Evening Star Newspaper, January 8, 1933, Page 22

'HE EVENING STAR |land and the Netherlands are definitely | tion, but doubtless there will be opposed l v l __ With Sunday Morning Edition, WASHINGTON, D. C. BUNDAY........January 8, 1933 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor Emlmflm"m Business Office: 1ith_St. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Oce: 110 East 42nd gt ! Office: Lake Michigi B Biropean Ofmce: 14 Mrnt St., Lendon, D " Rate by Carrier Within ing Sta: m i RE ve : and Sunday Star the City. .45¢ per mon 60¢c per month 65¢ per month & 1 the end of e‘:cher:wm 111 ade Oriors ey bosent n by mal of telephone NAtional 5000. Rate by Mall—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Dally and Sunday Wdyr, ug qu: }mD-, 85¢ ily only . yr.. $6.00; 1mo., 80c Binday onty + $4.00: 1mo.. 40¢c ther States and Canada. b-ny‘-lrlmosu day...1 yr., $12.00; 1 mo., $1.00 ly .. yr. $8.00; 1mo. T8¢ AR 1yr, $5.00; 1mo. B0c Member of the Associated Press. ssociated Press is exclusively entitled %Tl‘;'fl :lu l‘t‘l‘l’t republication of all news atches credited to it or not otherwis ol ted in tnjs Daper, 404, 81%%0¢ Duphication of D Fatches herein are 8lso reserved. The Democratic Tax Plan. The new Democratic tax plan may die a-borning. Scarcely had the presses ©of the country carried the news to the public that President-elect Roosevelt nd the Democratic leaders in Congress | st & conference in New York had “agreed” on a budget-balancing pro- gram which included drastic increases in the normal income tax rates and reductions in exemption than the storm of criticism broke. Already there are signs that the PDemocrats regret the decision made in New York Friday night: there is an effort made to make it appear that the proposal to increase normal tax rates was to be only a “last resort,” that other methods would be tried out first to balance the budget. There was no such qualification, however, on the part of the Democratic conferees imme- diately after the conference had broken up. It may be expected that apologists for Mr. Roosevelt will continue to in- sist that the tax plan was strictly & plan brought to him by the Democratic congressional leaders. However, Mr. Roosevelt made it extremely clear that he did not disapprove the plan. Silence in this case gave consent. The Presi- dent-elect did not hesitate a short time ago to oppose a proposal emanating from the Democratic leaders of the House that a general manufacturers’ excise or sales tax be adopted to bal- ance the budget. Mr. Roosevelt ex- pressed his “horror” that sugh a pro- posal should come from Democratic sources. ‘The Democratic tax program con- tained four distinct proposals, the beer tax, continuance of the gasoline tax, a cut of $100,000,000 in the appropriations below the budget estimates and in- creases in the normal income tax rates, plus a lowering of the exemptions for married and unmarried persons. At least that is what its sponsors originally announced. As a matter of fact, the proposal to reduce the exemption on unmarried persons from $1,500 to $1,000 was idle—it had already been done in the existing revenue law. So the re- duction in exemptions proposed by the Democrats falls alone on the married persons. The slightest examination of the tax end revenue situation would reveal the fact that if the Democratic plan is to be at all effective in balancing the budget, the increases in the income tax rates pro- posed must be called into play. It is no “last resort” proposal. Or it was not. When the ecriticisms of the “pro- gressives” and of many of the rank and file of the Democrats in Congress have Bunk in a bit further, the probability is that the feeling of “accomplishment” and “satisfaction” which came from the President-elect after the conference sgreement in New York will evaporate ‘with considerable rapidity. If the Democrats expect to satisfy the country and the people who voted for them by the million last November by increas- ing the taxes on the “little fellows,” the men and women who have incomes Tanging above $1,000 and $2,000, de- pending on whether they be married or not, they are sadly mistaken. oo “Technocracy,” like Prof. Einstein's “relativity,” 15 a good word. All the Dublic needs to do is to find a meaning that is readily understood. —ee. Tariff Turmoil in Europe. « Like that of true love, it would ap- pear that the course of tariff rates never runs smooth. At any rate, a doustoms unton hopefully formed by seven of the smaller European states & bare three years ago is already headed for the rocks. It is the plan known &s the Oslo tariff convention, concluded in 1030 by Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxem- burg and later adhered to by Finland. The Oslo pact was sealed in accord- ance with principles formulated by the League of Nations and provided that the signatory sountries would not in-| crease their respective tariffs without | warning to the others and opportunity given to discuss an agreement. It was more than an effort to bind | the seven participating nations in s customs treaty of mutual eccommoda- tion, for the underlying purpose was to bulld up a moral barrier against the policy of tariff wars and isolation. Provision was made to enable other states to become parties to the con- vention if they desired, the Pinns be- ing the first to join the original signa- tories. To some authorities the Oslo| agreement looked as if 1t might be the | curtain-raiser for “the United States of Europe.” Meantime has come along the Ottawa imperial tariff union, with its avow- edly self-centered program of linking up British Empire trade interests re- gardless of the tights, welfare or sus- ceptibilities of nations outside the realm en which the sun never sets. The Scandinavian powers are now to meet in Stockholm to consider the