Evening Star Newspaper, April 9, 1933, Page 22

2 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SUNDAY.. .April 9, 1933 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor Star N Com The Evening R mm pany % d_8t. Office: Lake Michigan Bullding. ce igan m: .14 Re it St. Lo ‘Eaeiand. Rate by Carrier Within the City. s Seesine Stax ;4 per month ;Enm-n ) ) 60c per month e Evezing and Su e 3, S 4 the end of each month. | in by mail o7 telephone Chicago an at Orders may be sent NAtional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and V::glol:'h r., 810, All Other States md’ 3'?.‘;? il 00: 1mo. ~ 75¢ Member of the Associated Press. ‘The Assoc! Press 1s exclusiveiy enutied ot A epaniication of sil news dis- Datches credited to it or not otherwise cred- H e eyl A et rein. Ioetlal “Gisatches herein sre aiso reserved. | wars with China and Russia, ending sand trees this time, arrived and were planted in 1912, Mrs. Taft presiding at the ceremony. The repeated gift ap- pealed to the imagination of the people, and for nearly a score of years now they annually have shown their appre- ciation by visiting the Basin shore at cherry blossom time. Standing under the clustered branches | what a sequence of scenes runs through | the memory! Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry with his ships in Jap- anese waters in 1852, the signing of the treaty of commercial allience in| 1854, the Japanese embassy’s arrival in | ‘Washington in 1860, the visit of Gen. Grant to Nagasaki and Yokohama in 1879, the promulgation of the new con- stitution at Tokio in 1889, the opening | of the first national Japanese Parlia- ment in 1890, the bitter drama of the with the signing ¢~ the treaty of Ports- mouth in 1904, the American fleet's world tour in 1907, the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, all these pic- tures, grave and gay, follow in march- ing order through the mind. Differences there may be, troubles even, but so long as the cherry trees blossom friendship and sympathy should | tempted to resign from the cabinet THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, APRIL wide interest. The ministerial crisis would certainly take on such an aspect if it led to the resignation from the government, which is persistently re- ported to be imminent, of the aged | finance minister, Korekiyo Takahashi. He has had to assume responsibility for the unprecedently burdensome army and navy budget, largest in-Japanese history, necessitated by the Manchurian adventure of the past year and a half. Week end dispatches from Tokio bring news of bitter discond within, the | cabinet headed by Premier Viscount| Admiral Makoto Saito. The cabinet has lost strength steadily since it in- troduced the swollen military and naval budget. Although unpopular with te | country, the Diet felt compelled to ap- prove the government’s proposals. Last week Minister of Justice Koyama at- because of revelations that certain subordinate judiciary officials had be- come implicated in Communist activi- ties. Premier Saito thereupon resorted to the unprecedented recourse of putting pressure on the Emperor to reject the attempted resignation of the minister of justice. Even when that offichal personally submitted his withdrawal at Bishop of “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.” Thus the Master prayed in a critical hour. Later, in the Garcen of Geth- semane in the supreme moment of His life, he prayed again: “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: Nevertheless, not as I will, but as ‘Thou wilt.” Nothing so tests both con- viction and the sense of mission as a crisis. The fine qualities of heroism are rarely disclosed in days of quiet and peace. At every turn of His way Jesus was faced with a difficult and trying situation and He met it courageously and successfully. Nothing hindered Him as He moved on majestically to the ac- complishment of His purpose. He had come to lift the whole level of human life, to give man a better understand- ing of its meaning and ultimate des- tiny. Misinterpreted and misunderstood as He was, nothing could swerve Him from His holy purpose. He knew from the beginning that the irresistible logic of His course was crucifixion. Pa- tiently He bore persecution and mis- understanding. He had set His face 9 FACING THE CRISIS BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMES E. FREEMAN, D. D., LL. D, W ashington. history, but nothing concerning the in- cidents of His incomparable life has so focused the vision of mankind as His | strange death upon Calvary's cross. | 1t is historically true that no incident of like character has so affected the thought and the philosophy of men as | that to which we freshly direct our at- tention this Holy week. Volumes have been written attempting to explain the meaning of the cross and the purpose | of the .ministry of Him who hung | thereon, but the interest of men the | world over in this tragic happening is unabated and grows in intensity with | the passing years. The noble teachinz | | of the Master renders His crucifixion | trresistibly logical. Who would venture | to say what this example of heroic suf- fering has meant to the world through | | 19 centuries of time? No matter how | we may interpret it, it hag a bearing | upon our life beyond our powers td ex- plain. It has been the inspiration of more courage and fortitude in the face of stern, difficult and critical situations than any other incident known to man. Confronted again by its deep and subtle meaning, chall we not believe that in the world’s present critical situation 1933—PART TWO. Capital Sidelights BY WILL P. KENNEDY. Charles Clarence Frick, a native Washingtonian, now assistent United | States trade commissioner in Brussels, | Belgium, was 32 years old yesterday and | has been for 20 years in the service of the United States Government. This is believed to be a record for young men, and memoers of Congress who know Frick well point out thaty his ex- | ample is inspirational for the youth of the iand. He started in as a page boy in Congress, appointed by Senator Gil- bert N. Hitchcock of Nebraska in 1913, at the age of 12, and he held that po- | sition for three years. His studious and industrious habits and his ambition at- tracted the attention of rany members of Congress. He completed a full com- mercial course by studying nights while | working in the daytime as a page. When he was only 15 years of age he