Evening Star Newspaper, February 2, 1933, Page 8

A8 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY....February 8, 1933 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor Yhe Evening Star Newspaper Company ness Office: Englan Rate by Carrier Within the City. 48 per month 60c per month % 85§ per mon;h e Sunday Star... ;.5¢ per copy T cllection made at the ¢ each month. rs may be sent in by mail or telephone Orde: NAtional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Bally and Sund .1yr.,$10.00; 1mo.. 85¢ y only 1yr., $6.00; Bunday only 1yr., $4.00: 1mo. 40c All Other States and Canada. ily and Sunday...lyr.$12.00; 1mo., $1.00 F:uy only 1 ., $8.00; 1mo. 75¢ o $5.00 1mo. 50 junday only” Member of the Associated Press. ss is esclusively entitled The Associated Press is esclusively entitied ted in this paper and also the local news pugns'r‘aed herein. Al rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. — The Senate in a Tailspin. The Senate’s maneuver with the air- mail subsidy might appear, to the ob- server who stands with his feet on the ground, as if the ship had got out of control and gone into a crazy tailspin that cannot be stopped short of a crash For the principle on which the airmail subsidy of $19,000,000 was cut from the Post Office bill yesterday and thrown out, bag and baggage, was the principle of economy. The Senate was told that the atrmal subsidy is a luxury that the people cannot afford to maintain in times of economic distress. The propo- sitlon was either to practice economy, by eliminating the airmail subsidy, or quit talking about economy. So, after spending more than a hun- dred million dollars on =airmail sub- sidies and carefully pursuing & definite policy of commercial aviation develop- ment that has led to the establishment of 26,745 miles of airmail routes, exten- sive passenger service, formation of air- mail companies, construction of count- less airports, building and maintenance of thousands of miles of lighted air- ways and intermediate landing flelds st Government expense, the Senate, in & couple of hours’ debate, decides to erase airmail flying from the face of the map ostensibly because of the dis- covery that the airmail does not pay for itself. In the same appropriation bill there 1s a recommended appropriation of a hundred million dollars for railroad mail service. Railroad mall service does not pay for itself. Is railroad mail service also to go the same way? Obviously not, and the intricate ma- neuvering of the Senate on the airmail jtem must be explained on grounds other than economy. If the Senate has gone into a tallspin it did so de- liberately for tactical purposes. It was not the result of an accident. The. Senate, while abandoning the airmail because of economy, knows that 1f the item is not restored in conference. with the House there will remain plenty of time for the special session of Con-| gress to deal with and appropriate for the airmail between April and the end of the fiscal year. The appropriation will in all probability be restored, but not until the incoming administration has been given the opportunity to over- haul the whole service according to its own conception of what the airmail service should be. This conception is apparently hazy Just now. Senator Tydings is the author of an amendment which cut three mil- lion dollars from the airmail subsidy a few minutes before the Senate elim- tnated the subsidy altogether. Senator McKellar wanted to reduce the subsidy by half. Several members of the House, and other Senators, have been in favor of drastic reductions. Senator-elect Mc- Adoo is intensely interested in the air- mail business and is supposed to be pre- paring to blow the lid off something when he takes his seat. The House Post Office Committee has made some progress on a long-deferred investiga- tion of the airmail, including the policy of letting contracts as followed by Post- master General Brown. Economy, spparently, has relatively little to do with the Senate action on airmail subsidies. The Senate has mere- 1y bundled up another problem and de- posited it at the White House, with in- structions that it is not to be opened until President-elect Roosevelt gets there. The President-elect is going to be very busy opening such bundies between Apri] and the first of next July. ——————— February is the month of holidays. Ground hog day assumes especial sig- nificance among superstitious folk, as its influence is assumed to extend even to the 4th of March. Fortunately, Ad- miral Grayson is not expected to worry over the weather indications which only confirmed landsmen consider. ———————— Easing the Mortgage Burden. In 1932 life insurance companies held epproximately $1,700,000,000 in farm mortgages out of a reported total of about $10,000,000,000 outstanding, most of it in the hands of banks, so that the action by some of the large in- surance companies in granting a tempo- rary “moratorium” on foreclosures affects a relatively small proportion of the Nation’s debt-ridcen farms. This action by the insurance companies, however, should exercise a tremendous psychological effect, in addition to the actual relief it brings to the debtors concerned. It should serve to hasten the various movements now under way to adjust the debt burden by arrange- ments that give the farmer a more hopeful opportunity to work out his salvation. Colorful newspaper dispatches de- scribing the forceful measures taken by embattled farmers to prevent fore- closures have come from many sections of the country in the last few months, and although there have been an ex- traordinary number of such incidents they do not falrly represent the