Evening Star Newspaper, March 12, 1933, Page 22

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Mdning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C SUNDAY.......\March 12, 1933 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: 11th St and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Office: 110 Eas 2 icago Office: Lake Michigan Buflding. ropean Office: 14 Regent St. London, Ensland. Rate by Carrier Within the City. s‘;rflhnd 3 Bfl.l‘l‘.‘“ per month RABYS) s e e . 806 Der month .88¢c per month § The Evening and Su Celien. 8 Sundays) The Sundry St per copy Collection made at the end of each mont) Orders may be sent In by mail or telenhone NAtional 5000, Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, .00; 1 mo., 3: $6.00: 1 mo.. 1 mo.. 40c All Other States and Canada. Daily and Sunday ..1yr., Sl Deily only .... . 8. Sunday only ... 5. Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled 10 the ‘use for republication of all news dis- atches credited to it or not otherwise cred- ted n this paper and also the-local news published hereln All rights of publication of Bpecial dispatches herein are also reserved. Truths Taught by Adversity. Now that it has become apparent that at least a certain number of local banks are shortly to reopen for regular and unrestricted business, it seems ad- visable to review some of the more significant and elemental truths that the past week has brought home so forcefully. For if, from the recent ex- perience the average non-financially- minded citizen of this and other com- munities has not attained to a broad- ened understanding of the relationship of sound banks to his personal inter- ests and welfare, what would seem to be the one golden opportunity of the so-called holiday has certainly been missed. The first of these truths is that banks with open doors, operating on & 100 per cent business basis, are & highly desirable and indeed essential factor in this rather complicated economic era. Even in the brief duration of the holi- day probably no Washingtonian has failed to feel the inconvenience—how- ever cheerfully- borne—of closed or lim- fted credit machinery. And this despite the fact that, due to the brevity of the holiday, merchantile establishments were not under the necessity of curtail- ing credit as would certainly be the case in a more prolonged bank moratorium. Sound banks, all now know, are vital to personal, industrial and commercial comfort and progress. That is a useful fact to be borne steadfastly in mind. ‘The second truth that all must have gleaned is this: Even if blessed with the strongest banking system concelv- able, it is impossible for all to with- draw deposits from the units of that sys- tem at the same time without “wreck- ing the works.” Sound banks play & vastly more useful part in the modern economic picture than merely acting as safety deposit boxes for their thousands of depositors. The fuel upon which the industrial machine operates is credit. ‘The fundamental function of sound banks is to turn each cash dollar de- posited in its care into as many dollars of useful and secure credit as they safely can. Those credit dollars are essential unless business in general is to stagnate and die. But because a time factor is involved in credit trans- actions, no credit would be available and no banks would exist if bankers had to contemplate that each depositor was going to step up to the paying teller's window on a given day and de- mand his deposits in full. That is an- other useful fact for future guidance. And a third and equally useful truth is this: Unreasoned fear—panic—is perhaps the most debased of human emotions. As such it leads to chaos, whether it springs from the cry of “fire” in a crowded theater or the whispered untruth as to the solvency and stability of & soundly and ably -op- erated financial institution. Panic leads to chaos, and no one can benefit from the substitution of chaos for or- dered and secure and time-proved busi- ness methods. Bearing these three truths in mind, this community and the balance of the Nation can face the unfurling of “busi- ness as usual” signs with confidence and relief. For many have learned a les- son that will stand the present and future generations in good stead as America marches forward to her high destinies. o ‘When it comes to transactions in stocks and bonds Europe is left with pretty nearly the sole privilege of buy- ing U. S. A. Even the confirmed specu- lators over here are demanding that the money temple managers count the chips and straighten out the parapher- nalia. ——o—— Eddy Sevoy Retires. Yesterday iddy Savoy revired from active duty at the State Department, after sixty-four years of continuous service there. That announcement will be news of interest not cnly in ‘Washington, where this faithful attend- ant at the door of the Secretary of State is widely acquainted, but in ali foreign capitals, where he is kncwn to numercus men who have served in diplomatic capacities at this seat of government. For Eddy Savoy has been a veritable inctitution at the American “foreign office” for more than six decades. He has ushered into the secretarial presence the envcys of all lands, Ministers, Ambassadors, charges d'affaires, during times of peace, in times of wer, in times of acute stress. A master of tact, an acute differentiator in the niceties of rank and position, with a remarkable sense of the fitness of things international, he has maintained the prestige of the American Government and the dignity of those having official business at the State Department. On