Evening Star Newspaper, March 22, 1933, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR __with Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. WEDNESDAY....March 22, 1833 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The lnnlunsur Newspaper Company 114n_8t, ‘A Penasvivanis Ave . Tand Pennasiv -y New York Office: 110 East 42nd 8t ffll&llfl Office: Lake Michigan Building. uropean Offi 14 m“enz 8t., London, H Englanc the City. A wnhh.'».:per u!anth 60c per month e8¢ per month Sc_per copy end of each month. The Sunday St: L 3 mail or telephoné ction ml‘d! at the Orders may be sent in b NAtional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. aand and Vg, e e 1y, l".m: T mosgpe s : 1mo. 175 3406 1moxdoe Daily only . 151 Sunday only All Other States and Canada. Daily and Sunday...1¥r.$ mo., $1.00 mo.. 15¢c LR AZCABH 5.00; 1mo. soc 12.00; 1 $8.00: 1 Member of the Associated Pri The Associated Fress is exclusively enttled 1o the use for republication of all news dis- atches eredited to it or not otherwise cred- fied in this paper and also the local news published herein. All rights of publication of Svecial dispatches herein are also reserved. = Speed With San'ty. Threats from congressional sources to delay administration measures, to put the brakes on, to have Congress “assert itself,” are heard. The idea is advanced that there has been “hysteria” on Capitol Hill which made it possible for speedy action on the President’s emergency banking and economy bills. It may be sa.. with justice that if 1t was hysteri. that passed these measures prompily, hys- teria has at last justified itself. And further, it is far better to have a little hysteria on Capitol Hill than to have sn hysterical American people. hope of the people lay with the new administration. For months and for years the Ameri- can people have waited with unusual patience for action by the Congress. They have been fed upon delay and obstruction. Delay for delay's sake is stupid. In conditions such as have confronted this country in recent months and years delay has been little short of criminal. It has been rooted in politics and partisan advantage, tak- ing no account of the good of the whole people. Because the Hoover adminis- tration was hamstrung and hindered at every turn is no good reason for de- manding now that the Roosevelt ad- ministration be blocked by obstructive tactics. Now it is said that the leaders in Congress—and, indeed, the rank and file—have had enough quick action at the behest of the President. They are to be more deliberate. If Congress really undertakes to become deliberate as that body is able to be deliberate, the patient may die before aid can be brought. Here is intended no argumens for rash and foolish and ill-considered action. But members of Congress, pos- sessed of more than the average human intelligence, should be able to make up their minds quickly on important mat- ters that “have waited for attention.| They have had, for example, the farm problem and the unemployment relief problem before them for years. Those members of the Congress who believe that they must arise now in defense of the dignity—if nothing more—of the legislative branch of the Congress and delay and obstruct legis- lation may not have taken into consid- eration the unusual psychology of the | ‘The people have become ‘more | cay. hopeful. They have seen the new ad- ministration tackle big jobs swiftly. They have seen the Congress act with | speed, backing up tH® administration. | If there should be a serious attempt now on the part of Congress and its leaders to throw monkey wrenches into | the machinery, the hopes of the people | would be dashed. | The administration, however, because of the willingness of the people and the Congress to support it, must be doubly | careful not to advance ill-considered, half-baked measures. It is a time for speedy but not blind action. The Presi- dent has achievements of major im-| portance to his credit already in the! short space of time he has occupied the White House. The real disaster would be a stubborn insistence in the | White House on unsound proposals. What the country continues to need is speed with sanity. —_— r—————— Mussolini’s dramatic instinct is strikingly manifested in his proposal of a four-power European combination to insure peace. He takes the world spotlight unerringly and it is to be hoped, in this case, effectively. —————————— A Slum Clearance Loan. Prom sites in the “lung block” on the lower East Side of New York—so called because of the once high percent- age of tuberculosis cases produced by its crowded and dingy tenements—there will soon rise two twelve-story model apartments. Before they can be built the area will be cleared of tenement structures that made one of New York's worst slum districts. In the process of the slum clearance and apartment-house bullding, some 1,840 men will be kept | busily employed for nine months. This, in short, is the result of the R, ¥F. C’s final approval yesterday of a Joan of $8,000,000 to a real estate corporation in New York for & slum- clearing “self-liquidating” project, one of the first, if not the first, of such projects anywhere in the country that has met the requirements for loans “up to $8,000,000" from the R. F. C. While the R. F. C. authorized a loan of nearly four million dollars for an- other housing project in New York some months ago, the money ws never mdvanced. apparently because of objec- tions that were made later by real estate interests which contended tHat y:ew housing would add to the number of vacant premises already available. The New York project is interesting, however, because of the impetus it may give to slum-clearing projects in other cities. tonians, long familiar with an “alley problem” if not a “slum problem” that iz peculiar to this city alone, have read with appreciation of the interest in this subject already displayed by Mrs, Roosevelt, who visited some of Washington's allcys 8 few days ago in company with Mrs. Archibald Hopkins. Mrs. Rgosevelt's visit to the alleys Tecplls & similar interest displayed by | thh@rst Mrs. Woodrow Wil and the | ative effort, which in{the end The | | opening the first business session of In this connection Washing- | proved so futile, to get rid of the alley dwellings at one blow, so to speak, by the simple expedient of tearing them down. The war brought complications