atti- ‘tude adopted either by the farmer or by the mortgagee. The general situa- tion has passed the stage where the customary procedure against defaulting debtors, foreclosure, can be followed with any hope of real relief either for the debtor or for the creditor. There is little to be gained by dispossessing own- ers who are making real efforts to meet their obligations, especially when such | | | be carried for an indefinite time at loss to the creditors or else sold to & new owner who may be in no better position to meet his fixed charges than his predecessor. The action taken by insurance com- panies means, as their explanatory statements reveal, that they have de- cided -the best policy now is to remove the threat of foreclosure and through direct negotiations with borrowers to agree on plans of refinancing that can be made to work. The insurance com- panies realize the predicament of their debtors, but they have an even heavier responsibility toward their policy hold- ers whose funds have been invested. Those companies which have not pub- licly announced the temporary suspen- sion of foreclosures are reported to have adopted the policy of resorting to foreclosure only when debtors show no disposition to meet them half way. The Department of Agriculture re- cently reported that general realization of the losses everywhere incurred by foreclosure has led to a growing ten- dency by creditors to “go along with” the debtors. The creditors frequently carry the principal if the debtor meets taxes and all or part of the interest, and will carry on and is a good moral risk. Apparently the minimum expected is that the debtor should pay an amounj equivalent to rent on his farm, to be applied toward interest, debt and taxes. — e To Swap or Not to Swap. To swap or nét to swap—that is the question which, if the chancellor of the British exchequer is the voice of his government, Great Britain has already decided in the negative, as far as forth- coming debt conversations at Washing- ton are concerned. Mr. Neville Cham- berlain, addressing American news- paper correspondents in London yes- terday, spoke with almost disconcert- ing frankness. “I deprecate,” he said, “the suggestion that the approaching negotiations should be regarded as a big swapping deal.” The watchdog of his majesty’s treasury was, of course, tilting at the “suggestion” originating in this unreasonable land that if John Bull comes to Washington next month, cap in hand and begging debt favors, Uncle Sam, in the coldly calculating spirit in which contemporary Europe has come to envision him, will have the temerity to demand a certain quid pro quo. It is not always that Senator Borah is the voice of the American people, in either foreign or domestic affairs, but he indubitably speaks their lan- guage when he declares that if Mr. Chamberlain’s outgivings mean British unwillingness to consider anything but debts in Washington, “then we should save both time and expense and call off the conference.” Other members of the Senate voice the same forthright view. If it were called upon to do so, the entire country would echo it. The Brit- ish government will inhabit a fool's paradise if it deludes itself to the con- trary. The ways of diplomacy sometimes pass understanding. Our British cousins are by no means the least adept in pursuing them. Already the thought finds expression among international statecraftsmen that London may have adopted the policy of appearing stern and uncompromising now, in order that any British recession, however slight, may seem the greater if made at Wash- ington & few weeks hence. Mr. Oham- berlain as good as concedes that debt revision alone will not produce that general economic stabilization in which Britain, America and the whole world are deeply concerned. Speaking of the gold standard in the same breath with his no-swapping fantasy, the chancellor of the exchequer announces that until intergovernmental debts have been cleared away, artificial trade barriers lowered, the maldistribution of gold modified and the world’s pressing po- litical problems are on the way to & settlement, the pound sterling cannot be put back on its yellow metal basis. It is a sententious presentation of the economic crisis that is thus outlined by Mr. Chamberlain. It mugt almost. precisely approximate the program which the United States Government— as President-elect Roosevelt can not have failed té intimate to Sir Ronald Lindsay at Warm Springs—intends to project for Anglo-American discusssion. The British might as well understand now as later—they pride themselves on their penchant for plain speaking and their receptivity for candor from the other fellow—that the American people are not much interested in having Hamlet enacted on the Potomac next month, with the melancholy Dane left entirely out of the cast. It the debt discussion does not set in and have its whole being in an atmosphere of reciprocity, comprehend- ing obvious essentials, it is doomed, and deserves to be doomed, to become a wholly abortive gesture, leaving in its wake, as such futilities frequently do, a wave of mutual ill will that English- speaking statesmanship must bend every ounce of its energy to avert. —————————————— Question of whether a man can be barred from a hospital because of in- toxication brings up & new and diffi- cult point in the discussion. It is ad- mitted that a man has no right to get drunk, but no hospital would reject a man for trying to commit suicide, which also is against the law. Possibility continues to be mentioned of a resumption of power by the former German Kaiser. It would be a hard assignment to tackle even after a long vacation. ———————————— Ground