enlisted in the Navy, and made many trips_across the Atlantic Ocean during - Sindbad Returns to Bagdad BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. s, bevlleve that the white man of measure of modernity was this place Western Europe is the most able and |that Capt. Cralge was surrounded by progressive of earth's types, and that every sort of mystery that ever came the men of the United States are the out of wizardry. So certain were these most able of the Western Europezu | stock. I believe that the yellow anc Ted men are less able, and the black | meh least able of all.” With this credo as a background, John Houston Craige, a captain of the | United States Marine Corps, went into the black republic of Haiti in that most intimate of capacilies, a chief of | | police, and has brought back what is probably the most incisive and feel- ing description and interpretation of the mystic voodoo island and its peo- ple which has been published. “Every man has his pride,” writes | Capt. Craige, “and the man who is not proud of his race is a poor sort of men.” Although convinced of the rela- tive inferiority of the black, and after the World War on a transport carry- | living in the nation where blacks out- ing American soldiers to European b:}g.(number the whites hundreds to one, | tlefields. Upon his discharge from the |and where they have revealed every | Navy in 1919 he continued for another | conceivable shade of knavery and sav- | year in France with the Graves Reg- | agery as well as simplicity and bravery istration Service. Upon the termina- |and almost incredibls depths of super- tlon of this assignment Frick re-| stition, he says: “I would much rather entered the service of the United States | dine with an interesting Negro than a | Senate at the age of 19 by appointment | dull white man. | | prevail. They signify a bond. it has a peculiar and unique signifi- to the accomplishment of His mighty | cance? ———— An Ideal Juvenile Court Judge. A new Juvenile Court judge is to be | appointed, and a considerable number of sociologists, lawyers and educators very properly are concerned that the perscn chosen for the post should be wholly competent to discharge its duties. They are aware that in other communities politically expedient ap- pointments cccasionally have been made, with the result that the purposes for which separate tribunals have been established for child offenders have been seriously perverted. Without spe- cifying any candidate of their own, they have been studying the situation and now are pleading for the mmlngl of an officer capable of measuring up “to their ideals. Of course, they are well within their rights as citizens in ®o doing. Obviously, too, they are correct in their concepticn of the Juvenile Court | as an institutiorr of prime social im- Looking Before We Leap. Elsewhere in the columns of today's Star there appears the first of a series | of articles discussing some of the steps that may be forced upon the school authorities to adjust the system to the drgstic cuts ordered in the pending District appropriation bill, should these cuts be finally enacted into law by Sen- I ate concurrence. | It is shown, for instance, that thef ‘schools must find some way of operat- ing on $219,160 less money for the pay of teachers in the next fiscal year than they now have. During the House hearings on the bill, the suggestion was made by some of the committee members that some of the cuts might be “absorbed” in such a way as to spare the obviously unfortunate results anticipated. But it must be re- membered that under the system of budgeting, the expenditure of nearly every penny is specifically directed. It |of his action, which hasno parallel in rporal of the|is impossible to “absorb” a cut in the 23.'.:’;7:&7 u’r‘:nl:owho :'eui’:umluly salaries of teachers, for instance, by acquainted with the work know that | transferring the cut somewhere else. I{ each case has characteristics peculiarly | 8 cut is ordered in the item of “officers’ individual, strikingly different. Chil- | salaries,” it is impossible to save the dren are less regimented than adults, Jjob of some officer by discontinuing the and their misdemeanors often are weird | jobs of some teachers, nor can the job and bizarre. It is exceedingly difficult | of & teacher be saved by cutting down to generalize in the circumstances.|on “officers.” When Congress o'l‘de'x‘s Rules and regulaticns which easily may | & reduction of $219,160 in teachers’ and be applied to mature intelligence school librarfans’ salaries, it has ordered simply cannot invariably be imposed | the school system either to discharge upon boys and girls who have not yet | OF Tefuse to hire some 136 teachers, or attained anything like an age of dis- take such action as would reduce the cretion. Allowance has to be made for | Pay of all teachers by the amount their infantile status. To meet the|Dneeded to make up the $219,160—by need an informal variety of justice has | shortening the school year, for instance, to be developed, and that fact gives to | and “docking” the teachers Ior. the the presiding magistrate vast leeway | time they do not work. Teachers’ sal- in sdministration as well as heavy re- | aries have already been cut fifteen per sponsi| ’; uvenile Court | cent. jmm b'em: ?a:tl&b’le paragon of | < The cut in this item, only one of sound critical balance, tolerance, sym- | those applying to schools, cannot be pathy, understanding and experience. | “absorbed” by economies that do not Such a person is not likely to be found directly affect the teachers and, there- without careful search. Not every Jaw- | fore, the instruction of puptls. ‘When yer nor every social worker 18 qualified. | 8 cut of $12,000 is ordered, in addi- A combination of the training of both | tlon, for salaries in night schools, it is what is wanted, and there must be | merely means that the number of night at least a few persons who are so|school teachers who would be paid equipped. Certainly a cautious and|$12,000 must be dispensed with, and deliberate quest for the right maen or | that means closing or curtailing the ‘woman is amply justified. night schools. When $12,000 is taken A more general interest in the|from salaries in the library system, it Juvenile Court should be entertained | means personnel must be reduced to by the people at large. Correctly | meet the cut. That means closing functioning, it is one of the most val-| branch