politics is a great game,” said the | old campaigner. “It is,” agreed Senator Sorghum. “It used to be mild and friendly, like golf, ‘hut lately it has been getting rougher United States and the higher standard | vast | ‘That part of the future between now | | priation bill, has wisely retained thei itself on Capitol Hill and in presiden- | tpan foot ball.” tial elections. e ————— Jud Tunkins says we've always had It is plainly stated by those most| more or less of what they call the ma- interested that there is no use trying |chine age. Even the man with a hoe to soothe anybody’s feelings by calling ; wasn't any good without the hoe. a common ordinary lay-off “a payless furlough.” E-Merge-Ncy. A merger is somthing that's viewed with regrets By the folks of an old-fashioned way | Who fear foreign nations are merging their debts And will try to do business that way! Animal Lover. “Do you like dogs?” “Yes,” answered Miss Cayenne. “But not as much as cats. Dogs are affec- ——o—- Mail and Merchant Marine. ‘The House, in its action on the Treas- ury and Post Office Departments appro- provisions for the transportation of | foreign mail in American-flag merchant vessels. Annually, when this item of | appropriation ccmes up for considera- | tion in the Congress, there is assault on “mail subsidies” awarded by the Gov- ernment to American merchant vessels, The money so expended, however, makes it possible for the United States to have |y, man » an overseas merchant marine. That is | the long and the short of it. Either Go-As-You-Please English. the Government must continue to aid /My radio! My radio! these American ships through mail con-| I wish that you would stop! tracts, or the Government must watch | You'll make me talk, next thing I know, the American merchant marine, engaged | Like Mrs. Malaprop. in overseas trade, vanish from the seven seas—as it vanished in the past, before the World War. The only alternative would be a Government owned agd operated merchant marine, which would be vastly more costly to the American people than the present mail subsidies. An adequate merchant marine is to the United States an essential. It is essential because America must have a voice in the carrying of its foreign trade, unless it is to be in a position to be discriminated against when occasion arises. It is essential because fast and large merchant vessels are vitally needed as auxiliaries to the Navy in the | sald Uncle Eben, “don’t sound partic’lar event of war. When the World War |cheerful to me. Dey ought to be set to broke out in 1914 America was not jazz.” > |and treacherous and, therefore, 5o far “Sorrow comes to every home,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown. “The greatest misfortune of poverty is the necessity of revealing it to strangers who cannot understand.” Alcohol Precentage. ‘What percentage in beer Will suffice for good cheer With a moderate exhilaration? A percentage quits small— In fact, 'most none at all— Will accomplish & wild demonstration! “Dem old Christmas carols I hears,” | tionate and true, but cats are purring | |as I have been able to observe, more | WASHINGTON, , D. C., FRIDAY, THIS AND THAT A Silver Spring lady gently chides us for stating that the cardinal b “leaves for the Winter.” Quite properly, she adds that this beautiful feathered friend stays around and should be given food and water. It is very easy to forget this require- ment, which becomes particularly essen- tial when snow and ice are on the und. Not that birds are in much real danger of starving in this climate. Snow does not lie here for weeks at a time, as it does in more Northern communities. ‘There are plenty of shrubs bearing berries, which furnish excellent suste- nance ‘for birds wintering here. Rock Creek ?rk alone would prob- ably provide for all the birds of Mary- land, Virginia and the District of Columbia. In addition, there are hundreds of acres of farmland and the like where birds may secure various foodstuffs. Let us never forget that birds can fly. It cannot be gaincald, however, that the lover of nature feels that he should do something or other to help his feathered frieads at this time. The cardinals look as if they would enjoy a few hread crumbs or a chunk of suet. The pretty snowbirds, the juncoes, with their white underparts, surely relish this platter of broken bits of bread spread out over the snow with & sweeping motion. ‘There is just one drawback to feeding the birds in Winter, and that is the ultimate presence of starlings. No mat- ter if these birds have not been seen in & nelghborhood for weeks, they will appear within 15 minutes of the time the first crumb hits the snow. This is & mystery of bird