Evening Star Newspaper, January 10, 1935, Page 10

R wu¥ THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY...January 10, 1935 THEODORE W. NOYES. . .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave, New York Office: 110 East 42nd St icago Office: Lake Michigan Building. ropean Office 14 Regent St.. London. ngla Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Edition. e Evening Star. 'he Evening and Sun ar 60¢ per month (when 4 Sundays).... The Evening ang Sunday Star (when 5 Sundays) 5c per month ‘The Sunday St Nisht ieht Final and Su; ight Final Star 5¢ per copy Oc per month _55¢ per month end of each sent by month. Orders may be telephone National 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. mail or ily and Sunday. .1 yr., $10.00: 1 mo.. 85¢ aily only. 1yr. "$6.00: 1 mo.. 50c Bunday only. 15r] $4.00: 1 mo.. 40c All Other States and Canada. ily and Sunda 2.00; 1 1n0.. $1.00 5 1y “ont Bunday’ on) soc y only. Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively en- titled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited o it or not other- Wwise credited in this paper and also the local news published herein Al rights of bublication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. _— National Life Insurance. Among the various sets of “record” figures contained in the $8,500,000,000 budget just submitted to Congress by | President Roosevelt is the total of $870,922.292 proposed for national de- fense in all its phases. Of this sum, a gross appropriation of $489,871,347 is asked for the Navy, which represents an increase of $186,853499, while $381,050,945 is requested for the War Department, including the Panama Canal, representing an increase for the Army of $39,536,523. Money spent on the United States Army and Navy has properly been de- scribed as an investment in national life insurance. Viewed as such, the “premium” which the American peo- ple pay for it, reckoned on the per capita basis, is relatively insignificant. ©On a population basis of 125,000,000, the ‘“record” national defense budget now awaiting the consideration of Congress works out at something less than seven dollars apiece for every man, woman and child in the country. That is a modest premium to pay for | the safety and security of American territory and of our gigantic national wealth and for the guarantee which our defensive establishment on land, an the sea and in the air provides that the country can proceed in peace and tranquillity to live its life and work out its destiny. Recovery from depression would be meaningless if the Nation were not conscious that it would con- tinue to be free, in days of returned prosperity, from the menace of ag- gression or invasion. Our Army and Navy are our sure shield against such # peril. The hundreds of millions of dollars contributed to their upkeep are paid from year to year in the same provident spirit in which the head of 2 family maintains all the life insurance he can afford, and car- ties fire and burglary insurance on his business premises and his home. The substantial increase in the naval budget is due to the Government’s wise determination to proceed with- out further delay to build the United States fleet to full treaty limits in all classes of ships in which it is now deficient. Roundly, $140,000,000 is earmarked for this purpose during the coming fiscal year. The new budget also provides for an addition of 11,000 men to the Navy’'s personnel. Army budget increases contemplate mainly the provision of additional equipment for the Air Corps. By June 1, 1936, it is planned to have in service 1,352 modern planes, prac- tically all of which will be under two years of age. It is particularly satis- factory to observe that the military appropriations allocate materially in- creased funds to the Army reserve or- ganizations, including the National Guard, the Organized Reserves and the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. The American people crave the time when this country, in agree- ment with other nations, can sub- stantially reduce its armed establish- ment and confer corresponding econ- omy benefits upon American tax- payers. Pending the arrival of such international conditions, the United States looks upon its national defense expenditure, heavy as it is, as a life - gi e per month | perament to resolve to reform. On the ]cmuclnusly the mark. The mind retains & sense of apprehension which in turn promotes 8 desperate determination to be more careful in the future. And that, it might be argued, is the pragmatic philosophical significance of an fllness. The patient has been edu- cated to watch his step, to avoid the risks which might bring about another |- attack. An ancient proverb to the ef- fect that the devil, when sick, a saint desired to be illustrates the point. But one need not possess a satanic tem- contrary, quite average people enter- tain the instinct. And to that degree they do for themselves what even the most efficient of physicians cannot ac- complish for them—they adopt a pol- icy of caution which is an insurance against trouble. Possibly, so consid- ered, illness may be regarded as a force operating toward an extension of the duration of life. It serves to stim- ulate a conservatism which prolongs as well as protects existence, e Improving Public Service. One of the recommendations of President Hoover’s Research Commit- tee on Social Trends was that a study be undertaken of some of the prob- lems of public service personnel, and in December of 1933 the Social Science Research Council appointed a Commission of Inquiry on Public Service Personnel which, financed by the Spelman Fund, conducted an in- quiry. The results have been pub- lished as a report “to the American people.” The report finds “that our govern- mental units, Federal, State and iocal, do not generally offer the more cap- able men and women a fair chance, in any way comparable with that of- fered by private business, industry or ! the professions, for a lifetime of hon- ;orable work affording opportunity for