Evening Star Newspaper, February 4, 1933, Page 4

A} e .. THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY.....February 4, 1833 THEODORE W. NOYES....Edito The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: ylvania Ave. chiean Buan Chicago Office: Lake Michigan Bullding. European Office: 1§ Regent St., London: Englan Rate by Carrier Within the City. The Evening Star . ..45¢ per month The Evening and Sunday Star (when 4 Sundays). ‘The Evening and Sung (when 5 Sundays). The Sunday Star ..1l...5c per copy Collection made at the end of each month. Orders may be sent in by mail or telephone NAtional 5000. .60c per month 65c per month Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday....1yr.$10.00: 1mo., 85 Daily only .. {1yr, $6.00: 1mo., 5 Sunday only yr., $4.00; 1mo.. 40c All Other States and Canaca. Daily and Sund 1yr., Daily only . ¥ Sunday only . ™Member of the Associated Press. 1ne Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dis- atches credited to it or not otherwise cred- ted in this paper and also the local news published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. ps—— Legislators in Conference. The purpose of the First Interstate Conference of Legislators, which con- vened here yesterday at the call of the American Legislators’ Association, is to “consider the advisability of establish- ing a standing committee of legislators to study the problems of conflicting tax- aticn and to confer concerning them.” It might be said that the advisability of such a step is so obvicus that further consideraticn is unnecessary. As the President s2id yesterday in greeting the ccnferees, “the evolution of govern- mental functions of municipalities, townships, counties and States has led to haphazard development of sources of taxation to support these functions. The result has been a perfect maze of over- lapping. conflicting, tax systems, with inevitable invasions by one authority of tax areas properly belonging to another author: * While the heavy tax bur- dens resulting from this “maze” of tax systems may be lightened by the citizens of the localities affected, the problem that seems to have got beyond the reach of the citizens, and with which they seem powerless to deal, is the duplica- tion of taxes on the part of the Fed- eral Government and the States. If the legislators meeting here could per- fect an organization that would do nothing more than center public atten- tion on this evil and suggest tangible ways of ending it, immediate prcgress would have been made in the right di- Tection, ‘The subject of double taxation has already been investigated at some length by the House Committee on ‘Ways and Means, which within the last month published a volume of find- ings which should be of inestimable use to the organization to be formed by the State legislators. This report makes no 2 t to draw other con- clusicns than those which arc labeled “obvicus” and are plainly supported by basic facts. But with other things the report points out: First, that our present system of tex- ation complicated, cumbersome, and, in _many respects, ineguitable. Second, that there are many in- stances of double taxation or duplica- don in taxation between the Federal Government and the States. ‘Third, thet in view of the number of taxes imposed, the tax revenues are dis2ppointing. Fourth, that the tax burden, espe- clally on certain specific objects, is reaching the breaking point. Fifth, that the expenditures have in- creased to such a degree as to require their investigation in order to de- termine whether the public is obtain- ing value received for their tax dollar. This report, made after an investi- gation by experts retained by the Ways and Means Committee, is the first of several contemplated steps. The second was to have been public hear- ings to obtain the views of ‘“public officials, legislators, economists and the interested public on methods and means of improving our tax system as & whole.” The public hearings will probebly be undertaken in the new Congress. By that time the State legislators should have perfected an organization that can produce valuable | facts and suggestions as to which tax sources are to be reserved to the Fed- eral Government and which are to be made the property of the States. After some program of the sort is adopted the chief difficulty will be to get some- thing done abeut it. Personnel of State Legislatures, as well as Congress, is constantly chang- ing, and each succeeding generation f( legislators is faced with the demand for wore and higher taxes to support Digger and better manifestations of bu- reaucracy and paternalism. When one form of taxation ceases to yleld, the Isposition is to search for something eise and slap it on. Many legislators d their advisory agents, who draw R‘eir salaries from tax revenues, seem $aclined to regard a new or unused source of taxation with all the delight- gul anticipation exhibited by a ¢hild in the discovery of a new toy. The won- der is that there is not even more plas- tering on of new forms of taxation, with resultant scrambling between the States and the Federal Government to see which one gets there first. The depression may at least be blessed for bringing about signs of an awaken-. ing on the part of the harassed tax- payer. His revolt may carry him far. ‘Washington welcomes such organiza- tions as the Legisiators’ Conference, for upon these must fall the task of making the revolt a constructive one. ———r————————— It took a long time get the word *“welcome” on the Japanese door mat and it is not even yet visible on some of the Pacific islands that are under- @oing secret fortification. ————————————— Reviving the Calvert Colony. In preparation for the celebration of the tercentenary of the Calvert Colony, March 25, 1934, it has been proposed to rebuild the old capital of Maryland, the site of which has been identified near St. Marys City. J. Spence How- ard, & member of the Maryland Tercen- tary Commission, is sponsoring the project. It would seem that the idea 1s abundantly meritorious, and it will be hoped that Mr. Howard may have generous public support toward its ful- filment. It was near the junction of the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay that the first proprietary colony of the months it made more progress the Virginia colony had made