situation provoked by the Ottawa pact, and the possible dissolution of the Oslo conven- tion is already” foreshadowed. The trade of Norway, Sweden and| Denmark has been seriously hit by the | discriminations that have come into force as between Britain and her daughter states overseas. The northern kingdoms are continuing to negotiate with London with a view to ameliorat- &g conditions in their favor, m'm- | public funds. to the British trade policy. ‘They seek their liberation from the binding provisions of the Oslo con- vention 50 as to be able to revise their own tariff rates in a retaliatory direc- tion against the British. ‘The moral of the difficulties faced by the European countries in question is that idealistic compacts designed to keep the tariff peace are all right as far as they go. When somebody's ox is gored it becomes promptly and pain- fully apparent that they do not go quite far enough. The age-old prineiple of self-preservation irrepressibly asserts itself, and charity, it is discovered, begins at home. A Deficit to Be Covered. Within a few days the Senate is ex- pected to follow,the House in approv- ing the $625,000 emergency relief appro- priation for the District, as the Senate Committee approved it yesterday. The President's signature of the first defic- iency bill, in which this amount is in- cluded, will make the money available just as public relief funds are exhausted. But the $625,000 is for relief during the latter half of this current fiscal year. It provides for public relief only until the last day of June. The duty of appropriating for public relief in the next fiscal year, including the last half of this calendar year, falls to the House Subcommittee on District Appropria. tions which is now beginning its con- sideration of the District bill. ‘Washington's grave problem relating to both private and public relief for this calendar year may be best understood against the background of a few fig- ures. For the eleven months from January to December of 1932 the Community Chest appropriated for the use of its constituent agencies a total of $2,240,- 397.37. The campaign for 1833 fell short of its goal by about 30 per cent. After deducting from the pledged amount for 1933 ten per cent to cover anticipated shrinkage due to unpaid pledges and additional amounts with which to begin the amortization of debt incurred in previous years, the Community Chest has available for appropriation during the first eleven months of this calendar year approxi- mately $1,356,083.15. The Chest agen- cles are therefore beginning this new year, in which demands for rellef have attained unprecedented proportions, with about $884,314 less than they had last year. This means that the work of Chest agencies must either be curtailed—in the face of increasing demand and de- spite budgets already eut to the bone— or it means that a proportion of the load heretofore assumed by private charity in the District must be trans- ferred to public funds. If the work of the Community Chest is to continue to receive the support of Washingtonians, who have already contributed a far higher proportion for private relief than have the citizens of other communities, it is virtually im- possible to consider another appeal to support the work this year. Such an appeal, even though it met with response, would merely detract from and possibly destroy altogether the appeal that must be made the latter part of this year to carry forward the work of the Chest in 1934. ‘The obvious way out of this difficulty is to proceed as other municipalities everywhere have been forced to proceed and to make the necessary shifts in burden from private to public relief agencies. ‘This brings up the question, shortly to come before the House Subcommittee on District Appropriations, of how much to appropriate for public welfare work, including the emergency fund for un- employment relief. For the latter it was originally computed, by members of the Emergency Relief Committee, that $1,500,000 at least would be neces- sary. This was cut by the Commis- sioners to $1,250,000, and the House ratified this sum, in effect, when it con- strued half of it as a deficiency for the current fiscal year and appropriated $625,000. But a total of $1,250,000 is not enough. It has already been shown that such an amount will merely provide for the con- tinuance of relief, on a reduced scale, to those receiving it now. It does not contemplate an increase in demand, an increase that is certain. It does mot take care of the situation arising from the failure of the Chest to meet its quota. Washington now ranks highest, in a list of thirty-three large cities, in the percentage of relief expenditures from private funds, and is lowest in the per- centage of relief expenditures from public funds. The average for the group is 73.1 per cent from public con- tributions and 26.9 per cent from pri- vate contributions. The figures for Washington are 109 per cent public and 89.1 per cent private contributions. While it is highly desirable, of course, to maintain private contributions and the work they support, an inordinately large proportion of rellef work in Washington has been thrust to the shoulders of private contributors. Some semblance of balance should be re- stored—indeed, it is absolutely neces- sary that it be restored—by increasing It can be done, with local revenue, Money impounded in the Treasury to the credit of the Dis- trict, representing deductions under the economy act, is available and should be used to increase the appropriation. The amount of the increase, of course, is for the determination of the House committee, but conservative estimates on the part of those closest to the pic- ture indicate that at least $1,750,000 of public funds will be necessary in 1933, and the House should seek to make the