Evening Star Newspaper, December 24, 1934, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASBSHINGTON,D.C MONDAY,,.,December 24, 1934 THEODORE W. NOYES..Editor Fho Evening Star Newspaper Company Bus! Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Edit] Evening Star e per month 5¢ per month undays) ..6c per copy (whe ibe Sunday Star. Night Fi ght Final and Sunday ight Pinal Star....... . tin made at’ ‘the month. Orders may be sent by mall or telephane NAtional 5000 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Bafjy end Sunday. 1yr. $10.00: 1 mo. 880 iy senlyes oo Ty 1 mo.; 80c Sunday only. 1 mo.. 40¢ Star, 70¢ 55¢. Dail Sun: Member of the Assoclated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively en- titled to the use for republication of all aews dispatches credited to it or not other- wise credited in this paper and also the cal news published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved e Is There Peace on Earth? On the eve of Christmas is there *“peace on earth, good will toward men"? Not altogether. War, a long fought, stubborn, destructive war, is raging between Paraguay and Bolivia, despite repeated efforts by other na- tions to settle the dispute by arbitra- tlon. War is brewing in Africa be- tween Italy and Ethiopia, with dan- gerous possibilities of spreading into a wider fleld. Strife is in the making in Manchuria, as Russia and Japan skirmish over a frontier post. An international army moves into the Saar to keep the peace while the plebiscite scheduled for the sixth of January to determine the sovereignty over the region is held. China is in the throes of a civil war that is tak- ing countless lives. Angry feelings Yately aroused in Hungary and adja- cent lands have been for the time allayed, but the danger of some un- toward incident provocative of conflict remains. Russia is stamping out re- volt by summary executions of sus- pected plotters. Such a summary of the world sit- uation may, by comparison with other Christmas eves, leave the hope that the year will close without disaster, Yet there is peril. The mechanism of in- ternational adjustment to compromise dispdtes, set up after the Great War, has failed to function with any degree ! of assurance of peace. Here in our own land war is being waged against crime. The Nation is aroused to a realization that a deadly enemy has been at work for a long time against the security of society, and belated efforts are being made to co-ordinate the forces of law to sup- press this evil. Rapacity, greed and vice ure the common enemy of the State. Indifference on the part of great numbers aids and abets this enemy. Lately, the Nation met in conference in this city to seek and to apply measures of defense and protection, the purging of the law enforcement organizations of the un- worthy servants who have been cor- rupted by crime, the setting up of more efficient means of detection, pur- suit and punishment, through the avousal of the people to the peril of tolerating any form of predatory law- lessness. Peace throughout the world, be- tween nations and between the mem- bers of nations, may not be attained fully, yet it remains the duty of all to strive for this end. The individual eitizen, now intent upon his own con- qerns, must take thought for the wel- fare of the race, beginning as from & fresh start with the correction of the evils that menace his own wel- fare and very existence. There are no islands of safety anywhere in the world, and there will be none so long as the spirit of this occasion, about to be celebrated, does not possess every right-minded person, B The only early shopping now possible is that which compels a pur- chaser to rise in the gray dawn in order to reach the shops before every- thing is sold. —_———————— Louisiana colleges will have to in- elude foot ball as a serious educational feature if the game gets any further into politics. ——— A Strange Performance. An amazing development in the case of Hauptmann, accused of the kid- naping and slaying of the Lindbergh baby, comes to light. An eccentric woman of Chicago shortly after the erime wrote & satire upon the incom- petence of the police and the courts, using the Lindbergh kidnaping as & subject, with names slightly veiled. Somehow 1t fell into the hands of & concern engaged in the dissemination of so-called “confidential news.” It was put into print, Now copies of it have been sent to each member of the panel of jurymen named by the State of New Jersey for possible serv- {oe a} the trial of Hauptmann, sched- wled for January 2. As described, it is jn effect a denial of any crime, and i taken literally as a guide to the truth # would prejudice every poten- tial juror against the charge of mur- der which Hauptmann is cited to answer & few days hence, Suggestion has already been made #hat the receipt of this document— which would in any other circum- stances have been regarded as a silly, meaningless performance —by the members of the panel renders them incompetent to sit as jurors in the case and that a new panel must be drawn. Luckily there is time for that to be done, if it is deemed necessary, and there need be no delay in the start of the trial. But there