Evening Star Newspaper, January 4, 1935, Page 8

A—8 THE EVENING BTAR, WASHINGTON, D. C,” FRIDAY, JANUARY %, 1935. s o e e e O e e THE EVENING STAR | With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON,D.C. FRIDAY.......January 4, 1935 THEODORE W. NOYES..Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: DAL Ay LN 'opean EE.!n‘hn! Ave. n Bullding. 8.. London. by Carrier Within the City. i Regular Edition, o Evening Star. 45¢ per month d Su tar twhen s idase) ™. 480z oer month ng_and Sunday Stst T e nte & undays) 65c per menth o Sunday Star 5¢ per copy Night Final n. nal and Sunday Star, 70c per month Nighs Sipsa i orindey 55¢ rer month tion made at ‘the end ‘of each month e Orders muy be Sent i by mail of Telephone NAtional 5000 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Vlrfilflnh. 5 Bafl engunaer. 4z ARy Yo B0 Sunday only. ! $4.00: 1 mo.. 40c States and Canada. 1yr., $12.00: 1 mo.. $1.00 .. $8.00: 1mo.. " 75¢ + $5.00: 1mo. 50c Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively en- titled to the use for republication of all Bpews dispatches credited to it or not other- wise credited in this nd also th local news published herein publication of special dispatches are also reserved. _—— Speaker Byrns. Joseph W. Byrns of Tennessee be- comes Speaker of the House of Repre- | sentatives, the forty-fourth man to | hold that high office. Among his predecessors have been some of the country’s most eminent men, great; presiding officers, great statesmen, men of great heart and high courage. Clay of Kentucky, Polk of Tennessee, who later became President of the United States; Colfax of Indiana, Blaine and | Reed of Maine, Cannon of Illinois, Clark of Missouri, all will go down in history. To that office, regarded fre- quently as second in importance to | that of President, Speaker Byrns brings high qualifications. He has the | ability to see clearly and to lead. He| has demonstrated his courage again and again in his long career in the House. The new Speaker takes the chair | at a time of tremendous interest to the American people. Legislation of | great importance is to come up for consideration. The people, through their Representatives, must make up their minds in which direction they and their Government are to travel. They must decide among other things wheth®r the Government or the peo- ple is to be supreme. Minorities are clamoring for recognition. Various groups are making demands for leg- islation in their own interest rather than in the interest of the people at large. Mr. Byrns laoks out upon a House which is overwhelmingly of his own | political party. It is his duty to see | that the rights of the minority are | protected as well as that the majority shall rule. The Republican minority, slender as it is, still represents a very large group of American citizens, much larger than the G. O. P.’s pres- | ent representation in the halls of | Congress would indicate. One of the first acts of the House | after the election of Mr. Byrns to the | speakership has been an amendment | to the rules which prevents 145 mem- bers, one-third the membership of the House, from forcing a vote on whether & measure shall be taken up for con- sideration. Under the amended rules & majority of the House, 218 when there are no vacancies, must sign a petition to discharge a committee from further consideration of a bill and to bring it before the House. The change has been designated “gag” rule. The supporters of the change, however, may well ask why the House should be compelled to vote on a measure to which a majority of the members were unwilling to give their | assent through petition. | Speaker Byrns has a big task ahead. The country will wish him well in its fulfiliment. All Other da: H herein —————— Photographers take an unlimited number of pictures, but many are | delayed that might have been of | service in the rogues’ gallery. —————— A New Deal for Canada. Reports current for some time that | Canada was flirting with the idea of patterning after certain features of the Roosevelt “evolution” have at length been authoritatively confirmed. In the first of a series of radio talks he proposes to deliver on the subject, : Prime Minister Bennett has just de-‘ clared that he “raises the issue square- 1y,” in order to determine what forces are aligned in opposition to his “plan | of progress.” Without mincing words, Mr. Bennett says that reform means | government supervision—“the end of laissez faire.” Without such reform, | he is convinced, there can be no per- manent recovery. ‘There are numerous indications of Rooseveltian inspiration in the Do- | minfon prime minister's scheme for a | Canadian new deal. Deploring the | fact that “some man with vision” did | not long ago discern the abyss toward which the world was rushing, Mr. Bennett declares the time has come for Canadians to examine their eco- nomic system thoroughly and without prejudice. “We neither hate it nor Iove it,” he argues. “It is here to do us pervice. That is its only purpose. If it has failed, we must change 1t.” The prime minister, in other terms that have a familiar ring to American ears, tells Canadians that “free com- petition and the open market place, as they existed in the olden days, have no more justification in the system, and the only substitute in these modern times is government regulation and control.” And then these further leaves from F. D. R’s notebook: “At all times ! not upon the dole as & feature of his projected New Deal. “Canada on the dole,” he observes in a striking pas- sage, “is like a young and vigorous man in the poorhouse. The® dole is a condemnation, final and complete, of our economic system. If we cannot abolish the dole, we should abolish the system.” ‘The prime minister indicates that he will make his new deal the chief issue in this year's Canadian general elec- tion, so before 1935 passes into history Blue Eagles may be winging their