increase large enough to meet all of the many contingencies sure to arise. —_———————— Communities that are using scrip to pay off employes will at least manage to solve the problem of distributing meat and groceries for awhile. The course of the experiment is worth ob- serving as an object lesson in practical finance. %t o e g More Light. From Paris comes the announcement that-electric light will replace gas in the Bibliotheque Nationale, “one of the three largest libraries in the world.” The New York Herald Tribune reports that “under the gas lights, it some- times took attendants three or four hours to obtain books from the files; when the new system is installed three or four minutes will suffice.” Allow- ance may be made for slight exaggera~ great saving of time. And time means much to scholars, as it does to other people. Each tick of the clock implies ‘the passing of so much of life, and thinkers as a class have no more than they need of that variety of opportunity which is meas- ured in days snd hours. Long years must be spent in preparation and still other years in checking and revising first drafts, with the result that the makers of books have only a limited period of creative activity. Any de- velopment which even in a small way abbreviates time used in any but the most truly constructive manner is a 8ain about which there may be enthu- slastic rejoicing. But electric light in the Bibliotheque has a special symbolic significance. It may be taken as & sign of the quality of the new scholarship of Europe. When Goethe died calling for “light, more light,” he summed up the demand of the thoughtful men and women of his generation, and his cry has been echoed by their successors. More light implies more knowledge, more truth, more beauty, more happiness in the world. Scholars are dedicated to such pur- Pposes, and each new gain is but 8 provo- cation to new endeavors. Life in the dim past was a dark tangle, and it was the business of scholars to find and to disclose its authentic values, its innate meaning. The quest was pursued by torch and campfire, by rush light and candle light, by oil light and gas light. Now at last it is carried on by the harnessing of the lightning, What fur- ther progress can there be in the sci- ence of fighting the dark? No one is qualified to answer dogmatically, but 1t is plain that where progress has been, further progress may be. But, after all, it is the inner light that really matters, and the inner light burns brightly today among scholars as among other men. That is one of the splendid fruths about human char- | {0 acter. The darker the night of le, the greater the brilllance of human aspiration shining in the shadows. Some philosophers, indeed, have said that it is when circumstances are most dis- couraging, when existence is least pleas- ant that the truest progress is made. Resistance is stirred, and vitality stimu- Iated. Poverty, rather than prosperity, moves the soul. There may be merit in the conception. But be that as it may, the thinkers are pressing on, toiling on, in good times as in iIl, in undiscouraged quest of the ultimate {llumination by the achievement of which men may become like gods, com- plete and final masters of a new Eden in 8 new earth. That is their function. They are the seekers for more light. ————— A Harvard professor of economics is wanted in Germany for experimenting with fictitious money. Economic the- ories must be tested by popular agree- ment. They are particularly danger- ous when an effort is made to apply them in private practice. S — When a Secretary of State goes to visit a President-elect the latter be- comes the host and must therefore make public any announcements, In studying diplomacy 1t is more neces- sary than ever to keep up with the so- ciety columns. Objection to any further wage cuts may recall the fable of the overthrifty farmer who eut his horse's rations by degrees to an oat & day. The experi- ment seemed to him a success up to the moment when the horse died. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Back to Work-a-Day. We are traveling on through the high- ways of space, Where the stars are the signals so bright; There are smiles for awhile, which the tear drops efface As our heart beats are heavy or light, We are traveling on through the scenes that are strange Mirrored faintly from times far away; And we hope, in the course of this wonderful change, To get back to the old Work-a-Day. It’s like the old home that we once longed to leave For adventures that Fancy would paint, Which taught us too soon to remember and grieve For the time that seemed humble and quaint. But we're traveling on through the meteor show'rs And the fires with a fearsome display. We must wait for the rainbows, and blossoming bow'rs Till we're back to the old Work-a-Day. Contradiction Invited. “A man in your position dislikes to be contradicted,” said the close friend. “Except on one occasion,” answered Senator Sorghum—"“when he is testing out popular sentiment by announcing that he will not be a candidate.” Jud Tunkins says we're bound to have troubles. If they are not presented to us, we make ‘em up for ourselves, Electricity. The lightning is Ben Franklin's gift— 8o goes report extensive. With all his thrift, he ne'er made shift To leave it inexpensive, A Romanticist. “You have never married,” remarked {the conversation maker. “That proves {you are not romantic.” “Quite the contrary,” answered Miss Cayenne. “I think it is much, pleas- i anter to go on talking about moonlight than to discuss electric light bills.” “S0 long as men are influenced more by fear than by affection,” said Hl Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “we must go on making our idols territying instead of Dissimulations. Although expressions now are cast Into cententious lines We will, ere many days are past, By sending valentines. Although our hearts they may not touch With trustful tenderness, They may in truth mean just as much As all our bitterness. “Gamblin’ money,” said Uncle Eben, “is de bait on & hook dat lets & fish get a little sometimes, jes’' to keep him nibblin’” » THE TRUE D. C, JANUARY 8, 1933—PART TWO. STEWARDSHIP BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMES E. FREEMAN, D. D, LL. D, Bishop of Washington. “It i3 required in stewards that man be found faithful.”