which interfered with the original plan, and when the war was over another difficulty presented itself—this being that nothing had been done to house the alley dwellers if they were deprived of their alley homes. The American Institute of Architects has proposed a new plan for alley clear- ance and conversion, founded on the R. P. C.'s policy of lending money for such projects. The plan proposes the creation of a housing commission, em- powered to condemn land, and the formation of limited dividend corpcra- tions that would build homes for rental at moderate rates, converting alley prop- erty to other uses. This plan has been approved by the Park and Planning Commission and others who have inter- | ested themselves in Washington's alley problem. The new Congress, so much to be engaged with all types of recon- struction work, would do well to con- sider the merits of the legislation necessary to make the plan effective, e Auf Wiederseh:n, Democracy ! Yesterday alongsice the crypt of “Old Fritz,” the Frederik the Great of canonized memory, and amid the un- furling of the battle flags which saw Prussia welded into a kingdom and Germany into an empire with blood and iron, they laid away the German Tepublic. The scene of the obsequies was in full keeping, the Garrison Church at Potsdam, legendary seat of Hohenzollern pomp and power and Prussian military might. Over the cere- | monies marking the demise of popular | government floated the restored im- | perial black-white-red - colors, flanked by the Fascist swastika, the twin em- blems of the Reich and the Nazi au- tocracy that now rules it. “Storm tyoops” patrolled the area. The former crown prince was cheered to the echo. | Germany was goose-stepped into & new epoch. | To what international repercussions | Hitlerism may lead was instantaneously revealed at Washington. Just about | the time the bells throughout Germany were tolling the doom of republicanism ‘the State Department was taking offi- | cal cognizance of the organized out- | rages against Germans and others of | the Jewish faith, which have scan- dalized the world ever since the Na- tional Soclalists usurped dictatorial au- | thority. Secretary Hull, in prompt re- | sponse to appeals from the American | Jewish Ccngress, directed the United | States embassy at Berlin to make a | complete report of the plight and fright | into which Nazi excesses have plunged the entire Jewish community in Ger- | many. This government’s action is taken with a view to possible repre- sentations, in the name of humanity and justice, against the Hitlerite anti- Semitic campaign. It is not the first | time that official American interven- jon has occurred in the case of simi- | lar racial crusades on the’ continent of | Europe. What now is to happen in Germany no man can foretell. Tuesday's elec- tions were heavily and undisguisedly | saturated with the “Potsdam spirit,” | which was literally invoked by all the principal actors in the tragedy of the young Germen democracy. President von Hindenberg himself, held for more than seven years by a credulous outside | world as the sure shield against mo- narchical and militarist reaction, glorified “the spiritual regeneration of a free and proud Germany,” as he re- called the “glory-hallowed memories | which cluster around the place where we are today assembled.” The “spirit of Potsdam” was apotheosized even more | fervently by Capt. Goering, Chancellor | Hitler'’s omnipotent minister without | portfolio. “In 1919,” he said, when the futile new Reichstag, “Potsdam was made a by-word, and ‘Away from Pots- dam,’ was the slogan. It is symbolical that the new Reichstag, which means to restore to the Reich its former greatness, dignity, honor and freedom, has found its way back to the place | whence Prussia started, and, through Prussia, Germany.” It is the Hitler government's inten- tion, when the Reichstag convenes in formal session tomorrow, forthwith to seek an enabling act not only giving the chancellor dictatorial powers, but completely setting aside the present constitution and abrogating rights con- sidered sacred and fundaméntal under the Weimar charter. Already there is in force a presidential decree imposing imprisonment at hard labor for those who dare to question the beneficence of Nazi rule. The passage of the enabling act will mean that for four years de- mocracy will be extinguished in Ger- many, in fact as well as in name, and that & new constitution, legalizing and stabilizing dictatorship, will be handed to the helpless German nation. Mussolini, Stalin, Pilsudski, Mustapha Kemal, now Hitler! What next? Eu- rope, made “safe for democracy,” as it fondly thought, fifteen years ago, has traveled far and painfully since the World War and its reactionary after-- math. oo In a few communities eggs will be traded direct for flour and bacon and the mercantile accountants left undis- turbed with their ledger check-ups. oo More Mayan Monuments. The scientists of the Carnegie Insti- tution group in Mexico continue to re- port discoveries of Mayan remains. Gradually, step by step, site by site, a whole empire is being brought to light. A rich and amazingly vigorous civiliza- tion must have existed in Mexico proper and in Yucatan at a period which in- vestigators estimate at twelve centuries ago. Such magnificent monuments as those thus far retrieved from the jungle could have been reared by none but a talented and well-organized people. The cultural development of the Mayan nation must have been excep- tional. They had a highly gifted art sense, broadly socialized. They had science, also generally democratized. They had government, law and order. They had religion. Because their de- signs are bizarre and unusual, in the judgment of critics working in the Western tradition, they have been de- nominated barbarian, and because their political and theological ideas are strange they have been stigmatized as savage, but the charges of human sac- rifice, cannibalism and the like which have been brought against them by fic- tionists and other irresponsible writers remain to be proved. Thelr first Zugpe- | state pean historians were hostile; their own codices were wantonly destroyed; their race perished by the double process of massacre and misrepresentation. But the excavation of sculptured pyramids and obelisks, temples and palaces, may serve to cleanse their memory. Meanwhile the