libraries. There is no such uable developments of modern times, |thing as “absorbing” these cuts through- Its invention marked a new departure | out the system. in the policy of the forces of social| Now, these reductions—of which order in dealing with crime. Its record | those mentioned are only a few— to date is excellent in spite of occa- | Were made by the Commissioners, sional blemishes attributable to political | Auditor Donovan and a Budget Bu- interference. Its future should be con- | reau official at the rate, it has been structively useful and helpful. But it | testified, of about a millicn dollars an cannot rise above the spiritual level | hour. That is to say, the Commis- of the people, and there is danger thai, | sloners and the Budget Bureau spent neglected, it might fall below that;less than fifteen minutes deciding to grade. To keep its standards high|lop some $219,000 from teachers’ sal- should be the business of the public|aries alone. It is not to be said that as well ag of the judicial and adminis- | under the conditions they could do trative system of which it is part. Per-|anything else. When the item was haps a board of visitors, to include | reached in the House hearings, it was representatives of the civic and social | not under discussion as long as that. bodies of the community, would be an aid. ‘When Allen Upward, in his book, “The New Word,” some years ago de- clared “My client is the child,” he summarized the intelligent concept of the obligation of mankind. It is true that in our boys and girls rests all our | hope as a nation. Those of them who by chance go into the Juvenile Court- should receive justice of the heart as well as of the head. They should go before a magistrate well qualified in both, and such a magistrate should have appreciation and unfaltering sup- port. O Intimations are offered that discreet inflation may be as desirable in an economic emergency as it is in motoring ‘when a tire happens to go flat. ——— The Cherry Blossoms Again. Once more the cherry trees around the Tidal Basin are in blossom. Yes- terday thousands of Washingtonians and pilgrims from afar drove down to see them, and again today, if the weath- er is congenial, they will be the objec- tive of a multitude. They certainly are well worth the trip, so graceful, so deli- cate is their beauty. It is said that this season they are especially attrac- tive—the best show in a long time. The story of their coming to the Capital is as perennial as their bloom- ing. Each year it is retold, and its in- terest does not fade. Perhaps ‘4 may be considered & symbol of some#ing in its way as stimulating to the heart as the glory of the trees themselves. It relates to the ties of friendship which traditionally bind two nations—Japan and the United States. The heroine of the tale is Mrs. Willlam Howard “Tam, the kindly and gentle wife and Aifor of the former Chief Executive and Chief Justice. Visiting Nippon, the Sunrise Kingdom, she was su delighted with the cherry tree displays in the pub- lic parks that she inquired if it were not possible that growths of the same spe- cies might prosper “at home.” Miss Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore, sister of the consul general at Yokohama, had had a similar tHought. Their interest P ipted the City of Tckio to offer two thousand trees to the City of Wash- ington “as a token of deep affection.” ‘The first ‘shipment, 1909, had to belpollllcll situation, #t has a background | foh gratitude ‘s lot, three thou- which suggests ramifications of world- about”* Magimaved. but a secon: And in the House there was no discus- sion as to the real result that will fol- low in the schools should the arbitrary reduction be made. What is going to happen? The Board of Education has been trying to decide and has under study a number of alternatives, each one of them so drastic that their full meaning is dif- ficult to appreciate. Are we, to save $219,000—the cut decided on by a fif- teen-minute appraisal of totals—to scrap the kindergarten system tha!i‘ represents years of careful develop- ment and millions of dollars in trial- and-error experimentation? Are we to shorten the school year and deprive even more children, in these dark days, of their opportunities in school? Are we ruthlessly to discharge a hundred or more teachers and deprive them the imperial palace his appeal was re- fused. Premier Saito's colleagues in the gov- ernment are divided as to the prapriety the history of Japan. He is accused by Political foes of abusing the mperial prerogative to protect his tottering cab- inet. Although the present regime at Tokio is dominated by the Seiyukai party, the Minseito opposition is rep- resented in it because it sees no chance for its own party to come into power in the event of a change. In any case, leaders in both parties look upon the situation now arisen as undoubtedly grave. Foreign interest in such developments within Japan is concerned only with their possible effect on Japanese inter- national policy, particularly in the Far East itself. That policy for the past two years has been under the lash and spur of the militarists. It is they who have impelled Japan to ride rotghshod over China in Manchuria, ignore pacts, treaties and covenants, flout the League of Nations and generally defy the out- side world. If the cabinet rumblings now emanat- ing from Tokio should prove to be the forerunner of a new deal, which would menifest itself in a less imperialistic attitude toward China, Europe and Americas would welcome it as a sign that Japan had decided to realign itself with a world craving ordered peace and continued respect for peace-preserving machinery. Invitations to a conference at the White House are extended to nations obviously for discussing a basis for transactions of the present rather than discussing reminiscences, excepting as the past, in one of nature’s inexorable laws, has formed a groundwork for de- velopment. ————s There is still an element of friend- liness toward the U. S. A. in public expression by Japan, and the cherry trees continue to bring annual reminder by heeding the old slogan, “Say it with f flowers.” ———— Profound sympathy for Col. Charles Lindbergh cannot prevent a wish that he tould forget personal sorrow and give the world the benefit of advice by a man whose authority on aeronautics is so much respected. ————— In seeking political confidence the world over, as little dependence as