—I Corinthi~ ans, iv, part 2nd verse. A steward is one to whom 1is intrusted & specific duty to administer for an- other. It is & form of trusteeship. Where the obligation is consistently recognized and maintained in all its im- plications it serves an important pur- pose. Where it is neglected or lightly esteemed it may work s injury. In one way or another we are all stewards. It is not a question of wealth or station; in some form every man and woman sustains suth a relation- ship to their fellows. Possibly there is mo finer form of stewardship than that that devolves upon parents.” In the administration of the large con- cerns of the home an obligation is laid upon the father and mother that is not transcended by any other in life. ‘Where this stewardship is consistent- ly assumed and administered it is witnessed in the character of the children and its wholesome effect reaches out over a wide area, At no time in our more recent history has assumed stewardship within the home been more indispensable. Care- lessly or indifferently recognized, it is- sues ultimately in disorder and chaos. Beyond the restricted domestic circles there is a demand for a finer recogni- tion of what stewardship means in all the relationships of life. To the Chris- tian it means an obligation that®con: cerns the well-being of all that is 1 plied in Christian service. We ha: come too much to think of this steward- ship in terms of service restricted to the church and Christian institutions. We have largely delegated to an exclusive group known as the clergy the func- tions of this form of stewardship, and upon them, more than upon all others, rests the responsibility of promoting the large concerns of Christ’s kingdom. 8o far as the great body of the laity 1s concerned, its assumption of steward- ship is expressed th: acts of worship and an occasional in- dulgence in some specific form of Chris- tian service. Few men and women, mparatively speaking, feel the urge to take an active an u‘nutve part in propagating the gospel of Christ and by precept and example bring their fellows under the spell of it. Their m::ufl faith is largely inarticulate. now and again some lay person an rvasive. $ Anp.lncldant of what we have in mind came under our observation di the panic of 1907. A man of large affairs, reaching Wall Street on the mq of the panic, was greeted by a fel banker with a word of deep concern ex- pressive of the anxiety he felt for the security of certain large financial instf tuti Takin ons. aside, steward, with no evidence of concern in his voice or manner, related to him the following circumstance: “You remem- ber my chauffeur who has driven me for several years; he is a man who is exceptionally capable and high-minded. During this period I have now and again spoken to him of my desire to see him a disciple of Christ. On my wa; down this morning he told me wif deep satisfaction that at last he had come to the conviction that he must yield to my estion and that he in- tends at an early day to make public profession of his faith.” The narrator of this incident was ger{ectly calm and unmoved as he told is story. His astonished banker friend was incapable of appreciating at the time the occasion for his calm and un- Perturbed demeanor, but it left a lasting impression upon him. The man of large affairs had evidently found his source of satisfaction as well as the source of his peace in a service that contemplated the well-being of the man who daily drove him to and from his office. Here was a fine evidence of real stewardship. ~After all, a life is more than a creed; a kindly Christian act has more converting power than'an elo- quent sermon. No finer tribute was paid the disciple, Andrew, than that which relates his personal influence upon his brother Peter, where it is said: “He brought him to Jesus.” The world grows weary of an excess of finely phrased ?rocapbl, but it feels with irresistible orce the consistency of example. Much, if not most, of the disorder of our age grows out of the failure of men and women who are avowed Christians to apply their professed religious convic~ ons to the needs of those with whom they have contact day by day. A re- vival of real n stewardship would mean the correction of many of the ills that today are unsettling and disturbing the lives of men and w%men. Business Relief to Be Asked of Congress, Following Farm Relief BY WILLIAM HARD. To “farm relief” in the Congress there is now added “business relief.” This tends to make the rest of the hairs on the heads of Congressmen turn white. A powerful committee of delegates from our basic non-agricultural indus- tries has just met in New York City and has devised a bill for granting to at least some forms of business a few of the privileges and immunities al- ready granted to agriculture con- g&uhmnl action. bill soon introduced into the Congress by some daring friend of business who may be will to run the risk of being called the head of the “business bloc.” The authoritative gentlemen who took part in the New York City confer- ence were the following: Mr, C. B. Ames, president of the American Petroleum Institute. Mr. C. E. Bockus, president of the National Coal Association (bitumin- ous). Mr. Walter Gordon Merritt, general counsel of the Anthracite Institute. Mr. Wilson