application of & modicum of logic to the problem of their character may be helpful. Is it likely that a people undeniably skilled in most, if not all, of the arts of civ- {lization, as the term is used today, were also at one and the same time steeped in cruel ignorance, sunk in hideous superstition? Would such a people very long have suffered the tyranny of heathen priests who prac- ticed systematic murder? Granted that the religious ideals of the Mayans were primitive, does it inevitably follow that they were degenerate? These questions answer themselves. The romanticists who have blackened their name have performed & disservice to the human species. e Bankers Go to Prison. Yesterday two men were taken to Sing Sing Prison, in New York State, to serve terms of imprisonment of from three to six years for misapplication of the funds of a bank which failed fn De- cember, 1930, with th- ~esult of finan- cial ruin to thousands of depositors. They were tried several months after the failure and were sentenced in June, 1931, Appealing from the verdict and the sentence, they protracted the pro- ceedings for more than a year and a half. They are now absorbed into the great family of prisoners, the duration of their flexible terms depending, pre- sumably, upon their conduct while thus detained. The determination of their period of imprisonment will rest with a board. ‘The protraction of this case, which is typical of most of those that pass through the courts, is & further indict- ment of the processes of the law now prevalent in this country. It so hap- pens, however, that the culmination comes at a time of particular interest in the matter of the misconduct of bank officials, several of whom are at present under charge of wrongful ad- ministration of their trusts and other frauds. Public concern is aroused lest by the employment of the devices of delay and obstruction that have become a scandal upon American justice these cases may be protracted and perhaps to the end of a defeat of the law through technicality, with the result of weakening the safeguards that 1t sup- posedly provides against corruption and betrayal of trust. In the present state of the public mind regarding the banking frauds and | thefts that have caused enormous losses | to depositors and stockholders the spec- tacle of a delay of more than twenty- one months from sentence to prison service in the case of the two New York bankers who have just gone to Sing Sing is calculated to strengthen the de- mand for the speedier and surer admin- istration of justice. Certainly in the immediate case the prolongation of the proceedings, in the face of assured guilt, should result in the exacting of the full penalty, to the limit of the longest period named by the court in pronounc- ing sentence. A penalty for delay when there is no good ground for appeal and procrastination would perhaps work to | United States’ entry into the World | bill, Senator Patrick A. McCarran of the end of shortening the period be- | War in 1917. 'There's a particular_sig- Nevada tween indictment and punishment. An exceptionally cool season along the Atlantic Coast may have served to ease the suspense attending the release of Spring styles in beverages. B g ‘War produces only sorrow, hatred d debt. It is, indeed, a melancholy philosophy which in the present age of enlightenment holds war inevitable, ——or—s SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Extra Session. It may be hard, when skies are bright And some one slides to second, ‘While cheers resound both left and right And scores anew are reckoned, To think upon the patriot mind ‘That never seeks a rest, But keeps right at the fiscal grind— But we will do our best. It may be hard to fan the flame Qf patriot exultation When far and wide that curious game Exhilarates the Nation. ‘We may not cheer the speeches strong In reformation’s quest ‘While double plays are going on— But we will do our best. Pablicity. “A statesman must rely a great deal on publicity,” said the young man who is learning politics. “Yes,” replied Senator Sorghum. “But it must be carefully managed. His suc- cess may depend largely on getting what he says into print and keeping what he thinks out.” ‘Works of Imagination. “What is your idea of high finance?” “It'1s a school of fiction,” replied Mr. Dustin Stax, “in which mathematics takes the place of language.” A Street Car Delirium. The doors in the street car keep shifting. They're modeled both narrow and wide, They open by swinging and lifting And some of them gracefully slide. You fear, as they madly unwind them, You'll be lost to your home and your friends. Sometimes in the middle you find them, But mostly they grow at both ends! A Gloomy Forecaster. “Don't you want to see the world a place of complete peace and harmony?” “No,” replied Mr. Growcher. “Just as soon as you get the world peaceful and harmonious, & lot of people will arise and kick because competition has been eliminated.” When & man heaves s sigh and says he has done his best, he is usually try- ing to fool his conscience. Expensive. ©Oh, talk is cheap, we're often told. With grim disapprobation— But not the kind that is unrolled At an investigation, “Politeness can’t be put on all of a sudden,” said Uncle Eben. “Some men tryin’ to be polite you think of o swallow-tail coat on over a suit of overalis” . Great literature is lving, emvpxns 12 in u;: m‘ unexpecob:d places an ys. a way of taking care of itself at all times. There is & new and good book on the market which perhaps not every reader will recognize as deriving from Walt Whitman's “Leaves of Grass.” And the author of this new book no more old Walt than the latter copled h Waldo Emerson. Each iter, in turn, struck by the originality and force of the former, and bel his literary blood brother, in the spiritual sense, used the other as a base to work from, that was all. Emerson was the granddaddy of this intellectual line, Whitman the father and Max Miller, author of “He Went Away for Awhile,” the con. Solidly at the bottom stands the great Emerson, upon whose independ- ent, straightforward thinking a queer fellow by the name of “Walt Whitman erected an unusual literary building. fice, least well known of great American books, at least as far as the so-called general public is con- cerned, is called “Leaves of Grass.” Almost every one who pretends to any knowledge of American literature