advancement based on merit and ac- | complishment. The spoils system, the use of the public pay roll for charity, undiscriminating criticism of public employes and the failure to adjust our ideas, our governmental institu- | tions and our public personnel policies to the social and economic changes since the Civil War, are primarily re- sponsible for this condition.” The report suggests that “positive constructive action” rather than| THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTO experience has left iurmly on condition that it could re- fuse its jurisdiction over any disputes involving this country. This reserva- tion fully safeguards American inter- ests and should suffice to remove the doubts of any one who fears that membership in the Court would threaten the loss of fundamental na- tional rights. States — Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, their respective Secretaries of State have successivefy favored American members of its bench. The Senate last year would have acted afMrma- pressure of more urgent business. plan to seek action now, before an- further postponement. ‘The United States’ long and con- sistent record as a believer in judicial sies makes it highly appropriate that do so without further delay. an overwhelming bulk of eminent legal American interests. ‘The Court is not a tribunal capable preservation of peace, but it is an in- ) D. C. THURSDAY, THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL, It is difficult to decide who are the most annoying, those who pretend they don't hear, or those who make Five Presidents of the United |, they do not understand. Here are two well defined types. Hoover and Roosevelt—and all of | They are met in many walks of life, so it is not in the least a class proposi- tion. ‘Those addicted to either of these entry into the World Court. Dis- | mental habits simply find it more tinguished American jurists have been | Convenient to pretend than to be honest with the world. ‘The observer will feel that they are playing for time, and have chosen tively on the protocol except for the | either or both of these methods as the best way to gain their ends. Fortunately for their purpose they Hence the administration's present|gre not on the witness stand, where they must answer as directly and to other legislative log jam necessitates | the point as possible. Ordinary conversation is, after all, & great deal like the talk in a cross- examination. ‘The ordinary attitude of the law- settlement of international controver- | Yer for the other side is one often assumed by the individual in every- day life. It is surprising how many it should go into the World Court, and | persons deftly manage to set them- ‘There is | selves up as judge and jury, as well as prosecuting attorney, in simple talk, where one might think offhand there opinion that our entry can take place | was no reason for anything but good without the slightest jeopardy to | friends well met. * ok % X Ordinary conversation is compli- of preventing war or guaranteeing the | €ated, too, by the play of humor and seriousness, in a way that has no counterpart in a court of law. stitution the mere existence of which| While something humorous may provides the world with visible hope | CToP Up, from time to time in cross- that there are better places of com- examination, in the main a court of law is serious. posing its disputes than the battlefeld. | What may crop up on the funny side The entry of the United States will [ is plainly & by-product of something enhance its prestige. The Senate thus finally exemplify by a practical deed the fair words this country has always uttered in favor of the arbitral principle in international relations. ———— Alfalfa Bill of Oklahoma thinks a century will reduce America to ob- livion. A hundred years is too short | & time for any such change in status. It would be as reasonable to assume that in a century America will be sending out expeditions to rediscover | Europe. ——e— strengthen the Court’s influence and | €lse. In ordinary day-after-day conver- sations, however, the mixture of humor should speed the necessary vote and | and seriousness is approved. Often the serious is “put over” under the guise of good, clean fun. Every one is acquainted with at least one man who specializes in this sort of thing. He hits below the belt, but if he were to be accused of doing 50, he would deny indignantly the al- legation. Why, he was just joking. Couldn’t the other be a good sport? They handle such things better in court. Daily conversations are so many and varied that even the most retiring per- son has plenty of opportunity to study humanity in this way. Probably a great many persons never stop to realize that every chat with a friend or acquaintance or stranger is a study in human nature. Thus we are all students in a great field. Recollection still cherishes the days when a billion-dollar Congress was mentioned with pained astonishment. Many people did not believe there LN The combination of fun and seri- the best excuses. Under the cover of plenty of excitement it is not neces- sary for this type to make any effort at all to reply to a question. One may pretend that none was put. The answer to this sort of surliness of disposition is to repeat the question at once, and in exactly the same way as_before. This is & sort of trap to the fellow. If he answers this time, it proves to all and sundry that he heard in the first place. If he does not answer it shows one of two things, either that he is twice as {ll-tempered as you thought him, or he really may be hard of hearing. ‘We ought to try to be fair. * Kok % He who makes out that he does not understand is much harder to deal with. In the first place he really may not. In that case there is nothing to do but repeat the question, or rephrase it nearer to his heart's gesire. That is giving him the benefit of the doubt. The difficulty comes in judging him as to determined intent to pretend he does not understand. If he simply is beating the air for time, he might as well