Evening Star Newspaper, April 6, 1933, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Merning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY.......April 6, 1933 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor 10 Ea: Chicago Office: Lake Michiy European Office: 14 Regent Encland. Rate by Carrier Within the City. e Evening Star.. 45¢ per month 60¢ per month ...68¢ per month | 5 Sc_per copy end of each month ¥ mail oF telephone The (when 5 The Sunday Star.. Collection made at ders may be sent in by NAtional 5000 Rate by Mall—Payabie in Advance. Maryland and Virginia F ) 1yr., $10. junday only All Other States and Canada. day...1 yr. $12.00: 1mo.. $1.00 .1yr., $8.00; 1 mo. ¥ soc [1yr, $5.00; 1mo. I“-mber of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled o the use for republication of all news dis- ited in this paper an published herein. All rights special dispatches herein d_also the his of publication of | Iso reserved. Why Not Go All the Way? ‘The House has gone part of the way n correcting some of the illogical and | hurtful features of the District appro- priation bill, as far as the expenditure of local revenues is concerned. Why should not the Senate, and, later, the House conferees, go all the way? Boiled down, what the House did was | this: It added $1,040,000 to the expendi- tures authorized from gasoline tax reve- nues and $635,000 to the expenditures | from the water revenues over and above | the amounts approved by the Budlet‘ Bureau. But, instead of specifying the items of expenditure, as is usually the case, the amendment making these sums available declares that the money “is to be allotted for such projects and purposes and in such amounts as the President may approve.” Now, if representations should be made to the President to the effect that by approving this expenditure of surplus local tax revenues local em- ployment will be benefited and needed repair and extension work made pos- sible, and the President should agree and give his permission that all the additional money authorized should be spent, the District will still have at the end of the next fiscal year two sur- plus funds, as follows: Gasoline Tax surplus......$760,000 ‘Water Fund surplus....... 765,000 Total ..........00....$1,525,000 Why should not all of this surplus from these two special funds be made available, in the diseretion of the Presi- dent, for employment-giving work? ‘What is to be gained by restricting the President’s right to spend such money, | of assessed to true value is as much a | itselr. | which get their tax revenue from realty ‘nlntiou to all properties, whether the | tax rate applied to a high aseessment | le attempting isirict, and for pay $3.40 per of these homes the be assessed in other Let me call attention T fact that there is $4,000,000 in quent taxes on real estate due ’t;.l;::.ug: what character a(l real homes poor people are to buy and pay for. we should encourage people to pay for homes so they can have & castle of their own. Then they will naturally be proud of their country. The tax rate in the District of Co- | lumbia should be reduced from $1.70 to $1.50 on real estate. As Chairman Buchanan pointedly in- dicates, the actual percentage relation factor to be considered in calculating the real tax burden as the tax rate Washington is one of the citles by applying a comparatively low tax rate to a comparatively high assess- ment. The assessment here, the as- sessor has reported, approximates by less than ten per cent full valuation. Some other citles with the full-vaiua- tion law have actually :ssessed as Jow as twenty to twenty-fiv: per cent of | full valuation. If a fixed sum is to be obtained by taxation it makes no dif- ference, if assessment is uniform in necessary revenue is raised by e low or by a high tax rate applied to a low assessment. The only method immedi- ately available of decreasing the local realty tax burden is by decreasing the tax rate, and this should be done. But in the final equitable readjustment there should be, in order to make fair comparisons with other cities, a lower- ing of the assessment through decrease in practice of the percentage relation of assessed to true value. Decrease in as- sessment is especially necessary in this period of depression, when market values of local real estate have In many cases sunk far below their assessed value. Mr. MaoDonald'’s Visit. Before this month is over Prime Minister MacDonald will arrive in ‘Washington for a series of conversa- tions with President Roosevelt on the world econamic conference, disarma- ment and co-related international ques- tions. In announcing the coming of the #stinguished Briton Mr. Roosevelt states that “the informal exchanges of views between the British and our- selves have made the President feel that a visit to Washington by the prime minister would be helpful.” It is evi- dently desired to avold the suggestion that Mr. MacDonald has been formally invited to come to the United States, although the President adds that “ever since his first conversation with the British Ambassador at Warm Springs he has emphasized his hope that the T travall quite as much as ever it does by attainment, and if spiritual devel- qpment is the proper purpose of life, as philosophers say, the struggle itself is of greater value than the enjoyment of the fruits of the strife. It has beeri noticed that what may be called victory in the case of one in- dividual rightly may be esteemed s kind of defeat in the instance of an- other. Men are not equally equipped for success, and more is to be expected of those who are favored by circum- stance than of those who lack a vantages. One career may begin with promise of outstanding worth, yet close obscurely, while another may open with no indication of future value, yet culminate in triumph. Sup- posedly, the result for good or ill lies| within the power of the individual, but actually no unrestricted choice is possible. People generally are what| conditions