life, along with that of migration. It is likely that the starlings have foray parties constantly in the air, scenting out or otherwise discovering the good things which they perpetually find exist in mature. Despite their disagreeable features, the starlings are interesting, as all birds are. There is something clown-like in their waddle, due to their absurdly short tails. Nor are they ugly birds, looked at frirly. Their feathers are well kept and glistening, and their figures good, aside from the unbalanced appearance due to the short tail. Their appearance at the impromptu feast usually scares away most of the smaller birds, but we have never been able to discover that this is due to any particular belligerency on the part of the starlings. Smaller birds tend to shy from larger ones on general principles, just as small animals mostly run from larger crea- | tures, at least until they discover that the latter intend them no harm. Furred animals, such as cats, will flee from dogs as a general proposi- tion, but occasionally show an utter lack of fear of some huge fellow who them. | We will never forget the sight of an | old shepherd dog, very old and very | 1arge, sitting with its paws stretched out in front of it. up to him, sniffed his nose, and then | calmly walked away, never at any time | manifesting the slightest alarm. Nature is not all fight and terror, as sometimes she seems to be. Friendli- ness, too, is a part of her infinite charm While it is a sentiment easily toppled over, it is one secn often in the | strangest and most unlikely places. The birds have the advantage of appearing to manifest a friendliness Which they do not feel, not being en- dowed with the attributes necessary. They do, however, put up & tremen- dous bluff at being friendly, going through so many motions, including that of song, so long associated by man- kind with love, that their friends are inclined to accept t! | out further question. BY FREDERIC | Some 1,500 Washingtonians had their first close-up of President Hoover at the White House last night since his defeat for re-election. general at his buoyancy, good humor, fine spirits and apparently rugged physical condition. It is, of course, a different-looking Hoover than the Pres- ident who held his first diplomatic re- ception in December, 1929. Age and anxiety have taken their tell-tale toll, but that the Californian has his chin up despite the experience from which he emerged on November 8 is beyond all question. Mr. Hoover conveys upon most his visitors the definite impression that he contemplates release from ex- relief. ‘There’s no occasion for him to express himself upon such a point, yet few who have conferred with the Pres- ident in recent weeks believe it is even vaguely in his mind to re-enter politics and aspire to. “vindication” at another election. One thing is certain—Hetbert Hoover will never go gunning for the | presidency on traditional political lines. | with an organization and all the rest |of it. If Cincinnatus ever leaves the engineering plow, it will have to be in | response to an unmistakably spon- taneous call. No man. not even prob- ably Mr. Hoover himself, closes the door to such a possibility, remote as it now | seems.. 1 * k * X When M. Paul Claudel, poet-play- wright - philosopher _ Am! or_ of France, invited President and Mrs. ver early in November to dine at the French embassy on December 14 neither he nor his exalted guests faint- | ly imagined it would be the very day | on which France would default on her debt payment, due 24 hours later. Naturally, the dinner took place ac- cording to schedule. But whether it was quite as jolly & party as might otherwise have been the case is a horse of another color. Bismarck used to say he did more diplomatic business at his dinner table than in the_chancellery of the German Empire. Perhaps the Hoover-Claudell embassy conversations paved the way for those negotiations which sooner or later, all Washington feels, will bring order out of existing debt chaos. The French Ambassador, functioning for the first time as dean of the diplomatic corps, gresented his colleagues to the President at the White House reception. The Ambassa- dors of Belgium and Poland, who | joined France in default: the Minister {of Hungary and the consul general of Esthonia, whose Trespective countries also failed to “come acress” Ikewise | curtsied befcre Mr. Hoover and the | First Lady. | ok k% Demcecratic scn:torial contest in Mary- | land, of which “Joz" Tumulty, Woodrow | Wi'son’s right-hand man. and Millard | E. Tydings, the Free State's trium-| phantly re-elected bachelor so'on, are | the heroes. Tumulty went into the Maryland provinces to make a spesch