Evening Star Newspaper, March 17, 1933, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. .March 17, 1833 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: . ‘and Pennsylvania Ave. ce: 110 East 42nd 8t igan Bullding. ke Michig: ne. by Carrier Within Evening Star. Evening and 8i (when 4 Sundays) ‘The Evening and Si undays). e City. the .45¢ per month J a5 per manth ‘ench month. each in by mail or telephone y and Sunday. Dally only Sunday onl. ‘mo., $1.00 mo. e Dally and Sunda: 4 $5.00; 1 mo.. Dally only .. Sunday only Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the ‘use for republication of all news dis- Datehes credited to it or not otherwise cred- Ited in tnis paper and siso the local news published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. Ay, dyr. Maintaining National Credit. The title of the economy bill which received final approval in the House yesterday afternoon and now awaits the President’s signature is, “An act to maintain the credit of the United States Government.” This title gains its full significance when studied in relation to the most important and the most controversial feature of the bill—the reorganization of the entire pension system of the Federal Government. When taken to- gether, the title of the bill and the chief method to be employed in reaching the objective laid down in the title, it means that the maintenance of the credit of the United States Government in large measure depends upon reorganizing the pension system. Pensions, since the beginning of the Government, have steadily increased. The enormity of the cost of the pen- sfon system, which may be said to in- clude all the various forms of relief machinery set up to aid veterans of all wars, is readily understood when it is realized that the total receipts from income taxes are no longer capable of meeting this cost. In the last fiscal year veterans' costs came to $1,064,- 268,966, while the total receipts from income taxes were $1,057,335,853. As the Government has come to rely on income taxes to supply more than half of its revenues, the credit of the Fed- eral Government is in danger of being impaired when income taxes fail to pay for merely one of the Government's functions. The root of much of the sentiment among taxpayers against the growing cost of the pension system lies in the fact that the income tax payer, sweating under an increasing burden, has come to realize that his income tax contributions to his Government | are not enqugh to support that system. The growth of the system since the World War has been rapid, but the| growth has nevertheless been by de- grees. ‘Trivial changes in liberalizing features of the pension laws have ac- counted for millions of additional ex- pense. And each liberalizing item tended to grow heavier in cost with the | passing years. The President has been courageous | enough to accept the responsibility that | Congress heretofore has been unwilling | or unable to accept. In his hands now | lies the unprecedented power to shake up the whole system and rid it of the features that have borne down so heavily upon the taxpayers, and to do | this without injuring those veterans who, by honorable service and sacrifice to their country, may claim the title of ~deserving beneficiaries. given to a President exceeds this power. In large measure his political fate rests upon the use he makes of it. It is in some degree restricted. The Civil War veterans will have their pen- | sions cut by ten per cent. But, except for the Civil War veterans, the roll of the pensioners is to be torn up and a new one made. It will include the veterans who suffered injury or disease in line of duty, or those whose dis- abilities were aggravated in line of duty. It will include the veterans permanently disabled, the dependents of the veterans injured in line of duty, s$he depend- ents of deceased veterans who served prior to the World War and the Spanish War veterans who are more than sixty-two years old. The Presi- dent is empowered, with certain min- imum as well as maximum limitations, to judge as to the disability for which benefits are to be pald. The present | payments will be continued for three months. On the fourth month the new list of beneficiaries and payments will become effective. ‘What the “act to maintain the credit of the United States Government” seeks to accomplish is to destroy the rambling and bulky pension system and to rebuild it according to a new plan. Of all the President’s new deals, this one is out- standing. o ‘There is no chance at present of a five-day working week for Congress, but there may be a well deserved vacation later, when members may go home and enjoy congratulations. ——— St. Patrick. A certain exuberant enthusiasm is characteristic of the observance of the day set aside in tribute to the Patron Saint of Ireland. The feasts of other good and holy men, other apostles of the faith, are kept loyally and dutifully enough, but for Patrick, the captive slave who became a mitred bishop and, in the latter capacity, brought Erin within the pale of Roman and Chris- tian civilization, there is a peculiar affection in the hearts of millions. Why that should be so is something of a mystery. His biography furnishes no solution. Perhaps the explanation is that he is especially loved because the land and the people to which he came are so regarded. Ireland itself is beautiful beyond the power of words to tell. Scores of bards in vain have tried to express in words the loveliness of its green hills, blue waters and sunny skies. Seen from the sea, it is a brilliant jewel whose every facet flashes limpid color to the recep- tive eye. A true island, it is washed by the waves and by kindly winds from the south. The hills of the west and north are fortresses against the Arctic gale, A domain unspoiled for all its » No power ever | sorrows, still rich in spite of all its losses, it appeals to the artist instinct in the pligrim’s soul, and once visited never can be forgotten. Even its brown bogs are memorable, and its little white-walled hamlets, its ruined old castles and its diminutive, sharp-spired churches are immortal im the recollec- tion of even the most casual of tourists. As for the people of Erin, historians say they are a composite of a score of races and trace back to a score of alien sources. It may be true, for otherwise it would be difficult