Evening Star Newspaper, December 19, 1934, Page 10

THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1934, A T e, — e ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HMN. THE EVENING STAR i With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON,D.C. ‘Wednesday. . .December 19, 1934 THEODORE W. NOYES. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: el vania Ave. o ickiaan Buildine. ce: "fhn-rm &1 Tondon. and. Rate by Carrier Y‘l‘fllh the City. Regular Edition, e Evening Star, . ......‘:rummnm e ben 4" Sndazs) o7 y: 800 Der month Evening and Sunday Siar 'when 5 Sundays). .65¢ per month ‘The Sundav Star. b¢ per copy Night Fin d L per |%g!lg§:;:=rn25:.n¢.‘ v:: end ot month. Ofders may be sent by mail of telephane NAtional 5000 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryla; iry All Other States and C: yr., $12.00: Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively en- fitled to the use for republication of all ews dispatches credited to it or not wise credited in this paper and also th local news published herein _ All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reser; B Bonus Demands. Even before the convening of the new Congress the soldiers’ bonus lines are tightening. The very fact that administration leaders, like Senator Harrison of Mississippi, are talking of compromise brings home the thought that President Roosevelt may find it impossible longer to halt the cash pay- ment of the veterans’ adjusted service certificates, although payment is not due until 1945. The Harrison com- promise—the payment of the cash bonus to veterans who are in need— has so far been rejected by the vet- erans’ bloc. Nevertheless, the Vet- erans’ Administration is making a survey to ascertain how many veterans are in need today. Failure on the part of the Govern- ment to balance its budget, or to halt huge expenditures for many kinds of so-called recovery activities, or to make any serious effort along these lines, has provided a potent argu- ment for the supporters of immediate cash payment of the bonus. Why should not the veterans be paid a debt that is owed them, they ask, if this spending on a huge scale is to continue? This line of argument disregards, it is true, the fact that the Government is deeply in debt and to pay out an additional $2,000,000,000 at this time would put a further serious strain on Government credit. Nor does it take into consideration the fact that the Government does not today owe the veterans the face value of their ad- Jjusted service certificates, nor will it owe them that amount ungil 1945. ‘When the bonus law was written the veterans were given a dollar a day for service in this country and a dollar and a quarter a day for service abroad. Since this bonus was not to be paid for twenty years,Congress pro- ‘vided for the payment of compound interest on the amounts actually due the veterans at the rate of adjusted compensation. But when the certifi- cates were issued their face value in- cluded both principal and interest for twenty years. Now, ten years before the payment of the face value of these certificates becomes due, it is proposed to go ahead and settle up. In justice to the Gov- ernment and the people generally, who must pay this bonus, a compromise could well be effected, if payment is now insisted upon, which would give to the veterans the principal sum plus compound interest for ten years in- stead of twenty. This would materially reduce the value of the certificates, It probably would result in the retention of their certificates by many of the veterans who might prefer to cash in for the full value in 1945 rather than take a considerably less amount to- day. The veterans’ bloc is demanding not only the payment of the full face value, including the interest up to 1945, but also the remission of interest owed by the veterans who have bor- rowed more than $1,600,000,000 on _ their bonus certificates from the Gov- ernment already and $60,000,000 more from the banks. There is a school of thought on the bonus question which holds that it Would be better for the Government to go ahead and pay the bonus without delay, materially injuring the credit of the Government if necessary, in order to.bring the powers that be to a speedier realization that the present orgy of spending for many kinds of projects must come to an end or the Government and the people will face bankruptcy. That, however, appears to be a suicidal thought. ————— Bnow is expected around Christmas, the same as Santa Claus. The snow seldom proves to be a myth. ———— Diplomatic Conclave. With world affairs nearly every- where, despite surface calm, in a state of uncertainty and unrest, it is fitting and useful that the end of the year finds President Roosevelt and Secretary Hull in personal contact at ‘Washington with so many of our Am- bassadors and Ministers accredited to foreign