at all has heard the title, but an amaz- ingly large m of such persons have never read a word of the book itself. * ok ok ok nt, let there be an inter- terjection, an aside, a di- At this lude, an gression. Why are so many readers afraid of the term “literature,” and especially of “great literature?” One would think these words pos- sessed teeth, and were fully capable of biting the intrepid person who dared to pronounce their names. Great literature, forsooth! It seems as if there is a section of | mankind, especially in our modern | America, terribly afraid of calling any- thing great which is greal. To speak of a book as “literature” is to reveal one's curious self as old- fashioned, behind the times. To dare to insinuate that it is just as easy to read a good book as a poor one is to bring down upon one's head the laugh- ter of those who know better. There is, however, nothing mysterious about the words ‘“great literature,” | nothing which any one need be afraid of, or ashamed of; the truth is that any one of any discrimination at all knows which are the books deserving the title and which not—after they are fifty or a hundred years old, or thereabouts. Allowing for the enthusiasm of cer- tain persons who, for reasons of their | own, may fancy a book just as another man may fancy tropical fishes, there still remain the millions of readers who are united on the real books of the world. ‘While their judgments, and especially | their likings, would differ greatly, most | of them would be willing to admit that @ certain collection of- books deserved to bz known as “great literature.” ‘There would be nothing mysterious about it, and especially nothing “high brow.” So many persons today have such a repugnance to the “high brow,” whatever that is, that they would be | willing to forswear their own judg- | ments to avold it. * X % % Even those who have not read | everythirg. or honestly like it: one can | | his ‘blind spots, as it were, which at |the same time, perhaps. render what “Leaves of Grass” are willing, in most cases. | ranks of real literature. ‘Whether beer is legalized on April 5 |or 6, its return will mark, almost to the | | hour, the sixteenth anniversary of the rificance i that coincidence. Wets have always claimed that prohibition was “put over” the country while mil- | | lions of American citizens were either | fighting in France or preparing to do! |so. The eighteenth amendment was | proposed to the Legislatures of the several States by Congress on December 18, 1917, At the very time the “Yanks” | were busy “over there” the battle for | ratification of the prohibition amend- | | ment—throughout the year 1918—was | raging. Representative Thomas H. Cul- | | len, Tammany Democrat, of New York, | who will go down in history as the author of the beer bill, estimates that the re-| turn of the frothy and foamy stuff will provide immediate employment for 300,000 persons. Matthew Woll, vice president of the American Federation | of Labor, is authority for the states ment that eventually beer will afford employment directly and indirectly for 1,000,000. C. D. Williams, nation- al secretary of the United States Brewers' Association, foreshadows that the industry will produce 40,000,000 barrels of beer vearly, provide new jobs for at least 500,000 and spend about $400.000,000 a year, including $20,000,- 000 for advertising. The Senate killed & proposal to prohibit radio advertising of liquor. News comes from Chicago that one of the great breweries out there, which is ready to start the vats boiling with- in five minutes after beer is no longer contraband, is preparing to launch a brand to be called “Delro.” The name is taken from the first syllable of President Roosevelt’s middle name and the first two letters of his surname. When Attorney General Cummings heard about this, he sa he hoped it wouldn't occur to any Connecticut brewery to name a beer after him by the same method. “If it does,” observe the G., “‘Hocum’ might be the re- | sult. * k% x Speaking of Mr. Cummings, no mem- ber of the cabinet, with the single ex- ception of Secretary Woodin, has been kept on the jump, since things began to happen at Washington on March 4 more than the lanky lawyer from Con- necticut. Naturally, the administra- tion has not made a major move in these unprecedented times without as- suring itself that it was within the law. To Attorney General Cummings have come, in consequence, literally day and night, and at all hours of the day and night, peremptory interrogatories on almost eve question under the con- stitutional sun. The Attorney General arrived in Washington a few hours be- fore Inauguration day, expecting to see the fun and go home. Then Senator Walsh died, and Cummings, virtually without notice, was asked to plung into the Department of Justice at the most_critical moment in modern Fede- gratefully of Republican _hold-overs General Thacher and Assistant Attor- ney Generals Richardson and St. Lewis. The Connecticut Yankee is still slated for the Governor Generalship of the Philippines, but his retention in his it , because of the effective account has given of himself, is by no means impossible. * %k k¥ i Ever since the new deal (or the now deck, as it's also being called) got going in Washington, the President’s favorite expression for unprintable communica- tions—“off the record”—has ed currency all over the Capital. Officials and ticlans have scrap the stero'-‘ “Detween curselves,” “entre nous,’ 1y confidential,” and like famillae et | i 3 EXR8E i it s to admit it into the honored ! WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. ed | mainly children. the | other hospitals? THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. It has been printed too persistently, appeared in too many editions, been beloved by, too many readers, now, to permit any one to sneer at it, or reject it as the famous Government cfficial did, when he “fired” its author. No one can dismiss Walt Whitman any more, You may not like him—that is your business—and you may not read him— we would advise that, if he doesn't ap- peal to you—but you cannot say any longer that he is a bunch of stuff and nonsense, During the past five years He has appeared in “unexpurgated” editions, so advertised, as if he ever had appeared in anything else. This was merely a move on the part of certain astute pub- lishers, who realized that there