in as many years, The administration was just, the spirit of the people liberal and the attitude of the Indians of the vicinity friendly. Troubles came, of course, but their origin was not among the settlers. On the contrary, & con- structive fellowship prevalled in the little town. When the capital was moved to Annapolis, in the closing years of the century, the reasons for the change were political in character, not social. Mr. Howard has traced out the old streets and located the foundations of sixty buildings in the community. With taese as a start, he plans to resurrect the town, restoring it to the appearance it enjoyed in colonial days. A similar | undertaking at Willlamsburg, Va., en- dowed by the Rockefeller family, has been very successful. There is no rea- son why as much should not be done at St. Marys. When completed, it wculd constitute a tangible witness to a gentle culture, a kindly civilization, which | played a leading part in the psycholog- ical preparation for American inde- | pendence. Architecture, it has been £aid, helps mankind to remember. The reconstruction of the Calvert community would serve that purpose notably. The celebration of the anniversaries of important historic events is a prac- tice eminently defensible. This, it must be conceded, is especially true when the commemoration takes the form of a permanent revival of the physical en- vironment of the event. No finer tribute could be paid to the Calvert brothers | than the rebuilding of their settlement. | 2 e It Pays to Investigate. Investigating crime appears to be one of Uncle Sam's most profitable activi- tles—profitable not alone from the standpoint of soclal welfare but also frcm the purely mercenary standpoint of revenue. Just the other day Representative Cochran of Missouri called attention to profits turned into the Treasury by the self-supporting Intelligence Unit of the Internal Revenue Bureau, and now comes a statement on the House floor in enthusiastic support of another money-meaking detective agency—the Bureau of Investigation. ‘This time the commendation was voiced by members of both parties, in- cluding the Democratic chairman of the subccmmittee on appropriations for the Justice Bureau, Represeritative Oliver, of Alabama. Taking the floor during discussion last week of the Jus- tice appropriation bill, Mr. Oliver said: Your attention is directed to the im- portant and valuable service, impossible to evaluate on a cash basis, that all these departments render to the people of the Nation. It is reflected in a more tangible way, perhaps, by one bureau of the Department of Justice, the Bu- | reau of Investigation and Prosecution of Crimes. At your leisure I jnvite you to read page 108 of the hearMmgs, where in 1932 that department, with an ap- propriation of approximately $2,600,000, saved to individual taxpayers in the way of returned property in your district and mine more than $2.340000; and to the Government, in its investigations of claims now pending before tne courts, more than $900,000, making a total | saving over and ebove all expenditures of more than $400,000. Chairman Oliver’s remarks precipi- tated a veritable flood of encomiums for the bureau and its director, J. Edgar Hoover. Representative McCormack, Democrat, of Massachusetts pointed out that the Bureau of Investigation is “at least cne bureau in the Federal Government toward which the least| breath of scandal has never been di- rected.” and said he wanted “Mr. Hoover and those working under him to know that the members of the National House of Representatives have watched their activities and are proud of the wonder- ful work they are doing.” Representa- tive Dyer, Republican, of Missouri Jjoined with Mr. McCormack, in referring to the bureau as one of the most effici- ent in the Government service and in characterizing its director as *“one of the finest public officials of the Gov- ernment.” The reason for such an unusual pub- lic tribute to a Government bureau by economy-thirsty legislators is found in the record of hearings to which refer- ence was made by Chairman Oliver. The testimony showed that the bureau last year effected recoveries valued at $2,324,641 and saved the Government $942,707 in claims. Through investiga- tive activities of bureau agents 1,255 fugitives from justice were located, and 2434 additional fugitives were located through fingerprint identifications. Convictions were secured in 93.76 per cent of investigated cases which went before grand juries—a record which, it is said, is unequaled. And despite these accomplishments, the bureau was able to return to the Treasury $288,992 left from appropri- ations granted by Congress for the last fiscal year. A It is not surprising that this bureau has such stanch friends in an economy- minded Congress. — e Any European statesman will be heard with interest if he will say some- thing constructive about America's higher taxes and lower wages. R Occupational Misfits, One of the most distressing features of the present state of economic de- pression in this country is the mis- adjustment that prevails between the man and the job. In the stress of the times people who have lost their occu- pations owing to the stringencies that have affected manufacturing and busi- ness have, when possible, taken other places regardless of their fitness for them. Emergency employment has put many thousands into uncongenial places in which, however welcome tHe chance to earn anything for mainte- nance, they have been unhappy. This has added to the distress of the mul- titude. John Erskine, novelist and musician, has been appointed to head an adjust- ment service for the unemployed of New York sponsored by the American Association for Adult Education and financed by a generous grant from the Carnegle Corporation. This work, which is in the nature of a scientific experi- ment, and which may later be extended to other partsof the country, is designed to give the unemployed individual “a picture of the present economic situa- tion and of the changes that are taking place in various occupational fields, in order that he may see his own condition in a more objective light.” Says Dr. Erskine further: We are going to to offset the Pplicants for positions, give them aptitude and vocational tests, advise them on occupational problems and put them in touch