Compton, secretary-man- ager of the National Lumber Manufac- turers’ Assoclation. Mr. Willlam Church Osborn, director of the Phelps-Dodge Copper Corpora- tion. * * ¥ % Representing coal and lumber and oil and copper, these gentlemen may be regarded as embediments (in some de- gree) of the legislative aspirations of all the principal non-agricultural basic in- dustries in the United States. A good- humored summary of those aspirations might be phrased thus: r 10 years agriculture has been seeking what it calls a “parity” with industry. The agricultural price-fixing bill, now getting debated in the Con- gress for the benefit of the growers of wheat and cotton and hogs and to- bacco, says sr\‘.lficully that its ob- jective is “to aid In restoring the parity tween agriculture and other indus- tries and in correcting the inequalities between the prices for agricultural and other commodities.” Now the prices for coal and lumber and copper are as demoralized as the prices for the com- moditles produced on farms; and the price for oil is often perilously poised on the points of the bayonets of the sol- diers of the Governors of Oklahoma and Texas. We wish accordingly now to begin our legislative march toward securing for basic industrialists a cer- tain amount of “parity” with farmers. * ok ok K The germ of this grand and auda- clous thought in the minds of the basic industrialists seems to have been de- rived from a contemplation of the Cap- per-Volstead law. That law now ap- pears in Title 7, Chapter 12, of the Code of Laws of the United States. It, in part, declares: “Persons engaged in the production of agricultural products may act to- gether in assoclations in _collectively marketing such products. If the Sec- retary of Agriculture shall have reason to believe that any such association monopolizes trade to such an extent that the price of any agricultural prod- uct is unduly enhanced, he shall serve upen such association a ecomplaint,” etc. In other words, farmers are free to co-operate in the selling of their wares, subject to a check by Federal authori- ties if they co-operate too well or too much. That attractive double-edged prixgcltplehol a freedom plus .1 check is cald to have appealed str to the New York City conlereu.an!rge exact wording of the propcsal which they will thereupon submit to the Congress has not_yet been disclosed. The certainty is, however, that it will tread meekly but hopefully in the path of the prece- dent established through the legaliza- tion of selling combinations among the tillers of the soll. The basic indus- trialists declare that their products come out of the soll,"too. * x ¥ % But the New York City conferees are not the only industrialists engaged in 2 to win the eye of a farmer- relieving Congress. The United Mine ‘Workers of America have a bill for the relief and rescue of themselves and of their employers in the bituminous coal industry of the country. The legislative author of this bill in the House of Representatives is Mr. Clyde Kelly of Pennsylvania, one of the most experi- enced and resolute congressional pro- moters of social reforms. Hearings on the bill will start before the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce next Tuesday. The principle of the bill is precisely the freedom lus check principle already set forth. g‘h«uhbob-n!edenl Bituminous Coal on. This commission will license bituminous coal operators in interstate commerce. The operators must permit their employes to combine in trade unions. They may thereupon themselves combine in selling mnlnum. They may co-operate in as farmers co- then co-operate ex the damage of they may be checked by the Bil 0us Coal Commission and other appropriate Federal authorities. Logan of Kentucky—to explore the bill’s constitutionality. * ok ok * Meanwhile Senator Nye of North Dakota is pressing his bill or bills for “business rellef” in the fleld occupied by the activities of the Federal Trade Commission. Senator Nye would reg- ularize and fortify the procedure of the commission in its development of “trade practice conferences.” Business men, in groups, by trades, have been holding such conferences under the auspices of the commission and have been laying down rules of conduct or “trade prac- tices” for themselves with the sanction | IIf of the commission; but they have al- ways been fearful of a hostile interven- tion into this co-operative enterprise of theirs by the Department of Justice. Now Senator Nye, a great friend of the farmer, undertakes to spread the shield g;e Federal protection over helptul co- ration among non-farmers. His bi §.,2626, frovides: La “The afirmative approval of a trade practice conference agreement by the Federal Trade Commission shall be con- clusive evidence of the legality of in- dividual or concerted action, conforming to the terms of the agreement, taken by any member or members of the trade or industry represented at the con- ference.” * % x ¥ Again there is thus fllustrated the principle of freedom plus check. The trade or industry shall be free to estab- lish self-governing rules for the €0-0p- erative management of its own workiny life. The check upon those rules Ihlfi be exercised directly and authoritatively g‘};done certain Federal administrative y. Senator Nye's proposed legislation is in the hands of the Senate's Committee on the Judiciary. That committee, headed by Senator Norris of Nebraska, is also considering a special variety of “business. relief” for the oil industry from the pen of Senator McGill of Kansas. This bill would establish a unique governmental agency consisting of representatives of oil-producing States and of representatives also of the Government at Washington. Checked by the representatives of the Govern- ment at Washington, the oil-producing States would acquire freedom to co- operate among themselves