countries. In most cases they are home on holiday leave; others no “doubt have come at this time in re- ‘sponse to State Department summons. JIn any event, the simultaneous pres- ence of an unusually large group of our envoys is an interesting coinci- dence from the standpoint of those charged with responsibility for con- duct of America’s foreign relations; it is a timely and valuable opportunity for an all-around check-up on the turbulent international situation. Among the Ambassadors already here, or due shortly to arrive, are Messrs. Long from Rome, Bullitt from Moscow, Bingham from London, Dodd from Berlin, Gibson from Rio de “Janeiro, Weddell from Buenos Aires and Sevier from Santiago. Minister Johnson has been back from Peiping for several weeks, lflnllf.Fann‘l'- from his post in The Hague at the outset of our reciprocal tariff negotia- tions with The Netherlands. Minister Wilson, fresh from Genevs, will report on the latest developments at the League of Nations, including the out- look for disarmament and for & con- vention covering the traffic in arms. Not in a long time have the higher authorities in Washington been en- abled to hold with our foreign repre- sentatives so comprehensive a round table on the state of the world. From the incalculable Far East, from trou- bled Europe, from war-ridden South America, in all of which quarters fundamental international issues are now at stake—Uncle Sam's spokesmen | 8re reporting to headquarters at a psychological moment. Face-to-face contacts of the sort thus made possible provide the President and his aides in foreign affairs with more lucid and thoroughgoing information than whole portfolios of formal diplomatic dis- patches could convey. ‘Whether the envoys have converged upon Washington by accident or de- sign, their visits are welcome and wholesome and are certain to add to the administration’s store of knowl- edge at an hour when it was never more desirable for the United States to know exactly what is going on in certain strategic regions beyond our shores. Such a meeting of minds makes for a consistent and enlight- ened foreign policy. ——— e The Ice Is Broken. The Commissioners have cautiously broken the ice on the overnight park- ing question, for they have taken the first step in its elimination. They have connected it directly, however, with snow removal on certain heavily traveled streets and have limited the ban to two months. Their decision is plainly experimental. If snow re- moval is facilitated on these streets this Winter where overnight parking is prohibited there is reasonable like- lihood that next Winter more streets will be included. If the effort toward facilitating snow removal by this method is fruitless, the Commissioners will be back where they started. But it is only a question of time before the Commissioners will be forced by congestion at the curbs to deal with overnight parking on its own merits. Their problem now is complicated by the fact that continued toleration of all-night parking has given the automobile owner a certain unquestioned right to leave his car Where he wants to leave it, and this right cannot be taken away from him without due warning. Continued use of the streets for overnight parking has, at the same time, discouraged garage construction and there is a shortage of available storage space. In 1930 the Automobile Parking Committee of Washington, under chairmanship of Col. Grant, engagea the services of a consultant and util- ized the staff of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission in a thorough investigation of Washing- ton’s parking problem. The report of this undertaking, which dealt chiefly with the downtown area, pointed to the shortage of garage space in Washington compared with other cities; a shortage aggravated by the unusually large number of auto- mobiles in the District. But one of its chief recommendations was that “within a period of two years, all- night parking at any place in the city should be abolished.” The report Ppointed out that “it is recognized that an immediate enforcement of a pro- hibition against all-night parking would work undue hardship. It is recommended, however, that in the program of parking and traffic relief it be indicated that at the expiration of two years’ time it will be the pur- pose to vigorously enforce regulations against this practice.” But no Board of Commissioners has ever been willing to serve such notice. Thousands would be affected, and protest would be long and loud. But until such a step is taken the streets will continue to be used in lieu of garage space, and garage space will not be provided because the streets can be used. There is a saturation point in overnight parking, however, and it does not seem far away. ——— Charges of conspiracy to evade in- come taxes in Louistana should give Huey Long an opportunity to make some new spectacular