with existing placement agencies. There is no suggestion of guarantee of Jobs. The main purpose is to try to lead the applicant to an employment for which he is fitted and in which he will succeed beyond the mere relief of the immediate emergency. When economic stringency occurs and reductions of force are necessary those first to go are the least competent and those retained are the most capable. Those who are displaced have probably been wrongly placed in the beginning and had they been in another cccupa- tion they would have been among the fortunate ones to retain their jobs. In the lack of systematic vocational guidance great numbers of people have drifted into misfit occupations, only to suffer later. It is possible that out of | this bitter experience of the past three years may come a better system, and the work that is now about to be under- taken in New York, avowedly experi- mental, may lead to & permanent con- tribution to the economic welfare of the Ppeople of this country. e o Life insurance companies that de- clare a mortgage moratcrium stipulate | that the farmer shall remain on the | place. This is what the farmer prefers, | as he can at least raise enough to sus- tain himself and family without cre- ating a superabundance, discouraging to price quotations on the Chicago Board of Trade. ——————————— Japan is willing to consider the possi- bility of getting out of the League of Nations, but not of getting out of Man- churia. In the meantime a Japanese faction is thriftily inquiring whether it would not be less expensive to go on paying dues than to assume a burden of war taxes, Old melodramas revealing a cruel landlord who, in spite of all pleading, demanded his rent will probably never return. The man with the mortgage considers himself as lucky if he can persuade the holder of the title to stay on and at least keep the place from running down. e A plan for utilizing undeveloped re- | sources and providing widespread em- | ployment is being considered by Presi- dent-elect Roosevelt. The people will not care whether it is termed “tech- nocracy” or “socialism” or anything else, so long as it works. ———e————— The plans for deveioping wealth from a gigantic Muscle Shoals enterprise should encourage Europe to pay up ob- | ligations which would assist in capital- | izing the enterp=se. It is worth re-| membering that Uncle Sam is a liberal | spender when he has the money. e — Hindenburg and the former Kaiser are forced to endure formal publicity when as a matter of fact they would both probably prefer to sit down quietly | and talk over old times. o Campaign acrimonies have disap- | peared. Washington, D. C., may look forward to a social season during which everybody may be called by his or her first name. R ) Having been permitted to dissolve the Reichstag, Hitler will no doubt be asked to avoid throwing anything more into what appears to be a rather hot cauldron. ———ee SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. March Fourth. I'm waitin’ for the admiral to give the signal new That starts this good old ship of state which holds another crew. For just one day I will forget the storms on every hand While joining in the tune of “Halil, Columbia, Happy Land!” Miss Washington, D. C., in the assem- blage you will note. (The “D. C.” means Depriving Citizens of rights to vote.) With pride among Big Sister States she’ll take her loyal stand While joining in the tune of “Hall, Columbia, Happy Land!" . Lingering Rebellion. “Why do you so often disagree with men of recognized learning?” “I wasn't a very quick student,” an- swered Senator Sorghum. “I guess mebbe my trouble is that I kind o got fed up on college professors when I was & boy.” Jud Tunkins says when there’s a crime wave on he begins to suspect that even blue laws might be better than no laws at all. General Human Tendency. I often feel a dizziness As futile toil I lend to ‘Tasks ill known. Somebody else’s business Seems easier to attend to ‘Than my own. Economic Paradox. “Are you in favor of government ownership?” “No,” answered Cactus Joe. “But what's this here government of Crimson Guich goin’ to do with all this prop- erty left on its hands for unpaid ‘taxes.” “We all wish to make others better,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown. “But in order to do so we think we must control their conduct. Hence we have wars.” Fanciful Forebody. ‘The ground hog, weather wizard, Saw his shadow with regret. He prophesied a blizzard, But it hasn't happened yet. Predictions of dire trouble Very frequently we've met, But our courage we redouble, For it hasn't happened yet. “It's & good thing dat sun is hung up millions of miles away,” sald Uncle Eben. “Otherwise day an’ night an’ de four seasons might git all mixed . Waw Wosld was established by Ceeflius biind alley, which the.nnemploged got Up in dis general confusion® BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Next to a plentiful air surface in the home aquarium, sunshine is the most essential need, despite the fact that the newcomer often is misdirected in this regard. Such a pow-wow is put up over the appearance of algae in the amateur’s tank that he comes in time to feel that he must keep his fish out of the sun. The very opposite is true. He should put them in it and keep them in it. Sunlight is as necessary for them as for human beings, althcugh not for precisely the same reasons. What the sun does for fish is to give them oxygen, and plenty of it. Nothing but this supreme orb (or possibly its equivalent) will cause aqua- rium plants to grow, and unless they grow properly they do not send forth oxygen in appreciable quantities. And a tank is not a tank until it is planted. It is possible, of course, to supply oxygen by artificial means, just as it is plausible to use electricity fo light the tank in lieu of sunshine perhaps. As for artificial oxygenation, it falls without the province of the average home aquarium “fan,” who must de- pend upon more natural means. The use of electricity, either in the form of ordinary light bulbs, burned for many hours a day, or of the so- called sunshine lamps, to induce a good plant growth, is a subject which is outside the scope of this writing, since actual experience only is used herein. In a north room tanks got brown algae and the fish did not thrive. Above all, the plants