numerous oc- casions he has by his quick sense of the official proprieties prevented un- pleasant encounters and saved the faces of hostile envoys simultaneously seek- ing audience with the chief of the department. His memory of persons and missions and complications was un- failing. He had developed a technique of service at a most difficult cross- roads of official traffic. When Eddy Savoy began his career in the State Department as a young- ster, in 1869, Elihu B. Washburne was Secretary. Since then he seen come to that office and leave it Hamilton Fish, Williem M. Evarts, James G. Blaine, X Jralinghuysen, r Bayard, John W. Foster, Walter Q. Gresham, Richard Olney, John Sher- man, William R. Day, John Hay, Elihu Root, Robert Bacon, Philander C. Knox, William Jennings Bryan, Robert Lan- sing, Bainbridge Colby, Charles Evans Hughes, Frank B. Kellogg and Henry L. Stimson. A twenty-second Secretary, Cordell Hull, bade him farewell. What & gallery of postraits he now possesses in his mind! It was fitting that honors should be paid to this faithful servant of the Nation on the occasion of his retire- ment, It was particularily appropriate that President Roosevelt should send an official car to bring him to the White House and express personally his appreciation of the service rendered during this long period and his wishes for a happy retirement in the evening of life. Such tributes are not too great for so long and so useful & ca- reer, however humble the station that has been occupied. Eddy Savoy is an inspiration to all of the younger gen- eration to do well whatever work may be allotted and to keep the faith in the least detall. — et The “Dictatorship.” If there is anything more remarkable than the actual creation of & dictator- ship in the United States almost over- night —and a dictatorship has been created—it is the relative complacency with which the new state has been ac- cepted by the people, There may be technical flaws and mistakes in the banking bill, and there may be others in the economy bill which Congress is now considering. But the only sound argument that might be expected to prevall against these measures is the fact that they ab- rogate constitutional powers of Congress and delegate them to the Executive. As sound as this argument might be in normal times, it has little weight to- day. The argument will be made, but it will not prevail. In record time and with hardly a voice raised in protest, the Congress has given the President hitherto undreamed-of authority over the Nation's banking system—the sys- tem of State banks as well as national banks. And while such speed may not be duplicated in consideration of the pending economy bill, the economy bill is expected to pass and its passage will be relatively rapid. One obvious explanation, of course, is the fact that the people themselves are still stunned by the appalling inci- dents of the last two weeks. Never before has the threat to the system as we know it been so apparent, nor the possible consequences of its collapse brought home to so many. people at the same time. Still stunned, anything that appears in the shape of a remedy is quickly and eagerly grasped, and any one who lifts a finger to retard the application of that remedy opens him- self to suspicion. Again, the pitiful impotency, real or pretended in the name of politics, shown by the last Congress has been a convineing argument that Congress cannot be expected to function with the speed or the certainty that a single individual, clothed with necessary authority, can function. A people traditionally jealous of its powers has been only too willing to surrender them, if only they will be used to do some- unanimity of desire to “let George do it” if George thinks he can do it. But even the enormity of recent events would fail to upeet the steadiesc of the steady minds in Congress and send them into a stampede toward dic- tatorship if the dictatorship they thus established was felt to contain the threat of permanency and force so often assoclated with dictatorships. Mussolini became a dictator by force of power, and, assuming the dictatorship, bent the people as he willed. Hitler | has assumed a dictatorship backed in ‘p&n‘. by force and in part by dema- goguery. President Roosevelt's dictatorship has been given to him by what might: be considered unanimous consent of the people, acting with commendable calm- ness and with a pretty thorough under- standing of why it is necessary. And the fundamental safeguard in the gift of such power is the knowledge that, onc abused in the sense that dictatorial power may be abused, this power can be as quickly withdrawn as it has been given. It may be sald that dictatorial power in this country remains with the people, and in this case they have for the time being delegated it to an indi- vidual without losing the authority to withdraw it. There can be little quibbling over the advised use of the word “dictator” in reference to the new authority given to the President. Under the banking act he may place an embargo on gold or silver, punish hoarders, force return of gold to the banks, set up his own chosen agents to control the operation of na- tional banks, and, indirectly, the opera- tion of State banks, pronounce a bank sound or unsound and control the Issue of currency. Under the economy act he can change the system of pensions, re- duce or eliminate pension payments, set the rate of compensation payments, pronounce the extent of “war service,” and his decisions are not reviewable by the courts. He may reduce all Govern- ment pay