Hog Day. Candlemas or Ground Hog day for centuries has been a day for weather prognostications. Generations ago it became a custom to judge of the Spring season to come by the indications dis- cernible at the beginning of February. No one knows how or where the notion originated, but it was common among the Germanic tribes of Northern Eu- rope as early as the tenth century. On its face, it is a mere superstition; actually it may have the merit of a background of close observation and long experience. Perhaps it is feasible to forecast the weather, in a general way, from the vantage point of some more or less abitrary date. The Weather Bureau operates on that principle, mak- ing a science of what once was little better than -speculation. Naturalists agree that the habits of animals are governed in large part b weatHer; ethnographists know that same rule applies in the case sgossession means that the farm is to several races of mankind. THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1933 woodfhnckwmndho'htmlfl matter in himself, but he is not im- mune from the dictation of the law of noted his momentary emergence from hibernstion at Candlemas and related 1t to the tradftion of the similar ap- pearance of the badger in the territory of their Teutonic ancestors on the other side of the world. So the American version of the legend .came into being. Its survival, presumably, has been justi- fled to a satisfactory degree by the practicability of its use. It has per- sisted because it has “worked.” The ground hog saw his shadow to- day, and there will be at least six weeks more of Winter. It would be a miracle if it were to be otherwise. And man- kind, in modern times, does not expect miracles of that eharacter. ‘To the philosopher it is remarkable how much of the stock in trade of con- versation among average people con- sists of discussion of the weather. The most bromidic -of subjects, certainly, it nevertheless has vast durability, un- failing interest. Posaibly, it is true that there is no other theme about which humanity is more intimately concerned. It means much to the farmer, te the traveler, to the mariner, to the trades- man, to the ordinary rank and fille of men and women as they go through the routine of their lives. Indeed, it is an integral condition of life. The com- forting thought is that its constructive significance is greater than its destruc- tive influence. If it were not so, there would be no men or women; neither would there be any prognosticating ground hogs. American news correspondents were told by Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer that there are many condi- tions to be fulfilled before Britain re- turns to the gold standard. The con- ference to be held in this city, America is warned, is not to be a swapping deal. It should be. In a regular “swap” the reciplent of value assumes to give value in return. ————— The court was lenient with the man who went fishing in the Patuxent be- cause his family needed food. Judictal wisdom recognized the fact that, mor- ally »speaking, he had more excuse for going fishing than many a man with a license. —————— ‘The man who said he had found & pot of gold at Salisbury, Md., confesses that he was in & mood of merry men- dacity. The inquisitorial feature of the income tax asserted itself in his case, as it has in others, as a wholesome dis- couragement of empty bragging. — e It is often mentioned that Uncle Dan Willard of the B. & O. learned railroading from the beginning, and it is also asserted that with a little finan- cial support he can study new con- ditions and do the same thing over again. ——————————— President-elect Roosevelt is described as fascinated by aviators. This means an immense popularity for flying, with, however, especial demand for caution to guard against possibility of an historic crash. B — It may be contended by Huey Long that if he had not wasted precious time on a filibuster the United States Sen- ate might have squandered it with equal recklessness in a wrangle over beer percentages. —— e War has wrought havoc and it re- mains for statesmanship to convince the world that a culminating calamity does not threaten in the destruction of international good faith and re- liability of credit. ————— 8o many professors have figured re- sponsibly in government affairs that gentlemen of fashion will not be sur- prised if Washington, D. C., goes collegiate and indorses a raccoon skin coat as full dress. ——————— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Currency. Gathering shells on the seashore, An Indian maid went on her way. She strung to fashion a necklace And said “They’ll come handy some day. “We had money of paper, abundant. Plain scrip has been often employed. In tokens of rum and tobacco Our commerce some thrift once enjoyed. “They are offering bushels of barley And 1. O. U’s penciled on wood. As currency we may be finding That wampum ‘is perfectly good.” Gentler Audience. “Will you leave politics to practice law?” “Some day, perhaps,” answered Sen- ator Sorghum. “In court a lawyer has an audience that’s compelled to listen to speeches regardless of preference.” Jud Tunkins says the world is still a pleasant place to live, only you've got to read the big hotel advertisements to e reminded of the fact. Geography. Geography is hard to learn, We have it settled plain. Mars gives his sword another turn And stirs it up again, Reducing. “My doctor says I'll have to reduce,” sald Mr. Dustin Stax. “You don’t look overweight.” " “I refer to my business doctor. He says I must reduce dividends.” “Boys-play with leaden soldiers,” said H! Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “and girls play with dolls, thus displaying the eternal intuitions of war and love.” My Radio. My radio! My radio! You are a marvel true. Across vast spaces you can g0 Still bringing nothing new. This world you can indeed enrich If by and by you will Deliver some great message which Is worthy of your skill. Just now, so faithful day by day, You seem sometimes to be A thunder god sent with a tray ‘To bring & cup of tea. “What dey calls depression,” Uncle Ehen, “is & state of mind where everybody gits so interested in poverty dat even de rich folks tries. to imi- tate it % Little lea - green wves on the Paul's t tiny green lea peared on the Paul's Scarlet rose out in_the back yard. the middle of Winter, hm? by good for el Perhaps pretty bad for the climber, in the end, unfortunately. Surely there will be more Winter weather, and if there is, those wonder- ful bits of greenery will be killed. Perhaps such an untoward event will make little difference to this sturdiest of climbing roses, after all. It will calmly send out more leaves in the real Spring, the Spring that is coming for every thing“then alive. Homer and his are gone, but thousands upon thousands of these great roses are growing in yards all over the world. Helen of Troy is but a dream, a story and a memory, but at the proper season nothing is more glowing in the sight of man than the red, red roses of this variety, most properly called Paul's Scarlet. News items from the garden, “spot news” of the everyday, far more in- teresting to the amateur gardener at this time of year than memories of Helen of 3 Helen had her day. 8he was a pretty lady, but she had her day, and it was a long time ago. There have been millions of pretty ladies since. There probably isn't a girl in Hollywood who isn’t as good looking as Helen ever thought of being at Troy. One must be in the mood to be in- terested in her, that is quite true. 1t is impossible by leaning up against a counter in & book store to be inter- ested in the ancients. It requires the mood, and that mood does not come very well on a beauti- ful Spring day which happens to occur right squarely in the le of Winter. Yes, it is more interesting to think about the small, new green leaves—not buds, mind you—branching out all along the stems of that sterling rose climber, the Paul's Scarlet. Even more leafed out is that dainty climber, the so-called “Thousand Beautles,” the German of which we will not attempt to spell. (It sounds like “fowlen-cnl'n.") This is a utiful bush, without thorns, interesting on that account alone; the dainty pink flowers, minia- ture and lasting, complete the charm of & climber which should be in every Grand old Dr. Van Fleet, king of climbers, is not to be-fooled by Spring. . He takes his time, slumbers quietly yet, waiting for the real word from Mother Nature to send forth leaves. Fortunately there are no signs of any peonies, although we have seen a few of the red tips of the shoots elsewhere. Bechtel's flowering crab has small red buds along the branches. Are these flower or leaf buds? Since this small RISH INDEPENDENT, Dublin— The Irish Dance Teachers' and Promoters’ Association at their meeting tomorrow will compile a list of cases of hardship caused b; the dance tax, and will submit the list to the lord mayor on Wednesday next. ‘The lord mayor has promised to raise the matter in the Dail. In an interview with an Irish Inde- pendent representative, Mr. R. Graham, chairman of the association, said that during the week two city dance halls, each employing a band of four and sev- to lack of support. Several large halls, he added, had reported a falling off in the number of dancers this season. * ¥ % % Cape Town Prepares for Community Chest. Cape Times, Cape Town.—The Com- munity Chest will begin its fifth annual drive in nine days' time. The organization for gathering in the £10,000 needed to keep 20 of Cape Town’s charities going for a year has been at work for weeks; it is spreading like a fine-meshed net over the whole city and suburbs. The city has been divided into dis- tricts, the districts into streets, and where necessary, the streets into sec- tions. Maps have been drawn up and supplied to the area chairmen, who are finding their own workers to canvass the buildings. Volunteers for this work—knocking at front doors and collecting subscrip- tions from the public—are urgently needed. * ok ok *x Indians Increasing, Canadians Report. Dally Telegraph, London.—There are more red Indians in Canada today than there were when white men first set foot on the dominion’s shores. Though there are no exact means of calculating the number of Indians 300 years ago, the census are confident that they were considerably smaller in num- ber than they are now. They have ac- curate figures to show that the number of red Indians increased from 105,492 in 1911 to 222,290 in 1931. A definite decrease in the death rate among the Indians is due to better housing, extension of medical services and improved sanitary conditions. Even the bands of Indians which will still refuse to yleld their lands to the gov- ernment and so become the wards of the State have largely adopted the more sanitary mode of living of their white neighbors. * ok k% Dress as Policemen to Get Privileges. La Razon, La Paz—Three culprits ordinaria eral attendants, had closed down owing | to names | The * THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. harm. plant no One home gardener | ators will be able to tell you more about that 'mber, Flower buds on the Japanese quince are growing larger and larger these days: We have seen other bushes which look as if the actual flowers would burst forth any day, if warmer