pos- sible will be placed in the type of diplomatist who regards himself as a professional confldence man. —————— By assuming still further responsi- bility, Hitler may find himself in the role of the charioteer who undertook to guide too many horses around the hip- podrome. ———— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. April New Year, ‘When March is through and skies are blue and birds are caroling anew, It's then we hear of a New Year with Teal novelty on view. The blossoms gay are on display; reluc- tant hens begin to lay; The bootleg stuff proves all & bluff and folks are throwing it away. We turn our dreams to happier themes and disregard the sordid schemes Which lie in walt to agitate. We wel- come every morn that gleams. The passing grief is only brief. Spring medicine may bring relief. A merrier song inspires the throng, with the refrain “Hail to the Chief!” Value of Time. with their dependents of the work for which they have been trained, at com- | munity expense? This city is sending | 500 men now to find work in the Pres- | ident’s forestry camps. Are we, be-| fore their axes begin to ring to the | tune of a dollar a day, immedl:\lvlyi to throw more than a fifth as many teachers out of work—more than coun- | terbalancing whatever eflect there may | be on increased purchasing power from | the employed foresters? The point is that there must be a great deal of welghing, pro and con, | before these hastily-arrived-at hori- | zontal cuts are made. The Senate has | decided to pursue its traditional custom of permitting those to be heard who wish to be heard, and learning frem the people who must stand the gaff in | this ruthless cutting process what those | cuts mean. The Senators will find, on | the one hand, that the money is avail- able to prevent some of the most dan- gerous retrenchment and, on the other, that this proposed retrenchment, in- stead of being carefully planned with full consideration of details, was a hit- or-miss proposition promising nothing | | “Are you in favor of a five-day week?” “In my line of business,” answered | Senator Sorghum, “I am while the other fellow works only five days. I'll go on as usual working all seven.” Jud Tunkins says it's maybe a good idea to have more wide open official conversations among nations and not so much idle gossip. Confidential Communication. The bill collector may appear A sympathetic elf And say in confidence, “Old Dear, I'm almost broke myself.” Highly Paid Performer. “Whay is your idea of & financier?” asked the old friend. “He is a great magiclan,” said Mr. | Dustin Stax, “who knows how to turn | ilmn:lmry values into real money.” l “Every man” said Hi Ho, the sage of | Chinatown, “is willing to tell some of | the truth, but no man with a sense | of propriety volunteers to reveal all he | knows.” task, and while at times the burden was overwhelming, His firm will and high resolve carried Him on to the end. There is a touch of the human in these prayers which He offered in two critical situations. There seemed to be a momentary pause, when for a brief instant His clear vision concerning His ministry was obscured. It was but a fleeting moment, and then His mission ‘was revealed to Him in all its deep sig- nificance, coupled with an increasing determination to pursue it at all costs. ‘Through the long centuries, men and women have studied with reverent in- terest this lonely figure. They have recognized the exalted character of His life and teaching. They have pon- dered His weighty words expressive of a view of life unequaled by that of any other teacher. In every part of the world the irresistible influence of His message has been felt, and millions to- day worship Him lndtgjly fealty to His cause. There is nothing comparable to this in the whole annal of human As we face today our latest Gethsemane of confused thinking and | widespread disorder and suffering, we, too, would cry out: “Father, save us | from this hour.” We would have our | burdens lightened and lifted, but the easing of them would profit us little un- less with renewed consecration and de- termination we set ourcelves to the ful- fillment of that high mission for which we were born. To be able to in the face of every critical situation, “For this cause came I unto this hour,” means to strengthen our courage, deepen our faith, and give | freshened impulse and inspiration to | life. In all our observation and experi- | ence we have discovered that those who have the capacity to survive a storm and with determination to ride it out, emerge from it stronger and better than | when they entered it. To be able to say, “Nevertheless. not as I will, but as | Thou wilt,” is the finest evidence of | our capacity to carry on and to ulti- mately attain the fulfillment of our true mission. Movement in Progress Toward Reduction Of the Debts of American Municipalities | {of Senator McNary. He promptly en- | rolled as a night student in Emerson Institute in the foreign service course, from which he graduated with excep- tionally high standing. He was next appointed by the State Department to the position of vice con- | sul and served for the next four years | in Bucharest, Dublin, Swansea and | other stations. He was then trans-| ferred to the Department of Commerce, with appointment as a business spe- | cialist and later as assistant trade | commissioner at Bucharest, and later | transferred to his present post at Brus- sels. He is the son of Mrs. James D. Reilly, 114 Fourth street southeast. In | 1923 he marrfed Miss Frances Thomas of Scranton, Pa. Col. Edwin A. Halsey, sergeant at arms of the Senate, was one of those who inspired young Prick | to push himself ahead in the world, through devoted service to his Gov- ernment. * K ok % James D. Reilly, present doorkeeper of the Senate private gallery, known as “Glad Hand Jimmie of the Capitol,” has been an employee at the Clg&ul for 31 years, and has served on h the House and Senate sides. He is the stepfather of Assistant Trade Com- missioner Frick. After serving 12 years as secretary to Representative Willlam J. Cary of Mil- | furnished by its debt. fiscal year in which its income will be | its pay- | BY WILLIA HARD. In spite of everything the depres- sion ccntinues implacably on its way toward mofe and more reductions of debts; and this development increas- ingly influences the progress of legis- lation at Washington. The latest candidates for statutory penmission to facilitate prompt