for Tydings and the Senator himself scught the privilege of introducing him. Tydings spoke for 10, then 15, and well into 20 minutes, when Tumulty decided the time had come to curb the Senator’s flow. He tugged Tydings by the coat- tail and whispered, “Hey, Millard, you're supposed to be giving an intro- duction, not conducting a filibuster.” * x X X Miss Kathryn O'Loughlin, tall, corn- fed Democratic daughter of Kansas, who's being put through a course of congressional sprouts by Representa- tive Ruth Bryan Owen, is the first| woman lawyer ever elected to either She comes from a big district | in Northwestern Kansas, of which Sa- lina is the principal town. Six mere men were bowled over by her in the nomination primary, and then she de- 11 | their mouths, manifests in his eyes a tolerance of | BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. ‘The birds which stay with us during ird | the Winter are s0 few in number that even the most unobservant may come to know them all. Here it may be well to say that one does not have t0 be an ornithologist to enjoy the home study of bird life. ‘What is required more than knowledge is appreciation. We have met many sclentists who somehow seemed to have little true appreciation for what they had under their hand. Knowledge and appreciation are not necessarily the same. The art of ap- preciation goes side by side with an art 104&!; it demands open eyes and a cer- tain ‘goodness or rightness of heart whien” knowledge often knows little about. Appreciation of the things of nature is happy precisely because it demands so little knowledge. Here, and perhaps here alone, a little knowledge is not a dangerous thing. One may think that the cardinal migrates in Winter, when it does not, but that false belief will not keep one from recognizing the bird when it appears and from doing it the homage which it deserves. Ignorance in regard to the things of nature is not the mother of evil neces- sarily. Far from it! It is based on lack of observation, on incomplete ob- servation, or upon a certain hurried way of looking at things. This latter often is due to modern stress and strain, and to little else. One discovers that it makes little difference, after all, whether one is accurate in regard to certain matters. In fact, if one has a certain sort of disposition, the effort to be accurate in regard to certain matters is a mistake. We say this for the benefit of all enthusiastic persons who nevertheless make mistakes. Too much stress perhaps has been placed upon being right. What differ- ence does it make, after all? Espe. cially in regard to such matters as nature study, by and large. If one is a scientist and studies birds or furred animals for a living, accuracy is essential. It is necessary. There can be no progress or satisfaction with- out it. 1f, however, one merely watches such creatures for the pleasure and interest of it, accuracy is not so essential, as desirable as it may be on general prin- ciples. The truth is mighty and will prevail, but if it misses fire in one’s mind—until corrected—little harm is | done, after all We feel this much is necessary in view of the modern overemphasis, as | we believe, which has been placed upon “being right,” as it is called. Many persons are so afraid of “being wrong” that they are scared to open even to ask questions They believe that it is better to look wise evidently than to make an attempt to learn something. Motorists refrain from asking direc- | tions in strange cities rather than ad- mit to the inhabitants that they do not | know, when all the time the ‘tags on their cars speak plainly enough of their | probable ignorance. | There is a great deal of fun to be had in this life through the honest ‘expedient of attempting to find out | things, even at the cost of giving other you. |~ Make up your mind as early as possi- | ble that the most ignorant person will | l]augh the loudest. Being laughed at | doesn’t much matter. If one has enough courage to say | something or other. it will enable those who know more to come to one’s rescue. | “One will know more here, another | there. Between all of them the ambi- tious student, especially of nature, may come in time to know a great ceal. Our kind correspondent speaks of a | “hummingbird” with “a tail like che- nille fringe.” The creature isn't a hummingbird, but a sphinx moth, and is so tame that it may be picked off the phlox, which it particularly loves ' found in season. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS WILLIAM WILE. | feated a Republican incumbent for the job. Miss O'Loughlin was driving through her district one day in Octo- bexr when over the radio in her car she Surprise Wa$ heard it stated that the day after elec- | | tion Gov. Harry Woodring would an- | nounce his marriage to her. | herself was broadcasting in the next town, she lost no time in denying the | romantic impeachment. The “low | down” was that Klan enemies of the ! Democratic Governor thought _they s could smear him by spreading news of his engagement to a Catholic. | ok X% | Capitol Hill lobbies buzz insistently | with the yarn that “Jim” Wadsworth, | recently elected Representative from | up-State New York, is definitely out | for the Republican minority leadership ecutive responsibilities with unqualified | Of the next House, in succession to| Representative “Bert” Snell of New York. Mr. Wadsworth has been in | Washington since Congress rerconvened ,and is said to have put in some licks |for his reputed ambition by hobnob- | bing with Republicans—the handful | of them—who will be colleagues in the Seventy-third Congress. Those who are peddling the story say the former Sen- ator, who fell afoul the woman drys | when he aspired to re-election in 1926, | would look upon the House minority | leadership as the first step in his cam- | paign to capture the G. O. P. presi- | dential nomination in 1936. The Ger- | mans have a word for it—"zukunftsmu- sik,” music for the future. ‘Though her name is almost more | commonly mentioned for Roosevelt Hoo- | Cabinet honors than any other, few | in front of any of the apartment houses | people know that Frances Perkins, New | York State industrial commiissioner, is a Lucy Stoner. She is married doesn't use her husband's name, which is Paul Wilson. Mr. Wilson was one of the late Mayor John Purroy Mitchel's secretaries in New York City. Fearing that her own political activities might gro\'e embarrassing to her husband in is official capacity—so a friend nar- rates—she retained her maiden name. Whether it would be “Mrs. Secretary Wilson” or “Miss Secretary Perkins,” in case of a cabinet appointment, nobody seems to know. , but c € ok ok ¥ Speaker Garner himself is authority for evidence that, now and then at least, Mrs. Garner is the boss. Quoth the wife of the Vice President-clect: ‘Jack, I've been seeing a good deal in the papers about the courage, political | and otherwise, that you're supposed to have. If therc’s any you'll go down to the dentist's today and have these two tecth pulled.” The Speaker demurred: “Ettle, you know . has been sweated from the American As she | truth in that, DECEMBER 16, 1932. Holds States May Make Treaties or Compacts To the Editor of The Star: Referring to s letter you printed in the December 7, 1932, issue of The Star from Joseph W. Che: T ing one of the most edition, I would like to suggest tha perhlg he is the one who is tangled up. the article he refers to I failed to encounter the difficulty of dig the comparatively simple, clear ical statements. It is clear that Mr. Ch is not a student of modern political science. To rove my point I shall quote a few ines from the latest edition of Ray, leading authors of political sclence text books. “If Massachusetts desires to_enter she can do so, provided alliance or confederation is not created. * ‘With the consent of Congress two or more States, furthermore, may make agree- ments or compacts among themselves; and although full possibilities of se- curing co-operation.among the States are only beginning to be realized, sev- eral such_agreements are now on rec- ord—(a) New York and New Jersey in 1921, concerning the development of the port of New York. (b) One of 1922, among seven States, regarding alloca- tion of rights to the waters of the Col- orado River Basin. (c) One of 1925, between New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, pertaining to the use of waters of the Delaware River. (d) One between Washington, Oregon and Mon- tana regarding use of the waters of the Columbia River. * * * It should be noted, however, that the clause re- quiring consent’ of Congress is not to be taken with absolute literalness. Two or more States, acti independently. | may agree to clean a discase-producing | district on_their common borders; in | fact, New York and New Jersey some | years ago settled & matter of sewage pollution of New York Harbor. As con- | strued by the courts, the restriction ap- | plies only to agreements ‘tending to in- crease political power of the States’; | where tonsent of Congress is necessary, | it may be given either before or after the agreement is made, and may be either express or implied. Indeed, | blanket permission to make agreements on a given subject may be given in ad- vance, as was done in 1911 in connec- tion with interstate compacts designed to_conserve forests and water supply.” I wish to contradict