way across North America, from Hudson Bay to the Guli of Mexico, emblems not only of the industrial United States, but of this whcle western continent. —————————— Congress Must Help. Persistent activity by the police against the nunfbers operators and cther gamblers is bound to bring re- sults. This activity is taking form in continued raids against small estab- lishments, arrest of suspects and their appearance in the Police Court. With every effort at zealous prosecution by the assistant United States attorneys, a percentage of these cases should be made to “stick.” ‘What the police and the prosecutors need, however, is the new gambling law prepared by Corporaticn Counsel Prettyman, aimed directly at the numbers evil and facilitating the ar- rest and prosecution of the “runners" —the liaison -agents between the | gamblers and the racketeers. Several members of Congress in both houses have expressed their willingness to press for early passage of the bill. The necessity for such a measure has been demonstrated by the arrest of gamblers known to police, but who have been released by the prosecutors because no evidence could be produced that would stand up in court under present statutory definitions of gambling evi- dence. It is important to drive the numbers racket out of town because of the underworld racket, with ex- tensive ramifications, which thrives upon it. The police, provided they keep up their renewed activity against gamblers be doing their part to rid Washington of an undesirable underworld element. But as much responsibility rests with the new Congress—pessessing exclu- sive legislative ccntrol over the Dis- trict—to see that the police and the courts are equipped with the proper laws. Early action on this matter is demanded by a condition that should be permitted unnecessarily to continue. e Breaking Women's Hearts. From time immemorable men have broken women's hearts. Mary’s heart was crushed at the foot of the cross. They tore the heart strings from Joan d'Arc on a funeral pyre. Magdalene’s heart was stretched on a procrustean bed of torture. Anne Boleyn laid her heart on the altar of love, knelt upon by Henry VII, and later was beheaded. They break the hearts of women, do men, for all kinds of reason and unreason; men who hate women, men who love women, men who know women, men unbeknownst to women whose hearts are trampled. A kidnaper steals a baby and breaks a mother’s heart. Before curious onlookers in a court of law a prosecuting attorney dis- plays garments of an absent babe and a mother heart is stabbed on the bar of justice. Mothers, from time immemorable, have had their hearts broken—by the waywardness of sons, the carelessness of daughters, the thoughtlessness of the world. Pity the little women of broken hearts! The ways to break them are many. Of men to wield the blows there is never a dearth. ——r—e— Physicians are discussing compen- sation for medical care. None of them goes so far as to demand a code that will reduce their working hours regardless of emergencies. [ ———— Postmaster General Farley is sure the G. O. P. is sick, but recognizes the authoritative reminders that its symptoms do not include “cold feet.” B Epigrams. ‘The soul of a nation or the spirit of an age may be evaluated by the char- acter of the epigrams which epitomize the thought of the people of that place or time. And, so judged, the American race in the twentieth cen- tury is not altogether moronic. A little book entitled “So Say the Wise,” edited by Hazel Cooley and Norman L. Corwin, illustrates the point. It is & volume packed with mental foot- notes to current history. Glancing through the pages the casual reader finds evidence of the introspective capacity of the multi- tude in such an apothegem as “We Americans are the best-informed peo- ple in the world. We know a little about everything,” credited to Henry Seidel Canby. A worse condition, it would seem, would be to know nothing about anything. But, further examination indicates, Western civilization, however intel- ligent or stupid, is somewhat over- burdened with legislation. Chief Jus- tice Hughes is represented as saying, “The United States is the greatest law factory the world has ever known,” and President Nicholas Murray Butler of Columbia University is quoted to the effect that: “The mob spirit and what I call conformitarianism are abroad in the land, crushing out in- dividual judgment and action and silencing courage.” One not altogether impracticable corrective for conditions as they are is offered by Calvin Coolidge in the suggestion, “If we could surround our- faults in the system have been seized upon by the unscrupulous and greedy as vantage points in their battle for self:advancement. We will be dealing thoroughly and practically with the matter if we remove these faults 50 as to put a final stop to the unfair prac- tices they made possible.” selves with forms of beauty, the evil things in life would tend to dis- appear”—a remark which might have been sponsored by John Ruskin and which ought to be cited to those who vainly imagine that New Eng- and harass suspeets at every step, will| indorsement of such authorities as Florens Ziegfeld, who said, “Beauty is the last true thrill left us in a mechanized age,” and Robert Cortes Holliday, who declared, “Beauty en- dures. Fashions do not." Some of the axioms, naturally perhaps, are bitterly cynical, but Fannie Hurst disposes of a number of them in her verdict that: “It takes a clever man to turn cynic and a wise man to be clever enough not to.” And a similar wizardry of words is employed by Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick for profes- sional malcontents. “The real danger in our situation,” he says, “lies in the fact that so many people see clearly what they are revolting from, and so few see at all what they are revolting to.” Many of the quips witness to a rich sense of humor. Arthur Bodanzky, for instance, stirs