by a maximum of fifteen per cent and adjust Federal pay to an estab- lished cost of living and, at the same time, eliminate or consolidate Govern- ment establishments set up by act of Congress. . There is no doubt that & majority of the people stand behind him in what he does. Liberty and complete freedom of action by the individual have been placed in the category of luxuries which in these hard times may be foregone. e Art s expecting a new influence which will take the quaint old stein out of the bric-a-brac closet and replace it on the table. A New Triple Alliance. Ttaly's foreign relations were the sub- ject of grave and protracted discus- sion before the Fascist Grand Counell at Rome during the past few days. As soon as these deliberations were ended, the Italian press, which of course, means the Fascist-controlled press, burst out in a chorus of violence | against France and sympathetic !claim of “rejuvenated Germany,” as exemplified by the triumph of Hitlerism. Under the palpable inspiration of Il Duce, there is undisguised and un- restrained advocacy of an Italo-Ger- man-Hungarian bloc which would auto- matically bring into existence a new triple alliance in Europe. The Pascist leaders single out the thing. Never has there been such | THE SUNDAY STAR. WASHINGTON, D. C, MARCH 12, 1933—PART TWO. prospective and imminent collapse of the disarmament conference as the erately wrecked by the French because of their ambition to establish France’s supremacy in Central Europe, aided and abetted by the little entente, and at Italy’s expense. In the pursuance of that purpose, it is the Fascist claim that Italy is being malevolently de- picted as the real disturber of Euro- pean peace, when that menace in reality has its qrigin and mainspring at Paris. ‘The ascendancy of Hitlerism and the incidental snuffing out of parliamentary government in Germany give Italian PFascists a welcome opportunity to strengthen political tles with their brethren beyond the Rhine, Like Mus- solinl, Hitler would scrap the treaty of Versailles. The Magyars of Hungary, cherishing the same antipathy to that pact and its territorial provisions, are ready to join hands with powerful allies who would also demolish and abolish it. It is plain that the orientation ol Ttaly’s foreign poiicy toward Hitlerite Germany and in open opposition to France on virtually every European question of appearance is more and more definitely taking form. The result may not be the early figring up of mutually antagopistic national and racial passions into a situation pre- saging war. But it is at least pain- fully apparent that continental Europe is steadily and remorselessly crystal- lizing into rival armed camps, into hostile alllances and into those bal- ances of power such as those which made the World War a moral certainty, sooner or later. Roughly, the rival constellations, as they are now ominously forming up, would consist of the French group, headed by Prance herself and includ- ing Poland, Belgium, Csechoslovakia, Rumania and Yugoslavia, and of the Fascist group, composed of Italy, Ger- many, Austris, Hungary, Bulgaria and Albania. It is a disconcerting thought for the peace-minded portion of the universe to realize that European statesmanship is so largely concen- trating on conditions which, in the light of relatively recent history, de- note eventual and inescapable explosion. —————————————— ¥ France is said to have a large stock of fine wines to be offered in the may be expected to offer an especially eloquent argument in favor of home buying. ————————— A time of readjustments finds Nature attempting to change the map with as much violence by earthquake as man employs in war. The earthquake is hatred. ———————— In the financial anxiety the Ameri- can public has shown its perfect sense of equilibrium by never once forgetting the annual fascination of a study of prospective base ball line-ups. ——.——— Balancing the budget is an enterprise of increasing difficulty for large organi- zations that were concerned with per- sonal profits and were keeping no budgets of any consequence. ————— The present presidential term will be shortened by two months, but if the ad- ministration keeps up its fast pace the difference in cutput of work will not be reduced. ———— Competition is no longer regarded as the life of trade unless what is meant is competition to facilitate a process | of interchange between superabundance and necessity. ———————— If radio should come under the super- vision of Secretary Daniels, the public may hope for more of those hearty old sea songs and less crooning. o Question continues to assert itself as to whether a war can logically be re- garded as over until it is fully paid for. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Busy. Sald Uncle Sam, “When next you call You will be welcome one and all. | Each will be cozy as can be With cookies and a cup of tea. But do not let it hurt your pride If we appear preoccupled. For this, good friends, you must allow; The folks are cleaning house just now. “The bureaus must be moved about While pigeon holes are emptied out. The merry birds to Spring belong, We dare not linger for the song. Before we pause for hours of fun There's simple duty to be done. We can't wait for polite pow-wow; The folks are cleaning house just now.” Simplification. “Are you still explaining economic conditions to your constituents?” “No,” answered Senator Sorghum. “We have done better than that. We have brought economic conditions into the open so that citisens can examine them for themselves.” Jud Tunkins says