Mr. Cheyney's statement that States have surrendered d treaty-making power to the National Government. As far as I can find out, a treaty is & formal compact or agree- | ment, and if States form such agree- | ments or compacts, why in the name of common sense isn't a treaty being | made? | Congress enjoys the exclusive Tight | | of regulating interstate commerce. If| | the national prohibition law is repealed. | it seems to me that State enforcement | of this traffic can and will be handled | by State_treaties along lines outlined by the school man in your Sunday edi- tion, December 4, 1932. | J QUAIN. | | AMES H. ———— riticism of Clerks by Members of Congress !To the Editor of The Star: At times when business conditions are as at present and the Government finances are in poor shape it is the bad hubit of some members of Congress to One by one four strange cats came | persons the opportunity of laughing at \F o4 ™ N e vern; t clerks and to present them in the role of public para- sites with nothing to do and paid plenty for doing that. They are accused of pur- loining from the public till money that | taxpayer, and the degeneracy of the civil service is painted with a fervor worthy of a better cause. It is doubtful that the constituents of these members of Congress are in sympathy with the | statements made by them, but it is be- | yond doubt that a whole lot of their | argument is just plain bunk There are loafers in every walk of | |life. There are loafers in the Govern- | ment service aplenty. = Cause wh: | Some are office kings and queens. Me! bers’ of Congress are friends of others. | heir overtures with- | and where it will almost always be'g me have winning ways and the rest | (of them are so because, like some in | | authority, they just can't help it. | | ""Many of the’ civil service emploves after leaving school prepared them- | }sel\‘es by special training to be fit for | |the jobs they hold and passed the neces- | sary entrance examinations in order to | qualify them to occupy such positions. | Generally they do the work assigned to | them satisfactorily. The majority of | | Government workers should be credited | | with _the honesty of their endeavors | and be respected accordingly. In times past when the administra- tion of affairs of state changed hands, and especially when a different political perty came into power, experienced and thoroughly capable supervisory offi- | cials have been made to step down to Imake room for new people without training. It is then when the ordinary Government clerk proves his true worth, end under his experienced and capable | management the public business is car- ried on without a jar. But there are | some officials holding office whom, on | account of their natural cleverness and | special fitness for their positions, it | would be good business sense to let | | remain in charge during good be- | havior. Just the same wise constituen- | will repeatedly re-elect to office | capable and valuable members of Con- | gress. CHARLES J. SIMPSON. et Protests Winter Condition | Of Capital’s Sidewalks | To the Editor of The Star: In Boston, where I come from, if the | sidewalks were not cleaned of snow or |ice after a storm we were notified by |the police and then if the work were Inot done in two hours we would be | fined. I thought the law was the same |in almost every city. When I went to | church Sunday morning I nearly fell | several times. As far as I can see there | was no attempt to clean the sidewalks | along my route and no sand or sawdust was sprinkled to prevent -a pedestrian | from slipping. In front of only a very |few of the private residences were the sidewalks safe to walk on. And this is the Capital city! Not only is there denger of a person breaking a leg, as #n acquaintance of mine did in the storm of last March—she is still on crutches—but the neglected look of this beautiful city seems a disgrace to it. When there are so many out of work it seems as if they might be put to work for a short time to help them and thus improve the looks of the city. J.H.EVERETT. Motor Extravagance By Public Officials | To the Editor of The Star: | Under the laws of our democracy we | get men of all grades of intelligence and | intellectuality in public office. That are not exempt esting and log- | in into an agreement with Great Britain | ton, D. C. | our imports was August. They're telling a story of the recent | pe | Postmaster Generals | 15 from this condition is shown by the ex- Bl travagant way in which two automobiles n]ertretnned. ‘Well, you may have were purchased because one was too | plenty of political courage, but your small for practical use on formal oc- reselne"ot the