speeches. Remodeling the Library. President Roosevelt's suggestion for the remodeling of the Library of Con- gress is interesting and probably will be the source of widespread discussion. But it may be hoped that the matter will be given thoughtful considera- tion and that no hasty decision will be reached. The library is out of character with its surroundings, and its variation from the standard architectural mode of Capitol Hill will be even more strik- ingly manifest when the new annex has been completed. An island of Tenaissance in a sea of classical de- sign, it is, in sober truth, a contra- diction. Many professional critics and a still larger number of lay visitors have been saying as much for years, and the Chief Executive’s proposal, therefore, is neither new nor novel. But there also is a large public which admires the Library as it is and would resent any unwise tampering with its form and lines. The reading room, they believe, needs the dome and lantern and would appear to have been mutilated were these features removed. As for the exterior, its iconographic symboliSm may not be perfect, but arbitrary amendment might serve only to confuse still further the admitted confusion which already exists, Perhaps, as the President himself has indicated, the subject had best be left to David Lynn, architect of the Capitol, to study and decide. The re- sponsibility is his, and he is compe- tent to deal with it. By nature con- servative and by training amply ex- perienced, his judgment could be re- lied upon. Meanwhile, the people may exerclse the privilege of thef} citizenship and express their opinion. The Library, it should be remembered, belongs to Con- gress, and the Joint Committee on the Library, obviously, will wish to consult and to be consulted. Perhaps the final verdict will favor some alterations. If so, they should be undertaken with caution and pur- sued with deference. Too many great buildings have been spoiled by reno- vators to risk adding to the list. Change for the sake of change in such cases very properly has been con- demned as sacrilegious and imperti- nent. Bad Legislative Procedure. Budget hearings being secret, there is little information to be had on the reported recommendation now being considered by the House Subcommittee on District Appropriations, |mderl which the gasoline tax fund would be made to bear the cost of street-widen- ing condemnation, hitherto paid out of the general revenues of the District. But, no matter how reasonable such & proposal might be, it should be con- sidered, as a matter of principle, by the legislative committees and not by the appropriations committees. Legisla- tion on District appropriation bills has increased in recent years, to the misfortune of the District. The prac- tice is absolutely contrary to sound legislative procedure. The hearings are behind closed doors. There is no opportunity to present the other side. The privileged status of appropriations measures eliminates most of the oppor- tunity for effective debate on the floor. The bills are usually rushed through the House at high speed. In this case use of the gasoline tax as reported to have been recom- mended would represent another step to eliminate firancial participation by the National Government in the ex- pense of street making or improvement in the Capital. Such expense, as long as equitably shared by use of the gen- eral fund, includes some participation by the National Government. When transferrad to the gasoline tax, the load is borne entirely by automobile owners—for the Government, a large user of the streets, pays no gasoline tax, It is unfortunate that the mat- ter, although relatively unimportant as far as total expenditures are con- cerned, should be considered behind closed doors, with no opportunity for criticism from citizens whom it af- fects. —_——— The First Lady of the Land gives advice by radio on the education of youth, adjusted to the situation in life that he may be called on to fill. This would sensibly imply that valuable service may be rendered without pro- tracted collegiate training. The League of Nations continues its conscientious efforts to secure a system of collective bargaining which will enable governments to stand together against war chiselers. —_————— Danger of selling imitation machine guns as toys is evident. Some of the youngsters may grow so enthusiastic in underworld imitation as to try to shoot Santa Claus. —————— . A munitions maker need not care for gold disturbance in the event that cold lead becomes a standard of value. Some of the industrialists appear as anxious to get rid of Blue Eagles as if they were starlings. D ] SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. A Christmas Eve Letter. I have left a sack of troubles By the chimney as I wait For the saint whose toil redoubles ©On that merry Christmas date. They are troubles not