remains the important question of who cir- eulated this pernicious paper, and ‘why. ‘The author of the document may be A dismissed from immediate considera- tion as a very foolish person with craving for publicity. But what of the so-called “syndicate” that put #t into type, obtained a list of the panel and sent a copy to each possible jury- man? There, it would seem, lies & line of immediate inquiry, with possi- ble punishment for contempt of court in an effort—if the enterprise has any significance whatever—to bring about e failure of justice in & ocase which, to an extent hardly ever reached before, holds the interest and the concern of the people of this country. There now prevails sharp public im- patience with the slowness of judicial procedure in criminal cases. In this particular instance three months have already elapsed since the detection and arrest of the accused. Confidence in the efficacy of the trjal, when it is begun and concluded, does not rise very high, owing to the somewhat intangible evidence so far as it has 0 | been disclosed of the actual partici- pation of Hauptmann in the kidnap- ing and the murder of the child. A delay now, on the technicality thet a hare-brained writer of a preposter- ous pamphlet and some conscienceless sooundrels engaged in a slimy enter- prise have approached the talesmen with a hypothetical travesty, would be intolerable, ———t e Soviet Treason and Terrorism. Grudgingly, but gradually, Moscow is letting out the truth about the re- volt against Stalinism. Its extent and the gravity with which the dictator- ship views it are manifested by the ruthless repression in progress since the assassination of Sergius Kiroff at Leningrad on December 1. During the intervening three weeks there have been no fewer than 103 executions. Whether this admitted total of vie- tims of the Communist “blood purge represents il who have paid the death penalty for proved or suspected plot- ting against the Soviet is open to doubt, because the censorship has been more ironclad than ever since the murder of Stalin's right-hand man, On Sunday Moscow finally con- firmed reports current for several days that another batch of plot ar- rests has taken place—among them the apprehension of two of the most prominent figures in the original bol- shevist movement, Gregory Zinovieff and Leo Kameneff. They are two of & group of fifteen persons taken into custody at Moscow in connection with the assassination of Kiroff. Appar- ently the evidence against these for- merly trusted Communiet leaders is insufficient to justify capital punish- ment, for it is intimated that they face nothing more drastic than exile, such as was imposed upon Leon Trot- sky, with whom Zinovieff and Kame- nefl appear to have been allied in the attempt to depose Stalin. Though they are not to be placed before a firing squad, the Soviet-con- trolled press, through such organs as Pravda, hurls charges at them, direct- ly accusing them of complicity in the Kiroff affair, They are not only held to have had a part in the assassi- nation, but of being associated “with many years of doubie-dealing and anti - Soviet counter - revolutionary work.” Pravda denounces Zinovieft and Kameneff as ‘“petty, bankrupt politicians, capitulators and deserters from the class struggle of the prole- tariat.” It would be rash to assume from any of these developments that the Moscow regime is seriously under- mined. But the relentless spirit of terrorism which it is invoking to stamp out even the semblances of treason speaks for itself. It indicates the existence of a seething and deter- mined opposition to the dictatorship and a recognition by Stalin and his supporters that strong-arm measures are requred to sustain their power. It is & situation which may well have international repercussions, espe- cially in the Far East. A Soviet harassed by dangerous internal tur- moil is unlikely to risk adventures, such as the current incident on the Manchoukuan border, that could lead to a foreign war. s There is still an expectation $hat the Republican elephant can be re- vived without turning him over to the California vivisectionists. A Dog on Guard. Coming into town by & certain route, motorists of a morning pass a canine landmark in the form of & huge black Newfoundland. The dog’s post of duty is the doorway of the first house in the street. Close against the door he Mes, his ponderous bulk adjusted to she space with a nicety and a grace which make him an ornament as well as an effective bar to any intruder. He lifts his head from time to time and stares at the parade of cars filing by, but the spec- tacle does not interest him especially nor for long. His preference, it would seem, is for philosophic reverie. Like other watchmen, the sentry in Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Iolanthe” included, he is a thinker. ‘The subjects of his cogitation, how- ever, probably have little in common with the problems of human life. In his world the things that matter are less numerous and less eomplicated. Wars and revolutions, all the struggle of unrestricted competition he leaves to the lords of ereation. He Is assigned to but one duty, he has but one responsibility. He