did not thrive. The same tanks, placed in full sun- light, southern exposure, began to har- | bor beautiful green algae, plants and healthy fish, Now, there is nothing like actual experience in this or any other matter. When the amateur looks at his healthy tanks in the sunshine as much as five hours a day of it and contrasts them with the same in a less lighted location, no amount of palaver about the “placement” of aquaria will move him one whit. What 50 many of the’ “experts” seem to be so curiously afraid of is the tiny plant lumped off under the term “algae.” Despite the fact that these collect growing mostly on the inside of the glass sides | of the tank (lending a natural colora- tion to the whole), cause the other plants in the aquarium to grow lustily, and therefore to give off plenty of oxy- gen, themselves give off appreciable quantities of the same wholesome gas and furnish food for certain types of tropical fishes, notably the popular “platys,” we are instructed to believe that somchow they are & menace to the home fish community, and that the only way to get away from them is to place the aquarium out of the sunshine. Put it right in! You will get some sort of algae any- where if you have a body of still water, Jjust as mother’s preserves get mold. There are always various spores float- ing in the air and in the very finest living_rooms, as heatedly as many a glood housewife would deny the allega- tion. Even if a tank containing tropicals is | covered tightly with a glass cover, as it should be, the algae will form on the inner walls, no matter where the | tank is placed. The only difference will be that a rather unsightly brown form will occur if the fishes are kept in a north ex- posure without direct sunlight, whereas a fine, healthy growth of green algae will be prcduced in direct east, south or_western sunshine. Not until one has personally tried } earth, just far enough from the source | the two locations will he believe per- haps just how great a difference there can be in the same tank and the same On the north side the plants will not grow, the fish will not do well, the water tends to become clouded, taking on a white or gray appearance (usually the latter), and the general appearance of the assemblage is disappointing to the interested amateur. He may try all sorts of expedients, of course. If he is chemically-minded, as it were, and has read his fish books and magazines, he may go in for test- ing his water to see about its “ion.” Then he will worry himself consider- ably trying to get it to test out to a very narrow scale. If he has plenty of money and doesn't mind introducing gadgets into his liv- ing quarters, he can have a great deal of with aereation machines and the like. This hobby, like all others, has un- suspected depths of entanglements in 1t after one gets started. If the new- comer tries to test out all the theories and practices by intelligence alone, he will go crazy. If, on the other hand, he attempts to work them out in practice, he dis- covers that some of them are just “the bunk,” others good enough if you want to bother with them, others only fancy additions. There are scores of remedies for a sick tank, but there is one supreme remedy, in our humble opinion, and that 18 to put it squarely in the sun and let it remain there. If things do not get better within a month, you can put it back in the shade, but if your experience i§ like our experience, you will let it remain, because the plants will be growing lux- uriantly, a nice green, with multitudes of bubbles arising while the sun shines |on ’em. The fish will be lively and glittering, the water clear and odoriess. will be covered (inside, of course) with a plentiful supply of green dots. The ends likewise will be coated. The side toward the living room would be cov- ered, too, unless one scraped them off occasionally with an old razor blade affixed to a 10-cent stick. “A green tank is a healthy tank,” 80 runs the aquarium slogan, but un- fortunately it is frowned upon so much in theory that the amateur hesitates to put it into practice. Our entire idea here is to induce him to try the sunshine cure on his sick fishes or his unsatisfactory aquarium. We had a sick “moon” sitting around in a bath of mercurochrome, as the books advise, his fins drooping, his tail rotting away, his sides covered with the peculiar “pepper and salt” fungus to which tropicals are susceptible. We decided to put him back into the been taken out of the north room and | placed on the south side of the house, One hesitated, naturally, for fear of infecting the healthy fishes. > No matter, in he went, right into the surrmm. both his eyes ccated with white. He was practically blind. Not only was he suffering from the “ich,” but also from mercuric poisoning, we were convinced. (Our belief is that such treatments are a mistake.) ‘When he was put back into the tank he could not see. Within a few days he plainly manifested signs of sight, his | fins began to be held in a normal two weeks he was to all intents anc purposes a well fish. In three weeks the fungus growth | over his eyes had disappeared and he | was sailing around in the sunshine as | lively as his old friends (who, by the | way, included Mrs. Moon). Put them in the sunshine and let them stay there! Even God never made ;-nylhlng quite like sunshine, at least | as we living creatures get it on this | of supply, so glittering, kindly, helpful, healing. De Valera Victory in Ireland Laid to Extremist Policies | Miss Hunt seems to have taken great | Fains to balance opinions and to be American observers of the election in | That paper adds that “there are many | Ireland, with its triumph for Eamon de Valera, see strong indorsement for the uncompromising policies of that leader and evidence of a large personal follow- ing, due to confidence in his ability as an executive. It is believed that the economic separation from Britain will bring difficulties. “The national ideal conquered over a regaining of the British market,” says the Providence Bulletin, pointing out that “the farming areas, hardest hit by the Anglo-Irish tariff war, supported the candidates of Mr. De Valera.” The Scranton Times emphasizes the point that “he has revived as a national ideal a self-supporting Ireland, consoling the Irish farmers with the thought that eventually