imposing, Yet you'll find a mighty din ‘They are speedily disclosing, As to shake them you begin. ‘There's a wish that has been shat- tered, There’s a hope that has gone ‘wrong, ‘There’s a sigh that never mattered In the fragments of & song. If you leave me free to ponder On the hopes that shine anew In the dawn that gleams out yonder, T'll be grateful, friend, to you. Instructions. “Have you decided on your New Year resolutions?” “I wouldn't think of assuming such a liberty,” answered Senator Sor- ghum. “I will wait for notification concerning them when Congress as- sembles.” Jud Tunkins says sometimes a mo- tor cop gets so tired and worried that he gives you a ticket because misery loves company. Impression, The psychoanalyst makes free With “if” or “and” or “but” Until atelast he seems to me Just like another nut. \ Dilemma, “Another court astrologer has re- signed,” said the vizier. “What's the trouble?” Sultan. “Your rulings. If he brings good news it doesn't come true, and if he brings bad news he is shot at sun- rise.” asked the The Banana Jinx. Wise,men some wondrous things have said, And yet there loiters in my head A very slight and simple lay About bananas gone astray So far that we have none today. ‘The proverbs of King Solomon I have forgotten, one by one. ‘Though pigs so ruthlessly they slay ‘They do not cause me such dismay As the bananas missed today. 8o put it on the radio And sing it fast or sing it slow, As economic thought I weigh That tuneful fad leaves me distrait Of the banana lack today. “You can't help de man,” said Un- cle Eben, “who thinks you sre puttin® THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. A great poet once lamented the fact, in very pretty verse, that if he loved a gazelle, we think it was, it was pretty sure to die. Templeton Jones was not as bad off as that. ‘What happened to him was that if he wanted & certain article in a pile of papers he had saved, the only sheet missing in the batch was the very page he desired. ‘This had happened so persistently, over 8o many years, that if Jones were at all superstitious he would have be- lieved in the imp of the perverse, as some one has called it. Jones was not superstitious, how- ever. Aside from a few little peccadilloes, such as tapping on wood and disliking to raise an umbrella indoors, he was as free from them as most human beings. * ok ox o One thing he is sure of, that is that if he wants a certain book, especially after a considerable length of time, he will not be able to find it. Where is that book? It should be right here in the second section, where he put it, he is quite sure. It is not there, though. Nor s it in the first or third sec tions of the glassed cases. There is not a chance of it being in the other sections. They are de- voted to other subjects. This particular book he remembers well, the color of its binding, its size, its very thickness. He would know it in & second if it were there, LR Perhaps he loaned it to Neighbor Smith? Certainly not! Smith would have returned it by this time if he had. Smith was one of the very few borrowers who ever returned books, especially within & reasonable time. Smith was not one to keep & book a year then feel so ashamed of him- self that he could not return it at all. Certainly he had never loaned that book to Neighbor Smith. The very fact that he could not now find it convinced Templeton Jones of that. Smith was a very fine fellow, and returned borrowed books. It might have been possible that Jones had forgotten about it? He would not forget about that book, surely. Why, it was one of his favorites. It was such a favorite, indeed, that positively he would not loan it at all, to anybody, not even to Smith. Why— At this point the door bell rang and there was Smith, on the mat, holding out the missing book. * % % * Not very many of these episodes turned out so well. There was the fine article about the naturalist who took photographs of birds. Templeton Jones valued the article, and wanted to keep it. So_instead of cutting it out, as he should have done, and it away some place where he could totally forget it, and where, he simply permitted it to remain in the paper. This particular paper was placed with other papers, but the bird article w’on top, right where he could see it. Every now and then he would say to himself, “I must cut out that article, or it will get away from me.” Then one day he started fix up one of his tropical fish tanks. . Some of the plants had to come out. The first paper to hand served very well. Upon these the plants were laid for a time. ‘The wet paper was left. What should be done with it? Why, throw it away, of course! What else could be done with an old wet plece of paper? * * x % All went well for about three weeks, and then— “I wonder where on earth that article about iphing birds 1s?” Had any one seen it? None had seen it. The last seen