a smile with his observation, “You cannot even buy a cigar these days without hearing a tune.” And John Erskine sums up a world of observation in the subtle commentary: “On his way home Ulysses met some women and some goddesses. They're pretty much the same.” Altogether, it appears that the masses are not quite so dull as critics have supposed. They must have wit enough at least to appreciate the epi- grams of their leaders and mentors. Otherwise this little volume could not have been either compiled or sold. ——e——————— Flemington, N. J., is having one of those problems on hand which arise when a small town is suddenly re- quired to function as a metropolis without hope of establishing a perma- nent real estate boom. — e Some of the motion plcture pro- ducers say that business is falling away. This may be only a transient impression due to the fact that films, however deserving, could not appeal to holiday shoppers. ——eee Morbid spectators crowd Fleming- ton, N. J. The inclination to gather outside a fail where an execution is going on is related to this kind of interest. Art may pass unnoted, but crime never lacks an audience. ————— College editors have such excellent ideas that glowing hopes arise con- cerning the editorial influence they may exercise after & full course of education. ——————te ‘The Department of the Interior has asserted itself in a manner which | prevents the Department of Agricul- ture from focusing most of the popu- lar interest. ——ee. The crowded accommodations make it clear that the Hauptmann trial will |look to Europe like another great American literary event. R Only a Nation-wide sales tax could avoid trade dissensions across State lines where bargain hunters are sure to congregate. R A distribution of patronage some- times involves chances that make a ballot look a little like a plain old lottery ticket. ———————— Trotsky has no official rank. This fact does not prevent him from an- noying Stalin with the same old office politics. —_———— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Common Humanity. When life was all serene and sure And I could dwell in sheltered ease 'Gainst every word of blame secure, Since none would speak, except to please, Some blunder, whether great or ml& Awakened me to cares anew, Reminding me that after all Each has his share of work to do, In gratitude I still reflect Upon the days of idle cheer, That often moved me to neglect The simple friendship that drew near. A‘human need to sympathize In our adversity awakes; I'm thankful for each impulse wise, I'm thankful, too, for my mistakes. Casting the Human Comedy. “Are you sure you understand your responsibilities?"” “Certainly,” answered Senator Sor- ghum. “When anything goes wrong, I'm assigned to the task of assuming a sympathetic manner and saying, ‘It’s just too bad?’ " Jud Tunkins says that old Repub- lican elephant learned a lot of tricks, including how to lie down and play dead. E Better and Better Every Year. The Christmas tree we toss aside, And we proceed with honest cheer To say with confidence and pride, “We’ll have a better one next year.” Aristocracy. “Are we to be governed by an aristocracy of lords and ladies?” “Certainly,” answered the patient person, “landlords and landladies.” Gadgetry. The gadget is some little thing Which fame and fortune serves to bring And if you choose to praise or scoff, You turn some button on or off. Some little gadget lets you ride In joy through spaces strait or wide, Some little gadget lets you hear A speech that’s merry or severe. Oh, mighty gadget! Let us raise A reverent anthem in your praise, For we must recognize in you A fetish or a grim taboo. When even governments so great Seem faltering in affairs of state, We seek with loyal confidence Repair shops of experience, And say with faith forever strong, “Some little gadget has gone wrong.” “When de whale swallowed him,” sald Uncle Eben, “Jonsh had sense ¢ |landers are & spiritless lot. The late | enough to keep quiet an’ be thankful Incidentally, Mr. Bennett frowns'!President had for his philosophy the " he hadn't met up with » shark.” [} ¥4 ‘Towa. Particularly warm THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. ‘The man who never gives you credit for anything is not an uncommon type. He is, alas, all too frequently met, for the best self-esteem. Every one, of course, or at least practically every one, likes to believe that what he has to say is worth listening to, to some degree. ‘There are very few persons who like to feel that their words are totally wasted. An impression, as the phrase is, is the desire, spoken or unspoken, of every human being, no matter his worldly state. He likes to feel that others are listening to him when he speaks. Part of the popularity of the family, as an institution, is that the “home Je- hovah,” as some one has called the father, has such a ready audience. * % ok The man who never gives you credit for being able to say anything good is a gay deceiver, in that you may talk to him for many years with- out realizing that this is his spectalty. He rather fools you by lending an ear, readily enough, but he goes no further. If you were to counter some of his remarks with the wit of the ages or the best classical {llusions stolen wholesale from the ancients as well as the modern, he would not wink an eye. You can try it on him. and see. It will be an interesting experience, as well as an eye-opener. For the curious thing is that you may know the man for years without once realizing just what it is he does or doesn't do to make conversation with him so un- aturactive. * x * *x A feeling of futility, when talking to the wight, has long overcome you, but somehow you never stopped to place your finger precisely on the trouble. At last one day, when you have made a really good point, without his turning a mental hair, or giving a sign of recognition, you hold some such dialog as the following with your- self: “That was a really good remark of mine, wasn't it?" “Yes, it was extremely good.” “It was good enough to evoke & smile, at the least, wasn't it?” “It surely was!"” “But this guy never so much as rec- ognized it, at least as far as I could see. “No, he didn't.” “It couldn't be, could it, because he did not understand it?’ “No, he is much too smart for that.” “Then he must have ignored it pur- posely.” “It would seem s0.” “He doesn't want to give me credit for anything, eh?” “That's it.” * k% % Sure enough, that's it. It comes as a blow to the average person, to discover that some one is failing to appreciate his best sallies. Not exactly failing, of course, for the fellow is too clever not to appre- | ciate them, but simply failing to reg- ister any interest in them. Ignoring them, in fact, because he wants to do all the shining himself. This strikes at the very basis of all good talk. ‘That is the big defect in it, not that it fails to give credit where credit is | due. Gallery visitors at the opening ses- sion got a graphic idea of the colos- sal Democratic preponderance in the Seventy-fourth Congress. The G. O. P. vacuum is particularly noticeable in | the Senate, where the Republicans oc- | cupy a bare two and a half rows of | seats, while the Democrats fill four | rows and part of a fifth. If there were separate nooks for Bob La Follette, Progressive, and Henrik Shipstead, | Farmer-Labor, who retain their places on the Republican side, that wing of the chamber would reveal even more yawning emptiness. In the House, Democratic strength overflows into dozens of seats that used to be Re- publican territory. Seldom in modern times has any one party so dominated the situation beneath the dome as the omnipotent Democrats now do. How to keep the unwieldly mass in line for New Deal purposes will be the ardu- ous task of administration leadership until further notice. * ok Kk x ‘There’s always the jolly atmosphere of a homecoming week when Con- gress convenes. Politics is adjourned, and handshaking, backslapping and elbow-greasing proceed in a spirit of non-partisan good fellowship. As of yore, greater informality prevails in the House than in the more sedate Senate. Following his election, | Speaker Byrns was the object of an ovation that left no doubt of the cordial esteem in which he is held, regardless of party. Majority Leader Bankhead and Minority Leader Snell had receptions reflecting the regard which they also enjoy. Altogether, the session is off to a regulation haneymoon start, though everybody is aware that strife is just around the corner. * k k * For Roosevelt leadership in Con- gress the drive for the bonus presents an immediate and formidable test. That the House will override the President’s veto, if necessary, is more than a possibility, but the Senate may sustain it. Scores of members are sorely torn between the coi emotions of loyalty to Mr. Roosevelt, to whose popularity they owe their election, and their pledges to the vet- erans. Members in both houses prob- ably feel that F. D. R., practical poli- ticlal that he is, understands the fix they're in and will not hold it against them too much or too long, if on the single occasion of the bonus they seem to be deserting him. * ok ok x Two former members who hob- nobbed with colleagues of other days just before Jack Garner opened pro- ceedings in the Senate were Messrs. Dill of Washington and Brookhart of greetings were exchanged between Senators Borah of Idaho and Johnson of Cali- fornia, perhaps in anticipation of re- newed comradeship-in-arms against efforts to smuggle the United States into the League of Nations. Senator Barbour, Republican of New Jersey, was graciously non-partisan in chap- eroning his new colleague, Senator Moore, Democrat, and introducing him to Republicans and Democrats alike, Those two Senatorial young- sters, Gerald Nye, Republican of North Dakota, and Bob La Follette, Progressive of Wisconsin, fraternized like long-lost schoolmates. Shep- herding the whole scene from a van- tage point on the Democratic side was “Big Jim” Farley, manifestly enjoying a close-up of the results of the victory he organized for the New Deal in the 1934 elections. * ok x k Perhaps 1t is in Mbuuu:o the fact that women, especially college women, have eome s0 icuously into their own during the Deal that the College Alumnae Associstion is WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. The latter may be & minor matter, after all, but good conversation is vital. * % * % Some sad blows have been struck at the old art of good talk during the past decade. One of them is the speed habit of the age. ‘The desire for “pep” has led to fast talking as well as to fast riding. Under the guise of “romance” and several other misapplied words, speed has become our god, so that it is highly unfashionable to say a word against it. Speed leads to casualties, however, not the less so in conversation. Cites Law Applicable to Case of Yoshio Matsuda To the Editor of The Star: It is stated in the news columns of The Star that the indications are that no action will be taken against Yoshio Matsuda, s Japanese naval officer, who was discovered making photographs of the St. Petersburg, Fla., water front and of the Trenton, & 7,500-ton cruiser of the United States Navy now in the harbor of that city. It is further stated that Capt. William D. Navy Department’s Intelligence Divi- sion, said there was no naval regula- tion prohibiting the taking of pic- tures in a commercial harbor. Of course, thrve is no such “naval regu- lation” for the very simple reason that the Navy Department has no authority to make such a regulation, except in The desire to hurry through with it} Pursuance of some law on the subject. sometimes is caused by the feeling on the part of one member to the talk that the other simply cannot say any- thing worthy of heeding. Occasionally this is based upon the bftter truth. But for