to explain the striking differences of human types, blond and brunette, tall and strong, small and active, that one finds in any Irish town or along any Irish roadway. Pos- aibly, the island frontier of Europe through successive ages drew to itself adventurous representatives of all the Continental tribes and clans, and then, by the stern processes of war and revo- lution, toil and famine, winnowed them down to the best, the most fit to sur- vive. The fact is that for physical beauty, for energy of mind, for resilience of spirit, for sheer capacity to live, fully and vigorously, the island’s population has no superior in all the earth. Their delight in action, their undisguised ap- preciation of fun, of competition and of ability, their humor, their innate poetry, all constitute their capital for “carrying on.” They have their faults, as a pleni- tude of critics have discovered, but the fryits of their virtues have gone out to the whole world in such quantity and to sv'~*. noble purpose that they may be said to have endowed mankind. Certain it is that wherever liberty has prospered during the past three centuries it has been in some debt to Irishmen who perforce had learned to struggle for it at home. % St. Patrick, honored today by thou- sands, symbolizes all that Ireland sig- nifies. Himself a foreigner, he has come to stand for all that is admirable in | the “barbarians” he was sent to teach. |His influence transcends its natural sphere, reaching out into the far ex- tremes of interests not religious, not missionary, not parochial. The father of his people, he has the homage of their neighbors around the globe. —e—. The Farm Bill. President Roosevelt’s farm relief program, sent to the Congress yester- day, seeks, like other proposals in the | past, to increase the prices of farm crops. Whereas the “equalization fee” plan, the “debenture plan” and others advanced for consideration during the past decade originated in Congress, the new plan comes from the White House. | The late President Calvin Coolidge and former President Herbert Hoover took little stock in the farm remedies put fotward by the Congress during their administrations. Indeed, both turned their backs on the equalization fee plan and Mr. Hoover would have none of the debenture plan. In the end, Mr. Hoover accepted the farm marketing act, which created the Federal Farm Board, with its powers to set up stabili- zation corporations, etc. Whether or not this act might have operated to benefit the farmers in normal times | probably will never be determined. In the collapse of industry in this country and abroad which happened almost im- mediately aiter the Farm Board was created there was no chance at all for agricultural recuperation. And if the | farmers are to have better prices and better cenditions now it will be because of a general and gradual recovery in | this country from the economic chaos that has existed for more than three years rather than because of any arti- ficial aid set up by legislation. The Roosevelt farm program is a combination of ideas. It includes the | so-called domestic allotment plan, which was put in legislative form by the House mn the last session, but which was | pigeonholed in the Senate. It contains also the newer “marginal lands” plan, whereby the Government is to lease from the farmers some of their lands at a moderate annual rental, with the understanding that the farmers will curtail particular crops they would have planted. It carries the Smith plan for awarding options to cotton planters on the 3,000,000 bales of cotton now owned by the Farm Board, with the under- standing that the planters will cut down their acreage this year. It requires processors and distributing agencies, dealing in farm products and food- stuffs, to obtain licenses from the Fed- eral Government when they engage in interstate and foreign commerce. It proposes to safeguard the farmers from unfair practices and charges of the middlemen. It provides for taxes levied on the processing of the basic crops to aid in increasing farm prices, The President frankly told the Con- gress that the legislation proposed is an experiment. He did not guarantee that it would be successful. He went so far as to say that if the plan did not prove a success it would be promptly aban- doned. He did say, however, that the present emergency required unusual measures to help pull the farmbrs out of a financial morass and to bring back farm produce to the footing it occupied in comparison to industrial products before the World War. The Secretary of Agriculture, under the proposed legislation, will have broad powers to adopt any of the measures of relief carried in the bill. The Presi- dent is authorized to call a halt to the operation of the law at any time he sees fit by declaring that the agri- cultural emergency has passed. The farm relief bill is based on a theory of synthetic economics. It un- dertakes to improve upon the old eco- nomic law of supply and demand. Whether it can help the farmer, and, if it helps the farmer, whether it will be a terrible drag on the consuming public, time alone will show. As Presi- dent Roosevelt has declared, the pro- gram is, after all, an experiment. His idea, however, is that it is better to try something than to let the farm problem slide. vt Brass Tacks at Geneva. Here in the United States, where the American people during the past two weeks have been dazzled by far-reach- ing proposals couched in the briefest and most concrete terms on record, something Rooseveltian will be found in the disarmament proposals sub- mitted at Geneva yesterday by Prime Minister MacDonald. In an’ ‘obvious effort to save the moribund conference from actually giving up the ghost, he me forward with a set of plans and res which are characterized as the very first of their sort, from the standpoint of detailed definiteness, which the world has so far been in- vited to consider. President Hoover a year ago, motivated by anxiety to “get here” at Geneva, proposed his celebrated scheme for horizontally paring all armaments by, one-third. But Prime Minister MacDonald's project is even fuller of brass tacks than that. It would involve reducing Europe's armies by roundly a million men. it would eliminate thousands of big guns, tanks and war planes. It would re- quire France and Italy to enter the London naval agreement of 