of it it was right there on top of the pile. Every paper was there, in order, except the one wanted, of course. The one wanted was never there, ‘There was absolutely no use look- ing for it. Templeton Jones knew from long experience that it would not be there. No doubt it had taken wings and flown away. It should have been right there where he left it, the very last one on top, so he could see it at a moment’s notice. ‘That was the reason he left it there, right on top, he recalled perfectly. Maybe it was the one he used to put the plants on, and it had gotten wet, and had been thrown away? * ® x % Jones never admitted it, anyway. ‘When the perversity of fate must be taken Into account it is a good thing never to admit anything. For there really was no accounting for such things. It was always the thing one wanted that was missing, no matter what it was. Jones could swear to that. Hadn't he been an ardent collector of circulars, as they were called, for many years? Yes, he had kept all of those which for any reason at all had appealed to him. He was a man of many and wide interests, most of which his friends thought utterly worthless, but that didn't bother him a bit. He had many in- terests and regarded nothing in print as foreign to him. So his hunch to keep a circular always was good, as far as he was concerned, and he was, of course, the only one concerned. He might need it some day, he thought. Even as he saved them, he knew In the back of his mind that whenever the call came for a certain one it alone of them all would not be there. * % % x There was the funny one with the comic pictures. It was utterly worthless, but the drawings had been good. ‘Templeton Jones valued good work, no matter where found. One day he happened to recall the circular and its funny sketches. You know that one with the funny drawings? Well, where was that one? He was sure he had put it on top of the pile. Maybe others had come along and hid it from view, but surely it should be at least sixth from the top, and here it wasn't in the pile at all. Jones felt very bad about it. His day was wrecked. What was the use of trying to keep things if somebody was going to throw them away all the time? No, he felt sure he had not taken it down to the office to show the boys. Why should he take it down ould he— is & truth- ful chronicle) that where he found it. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. ‘There will be plenty of votes in Congress for President Roosevelt's war profits and neutrality proposals whenever he recommends action, but & Niagara of pro and con discussion will drench Capitol Hill before legisla- tion ensues. The constitutional law- yers, especially in the Senaté, will be vociferously heard from. The inter- nationalists and the anti-interna- tionalists will have their innings again. Debates that will smack of the League of Nations storm are in prospect, even though no such stub- born hostility as the irreconcilables put up is in sight. Senators Borah and Johnson are the sole survivors of the famed “battalion of death.” Both war profits and neutrality propo- sitions present so many complicated and technical angles that in what- ever form Mr. Roosevelt presents them they will arouse prolonged con- troversy. It is not likely that either proposal will be submitted at & time that could obstruct consideration of relief and recovery measures, which remain paramount from the New Dealers’ standpoint. * ok ok ok Those New York Young Republican groups before which Senators Borah and Nye spoke last week seem to have decided to become an arena for dis- play of G. O. P. 1936 presidential talent. In January they will present Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg of Michigan and Gov. John G. Winant of New Hampshire and others at regular intervals. The leader of the movement, Chase Mellen, jr., New York County chairman, later intends to bring women into the picture as factors in the plans to refashion the Republican party on modernistic lines. *® ok ok % Charles Warren of the District of Columbia bar, who figures promi- nently in the State Department's study of the problem of American neutrality in war time, is a Bos- tonian, Harvard Law graduate and acknowledged authority on the Con- stitution and the Federal judiciary. His three-volume work on “The Su- minister of war in the Austrian So- clalist government, is .touring the United States to arouse American in- terest in the neutralization cause. * ok kX Julius G. Lay, newly-appointed Minister to Uruguay, is a foreign service veteran who resembles the sailor with invincible fondness for the sea. After more than 30 years in the consular branch, Mr. Lay left the service in 1920 to join the inter- national Co. The lure of the old career tempted him back to it four years later, when he was appointed consul general at Calcutta. His official activities have ranged over