days should continue to alter- nate with the colder. Two small blossoms adorned the true bridal wreath. Flower buds were out on the forsythia. It was as interesting as an expedition to poke around in the leaves to see how the lemon Illies, and the , 80 tawn, lilies were comin 3 to ’n:{yu"m up an inch, 'Amld multiplied largely. This was cheering news to the gardener, who happened to rl:t an especial pleasure from these old omely plants. He was glad that the leaves from the trees had been permitted to gather as they would around them, thus af- fording some measure of protection. Truly it does not pay to be too tidy in the garden in the Autumn. Of course, there is some danger of harbor- ing insect pests, and so on, but maybe there is more in removing all protec- tion from plants. The tidy garden is one ideal, but per- haps the natural garden is a better one. It is possible for the home lover to carry over from the house into the garden procedures which had better be left indoors. Everything spick and span—that is well enough for a drawing room, but Mother Nature does not keep her great house outdoors so. &he lets things blow around and come to rest where they will. ‘The happy thing is that their rest- ing at last in some corner is not only a physical bringing up at a stopping point, but a way by which she provides protection for some of her weaker plant creatures that need it. New ferns are forming among those which were planted alongside the garage where the drip from the roof forms a sort of small gutter in the ground. ‘These ferns are the natural wild forms gathered by a farmer from the banks of & small stream out in the country. ‘When first planted last Spring they looked like nothing much, losing most of their leaves, but shortly thereafter they picked up, sent out new fronds in the curious way they have, and have been green and flourishing ever since. It is not always realized that this type of fern is practically an evergreen. These specimens have remained bright all Winter through. At this time they are busily engaged in forming new fern plants. These re- semble nothing so’ much as tan fuzzy worms, and would scarcely be recog- nized as future plants by the chance observer. They are new ferns, however, and will be seen as such in due season. Apparently all the hollyhock seed- lings, so fine and brave last Fall, have died out. This is part of gardening; there is no 100 per cent in it. But in what activity is there? That good vine, Clematis paniculata, is among those things getting leaf buds at this writing. The bleeding heart, most famous plant of grandmother’s garden, is coming up, too. Oriental poppies, of course, have been green foliaged all Winter. It is time now to prune the hybrid tea roses (which include most of the well known “monthly blooming” varie- ties). Any day now one may spray | the lilac bushes for scale. Few home fnrdeners do this, but they ought to if [they want to keep amateur gardening an adventure as exciting as old Homer’s “Odyssey” is to some (or so they say). High Lights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands thorities rather inimical to the profit- | able conduct of their business. The cen- | tral department of the federal district is taking measures which have in view e eventual closing of all these estab- lishments because, in the majority of cases, they have been found to be noth- ing more or less than comouflaged re- sorts of the most unsavory character. In many instances the veneer of spuri- ous respectability has been but very thinly applied, and it is felt that a definite jeopardy to public morals will be removed when ihe last of these de- praved amd corrupting haunts is abol- ished. Several of them already have suspended their activities without po- lice coercion. * x % % Younger Generation Called “Scribblers.” Evening Post, Wellington.—“So far as I can see, the younger people of to- day are developing into a generation of scribblers,” said Mr. T. M. Charters at the Opawa School jubilee celebra- tions, when referring to the fact that Mr. G. Petrie, his old headmaster at the school, had not permitted any care- lessness in handwriting. “I see no rea- son why handwriting should be illegible. It seems strange to me that so many business men adopt signatures that are absolutely indecipherable. Perhaps they want to keep their identity a secret.” * ok ok X Polish Youths Ride Cycles to Palestine. Palestine Bulletin, Jerusalem.—Two young Polish Jews, who are on a Cycle tour, reached Jerusalem in the past few days after having traversed a distance of 5,000 kilometers. They are Emanuel tor Graber, aged 26, of 3 ‘They started out for Palestine in May, and did 3,000 kilometers alone in Poland. Their ride from Poland to Palestine took two months, and they passed _through 1a, Czechoslo 'y and Syria. | Where the Host Is Not Responsible Prom the Detroft News. Slowly the courts are figuring out what is the responsibility of the owner of a motor car who is generous enough to let a thumb-pointer ride with him flg u‘:mcty el};z‘\.mh tac have an acci- Wi e, ‘To s commons undemtundiog that motorists are liable in such cases. But Circuit Judge Willam B. Brown of & case recently, he said: “Guest pas- sengers in private automobiles have no rights under the automobile damage natives; one is to refrain from with others, and the second is to Lansing and have the law eh-need‘g question, Judge hinges upon interpretation of the term “wilful and wanton ne&l:m." Ac- A Missing Juryman. Prom the 8t. Louts Globe-Democrat. Coincidence seems to have been at its best in Plymouth, Ind., when jury com- missioners, in drawing the names of veniremen for service in a murder trial, drew