in controll- ing the production of oil and in thus -gecnn. and influencing the price of oil. * ok x % But it has remained for Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania to take this principle of freedom plus check and ex?lnd it into “business relief” for all basic industries in a completely detailed and compre- hensive manner. Mr. Kelly's bill H. R. 12962 is the climax In Federal proposed “economf planning” to date. Mr. Kelly would empower a Federal Stabilization Board to declare any in- dustry whatsoever to be “affected with a national public interest by reason of the existing economic emergency.” Within each such industry he would then guarantee “collective bargaining” for employes and ‘“collective selling” for employers. To the stabilization board would fall the task of harmonizing “col- lective selling” by the employers with the interests of consumers, just as the task of harmonizing “collective sell- ing” by farmers with the interests of consumers now falls to the Secretary of Agriculture. It will be observed accordingly that throughout these numerous and varied projects for “business relief” there runs continuously the thread of the idea that “business relief” shall have at any rate a part of parity with “farm Barter Proposed Between United States and China BY HARDEN COLFAX. There is something romantic in the possibility of America supplying food to starving Chinese in return for some of the necessities of our national secur- ity. Yet this seems to be within the bounds of possibility. Several government agencies have asked the Department of Commerce what China has that we mght take in barter for some of our vast supplies of surplus wheat, which the Chinese need but for which they have not money to E:‘y us. For months the Farm Board been: trying to arrange a deal with China for wheat, but the question of payment has balked its efforts. Now barter is proposed and it is pointed out that from China’s natural resources certain metals are produced which are considered to be essential in the advancement of present day civil- ization. The United States has but : Manchuria, there are, for instance, number of minerals which would essential for us in time of war, which we do not produce in titles within our own borders. 8o uestion is asked, Capital Sidelights BY WILL P. KENNEDY. “Just as the physiclan, just as the farmer, just as the sclentist, not know- ing the way to go, seeks as his compass the guidance of fundamental principles, becomes obedient to the laws of nature, 80 in working out of our economic and governmental difficulties we must re- turn to fundamental principles, to obedience to the laws of nature, the laws of God, which govern govern- ments.” That is the gospel that is being ached by one humble member of gress—to the American Bar Asso- clation, to the forum of House mem- bers, to his colleagues individually and to the people of the country as a whole, | itera! Representative Hatton W. Sumners of Texas, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is & quaint character who does a heap of thinking. al common-sense lines. He comes from the country, born in the hills, educated ancestry. As a boy he read of many things, and as he came out into the world these things were inter- S e S T e E erybgt the world. ment, each the law of nature, even of the great poplar hawks had their nests. that from the time I was Ii universe of law. Some things we pl early and some we planted late. It was the law of their nature, and all the farmers in our neighborhood time I ted that law. The first Joaded “As 1 broadened my contact with continued Representative Sum “I retained my interest in '.h-":aotlvu and observations have led Him to the conclusion that “there is no mystery about why we are in the condition in which we find ourselves. We have come to it as straight as a crow could fly. The great pity is that so many are having to suffer out of propo: to what they have done toward bring- ing this eo?.déuon about.” N 5 ve Sumners picturesque! describes how “we have jazzed off Inuy) the jungles.” L back in his chair with eyes closed, he makes a mental survey: “When some one learned how ot Tiaving 15 skin- & yearling and. gt of ha a year] and get some tallow for candles, and others learned how to make similar easy short cuts, we became afflicted with a seri~ ous malady—and it was not inferiority complex. “Everything was out of . masterpieces of music which had thrilled and elevated the souls of people through the years were cast into discard, and we brought forth our contribution— ‘My Moon-Eyed Baby in Watermelon Time.’ A similar thing happened to our literature, to our philosophy and in no small ee to education and to religion. ly got young. Grandma whacked off a foot or two of her skirts and grabbed a horn; grandpa straightened up his old back and hol bled into the procession; ma and pa cut a few fancy capers and joined with brother and sister up in front. Every- body had a horn. We could not be bothered; all in a hurry to go some- where; to leave there tor go some- where else. Whatever needed attention would be all right just around the cor- ner—on with the jazz. “We have jazzed off into the jungles. We have lost our way. We are looking for & boulevard to go out on. There is no boulevard leading out from where we are. We are going to have to cut down the trees and go out over the stumps” is his backwoods way of force- fully picturing the tasks ahead. “We would not be warned by the admoni- tions of the fathers in the Virginia convention—that there can be no lib- erty except by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles. We would not be taught by the experience of others. We have been contemptuous of the les- sons of history. ‘e fashioned our policies in defiance of natural law. We pay the penalty. We would be attentive