physical variety seems to | casions. Are the taxpayers required to i "(‘zwA Jack argued that pulling the |supply and maintain expensive auto- cg(le] ldn"tmagrx’rfl make him sick, and he | mobiles for use by executives' wives on Al "m'd to be laid up just now. |social calls? It does not take the men- buta s "l right,” replied his wife, | tality of an intellectual giant to under- o you'll l'mmxnly be” laid up if you |stand why this country is running one s:n mhavt ‘em pulled.' The Speaker | of the largest deficits in history when W the dentist, and he's now minus a |extravagance of this nature comes to pair of molars. | light. J. B. McCOY. ¥ oxow % | dar H During the late campai - | consin_Senator Gerald lg g?e.mmmi-w lican Progressive, of North Dakota, o(-\Proposes 2 Tflx'for fered to come into the Badger State | and help out the La Follettes in their | All-Night Parkers desperate effort to keep Wisconsin | To the Editor of The Star: safe for Progressivism. *Young Bob” | Much criticism is expressed about all- wrote his senatorial colleague that | night parking, but there is a simple things were going so nicely that per- | way to deal with it effectively. People haps it would be just as well if Nye— | who park all night do so for two rea- who wasn't out for Mevelb—stayei‘son& first to save garage expense and at home. That was O. K. with the|second for convenience. Hence let all North Dakotan, but when Senator La (who use the streets for all-night park- Follette a little later volunteered to go(ing pay a tax of a few dollars per up and do some s for Nye, the |month. In this way the District would latter sent word that everything looked | realize considerable much-needed rev- so good in North Dakota that on the|enue and at the same time rid the whole it might be better if “Bob”|streets of worn out and dangerous cars concentrated his energies on Wisconsin. | not worth storage es. (Copyrisht, 1932.) J. F. SMITH. there’s still some good left in those teeth. Let's wait awhile” Mrs. Gar- ——e—s ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Stop & minute and think about this fact. You can ask our information bu- reau any question of fact and get the answer in a al letter, It is a great aducational idea introduced into the lives of the most intelligent people the world—American newspaper readers. It is a part of that best pur- pose of a newspaper—service. There is no charge except 3 cents in coin or stamps for return postage Do not use & | post cards. Get the habit of asking questions. Address your letter to The Evening Star Information _Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washing- Q. What is the weekly world attend- ance of motion picture theaters?—N. A Motion Picture Almanac for 1932 says the approximate world at- tendance weekly is 185,000,000 perscns and the a2pproximate weekly attendance in the United States is from 65,000,- 000 to 90,000,00 persons. Q. How should a Christmas tree be safeguarded from fire?—L. F. N. A. It should not be placed near an open fire nor in a place where it will be knocked over. If possible, place its standard in a pan of water. The tree will not dry out so rapidly. Use electric bulbs for lighting. Do not use cotton, per or celluloid for decoration. Don't eep the tree in the house after it has dried out. Is Q. Where do girls usually meet the men they marry?—C. E. A. Dr. Paul Popenoe has prepared an analysis which shows that the highest percentage is found in eduactional in- stitutions. About 28 per cent of matches can be traced to propinquity at school. Abut 15 per cent meet in private homes. about 14 per cent in business, about 10 per cent at private parties, while church activities account for about 8 per cent. Q. there outside of civil service?>—J. K. A. There are ghout 108,200. Of these about 15,000 are first, second and third class postmasterships. Q What is the objective of the | Rockefeller Foundation?—G. R. A. The Rockefeller Foundation was incorporated May 14, 1913, and orig- inated in a trust fund established by John D. Rockefeller of $100.000.000, which has been greatly added to since. Its object is to receive and manage funds for the purpose of promoting the weubvlng of mankind throughout the world. Some of the great achievements have been the establishment of medical research which greatly helped to amelforate the sufferings of the sol- diers in the World War and the cam- paign for the examination of hook- worm, which is one cf the most de- structive parasites. Q. How large is the mirror pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington?—T. C. A. The reflecting pool is 300 feet long and 160 feet wide. Q. Who wrote the Communists’ “In- ternationale”?