reduc- tions of debts are the municipalities of the United States. Their presence ‘here for that purpose absolutely com- pletes the circle of debtors seeking easler compositions with their creditors. The administration is listening to appeals from its governmental debtors abroad. The lasi administration en- acted a statute for promoting debt readjustments on behalf of individual American debtors and on behalf of railroad corporations. Considerable re- ductions in the debts of industrial corporations have through ordinary legal processes. The present administration is organizing large legislative schemes for the shrinking of the debts of farmers. Every important indebted element ex- cept the municipalities has long been engaged in efforts directed toward the lightening of its debt burden. Now come the municipalities to make it unanimous. * K K x Legislation on their behalf has been introduced by Representative Wilcox of Florida and by Representative Mc- Leod of Michigan. Representative Wilcox’s idea fundamentally is that municipalities shall be allowed to re- duce their debts, both as to principal and as to interest in case the reduc- tions proposed are accepted by credi- tors representing 75 per cent of the total indebtedness involved. Repre- sentative McLeod’s idea includes the proposition that municipalities might be granted a moratorium, during which they would be under no obli- gation to make any debt payments at all. Mr. McLeod has recently com- bined his notions and Mr. Wilcox’s notions into one inclusive bill. Presumably Mr. McLeod is especially moved by the situation in_which the city of Detroit finds itself. Its tax levy for its next fiscal year amounts to $68,- 000,000. Its tax delinquencies during the current fiscal year are amounting to some 36 per cent of its tax levy. In its next fiscal year they presumably will reach at least that figure. The city of Detroit will probably be fortunate if in its next fiscal year it collects 64 per cent of its tax levy. Its income thereupon will be, say, $44,000,000. Then comes the shock In that same (at the most) $44,000,000, ments due on its debt will be $34,000,- In such circumstances the need for unusual measures is apparent. The city of Detroit to date has not been in any way in debt default. Meanwhile the record of numerous other American municipalfties has been by no means so fortunate. * K Kk Today there are at least nine hun- dred American counties, cities, towns and other local taxing districts that are in admitted default upon their debt obligations. In many of these instances the creditors in general are willing to accept some reduction of principal or secure resumption of payments on lower scales with minimums of losses. The difficulty so far has been that same legal facilities for compositions with their creditors that have been en- joyed by indebted individuals or in- debted private corporations. The essen- tial aim of the legislation now pend- ing in the Congress on behalf of mu- nicipalities is to give them the begin- nings, at any rate, of a legal parity with | debtors of other sorts. ‘The total amount of money brought into question is enormous. the total of all the indebtedness of all the farmers of the United States. The top figure for agricultural indebtedness is in the neighborhood of twelve billion dollars. It has furnished Washington with one of its greatest political fssues. States is in the neighborhood of sixteen billion dollars. Little of it, relatively, is State indebtedness. Overwhelmingly it is indebtedness resting upon munici- palities and other political subdivisions of States. ‘The argument for permitting a mor- atorium on some of it is grounded in part upon the present policies or ne- cessities of bankers. Numerous cities seeking to refund some part of their selves - cbliged by bankers to pay in- creased interest rates. e The city of Chicago, for instance, in refunding certain 4 per cent bonds, was recently compelled to pay 6 per cent for new money. Akron, Ohio, has been happening | some’ reduction of interest in order to | municipalities have not enjoyed the | It exceeds | Meanwhile, however, the total local gov- | ernmental indebtedness of the United | present indebtedness have found them- | granting less interest for deposits, should demand more gnterest on loans. Thereupon the idea arises that the | Reconstruction Finance Corporation of the United States Government should be authorized to make advances to munici- palities in order to finance their oper- ations until refunding loans can be se- cured in the private money market at rates more reasonable and tolerable. This idea was brought forward emphati- cally at the conference of mayors in Washington last February. It was strongly backed by Mayor Frank Mur- phy of Detroit. It represented one more appeal to governmental finance in the midst of inadequacy or of excessive ex- actingness by private finance. * K ok ok One special reason why the munici- palities find themselves in great exist- ing or potential difficulties is again as- sociated with the present condition of private enterprise. At the beginning of the depression, under the Hoover ad- ministration, it was assumed and as- serted that the relief of the destitution caused by the depression could be and would be borne by private philan- thropy. As the depression has devel- oped and deepened, this expectation has been increasingly frustrated. Today the best assembled statistics indicate that only some 10 per cent of the cost of the relief of destitution is now being borne by private philanthropy and that fully 90 per cent of it is getting carried by the public tax-collecting bodies of the country. ‘The crux of the situation is that many of these bodies cannot both re- cipal and interest on their debts. Many of them have been extremely zealous in the reduction of their current expenses. Detroit has reduced its current expenses per annum by more than $20,000,000. It finds itself nevertheless still unable to satisfy the claims of its debtors during its next fiscal year. Scholars such as Paul T. Betters, sec- retary of the United States Conference of Mayors, and Carl H. Chatters, execu- tive director of the United States Mu- nicipal Finance Officers’ Association, feel thereupcn that debt reduction leg- islation on behalf of municipalities is legitimately needed and is desirable both from the point of view of the debtors and from the point of view of the creditors. * k% % It