1930, from which * they * abstained because they could not bury their differences over “parity.” The MacDonald plan, finally, would assign fixed numerical limits to the armies of France, Germany, Italy and Poland—namely, 200,000 men each, though granting the French an extra 150,000 colonial troops and Italy 50,000 of the same category. To the allies of France—Rumania, Cszechoslovakia and Yugoslavia—the prime minister's fig- ures show 150,000, 100,000 and 100,000, respectively, America appears among the MacDonald military figures only in connection with army airplanes, of which it is assigned 500, the same num- ber allotted to the larger European powers and Japan. Not the least significant feature of these suggestions is the proposal to permit Germany to raise her Versailles Treaty army limit of 100,000 to 200,000. Mr. MacDonald, in launching it, quoted with approval the assertion of a8 German delegate at Geneva that “either the Reich must be given justice and peace, or the world is going to destruction.” The prime minister did not mention it, but at the back of his mind is the knowledge, which all Eu- Tope must share, that one of the funda- mental causes of the rise of Hitlerism in Germany, with its attendant men- ace to the peace of Europe, is the feeling of her people that & continu- ance of their military impotence 1s in- tolerable. Mr. MacDonald exhibits true statesmanship in venturing, with a bold gesture, to propitiate German “equal- ity” susceptibilities. It is in the inter- est of peaCe that they be appeased. Of chief interest to the United States in the MacDonald plan is the suggested adhesion of this country and Russia to a somewhat vague agreement for con- sultation and renunciation of neutrality in case of violation of the Kellogg- Briand anti-war pact. On its face, this particular proposal is the much-dis- cussed “implementation” of the treaty of Paris. From statements made by Secretary Stimson last year, Geneva persuaded itself that American public opinion might be more favorably in- clined than hitherto toward this sort of international co-operation, in the face of a world emergency. The British prime minister rightly points out that so drastic and compre- hensive a scheme as he has broached— specific and, therefore, debatable as it is—will not and cannot please every- body. But it does afford an opportunity, which it is impossible for the European military powers to dodge, for beating their peace and disarmament protesta- tions into deeds. The MacDonald plan will never be adopted as born, but it lays an admirable groundwork for some immediate and practical form of European land and air disarmament. ———— All the stars in Hollywood put to- gether would be unable to coax the ap- plause elicited by President Roosevelt with & speech on current affairs as his script. It is apparently the intention of the administration to read new meaning into the word “eficiency,” making it signify something more speedy, though less automatic. ——— e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Back to Business. ‘The Old World heard a call from up among the distant stars. The operator said, “Somebody's calling you from Mars.” “Priend Mars must call some other day,” the Old World told the clerk; “I'd like to have a chat—but I'm com- pelled to go to work.” The Old World got some papers written lengthily to show The psychologic rules by which society should go. Said he, “The lure of literature most temptingly doth lurk, But hand me down my overalls—I've got to go to work.” The Old World heard a pleasant song about eternal bliss. Said he, “That is & state of things I do | not want to miss. The fires of industry must blaze to clear away the murk, For every hope of happiness depends; on real work.” Action Delayed. “It is always wise to take a second thought.” “A second thought is all right,” agreed Senator Sorghum. “But when it comes to a third thought and a fourth thought, and maybe a fifth thought on the same | subject, you're liable to discover that you're losing valuable time.” Jud Tunkins says he is glad he stayed on the farm, because most of the boys | who left feel lucky if they can get to- gether enough to come back and pay a few weeks' Summer board. Heavy. Though words but airy trifles scem ‘When uttered in debate, ‘When put on paper by the ream ‘They come to tons of weight. Color Scheme. “You are advocating some harsh treatment for ‘reds.’” “Yep,” answered Cactus Joe. “The only way I know of to get a ‘red’ to act white is to make him turn pale.” He Knew It. “Some of the world's finest litera- ture is out of print” remarked the bibliophile. “That's right,” replied the poet. “I can’t get an editor to touch my pro- ductions.” Might Be Worse. ‘The moth is an unfeeling brute, 1 candidly affirm; % Yet, though he eats my Sunday suit, I'm glad he’s not & germ. “A man dat kin smile and act pleas- ant all de time” said Uncle Eben, “ain’t necessarily good natured. But he’s intitled to some applause foh bein’ a good actor.” THIS AND THAT Likes are better than dislikes, less :pmm.mmmmt_.nem lnth"?;ry,buzlev.eemwmltm pract A Yet it is there that it is worth while. e “Life consists in what a man is think- ing of all day,” said & wise man. If we expand it, te take in the result- ing doing, it will do no harm to the days mal thought or principle. Since the earliest nkind has been thinking about this problem. In ancient times arose a classification of homely philosophers, called stoics, who | tried to force themselves to be indiffer- ent to that which did not concern them. They thought that if they could prove to their minds that'a thing honestly did not concern them in the least, they could be indifferent to it. Probably for a few brave souls this line of thought sufficed: Perhaps it led them to a true balance between liking and not liking. There was much good in their way of looking at life, so much, indeed, that thousands of persons today actually are stoics without knowing it. He who looks at facts more clearly, however, will not be satisfled to say a thing is indifferent to him, when all t0o0 often he realizes that he is a liar ‘when he says it. fair play which stands behind many a | man, urging him on to be honest with himself, to say white is white, and black is black, when things so appear to him. He cannot fool himself, and therefore is driven into a cul-de-sac, from which there is no emergence unless he cuts the knot, and attempts to convert his dislikes into likes, if the thing can be done. . If it cannot, that is an end of it. Proper dislikes are essential to being a real human being. These optimistic souls who never find anything wrong with anything are not the men and women who ever bring reform of evils into the world. They carry the attempt to like as many things as possible far beyond its proper sphere. So much must be said, in order to arrive at even an approximation of a correct basis for our homely philosophy of acquiring more likes than dislikes. the individual will find that it is merely a matter of thinking, if he wishes to convert what he thinks to be a positive dislike into a true liking. Perhaps such a like will never quite come up to his instinctive ones. That would be expecting too much. Much can be done, however, 1f one tries. 