only to the lash, and we are getting the lash. It was the last resort.” Fraction. From the Rockford Register-Republic. ‘The Census Bureau says the lvmfi family contains 3.34 persons. The . is the one who doesn't see the evening peper until it is all mixed up. than 70 per cent of the antimony en- tering mmpe tional trade is of Chinese origin. For centuries China has been & producer of tin, and, during the past few years, she has been the sixth larg- est producer in the world. Mercury is also produced. From time to time a relatively small tonnage of high-grade manganese has been As an mum;zla’?n of the tmh;:orunu of tungsten, tary men here say there nc:’n be little doubt that the lack of it in Germany during the latter part of the World War was one of the fac- tors leading to the German defeat. * K kX It is interesting to note the fact that tungsten, as well as antimony, is pro- duced from mines in Southern China, not far distant from the centers of the most densely populated areas. More than 96 per cent of the antimony pro- duced is for export. Thus authorities here think there T B ] 3 t | of the five-year plan was the inf d | of the Bi the | All has READING IN RUSSIA BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. leaders of Soviet Russia icate a population of 160,~ iggt i A 7335Ee] ekl to foreign supplies of ‘The rest of me‘:orm would Russia any number of tons of books, magazines, and newspapers, but that migui not be. Coupled with the sudden teaching to read was the strictest cen- sorship the world has probably ever known. Such crimes as murder and robbery are regarded lightly in Russia in com- parison with the crime of attempting to lure le from their new allegiance fo the Bovier system. That is treason and while the murderer may get off with a year in jail, the capitalist propa- gandist is certain of the death penalty. The murderer strikes only at one indi- vidual; the propagant In juence, it would be a bold man who would attempt to bring books into Russia to supply the enormous new de- mand, for there is scarcely a book writ- ten outside Russia which does not, how- ever obscurely, reflect capitalism. thorough is the ban that even the Elsie books could not gain admittance; they reveal a capitalist background. So it was that one of the biggest jobs luc- tion of the libraries throughout Russia. It must be remembered that there is not much to do for amusement in Rus- sia except read and talk and go to educational movies in community groups. Claim Largest Library in World. Old Russia was prolific in a literary sense. Its great novelists are read throughout the world today, with the exception of Russia. Most of the old Russian wi old regime, sent them to the mercury mines of Siberia. these are crowded. Recently the librarian of reported f.h;t. :\{“: institution at 4,000,000 vol- umes. The three great libraries of the twentieth century have been the the British Museum liotheque Nationale at Paris. the neighborhood of ¢,000,- 000 volumes. But now comes the Rl Fifty Years Ago In The Star A table addition to the public por tion equipment of the t:;p&mm ‘The Star of January 1, 1883: was fitly marked in gton by the introduction on her streets today of the regular London or ‘Hansom Cab.’ This is a convenience that has long been needed here and the public have to thank the Pennsyl- vania Railroad Co. for at last seeing and taking advantage of an ofi)‘onmuty of which private enterprise up to this time refused or failed to avall i . ood that for the present a limited number these vehicles in use are intended mainly to be run in connection with arriving and de- parting trains of that company, and in this way they will meet a long-felt want. The real need for such convey- ances will not be supplied, however, until they are placed on the streets in liberal n , with regular stands at easily accessible points, so as to respond instantly to the calls of visitors, busi- ness men, etc. Thus furnished, they cannot fail to become in a short time not only & great convenience to the public, but also the source of large and steady profits to th:tr owners.” * % A serious trafic danger was called to public attention 50 years ago by the following in The Star of January 2, oo RBNE Reckless Driving pThe viclous t last driv- Is Protested. 0 cucr oot cross- ings and around street corners, without the slightest regard to the rights or safety of others, so commonly practiced by drivers in Washington, came near resulting fatally last evening, when two carriages came in collision from that cause at the intersection of Pennsyl- vania avenue and Sixth street. For- tunately none of the occupants of either carriage was injured, but this fortunate result is due more to good luck than care on the part of the drivers, It is high time for this dangerous abuse to be broken up, If there is any law pro- hibiting 1t, it ought to be enforced; if there is none the passagg, of one ought to be secured at once. It was thought that when Senator Lamar was run over and severely hurt some time ago that a reform in this respect might he brought about; but probably his rank was not high enough or his injuries sufficiently severe to insure action on the subject. By and by a District Com- missioner or the chief of police may be run down and maimed for life, and then the public may reasonably hope for some measure of protection.” * * x Grover Cleveland, mayor of Buffalo, was elected OoveruNor o;otrx-nke State of ew Cleveland &5 Democratie landsiine of 50 years ago, and 8 Reformer. 