is feared by some that unless or- derly reduction in accordance with cir- cumstances is permitted, there may be numerous drastic moves such as the one recently consummated by the Gov- ernor of Arkansas. He and his Legisla- ture, by an act of State sovereignty, have refunded the highway bonds of Arkansas into new securities at the arbitrary rate of interest of only 3 per cent. The litigation which thereupon will presumably be started by some creditors may perhaps be greater in its expenses than in its returns. To avoid such incidents it is argued that our great financial institutions which are large owners of municipal bonds should positively favor all reasonable action by the Congress looking toward all really nesessary readjustments of the burden which those bonds represent. In any case it is optimistically be- lieved here that reductions of municipal indebtedness, like the other indebted- ness reductions now under way, should be regarded not as disastrous, but as beneficial liftings of excessive weights from the country’s new economic life in the coming “new deal.” (Copyright. 1933.) ——— Merchants Are Seeking More Trade on Credit BY HARDEN COLFAX. Although it sometimes costs from 10 to 15 per cent more for a retailer to | sell goods on credit than for cash— | | and this very often represents the dif- | | ference between profit and loss—mer- chants are stimulating trade by de- | veloping all sorts of novel methods for ;;snzi!ncv.mg the “time” purchaser’s dol- ‘The Department of Commerce has | collected some interesting and sugges- | tive data concerning new and original ‘credll schemes that are actually work- | ing effectively in attracting trade. For | example, one manufacturer and dis- tributor of a dental preparation has | worked out this scheme. In newspaper | advertisements it announces that cus- | tomers’ checks, dated three months | ahead, will be taken in payment for a | limited quantity of the product. Re- | tailers are notified that the amounts of the checks will be either credited to ‘heir accounts or made available for purchase of merchanaise airectly from the manufacturer. Another plan, which, incidentally, has proved to be of considerable help in collecting old accounts, is used by a group of stores in Chicago. It is in- lieve the destitute and pay the prin- | but blind destruction and benefiting | nobody or anything. —_————————— Cabinet Crisis in Japan. A shadow, now no larger than that cast by a man’s hand, but which is easily capable of expansion, hangs over| “Everybody has a right to change the Saito cabinet in Tokio. Although | his mind,” said Uncle Eben, “an’ jes' Conserving the Wood. Reforestation all admire. It may subdue a wild desire To turn the timber and the logs ‘To boxes used by demagogs. also been compelled to pay 6 per cent. | tended to provide “quick access to the Some cities have been compelled to pay | amount of each month’s receivables.” even as much as 7 per cent. | In addition to inviting further credit This tendency is denounced by the | purchases, each store sends out an officials of many cities as being contrary | temized account of the current month’s to the proper normal trend of prices |Purchases, plus the balance of the pre- and of interest rates during the present | ceding month, plus the totals of any depression and deflation. They argue |balances from the third and fourth that commodity prices have been going | months back, all separately stated, and down and that the price of money also | offers inducements for prompt settle- should go down. They point out that (ment of old totals. the price of money has indeed been go- * * % * it is the outcome of a purely domestic now my family is rememberin’ cause tjd o sumpin® to kick | waukee, with his talents recognized as a politician, diplomat and publicity expert, “Glad Hand Jimmie” ran for Congress himself and lost the contest by only a narrow margin. He is one of the best known of the older employes and it is because of his wide acquaintance among people in public life that he | was selected for his present post. On one occasion, while secretary, he obtained a passport for a citizen of Milwaukee within 2 hours after re- | ceiving the request. Throughout his 31 | years at the Capitol he has been con- stantly exerting himself and using his influence to do kindnesses for visitors from all parts of the country. He re- ceives thousands of letters and greeting cards each year from his wide flung circle of friends for whom he did favors while they were "mmf the Capitol.” Mr. Reilly is especially well known to representatives of organized labor, who frequent the halls of Congress, and who have always found him a helpful friend. He is a member of a local union and carries a labor card. Members of the House and their families particu- larly appreciate the unfailing courtesies shown them by “Glad Hand Jimmie” on their visits to the Senate private gallery, * ok Kk k It was nearly 100 years ago—96 to be exact—that President Van Buren called the 25th into an exra session under conditions = very similar to the emergency that com- pelled President Roosevelt to call upon this 73d Congress for a relief pso- gram of legislation. General and al- most simultaneous suspension of specie payments by the banks cause the | Secretary of Treasury to close many banks. Prt:ldent Buchanan in his message points out that “at the commencementy of the year 1834, the banking capital | of the United States, including that of | national banks then existing, amounted to about two hundred millions of dol- lars; the bank notes then in circula- | tion to about ninety-five millions and the loans and discounts of the banks |to three hundred and twenty-four millions. ‘This emphasizes that no matter how desperate the circumstances were one hundred years ago, this country pros- pered and developed as no other nation has in all history. President Buchanan in addressing the 25th Congress on | September 4, 1837, voiced practically the same sentiments as President Roosevelt, when he said: “We can only feel more deeply the rsgomlbfll:y of the respective trusts that have been confid:d to us, and, under the pressure of diticulties, uflite in invoking the | guidance and aid of the Supreme Ru:cr | of Natons, and in laboring with zealous | resoluflon to overcome the difficulties | by which we are environed. |, "It is, under such circumstanzes, = high gratification to know, by long | experience, that we act for a pzopie | to whom