England would turn to other markets, anyhow.” The Rockford Reg- ister-Republic concludes that the re- sults “serve further notice on England that Ireland is determined to go the full route for complete economic inde- pendence.” Reviewing the issues of the election, the Atlanta Journal offers the explana- tion: “Last June the De Valera gov- ernment withheld the semi-annual pay- ment of the so-called land purchase annuities, amounting to some one and a half million pounds, then due to Great Britain under agreements made by the preceding administration from 1921 through 1926. After fruitless at- tempts to arbitrate, the British Parlia- ment passed & bill empowering the treasury to impose tariffs up to 100 per cent on imports from the Irish Free State as a means of recovering the un- paid annuities. A duty of 20 per cent was put into effect on July 15. Five days later the De Valera party in the Dail retorted by authorizing a retalia- tory tariff on British imports into the Free State and appropriating &n emer- gency fund of two million pounds for * % % % “The really interesting thing about the election,” thinks the Rochester ‘Times-Union, “is the evidence it affords of the strength of political motives when weighed in the balance against economic interests.” That is paper convinced that “the effort to build up | gambling new markets is likely to be long and painful.”” The Chicago Daily News adds that “viewed from abroad, the task of making economically self-suffi- cient a country with such limited re- sources appears _extremely difficult.” The Daily News predicts “great hard- ships curing the earlier years.” “The tariff war has been and still is,” in the judgment of the Butte Mon- tana Standard, “one of the strangest episodes in contemporary history.” As to its details, that paper says: “The effects have not been evenly distrib- uted. The tariff war has hit the big farmer, the shopkeeper and the middle class almost exclusively. It has not hit the Irish peasant, the small farmer and the farm laborer, who make up the bulk of the Free State’s population. The Nationalists, under the leadership of former President William T. Cos- grave, believed in seeking & solution of Ireland’s troubles on the floor of the | indications in various nations that the | people themselves are growing tired of the {rresponsibility that comes from innumerable parties, with none able to dominate unless combining with cthers.” The Boston Transcript holds that “the Ppoll seems to show clearly enough that the popular choice runs to the approv: of Mr. De Valera's general cour: while the Roanoke Times fells that “he will interpret the result of the election as a mandate to proceed to carry out his plan.” The Youngstown Vindicator be self-sufficient must reconcile itself to a lower standard of living.” The Balti- more Sun condemns “fanaticism on one side and an obdurate and self-defeating stubbornness on the other.” The San Jose Mercury-Herald remarks that “an oath which appears to the outside world to be an empty form seemingly over- shadows in Ireland acute economic prob- lems.” The Dayton Daily News con- cludes: “In De Valera the radical group, with its ambition for complete separa- tion from Great Britain, has had its turn in power and the Free State has kept its legs. The Free State will ob- viously proceed under steady sail.” The Price Is Too Heavy. From the Omaha World-Herald. A bill has been introduced in the Nebraska Legisiature for & constitu- tional amendment that will permit the people legally to bet their money on horse races. We have little doubt the Legislature will turn.thumbs down on that. We have still less doubt that the people will if the Legislature don't. Personal liberty is a starry-eyed god- dess, all right, and we worship more or less at her shrine. But there are lim- its. Soclety necessarily imposes them. Organized government, laws, courts, policemen, all imply denial of the right to do as one pleases. ‘Gambling is a universal vice. In some forms it is an inescapable part of life. In other forms it becomes an evil and a menace, against which society must ivisca ‘pambling 15, Commereiaizsd clalized gaml is. e isn’t for fun. It isn’t sport- ing. It is for blood. The “house” takes no chances. It is bound to win, and its victims are sure to lose. Its “kitty,” in the long run, takes all the money. ‘Whoever bucks it s & sucker; he hasn’t a chance. Pari-mutuel horse betting is commetcialized gambling. Its “kitty” is fierce and hungry and never sleeps. Out of its profits it supports the rac- ing meet, which is an enjoyable and ;3. occasion. But the profits—the cer- tain profits—come so pitifully large from those who cu;:ot ::o& u;x lose the money. The ce eavy a price to pay. Nebraska cannot afford to authorize its collection. Art and Thirst. Flint Journal. e e talk about teaching drinking is intended convey ea that there is an art in know- Scrooge’s Delight. Prom the San Antonio Express. . Some American that receive a lot, too. Poor Plea for Entry. The side of the tank toward the sun | big tank, which since his removal had | posi tion, his tail began to heal, and within | advises that “any state which tries to | THE LIBRARY TABLE BY SARAH G. BOWERMAN. ‘The recent discovery and placing on exhibition in the Library of Congress of the maruscripts of Rossett!’s poems, probably the same which the emotional and remorseful poet buried in his wife's coffin and Iater disinterred, make a recent book by a modern of pre- Raphaelite traditions very timely. “The Wife of Rossettl” (New York: E. P. Dutton & Ca.) is by Violet Hunt, who is the wife of Ford Madox Ford (at times in his history Ford Madox Huef- fer), whose aunt was the wife of Wil- liam Roscetti. In her elliptical, dreamy, poetic, altogether unconventional prese Violet Hunt might herself be one of that entirely separate school of paint- ers and poets who lived during the Victorian age, but had little commerce with their other contemporaries. Her biography of the wife of Dante Gabriel Rossetti includes glimpses of the pre- Raphaelites and constructs a picture of their Bohemian, always improverished existence. The picture s morbid, al- most macabre, one of disease, drugs and constant suffering. We understand why the Blessed Damozel, the Donna della Pinestre, the Lady Lilith, the Beata | Beatrix and all Rossettl's other pictured