1t is the not trying that keeps a hu- man being penned up in iron bars of his own making, against which he fu- of a lifetime. £ ok Let us beware, in the first place, of instinctive dislikes, as we call them. Often they are not as innate as we like to think them. They are the products of quite immature thinking, or have been “wished off” on us, as the phrase has it, by the positive utterances of others. ‘Thousands of persons Wwho believe ithey “hate cats” have been made the | victims of the dislikes of others. Little | children, left to themselves, have an in- stinctive preference for this animal over the dog. The latter, with his rough, ready manner, is likely to frighten them, whereas the quiet grace of the house cat lures their petting fingers. But some well meaning adult. entering upon the scene, teaches them to frighten poor kitty away. Ever after- ward they think that they harbor a genuine dislike, when the aversion was made for them by some one else. We instance the cat. because it is such a very common antipathy. Exactly the same psychology applies to every other branch of thinking, as instanced in likes and dislikes. A boy BY FREDERIC Henry 1. Harriman of Boston, presi- dent of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, brings to Washing- ton the message that events at the Na- tional Capital since March 4 have proved the finest tonic American busi- ness has had during the past three and a half years. The Roosevelt program of “action, and- action now,” Mr. Harri- man says, has electrified commerce and industry from coast to coast, filled them | with genuine hope and rallied economic leaders, regardless of politics, .Iround the President’s banners as they've sel- dom been before. Banking reform, Federal retrenchment and abolition of prohibition are all prosperity makers, the Chamber of Commerce executive declares, and F. D. R.s audaclous lead- ership in effecting them extorts well- |nigh unqualified enthusiasm. If the business world sees anything in the Roosevelt recovery program which it might be inclined to criticize, it would | probably be the project to spend vast |sums of Government money on public | works in the name of unemployment relief. But even in that direction, if the President leads, Mr. Harriman inclined to think, the country will fol- low, so strong a grip has he acquired on the popular imagination. | * K kX From an out-of-town constituent of these observations, a feminine admirer lo( the New Deal, comes the sugi gest that, in light of current rapid-fire de- velopments at Washington, ".l:le Presi- dent might well be called “Franklin Dynamo Roosevelt” instead of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Dynamo comes !rmtg “dynamis,” which is Greek for “force.’ That's F. D. R., all right. * Xk * Already the suggestion is rounds in Washington that Adolf Hitler's first Ambassador United States, to_take the place of re- tiring Dr. von Prittwitz, may be his half-American right-hand man. Ernest Franz Hanfstaengl, Harvard '09. Herr Hanfstaengl is given credit for intro- ducing American ballyhoo methods into the “Nazi” organization, especially for publicity purposes. None of the Ger- man Fascist dictgtor's cronies stands closer to him than Hanfstaengl, whose mother was a member of an aristocratic Boston Back Bay family. He was a Hasty Pudding Club member, the fa- mous Harvard institution of which President Roosevelt was once librarian. * k. % % S of colleges, Amherst, which was at the top of the heip during the Coolidge regime, bounds back into the picture at the outset of the Roosevelt reign. It has worthy representatives in mighty places in the persons of Repre- sentative Henry T. Rainey, Speaker of the House, and former Representative Lewis W. s, the new director of the budget. Tinre flies. Rainey got his A. B, at Amherst in 1833, 11 years be- fore “Douglas was born! * kX% Complete absorption of the public mind in the dizzy progress of events at ‘Washington' caused little or no atten- tion to be pald to the significant Supreme Court decision handed down on March 13 in_the Appalachian coal combine case. In an opinion written iy i P B and ot in b e ent except Jusf Mcl] 4 Court took what is making-the chntxocellnr ‘The Supreme Col {;‘hflnhtdd"lli‘:ld that the plan of 137 an P lachian companies to \ combina sel P ‘There is a spirit of common sense and | ‘There will be many fields in which- tilely beats his hands for the remainder | j; cases—ai the | least in the case of the Jahncke family BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. ws up to be & young old whose polit as lican. This is a simple enough statement, | realizes, mfl“ important of all personages, him- self. He thinks of all the harsh things sald, during the campaign, by men who are now only too anxious to climb on all around, it without quailing, his own real likes, his own preferences! How much better, in addition, it would have been, if every one could have relinquished the partisanshij which called,for bitter hates. After al it was a case of men agiinst men, there was no need for any one to regard any (érn;l lu an angel, or any one else as a levil. ‘The point, it seems, lies right there. Ordinarily, most of us put too much stress one way or the other. We are so used to superlatives, evidently, that we fall to see anything exactly as it is, but must make up a gl picture, one way or the other. There is no need for it. Not only does such an attitude not approach the facts, it removes a man from any chance of determining for himself