that patriotism is to some extent the art of knowing when to get out and give three cheers and when to sit quiet and listen. A Sweet Silence. No more we hear throughout the land The gambler’s tale of woe. The market tipster’s silent, and No doubt ‘tis better so. Relief. “Do you experience any relief?” “Kind of,” answered Farmer Corn- tossel. “A little while ago we all felt like fightin’ one another. Now that we are gettin’ the facts, we're all gettin’ together and sympathizin’.” “Pride which seeks to deserve respon- sibility,” said Ht Ho, the sage of China- town, “is helpful, but that which seeks admiration is destructive.” Fair Exchange. For conditions ef comfort we all will prepare And turn to a future of cheer, With abundance of m>at and potatoes out there And plenty of appetite here. “Sise don’t allus count” said Uncle Even. “If it did, de bass fiddle would be seitin’ de tune foh de entire orchestra.” 3 » American market. Mrs. Willebrandt | preferable in leaving no aftermath of | CHANGING FASHIONS BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMES E. FREEMAN, D. D, LL, D, Bishop of Washington. e e 0 e away.” us to the Corinthian Chureh, m"'?} the transitoriness of life. environing conditions of life are con- stantly undergol change, that have Wmfl. the mere N‘m passing vanities of life. sonance with that word of S| “All the world’s a e ereat pasd, e great fore the footlights, we play and what we see and 'do is affe is cast. Some acterization of the striking and com| unaffected by environing circumstances. ‘They rise above conditions that sur- round them. They seem to be conscious of the fact that the scenery occupies an inconspicuous pl~~= in the part they play. They seem to i:c consclous of the fact that, “Iife is real, and life is earnest, And the grave is not its goal.” ‘The on which part 1s omly ha there incidental and stretches out the larger, m;:n""h.t = a'on otes the changing ch genera! n fashions, the altered customs that come and go with amazing swiftness. The ebb and flow of life is like the tides of the sea, even conditions that sur- r nd it, fuller | ing 1 with the passing years. There is a touch of pathos in this phase of our life, and as we grow in years we turn with increasing fondness to old scenes that retain, at least in part, the homely simplicity that characterized them in the days of our youth. Another strik- ing aspect of this is disclosed in the tenacity with whizh we cling to the friends of other years as we move along the new paths toward what we conceive to be life’s objective, new flcei‘,' new essoclations, new environing circ stances play their part, but it is char- acteristic of most of us to treasure with increasing affection the old friends, the old associations and we find it increas- ingly difficult, as life matures, to yleld to new ways and practices that are BY WILLIAM HARD. ‘The new administration has been in {ofice now for a week; and the im- pression produced by it upon Washing- ton has already become quite definite. Superficially, and nevertheless high- ly importantly, the chief officials of the new administration seem almost unani- mously to be of cheery and even sunny dispostions. They radiate good will and good humor to all the throngs of news- paper correspndents who wait upon . _Even Secretary of State Cordell Hull, who is a great scholar and whose demeanor carries with it a good deal of the profundity and solemnity ap- propriate to scholarship, has a tempera- ment which, if not jovial, is at any rate serene and equable. Like of his colicagues in the cabinet, he faces per- plexities almost unsurmountable and anxieties akin to despairs; but his poise is unshaken. As for “Jim"” Parley, the new Post- master General is “Jim" to virtually all Washingtonians and the time is thought not far distant when he will be able to address virtually all inhabitants of the United States “Tom,” or “Dick,” or “Harry,”, or “Al: on,” or “Augustus,” as the need may . Mr. Farley endures with fortitude even the discovery that he cannot ap- point all the inhabitants of the United States to offices. He faces with unde- feated pleasantness the vast multitudes for whom offices cannot be found. He | pleases with a jest even those office- seekers whom he cannot please with a job. It is the destiny of most grand dis- tributors of Federal patronage to be hardened and soured by the plaints of the unsuccessful candidates for public honors and emoluments. Mr. rley beams as roundly and as ruddily in the midst of his “noes” as in the midst of L Mr “Woodin, however, the new Secre- tarr of the Treasury, is the largest as ) nishment and amazement of them |all. He is a great industrialist; and | Washington expected to see in him the oracular image of a proud and pofibly pompous merchant prince. He furns out to be an unaffected, spontaneous, whimsical little man who perches on the edge of his big official desk and twitters notes of cheer like a canary. He writes music; and he is also, on the whole, the most exuberant songster in the whole Rooseveltian political aviary. We never before—in tne memory of present-day Washington—have had a rsmecrmry of the Treasury so lyric and ting. And even those members of the cab- inet who cannot quite reach Mr. Woo- din’s rapturousness of optimism or Mr. Farley's robustness of jocularity are at any rate companionable and communi- cative. They do not seem.destined to become bloated and stuffy with an in. ternal accumulation of undivulged al leged state secrets. They seem to regard themselves as engaged in transacting the people’s business; and they seem