permit them to be. They| may make themselves in certain re- spects, but they are much more apt to be made by their environment, by the social pressure around them and by the social institutions of which they necessarily are part. All of which goes to show that & is an error to consti- tute a fetish @f success. Far better would it be if men and women were content to make a principle of earnest endeavor. H. G. Wells long ago wrote a novel entitled “Love and Mr. Lewisham,” the story of a boy who tried to chart his future, prepared a ‘“schema” for a course of study and professional prog- ress which was to bring him to emi- nence as a member of Parliament or a cabinet minister. It was a good plan, an excellent plan, but—instead, its author fell in love, married and be- came a father. The time came when he felt dissatisfled with his lot, felt thwarted and cheated, resented his failure to abide by his scheme. But then he began to see that the things he had done and the person he had become were really not so pitiful as he had considered them to be. It was something of a success just to be a father. And %o in the end he made his adjustment and was happy again, happler perhaps than he ever could have been had he vainly continued to struggle for place and power. His story is worth reading. The world is full of Mr. Lewishams, and each of them is a success—relatively. —————— Increased duty on American apples and pears is said to be opposed by French wine producers for various rea- sons, among them California competi~ tion in the champagne market. Just what apple juice and pear juice have to do with champagne is one of those perplexities that arise in commercial relations. prime minister could come over.” Thus Messrs. MacDonald and Roose- velt are moving to pave the way for the economio conference, fust as = similar call by the prime minister on President Hoover, in October, 1929, cleared the path for the ensuing Lon- don naval conference. This is sane, common-gense diplomacy, because it is proceeding in the best possible way to make sure that success, not faflure, — e Progress made by the U. 8. A. in solv- ing subtle problems may encourage the hope of persuading Miss Columbia to assume the role of Portia in adjudicat- ing European transactions in which any Shylock will be found cast by local talent. ——r—. Hitler desires that no further refer- shall emerge from the pooled effort to rehabilitate disordered world econom- conversations are not to be exclusively the surplus money, s it not logical to assume that he can be likewise trusted with decision relating to 1t? What he does or does not The House refused to allow expendi- ture of any more money from the gen- eral revenues than the Budget Bureau approved. In the report of the Appro- priations Committee, and in discussion on the floor, it was said that the Com- missioners might reduce the tax rate on real and personal property by twenty cents, lowering the tax rate from the present $1.70 to $1.50, ‘That much relief to the real estate taxpayers would be a welcome one. But, on the basis of present estimiies, & Teduction of twenty cents in the tax Tate would produce a saving to the tax- payers of $2,600,000, in round numbers. It is anticipated now that on the basis of the budget recommendations, ap- proved by the House, there would still be a surplus in the general revenues of $3,400,000—not including revenues from the beer tax—after a 20-cent cut in the tax rate is made. If only a part of this surplus from the general tax funds is authorized for | expenditure, the grave threats to such | essential municipal functions as educa- | tion and public health, to mention only two, will be averted. The reasonable| and wise action by the Senate would be to see that the city’s services for which taxpayers are assessed are not unnecessarily crippled at this time. Crippling them as the House bill erip- ples them is unnecessary, and not once has there been a logical explanation of why it is proposed or what pos- sible advantage to anybody can result from it. ———————— ‘The Committee on Banking ana Currency is now recognized as one of the most profound and industrious bodies of research workers known in public affairs. ‘Washington's Tax Rate. ‘There have been so many occasions in the past when the local taxpayers were accused by members of Congress of dodging taxes and escaping a fair tax burden, the accusations resting on the mistaken assumption that because the tax rate here is relatively low the tax burden is also low, that a statement by Chairman Buchanan of the House Appropriations Committee in the House yesterday attains especial significance. It is a clear explanation of the condi- tion relating to local real estats taxa- tion that should be helpful in clearing up what, at times, has appeared to be & general misunderstanding. Mr. Buchanan said: As my colleague has said, the tax rate is $1.70 on the full valuation of real estate. In my home State and in yours, when property is assessed for taxation purposes about 50 per cent of its fair value and tayes ar> paid on that amount. it is assessed at Here | the property is assessed at full value and the tax rate of $1.70 is paid on the Anglo-American confidences. are to be followed by similar exchanges between the President and spectally designated representatives of France, Ttaly and Germany. At the Washington Naval Armament Conference' of 1921-1922 the French were openly aggrieved over what they considered to have been star-chamber advance understandings between Great Britain and the United States. The Eng- lish-speaking powers were accused of fixing up the agenda, particularly with regard to naval ratios, to suit them- selves, compelling the French to cool their heels outside and then be con- fronted with a “take it or leave it" agenda formulated by the London and Washington authorities. « It wofild be unfortunate if such a blunder were to be repeated in connec- tlon with the World Economic Confer- ence, and it is happily