be permitted a little breathing space, but by no means should he be catered to. In this small emergency the best thing to do is to repeat the question just as it was put the first time. You are going on the assumption, and it probably is correct, that he understood perfectly the first time, but simply pretends that he did not, mainly in order to cast suspicion upon the questioner. He hopes to confuse you, to “show you up,” as he would put it. * X ¥ X The greatest politeness possible, therefore,*is demanded in the every- day treatment of such cases. The procedure hearkens back to the give-and-take of ordinary conversa- tion, where one is supposed not to resent a nasty remark if made in a spirit of “fun,” as it is called. In dealing with the sullen person who either pretends he doesn't hear or doesn’t understand, it is best to be all smiles. This is turning the tables on him, as it were, in the approved conversational manner. A simple repetition of the question, in exactly the same tone, informs him very well that he has heard, and also that he probably has understood. All reason for subterfuge, therefore, is at an end. * ok ok % Pretense that one has not heard. or that one does not understand, strikes basically at good conversation. “negative prohibitive legislation” of-! Was S0 much money in the world. An fers the way to improvement and|®!/€ht-and-a-half - billion - dollar Con- ousness vastly complicates talk. All talk, even the briefest inter- also offers a new American public | personnel program. But of particular | interest in Washington are the spe- cific recommendations for improve- ment of the Federal public service.| These include: + Placing all postmasterships in the fcivil service system, with their re- | cruitment primarily by promotion, and the placing of all Federal deputy collectors of Internal Revenue and marshals in the classified civil service. The extension of civil service and imerit system to professional and skilled services of the regular depart- ments, which now are excepted, to- gether with immediate extension of the civil service to personnel of emer- | gency agencies. i Extension of the merit system| under supervision of the Civil Service | Commission to personnel of all State and local government agencies which receive or spend Federal funds. Amendment of veteran preference {laws to remove their conflict with principles of the merit system, repeal | {of the general “quota law” provisions | and repeal of the “married persons” clause of the economy act. ] These recommendations are all| aimed at extension of the principles of the merit system. They are all logical, all unopposed by those who are willing to be guided by the prin- ciple that merit should be the basic qualification for government office. But their application will be resisted as long as the political spoilsman regards public service—Federal, State or local—as his own and his party’s possession, to be apportioned in patronage as he wills. Recom- mendations for improving the public service, such as those just made, are valuable when there exists a demand for its improvement. But that de- mand will not be effective until it is greater than the demand of the gress shows how the Nation has grown. ——— ‘The Department of the Interior joins ing direct production from the earth 50 conspicuous & subject that the State Department may find less interrup- tion in solving surface problems of political geography. —oe—s The Supreme Court of the United the Department of Agriculture in mak- hi States has always implied dignity, though not necessarily ease. Its work sometimes becomes harder than that of a base ball umpire and just as much subject to indiscriminate pop- ular comment. ——e— The fall of the Nation is predicted by Alfalfa Bill Murray of Oklahoma. It will not fall. Evolution may merely find some who have indulged in tree- It permits, for one thing. those who hear to pretend that they do not he: It offers the man trying to ga time the opportunity to prented that he does not understand what is said to m. These types are known everywhere, but are perhaps at their worst in cer- tain kinds of employment where stran- gers from out of town must ask ques- tions. Then it is very easy for the surly- tempered to make out that they do not hear the question at all. If there is any way for them to pre- | tend that they do not hear, they will avail themselves of it. Noise is one of change of opinion, is conversation. Two words, bandied back and forth, may mean a great deal. Hence there is no good in believing, as some will, that all this is making 2 mountain out of a molehill. In con- versation every word is of importance. It will not do to let any one imagine, for a moment even, that he can act as if he did not hear, when he did hear, or that he does not understand what was said, when it is plain to all that he must have understood. Let him know at cnce that you are onto him. This brings him down off his saddle quicker than anything else. Deposit Insurance Not Sufficient Remedy for Present Banking 1lIs ‘To the Editor of The Star: I have been very much interested in the controversy over whether or top antics required to climb down and | not the Federal Deposit Insurance work on the level. Corp. could require that all banks, both members and non-members of A deliberate effort is apparently u to the unsatisfactory situation of Rus- sian taxpayers who financed it. —.— Respectful consideration is de- manded for pay restoration. The wage envelope is, after all, what must be depended on for an important share of the taxes. e These are serious times. No radio steal ghe microphone for the trial at Flemington, N. J. ——.