the name of the slain man. Maybe a Swap. Portland Oreson Journal. Orich, aged 24, of Stanislaw, and Vic- | Mr. Cracow. laws of the State. They have two alter- | pe Brown said, | the eral, and now more recently Tennessee for Secretary of State. ator Barkley of Kentucky has been mentioned for Secretary of War. ~Mr. Roosevelt has not ed his efforts to draw from the Senate only to the Democratic side of the chamber, but it is said that he has sought to bring P o L lve pul Wi pe wed his banner in 1| glt campaign and upon whom he may wish to lean heavily in the future. Senator Cutting of New Mexico and Senator Hiram Johnson of California, not to mention te of Wisconsin, have been gossiped about as cabinet bil- itles, though it is not really believed that any one of them, unless it be Mr. Cutting, 'wm‘u‘ee%t : cabinet office. With Hull, Walsh and Glass all out of the Senate and in the cabinet, there would be big holes left in the Demo- cratic ranks of the Upper House. These gentlemen have been outstanding figures the Senate, leaders in the lative policies. They W] places will be filled by younger men from their own States. There actual places in the Democratic organization of the Senate wjll be diffi- cult to fill indeed. As a 'matter of fact, the President-elect, if he takes all of these men from the Senate, may at some future date wish he had them back in that body to carry on the fight for the legislation which his ad- ministration proposes. CEER It begins to look as though the day of younger groups in the Senate to take command had nearly arrived. This oes for the Democrats as well as the publicans. It is true that Senator Joe Robinson of Arkansas, the Demo- cratic leader of many years' A will remain in the Upper House, and Senator Pat Harrison Mississippl, chairman presumptive the Senate Pinance Committee, also will be a big figure in next Senate, and Senator Swanson of Virginia, slated to be chair- Foreign Rel Democratic man of the lations Com- mittee, unless President-elect Roosevelt should take him, too, into the cabinet fold as Secretary of the Navy. Senator Fletcher of Florida and Senator Smith of South Carolina, almost complete the picture of the “elder statesmen” on the Democratic side of the Senate Chamber. Senator McKellar of Ten- nessee is in reality a veteran, too. He entered the Senate, however, as a young man and despite his long service is still to be included in the more youthful and progressive group. To him will go the chairmanship of the Committee on Appropriations, should Senator Glass become Secretary of the Treasury. * k k% - On the Republican side of the chamber the slaughter of the veterans at the polls last November was severe. Senator “Jim” Watson of Indiana, the G. O. P. leader; Senator Moses of New Hampshire, president pro tempore, and Senator Smoot of Utah, chairman of the Finance Committee, are to be absent from the next Congress, along with other stalwarts, including Senator Hiram Bingham cf Connecticut. The two Republican Senators ranking high- est in length of service are _members of the progressive group—Borah of Idaho and Norris of Nebraska. Senator Johnson cf California, a third progres- sive, and Senator Hale of Maine are the next in rank for length of service. The Republican Senate leadership is expected to go to Senator Charles Mc- Nary of Oregon, at present assistant leader. The Oregcn Senator will have his hands full. But he is regarded as a capable leader and an adroit poli- | tician. He must, if it is possible, bring the prcgressive wing and the conserv- ative wing of the Republicans in the Senate to work together. The choice of an assistant to Senator McNary will be made in the caucus of the Republicans at the ccming special sesslon of the Senate. Senator Vandenberg of Michi- gan, aithough he is junior in point of service to many of his Republican col- leagues, has been mentioned in connec- tion with the assictant Republican leadership. He is active, a forceful | speaker and, too, greatly interested @n the game of politics. * k¥ % Among the Republican veterans left i)r‘x ltlt Senate, in addition to Hale of a Capper of Kansas, Keyes of New Hamp- shire, Reed of Pennsylvania and Fess of Ohio. Senator Fess is the present Republican whip of the Senate. Un- doubtedly Senator Reed of Pennsylvania will play an important role on the Republican side of the Senate chamber in the new deal. He has great ability and is one of the most forceful of the Senators on the Republican side. * K X % Cabinet rumors in Washington are rot confined to the membership of the Senate by any means. One of the latest reports about the Capitol is that the President-elect when he was last here on his way South told an important Democrat .that he had in mind two men for the office of Secretary of State and that one of them was Prof. Raymond T. Moley of Columbia Uni- versity, who has been Roosevelt’s chief advisers on both domestic and foreign problems ever since he was nominated for the presi- demcy. It is reported that the other mg was Ngrmm‘g;eD%m of New Yor:.‘ wi ‘was at one 'ndersecretary State in the Wilson administration. Both of these gentlemen Roosevelt through our bureau here. and McNary of Oregon, are! . | the Spokane S b, £Fs ~ogsgaky *g;zigg“ Eag L1 %EEE#E%% g g § f b E f v égfia P ; g i3 ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Washington is the world's greatest storehouse of all kinds of knowledge. You can draw on it free of charge Any ques- tion of fact you may ask will be ans swered promptly in & personal letter to you. Be careful to write clearly, give your full name and address, and inclose 3 cents for reply postage. Do not use post cards. Send your inquiry to The Evening Star Information Bureau, wa;lc é!