was enough of the erotic in Whitman to enable them to “sell” him to certain ymounger readers who looked for nothing else. That ‘side of Whitman, however, is his smallest side, the side which the older reader soon forgets It is in “The Song of Myself,” and “The Song of the Open Road,” and the great hymn to| the memory of President Lincoln, that | the real poet resides forever, * K k¥ To any one unacquainted with these three pleces of writing, we would say: There is perhaps no time of the year to read Whitman quite as good as now. It was the season he, in company | with all poets, loved the best. No doubt | that is a sign that he, too, despite his unusual measures, is a brother to Shakespeare and Spenser, after all. | The Springtime, the merry, merry ringtime, is the best season to read of | Whitman’s sure faith in himself, and, | by inference, any man’s faith in him- self, if he will but see life that way. Now is the best time of the year to| read about the open road, still stretch- ing away before one as far as the eye can see. | 1t is the only time, of course, to read | the splendid chant dedicated to the | memory of the great Lincoln. | Upon these three works the whole case of Whitman, as man and poet, may be left to the new reader. in the confidence that they will convert him, if he possesses in himself the proper temperament. Not every one will, even if he ac- knowledges the greatness of these pieces of the writing craft. Not every mind and heart is attuned to the “waves” of every great work of art. ‘Thousands of sincere lovers of litera- ture are yet unable to comprehend exactly wherein the greatness of Dante’s “Divine Comedy” lics, despite the fact that they have read the ex- planaticns thereof since childhood, It is not for them, and they say so frankly, glad that it is capable of bring- ing strength to others. The world is wide, no one can admire | claim to. if one wants to, but the de- | sire to b2 so omniscient is gradually dying cut of mankind. It is recognized on every hand that every human being has his limitations, he does see even more glorious to him. Every one should give himself a | chance, at least, to like Walt Whitman's “Leaves of Grass.” He is as o'd or as young as you find | him. as old as Emerson, as young as| Miller, He is large as he says; he contains | multitudes. He may contain—you. Wilson might have called “a litile band | of willful men,” ie. the quartet which | voted against the Roosevelt economy is as senatorial-looking a gentleman as adorns the new chamber. He has a fine shock of wavy iron-gray hair, cut and worn in a statesmanlike | bob, and is altogether gin impressive figure. Like his colleague, Senator Key Pittman, ke took part in the Tonopah and Goldfleld mining booms. Senatcr McCarran ranks among Nevada's emis nent jurists, having been for many | Years an associate justice of the State | Supreme Court and part of the time | chief justice. He was born and lives at Reno, * k% % Perhaps Washington is soon to make the acquaintance of a brand-new lobby— one representing railroad stockholders and bendholders. The Pennsylvania Railroad Co., in distributing its recent one per cent dividend, invites its stock- holders to “assist in securing relief from those unfair advantages now favoring competitive and subsidized transporta- tion agencies.” The railroads, it say: ask only for fair, reasonable and sound Federal and State regulation of all forms of transportation as being essential for the protection of the railroed invest- ment, in the public interest, and neces- STy ko, Dring, about & more equitable distribution of the burdens, in'the form of taxation, now imposed upon the rail- roads to defray the expense of building and maintaining highways and the tre- {x‘:;xq'ous cost of grade crossing elimina- * x K % One of New York’s tabloid papers has found it the part of good ,,,2,"5 start 2 public subscription for the installation of a swimming pool at the White House, | so that President Roosevelt may con- | tinue his aquatic exercises. The paper | itself has subscribed $1,000, and the plan is to accept small contributions of even pennies or stamps from New Yorkers, | * k% x In Latin American diplomatic quar- | tgrs some eyebrows have been raised | aver the appointment of Josephus Daniels | 88 Ambassador to Mexico. The North | Carolina editor was Secretary of the | Navy when President Wilson ordered a | United States fleet to take Vera Cruz| and. on another occasion, to demand an apologetic salute to the Stars and Stripes. Mr. Danlels presumably was the one who actually gave the fleet its instructions. President Roosevelt was Assistant Secretary of the Navy at the time. Nevertheless and notwithstanding, Mexico has pronounced the World War head of the Navy Department ambassa- dorially pcrson: g:u l;sl’x[m President Roosevelt was asked by a caller one day this week what he thought about joining the new peace club which MacDonald and Mussolini have just formed. It was indicated that the White House would fifst like to know what the dues are. (Copyright. 1933.) Apply Economies to Officials Higher Up ‘To the Editor of The Star: In the list of needed economies, sug- gested by the President, there is no mention of cutting his own salary, nor that of his cabinet, nor yet again that of the Supreme Court judges, although we read of “slashing reductions in the pay of ‘the different services.” Why is this? Why, again, with the measures planned for the Army, are the members of Congress allowed to go to Walter Reed Hospital, at $30 monthly, when they are certainly able to pay at It would, indeed, seem that, given a ML e e themselves. Uncle High Wages a Bar to Renovizing Property To the Editor of The Star: some Tty owners are not doing the huma is luuuor thefl fact that our borers, carpenters, Icklaye fig‘l’r maintain their high o 1, for one, can ret..