—L. Z. A. This Communist hymn was written by Eugene Pottier, a Frenchman, and :(as copyrighted in 1912 by Joseph P. atz. Q. Does the surname of a Chinese come first or last?—M. C. D. A. The method of writing names, like direction of reading printed characters, is just the opposite in China to what it is In the Occident. The surname is placed first and the two names corre- sponding to Christian names among Europeans are placed second and third and connected with a hyphen. Q. Do_our exports exceed our im- ports>—R. N. A. The only month during 1930 and 1931 when our exports did not exceed ‘The exports for the vear ending December, 1931, were $333.957.000 in excess of our im- ports. The exports have exceeded the imports every year since 1893. Q. What is the kangaroo court which 1s held in prisons?—A. H. A, A. In most prisons the prisoners themselves form a court, and elect & judge from their number. Each new | prisoner admitted to the prison is tried |and this practice of the trial of the new | prisoners by the old is popularly called |a “kangaroo court.” Of course, this is | all recognized as & joke and is not | taken seriously. | =t | Q. Is the Secretary of Commerce a member of the President’s cabinet? H. D. A. The Secretary of Commerce is a member of the President’s cabinet, but | he is not in line of succession to the | presidency. Q. What scholarship was awarded the boy who discovered Pluto?—W. H A. Clyde Tombaugh, discoverer of | the new planet, was given the Edwin Emory Slosson $500 scholarship in science. Almost entirely self-educated, | Tombaugh has been honored by the { Royal Astronomical Society of Great | Britain for his disco and is now on | the staff of Mount Wilson Chservatory, at Pasadena, Calif. Q. What is the quotation to the ef- fect that what you are drowns out what you say?—W. T. W. A. “What you are stands over you the while and thunders so that T can- | not hear what you say to the contrary” | appears in Social Aims in the volume “Letters and Social Aims” by Ralph published in 1876 Q. Is shipbuilding flourishing in | Great Britain?>—H. E. W |, A. British ship | lowest ebb in many yea | trust has been organizec scrapped or merged nearly 100 ship- yards and many ships in an effort to | Teduce competition and effect econo- mies. | Toars | Q. How much cf the average medical | dollar is spent for dentists, doctors and nurses?>—J. M. A. In 1929 the medical dollar was | distributed as follows: icla | private practice. 29.9 ce hospi | 23.5 cents; dentists, health, 3.3 cents: medicine, 182 cents and all others, | @ What grades are high school>—W. R | "A. The junior h | grades 7. 8 and 9 tion of junicr h | tional sy tary taught in junior P schools teach b oduc- the tradi- s for eleme vears of jun senior high schoc Q. May an a: United States? A. Each Stat regard to the own aliens. In gene the right of alie larly where tre United States and the cou: which the aliens come. N States, however. provisions on t stance, a limit 50} the number of acres Q. When Theater disas = T- A. It happened during the evening of January 28, 1922. Q. Is De Valera, the Irish statesman, more than an amateur mathematician? ematics and degree of He taught mathematics in several colleges and in 1912 became examiner in mathematics to the Inter- mediate Education Board. Sales Tax Strongly Upheld As Hoover Advises Support Urging enactment of a general sales | tax in his message to Congress, Presi- dent Hoover becomes identified with a general movement in favor of this form of taxation, which was rejected at the time of the adoption of the present currency bill. It is asserted that public opinion has changed as a result of fail- ure of existing tax measures to produce adequate revenues. It is also believed that the sales tax is easily applied “This form of levy is fair and equi- table,” thinks the Kansas City Times. “It would not be burdensome upon cer- tain groups and disturbing in its opera- tion. With food and clothing essen- tials exempted. it could not, through any reasonable _interpretation. become a hardship upon the poor. It would not replace the income tax, which also is sound in principle, and it would effect a wide and easy distribution of the tax load. Opposition to the sales tax has diminished &s its merits have become better understood. It is a safe solution of the budget problem.” The Jersey City Journal observes that “the big point for the moment is that a sales tax has now the President’s approval” and that “even a limited sales taX is a move in the right direction.” for “it makes every purchaser realize that the more economical government becomes the less it will cost.” P Recalling the former argument that this form of taxation “shifted the bur- den to the poor,” the San Jose Mercury- Herald avers that “the common interest in security justifies tax sacrifices for the workers as an emergency measure.” The Boston Transcript believes that “much of the opposition to this tax has been political, due to fear,” but that there is “a greatly changed public opinion,” since “some of the States have provided object lessons in the expedi- ency of the plan.”