guards & home, and with that single function he is content. And yet he symbolizes an elemental principle in the histery of mankind. Indeed, he is a present link in a chain which stretches back into an age be- yond the reach of science. He rep- resents in himself one of the oldest of ties—the treaty made millenniums 8go between Homo saplens and canis familiaris. The bond, moreover, is basic, People, speeding by, have no leisure to consider the matter, but were they less hurried ¥ might be worth their while to remember that & dog protecting & family habitation is significant of one of the grandest vic- tories ever achieved by man. No more monumental conquest ever occurred than that of the domestication of the wolf, And only through mutual trust, eonfidence and love was it made possible. Perhaps one day—long henocs, doubtless—men will be at peace with men as men for centuries have been at peace with poor dumb brutes like the canine guardian of the home. The Children’s Feast. Men and women at or past the meridian of life sometimes are heard to remark that Christmas is not what it used to be. But perhaps it is they themselves that have changed and not the annual Yuletide festival that has altered. Children, probably, look upon the feast now very much as children looked upon it fifty or a hundred years 2g0. And obviously it is the approach to the occasion which dictates its . Christmas is what people make it—merry ~nd bright or sad and dull, according to the lMght in which it is viewed. ‘The oldsters have been sobered by the experiences they have encountered in their journey through the world. A trumpet and drum racket such as a youngster enjoys means little to an individual of matured musical dis- crimination, but the instinct which later is to prompt a man to subscribe for symphony orchestra tickets is pres- ent in the heart of the infant who toots and pounds an ear-splitting dis- sonance on Christmas morning. If the psychology of the adult would per- mit him to act like & child, he doubt- less would feel toward Christmas as a chifl does. The difference, then, is one of mental attitude. But memory, nevertheless, has some- thing to do with the case. Each grown-up has been a child and re- members what Christmas meant at that period of life. Hence, the con- sent which he gives to the holiday spirit, the receptivity with which he receives its demands and welcomes its opportunities. Granted that hu.mn‘y not escape from the burden of the years and be himself again an irre- sponsible youngster, it £till is possible— and eminently desirable—for him to be sympathetic with those who do not have his handicaps. And so it hap- pens that the children’s feast enlists the co-operation of the entire popula- tion and benefits everybody. St. Paul, writing to the Corinthians, could say: When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I be- came a man, I put away childish things. A greater guide than he, however, declared: Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. And perception of this grander truth, surely, accounts for the uni- versality of the children's feast and for its happiness. —_———————— Genius is not dependent on me- chanical conveniences. Ben Franklin could have written no better if he had possessed an electric light and & portable typewriter, Censorship is a matter %o be dis- creetly handled. It has never spoiled the chances for literary sales in the American market. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Foolishness. Santa Claus, some folks confess, Ain’t much else than foolishness, ‘With his giving everywhere And his smiling, free from care. Nero was a person proud Who brought terror to a crowd; If his anger folks should wake, Nero burned 'em at the stake. Santa in an ice house dwells; Nero bullt his own hotels. In a choice, what man would pause— ‘Who would not be Santa Claus? Foolishness, we must agree, Sometimes all the world will see, Bringing pleasure or regret, 'Cordin’ to which kind you get. Literary Training, “Do you know that a mathematician wrote “Alice in Wonderland”? “Certainly,” answered Senator Sor- ghum, “that’s why I continue io strug- gle with big figures. If I can't balance the budget I may at least be able to write a good fairy story.” Label Suit. ‘We need the Courts for many things That call for brains astute; We're sunk if anybody brings, ‘When irked, a libel suit. So let's be gay while N. R. A, All chislers can refute, And hope that old Blue Eagle may Avold a label suit. Red. “How do you explain the fact that we are continually getting into ‘the red’?” “I have only & wild theory,” an- swered Mr. Dustin Stax. “Somewhere in our business reorganization ewe must have hired a Communist book- keeper.” “T reverence the wisdom of my an- cestors,” said Hi Ho, the zage of China- town., “Yet my more modern experi- ence will enable me to teach them much when I meet them again.” Too Many Bumps. A bump or two is surely met; It's & decree of fate That several bumps you've got to get Before you learn to skate. At skating you'll not be so good, ‘Though hope keeps in its prime, If in experiments you should Keep bumping all the time. “We are always lookin’ for some- thin’ to happen,” said Uncle Eben, “an’ we's always surprised because it's 20 different from what we expected.” BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. but this time he needed the gift. It was & ragor, A ragzor, with Jones, as with most men, was a temptation. No matter how many he had, there was always room for one more on the shelf. Jones had the biggest razor shelf in Washington—but more about that Inter. Now he stood with the new razor, which its manufacturers said had rendered the equivalent of 1,000 years —and more—of service, when tested on a special device. * ok k ox Templeton Jones thought & thou- sand years ought to be long enough for any razor to last. A hundred years would be long enough, as far as he was concerned, he felt sure. But even “more” was promised. Jones could see his razor function- ing perfectly in 293¢ AD. A long time, truly. Jones wondered how the blades would be, by that time. Sharp, eh? He hoped s0. A thousand years is & long time. They might get ’'em arp by that time, he thought. * k% X Jones admired typical American manufacturers, above all other manu- facturers. Something so human about ‘em. To put out a razor, and promise it to function for a century, would be a feat. Tested on s special mechanical de- vice, this instrument proved itself able to go for at least a thousand years— “And more!” It was that phrase which won Tem- pleton Jones. Maybe by the time he was 1,040 years old he could find the perfect Tazor. - It might even be this one, eh? * X %k % ‘What changes humanity might en- dure, during all those centuries, but still this old razor would be doing duty, if one could believe the makers! One could, without doubt. Jones had come to that conclusion yzars ago, after making tests of his own on a very special mechanical device, his own jaw. He had on his big shelf razors which he used many years ago. They still worked. He had taken goud care of them, of course, but each and every®one refuted as many times a day as one might care to look at it the old charge that American-made goods would not last, Templeton Jones imagined that idea was born in England, but he didn't know. The only English razor he ever owned wasn't bad, but all the “gilt” or whatever it was, wore off in a month. His American instruments didn’t do that, he was glad to say, even the cheapest of them. * x ¥ x A man always has use for one more razor, just as the home aquarium en- thusiast always needs just one more tank. No matter how many bowls, jars, The non-enthusiast might think that ‘when the “fish nut” had to- gether 45 containers of assorted sizes and shapes he might have plenty, as it were. But no, as the French say, & fish is sick, and positively there is noth- ing in which to isolate him. ‘What shall be done about it, then? ‘Why, buy another tank, of course. * X X % It is the same with razors. Your average man scarce can re- sist the appeal of a new shaving kit, especially if it manages to incorpo- rate some trick or other in the han- dling thereof. You turn something or other, and out pops something or other——, This sort of thing has all the lure of & momentous engineering activity. It is mildly comic to watch & group of males examining one of these con- traptions. They are as excited over it as if they were watching the first car over the Alps, or something. No one could blame them, either. Napoleon’s passage over the famous mountains was a one-time feat, where- as the old daily shave is just that. Every day, or every other day, at the least. When manufacturers found that many men were succumbing to the lure of every-other-day shaving, they put on a campaign to induce them to return to the once a day. Pretty girls were shown as hor- ribly disgusted with the unshorn chin, but the joke of it was that they couldn’t be half as upset about it as the gentlemen. Lack of a shave isn't due so much to laziness as to poor razor blades, and some day when some astute manufacturer wakes up to that there is going to be a real revolution in shaving. 2 * ¥ x % In his search for the perfect shave Templeton Jones duplicated the ex- periences of every other male born after the old-styled straight razors gave way to Yankee ingenuity. Every now andthen, through the years, he would invest in a new ane. Carefully wiping and drying each instrument after use, he managed to keep them all in good condition. Blades were dried tharoughly, even at the expense of linen, so that in time a set of old outworn bath towel came to be known as “razor towels.” These were used for nothing except to wipe and dry razor blades on. In time the collection of razors, blades and sharpeners grew, until Templeton Jones had enough to grace a museum. There was the strop, for instance, that was supopsed to be dusted with “diamond dust.” That was sold by a good talker who .visited the office, years ago, and showed the boys how easily & blade could cut s hair, after being subjected to & few passes over the treated strop. ‘When Jones got his strop home he found that, for some reason or other, it would not make biades cut hairs as easily as all that. After that Templeton Jones gave up expecting miracles from rasors. All he asked was a good shave—and when he got it he thanked the blade. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE, Optimism being one of the hallmarks of the New Deal, Washington refuses to abandon hope that Japan will yet. come around te realizing the desira- bility of & 5—5—3 naval limitation agreement. As things stand, such a prospect seems gloomy in the extreme, but faith persists that before the ex- isting treaty actually expires on De- cember 31, 1936, Tokio will see the light and shrink from embarking upon & costly competition that would sorely strain the Japanese financial structure. Meantime, the United States proposes quietly and sys- tematically to proceed with its build- ing program until the fleet reaches treaty limits. Should the Japanese expand their navy to a point that ever threatened our interests in the Pacific, there's little reason to doubt that Washington would be inclined to consider such additional naval legislation as would safeguard what our sea authorities look upon as an irreducible safety minimum. Of ut- most importance for the time being is that public utterance in this coun- try avoid excesses capable of supply- ing Japan’s anti-American jingoes with inflammatory material, * X X X Although the London naval conver- sations failed to accomplish their pur- pose—to lay the foundations for re- newal of the Washington treaty— they were, from Uncle Sam's stand- point, by no means barren of fruit. As a matter of fact, Yankee diplo- macy achieved & notable success. It consists of the Anglo-American sol- idarity which emerged from the otherwise abortive discussions. There ‘was a time, early in the conversations, ‘when an Anglo-Japanese front against the United States loomed as some- thing more than & possibility. British politic nd commercial interests in the Far East require a friendly Japan. Plenty of reason existed for inclining John Bull to yleld to Nippon's pres- sure for an equality navy. The sole Japanese hope of accomplishing that purpose lay in driving a wedge be- tween the English-speaking powers. That Ambassador Matsudaira and Admiral Yamamoto were thwarted in this ambition constituted a first-class victory for the American delegates, Ambassador Davis and Admiral Stand- ley. Sooner or later, if Japan in- sists upon playing & lone hand in the naval game, it’s logical to expect some kind of bilateral Anglo-Amer- ican naval agreement to take the place of the three-power pact the Japanese are about to destroy. President Roosevelt’s holiday greet- ing to overtaxed Washington news writers was an informal understand- ing that the lid would be clamped down on White House news until after Christmas. Repeatedly, lately, F. D. . has intimated that there would be “no news” until January 3, the date on which his message to Congress will be submitted. Then, he has hinted, the scribes will have more tian a plenty to write about. The President admits that, because of the stagger- ing mass of materisl he has to deal with this time, the problem of pre- paring the message was about the toughest he’s ever had to tackle, espe- clally as he is bent upon cramming 2 maximum of matter into & minimum of words. He will confine himself to policies and objectives. Details of various issues are to be left for special messages to be sent {0 the Capitol on successive occasions later on. Mr. Roosevelt has found this system highly effective for New Deal purposes. It rivets public attention on given topics and makes for prompt action by Con- gress. * X X ¥ Representative Everett M. Dirksen, Republican, of Illionis, has sent out novel holiday greetings. They are a facsimile of & congressional resolution and set forth that “Mr. Dirksen, Mrs. Miss introduced B R Committee on Peace and Good Will and ordered to be printed, as follows: A bill to provide for joy and happiness for all folks and for other glad p poses, Be it enacted by the Senate of Happiness and the House of Good Cheer of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that there shall be peace on earth, good will to- ward all men, an abundance of pros- perity and a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for all.” * * * x In response to suggestions that the A. A. A. might go in for control of poultry production, Dr. James E. Rice, president of the Northeastern Poultry Producers’ Council, told A. A. A. that control would be “both unwise ec: nomically and dynamite politicall; He explains that 80 per cent of poul- try production is controlled by farm- ers’ wives, who, Dr. Rice solemnly ad- monishes, “could not be regulated by the Government.” x x ¥ X It may be & mere coincidence, but just about the time it became known that President Roosevelt favors hon- est-to-goodness candles on his Christ- mas tree instead of electrical gadgets the District of Columbia Fire De- partment set up a brand-new red fire alarm box in the White House yard, near the executive offices. * X X x ‘T. V. A. funds, of which to date some $40,000,000 has been spent, are not being distributed exclusively within the “yardstick” area. Accord- ing to figures just submitted to the National Emergency Council, approx- imately half the money has been expended in 35 States outside of the Valley, stretching all the way from New England to the Pacific Coast. An