indicated that, in 80 far as this country is concerned, it will not be. President Roosevelt is prepared to welcome some eminent emissary of France, and it is al- ready suggested that this may be M. Edouard Herriot, whose ministry fell at Paris last December because he favored payment of the semi-annuity due from France on the American war debt. If Italy does not designate its new and accomplished Ambassador at Washing- ton, Signor Augusto Rosso, to hold pre- liminary conversations with President Roosevelt, Premier Mussolini is sure to dispatch to Washington some other equally representative spokesman. Ger- many is soon sending Dr. Hans Luther, late president of the Reichsbank and a former chancellor, as Ambassador to the United States. Undoubtedly pre- | liminary talks, on Germany's behalf, will be conducted at the White House | by him, an appropriate negotiator. o Beer may be of great assistance in economic problems, but it must be ad- mitted that it has not brought pros- | perity to Germany. R Success Must Be Relative. A more realistic attitude toward suc- cess may be nceded among the people. It must be apparent to every thought- ful person that not every one can reach the topmost heights of fame, that not every one can win the great and grati- fying victories which are so vastly at- tractive to the imagination. ™ a | crowded world, where competition is inordinately keen and where much over which no individual can have control is necessary for conspicuous achieve- ment, the majority of humankind must recognize the fact that success must be : relative. For example, there are in the United States today several million boys, who, theoretically, are qualified to grow up |to be President. Actually, not more | than five or six of the number can reach the White House. O©I c<.urse, each has the right to strive toward that honorable goal; each is entitled to aspire to its elevation. But, failing, are they to be discouraged? Are they to feel that because some competitor has been more fortunate, their own ef- fort has been utterly vain, a waste of time and energy? Certainly not! On the contrary, where hundreds of thou- | | full value. This is an cxorbitant and onable tax on real e There are of pook epdeavor i of more algnificance than it'a essier dona to musie” ence to his recent program of “boycott” be made abroad. This wish may be re- garded as a hopeful evidence that he —_————— One hundred dollars’ worth of gold is a liberal allowance in view of the fact that all the gold that may be regarded as humanly indispensable is limited to old-fashioned dentistry. v Good order will be maintained by all discreet admirers of beer if the stein on the table is not to be held responsible for hip pocket flasks introduced to accelerate the hilarity. e — SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. A Wild Hook-Up of Events. My radio! my radio! A mix-up you present Which, like a jigsaw, seems to show A state of puzzlement. Sometimes, in raucous tones, you wail ©Of things you can't explain, And through an incoherent tale Suggest & mood profane. With each day’s news, my radio, In you & means we find Of letting everybody know Our present state of mind. Investigation. “Do you enjoy all these investiga- tions?” “Not any more,” answered Senator Sorghum. “They so often make what at first proved to be only idle gossip an example of cruel fact that is breaking up old friendships and costing real money.” Jud Tunkins says he'll be glad if they put illicit liquor out of business, so there’ll be no excuse for singing about “Moonshines Over the Mountains.” Current Education. My education’s rather slow; It bothers me a lot. 80 many things it makes me know ‘That I would rather not. I find the task is never through. And when the right is won 'To go abroad with Lesson Two, T've not learned Lesson One. Suspicious Conduct. “What is your boy Josh doing just now?” “I'm worried about that,” said Farmer Corntossel. “Dof\'t you hear from him?" “Regularly. He's sending so much money home I'm afraid he must be some kind of a racketeer.” “Men are prone to disagree,” sald Hi Ho, the stage of Chinatown. “Even so simple a question as that of the time of day will cause calculations that yield different answers.” Selective Service. When you a state of trouble view, It's easy to get through it. Let some one tell you what to do And go ahead and do it. But one of the conditions are Most seriously compelling: You want to be particular About who does the telling. “What mebbe makes dancin’ so popu- The rainy night has a charm all its own. One may well stay awake for awhile to listen in on the symphony of the beating drops, far-flung from the skies on trees and roofs and lawns and streets. Rain in daylight is both heard and seen, but mostly at night only heard. ‘Therefore the night rain becomes a veritable orchestra of Nature, one of her innumerable songs, heard plainly enough by her devotees. ‘The sound of falling water is the most elemental in the world. No doubt it | was present at creation. Even the city man, farthest away from Nature of all creatures, feels a miniature savagery at the sound. | The highest peaked attic will not filter | out entirely the beat of the drops on | the siate; the rain swishes across the | ridge pole, where squirrels are wont to | walk in sunny weather. Now all is dark, and falling water, and wind. whipping the drops against the windows. * K X % There comes a vision, as one listens, of fresh grass drinking in the water, of shrubs with new leaves just put forth seeking the same nourishment. Surely there could not be so mucl entertainment in a simple rainfall, the listener werernot nl:ursted in the growing things of earth. How fortunately these rains have fallen, to catch the earth just as this time, in this vernal mood! Often during the dark days of Win- ter the rains, while appreciated, strike the beholder “ho is in ted in such matters as : .ie or less wasted. Water, at the time, is not what vege- tation needs. It will