‘ Haskin, Director, Washing- Q. How much money is spent in a year for advertising in the United States?—L. 8. C. A. According to a recent estimate, the annual expenditure for advertising of all kinds in the United States ap- proximates $1,502,000,000. Q. Was the United States signatory to the treaty guaranteeing the neutral- ity of Belgium?—H. B. G. A. The United States was not a sig- natory of the treaty guaranteeing the neutrality of Belgium. The United States has no military treaties with any other nation. Q. What is the Federal tax on a package of cigarettes?—E. M. K. A. The Federal tax on cigarettes is $3 per 1,000 cigarettes, rather than by unit of sale. This amounts to a tax of 6 cents per package of 20, 415 cents per plu:lko-u of 15 and 3 cents per package of 10. Q. How far south do Eskimos live?— LK. C. A. The Eskimos are inhabitants of the Northern coast of the American continent down to latitude 60 degrees north on the west and 55 degrees on the east. and of the Arctic islands, Greenland and about 400 miles of the nearest Asiatic coast. They prefer the vicinity of the seashore, from which they rarely withdraw more than 20 to 80 miles. Q. How did the party which Theo- dore Roosevelt led in 1912 happen to ll'x!e ';Al_}ed the Bull Mocse party?— A. In “Our Times” Mark Sullivan says that Roosevelt went to Chicago at the time of the Republican National Convention, and when asked about his health and spirits told the reporter he felt like & bull moose. “Bull Moose” appeared on the front pages of 10,000 newspapers, and immediately became a symbol universally understoed. Q. What country has had the longest uninterrupted term of peace?—H. H. A. Switzerland has prebably had a longer uninterrupted term of peace than any other country in the world. Q. Is the River Thames, in England, known by any other name?—J. M. A Caesar says that at the time of his invasion of Britaln it was called Tamesis. Other early writers call it Tamesa. In early Saxon times the river was called Thamis. The Thames above Oxford often is called Isis. Q When was the first breech-load- ;r;g.udugble-bsmled shotgun made?— A. The first practical double-bar- reled, breech-loading shotgun was made in 1836 by a French gunsmith, Casimir Lefaucheux (1802-52). Although this Wwas a crude weapon in most respects, it is a remarkable fact that its inventor utilised for the first time the principle of having the barrels tip downward from a hinge near the breech, a form which has never been improved upon and is used today by practically all | shotgun makers. Q. How many letters were there in g\ecl.a!m alphabet in Cieero’s time?— "A. The Latin alphabet at this time corisisted of 21 letters. Q. There is a portrait of the Em- press Dowager of China by K. A. Carl in the new National Museum. Of what wood is the frame made?—D. M. A. This frame, designed the sub- Ject of the portrait, is e of rare camphor wood. It was executed by the most expert workmen in China. Q. What degree of heat is produced by electric welders?—T. P. A. The electric arc welder produces temperatures from 6,300 to 9,400 degrees Fahrenheit. Q. What is a glarimeter?—A. R. A. It is an instrument which has been invented to measure the gloss of paper, Q. What was Mah?—R. T. A. According to Persian mythology, Mah was the fish which was supposed to hold the universe. HQS How old is the motor cycle?— A. The earliest known attempt at & two-wheeled vehicle which would pro- ceed under its own power is said to have been made by W. W. Austin of Winthrop, Mass., in 1868. It was pro- pelled by a coal-burning steam engine. Other more or less similar affairs fol- lowed in 1884 and 1886. In 1895 & cycle propelled by a combustion using gasoline was exhibited at Madi- son Square Garden in New York City. This has been called the first appear- ance of the motor cycle in the form in which it is known today. Q. How does a lawyer obtain the right to practice before the United s’:mxsuw;mgw?i:rbesimmn to . In order to ol n practice before the Supreme Court it is necessary for the application to be indorsed by an official of the bar of the State and to petition the Supreme Court for admission before that body. This petition is filed with the clerk of the Supreme Court, and the matter is taken under advisement by one of the jus- tices of the Supreme Court having supervision of the State from which the petition comes. If the record is satis- factory, a motion is made by the jus- tice and the consideration of such motion and action upon it constitutes the first procedure usually on Monday when the court is in session. A peti- tion may be filed at any time. Q. Should the person who cuts the cards in contract bridge complete cut?>—J. C. C. A. The rules for auction and tract bridge provide that “the dealer presents the Igck to the player on his right, who lifts off a portion from the top and places it toward the dealer beside the bottom portion. The dealer then completes the cut by placing the bottom portion on the top portion.” Q. What were the usual duties of & Pennsylvania housewife in Revolution. ary days?—D. C. A. A letter from a Pennsylvania hus- band of the Revolutionary period re- cords that his wife “provided and ate tended to the preparation of baking ples and cakes, bread and meat; cut and dried apples; tended the orchard; cleaned the house; saw to the washing of clothes, all of which were smoothed by her; frequently made 20 large cheeses; sewed and knit.” In addition, her admiring husband records: “She reacheth forth her hand to her needy neighbors and friends.” She was a faithful nurse, and attended both day and night in case of illness. Q. How long has the Panama Canal been in use?