heroines, as well as those of most of | the other pre-Raphaelite painters, look | so tuberculous. * K kX Rossett!'s wife was Elizabeth Eleanor Siddall, a frail girl, daughter of a cutler and watchmaker, apprentice to a milli- ner. She became Rossetti’s model and, “like another Iphigeneia, she was sacri- ficed and slain that the P. R. B. (pre- Raphaelite Brotherhood) might conquer and live, with her red hair for gonfalon. Her blood served for the anointing of the corner stone, for the solemn ratification of this cult and its acceptance by a backwerd nation.” in love with her, as he did with many other women: for he was anything but single-minded in his amatery life. They became engaged to be married, but the engagement dragged on for many years. Rossetti was reiuctant to burden him- self with matrimonial responsibilities and to tie himself to a chronic invalid who was able to be comfortable only through the use of drugs. Long before the marrage hi- love for her seems to have become mere pity. 3 * Kk X Elizabeth Eleanor Siddall, or “Lizzy,” appears in her husband’s many draw- ings of her, with “a good figure, & lofty neck, regular features, brilliant complexion, hair (abundant) of a coppery color; * * * her upper lip was wrong.” Her eyelids were heavy and drooping, and her mouth was full, pout- ing, both sensual and discontented. Her unusual type made her a much-sought- after model by others of the pre- Raphaelites, in addition to Rossetti. She developed a certain ability and taste in drawing and water color, per- | haps contagion from the atmosphere in | which she lived. Taking this as an | opportunity to help her and Rossetti, who badly needed help, Ruskin, ever kind, if also meticulous and exacting, | bought her sketches at good prices. cne of their artistic group who ever had any money. He used it generously and received indifferent gratitude. Ros- | setti’s wife lived but a few years after the marriage, lost her children at birth, |and finally committed suicide, leaving | the message: “My life is so miserable I wish for no more of it.” Miss Hunt explains the tragedy simply: “It is certain that their two morbidities crashed,” but adds: “Like Browning, I never can forgive Rossetti.” She says of her information for this biography: “My sources_for this life are chiefly oral, from the circumstances of my childhood and early girlhood, spent so much in the company of the actors in the scenes I am attempting to describe, wandering o' mornings in and out of their houses with messages, and, older, with a good book in my hand, which I did not read. hearkening as a servant | waiting at table might, to words that I only half understood. * * * For, with nearly all the persons concerned in this ancient woe, I have held con- verse in my degree, except with the chief protagenist, who died before I was bern.” Evidence could hardly be more first-hand. Interpretation, of course, is always open to question, but fair to all the participants in the tragic story. * x ok *x | . The death recently of Geerge Mocre did not cut short a literary career of | value, for his work was done. A very | satisfactory sketch of his life and work, | “George Moore,” by Humbert Wolfe, | was published last year by the Oxford University Press. George Moore was i born in 1852, and his last work of im- portance was published in 1914. His | chief novels are “A Modern Lover,” “A | “A Drama in Muslin,” “Esther Waters,” “Evelyn Innes”’ and its sequel, “Sister Ter ; “The Brook Kerith” and “Heloise and Abelard.” “Celibates” and “The Untilled Field” are collections of short stories. In 1888 he published an autobiographical work, “Confessions of a Young Man,” which was followed in 1906 by ‘‘Memoirs of My Dead Life,” and in 1914 by “Hail and Farewell” (“Ave” appeared in 1911, “Salve” in 1912 and “Vzale” in 1914), * X x % ‘When Sinclair Lewis, who has been spending the Winter in Austria, saw in a newspaper that he had bought a house in Vienna, he said that he never intended to own a house anywhere ex- cept in Verment. When he learned from the English press that he had been slated for a “special post” under the Rocsevelt administration, he re- marked: “Unfortunately, it wasn't kind enough to let me know what post, leav- ing me timorous as to whether it may be the embassy in Peiping or a cell at Atlanta.” | Mummer’s wife, * k k *x A night's outing at a fair brought about the meeting of Debcrah, slave- servant of crazy old Mrs. Arbuthnot, and Jess Mortimer, who later became her husband. Deborah, in “The Fal- low Land,” by H. E. Bates, is a lowly Demeter, dedicated to the soil, her in- stinctive and only love. The few bar- ren acres which cld Mrs. Mortimer had hated because they meant drudgery for her and never brought in any money, Deborah worships. ~Both the earth, “sweet in Spring and Autumn, natural, eternal, yielding flowers and loveliness,” and the land which “never rested or relented * * ¢ ate into the body of a man” were to her the only verities, Her husband, a drunkard, deserted the farm, but she bought more land with a legacy of her old mistress and raised crops on even the poorest soil. Her sons brought her no happiness; her derelict husband came back to burden her; but her abiding satisfaction in lt:‘ek. land compensated for every other cl * X % ¥ In “Dwarf's Blood.” Edith Olivier wrote an unusually original novel, with heredity as its theme. Her last nével, “Mr. Chilvester’s Daughters,” is less unusual. In an English cathedral town, Mr. Chilvester, fussy gentleman, makes a cult of his house in the cathedral close, supposed to have been designed by Christopher Wren. His two wives die at childbirth and each leaves him a daughter instead of the son he ex- pected as an heir for the house. The first daughter is an invalid, who mlsel her life in her attic room and is treasured house. Mr. Chilvester knows about it, but shudders at the thought of desecrating his house by sewer con- R o i e O, D six-volume saga of ‘The e of - ik is called ~The Blg Wedding.” The nections, Rossetti early fell | Ruskin seems to have been the only | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ' BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. ‘Many readers send in questions signed only with initials, asking thatthe answers appear in the newspaper. The space is limited and would not accommodate a fraction of such requests. The answers published are ones that may interest many readers, rather than the one who asks the question only. All questions should be accompanied by the writer's name and address and 3 cents in coin or stamps for reply. Do not use post cards. Send your question to The Eve- ning Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C. Q. Should Franklin D. Roosevelt be called the thirty-second President or the thirty-first>—W. F. A. This question arises because Grover Cleveland served two terms as President, which were not consecutive. Cleveland was the twenty-second Presi- dent and also the twenty-fourth. There- thirty-second President, although only 30 other men have been President of the United States. Q. How many patents were issued by the United States Patent Office last year?