inclined to be willing to convey the de- velopments to such of the people as may inquisitively inquire. * ok ok X ‘The consequence in general is the Washington press gallery, basking— the rays of an ultra- violet bath of official ozone, has become itselt a bit less cynical and a bit more inspirited about the concerns of its be- loved (or, at any rate, distressed) coun- try. The first aim of any new admin- istration is to be impressive. The good fortune of this new administration— even aside from its legislative and ad- ministrative program—is that it has been able to be impressive through being simply blithe and buoyant and talkative and natural. ‘Wash! he had in Albany. tinues to be not merely negatively agreeable, but also positively and in- tensely wel to amusement there may be in the round of his problems and burdens. It is also true, nevertheless, that his smile begins to yleld priority now—in the eyes of many observers—to & certain other notable feature of his 8 smile begins portant than his powerful jutting jaw, which thrusts out with comman force as he suddenly—with a gesture which is habitual with him—throws his -head violently back to get a better view of the faces of those who are talking with * K k¥ ‘Washington is that it is the President’s smile that listens, but his jaw that decides. The smile, ington now eoncludes, means nothing at all as to what will happen when the visiter has finished saying The smile is simply sidera Sorptursl wiingness even tural to fools gladly. The decision is made, wholly without reference to the smile, except that subsequently the smile will shine upon those against whom the decision was made as aj parently amiably and comprehensive n:nl:ron those whom the decision fa- AL 5 In a word, this President arrives at his resoluteness of snd super- ficial ways of living, but in éur quieter, soberer moments we regard with deepen- ed affection the ways and and the influences that affection had its place. The poet had this in mind when he wrote: “How dear to my heart are the scenes of my chil , ‘When fond recollection presents them to view.” ‘We are living in a world of mighty changes, and at times it is difficult to round us in our domestic life change | Ji strength to carry on with the assurance that, ultimately, we shall find the haven of peace and satisfaction. Beneath the veneer of life there resides the yearning for that which is more wholesome, more satisf; and more enduring, and neither the e of fashions nor the circumstances of living can affect our search for that which insures peace and serenity of mind. Repeatedly of late we have turned ;l:ltl dumdml:mt to those words suggest permanence wheh we hold of faith: “Ne ) the foundation of God standeth sure.” He was wise who said: “That man lives twice that lives the first life well.” New Administration Is Already Notable As One of Cheery and Sunny Disposition fixity, in present circumstances, is in effect the law of the land. It shows signs of also becoming the voluntary will and purpose of the land. This would seem essential to the new | administration's success in solving the financial crisis. The people of the land, in the opinion of most of the-closest Washington students of the new Presi- dent, may feel assured that he listens to_all points of the compass and then decisively picks a point toward which to steer. The situation is one, however, in which the steersman cannot keep the ship on her course unless he has the aid not only of the crew, but of the passengers, SRR * The President proposes, for instance, | to replenish the ship’s stores with nu- | merous bales of fresh currency. It is obvious, at the same time, that he can- not conceivably safely issue enough currency to provide full payment for $40,000,000,000 of d!rmfi.s. It is obvi- ous also that, even if he did issue $40.- 000,000,000 of fresh currency, and if it then went the way of the $3,000,000,000 of present currency now in hoarding and hiding, we would be no better off as a country than we were before. As a high official of the Federal Reserve System remarked here, “Our vital need is not more of the medium of exchange; it is more of exchange.” That “more of exchange,” he went on to say, we cannot get till people take | their currency out of hoarding and hid- ing and restore it to the really circu- lating money resources of the banking | System. The President can bring it |nbauz that large payments to depositors |can be made. It is only depositors | themselves that can redeposit and thus restore the country’s financial and ulti- mately its economic activities. * k¥ % ‘The final question thus becomes: Will the country have confidence in |the President’s decisions and will it | courageously act upon them? In answer to that question Washing- {ton can only say that the President |seems to be arriving at' his decisions after eager consideration of all avail- 2ble ideas and in a spirit then in which | there is not only firmness, but convinced | faith. It is this writer's personal view that it is the convinced faith—which is perhaps the real origin of the smile— that will win the vietory. (Copyright, 1933.) |Commodity Prices Stabilizing on “Low” BY HARDEN COLFAX. Commodity prices all over the world seem to be gradually stabil around their lo els. In Government circles, as well imong private business men with a national viewpoint, there now ?-.nmr lozeubuh Il;):mhope that at a foun lon "hllf: = ; nu.