do no harm, thanks to na- ture's munificence, but mostly it will be wasted, except in the matter of re- plenishing streams and underground sources of supply. Fortunately, water requires a certain temperature of earth and air before it exercises any particular influence toward growth. If this were not the law, every Win- ter rain of any size would see sprout- buds and leaves. x ok kK Rain in April is exactly what ought to be, no doubt that is why it is un- usually grateful on the ears, as it falls in the night. Out at sea, in the wind and dark, a great air vessel, one of the oldest dreams of mankind, is falling into the ocean, but here one knows nothing of the tragedy. ‘The rain here does not mean tragedy, | but only help to the plants. It washes the air, floods the streets, dissolves and | removes dust. Out there brave men went down in a dream. Rain here has the charm of music, like a fine orchestra playing in the wings unseen. It would be easy enough to look out the window, but one does not look. If one did there would be a dim sight of glistening wet pavement beneath an electric light and a great vastness of gray-black, such as a rainy night brings. Parhags some scientist could tell why it is lighter on a rainy night than on a clear one. There is a_certain path- | way for light made by the falling wa- | ter, each drop catching and reflecting | such light as there is, despite the | swiftness of its fall. * kX % Each falling drop has a song of its a)'?l, if only one’s ears were attuned | BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. It would be gross error to believe that the sounds of all raindrops are exactly | the same. | The delicate ear, without doubt, ! RISH INDEPENDENT, Dublin—To picture the soldiers of the Latin- American states beating their swords into plowshares is a se- verc test of the imagination. In Chile the miracle is being tried. The government, desperately striving to make ends meet, has decided to dis- miss large numbers from the army and navy and give the retired officers pen- sions in the shape of farms. The farms were surrendered by owners who were unable to pay their land taxes. * ok ok x Cairo City Bakery May Combat Costs. The Egyptian Gazette, Cairo.—The committee formed under the presi- dency of the governor of Cairo for combating the high cost of living will hold a meeting next week to consider the best steps to be adopted for the execution of the decision to build a bakery. The mihistry of finance has agreed to advance the committee the neces- sary funds and the Agricultural Credit Bank will supply q ties of wheat. ‘The object of this Ty is to combat the high cost of bread in Cairo and suburbs. * K X % Instaliment Taxes Urged in Australia. The Bulletin, Sydney.—To the editor: ‘The payment of taxation by install- ments would be a great helr to many of us. Let the governments issue books ruled to take stamps, then issue in- come-tax stamps (obtainable at all post offices) in denominations of 1s., 3s. and 10s. The taxpayer buys his stamps whenever he can and sticks them in his book. Assessment and demands are sent out in the usual way, and on the due date he goes to the department and produces his book. The commis- sioner cancels stamps to the proper amount; those not cancelled remain to his_credit. ‘We all know the approximate amount of our tax per week, and I for one would gladly buy a weekly stamp in- stead of having a cold sweat every time the darned thing becomes due and I must have a hectic interview with my bank manager to get an overdraft for a few weeks. The cost would be the cost of the books and the stamps, and this amount would easily be saved in interest, as under the proposed scheme the commissioner would be get- | un&’.'u. a week from me instead of | nothing for 12 months and then £13- odd in one hit. One of the reasons why there is so | little squeal against the unemployment | relief tax is that it is paid each week | instead of in a “terrible total.” “VIDLE.” * ok ok X Levy on Films Being Considered. La Opinion, Santo Domingo.—Though | no official announcement has been made as yet, it is generally known about the capital that the fiscal authorities and the cabinet are considering very seriously the placing of a tax upon films. One of the local council, Senor Fajardo, has suggested the plan which tentatively will impose a tax of 2 cen- tavos per Mneal foot on talking pictures, no matter in what language they may be couched, and 11 centavos per foot on_the mute variety of screen drama. This plan, if ratified and put into effect, will throw additional work upon the customs department, for each reel of film entering the republic would have to be measured by persons com- petent to arrive at the correct exten- The proposal that all films entering the repnurhllc be exhibited first in the National Congress and that these gen- tlemen decide upon the appropriate penalization is not regarded seriously. Councilman Farjardo insists that it would be far more sensible to ascertain lar,” said Uncle Eben, “is dat worry sands seek the same limited end, the makes folks want to walk de figor, an’ had the measurements of each picture in High Lights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands | promises, in his turn, to supply sufficient the inspection t of the cus- toms than to ‘with successive ex- hibitions e b te Congress,. could and does catch the difference be- tween the sounds of the varying sized drops, especially when they strike dif- ferent materials. “Oh, bosh!" some dull-sensed person may exclaim. Not all people have equal hearing any more than all smell with like fa- cility. Just as there are persons who can catch the scent of salmon before house cats wriggle their nostrils, so there are human beings whose sense of hearing is so delicate that undoubtedly they are enabled thereby to discern the difference between the size of raindrops as they fall, and especially as they hit some rigid surface. * K x The night rain enables the listener to do his