just what he shall not like. That- is the, important part- of this humel{sElln. The likes will fall into line easily enough if the dislikes are reduced to the minimum. * % x hmn is a liking and disliking ma- chine. All that he faces he will reduce to one or the other of those classifications. It is here as with business, in which it has been sald that no man can stand still, but must either go backward or forward. . In regard to likes and dislikes, few men' can be really indifferent, they le“ktheiz like a ‘thing or they tend to dis- e it. Often when they think they are in 8 state of real apathy, they actually are taking the initial steps toward dislike. “You can't stand still, you've either got to go forward or backward.” You can't really be indifferent about any- thing, you've either got tolike it or dis- like it. Only by a great wrench of the spirit is it possible for one to be un- moved. Ordinarily one does not care to wrenich one’s self over nothing, so that often one ends by disliking a thing, as the easiest way out. It is not the easiest way, though, and never can be, because there is another line of attack, when one comes to re: the necessity for it, and that is to begin quietly to convert one’s dislikes into ikes, in so far as one is able. There are no rules to be laid down in this matter; what will work for one will fail for another. It may be said, in general, that the beginning of this wisdom is to see the necessity for it, and that when one so does, the very fact that he does tends to loosen the hard knots of dis- approval, in many instances, and cause him to look with a humorous eye upon what he formerly frowned upon. The battle is then more than half won. An ambitious gentleman has written a book to prove that.laughter is not worth much, after all, but perhaps he over- looks the fact that laughter is the out- ward sign of inward mirth, and that mirth, in the mind and heart of a de- cent person—and we must insist upon s0 much—is concerned with humor, and humor, in turn, with tolerance. And when one becomes tolerant, almost any- thing may happen. might then go backward, dire consequences. Such as he may have will then turn into a willingness to see the other side, and this may, in time, become a positive liking, which, in most cases, is far less wearing upon body. mind and soul than even the slightest dislike. en, without WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS WILLIAM WILE. | Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee does not violate the Sher- man law. ‘cla'znored for a loosening up of that act * % % x Postmaster General Farley has de- creed that the post offices of the land are henceforward to be supplied daily | with fresh pen points for the benefit | and use of Uncle Sam's cash customers. | Has the Lord High Executioner of the | Roosevels administration any plan up ih]s sleeve for illegalizing the practice to which Scotsmen are said to be ad- dicted—of patronizing tfor the purpose of refll | tain pens? t offices only their foun- * ko % \‘ In the State Department there's an [Ed Wynne. He's acting historical ad- viser. In addition to tacking an “e” onto his surname, he differs from the | radio and stage comedian in that he's immensely tall. * o % % Note was taken in the Senate that the roll call on the economy bill found the Huey Long bloc busted three ways. The bloc consists of Long himself, Senator Hattle Caraway of Arkansas, is|and Senator Overton of Louisian: | Long voted against the bill. Mrs. Cara- way voted for it. Senator Overton was paired in opposition to it. Another Senator, sometimes allocated to the Long bloc, -Clark of Missouri, also sided against the administration on the econ- omy measure. * K X % ‘These are bibulous times, and retir- ing Assistant Secretary of the Navy Ernest Lee Jahncke of New Orleans is sending around appropriate notes of farewell to Washington friends. He re- minds them that down in the Mardi Gras country mint is not only served to visiting friends, especially from the “Nawth,” but that in many it —it grows right in the front yard. The Commodore bids his erstwhile Capital pals to sample Jahncke mint whenever they’re within drinking dis- tance of Lake Pontchartrain. * ok ok % William N. Doak, former Secretary of Labor, is expected to resume at Wahington his pre-cabinet job of legislative agent of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen and editor and manager of their official organ. It carries nearly a cabinet salary. (Copyright, 1933.) Better Postal Pens Will Make for Better Feeling To the Editor of The Star: Referring to the policy of the Post Office Department, as promulgated through Mr. Evans, fourth assistant postmaster general, to see to it that pa- trons of post offices are provided with usable pens, it is refreshing to Mr. Av- erage Citizen to find that he has some !fl!nd:hln official c:mhl‘kt ‘:;r lrejfi‘: u e purpose of his supp! wm suitable instruments 'whm he transacts business connected with post offices. By this gesture it seems that all pro- visions for help and comfort will not be confined to high officials with fine fur- niture, rare office rugs and high-ceil- inged automobiles, but that the com- mon man and woman will receive a slight recognition at least from the will offset the fric- tion generated by the increase in letter R S CHARLES Close Cutters. the Santa Fe New Mexican. taflor that cuts out girls’ bath- agencles in ~ Presumably one | differency | Big business for years has/ Mr. Simonds Replies to Comment on War Debts To the Editor of The Star: to goods they needed, uld be allowed to in goods cash.” i back on the gold standard the gompetition in thel currency, we do not want to take that relatively small payment in gold, be- cause that would prevent their return to the gold standard. Outside of gold, however, there is no means for them to pay save as we per- mit them to send us their goods or as we travel on their ships and send our exports in British bottoms or visit Eng- land as tourists and spend there. But we want to “Buy American” and travel on American ships. Between 1920 and 1930 we sold the nations of the world $500,000,000 more than we bought of them, everything included. We had, therefore, to lend the $500,000,000. In addition the world should have paid us $7,000,000,000 in interest charges, but since we refused their goods and serv- ices they couldn’t pay that, and