>mber back in 1880 to 1900 when the car;:aters were get- ting $1.50 to $4 a day. Bricklayers, $2 to §5 a day, and others who ‘were working for less than that. Now, about this excuse that some of | Wi them give as to the high cost of living. Teday it is much cheaper to live than e d"i..' the products h general, the ucts were muc] higher in those days; take wearing ap- parel for instance, whoever saw such prices as there are now? I remember back in 1895 I paid $50 for a dress suit and now you can buy one for $15 to $20. Another thing I can recall back in those days—when I wanted to buy my wife a birthday present my sister suggested a nice hat, 50 she and I went downtown and chose a' hat that cost me the sum of $18. Now you can buy a hat as cheap as 95 cents and a very good one for a little less than $5. I really don’t see how people can be talk- ing about the high cost of living. Where does it come {n? Let’s take some other things into consideration. h those days the poorer class of people didn't have the money to spend on radios, automobiles, tele- phones, gas, electric power, and garages, as they do now: ays. Another thi We had some hard Winters but the people managed to save a little for a rainy day, but now they can't save because they can't get the work as owners are not going to pay high wages. I really believe that if the labcrers would work for less that there would be more work for them. My reason for believing this is not because I am an advocate of cheap labor for I believe in good living wages. However, it can be readily understood that property owncrs would be better | able to have repairs made if labor were more reasonable. For instance, if properties in Wash- ington, D. C., were kept up better a good impression would be made on all Vvisitors, and people would wish to make their homes in such a nice, clean, up- to-date city, whereas, now, no doubt remarks are made as to the horrid and dirty looking houses in some sec- tions of Washington. Another thing which I know, and which we all know, is that the rents are a little high. If the Government would come down on the assessed value of property we wouldn't have such high property taxes to pay and then the rents could come down. As it is now, how rents when the assessments on prop- erty are $5 and $6 a foot and you can't get $3 a foot if you sell? If this can be cut, we, the property owners, can in turn cut our rents to balance our in- come and expenses. WILLIAM PFEIL. High Price Levels and Government Pay Cuts To the Editor of The Star: Before the administration proceeds with any drastic slash ingthe salaries of Federal employes on duty in Wash- ington, it would be well to give serious consideration tc one angle of the situa- | tion which has evidently been given little thought. That is that price levels | in Washington have not come down |as they have in other cities of the | country. For instance—rentals of homes and apartments have been maintained virtually at the war-time level—in many instances higher. This is undoubtedly due to collusion among the large real estate owners, the cperations of shylock mortgage companics, watered stock and other elements of fictitious “cost” which are. of course, passed on to the luckles§ victim—the fellow who pays the rent. While food prices here have dropped to some extent, they are still high in comparison with other cities. Any one who doubts this will get much illumi- nating information by a perusal of the food advertisements in out-of-town newspapers. ~ Whether or not the answer to this is that the Washington food market is artifically controlled, I am unable to say. Certainly, the evi- dence seems to point in that direction Clothing is about the aqnly com- modity in which we of Washington seem to have received any substantial benefit from the generally lowered scale of prices throughout the country. I sincerely trust these matters will be given consideration before any whole- sale salary reduction program is mapped out for the Federal employes of Wash- ington. CARLIN F. WALKER. A Man’s Views as to Women’s High Heels To the Editor of The Star: I thoroughly agree with Ella May Powell on her stand on high heels and wish that this world of ours had more girls like her—sensible girls who think more of their health than they think of their style dictators. Every time I see a girl weering low- heel shoes I unccnsciously think “there goes a sensible girl.” Many times I have gotten into ar- guments with girl friends over this is- sue of heels. Once one girl wanted to know if heels meant more to me than the girl herself. While this argument quieted down, there still are times when we do not agree and we will anly agree when low hecls come back to stay. Since Mrs. Roceevelt, is deeply inter- | 1} ested in the Girl Scouts and the physical welfare of the girls of this great Nation, it is not too much to ex- pect her to lead the movement to low heels for all kinds of dress. She is broad-minded enough to realize that physical welfare and bodily comfort are much more to be desired than stylish effects. While T have never bought any foot- gear for any young lady, I often stop to gaze in the windows af shoe stores and only. see the latest high-heel-style: on display. There is no doubt thag the practical-minded young woman will have a difficult time finding the right shoes. By using the wrong shoes the people help industry. By this I mean l'heyrheép the(dmgn :l?; to sell articles or foot comfert; e chiropodists, but ruin their own health. But as long as women chocse to fol- low the style in vogue high heels will tndermine their health. In time they tay grow hoofs, but tha tendency is so slow that it may be thousands ‘of years before they will be aware of this Nothing has yet been found that will create a new style quicker than that of following nationally known figures. Mrs. Roosevelt would make no mistake in leading the low-heel parade. I have often walked with different girl friends and notice that those wear- ing ln:‘ h?h always withstand the rigors of a long walk much better than the high-heeled shod girls. at 2 wearing “stilts” you will be sure that they are wcmen. ANDY MACK. ————————_ A Waste of Ergs. Prom the Oakland Tribune. The technocrats are putting a num- |™ ber of units of energy into sized row. %00 No Usurers. Prom the Loulsville Courler-Journal. At any rate, the Reconstruction PFinance cannot be ac- cused of hoarding. A Safe Speeder. Prom the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. It doesn’t look as though the average etc., rates for their can we come down with | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. ‘The answers to questions printed here each day are specimens picked from the mass of inquiries handled by our great information bureau maintained in Washington, D. C. This valuable service is for the free use of the public. Ask any question of fact you may want to know and you will get an immediate reply. Write plainly and in- close three cents in coin or stamps for return e. Do not use postcards. Address The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. 