—V. G. _A. 'More than 18 years. It was offi- cially opened for navigation August 15, 1914. On that date the Government steamskip Ancon mace the trip throuch the canal, carrying the Secretar, of War and about 200 people, including President Porras of Panama, his cabi- net and other government officials of Panama. Glass Measure Is Credited With Strong Banking Basis by the Senate of the Glass,ment financial co; Passage banking bill, with some amendments, is favorably received by the country, but concurrence by the House is heid | | to be doubtful because of limited time. Most of the changes in administrative lines arouse no opposition, aithough bfanch and affiliated com- panies still remain a matter of con- troversy. “The bill did not attempt,” according to the Roanoke World-News, “to set up a uniform banking system for the coun- | tl'{'.l Rather it sought to repair at cer- tain points a banking system that has had the record of 4,000 failures during a period in which there has not been a single bank failure in the Dominion of Canada, where branch banking is Do- minion-wide. The Glass bill did not attempt to bring all commercial banks, State and national, small and large, into the Federal Reserve system. It does attempt to gather up'a number of loose ends in practice, some of which have come about through the competition between State and national banks, the desire of the States to lower their standards to invite State charters, and of the Federal Government to lower restrictions to invite national charters.” * k% % “As it finally passed.” according to esman-Review, “the bill has so many points of merit that its failure to pass this Congress would be & misfortune. The need is immediate for a Federal corporation to speed the payment of dividends to depositors in support for institutions that are ve upon insolvency.” Sp (Mass) Republican holds that ‘“the merits of the bill outweigh its doubt- ful features so heavily that this Con- rform an exceptional making the bill's pas- " That paper the fact that “the present revision of the bank laws origi- nated in the Senate under Senator Glass’ personal guidance and supervi- sion really commends it to the best in- formed financial opinion of the coun- . whatever differences concerning the bill's details may divide the banking communi - “Its principal purposes,” observes the Hartford Times, “deserve public support, eontemphtmli‘u they do, restriction of bank credit to be used for specula- tive purposes, abandonment of ‘affili- ates,” the creation of a Federal liquida- tion corporation to assist suspended banks, and a tightening of Federal su- pervision. The form of the bill as it now stands has not yet been widely rather that influential objection has been chiefly engendered. The present Fed- eral Reserve system was nearly 15 in agitation before it was enacted. t or adverse comment of leading members of the House.” o rporations unaffiliated with commercial banks, halt the scandal of prolonged bank receiverships and stop the financing of Wall Street by commercial banks. While it is the opinion of the Senate committee that thousands of small communities will not obtain adequate local banking fa- | cilities without branch this is not the larger purpose of t’:: bill, but to confine commercial bank- ing strictly to its proper function of providing credit for industries and busi- ness of the country and thereby restore public confildence in the sys- tem.” * X X % “The restrictions promise to stabilize the situation,” states the Lincoln State Journal, while the Atlanta Journal holds that “the fundamentals of the Glass bill are justified beyond chal- lenge.” The Youngstown Vindicator makes the comment: “Most of the pro- visions of the Glass bill have met with very little objection. Its requirements that capital of new banks vary in ac- cordance with the population of the districts in which they are located, in order to increase their stability; its elimination of the Secretary of the Treasury from the Federal Reserve Board; its proposal to establish a liquidating corporation to facilitate aid to depositors in closed banks; its rec- ognition of the Open Market Committee of the Reserve Board, are all recognized as helpful.” “Some banking and business organ- izations favor regulation of affiliates rather than separation from the parent banks,” says the Indianapolis News, while the Des Moines Tribune feels that the effort “to prevent e Nation's Dasiing R o o Springfield (Mass.) Union, pointing out that “branch bank- ing of national banks is limited to the nine States that by their own laws per- mit branches of State banks,” adds: “There is some question as to the au- thority of Congress to emact branch banking for some States while denying it to others.” The New York Times re- calls: “A strong body of opinion fa- vors regulation of affiliates rather than their separation from parent banks. In a memorial to Congress the American ers’ Association maintained that the business in which affiliates are en- gaged ‘is a legitimate function of the banks and a necessary service to the in- dustries and municipalities of the coun- try’ Approximately the same position has been taken by the Chamber of mrzfl of uée Un{lu:d States and by visory Council of the Federal Reserve Board.” \ ————— Qualified Experts. Prom the Nashville Banner. This year's er f seni 4 | think d'] op of lors probably ey can run the world better than it is being run, and we to concece it would be possible for them to do any worse. —_————— Depression Bargains, From the Schenectady Gasette. We've often wondered why the five- and-ten stores these last few years m‘tumnnfludmhmd The Really Needy Opes.