0. inaugurated on the 1st of January. The Star of Jan- uary 3, 1883, thus comments upon his attitude toward civil service and ad- tive reforms: “Grover Cleveland, in his inaugural message, recommends the enactment of civil service laws in New York. He submits that the appointment of sub- ordinates in the various departments of the State and their tenure of office or employment should be based upon fitness or efficiency. He thinks that the embodiment of this principle in legisla- Democratic ~patronage considerably. The multiplication of offices with high ttached has been a great bur- in New York, but else- Ehezt dist at the state. | said, So | 1 sian Public Library at Leningrad with the astounding claim that it posesses 5,500,000 volumes. The further state fient is made that when the Lenin brary at Moscow, now under construc- leted, it will have a still greater collection. The Lenin was started in 1917, at the time 1;.1' read with -veigny. ‘but it is .udhotl' the type regarded as propagandist. While cast theso novels also are political There is the conventional in in the form of a dashing Czarist officer or nobleman or capitalist and a hero of the working class, and all the action is designed to stimulate hatred for the old order. But to minds which are reading their first books and can make no com| because comparisons | are not allowed, this all makes thrilling | rea Circulating Libraries. The Academy of Sciences Library is the oldest Russian library and, it is , many of the old books are still preservi there. But are not radg available to the publ Proba- bly the public would not be itly interested and a handful of scho- lars would be ab! fiodeclphermo.m or they are written on parchment the Blavic of the eleventh to fourteenth main, are | with them. . Was e Hansom Cabs in following editorial in | Jiam centuries. There are a few other large central libraries, but the real library service of the Russian nation is in the form of & circulating system which reaches into every community. Several systems are used, including the California County system, devised in the United States. This is a plan whereby books are kept circulating by mall. Every town has some sort of a com- ers. Commubity meetings are frequent and books are discussed. Every person who gains in education is imbued with the idea of helping others, so there is & vast amount of volunteer instruction. u'nu or, nm-u?.n of ms’ new Lenin although the vast new modernistic structure is not yet complete. A part of the work of the Lenin Library will be the conduct of a college for train= ing librarians to be sent into the re- motest parts of the vast Russian do- bringing the light of education All, however, are being trained to keep blinders on the lighy; it must only throw its beam in one direction—along the path of com= m unism. ‘When it is realized that in the brief period from the Czarist regime, when unlynbaut1rreento(menuuhn literacy percentage per cent in cities and 80 per cent in rural dis- trits, it will be seen that a vast number of books and a vast library system are needed. The plans for the Lenin Li- brary call for 11,000,000 books. And not & good word among all of them for the dollar. Issues Intensified By Irish Elections BY A. G. GARDINER. LONDON, January 7.—The economic War raging between England and Ire= land has reached a crisis with Eamon de Valera's electoral challenge to Wil- Cosgrave this week. In the suddenness of his spring, Pres- astute strategist and has cnu%m the the electorate before at= tacks could be effectively mobilized.. De Valera's decision to reduce civil service salaries by one-half angered the Labor party, on whose support the mment majority depends. He re- to yleld to their representations and relations had become strained when a second bolt was hurled at the De Valera government. This took the form of a proposal emanating from Alfred Byrne, lord mayor of Dublin, for the formation of a National directed to the con- solidation of the opposition ele- ments for the overthrow of the de Valera government and the restoration of trade relations with England. The importance of this move was enhanced by the fact that Frank MacDermott, leader of the National Farmers and Rate Payers’ League, had entered the fleld against the government, with him the prestige of one of the most historic of Irish families and the strong sympathies of the Roman Cath- olic Church. e * ‘With the prospect of a combination of the Cosgrave Conservative party with the farmers and discontented Labor, de Valera's position was seriously threatened and he decided to strike before the opposition had time to or- ganize. In this he was successful, for the time is too short to permit the National party idea to be implemented before the electionz, ordered for January 4. Cosgrave and MacDermoti, however, have reached an understanding. Their rrangement is that in the ten con- uencies where the Farmers' League stands a good chance of winning, the Cosgrave y will withdraw; and where the latter is confident of success, MacDermott will co-operate to secure victory. They are also negotiating with the disgruntled Labor element. Fianna Fall, the De Valera party, however, is confident that it has caught the opposition napping and will capture nine more seats than at the last elec- tion, which would give it a majority independent Labor. De Valera thinks the Labor party-is destined to extinction and calculates he will gain more by :allying his own supporcers, the extrcist and activists, than he will lose by i..e disaffection of Labor. * % % * The issue of the elcction turus em Ireland’s rerlm.:.om with 'fnglm: k'nu strength of the opposition at.ack on DeValera s in the lamentadle condis the country, which is due et. ve stands for recogni- of the Anglo-Irish treaty and says ment. He pr duction in their annuities and declares, “Cosgrave will get back your markets in three days.” He says his party is more than ever convinced that a treaty with Great Britain is Ireland’s na- tional need and economic salvation, It had been anticipated that when the 5.‘}':2 e!ec'.tnnm came or(): Valera would on grol denunciation of the Anglo-Irish treaty and