official recently at Muscle Shoals ran across an anti-New Dealer who, remarking that the T. V. A. area is the shape of & boomerang, predicted that some day it is going to recoil and give its originators a terrible sock on the jaw. * ok ok ‘Texas has not only supplied Wash- ington with & long line of statesmen from time to time, but gave the coun- try a great sailor. Under the title of “An Admiral From Texas,” Ad- miral Henry A. Wiley, U. 8. N, re- tired, has just published his auto- biography, which comprehends a life at sea which he began as an Annapo- lis midshipman and wound up as commander in chief of the United States fleet. The admiral entered the Naval Academy from Texas, but comes from an old Alabama family. He records his pride in having served in all styles of craft in use since the Navy's birth. “Wooden ships, iron ships, monitors, tugs, destroyers, cruisers, battleships, squadrons, di- visions and finally the fleet narrates, “have all been under my command.” " (Copyright. 19342 New Deal Nightmare. Prom the Connellsville (Po.) Courier. It is being believed that business men, having become more used to the New Deal, are much less nervous about it, but #t is still causing sleepless nights, Rich Municipal Treasury. Prom the Milwaukee Sentinel. Bandits, it is reported, got $150,000 out of the Havana City Hall. That looks like a lot of money for any city to have these days. —_————————— Schall’s Worry. Prom the New York Sun. new interest in the oonflict. Mr. Eccles nas been regarded in some circies as entirely «wo progressive. Mr. Glass has always been a stickler for the law. He knows a great deal about banking. In his letter to C. 8. Ham- “We seem, my reached a stage where every little brought to Washington, however des- titute of practical business acumen, is supposed to know more in & fort- night about banking and financial probléems than the President of the United States, the seasoned officials of the Federal Reserve system and mem- bers of who for many years have been Zeen observers of banking practices and intimately identified with financial measures. I The recent elections, giving the throughou the brain trust, as well as an indorse- ment of the President by the brain trusters. Of that there seems no doubt. What Congress will do about it all when it arrives January 3 re- mains to be seen. If the brain trust- ers are able to persuade the President to adopt their ideas and their legisla- tive proposals, undoubtedly their ideas and proposals will get a hearing that otherwise could not be had for them. What the President’s course will be in this connection is also to be re- vealed. At times it looks as the influence of some of the brain trusters had waned. But at other times the White House appears to be taking as much stock in the professors as ever before. LR ‘The reception at the White House accorded the recommendations for recovery submitted by the repre- sentatives of American industry was not exactly cordial. Yet the Presi- dent has s0 far refrained from train- ing his guns on the proposals. The caustic criticism of the plans has come, instead, from Harry L. Hop- kins, Federal relief ) and others in the administration. No administration relishes recommenda- tions which may seem to be at variance with the plans which it has been advocating. The Roosevelt ad- ministration is no exception to this rather human rule. However, the President has repeatedly said that he was trying out various measures in an experimental way and that if they did not make for improvement, real and permanent, he gave the impres- sion that they would be abandoned. The proof of the pudding, after all, is in the eating. In just so much as the New Deal laws bring about re- covery will the people finaily approve them. The recent elections, with mil- lions of voters aon relief rolls and be- ing cared for by the Federal Govern: ment, were scarcely a test of laws. They were the answer of pecple who ‘The representatives of industry are looking to the President's annusl message to Congress, which will be delivered to that body probably in person by the President on January 4, for some real clue as to what the Chief Executive has in mind. It had Leen understood that the President would deliver another of his “fire- side” talks to the people of the coun- try over the radio in advance of the meeting of Congress. But this plan seems to have been given up. What they are hoping is that the President will give a clear indication that he and the administration are not going further to the “left,” that there is to be a real attempt at slowing down ex- penditures by the Government and that there will be a distinctly deaf ear turned toward currency inflation plans, * * % *x ‘The industrialists, if they cannot win the ear of the White House and the brain trusters, are intent on carry- ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN, —P. C. G. Forest Service that 10,000,000 Christmas trees will be cut from American woodlands this Q. What percentage of the plays produced on Broadws; are success- ful?