we added that to the bill also. Thus where they owed us $13,000,000,000 in gov- ernmental and private debts in 1920, the owed us $20,500,000,000 in 1931. The crux of the whole matter is dis- closed in anothey statement of Mr. Kern's, who writes: “If I should borrow money in Chicago and at the same time request the pur- chase and shipment to me in Wash- ington of merchandise I need, then I would not owe money, but could pay my debts with goods I sell here.” ‘Whatever Mr. Kern bought in the United States could' be paid for in { American money, and whatever he bor- rowed could be paid back in the rame fashion as it was taken, because the same money circulates everywhere. But when the British borrowed American money in the United States and spent it here for gaods which they took home, they did not get any American money, and did not have any to repay the debt with after the war. ’ They had then to turn their own money into gold, but they didn't have the gold. All they could pay in then was goods. When we refused to take those goods, by raising, not lowering, our tariff, that was the end of it. Mr. Kern's comment is an admirable example of the underlying fallacy of at- tempting to translate the problem of International debts into the terms of a domestic transaction. Let him con- sider the problem as he stated it with the limitation that the money he bor- {rowed in Chicago would have to be repaid in Chicago money, while he only possessed Washington morey, and the {then also assume that ents b Washingtonians in Chlulmey cou!z |only be made as Chicagoans purchased {on the same scale in the Capital as | Washingtonians in the Windy City, and the next obstacle will become ap- parent. | If there were such a thing as inter- | national cash there would be no war- | debt problem. What misleads most debt commentators is that, like Mr. Kern, they start with assumption that such currency exists, and then think in terms of a purely national trancaction. In closing, may I remind Mr. Kern again that what I did say, was that |there was no way in which America | services, and that when he grasps that fact he will see the major difficulty of the whole debt question. FRANK H. SIMONDS. Parable of the Mastiff And the Yapping Fice To the Editor of The Star: | For quite a while I have been a | spectator at a little drama in the ani- | mal kingdom that fills me with both | frritation "and amusement. The stage of this show is one of the exclusive districts of Washington and the actors are the dogs of that neighborhood. From what I can observe the neigh- borhood is so exclusive that mere resi- | dence in it gives a dog the right to associate with all the other dogs living there. If he lives there he just has to be d by all the other dogs, even if the recognition can be con- strued only as toleration. A sort of dog club, as it were. Now one of the principal actors in this drama, or farce, is a fine Virginia mastiff, highly valued by his master for his faithfulness and service. When he walks down the strect he is greeted by all the other club dogs with the re- | spect, not unmixed with admiration, that his character and abilities de- serve. He is a dignified chap, "but fully capable of a flash of spirit when the occasion demands it. He seemed to lead the very happy and satisfying | existence that a well spent life should bring up until a few months ago. And then suddenly his bete noir appeared on the scene bringing misery and despair. A family from the extreme South moved to his neighborhood, bringing with them a little dog that was of no particular breed. He commonly designated a feist or “fice.” His owners seem to be nice folks and what they want with the “fice” is apparently as much a puzzle to the exclusive club dogs as it is to the people of the neigh- borhood. However, there he is, and he proceeds to make of himself a nuisance. If the other dogs don’'t want to play with him, and only a very few do, he snaps and yaps and barks and growls in his ridiculous way until all the self- respecting dogs are disgusted. Every time he appears on the scene he poses and rants and tries to make the other dogs believe he is important. But they will have none of him. So, in order to force recognition, he has adopted a policy of obstruction. If the other dogs want to dig for woodchucks he is against it. He is against everything a sane or normal dog wants to do. Even this doesn't work. Finally, in desperation, he has decided to start a feud with the Virginia mastiff in order to draw attention to himself. ‘The poor mastiff cannot appear on the street that the “fice” is not yapping at his heels or nipping at his flanks. Being a gentleman, the mastiff usually ores these insulting performances. ere of late, however, he has begun to show his teeth when the “fice” appears. ‘When this happens one of his friends shoulders the pest aside and whispers to the mastiff: “Don't pay any atten- tion to him, old fellow.” And so the matter stands at present. It may be a long time, but I can look in a glass darkly and visualize the end of this little drama. Some wild dog from the wide open spaces, who will not be so meticulous about keeping his jaws clean, is going to become a mem- ber of that exclusive club and the first time the “fice” yaps at him there will be a mad rush and a snap. The own- ers of both dogs will appear simul- and the following conversa- tion will take place: flr'ym dog has almost killed my dog, “Well, I'm sorry, sir. All I can say is that my dog didn't know what the thing was—and you can't blame him.” “That's all ht, sir. Don't say the | to the | could be paid save in foreign goods and | ‘This is a special department devoted handling of inquiries. You have at your disposal an extensive organiza- tion in Washington to serve you in any ity that relates to information. ‘Write your question, your name, and your address clearly, and inclose 3 cents in coin or stamps for reply. Do ywed | Dot use post cards. Send to The Wash- Star Information Bureau, Fred- J. Haskin, director, Washington, D.C. A. In 1930 some 12,000,000 homes were equipped. It is estimated that 5.- 000,000 more haye been added to the list since the census was taken. , Q Is any woman except Florence Sabin a memb@ of the National Acad- emy of Sciences?>—C. E. A. Margaret Washburn, psycologist, is also a member. Q. What is tangible and intangible roperty?