best work. * HE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 1933. ‘The preent Congress seems to be in & fair way to provide the United States Supreme Court plenty to do. with great rapidity, the the behest of the administration, is put- ting through a farm bill whose con- stitutionality has’ been attacked by Representative James M. Beck of Penn- sylvania, former solicitor general of the United States. It has given the President authority to compel persons who have gold and gold coins to mgfldedi‘:thehnkxmfi Andll;;)wlxtu propos pass a compelling fac- tories, canneries and other establish- ments to limit the hours of their work- ers to 30 hours a week, He has nothing to distract him, if [ hours would be he is fortunate enaugh to harbor good consclence. He finds his pleasure, at this hour, | P! in attempting to note the difference between dume medm&-cud drops, and large rain drops, in very rough and unscientific classification. If he were a sclentist, he would catch a drop on or in an instrument, and put a pair of calipers on it. He would know to the millimeter every rain ‘which came his way. Not & scientist, in any sense of the , he found that the actual measurements of the made an small amount of difference to him. None at all, to be entirely frank about it. * * kX He was one of those happy persans who had how amazingly little difference a great deal of the perfectly good information makes to the average human being, whether he knew it or not. In an era when so many persons | are pretending to know everything, or | at least refusing to admit that they! do not, he went right ahead realising how little Nature asks us to know, after all. Great many of the hard-won facts with which mankind struggles do not amount to much, in the long run, Wwhereas some of the things which he affects to scorn as elemental and com- mon are precisely the sort of knowl- edge he must have, if he is to lead a happy life, or a good life, for him- self and others. It is better to know how to say “no,” when it is needed, than to know all the hydrogen jons in the rather limited list. It is better to know what sort of “Tut” to get into, if one's nature calls| for a rut-like life, than to struggle on for years attempting to do what one inwardly rebels against, even if the doing thereof is pretty good, thank you. It is better to know one’s limitations, and to have the courage to live up to that knowledge, than to go ahead mak- ing somewhat of a fool of one's self, even if the latter line of action does happen to be in the “best” modern s etier o adumir #ood r to admire honestly lithographs, rather than attempt to! be wise about certain paintings in the | modern vein which sincerely appeal to one as ugly and worthless, It is better, indeed, just to be one’s self, “that separate, individual, person,” as Whitman phrased it. Then one will stand some chance of | knowing something worth while about at least one human being, rather than feel that he has frittered away a life trying to know just a little about a great many. | If raindrops, in the night, can teach this much to any listener, they have| done a great deal; they have watered | new ground, and no one can say what | flowers will grow therefrom. who would then have even less time for their regular business than they seem to have at present. The subject, | however, has already provoked a discussion, we understand, both in the chambers of the Municipal Council and in the halls of the national legislature. Theater owners and exhibitors are naturally alarmed, claiming that such an impost will mean further reduciions in their already dwindling business. * X ok % Factory Proposed For San Salvador. Patria, San Salvador—Gustavo Al- berto Alvarado, of majority in age, an industrial, native of ElI Salvador, and with present domicile in San Salvador, has petitioned the National Congress for the privilege of establishing in this capital a factory for the lon of pens, inks, pencils and other materials for writing and sketching, as well as combs, _buttons, buckles, hooks-and- eyes, belts, pins, needles and other small articles of personal adornment or utility. Senor Alvarado states in his manifest that everything used to make these va- rious objects can be derived in abun- dance from supplies of the raw material already existing in practically all parts of the country, and thus will afford, on 8 much larger scale than at present, employment for workers in differ- ent industries. The project of Senor Alvarado is intended to obviate the further importation into national ter- ritory of numerous small articles which| we are in an excellent position to fur- nish ourselves in view of the fact that no heavy or complicated equip- ment is necessary, but merely light and simple dles, presses and sewing ma- chines, in addition to the tanning and pulp-making vats already existent. Senor Alberto Alvarado desires, nat- urally, more adequate protection against the ingress of similar foreign goods than is authorized at present, and and s Ee‘rlm’ goods of the same Xkind at much lower prices. Such a project, we believe, will give much impetus to the prevailing exhorta- tion to “Buy Salvadorian, —patriotic counsel not of special meaning or serv- ice in the past, when nearly everything we used or wore had to be purchased in foreign markets. ——ee—s. A School Forest. From the Providence Evening Bulletin. ‘What will probably be the first school forest ever established in Rhode Island is to become a reality shortly at the Hitty Corner Elementary School in the town of West Greenwich. ‘The chairman of the School Commit- tee is to give to the town between four and five acres of land adjacent to the school, the State Forestry Association is to donate some 4,500 three-year-old trees and the pupils of the school, un- der the direction of an expert forester, are to plant and care for them. Title to the forest will rest in the town, but the School Committee will be the official sponsor of the project, and the forest