\ud upon es on the charts of the Tts, which the course of world mmmmod!g prices is shown, indicate in general slow but steady flattening out of the downward curve which began last Sep- tember. After the secondary rise of the Summer, which ended in the early Fall of 1932, fairly sharp declines oc- curred to the end of the year, which are now believed to have about spent their force. Since Jani 1 ‘he figures of the Federal Reserve rd and the De- ents of Commerce and Agricu It is true that Mr. Roosevelt con- | Prin whatever of | the recovery commodities. of representative com- modities, show 6 have been relatively stable since the beginning of the year, and during the past six or seven weeks in most of the countries they have shown a tendency to stiffen. Farm products, foods, light and fuel have at times shown considerable weak: ness, but generally prices of most of the farm products, in the United States at least, have held firm ikt |thar tuis we | some States have lost seats under the and | Therefore, gress 8| emergency relief program. cial | nut and is elaborately decorated. There Capital Sidelights BY WILL P. KENNEDY. The “Rogues Gallery” in the Capitol is being overhguled. This gallery is attached to the office of the ser- geant at arms of the House—Kenneth Romney. This very efficient officer runs a bank for the benefit of the members, where they cash their checks, etc. Incidentally, it was the only benk in the country open the other day during the banking holiday. The “Rogues Gallery” is made up of framed photographs of all members of the House, hung in groups by States. Its prime service is to affo~d identifi- cation of members, not only when they present themselves to have checks cashed, but it also enables members to find out each other's names after they have met casually for the time, s The overhauling now in is the most extensive ever done since the gallery was first u:“\]xr more than half a century ago. It probably not be completed for months to come, until all the portraits are in of uniform size. As there are 163 new members this means culling out that many whose terms have expired and sub- stituting the new photographs. But r-m)otflmmzm ‘while others have had delegations increased in size. there must be not only the taking down of one picture and hanging up of another, but an entirely new grouping by States. This “Rogues Gallery” is one of the interesting sights for visitors to the Capitol. * k k% The “ex-convict” member of the House, sworn in on Friday after his colleagues were convinced that his term in Leavenworth penitentiary was more in the nature of “political perse- cution” for an infraction of postal| regulations in “senu ng scurrilous mat- ter through the mails,” and not the result of moral turpitude—Representa- tive P. H. Shoemaker of Red Wing, Minn., displays on the license plate on his automobile & number he is not likely to forget. It is 38163—the num- ber he carried while an inmate of the m_fl:enunry. He considers his service s badge of honor, because it came to him as a result of a bitter fight he mu:‘o to :h. meager inheri- tance and orphans. Now this fellow Shoemaker is living down a bad name, and has really con- tributed something worth while to his fellow man. You have heard the| watermelon peddler singing his song— “watermelon, ripe, juicy watermelon, red to the rind.” ‘ell, after 12 years of experimentation in his back ynd‘ Representative Shoemaker of Red Wing, Minn., bas produced an spple that is red ripe clean to the core—and | it's & russet apple at that, with red| pulp. Hort culturists are making fur- | ther experiments in an effort to im-| prove its quality. Some day soon Mr. Shoemaker will be placing a real red apple on Speaker Rain-y's desk. * % x ¥ ‘The new “baby” member of the House, Repres:ntative Joseph P. Monaghan of Montana—who is only 26 | years old—is pretty “wise” about hav- |ing his office run properly. He has picked for his secretary a young woman who has spent her entire life making a close-up and intimate study of how the wheels go round in the legislative machinery. It was her| “dad,” Representative Edward W. Pou of North Carolina, dean of the House, now serving his thirty-third year in Congress, who represented the House, riding in the automobile with Presi- dent Roosevelt on Inauguration day. Mrs. Margaret Pou Moran was born while her father was in Congress and | has had daily association with the most | intimate phases of legislation especially since her father has been chairman | of the important Committee on Rules. Also, during the past two years she | helped Senator Morrison of North | Carolina to run his office. * x % % ‘There was a new word coined in the | House the other day—by Representa- | | tive Frank Oliver of New York. It has been approved by William Tyler Page, former clerk of the House, who is| recognized as something of a purist in | terminology. | ‘While talking on the repeal of the eighteenth amendment to the Consti- tution, Representative Oliver said: “This question will not be settled by the hierarchy of any church, but by the lowerarchy.” * % % Heirloom furniture, historic desks and | chairs have never been cherished very carefully in the Capitol. There are & few restored benches in the Rotunda | that were originally in the hall of the House of Representatives. now known | | as Statuary Hall, and which were sub- | sequently used in the Court of Claims | Building. And there are a few crystal chande House. that came out of the White However, there is a wonderful desk and secretary that has just been re- habilitated, that is more than 100 years | old, and was last used by the famous | Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed of| Maine, who was Speaker in the