—J. E. D. 0 ‘Tangible property is property that is ual and visible, such as money, buildings, lands, etc. Intangible prop- erty is that which is imperceptible, such as franchises, rents, copyrights, pat- ents, etc. Q. How many American soldiers are buried in cemeteries in Europe?—W. F. A. About 31,000. Q. What is the second highest moun- tain peak in the world?>—V. P. A. The second highest mountain peak in the world is in the same chain as the highest, Mount Everest, namely, the Himalayas. It is called Kanchanganga, with an altitude of 28,225 feet. This peak is on the boundary between Tibet and Kashmir, India. Q. How much does the Empire State Building sway in a hundred-mile gale? —A. H. A. “A. Prof. Clyde F. Morris, who has studied the sway of the Empire State Building, says that it probably would not move as much as one inch in a hundred-mile gale. Q. Hb' can roughened soapstone tubs be smoothed down?—H. M, A. The Bureau of Standards sfys that the surface with a carborundum block or emery stone. Q. Please give a short biography of the man who writes under the.name Jay Franklin—W. H. A. His name is John Franklin Car- ter. He was born April 27, 1897, at- tended Yale University, has done news- paper and diplomitic work. Writes for | newspapers and m es. His new | book is entitled “Death in the Senate.” | Q Is there a white robin?—J. McL. | A. An albino robin is occasionally ob- | served. Albinism, or the lack of pig- mentation, occurs in almost all types of anim:ls, from lobsters to men. | Q. Who was the last retiring Presi- dent of the United States to ride back {to the White House with the newly | inaugurated President?—S. T. A. The last to do so was William | Howard Taft, who accompanied Presi- | dent Woodrow Wilson to the Capitol | and back to the White House. | Q. Does Honolulu have many cloudy | days?>—sS. P. A. In 1932 there were only 11 days when the sun did not shine. Q. Please name the recipients of the Philadelphia Award since its establish- | ment by Edward Bok.—R. G. A. The first recipient in 1921 was Leopold Stokowski, conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra: for 1922, Rus- sell H. Conwell, D. D, president of | Temple College; 1923, Samuel S. | Fleisher, founder of the Graphic Sketch Club; 1924, Charles Custis Harrison, patron of the University Museum: 1925, Samuel Yellin, master ironworker; 1926, Dr. Chevalier Jackson, inventor of the -| Q. How many homes are equipped with radios’—W. W. I ANSWERS - TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. bronchoscope; 1927, Rev. Herbert W. Burk, projector of the Washington Me- moilal Church at Valley Forge; 1928, Ell Kirk Price, for his efforts in behalf of the Art Museum; 1929, Connie Mack, manager of the World Champion Ath- letics; 1930, Paul Cret, architect, for his efforts in behalf of the City Beau- tiful; 1931, to the Unknown Citizen, for his fortitude in adversity, the check being turned over to the Committee for Unemployment Relief. Q. Who were Admiral Dot and Maj. AR ey w 1 xhib L were m! ts e: ived P. T. Barnum. G o Q. Where are the Jungle Gardens in Florida?—W. 8. H. A. The McKee Jungle Gardens are 3 miles south of Vero Beach, on the Dixie Highway, about half way down the eastern coast of Florida. About 80 acres of veritable jungle have been preserved, with its rich tropical flora, and thousands of rare exotic plants have been added. Q. Which is the right bank of a river’—H. S. A. It is the right bank when travel- ing down stream. Q. Why is the bowie knife so called?—T. C. A. It is named for Col. James Sowie, who introduced it in Texas. Accord. ing to one account, Col. Bowie had oc- casion to fight with a broken sword and found it so effective that he equipped his men with long, dagger- shaped knives. They were, however, sharp on one edge only. Since knives quite similar in design were in use in Mexico it is probable that the idea was gained from them Q. How much beer was consumed in the United States before the World War?—D. G. A. In 1914 malt beversiges amounted to 66,105,455 barrels of 31 gallons each. This was a per capita consumption for the whole country of 20.92 gallons. Actually, per capita consumption in the States which prmitted the sale of becr and ale was 24.42 gallons. | Q What Pharaoh was ruling Egvpt | st the time that Joseph was in Egypt’— they may be smoothed down by rubbing | ' . W. G. | 'A. It is_supposed to have been Se- | sostris, or Rameses II of the Hyksos, or | nineteenth dynasty. | Q. How long would automobile tires | last when a car is driven as fast as Sir Malcolm Campbell drove the Bluebird? —C. M. A. It is estimited that at the terrific | epeed of 272 miles an hour the running | life of the tires of the Bluebird would be thre> minutes. | @ Prom wifat country does chinchilla fur come?—G. T. D. | A. It is the coat of a small South | American rodent with a body about one | foot in length and a six-inch tail. It has many points in common with the squirrel family. The animals ere found |in_ South America and are of three | separate species. Many thousands of these little animals are killed every year for their valuable pelits. | Q Wnhat is Yorkshire pudding?—J. S. A. It is 2n unsweetened batter baked with beef or other meat. The roast is | placed on a rack so that the fat will ! drip over the pudding while baking. Q Where did the Zuni Indians live? | A. This tribe of Pueblo Indians in- habited New Mexico. . Q. In poker, when two flushes are held, do they rank according to suits or according to high card?