will be maintained in | wheth the coming years by the succeeding groups of pupils who attend the little one-room school house. ‘With the constantly increasing Im- portance of forestation in this country, the school forest idea constitutes a practical contribution to rural educa- tion. Besides stimulating in the young an interest in an industry that is bound to occupy a large place in the future agricultural scheme, the experience and knowledge that the 't the bul Tamiling the hours urposes e e hours of labor, nevertheless has questioned its constitutionality. his finger on the mails issus ity of Congress to exclude from inter- state commerce . ought to be excluded for any reason is & question which is and fairly presented by this and all agree, I think, that about as important s question as could be presented as a constitu- tional question and with reference to the interstate commerce clause. The court has never yet held that the Con- had power to exclude ordinary commodities from interstate commerce. It has held, by a divided court, that it it not within the power of Congress to exclude from interstate commerce com- modities which were not in some way hurtful, barmful, deleterious or in- jurious to the public.” * X X % Senator Lewis of Illinois, rep! to Senator Borah, has taken the fid 2 “The time has come stoutly insist that, instead of asking that we first read in the Constitution authority to do an act until it can be pointed out that in the Constitution the act is for- bidden the right is within the to execute the act whenever it is found necessary for the welfare of the Nation.” * o *x * To this Senator Borah replied that 1t has been universally held unless the power is found in the Constitution— delegated® to the natonal Government —that the national Government cannot exercise that power; that the national Government is one of delegated powers and can enjoy no powers other than those expressly delegated or such pow- ers as may be implied from the dele- gated powers. He acded that such has been his own view. Senator Reed of Pennsylvania pointed out that the tenth amendment to the Constitution expressly provides that “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution are reserved to the States, | respectively, w*to‘th‘e people.” * The Supreme Court, in the child labor case, by a 5-to-4 decision held the effort of Congress to prevent in- terstate commerce in goods made by child labor to be unconstitutional on the ground that the Congress was seek- ing really to exercise a police power reserved to the States. Senator Borah, however, took the po- sition that he is not bound by a 5-to-4 decision of the Supreme Court on the | constitutionality of legislaticn, and thereforc “Let me say that the emergency feature is stricken from this bill, I myself shall not be averse to seeing this proj law go to the Su- preme Court the United States, be- cause I think it is an open question in the Supreme Court of the United States, power which Congress has to | exclude from interstate commerce ordi- nary commodities. I say this for the reason that the child labor case was decided by a 5-to-4 decision. Five | judges held that it was not within the power of Congress to exclude com- modities from interstate commerce un- less they were hurtful and harmful in some way to the community Four Jjudges seemed to hold, as I construe the opinion of Mr. Justice Holmes, that it was within the competency of Congress to exclude from interstate commerce any commodities which it, in its wisdom, thought ought to be excluded. So we really have, Mr. President, a constitu- tional construction resting upon a 5-to-4 decision. “A 5-to-4 decision, so far as a legis- latfire is concerned, is an unsatisfactory guide. tween the litigants; it establishes the law as to those who are in court; but in determining the wisdom of a bill or as governing Congress in discharging its duty in ating a 5-to-4 decision is a very poor guide for the legislator, I have never been willing as a legislator to surrender my views on a constitu- tional aufitlnn on the strength of a 5-to-4 . That, in my opinion, is no unsound principle. We as legis- lators must construe the Constitution. snd it has never seemed to me I should yleld my construction to a decision of that nature.” * K X X ‘The Idaho Senator suggested to the Senate that if the Supreme Court should uphold the constitutionality of the 30-hour week bill on the ground that under the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution the Congress had power to limit commodities going into interstate commerce which were not of themselves injurious, it also would have the power to compel the payment of a “living wage” to workers whose products went into interstate commerce. In this , he said: “There has ] been in this coun- try a discussion of the question of the living wage; and I presume it will be conceded that if we may exclude from interstate commerce commodities which have been produced by 6-day-week labor, we may also exclude from inter- state commerce, if that principle is sustained, commodities which have been produced at a wage which we deem to be below a living wage. In other words, it we can exclude a commodity be- cause we that the 5-day week should alone be utilized in Produdna a commodity, we can also exclude a com- ity if we think the wage is tco low. I mention this to indicate the wide sweep of the problem before us.” * ® x X It the drys have their way, the Su- preme Court will have also to pass upon the validity of another act of the t Congress, the so-called beer BLl. They mammtain that the lag | ton is a clear violation of the eighteenth amendment, on the ground that beer with an alcoholic content of 3.2 cent by weight is intoxicating. Jufi from the restrictions which the - gress has undertaken to throw around | sale of this liquor, both in the national law and in the law just passed permit- ting the sale of beer in the National Capital, the majority of the legislators are not