3 ‘ashington, D. C. Q. How do boys become jockeys? —F. H. jockeys. When they reach the age of 16, they are anxious to be given a chance. Weight and horsemanship are big factors. The average weight of jockeys is about 104 pounds. Q. Why is President Roosevelt called the thirty-second President>—G. E. S. A. It is because Grover Cleveland is counted twice. He served two terms which were not consecutive. Thirty- one men have served as President, in- cluding Franklin D. Roosevelt. Q. Who first called tcbacco My Lady Nicotine?>—W. B. H. A. | by J. M. Barrie, published in 1890. Q. How man long to Japan?—J. O. A. Japan’s mandates in the Pacific, inciuding the former German colonial possessions, extend for 1,200 miles north from the Equator and for 2,500 miles from east to west. The total area of | land in this enormous expanse of sea is | only 820 square miles. The islands| number 625, and the groups are the | Marianne Islands, excluding Guam, | which belongs to the United States; | the Marshall Islands and the Caroline | Islands. Q. How large is the Midget Bible? | —K. J.T. | A. It is the size of a postage stamp. | A én?[nl!ylnt glass must be used to read it. Q. What was the phenomenon that | Edison discovered which led to radio| inventions?>—E. K. A. Edison discovered what is known | as the Edison effect and etheric forces |in 1875. He observed these phenomena of sound waves and developed a so- called “dark box” which was exhibited | at the Paris Exhibition of 1881. A few | years later Hertz identified these phe- | nomena as electro-magnetic waves. | Q@ what was the main accomplish- i ment of Al Smith as Governor of New York?—H. L. | A. During the terms of Gov. Smith ' of New York the entire State was re- organized and its constitution revised. | This made an enormous saving in the | governmental expenditures of the State. | . Q Are the Carlsbad Caves exten- sive?>—L. M C. | A. Carlsbad Caves. New Mexico, were made a national park in May, 1930. They consist of a series of lofty, spa- cious chambers and connecting cor- ridors, with alcoves extending to the | | sides, that are of remarkable 'beauty. | | The park at present has an area of only ! one square mile, although the caverns yextend for miles underground. The most_impressive portion cf the caves is |the Big Room, an enormous chamber 14,000 feet long, with a maximum width {of 625 feet. t one place the ceiling ! rises to a height of 300 feet. | Q. What per cent of the Negro pop- | ulation votes>—J. D. F. A. It is estimated that about 3,000,000 Negroes cast their vote in 1932. The total Negro population zccording to the 1930 census is 11,891,143, Q. Please give scme data about Louis Cyr. the strong man of Canada— W. T. M. A. He was 6 feet tall. weighed 300 director, | A. Exercise boys are usually embryo | The phrase is the title of a book | y mi(l)n of territory be- | | “Creed”?—L. L. ment of 58 inches and biceps 26 inches around. Some of his achievements were said to ke the lifting with his two bands a barrel of cement weighing 1870 pounds. He lifted 975 pounds frcm the floor with one hand, raised | 543 pounds with his little finger and with his right arm put up a 158-pound dumbbell 36 times in succession, Q,Gfiow many stars are catalogued?— A. Modern star catalogues are nu- merous. The Bonn Durchmusterung contains more than 324,000 stars. The ‘%eonry Draper Cataloguc centains 225,- Q. How many Americans were court- | martialed and shot during the World | w:r?—c E . Prcm April 6, 1917, to June 30, 1919, the death penaity imposed by general court-martiz! of the United States Army was carried into execution in 35 cases for offenses as follows: | Murder, 2; murder and mutiny, 19; rape, 11; rape and murder, 3. Execu- tions by firing squads have not been held since Civil War t No execu- tions which toock place during the | World War were infii squads. Q. How was LinccIn's Gettysburg adaress received by newspapers?’—M. C. A. Few newspapers received it en- | thustastically, Among those which did were the Philadelphia Bull the Springfield Republican, the ston Transcript and the Providence Journal. | The Philadelphia Bulletin declared that no one could read it without a moisten- ing of the eyes and swelling of the heart. The Providence Journal said: “We know nct where to lcok for a more admurable speech than the brief one which the President made at the close of Mr. Everett’s oration. It is often said that the hardest thing in the world is to make a five-minute speech. Q. What is the meaning of the end- ings of towns in Holiand, such as Am- sterdam and Rotterdam?—E. K. M. A. The termination “dam” in man; Dutch names literally means “dam.” Thus, Amsterdam was originally Am- stelle-damm, or the dam of the Amstel River, and Rotterdam means the dam of the River Rotte. | Q. Did the United States pay France the money borrowed at the time of the American Revolution’>—R. H. A. France received from the United | States all of the money which was bor- | rowed during the time of the American Revolution. This debt was discharged | between 1791 and 1795 by money bor- rowed in Holland. The latter debt was finally paid Holland in the early part of the nineteenth century. The money borrowed from France was borrowed between the years 1778 and 1782. The interest on these loans was forgiven until 1783, and in fact little interest was paid until 1790. Q. What is meant by “higher criti- cism” in regard to the Bible’—B. D, A. Tt is the study which seeks to de- termine the time, place, circumstances, nature and authors of the biblical Q. How long did it take to go from Boston to Savannah by stage coach? What_did it cost? P A. By 1802 unbroken communication by stage coaches was available from Boston to Savanngh. the journey occu- pying 22'; days.” The fare was $70, The route went by way of New York, d was at an average speed of 53 miles per day. About $25 was required for board and lodging en route. Q. What was Robert G. Ingercoll's . A. “My creed is this: Happiness is the only good. The place to be happy is here. The time to b2 happy is now. The way to be happy is to make oth- ers 50.” { pounds, had a normal chest measure- Swanson’s 'i‘reaty Navy Plan | | Statements by Secretary Swanson of | the Navy Department in favor of build- ing the American fleet to the point