—A. S. | A The high card in a flush deter- mines its rank. All suits are of equal | value. Should two or more flushes have the same high card the next card would be considered, and so on. Should all | cards be of equal value, and no other | hand of greater v:lue be held against them, the pot would be divided equally ! between the plavers holding the World attention has been diverted from the Japanese invasion of Chinese territory by striking changes among the ‘Cmneu military commanders. The admission of failure on the part of ‘M.lrshnl Chang Hseuh-Liang and the | increased activity of the forces of Gen. Chiang Kai-Shek are outstanding fea- | tures of the situation as observed by | Americans. “The assumption by Chiang Kai-Shek | of the command of the Chinese armies against the Japanese,” according to the | Buffalo Evening News, “has the effect | of giving the Nationalist chief an au- | thority in Northern China which he never before has possessed in any but a nominal sense. The official unity ot ‘hina, which has little existence in fact, | on agreements between ruling forces | actually in control in different sections, | rather than an established central au- | thority. It will be recalled that Chiang | Kai-Shek did not even contribute to | the resistance in the plucky Chinese defense of Shanghai in January, 1932, leaving the struggle to be borne by the Cantonese army on the ground. His military record, therefore, does not in- clude any actual encounter with the Japanese, through whom he received military training of the European type.” Pointing out that this military leader. as a force in insurrection, received “most enthusiastic tributes for genius in arms and statesmanship,” the Eve- ning News concludes that while he has lost prestige, he is “the nearest ap- | proach in sight to a personification of a nationalist China,” and that “he is sub- Jecting himself to his greatest test.” “Marshal Chang tenders his resigna- tion as commander in chief of the Chi- | nese forces in the North,” says the Low- ell Evening Leader, “admitting that he is unfit to command and hoping that a more capable man will be found. In the evidence that China has been un- able to consolidated any effective sys- tem of defense, the marshal’s references to the difficulties he encountered put the case mildly. The temptation to Japan will be to press on over the Great Wall. Already she is putting strong forces in the passes. Will the threat cause China to organize a real resist- ance? Tke chances of that are none too hopeful. Execution by order of the Chinese high command of the defeated Governor of Jehol, one suspects, was a fate that he did not really deserve.” “China’s utter helplessness, the amaz- ing lack of national spirit among its military leaders and suspicion that in- trigue accounts, in part at least, for the territorial and moral losses suf- fered 2t the hands of the ruthless Japa- nese,” according to the Chicago Daily News, “have engendered in many cir- cles a feeling of contempt.” The Daily News feels that China “has depended too much on Geneva, and, perhaps, on Moscow, and the Stimson doctrine of non-recognition.” That paper also comments: “The entire situation in China would be farcical if it were not so pathetic. The Japanese invaded and occupied Jehol without serious resist- ance from the Northern “war lord, Marshal Chang Hsueh-Liang, who now admits that he was unequal to his duty and has resigned his command. Chiang Kai-Shek, it seems, was too busy fight- ing Communist insurgents in another province to come to the aid of Chang Hseuh-Liang. the rivalries -n:r;flmulu among the provincial war I of China prevented temporary union for the ade- efense of Jehol. Japanese W a de tion of Jehol to the so-called autono- mous state of Manchukud, which Japan completely dominates.” Finding that “Chinese statesmen are now blaming their generals for using As on former occastons, | health ;Mi]itary Changes in China Produce New Uncertainty | antique equipment,” the San Francisco | Chronicle pays its tribute to the in- | dividual bravery of the Chinese soldiers, |of whom Chinese Gordon said that | “there is no better fighting material on | earth.” Emphasizing the lack of equip- | ment, training or organization, the | Chronicle states: “Why blame the gen- |erals? A general usually has only the | tools his nation gives him. China, as a nation, has not seriously attempted to | form a modern army. It has given little | or no thought to national defense. It | has left military matters to the generals, | self-appointed, and their personal bands of irregular soldiery. There is some ex- ception, but not enough to count when | the attacker is a first-rate military | power like Japan. National defense 1s | @ matter for a nation to provide for. It | did no good to blame our commanders |in the War of 1812 for the inefTective- | ness of their raw militia. Scott and | Taylor were mot responsible for the mob of untrajyed recruits that made | the war with Fiexico unduly long and expensive. Shafter was not at fault in | the waste of the Spanish-American | War. Pershing %as not to blame for | the fact that the United States had | neither soldiers, arms nor ammunition | when it entered the World War, and | had to borrow its aiMlery from the | French. It is not the generals who | equip a nation for defens* The nation | must do that. There is a ‘esson in the | spectacle of four hundred raillion Chi- | nese futilely trying to beat o the at- | tack of sixty million Japanese* [The “First Lady” and Low Heels for Women To the Editor of The Star: | It has been announced that Mrs. | Roosevelt, as “First Lady of the Land,” | would introduce a number of innova- | tions. Perhaps none such will be more important to the feminine welfare, if her example s followed, than the wear- ing of low heels, even on dress occa- sions. The fashion of high heels is in keep- ing with jazz music and inane crooning, extreme styles, and erratic behavior in general of these times; and a great au- thority on hygiene declares, that high heels belong to the human body no more than rings in the nose of a barbarian. When a person deciares that sy | heels are painful to wear, they adm™ their feet are deformed; for if God hed gundu}iflx‘v‘nn to hfive his heels high, e wou! ave supplied him with hoof: as are the animals. 4 In spite of all the doctors’ admoni- tions, most women insist in this perni- cious fashion, and it is only necessary to observe them walking beside women in low. heels to note the hard, unryth- mic clack of the former, compared with fl?fim thythm of the walk of the Recently T endeavored to purchase low heel “dress shoes, but coyld only find heavy oxford ties or tennis shoes; and in one of the stores the clerk, in undertone, said in derision: - “Here is one of those cranks.” Repeatedly I _ was told “We have no demand for ‘Women in, general do ot realize that how they walk and stand affects ihai , their personality and charm, ' and that Mrs. Roosevelt's example is - an unconscious bu call to her sex for a saner evaluation of the “things worth while.” ELLA MAY POWELL. Heroes. Prom the Louisville Courier-Journal. Modern heroes who deserve monu- ments are the grocers, landlords and bakers who were “carrying” the cash- less ones. t none the less vital °