>—M. W. A. During the year ended December the Patent Office. Q. Under whose administration is the National Zoological Park in Wash- ington?—R. G. A. It is one of the seven branches under the charge of the Smithsonian Institution. Q. Has the convention form of ratifi- cation to a constitutional amendment ever been used? How are the delegates to these conventions chosen?—H. R. A. The convention form of the rati- fication of a constitutional amendment | has never been used. The Constitu- tion provides that*an amendment may | be ratified by the Legislatures of three- in three-fourths of the States, as the one or the other mode of ratification | may be proposed by Congress. If Con- igress should suggest the convention method of ratification, the law would provide for the selection of delegates to the convention, for the time of meeting and everything in connection with the assembling. Q. Please give a formula for library paste.—J. S. | _A. Rice starch, one ounce; gelatin, | three drams; water, half pint. | with_constant stirring until the milk; | liquid becomes thick and glassy. Keep | paste in tight bottle with a few drops | of clove oil. a Q. Where is Willlam Penn buried?>— a5 A. Sir William Penn died in England and was buried at Jourdan's Meeting House, near Shalfont St. Giles, in Buck- inghamshire. An attempt was made to have his body brought to this country [for burial in” Philadelphia, but it met | with failure. Q. How large is the man-eating sharx?—G. B. | _A. The tipical so-called man-eating | shark rarely exceeds 30 feet, and is usually not more than 20 feet in length. | begin?—T. N. |, _A. The custom of shaving can be traced back to antiquity. The Egyp- | ians commonly shaved except when in mourning. In Greece Alexander the | Great ordered his soldiers to shave off | their beards so that their enemies | might not seize them by them. Tae custom was introduced inio Rome about | the same time. In Europe razors were used in France and Spain and in Eng- | land befcre the eighteenth century. cago World Fair?>—T. O. | A, The office of the director df fhe mint says that there has been au- | thorization for a set of commemorative coins to be issued for the Chicago world { fair this year. fore, Franklin D. Roosevelt will be the | 31, 1932, 53,473 patents were issued h‘," fourths of the States or by conventions | | Q When did the custom of .shaving | | Q Wil coins be minted for the Chi- ' Q. Please give a short biography of Howard %cott. advocate of uchngcncyy d A. Howard Scott was born in Virginia and is 42 years of age. His father was one of the builders of the railroad be- tween Bagdad and Berlin. He attended school in Prance and Germany, and was graduated from the University of Berlin. He holds the degree of doctor of engineering from this university, During the World War he was in Can- ada, and directed the building of two Canadian munition plants. He has directed engineering projects in Mexico, Spain and other countries. After the war he was technician in charge of the Muscle Shoals project. Q. Who selects the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the National Congress:—2. W. A. He is elected by the members of the House of Representatives and is | selected from that body. | Q. In what country did the meat packing incustry originate?—L. C. A. The packing industry originated in the United States many years ago, when pork was packed in barrels for the West Indies. | ,Q. What is the present government status of Egypt?>—N. S. A. Egypt is at present a constitu- tional monarchy, having entire con- | trol of her government. The defense of the country is reserved by the con- stitution and remains under Briuish control. The British garrison amounts to a total of 11,500 men. It is neces- sary for Great Britain to retain con- | trol over the Suez Canal, which is the | highway to her Indian empire. In so far as is compatible with this provision, t may be said to be entirely inde- pendent. The King, the first of the pi t kingdcm, which was establi:hed on March 16, 1922, is H. M. Fuad 1. | Q. Is a passport necessary to a United States citizen who goes to Mex- ico?—D. I A. Although it is no¢ necessary for a citizen of the United States to secure a passport before entering Mexico, he must secure certain travel documents \éror{ne.n Mexican consul in the United tates. Q. What is the term that is applied to fishes that live in the sea but ascend rivers to spawn?—D. P. A. Anadromous. |, Q How much money is spent for lottery tickets by Americans?>—A. M. |, A. It is estimated that in 1931 at least $100,000,000 was put into lotteries | by Americans. In that year the United | States Post Office Department issued 814 fraud orders against sweepstakes lottery promoters. Of these lotterles 1 800 were on horse races. b | Q. Is there an association of towns | named for towns in England?—L. S. | A. There is a namesake towns asso- ciation in connection with the English- Speaking Union of the United States. (It was organized to promote friendly relations between the cities and towns of America and England bearing the same names. Q. When were matches first made?— C.H. wW. A. riction match, first made in 1827, sisted of splinters of wood dipped in fused sulphur and then tipped with a mixture composed essen- tially of antimony sulphide, chlorate of potash and some adhesive gum. Later, in 1835, the phosphorus friction match was produced, which ignited when rubbed zga a_rough surface. The safety match (1833), co called because vould 1 e only on a sferred the phosphorus from the tip of the strike | ing match to the side of the box. Q. In the tit n Anders y Jo,” what does the word “Jo” mean?