any too sure themselves er the beer be intoxicating. * K ok % The wets—or perhaps it might be more proper to say those who do not favor continuance of ‘he eighteenth amendment and national -~ ition— have drawn first blood. L. .act, have mow-d up in the election can- tests in o n and Wisconsin. The elementary | 4 children will gain by caring for the ‘been school forest under expert guidance l":”, will be of real value and usefulness to those of them who are to become the farmers of tomorrow. West Greenwich, the smallest town in the State in population, but one of the largest in potential forest weelth, is to be congratulated {g:n being the first to adopt an idea t sooner or later seems certain to become & recog- nized part of education {n puklic Tural P S U ported national prohibition. sible for a State to be dry, in the that it approves State-wide without bel favorable ibition. t is It settles the controversy be- | O BY FREDERI ashington is the world's greatest I:M of all kinds of knowledge. You can draw on it free of charge through our bureau here. Any ques- Sonverad prom3y 1n personal letier n & pers :;“y‘:x Be wem{ to write clearly, give your full name and address, and in- close three cents for reply postage. Do not_use cards. Send your inquiry to The ning MJ Inf =2 . Is there much money in supplying m!eml-l to the movie studios?—E. L. K. A. to & pay schedule in effect at an‘:‘ot the studios, chickens earn 25c a day, geese and rabbits, 50c AT o dog and. ey oat. 4130 and a “mu log oy st more. At present a farm at Burbank supplies most of the demand, approxi- mately 13,000 animals and birds of all species being svailable. over the Dominion. Q. Why was the Smithsonian expe- dition to observe deep-sea life called the Johnson-Smithsonian Expedition? —B. E. B. A. Eldridge R. Johnson of Philadel- phia permitted his motor yacht to be used for the expedition, and accom- panied it. Q. How many Americans visit Ber- muda in a year, and how much money do they spend there?—W. T. A. Mr. Graham H. Kemper, Ameri- can consul at Hamilton, Bermuds, says that 42,867 first-class passengers P STl S mus d the liners. In addition there were shi) visit total amount of safely be said to be more than 70,000. Teure oy the. expenditares, “other estimates place the amount from $8,- 000,000 to $10,000,000. Q. In what States did women cast their votes for President before the passag of the nineteenth amendment? A Before August 26, 1920, when the equal suffrage amendment went into effect, 23 States had given women the privilege of casting votes for ;rddem tial candidates. In only 12 States, however, did they have suff: at the 1916 election. re 3 Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Washington, California, Kansss, Arizona, Oregon, Illinols, Montana and Nevada. Q. How many are there in the United States between the ages of 45 and 65, and how many over 65 years of age?—R. J. D. A. In 1930 there were 6,664,000 peo- ple of more than 65 years of age, and 21,415,000 between the ages of 45 and 65 years, Q. Please Jesse Isidor tanic disaster. at Sach Preparatory School, he was graduated from Harvard in 1893. He began as a lormation Bu- | Direc reau, Frederic | ‘Washington, D. C. | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS C J. HASKIN, | clerk in the Hanover National Bank, | going from there to work for Abraham & Straus in Brooklyn. In 1896 he became connected with R. H. Macy l‘ Co., and has been president of that | store since 1919. He married Miss | Irma Nathan of New York in 1895, | ‘They have a daughter and two sons. Q. How long did it take the last in- augural parade to pass a given point?— | A. About 34 hours. Q. Is Walter C. Kelly, who plays the role of Representative Solomon Fitzmaurice in “Both Your Houses,” the same actor who was the Virginia judge in vaudeville?>—T. W. A. He is. Mr. Kelly has been on | the vaudeville stage for nearly 35 years. Q. When did ice float down the Mis- sissippi all the way to the Gulf of Mexico—T. F. A. In February and March, 1899, Ice was solid as far South as Cairo, I, from the Tth to the 21st of Feb- ruary, when it commenced to move, It reached New Orleans on March 17, {and on the 19th floating ice was pass- | ing out into the Gulf of Mexico. Q. Where is the oldest house in the United States>—G. W. M. A. The oldest house in the United States is a matter of dispute. The old building on St. Prancis street in St. Augustine is regarded by the St. Augus- tine Historical Society and Institute of Sciences to be entitled to this distinc- tion in the face of records it has ex- amined. The headquarters of the ore zn:‘nlnuon is now located in this build- Q. Please give a brief account of the mutiny on the Bounty.—E. L, A. At the end of 1787 Lieut. William | Bligh was sent to the Pacific in com- mand of H. M. S. Bounty. His severity provoked a mutiny (April 28, 1789), as a consequence of which Bligh and 18 loyal members of the crew were set adrift. After a journey of nearly 4.000 | miles in 2n open boat they all reached Batavia safely. The mutineers re- turned to Tahiti, where some of them were subsequently captured. A party, however, migrated to Pitcairn Island and founded a small colony, which was l::t dhoomuvercd until llfll‘. m!fizr‘.?u’;: en one survivor of crew on the island, John Adams, who lived until 1829. Q. What is meant by “hedge-hopping” in speaking of airplanes?>—D. T. % : It refers to flight at a low alti- ude. - Q. What causes the sap to flow :o ! (nel]iy from maple trees in the Spring?— A. 1t is believed that the cold nights and warm days cause changes of tem- perature, producing alternate expansion ' mdmmotmggz’umthl tree, thus influencing the of sap. Q. Does the Veterans’ Bureau comtrol ' only those men who served during the World War?>—W. R. H. A. The agencies in charge of veterans’: affairs have been united in the United States Veterans’ men, T war in which they fought. the meaning cf the abbre- speaking of electric Q. What is viation “mfd.” when Q Why is the level of the Pacific Ocean r than the Atlantic at the The several branches of ' Federal financing in aid of farmers, it is hoped by the public, will gain efficiency the eonsolidation provided by through . 