Pifty- first, Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Con- gresses, closing his service in 1899. This very remarkable piece of furni- ture has been restored as a labor of love by Willlam F. Ochsenreiter, prop- erty custodian. It has been placed in the beautiful marble caucus room in the House Office Building, where it is attracting much attention from visi- tors. South Trimble, clerk of the House, intends to have J;vper disposal made of this historic desk as soon as Con- takes care of the President's The sug- gestion has been made that it be placed in the National Museum. Another sug- gestion is that when the new Supreme | Court Building is completed that the | present Supreme Court chamber be ! turned into a Museum for the proper ds%lny of such historic pieces. desk, which stands nearly 15 feet high, was originally in the small office, then occupled by the Speaker, and now by the House leader, in the short corridor between the TS office and .the Speaker’s lobby on the south side of the House chamber. The history of the desk is being looked up by Dr, Charles Fairman, curator of art work in the Capitol, who is author of an elaborate work on that subject. There is a picture of the old desk in Volume 2 of the large vol- umes re the construction of the Capitol. ‘The screws used in the desk are of the ancient vintage that were square on the end instead of pointed as are screws today. It is made of dark wal- large doors above the writing , which cpen upon racks for books, and each of these doors is a large There are three smaller doors exten- slvely urnl;il.l ’E:e cornice has some especially g ca the pipe of peace, tomahawk, qmm arrows, long muzzle-] g gun, pow- }Is hornmmd such instruments of war- | first | t; . Speed in Building Construction BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. It took s hundred years to build weeks, perhiaps months. When a large office building was begun, the workmen felt secure for iwo or three years. and the development continues, the future does not hold out much hope for increased work example, in tive cities it was found mercial bu! days or less. that were erected includes the elapsed time from the very commencement of | the excavation to the completion and turning over of the structure for gecu- pancy or the decoration of a “For Rent” sign. In the same class of 30 days and under are found 72 residence structures, most of which were frame. The largest class of buildings was that composed of frame residence structures. This class was composed of 1,075 and from 61 to 75 days were required from the first breaking of ground to the last brush of paint. Construction Records. Different types of construction obvi- ously difre some amount of waiting, but such pe- Hotdfi bl:la”n been pmgrun\;ly reduced un! dings are run phencme- nally short time. - For example, 18 brick dwelling houses in these 14 cities were erected in six weeks and 172 were built in the 61 to 75 day period which saw the largest number of frame houses built. How- ever, from 121 to 150 days were ired for the largest number of brick dwell- ings—a class of 594. The average num- ber of days for frame one-family dwell- ings is 91.8 and for two-family frame buildings 1029. For brick one-family dwellings the average number of days required is 1414 and for two-f: structures 155.4. As might be expected, the frame dwelling houses require a shorter time to erect, bm.fludcumu as nometh?\go m surprise to find that apartmen take less time than even the two-family brick structures, buildings of greater size than the one and two family dwelling houses as a rue, are requiring less time to construct than the lesser buildings is to be found in the idea of mass production. To erect a small or hand and a greater amount of slower mnn:al labor employed in all kinds of ‘worl Time-Saving Devices. For the larger job the contractor provides concrete mixing machines, B and the consequent earlier Such are the paradoxes of modern con- struction that it may take as much time to lay a few yards of concrete sidewalk as a mile of highway. The cost of using machinery for the small job would eat up all of the profit, but for the larger job, the speed obtained through use of machinery creates profit. Public buildings of the monumental type take longer than any other kind of construction. While there is some tendency, especially in the larger cities, to turn to the plain office-building type of structure for post offices, Federal buildings, and the like, there still is & great deal of the old classic construction throughou (dnl:ou t the country for public edifices. Larger quantities of stonework are employed in these public buuamg There is more sculptured stone in ti capitals of classic columns and en- completion. this type of work as compared with the ol mallet and chisel, still a deft and patient hand is required. Also, it is not ineenceivable that contractors on such public struc- tures, being politically minded, are in- clined to draw out the work as long as possible, especially when the work is done as a part of a program to re- lieve unemployment. ‘The largest class of public buildings listed—29 in number—required 396 days amily | and over to construct. Some work is pushed more hastily. It is found, for example, that 25 such buildings were erected in from 151 to 180 days. How- ever, the average is 231.6 days which, counting holidays and rainy days, would mean about a year's work. Fifty Years Ago In The Star The local detective scandal 50 years ago absorbed public interest in Wash- the exclusion Speedy Trial anfwen‘:wca and Imperative. e