— B. co! | A It means sweetheart or lover. High Lights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands HE BULLETIN, Syndey—The presidential election in the U. S. A. resulting in the over- whelming defeat of Hoover, the Republican candidate, and the return of Roosevelt and the Democrats suggests that the whole business of poli- | tics is largely a matter of leg-pulling. A government comes in on its election platform. It has three or four years' office, in the course of which the public is_disillusioned. Then enother crowd offers a new line of baits and the fish take another chance. Almost always the contest is between promise and performance, and in the natural course of events promise wins. Politics never, | or hardly ever, gives what it professes to be ready and able to give, because, knowing man’'s weakness, it offers a short cut to happiness which leaves out hard work, self-denial, thrift and most of the other old-fashioned virtues. There were, no doubt, special in- fluences at work in America. Among others, the prohibition issue was raised. In that connection, what is most of in- terest from the point of view of the outsider is that, while neither party was satisfied with the law as it stands— or with anything else, for that matter— none was wiliing to wipe out prohibi- ticn. There is, nevertheless, probably me significance in the fact that ?oosevelt, and the Democrats declared themselves willing to go farthest in that direction. The most likely practical re- sult will be an amendment legalizing the sale of wine and beer, but keeping spirits and the saloon still out of bounds. The conuquences will, of course, continue to disappointing, not because they may not be good, but because they will not be as good as it was pramised‘ t);ey‘wo'\lnd be. Too Much Anxiety About Future Costly. La Razon, La Paz—Too much anxiety about the future is even worse than not enough. This, at least, is now the opinion of a woman, Teresa Nunez Trino by name, who withdrew all her savings from the bank and concealed it in the house where she is employed as a cook. The fund amounted to 100 bolivianos (38.90 at par, probably about half that amount now), and was in banknotes of the 10-boliviano evalua- tion. The small packet she compressed between the roofboards and a beam and then went light-heartedly about her duties in the firm assurance that should would not starve immediately, even though the rest of the country, when the war is over, finds itself ex- posed to such a calamitous contingency. But how fallible are our very best safeguards and provisions. A few days later the owner of the house, whose name and address we withhold at his request, employed & carpenter, one Maximo Pena, to repair some leaks in the tegument of the domicile. Working under the thatch, Maximo Pena found a rotted board or two which needed to be replaced, and beneath one of these boards casually discovered, to his utter amazement, the mtma}mhnmm to’t;‘sA ‘Undoubtedly suppress| st - pulse, to give up carpentry incontinent- Maximo Pena examined with care f the roof, Temov- as well as the de- ness. to Teighbor] t | best soctety now diligently seeking the missing car- | penter, though probably a cirpenter na |longer. For the present, at least, he is | surely posing as a “mister.” * ¥ K % | Mexicans Confused About Traffic Lights. El Universal, Me: . D. F—Despite | the fact that the new traffic signals in | the centr:] portion of the city have been in operation for some time, there seem to be still some persons who .do not understand the significance of the vari= | ous lights. Accordingly, the traffic de- | partment has ceemed it advisable to give again the following explanations: The duration of the illuminated col- ors varies in proportion to the normal | density of trafiic at each intersection. The entire cycle of green, amber and red requires in different instances from | 55 to 90 seconds for completion. The amber light, in conjunction with the green, warns drivers to reduce speed |and stop their cars before the sema- | phore displays only red. Pedestrians are amenable to the same caution. The amber light, Jfor them, means no more “Go!” than ‘it does for the motorist. They dre expected to obey the green, amber and red lights the same as drivers or else accept equal responsi= bility for disastrous consequences. Tramways are to start on the amber |at strect car turns; otherwise cn the | green, except at certain intersections Where special rules govern their prog- ress. * K Xk % Railtoads Have Big Job In New Zealand. Evening Post, Wellington.—Few - ple reilize what a big job the l’lflml service is. Even the refreshment branch figures make startling arithmetic. In the year 1931-32, in spite of depression, the railways sold in counter rooms nearly a million and a quarter cups of tz:\d, coffee or coclo:. The sandwiches and pies were well over a million the set meals were 115,660. =4 . Governmental Obligations. | From the Rock Island Argus. It appears that the $6,000,000,000 worth of Liberty bonds that will fall due this year will not be callable until |after March 4. Short-term credits to | about an equal amount, that are pay- | able in 1933, will not mature until after the inzuguration of Mr. Roosevelt. This conversion loan of $12,000,000,000 will not become a pressing matter until Mr. Roosevelt is in office. Practically, it will involve a transfer of short-term bonds to long-term se- curities, If all the bond holders* would happen to demand cash the obligation couid not be met. In a si r situa- tion Great Britain appealed to the patriotism of the people and had to | pay only about 1 per cent of the total. There was glso a reduction of the in- terest rate when the conversion took pl',f: and this effected a big annual saving. 4 We have no doubt that there is as much patriotism here as in England, and we are certain that a refinancing of the national debt. now amounting to nearly $20,000,000,000, take 50 there will be no undue strain upon the Treasury and upon the credit of our national Government. But there can be no such saving in interest here as in England, because of the low rate of our American securities, the highest being only 414 per cent. Just Envy. Prom the Chicaxo Tribune, ‘When we see pictures of . olkm our