—A. E. H. A. According to “B'way, Inc.: the Theater as a Business,” by was chairman of the Parliamentary Labor party from 1908 to 1910 and from 1914 to 19! In 1917 he went on & government mission to Russia. In MacDonald’s first ministry he was home secretary, and in 1929 he be- came foreign secretary. He has taken & prominent part in world issues, such as naval disarmament. Q. How is beeswax produced?—P, E M A. It s & product of digestion and is secreted by the worker bees. It appears in the form of tiny scales between the segments on the under 8i3- | side of the abdomen. Q. Did President Wilson believe that American coastwise shipping IM‘:‘I% p;y toll in the Panama Canal? A. The Panama Canal bill of 1912 contained the provision that Ameri- can vessels engaged in coastwise trade should be exempt from paying tolls. this ~ | Great Britain protested the “petticoat flag”? was & real red petticoat, and stayed” and flown from it of the Fayette on the occa- the first filling of the Cheshire the Farmington Canal on or about November 27, 1827. Q. Does the heart cleanse and purify the blood? b A. The heart pumps the blood through the body, but it is the func- tion of the lungs to cleanse and purity it. Q. What s a carillon?—H. ‘T. A. A carilion is & set of bells tuned to the intervals of the chromatic prooceeding entirely by half the bells hung fixed so as Q. What were the group of men called in Theodore Roosevelt's ad- ministration which compares with this administration’s brain trust?>—E. P. A. A group of younger Washington officials often pisyed tennis with President Theodore Roosevelt. It was said that he consulted with them at times and they were called the tennis cabinet. Q. May an alien visiting in this country hold & position here?— B. F. H. A. No alien who is in this country temporarily may hold a position. Q. When was Oxford University founded?—F. M. A. Traditionally, the founding of Oxford was by Alfred the Great, about 871, but the authentic origin was the result of a quarrel between Henry II and Thomas a Becket, about 1164, when the King forbade English clerks to study at Paris, and they, returning, boomed the schools at Oxford. The earliest document giving the schools ?; tl):!a(;)rd the title of university was Q. How much money does New York expect to make through the sales tax? | —F. M A. The lav is designed to provide $40,000,000 in unemployment relief by January 1, 1936. Q. Please give a biography of Arthur Henderson, winner of the 1934 Nobel Peace Prize.—E. M. A. Arthur Henderson, president of the World Disarmament Conference, was born in Glasgow in 1863 and served an apprenticeship as a molder. He became interested in the labor movement, held & number of posi- tions with trade union societies, and New York City Viewed as Many defects are found in the 2 per cent sales tax adopted in New York City, particularly in its effect on com- petition between the city's merchants and those in its suburbs. At the same time, commentators point out that the sales tax is a means of relieving the burden of other forms of taxation. “In the form imposed by the city it will be vexatious as well as expen- sive,” says the New York Sun, with the suggestion that “it should bring home to both buyer and seller the need of a better tax.” The Syracuse Herald holds that “it belongs to the class of nuisance taxes” and advises that “the gravest objection to the tax would have been obviated if one of the original for a Nation- wide tax had been adopted by Con- ing their recommendations to labor | gress. and to the farmer. They are plan- ning conferences with representatives of both. Whether they cun get far with either the representatives of labor or the farmer is a quéltion. Organized labor has been enthusi- astically in favor of the New Dealers up to date. The question which labor eventually may have to decide for it- self, however, is whether it prefers to work for the Government or for pri- ate employers. If the Government is going into industrial enterprises, into the manufacture of many things in addition to electric power, private in- dustry will have little chance to com- pete. f Congress, cut them out of two months’ pay. Under the old system they would ducks two months’ pay, although they will be out of office. A lot will de- from election day, November 6, until January 3. If Senator-elect The most optimistic Republican left | Senator Schall of Min- in the land is Senator “It should be possible to clarify the bill and to omit or change provisions that work unfairly,” observes the New York Times, which explains the pro- tested features with the statement: “Citizens of the State living outside of New York have to pay the tax on goods bought here if the sale is made by personal visit. Only by ordering through some means other than ap- pearing in the shop ean the New York State resident escape tax, and then only if the merchandise is delivered to his home outside the city. The result is a double discrimination. Resi- dents of other States fare better than do citizens of New York, and there is enf Just at present, however, the Alder- men seem to be more intent on find- ing new ways to impose the sales tax than in doing away with the griev- ances which have already risen un- der it “Indications are that the tax, as amended, will be productive of the needed millions, with little or no fric- tion,” remarks