. The Oakland Trib- une predicts that “the old debate will be renewed and will demonstrate whether or not there has been a change in sentiment.” The Oklahoma City Oklahoman advises that “the proposal | will meet formidable opposition, and | may fail, but its possibilities canuot be | offset by higher income taxes when in- | comes dwindle.” The Boise Idaho| Statesman is among the few opponents | of the measure when it argues: “It| would be more appropriate to call the} sales tax a _conswmers’ tax. But it is not even a fair c-nsumers’ tax, because | the man of a small or average income spends a larger proportion of his In-| come for necessities purchased from retajlers than the man of large income He is therefore the victim of discrimi- | nation.” | Several papers comment on the trial of this form of taxation in Canada. The Louisville Courier-Journal records that the neighboring country “has had this tax since 1921, and from an experi- | | mental measure it has developed into a probably permanent feature.” The San Antonio Evening News finds that “the levy is not popular there, but it gen- erally is accepted as the least among various taxation evils.” The Ashland Independent concludes that in the Do- minion “business likes the sales tax. not because it likes taxation, but be- cause the sales tax is preferred.” * X x * In this country the Springfield (Mass.) Union feels that “there is no question that the business world gen- erally is prepared to welcome this levy; that is, a tax of low rate collected o the finished manufactured product. The Asbury Park Press suggests that it “will be more easily adjusted to the demands of the Treasury and will allow for more accurate estimates of the necessary rates.” That paper adds that “the present system in attempting tc tax so-called luxuries makes unreason- able distincticns between commodities. taxing some severely and exempting many that should be taxed.” The Oklahoma ; City Times calls it “the L) Jeast bothersome of taxes, and in_the main the least burdensome.” The Wall Street Journal points out that “the rate could be made low, so as to impose no hardship, and yet the tax would be a substantial producer—that i: wanted in any taxing system anything we have yet the description of e of makes comparison revenue bill. in which * |'are inequitable and ¢ and “have ie to viel nue for ou cludes w5, will ¢ ernment’s the amount which Lincoln State Joun cise tax has not been a expected. Its expansi injustice and discrimination would ster revenues.” * * “It is the fairest pos taining money for ti " declares Star-Telegram, it could be carri of an income that could be pr: vided for coun State 2 Government cost it wc ing the ideal.” s productive e way of ob- expense of gov- Secretary’s report on colle last year clearly shows th: level has sunk very low ir tax well. It is useless to t the needed revenue by s incomes. Leaving out all ot siderations, there arc incomes. What were g incomes are no longer so big, and there are now far fewer of them.” “This Congress.” in the opinion of the Appleton Post-Crescent, actly those things, by way avoicance and extravagance, such a tax probably unavoidab! the odd part of it is that ma: Congressme: d compr xpediency, pointed out n ocder to skyrocketing d to e igently the right road to follew i actually balance our | budget.” e Parked Cars Are a Grave Menace to Pedestrians To the Editor of The Star I take my hat off to Dr Ledendecker. s Star the traffic depart- ment had an article referring to 13 people being killed in November by | automobiles, wondering if it were the |cause of the driver of the car or the | pedestrian. It is indeed difficult to see a car approaching with cars parked on both sides of the street. One has to step | half way into the street to have a clear | view of the approaching car. This is | also the case with the driver of a car | He cannot see the pedestrian in time, due to the fact that there are cars | parked on_ both sides of the street, ob- | structing his visfon. I cannot understand why the traffic department coes nct see this. S. FIERROS. Bangless Bangs. Trom the Minneapolis 1. Tialy is experime: vith a cannon that makes no smoke cr fiame and very little sound. Some day ‘“the presi- dential salute” may have to be fired by bursting paper bags filled with air.