the world, including Canada, China, Brazl, Germany, South Africa, India and South Amer- iea. Today he's one of Uncle Sam’s Latin American specialists. *xx % C. C. C. camps for girls are ad- vocated by Mrs. Alexander M. Had- den, president of the Girls’ Service League of America. She contends that the situation of the untrained girl of 16 to 21 years of age who is thrown on her own resources presents & problem as urgent as the problem of the boys. A C. C. C. for girls, Mrs. Hadden thinks, should provide & program of scientific training in household work and self-supporting occupations. With the active en- couragement of Mrs. Roosevelt, a camp for unemployed young women has been operating in the Bear Moun- tain region in New York State. Its accommodations do not begin to offer the facilities for which there is de- mand. **xx Sir Ronald Lindsay, British Ambas- voys who represented Britain here up to the World War, the author tells of 10 who were preme Court in United States His- | tory” won the Pulitzer prize in 1923. Mr. Warren began professional life as private secretary to the late Gov. ‘William E. Russell of Massachusetts, the young Democrat looked upon in the gay nineties as the political heir of Grover Cleveland. Later Warren became Gov. Russell's law partner, As Assistant Attorney General dur- ing the World War Mr. Warren spe- cialized in cases connected with our Carroll L. Beedy, Repul married at the executive mansion in Augusta on December 15, with Gov. Dr. Julius Deutsch of Vienns, who cmnnded‘:um-hn Social l::& cratic forces in their sanguinary the Dollfuss army last February is a visitor to Washington. As the guest of Benjamin Meiman, corre- spondent of the Jewish Daily Forward, Dr, Deutsch pleaded eloquently be- on alrs If you try £ do him » favoe.” " ¢ the pages of “Friendly Relations.” * ok ok X Washington’s Town Hall is already an unmistakable success. If much larger facilities were available, even apparently géEe EoSs8 §§§EZESE i group, in fainting dead away. Had it not been for the combination of hot weather and gooseberries it is likely that the secret of Lady Terence Chilgrove’s radiant contentment with life would never have become a factor in the disrupting of more than one Ppeaceful, if not altogether happy, do- mestic establishment. Having failed to learn during the years before death relieved her of her marriage to Tommy Chilgrove that while besuty alone may win & man it requires more than mere 1s unfortunately less superior than her own, Terry’s complacent indifference to the attentions of eligible and de- sirable men who have sought her hand In marriage since her presentation to society and her tireless enthusiasm for her mother and an unsolvable puzzle to her friends. A chess game, lasting far into the night, shoves into motion a chain of unlooked-for events which result in a series of comic and semi-tragic sit- uations so deftly interspersed with wit, pathos and humor that the story be- comes as fascinating and as compli- cated as a tale of mystery. Unable to understand that love is no respecter of the conventions, and that it often- times exists in beauty and sanctity where ‘'marriage is not possible, Lady Midhurst flees from the wagging tongues of London to her Jasmine farm in France, determined to forsake the daughter whom she believes to have become an ignoble and unforgivable But the overly-elegant lady failed to reckon on the persistence of the mother-in-law of the man respon- i and sabeianice 1a & deHERATUNY 1o sum and sul ce is & - teresting and story, told with & logical conce) of the true meaning of morality i & style that is both delicate and convincing. LI DOREE, by Fanny Heaslip Lea. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co. Angelica Todd is one of those pe- culiar members of the human race tributes of beauty, ability and temper- ament fail to match. Nature had endowed her with the captivating appearance of a fairy queen and had furthermore bestowed upon her a gift for sculpture. But her inheritance of character and disposition had turned out to be at variance with the angel form which clothed the real girl with- in. Sweet tempered and amiable within certain limits, beyond them she could be ruthless, and if pushed too far she used that weapon of self-protection without hesitancy or fear. Forming plastic clay into figurines has been a pleasureable pastime only until the time for the fulfillment of an arranged marriage comes too near. Alded and abetted by two genuine friends, Angel leaves a note of fare- well for the grandparents who have given her a home apd departs from England to make her way en her own in Paris. She is not altogether cer- tain of what she does want, but she is quite sure of two things which she does not want. Of these latter, one is & career and the other a life of single blessedness. She is strongly attracted to several men, and more than one