every person so constituted that he positively cannot say anything worth remembering, in a chat, there are 99 persons of average ability who occasionally strike off something worth listening to, a few words appropriate and sometimes even glistening, * ko % ‘The man who never gives you credit for your best bright remarks is usually in such a vast hurry to listen to that paragon, himself, that he unconscious- ly strikes a blow at the very vitals of the conversational art. Not every group of talkers contains a great orator, a great financier, a great writer, a great businessman, a great executive, but almost every such group contains more than one man who is perfectly able to follow the drift of things, and, given a little encour- agement, perfectly able to coin a few phrases which may be labeled neat. But this man acts as if no one save himself could say a good thing. Extended conversations with the man who will not give you credit for & “good one” is most depressing. After a time he has you groggy, calling for air, and willing to believe tlilln. you must be the dumbest person alive. That is the effect he has, unless you resist his wiles with all your heart and soul. Use of the brain in this emergency is almost worse than useless, for have we not said that no matter how bril- liant you wax, he will pay no atten- tion to you? EE Once you get on to this type of | human being, you will cease to strug- gle with him. You will, in time, become as dumb before him as the ox on its way to the slaughter. There is no need in talking, or l(-l tempting to think with him. All good conversation is a pardner- ship, a meeting of minds, one leading the other on, with some tangible re- sults. We have never seen a really cne-sided conversation, for if a person is as brilliant as he thinks he is, he will lead even the most benighted person into saying something worth listening to, at least once in a while. So it may be realized that the man who never gives you credit for know- ing anything, or being able to say any- thing worth listening to, is himself a dumb oaf, who perhaps has mastered a bit of repartee, but who really is a gross conversational failure, since he is unable to bring out the best in others. holding in Washingto! January 19 its first meeting a from the Northampton campus since 1929. The reunion will bring together Smith graduates from all parts of the coun- try. Because Smith maintains ex- change student arrangements with their respective countries, Ambassador de Laboulaye and Mme. de La- ulaye of France and Ambassador sso of Italy will be special guests at the dinner which will be one of the gala events of the meeting. An- other guest whom the daughters of | Smith will honor is Dr. William Allan Neilson, president of the college since 1917, Scotsman by birth, but identified with higher education in the United States for the past 37 years. Under the general chairmanship of Mrs. R. M. Kauffmann, an elaborate program has been arranged for the Smith con- clave. Mrs. Roosevelt ‘will receive the alumnae at the White House. Mrs. John W. Guider, president of the Washington Smith Club, will preside over an alumnae luncheon, at which Mrs. W. Chapin Huntington of Wash- ington, president of the niational asso- ciation, and Miss Marjorie Nicholson, dean of the college, will speak. At a tea in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Frank J. Hogan, President Neilson will comment on the Hogan collection of rare books. Smith alumnae are particularly proud of their alma mater’s activity in the new movement for adult and alumni education, in which she was a pioneer among wom- en’s colleges. * k% % Senator Huey Long’s notification, formally proclaimed amid general glee at the opening session of the Senate, that he will seize his earliest oppor- tunity to discuss Washington's atti- tude toward the Louisiana dictator- ship. indicates that the Kingfish in- tends to retain his place in the con- gressional limelight. There's little doubt that Long is a big drawing card on Capitol Hill. Advance announce- ment that he’s going to perform is usually an assurance of standing room only in Senate galleries, for he never fails to put on the kind of a show the crowd likes. A resourceful and fearless scrapper, who knows every trick of the parliamentary trade, it would be rash to predict that the ses- sion will end without traces of his legislative agility. * X & *x Despite their helplessness, there’s a small but determined band of Re- publican Senators who are expected to ignore no opportunity for hard- hitting opposition to the New Deal. ‘The group includes men like Austin of Vermont, Barbour of New Jersey, White of Maine, Hastings and Town- send of Delaware, Dickinson of Iowa and others. They are said to be ac- tuated not so much by blind ship as by a conviction -that the identity of the Republican party as an organization of militant opposi- tion must be preserved at all costs, in order that the two-party system may be maintained. The group feels that if it does not enact the requisite role other elements in Congress are ready to do so and establish a party which might automatically blot the G. O. P. out of existence. (Copyright, 1935.) ——————————— Bad Outlook for Pedestrians.. From the Williamsport (Pa.) Sun. A Californian has invented an au- tomobile which he claims can jump 50 feet. poor pedestrian will have to practice jumping farther and qll.lckfl’.! " Sequence. Prom the Winston-Salem Journal. A lot of folk who drink from & bot- tis eventually eat in the jug. [} There is, however, ample law cover- ing the case in question, and under which such regulations could be pro- mulgated, as will be hereinafter shown, In 1910 two engineer officers of the Japanese Army were arrested in the Philippines by the military authorities upon the charge of trying to secure by bribery the plans of the great mili- tary fortress on Corregidor Island at the entrance to the Bay of Manila from