au- | thorized by treaty has aroused national | discussion. Many comments recognize | | the importance of the budget problem, | but there is much criticism of the fail- | ure of the Government to maintain the | equipment that measures up to the de- cisions of the London Conference. | “Qur fleets of merchant ships are on all seas,” argues the St. Joseph Gazette. “In coming years the Naticn’s flag must fly from the mastheads of more, rather | than fewer, vessels engaged in foreign | ccmmerce. The sea lanes must be kept | open for their use. Our good faith in | the matter of limiting sea armaments has_been demonstrated, but without |avail. The head of our Navy Depart- | ment insists that we should maintain | |the ratios established by the London treaty It is well known that we have| slid backward since the treaty to a dis- | | quieting degree. It remains for the| other nations bound by the treaty to| say whether we shall reach the a«reedi ratio by. building ships or by general reduction in naval strength. It appears that nothirig will come out of Geneva to justify our holding back, and cer- tainly we should be the victims of no further retrogression. It should be| borne in mind the United States would | ot be entering an armament race should it decide to build = its fleets to | treaty ratios: and that while a strongly armed nation may be provocative of i war, it also may be a stabilizer of eace.” D “So long as other powers ma\m.alx‘xv great fleets, armies and _air forces, argues the San Antonio Express, “the United States must look after its own defense arrays in a manner assuring their ability to carry out their missions. The Navy must be ready to operate either on the Pacific or the Atlantic at a moment’s notice. The Panama Canal must have adequate protection by both naval and military arms. That water- way was _constructed primarily to strengthen the national defense; its use in commerce—though highly important to both this country and the world gen- crally—is secondary. The United States Fleet now is assembled on the Ncmhl Pacific. Secretary Swanson states that it will remain there until a change in | the critical Far East situation shall develop.” "Szc;:etnry Swanson’s words, in_the opinion of the Cincinnat! Times-Star, “will be encouraging to those who have regarded with dismay the virtual cessa- tion of ‘warship construction in this country, while Great Britain and Japan have been steadily building up to their tweaty allowances. Naval experts calcu- late that if the present disparity con- tinues, the United States will be 135 warships, or 316,530 tons, under fits treaty allowance by lsse.nwhen tl';; don pact ires. Our Navy woul l'g:‘ belx‘x.m Sf} far inferior to Great Britain’s, but weaker than Japan’s. * * * The es upon at London represent what three powers believe essential to their naval defense. It may be taken for granted that, what- ever the strain on their budgets, the will continue building as | Meets With Some Approval of 1933. The naval appropriations for the fiscal year of 193¢ make no pro- visions for new construction, but if the Vinson program should be adopted by the special session the construction work could start immediately.” Conceding that “if the Disarmament Conference fzils to achieve substantial tonnzge reduction, new construction on an extensive scale is inevitable,” the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin remarks: “In determining the American policy, budget consideraticns are apt to be controlling. The sentiment of Congress as to the principle of the thing has been clearly made manifest. The Sen- ate, on May 6 of last year, passed the Hale bill authorizing construction up to the treaty lI'mit. The House Naval Committee approved the Vinson bill, providing for a treaty naval construc- tion program extending over 10 years and estimated to involve a cost of $616,000,000, but it was not pressed for action. Mr. Vinson has promised to in- troduce a similar measure in the pres- ent Congress.” Tmportance of the finencial obstacles is emphasized by the Springfleld (Mass.) Republican, while the Baitimore Sun argues, “Admittedly, the politiéal un- easipess of large areas of the world has shoved disarmament into the back- ground, but the recent British proposals for the abolition of air warfare and the international regulation of commercial aviation suggest that the economic strain of preparedness plus the actual danger of war is operating, though with some restraint, to convince some coun- tries at least that reduction is a prime necessity. In any event, it seems un- fortunate that the first statement by the new administration on naval policy should be an advocacy of more ships, | encugh, according to the dispatches, to ‘hearten big-Navy men.’ A little heart- ening for taxpayers and mere believers in organized peace would be more than welcome just now.” Admitting the desire for arms agree- ments in the direction of peace, the need of adequate naval equipment in dealing with other nations is upheld by the Chicago Daily News, the Charleston (S. C.) Evening Post, the Nashvillg Banrer and the Providence Journal. Must Daylight gi:g Mix: Be Continued? ‘To the Editor of The Star: Again the daylight saving mixup soon will be upon us. Must it be continued? For a period of several months con- fusion will result as to rail, air, bus and steamship time-tables, as well ‘as news- paper editions, because some parts of the country have adopted this great conservation and health measure while others have not. ‘The schools will be adjourning soon and the extra hour of daylight will mean much to millions of youngsters, to say nothing of the millions of workers now with a job and soon to have one. Think, if you please, of a beautiful Summer evening, a wonderful orchestra and a stein of beer. Then add to it that extra hour of daylight. Why, we are just starting to live skain. A happy na- tion of workers, with everybody (almost) minding his own business is around the corner.” Let us hope the mnywhmwmup s “new deal” will include correction of this stupid mess in which the Nation | finds itself every Summer. RUSSELL T. EDWARDS, Fever and Speed. Prom the Nashville Banner. Now it seems that Sir Malcolm Camp- bell had a _temperature of 103 when he left Great Britain to come to the United States to try to drive an automobile 300 miles an hour. We knew there must e explaaation cf 18, cted by firing g