the truth, however unpromis- |ing, can always be spoken with safety; for the trial of whose patriotism no emergency is too severe; and who are sure never to desert a public func- | tionary honestly lnhorlng.mr the pub- | lic good. It seems fust t they should receive, without delay, any aid in their embarrassments which your delibera- | tions can afford.” * K K % The Battle of the Wastebaskets has the House Office Building all embroiled. New members are incensed because they are not having any wastebaskets furnished to them and they have to | buy their own. While Congress supplies cuspidors and a hairbrush and comb to each member, it does not provide waste- baskets and the members have to buy them out of their stationery allowance. Most of the outgoing “lame duck” members took their wastebaskets along home with them, generally using them for packing various small articles. ok X ® ‘Who has the biggest head in Con- gress? Representative Allen T. Tread- way, Republican, of Massachusetts, claims the honor. The only contender, Charles Adkins of Illinois, was a “lame duck” and has passed out of Congress. Treadway himself disclosed this dis- tinction while hunting for his hat on the closing day of the last session. He confidentially tcld friends in the Speaker’s lobby that there was only one man in Congress who could wear his hat—and that was Adkins. e Beer and Vacation in Maine. From the Springfleld (Mass) Dally Re- publican Maine's sanction for beer does not take effect for 90 days, which will do very nicely for the Summer visitors. Until their arrival beer will, of course, not_be needed. fit of employes of firms that have been unable to meet their pay rolls in cash | during the past weeks of banking diffi- culties. Stores open accounts, indicat- ing the employes entitled to make pur- | chases therein and setting a definite | term during which payments must be | made. The retailer charges the items to the company, which deducts a certain stipulated per cent each week from the workers’ salaries or wages. Grocery and drug concerns are also reported to be using this or similar methods. It is pointed out by the investiga- tors that the cost of selling on the in- stallment plan, or any other involving | deferred payment, involves three fac- deficiency a int limits of productive capacit) Capt. Graige had early training as a newspaper man and is that rare crea- tion of the profession, a reporter. A: though lent by the United States Marine Corps to serve as an officer of the gendarmerie of Haiti, he proved himself still a reporter with a seeing eye and one able to marshal and disci- pline words as capably as his military record shows he can marshal and dis- cipline soldiery. The tale he brought back is compact of all that makes Hait! a realm out of almost dipso- maniacal imagination, so unbelievable that he compares the experiences of his tour of duty to the Arabian Nights Tales. He calls his book “Black Bagdad.” He still rubs his eyes in astonishment at the true things he put in it arna keeps always by his side the wangas, the charm given him by a voodoo priest, to protect him against the death spell which was laid upon him a witch, a suspected loup-garou who had woven ler enchantments against him when he, in his official capacity, had founa it necessary to discipline her. Vestiges of Primeval Savagery. Capt. Craige was not detailed to the Haltian gendarmerie for more than a decade after Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler d made the first American clean-up in the island. He found the inhabi- tants at a stage of civilization materi- ally advanced over what it had been, due to the efforts of the Marines under Butler, but still so many vestiges of rimeval savagery that, although he d adventured from within the Arctic Circle to the Equatorial Antipodes, he was unprepared for so complete a plunge into a strange past. He had scarcely arrived in his territory, half as big as New Jersey and peopled by a quarter million Negroes, than he en- countered a prison guard who, in cold blood shot down trusties he was as- signed to watch for the sole reason that the affections of his girl were growing cold because he had never killed a man. Nor could this young gendarme quite understand why he was accused of murder. Capt. Craige was to learn that such reactions were normal in_Haiti. Hinche was his headquarters, provin- cial capital of the basin in the center of the Haitian part of the island. Eighty miles from Port au Prince, Hinche was in the heart of darkness. So remote in back country Haitians of the omnipres- ence of malignant spirits that they took precautions t _them unceasingly. The captain was caught, laid low and bound in a £rass rope lr:rl ingeniously laid to catch ;:vxluspmu following a ciravan on the | trail. So prin=tive and so destitu'e were the people that the value of the average | dwelling was $1.25. The fadily pos- | sessed of the worth of §5 was atcounted rich. Dowa from the hills would come | the caravans of women to the markp: | towns. It was a normal occurrence i See a young woman pause by the road- side to give birth to a child and, after an hour'’s rest, proceed onward, carrying the infant. It was a normal cccurrence to see a group of two or three sbout a fire into which they would thrust their hands and seize live coals in fire wor- ship. It was normal to find disciples of | voodoo stretched stiff and moveless in | voodoo enchantment. In these trances the spellbound would speak with tongues, rvould prophesy and, in the nar * ~ the oas, the ghosts il st 4 of gods, pr. nce Interesting Native Tales. Capt. Craige tells the tale of one Ma-~ rine, a Quaker by birth and breeding, Who believed in the brotherhood of man. He sought to preach this doctrine to the natives and, although at first skeptical, a native chief finally was convinced that this one Marine, at least, believed in the doctrine of non-resistance. So they got him lost in the Jjungle, then bound him, skinned him alive and ate him. That was Mike Morris, who had delighted to play the mouth organ to the simple natives. The native chief was called Papillon, the Butterfly. The bestiality of the native dances, executed with religious frenzy, de- scribed by Capt. Craige, and how they often close with the ceremony of the goat without horns—the sacrifice and devouring of a human being. Yet it was possible to find degrees of sim- plicity even in so savage:a ceremony as the funeral of a young Negro