a sergeant of the United States Army, who had access to these plans. These officers were imprisoned in the Cuartel de Spania in Manila by order of the commanding general. Shortly thereafter they sued out a writ of habeas corpus in the Supreme Court through an American law firm. Being then assistant to the attorney general of the.Philippines I was detailed to represent the commanding general and the commander in Manila, who were the respondents. After a most careful and painstaking investigation in co-operation with officers of the judge advocate’s office we concluded there was no law under which these men could be prosecuted. This fact was cabled to the Secretary of War, who authorized their release by cable, which was done. Very shortly thereafter I resigned from the Insular Service and returned to the United States. Soon after my arrival I drafted a law to prevent the disclosure of our national defense secrets. The bill was iritroduced in the House by Representative Richmond Plerson Hobson, then a member of Congress, and was promptly enacted into law. It will be found in the Statutes at Large of the United States for 1910 or 1911. At that time we were the only Nation of consequence in the world that had no such law, or laws covering military espicnage. There are two sections of this law that cover the case in question. They are, as I recall them, sections 2 and 3, which are (quoting from memory), in substance, as follows: “Section 2. That it shall be unlawful for any person when lawfully or un- lawfully upon such a vessel or in or near any such place or places or property of the United States to ob- tain, take, or make, without proper authority, any document, photograph, cor photographic negative, sketch, map, or plan, or model of or otherwise pic- ture all or any portion of any such vessel or such property, place or places, or approaches thereto or the neighbor- hood thereof, or anything or place to be used in connection therewith, or | knowledge of anything connected with the national defense as aforesaid.” “Section 3. That it shall be unlawful for any person to sketch, map, make topographical maps, or surveys of any railroad, public highway, road, or bridge on territory belonging to the United States, subject to its jurisdic- tion, or other public land or property of the United States, except as now authorized by law, or to sketch, survey, or take soundings, except as for the immediate needs of navigation, in any river, inlet, sea, harbor, lake or other waters within the United States, its insular possessions, or any territory subject to its jurisdiction, or in any way to collate data relating to such places which might be of use in the furthering of military or naval operations of war against the United States, or to have in his possession any such data.” The law provides appropriate pen- alties for the violation of any of its provisions. ALEXANDER SIDNEY LANIER. Sees No Beauty in the New Public Buildings T the Editor of The Star: In one of the letters in The Evening Star recently some one sug- gested that, the tower be removed from the old Post Office Building. For the sake of Supreme Energy, that makes nothing as flat, square and awful as the new Government build- ings, all huddled together in a bunch like sheep, also for the sake of real artists (not copyists) that are com- pelled to live in the District of Co- lumbia, leave the old, well-built Post Office Building alone. Leave it just as it is. The new Government build- ings are enough to jar the nerves of a farmer, who would expect beauty from educated humans. They look like a bunch of chicken coops stand- ing in @ row. But the farmer spaces his coops, if a good manager, and that awful Supreme Court Building is enough to give a human with sensi- tive nerves a nervous breakdown— all that gingerbread decoration, a first-class roost for starlings and pigeons. The time has come for every taxpayer to have a vote on the archi- tectural design and placing of Gov- ernment buildings in the Capital of the United States. The mess that has been made in these last buildings is almost unbearable. The only con- solation that this critic has is that when Supreme Energy moves the At- lantic Ocean the Westerners will put up more artistic buildings in the Mid- dle West for the Capital of the United States. That bright star seen by the Harvard professor means that there will be some changes on this planet, something that will shock humans into a spiritual consciousness. M. A. R. STOTTLEMEYER. Uncle Sam Should Pay Debis Before He Spends To the Editor of The Star: ‘The courts have held “a man must be just before he is generous.” This means that he must pay his debts before he gives away money. If true of a man, it is true of a group of men, a corporation or a nation. Uncle Sam should be just before he is gen- erous. He should pay off the national debt before he gives away money. I wish this right principle could be blazoned in the halls of Congress, Where legislators could see it forever, or, better still, written into the Con- stitution itself. ERNEST HAVILAND HOBBS. Poverty in Florida. Prom the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. Properties sold for taxes in Miami are being bought in by the city for the use of the poor. We had sup- posed that all the poor who can af- ford to visit Winter resorts were in California. —e—————— A Hoosier Classification, Prom the Indianapolis News. Indiana residents are divided into two classes—those who have been ap- pointed colonels on the Kentucky Governor’s staff, and those Who haven't, Puleston, director of the | D€ ANSWERS TO A reader can get the answer to any question of fect by writing The Washington Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. Do the landing wheels of air- planes move when the plape is fly- ?