loves her until the ruthless spirit in the guise of & nymph comes to the surface. But one near-marriage has taught her to beware of uncertainty and she is de- termined to find out for herself whether love is a myth or a reality. Meanwhile she returns to her studies in clay in the hope that she may, if necessary, become self-spp 3 It requires courage to live so near the danger line and to survive, with chin up, the contempt incurred through deeds intended to be kind. One man heaps curses upon her, another de- nounces her as a cheat and another would do both if he had not cultivated & holier-than-thou smile which his self-righteous dignity did not permit him to forget. A bumpy road for An- gel for a while, but stubborn determi- nation steers her around the pitfalls of her own making and finally leads to triumph. Miss Lea has a happy style of senting the modern girl and her pmb-m‘ lems, with an ease and grace and with International Puzzle. Prom the New York Times. First the angel read about Japanese mnlimm defying the world, and then Arwul’:“dbtvmmtzow"i: O'uynmot A ng Q. How many young people are out of school and unemployed?—N. B. A, Five young " men and women between the ages of 16 and 25 are out of school and without work. Q. Is there an illuminating gas which can not be used by suicides?— M H. R. A. A new German process has just been introduced which removes car- bon monoxide, the poisonous element in illuminating gas. L%MMMMM?— A. It depends upon their use and quality,. The Bureau of Home Eco- nomics recently tested some medium- ‘weight sheets. They were laundered after every night of use in a hotel. All were serviceable until used and laundered 197 times, and some lasted through 252 times. Q. How many farms did George .Wa‘l‘h.ln‘wn have at Mount Vernon?— ‘A He had three—Muddy Hole Farm, River Farm and Union Farm, Q. Who first used punctuation marks?—H. M. A. The first use of a system of punctuation marks has been attri- buted to Aldus Manutius, an Italian printer of the fifteenth century. Q. Bince activity has been sus- pended in regard to home owners' loans, can the corporation assist a rejected applicant to refinance his loan elsewhere?—M. P. A. Representatives of the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation have been instructed to assist applicants to ad- just their original loans with the mort- gagees or, failing in this, to secure satisfactory refinancing through other private lending agencies. Special ef- forts have been made through the Federal Home Loan Bank Board in ‘Washington to ascertain through all private home-financing institutions in the United States where ad te refinancing resources are available and subsequently to place applicants in touch with lending institutions which are seeking home mortgage loans of satisfactory character. Naturally, the applicant should make every effort on his own initiative to adjust the original mortgage with the present lender, regardless of the meas- ures which the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation and the Federal Home Loan Bank Board have taken in his behalf. Q. How much money was paid in old-age ns last year?—F. S. B. A. In 1933, the total paid by the various States amounted to $25,- 854,543, Q. When was the Department of ton, and one of the first so-called “special libraries” in this country. Q. What per cent of the popula- tion of this country dies before the age of 14?—H. G. A. Seventy out of every 1,000 indi- viduals under 1 year of age die yearly, Q. Is there a cobra which squirts venom instead of sinking its fangs into a person?—R. W. E. A. The spitting cobra, known scle entifically by the name sepedon hae- machae‘es, is notorious for its habit of spitting venom when annoyed, but this by no means takes the place of the injection of the poison into the bodies of the victims. The mechanism of spitting appears to be that by com- pression of the poison glands the venom is forced out through the fangs and at the same time & blast of air is exhaled. This carries the liguid for- ward as & spray for a considerable distance and if it strikes a person in the eyes intense irritation is set wp which results in temporary, and some= times permanent, blindness. Q. Please give the pronunciation of Jascha Heifetz's name.—S. D. A. The violinist's name is pro- nounced Yah-sha High-fets. Q. How was the term spread-eagle used in the Navy—B. 8. A. A man was said to be spread- eagled when he was lgshed to the rigging with outstretched arms and legs for flogging. Q. Who is considered the outstand- ing Indian at the present time?—S. T. A. Indian Commissioner Collier con- siders Henry Roe Cloud, president of Haskell Institute, the most represent- ative living Indian in the United States. He describes him as “faithful to his race, to its peculiar genius and its living past,” and confronting “the modern world on its own ground.” Q. When Henry Thoreau lived on Walden Pond, how much money did he spend?