progress of second trial of those accused of profiting by improper ma- nipulation of postal star route con- tracts. The Star of March 7, | says: “The Citizens' Committee, of which John W. Thompson is chairman, is de- e rousat 1o (AL 8 oon A3 detectives as possible. It is thought that unless the cases are advanced on the calendar of the new term there will be a long period before the hearing can be had and this every effort to have these cases assigned for an early trial and Mr. Wells, the at- torney, will be authorized to take the steps. The preparations on both sides for the coming contest are going on steadily, but quietly. The first point gained in the indictment of the ex-detectives will not avail if all the evi- be brought out in the trial. ‘The resources at the command of the ex-detectives are sufficient to enable them to make a strong fight. Most of them are men of considerable property and they can rely on the help of others whose interest it is to get them off. “The uneasiness which has prevailed in police circles since these develop- ments began has not subsided and now the indications from the loners’ | office are eagerly watched. The main element of uncertainty is as to what the new Commissioner will do. There are several courses which he should pursue, but he has given no indication of his intentions and has not expressed him- self very freely as to recent events and | their bearing on the District govern- ment. It is not doubted, however, from his character that he will, when he gets into ition, co-operate to the fullest in_the effort to break up the gang of affiliated thieves and detectives who have been preying upon the community so long.” * * ¥ The Star watched with interest all moves toward the adoption of the con- . duit system for all Telegraph Wires forms f "‘Muc T connections to Be Buried. [5/C 500 as an in- dication of what might be done in Washington to this end. In its issue of March 8, 1883, it says: “The Western Union Telegraph Co. has bought a half interest in an under- ground system for laying wires and its president announces that after a fair trial, if the results are satisfactory, the Western Union will substitute the sub- terranean for the aerial wires, as far as the former can be made available. The letter of the president containing this announcement was read at a meet- ing of the Philadelphia City Council, O T ety of the. company 22 1o t] e ey of c undenmumuwlru was to be confined to that city. On the contrary, the terms of the letter convey the idea that the the | | the solvent th Britain Hails Roosevelt’s Courageous Leadership BY A. G. GARDINER. LONDON, March 11 —The public on this side of the Atlantic nas followed with mingled admiration and anxiety the thrilling drama of which President Roosevelt is the central figure. There is universal 'ment that the President, confron with a crisis unprecedented in world history, has ncted with decision and wisdom. Prior to this week little confidence was felt in his capacity to handle so vast and complex a_situation, but these doubts were largely removed by the simplice ity, directness and power of his in- augural address, which was broadcast into millions-of British homes, and his message to Congress on Thursday con- firmed the feeling of assurance that America had found the man for its un- paralleled emergency. ‘This does not mean that confidence is felt in the adequacy of the measures so far proposed, but expert opinion holds that President Roosevelt has taken the wisest course open to him. Two lents were possible. On the one side he was urged to provide every bank with the cash n to enable them to reopen: on the side he was urged to try to bring about s gradual and partial reopening by providing only banks with facilities. Both expedients would be attended with perils. The first, which consti~ tutes a form of infiation, would lead to the issue of so much new currency te in terms of gold currencies. the British point of view this pos- sibility was dreaded, as the pound's exchange - value would be driven up- ward artificially by the flight of capital from New York to London. This would gravely prejudice the British tion by making the country dear for for- eigners, diminishing the export trade and aggravating the general world de- pression. ‘The second alternative equally in- volves danger, for it is difficult to see how trade and industry in the United States could continue with thousands of unsound banks finally closed. The effect of this is expected o be reflected in a shrinkage of business and a fall of prices not only in America, but throughout the world. In deciding to limit the immediate action of the Government to sound banks and to banks capable of recov- ery, it is agreed that President Roose- velt has checked a disastrous flight from the dollar and kept the dollar at parity with other gold ecurrencies. is is re- garded here as the first essential and is justified by America’s abundance of gold resources to meet payments abroad. ‘The gravest fears were felt in finan- of e The prevailing. sentiment. e prevai sentimen cial dr&r;. ‘;&uld have been inde! nitely post] Wl};h Lhm!mvelt declaration, the ial break- plan contemplated is to be general and | the not local. In all the cities of the coun- try the hostility of public air wires mmtuumw_hclmmm.' Prophet. asters o f March 10, 1883, says: g 7 “Now that the period fixed by Wig- for the occurrence of most extraor- convulsions of nature is passing by—as evérybody posed it would sentiment to | rel is so manifest that the | ing . | telegraph and telephone companies renl-’