prince, in e course of which those who did not mourn with sufficlent abandon were beaten by relatives until they did. His residence on the terraces above Port au Prince, his tracking derers, his encounters with the local p%llucou m;id‘?.he half- Whom were educated at European - tals and looked down on a white officer as an inferior, all are told scholarly skill and literary grace. investigations of voodooism, his encounters with the most grizzsly committed in the name of this religion, how he!i:iu to a duel by & young Haitian hot-b] are among things told. oo Books of travel have been wril since the days of Herodotus, and Vergil 2 and “Black Bagdad: he has o the wealth of the Indies. MacDonald’s Visit to U. S. Raises Questions BY A. G. GARDINER. LONDON, April 8—Announcement of Premier MacDonald’s intention to sail April 15 in response to President Roosevelt’s invitation to visit Wash- ington has been received by the British public with mingled feelings. Mr. MacDonald’s frequent absences from London are creating the ing impression that the premi effective control of affairs is out of his hands, without any clear in- dication of where authority rests. This impression is deepened at this moment by the critical situation in respect to relations with Russia, with whom Brit- ain is on the brink of a complete rup- ture of diplomatic and trade relations, that a momentous dget is to be introduced in Parlia- ment before the Premier's return from America. portance of reaching an understanding with the United States or the excep- tional qualities of Mr. MacDonald for creating a favorable atmosphere in per- sonal contacts, but it is pointed out that the character of his mission has been so narrowed down as to represent merely a diplomatic exchange of civili- ties. When the visit was originally sug- gested, the idea was to hold formal discussions preparatory to the World Economic Conference, but in the terval, the financial crisis in the United States has changed the situation and limited the scope of Mr. MacDonald’s missiol n. Avoidance in President Roosevelt's invitation of any reference to the war debts is taken as excluding this vital subject from consideration, and it is recognized that the attitude of Ameri- “edon the question has sensibly hard- en Seven weeks have passed since Am- bassador Lindsay returned to Washing- ton from his conference with the Cabi- net in London, and it is evident that no advance has been made toward a solu- tion of the war debt question. Nor has Norman Davis’ visit to London regis- tered progress in the matter. As a re- sult of conversations which occupied nearly a week, it was hoped that For- eign Minister Simon would be able to arrange for the convening of the or- ganizing committee of the World Eco- nomic Conference, and that the con- ference itself might meet in London about the end of May. This hope now appears doomed to disappointment. * ok k% The war debts still block the way to the conference. The British government, in proposing to Washington an early meeting of the Economic Conference, desired to avoid finding itself commit- ted to discussion of a question vitally affecting this country without some as- surance that its case for consideration of the war debts would be recognized. A matter of the utmost urgency is the next half-yefirly installment of £20,- 000,000 due to be paid to the United States on June 15, and the London pro- posal to Washington in regard to the Economic Conference was accompanied by a request for a moratorium pending discussions of a final settlement. It is understood here that this request was not acceptable to the United States Government. . Thus the impasse is complete. The one of the crisis and is eliminated by cancellation or drastic reduction, no effective progress will be made toward the removal of the for- midable economic barriers obstruct the road to world prosperity. In a word, it has been presumed that negotiations on tariffs, quotas, currencies and gold would be preceded by negotiations for a %ebt u:r.!‘emen)c{ Buth it is clear that while opinion here strengthen! that a debt revision settlement mfl be the first step in the solution of the economic ¢ the American people are moving in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, what shall be done about the June 15-payment? The budget, which is imminent, will disclose a heavy Doulb!l.\tm( increased - has already reached the . The gov- incipal causes of the world nd there is no tors: Handling the merchandise, “sell- ing” the customer and collect; account. Reduction in the cost of any | one of these functions, ac~araire 11 arn Lhef ing down in the rate of interest paid | In severalgMidwest communities re- by bankers generally on deposits. They | tailers are now offering what are known inquire why it should be that ers, ' as group charge accounts for the bened zwrchant. is & science. The successful lending of them, he says, is an art. (Copyright. 19334 + Halal the budget in order ish *‘mfin of unemploym ernment, in the absence of an agreed solution, is faced with the alternatives of borrowing to pay the war debt in- stallment and unbalancing the budget or of defaulting. Some economists are in favor of un- not in actuality occupied and that | . passing in- | disco Fifty Years Ago In The Star An investigation into the manage- ment of the almshouse at Tewkesbury, Tewkesbury mm“,,m hm"."‘“" of No one questions the paramount im- | tion to rming the abuses he vered, but that he ke Gas Company tear up twenty blocks of street Denied Permit. pavement for the purpose of laying new and larger mains. The ners un- putation arose which involved questions of rates and quality 6f {lluminant. The Star of April 6, 1883, says: “If the reports of the affair be cor- e was n, mu pul esteem by the interview of its man- trict Commission: to a corporation which, to sa: least, has received a great given very little in return. And its management ought to understand that the time for a more liberal and enter- prising policy on its part is now at hand. If gas light is not to be super- seded entirely by some other method of illumination, it should be apparent to the managers of the company, as it I.snw r:vekry”body else, ll’l:nhltmunlsi th:: conce PS pace Wi e spirit the times in which we live, by British view 1s that the var debis are canfic that uhtil their bancful efect | Inspire I's visit to dimin- b, but ‘MacDona t» Washington he] thee s the e Polot the (Copyrighs, 10885