—A. M. A. If the wheels of an airplane are not inclosed in fenders, they do not spin in flight. If they are so inclosed they spin at high speed. The upper three-quarterr of the wheels are pro- tected but the lower quarter is ex- posed to an air current which may BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN., QUESTIONS Q. Are Keats and Shelley buried in the same cemetery?—M. R. A. Shelley’s body was washed ashore from the Bay of Spezzia and was burned near the spot, in accordance with Italian law. The ashes and the unconsumed heart were buried in the beautiful Protestant Cemetery at Rome, not far from where Keats was buried the previous year. On the modest stone which marks Keat's grave there was placed at his request: “Here lies one whose name was writ in water.” Q What South American State was formerly called New Granada?— have a speed of more than 100 miles | J. G. an hour. This constant powerful pressure on the lower surfaces of the wheels would cause them to revolve rapidly. Q. How many of the 3,000,000 men inducted into the service for the World War are receiving pensions? —R. N. A. On September 30, 1934, 337,398 veterans were receiving compensation for wartime disabilities, and 99,942 dependents were receiving payments for veterans who died in or as a re- sult of wartime service. There were 31,671 veterans receiving pensions for disabilities not due to service, and dependents of 195 veterans whose deaths were not the result of service. Q. Who was the man who lived in a cage in Africa in order to study | monkeys?—J. T. B. A. The explorer was Richard Lynch Garner, who died in 1920. From his early youth he was interested in what he termed the speech of monkeys and in 1893 set out for tropical Africa where in a location about 2 degrees south of the Equator on the southern side of Lake Fenan Vaz in the ter- ritory of the Nkami tribe he devised a cage of steel wire woven into a lat- tice with a mesh 1!3 inches wide. The structure was painted a dingy green, invisible in the foliage. Its object was to afford the observer protection from surprise attacks. Garner spent much of his time in this cage, studying tne habits of apes and monkeys, remain- ing there 112 days and nights aTto- gether. Q. How many planetaria are there in Europe?—H. R. A. There are 18 in operation. Q. When was the first almanac printed?—W. F. A. The first was printed in Vienna in 1457. The earliest American al- ymanac was published by William | Bradford in Philadelphia in 1687. Ben- jamin Franklin's “Poor Richard’s Al- manac” was published from 1732 to| 1757, Q. Who said “Statistics are like alienists—they will testify for either side?"—N. B. A. The “Home Book of Quotations™ gives this as a quotation of Mayor La Guardia’s. Q. Who is the new grand master of the Women Freemasons of England?— L. A A. Mrs. Seton-Challen. The Hon- ourable Fraternity of Freemasons was founded in 1913. It is the only wo- | men’s Masonic society in England. Q How long have orchestras been known?—E. H. A. Until the seventeenth century, composers had employed various in- struments, but merely to accompany vocal recitative. The first opera per- | formed in public was Peri’s Euridice in 1595 and was scored for lute, harpsi- chord, theorbo, lyre and flutes. | for "A. This name was applied to Co- lumbia. Q. What from?—S. A. They include heart-woods, barks, g]r‘nd leaves, lichens, roots and the = are vegetable colors made M. Q. Does it take as much red squill to kill a female rat as it does to kill the male?>—R. T. T. A. Experlments show that female rats are killed by doses about half the size needed for males. The finer the powder, the more toxic it becomes. The average lethal dose for males is 50 grammes and for females .27 grammes, while squill (used for me- icinal purposes) is useless as & rat poison. Q. Where was the oldest hotel on Staten Island?—S. T. A. Local historians say that it was | on the site of the old Pavilion Hotel, built in 1815, later Surned and re- placed by a school building. The tave ern was built about 1640. Q. What kingdoms were united when Ferdinand and Isabella ruled Spain?—C. B. A. Ferdinand inherited the crown of Aragon and Isabella that of Castile. Q. How long ago was the Wall street bomb explosion?—S. W. A. Fourteen years ago. It hape pened on September 16, 1920. Thirty people were killed, 100 were injured, and the property damage amounted to $2,000,000. Q. When human blood is normal, what per cent acid should it cone tain?—N. 8. A. In normal condition, blood is about 20 per cent acid and 80 per cent alkaline. Q. Who built the Casino at Monte Carlo?>—C. M. A. While there were already some gaming tables at Monte Carlo, it was Francois Blanc who, in the early 1860s, obtained a 50-year concession gambling privileges from the Prince of Moneko and built the Casino. Q. When was Borax Lake dise covered?>—E. T. J. A. Borax Lake, 80 miles north of San Francisco, was discovered in 1856. Q. Where is the suthor of “Home, Sweet Home" buried>—T. T. A. John Howard Payne lies in Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D. C. He died in 1852 while consul at Tunis and was buried there. Thirty years later, W. W. Corcoran brought his body back, had it interred. and erected a monument to his memory. Q. How is the name of the island, Galapagos, pronounced?