4 cles, with Henry Morgenthau, jr., of New York, as chief, and termination of the existence of the old Farm Board, are viewed with favorable interest. “These has ture can be handled much more cheaply than it has been, and things will be more convenient for those depending upon the Government for help.” The Springfleld (Mass.) Union suggests that “other haphazard creations of the Gov- ernment in the past might profitably be consolidated, with the elimination of non-essentials as well as duplication.” That paper adds: “The agencies to be merged are the Farm Board, or at least its stabilization corporations, the Fed- eral farm banks, the joint stock land banks, the intermediate credit banks, the Agricultural Credit Corporation that Congress set up in connection with the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and two agencies of the Department of Agriculture—the Crop Production Loan Bureau and the loan bureau to aid local agricultural associations.” “Important and economical action” is seen by the Oshkosh Daily North- western, which points out that “unifi- cation would save approximately two million dollars.” The San Francisco Chronicle declares that “the two mil- lion dollars is the first earnest on the promise of money to be saved made by 8 long line of Presidents.” Advising that “the ultimate saving cannot be estimated at present,” the Philadelphia ‘deserved orgen! a the administration of which he will need a very considerable machine, and yet it is entirely possible that in the reorganization there can be & considerable saving of administrative costs in the elimination of overlapping offices and services. And that may be accomplished without abandonment of any actual service, The economies never could have been effected by congres- sional action.” “It is an extremely interesting study,” thinks the Salt Lake Deseret News, “to see how the growth of the farm popula- consciousness in the last two decades has influenced political action and gained for the farmers such credit advantages. Moreover, it would ap- pear that we are rather on the begin- ning than on the end of that important political trend.” In explanation of tha situation which has existed, the Deseret News states: “To do for the tillers of the soil what the Federal Reserve sys- tem mxaat::in Farm rd was organized in 1917, before the war. Under its super- vision have been created 12 Federal land banks and 12 intermediate credit banks. Each pair is in a district which, incidentally, does not correspond to the Federal Reserve district. The Federal land and intermediate credit banks were furnished capital by the Govern- ment. The land banks lend on farms at low interest and for lm&?nm. averag- ing perhaps 35 years. intermediate credit banks lend on agricultural prod: ucts for shorter terms, usually less than a year. Both were intended to be ulti- mately co-operative, and the borrowers have subscribed for stock. The land banks have sold bonds and the inter- mediate credit banks debentures to in- crease their funds.” * that the order becomes effective within 60 days, the pave not only for the saving of some istrative e: , but for for business the Federal | conf: Farm Credit Consolidation Raises Hopes of Efficiency l;eneou.l thm of en engaged.” centration of comments: ‘agencies has i the con- P offices, :gc‘..,nhoutghn-m.&yvl;:uh: order, Henry Morgenthau, comes one of the most ¢ offi- Federal cers of the him President passes on & mnmchmummw i Teorganize the | ;zh.lch ‘were ;&hfifid to the President y Congress.' “The Farm Board has not been ablg to do much toward stabilizing prices,’ suggests the Oakland Tribune, “buti who may say what prices would have been had it Houston Chronicle avers that Mr. Morgenthau “will be able to- put mw} effect economies which will be as ap-’ pealing to the country as to the direcs tor of the budget.” The Hartford Times wonders “why ever! authorized eight distinctly different and| disconnected Federal agencies to cover| the job of extending credit to farmers.” “What Mr. Roosevelt now puts fore: ward,” decording to the Newark Eve ning News, “to all intents and purposes, is an agricultural credit reserve system, modeled the Federal Reserve system, which has brought the nael tional banking fabric through the crisis. It looks very much like the| solution of the farm problem, which! goes deeply into all other problems, The country is willing to try it.” Hard Fate of Dr. Spence.r | Prom the Spokane Spokesman-Review. | The experience of Dr. M. Lyle Spen- cer, president of the University of Washington for five and a half years, is evidence that high preferment in education has much of the hazard of high preferment in politics. The unie versity president with a tenure cf 30 or 40 years is about as rarc as the Congressman who endures that lorg. In the partisan meaning of the term, Dr. Spencer’s removal may not be ate tribuied to politics. But in the broader meaning he is a victim of the politics of higher education. The Board of Regents is constrained to say that “it wants it { distinctly understood that this aceepte ful study, we are convinced that the problems with which th> universiy is ronted are of such nature that no man at present connected with the university, can successfully work out a solution.” Observing public judgment will agree that Dr. Spencer has been able tnd loyal and, as the board shown a fine spirit in i situation and in being willing to step aside,” nevertheless, the bcard finds a situation at the university that, in its B Eiucing s e tice — Inclus refusal President Spencer’s tained as a o oped which, in board, requires t.h:h 3 the and loyal head fishing in m.:;' channels tion for a new president, ——e——_ Rule and Rail. Prom the Boston Evening Transcript, » R Xk Gia Tikde There are aj some who Rule ity