the Brooklyn Times- Union, adding that “it will make the people government-conscious.” The Jersey City Journal feels that “it ‘would not be surprising if it were the forerunner of the adoption of such & way to avoid it. The municipalities would not, however, be in such need of help but for reckless spending in the past. The obligation at this time against exemption. President Wilson made no formal statement of his views on this subject during the first year of his administration, but later astated emphatically that he desired a repeal of the exemption. In a letter to Wii- liam L. Marbury of Baltimore he said: “With regard to the question of Pan- ama Canal tolls, my opinion is very clear. The exemption constitutes a very mistaken policy, from every point of view. It is economically unjust— as a matter of fact, it benefits, for the present at any rate, only a monopoly, and it seems to me to be in clear viola- tion of the terms of the Hay-Paunce- fote treaty.” Q. Who is Werner Janssen?—R. N. A. He is the first New York-born conductor to direct the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Janssen is the son of the famous restaurateur of the Hofbrau, in New York City. He is 34. Mr. Janssen has played pianos in motion picture theaters, composed light songs and has directed sym- phony orchestras in Helsingfors, Vie enna, Berlin and Rome, as well as in New York. Q. What becomes of old and worn money in this country?—W. C. H. A. A constant stream of used paper currency and worn coins runs from the banks into the Treasury and is exchanged for newly made and minted money. The exchange amounts to millions a day. A $1 bill, for instance, rarely is in circulation more than six months before it goes back to the Treasury to be replaced by a new one. The old paper money is destroyed. The coins are melted down and re- minted. Q. Was Alexandria, Va,, ever in the District of Columbia?—A. P. L. A. The town was ceded to the Péd- eral Government in 1789 and the first boundary stone of the Federal Dis- trict was here laid April 15, 1791. It was retroceded to Virginia in 1846. Q. Did 8ir Walter Raleigh discover Guiana?—L. J. A. The coast of Guiana was first visited in 1499 and 1500 by Ojeda, Vespucei and Pinzon. The Spaniards planted a few settlements in the re- gion, none of which seem to have had any long existence. Misslonaries vis- | ited the interior during the sixteenth | century. Sir Walter Raleigh, however, first made the name of Guiana widely known when he began his search for El Dorado, in 1595. He described the | city of El Dorado as on an island in Parima Lake, in Guiana, and it was placed on the maps. Far two centuries he confined his explorations almost entirely to the river, although the sail- ing masters in 1594 and succeeding years carefully explored the coast to the east. Sales Tax Curb on Trade to reduce the burden oh real estate is a publicly accepted one. It must be gone through with, whether by re- duced spending or new taxes. But much of the benefit to be derived from any new taxes will be lost if there is not a continuous warfare on waste.” “It is unlikely that other cities will attempt to follow the lead of New York, in the opinion of the Flint (Mich.) Journal, while the Charlotte (N. C.) Observer commentss “Mayor La Guardia received promise from banks to let that municipality have necessary funds for current operation and debt paying if it will levy three keu of taxes. One is an almost gen- ral sales tax of 2 per cent; another is & 3 per cent tax on gross income of utilities and the third is an inherit- ance tax equal to 40 per cent of the State levy. These three specific flelds have heretofore remained sacrosanct for the Federal and State govern- ments. Now the cities begin to invade and the end of it is, of course, not in sight. The feathers will be plucked by all tax-levying hands, no matter how the goose squawks.” The Kansas City Times believes that “the tax is certain to prove an obstacle to trade.” Referring to the defeat of such a tax in Los Angeles, the Times of that city contends that “its only justification was that the city treasury needed the money. Franco-Russian Entente. Prom the Cincinnat! Times-Star. When vast military appropriations are at stake, sensational speeches in . | Congresses or Parliaments are to be expected, hence their importance is usually discounted. But fthe state~ ment of a member of the Pinance Committee in the French Chamber of Deputies that Russia would aid France in the event of a Franco- German war is not to be dismissed lightly. That there has been an un- derstanding between France and Rus- sia has been an open secret for some time. The rise of Hitler has wiped out the hard feelings between the two countries engendered by the bolshevik revolution, and has almost, if not quite, revived the pre-war Franco-Russian alliance. Everybody knows that France France which would compen:saie Rus- mogor 80 great o risk. course, if Germany were si and bold enough to threaten mlm:g and Russia simultaneously the former allies would join forces. But only a very direct and grave threat would in- duce Russia to involve herself in a unrealistic move by the most realistic government on the continent.