—R. D. A. In “Walden, or Life in the Woods,” Thoreau tells of his simple, healthful, hermitlike life and says that he built a hut, cultivated a garden, and lived for years on an annual outlay of $8. Q. What is the Western Reserve?— P.JW. A. It is 8 tract of land of 3,666,921 acres near Lake Erie which was re- served by the State of Connecticut when the States ceded their Western land to the Federal Government after the Revolutionary War, Connecticut gave up jurisdiction over Western Re- serve in 1800, but kept title to the land and sold it to individual pur- chasers. Q. When did the man live who orig- inated Roget's Thesaurus?—K. T. A. Peter Mark Roget was born in 177 and died in 1869. Q. How many people in the United States make tax returns?—S. N. A. The latest compiled statistics are for 1932. In that year the num- ber of returns of individuals was 3,877,430, of which 1,936,095 were taxable and 1,941,335 non-taxable, Q. When was George Washington University chartered?—G. A. W. A. George Washington University was chartered as Columbian College in 1821. ‘The title was authorized changed by Congress in 1904. Q. What is & rathskeller’—B. C. A. Rathskeller is the German name of the cellar of a council house or city hall, which is often used as a beer hall or restaurant, or place of refreshment, for the members of the United is used to describe s beer garden or restaurant usually in s basement, ‘bt many times & pre- tentious establishment. New Wheat Parley Is Urged ~ As World Pact Is Abandoned Announcement from Budapest that the agreement among wheat-produc- ing nations for regulation of crops has been ai is the subject of ex- tensive comment in the American press. It is stated that large crops in Argentina and the refusal of that country to destroy grain made it im- passible to carry out the pact. Fur- ther adjustment is possible in the future, some American observers be- Ueve. “One of the few positive results of the World Economic Conference,” ac- cording to the Buffalo Evening News, “was an agreement by the principal ‘wheat-producing nations to limit ex- ports of that commodity. At that time the wheat production was far in excess of the world demand. The great exporting nations, such as the United States, Canada, Argentina and Australia, had huge carry-overs, which had the effect of depressing prices. During ‘1933, wheat prices reached their lowest level in centuries. The plight of the wheat growers in this country, Canada and elsewhere ‘was desperate, and, in an effort to do somet to improve their lot, the nations overcame their previous re- luctance to join with other nations in & common effort to raise wheat ces.” “It is to be doubted,” thinks the Lowell (Mass.) Courler-Citizen, “that anything but nature will cut the ex- ports from Argentina or Australia. Countries in the Southern Hemisphere are likely to have quite different growing conditions from those which in the northern countries and to be in a position to take ad- vantage of short world crops. They are to be excused, perhaps, for not throwing away this possible advan- Bellef that there will be a new agreement next year is expressed by the Columbus (Ohio) Citizen, as “co- operation among the wheat-growing countries is still possible.” Terms of original agreement are given by the Bay City (Mich.) Daily Times: “It was based on two facts: (1) The world yield of wheat per acre is re- stable from year to year, the wheat is re-established, as a result of conference next year, the American crop-reduction program may have to be abandoned.” “Under the international agree- ment,” says the Fort Worth Star- Telegram, “the four leading wheat- exporting nations—the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentine—were to limit exports for the 1933-4 crop season to a maximum mutually agreed upon. For 1934-5 each of the four nations agreed further to a minimum 15 per cent reduction of surplus acre- age. The Danublan countries agreed to limit their exports and not to in- crease their acreage. Exports from the Soviet Union were to be fixed by negotiation. And the countries which normally import wheat agreed to dis- courage further extension of acreage, to try to increase their consumption and to lower or remove, when condi- tions permitted, their restrictions on wheat imports.” A Suggestion for Christmas Seals ‘To the Editor of The Star: I am passing on a suggestion for homemade Christmas My inspiration for these seals came from looking at a roll of left-over envelope linings I had and in con- tive seals without the cost of a penny. ‘The rich gold papers have been turned into stars of various sizes; the green papers into pine trees, some green, and some have a tracery gold; others of silver over thé green, giving a suggestion of tinsel-decorated ‘Where the paper is thin, it was thin paper, then cut out