—T. B. A. The a’s have the sound of ah, and the go is like the word, go. The accent falls on Ia. Inquiry Into Multiple Taxes Called Step in Right Direction General national approval is given to the order of President Roosevelt for a Treasury Department investigation of overlapping taxation through reve- | nue collecting by Federal, State and municipal governments. Results in| the direction of reduced total taxes are urged, although the way to achieve economy is found to be elusive. “The only possible relief,” thinks the Port Huron Times Herald, “must come through actual reduction of the costs | of our various governments, and cut- ting out a great mass of useless and sometimes harmful activities”” The Indianapolis Times voices “hope for an | actual overhauling of taxes, the build- ing of a co-ordinated system, with no | duplication, & minimum of levies on trade and a maximum application of the income tax principle of ability to ‘ysomethlng may be achieved in| method and system,” says the San| Francisco Chronicle, “but what the people are chiefly concerned about is reduction of the load.” Referring to the proposal to submit the findings to a conference, the Chronicle concludes: “Real tax relief must come largely from the States. It can come through economy, through larger administra- tive units and chiefly through a drastic reduction of the number of taxing subdivisions. If the conference can focus public opinion on the present system of everybody plucking the same goose and scrambling for the feathers. the way may be prepared not only for a more co-ordinated system, but for substantial relief by eliminating a large number of the pluckers.” “Perhaps it would be asking too much,” suggests the Winston-Salem (N. C.) Journal, “to demand that an item taxed by one unit of government be left free from taxation by other units. But an investigation should re- veal the situation in such light as to m it possible to adjust these tax levies so that too great a burden will not be placed upon the individual and | his business.” | Reference is made by the New York World-Telegram to a survey of the subject, conducted by the Interstate | Commission on Conflicting Taxation. | and to the suggested methods of meeting the situation: “1. Centraliza- | tion of administration by which the Federal Government would collect all taxes subject to uneconomic adminis- trative duplication. 2. A system of Federal credits by which amounts paid under the State tax would be allowed as an offset against Federal taxes up loa percentage of the Federal tax. 3. Partial or complete division of the tax field by which certain types of taxes would be assigned exclusively to the Federal Government and other types exclusively to the States. 4. Uniform and n,-cxrroeu legmauve ‘:rd overnmental agreements cover- i::er"m kinds of fiscal conflicts.” ‘While not urging specific remedies, the World-Telegram commends these as ting “the scientific approach.” “So jumbled has become our tax system that it functions without rhyme or reason,” says the Asbury Park Eve- ning Press, while the Lynchburg (Va.) Advance contends that “some sources of taxation are being ‘ridden’ so heav- ily that virtual destruction is threat- ened,” and the Kalamazoo Gazette calls the present method “ discriminatory and uneconomic.” The Watertown (N. Y.) Daily Times sees the problem as “a complex one and not easily solved.” “The breaking point in this huge burden,” declares the Indianapolis News, “amounting to about 20 per cent of the country’s income, is when gov- [} ernment stifles private trade. In the fact that surveys have revealed 326 instances of Federal and State tax due plication may be some ground for sus- pecting that the approach to this breaking point is being recognized.” “It has been apparent for some time,” says the Providence Journal, “that the several taxing agencies must eventually agree among themselves regarding what shall be taxed, what branch of Government shall tap a given source, and what distribution of tax income shall be made among the several Government divisions if it is concluded that more than one is entitled to receive tax income from a particular source, such as gasoline sales for example. The situation has become serious enough to call for remedial action.” “Thousands of tiny taxing units, Jjealous of their prerogatives, will stub- bornly dispute every inch of progress,” predicts the St. Joseph (Mo.) News- Press. The Long Beach (Calif.) Press Telegram advises: “Success of the attempted reform will depend in large | measure on the co-operation of State and local authorities, all of whom will feel the pressure of public opinion. ‘The people want relief from overlap- ping taxes.” The Worcester Evening Gazette concludes: “The whole prob- lem is extremely complicated. We shall be fortunate if any solution is found which does not limit the au- thority of the States, and expand still farther the centralized power of the national Government.” R Farm Wives and the A.A.A, From the Louisville Courler-Journal. The A. A.-A. evidently knows its limitations. It has been approached by a great number of persons asking that it attempt production control of this crop and that, and it has made ventures into & number of fields where angels feared to tread, but it has drawn the line at a most appro- priate point. It will not try to regue late poultry production. No official pronouncement has been issued upon this subject, but it is noticeable that A. A. A. officials have turned a deaf ear to all suggestions. The A. A. A. heads apparently know that 80 per cent of the Nation's poul- try production is in the hands of the wives of farmers. Imagine, if one can, an A. A. A, agent approaching a husky farmer's wife and telling her that she must go out to the hen house, lift Biddy off the nest and smash one-fourth of the setting eggs. Or conjure up what might happen to a mere Government male who should try to tell the head of the farm poultry department to wring the necks of 25 per cent of the fluffy yellow chicks which had just hatched out of her incubator., What, if you can guess, might occur to any administration’s voting strength at the polls if some whippersnapper from ‘Washington should order the woman folks to kill off one-third of their laying hens and one-half of their young chickens before they reached the broiler stage and feed them to the hogs? Can any one picture the reception accorded a Government agent if he were to order a farm wife to kill off a third of her turkey poults after she had nursed them through a hard boiled egg and pepper and keep- ing them in & flannel-lined box under the kitchen stove? Yes, the A. A. A. 15 to be cone gratulated. It knows its limitations A