—————_ “Watchful waiting” was a good phrase in its day. At present there are too many things to watch and a fear of undue procrastination. spoilsmen. ‘The American people must be taught that a large part of their tax burden is represented in the estimated four and a half billion dollars they spend annually on sal- aries of public service personnel. The way to bring economies which might lessen this tax burden does not lie in blind, horizontal salary reductions insurance, which must not and will not be allowed to lapse. ————————— A study of crime waves may suc- ceed in satisfying curiosity as to why s0 many underworld performers pick on New Jersey. ———s Being Ill The most tedious business in the world, it would seem, is that of being 1ll. A person goes about his routine duty day after day under normal conditions and rarely pauses to realize what a wonderful privilege it is to enjoy approximate good health. Long periods of years, indeed, may pass wherein no serious sickness of any kind will interrupt the regular course of activity. Then, suddenly and with- out warning, a man encounters a force too powerful to be resisted on equal sterms and there ensues an exhausting struggle with disease, a wearisome invalidism and a slow recuperation for all of which medical aid, nursing and monumental patience are required. In the end, of course, recovery is achieved in the majority of cases, and the erstwhile victim is released to the freedom of ordinary physical well- being. But & change has occurred, some- thing has happened in the mind of the convalescent. Actually, he has had an object lesson in the value of health. Dull and stolid, surely, would be any individual who did not feel a definite, tangible thrill of joy in winning en- franchisement from pain. The liberty to move again in an accustomed orbit of work and play, to forget momen- tarlly the claims of self, to be well enough to have time and energy to think of others, certainly are pleasures impossible to over-estimate. Yet sub- ’ or the drastic reduction in main- tenance costs of necessary govern- mental functions, but in the steady improvement through selection based on merit of public service personnel. This will be possible when there is —_— e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Friend Einstein. Friend Einstein, we have wandered oft With you in mysteries of space. We could not follow far aloft, But this, you said, in his interpretation of the law to the effect that non- member banks could not be required | Government, additional business because of that fact, which carries with it an implied obligation to see that the patron of the bank does not suffer. That argu- ment, while appealing generally, is nevertheless purely specious. Super- the Federal Reserve System, pay a | vision does not carry any such obliga- niform interest rate upon savings | tion. being made to obscure the glories of | accounts. Senator Glass apparently | responsible to the beneficiaries of in- | the Russian ballet by calling attention | has prevailed If it did the States would be surance policies, for the insurance companies are supervised: the Federal upon such reasdning, to conform to rules respecting banks ; would be responsible for the invest- of the Federal Reserve System. But, however correct the Senator from Virginia may be in his interpre- tation of the law, he must, as a matter of logic, concede the necessity of uni- formity of interest payments, as other- wise under the ‘eposit guarantee the banks paying the higher rate of in- terest on savings would very likely get an undue portion of that class of mitted. Since the losses are to be borne uniformly, there must be a uniformity of conditions under which | entertainer can be funny enough to | business. This should not be per- | ments in stocks and bonds under the new securities act, for the issuance of stocks and bonds is now super- vised by the Federal Government. And, furthermore, to make the argu- ment ludicrous, which it is, the losses in pari-mutuel gambling places should be made good by the States, for such gambling places are supervised by State agencies. The treatment of the banking situa- tion is in keeping with other measures adopted to meet this emergency—un- sound logically and economically, but the deposits are obtained. Of course, | justified as temporary measures. But if one bank is permitted to pay 3 per cent on its savings deposits and another only 2'; per cent it is easy to determine which of the two is going to get the bulk of the time deposit business, and the bank paying the higher rate may be and often is the weaker bank. Now I am not disposed to criticize the present deposit insurance or guar- antee law. It was proper to take such measures to restore general confidence in the banks of the country. But as & permanent policy the law is well nigh all wrong. Why should money placed in a savings bank as such or a was no disgrace. | savings department of a commercial bank as an investment, and millions We have discerned the stagnant pools | ypon millions of dollars are thus in- Of earth with microscopic gaze, vested, be protected any more than a Surprised to find how Nature's rules | like amount invested in stocks and Permit corruption that dismays. bonds, real estate or what not? There ferent treatment, but I have been un- general recognition that governments are maintained for the people and not for the spoilsmen. —_———— There will be no dole, but hopes will still remain of the political pay envelope providing a maximum of pay for a minimum of work. ——e—s. After Twelve Years. Roundly, twelve years after Presi- dent Harding, in February, 1923, orig- inelly proposed such action, the Senate for American entry into the World Court. A conference between Presi- dent Roosevelt and Democratic Senate leaders resulted in a decision to have the protocol of ratification reported out of the Foreign Relations Com- mittee this week and brought to the Senate floor for an early vote. The committee yesterday by a two- thirds vote took this action. Be- majority, there is no reason to doubt that ratification will be approved in may be some valid reason for the dif- Friend Einstein, as we sadly grope Among the teeming haunts of pain, | * Restore to us a splendid hope And lead us to the stars again. Variation, “You seem to have changed your mind on some subjects.” “That is unavoidable,” Senator Sorgham. different ghost writer.” answered Jud Tunkins says there is such a thing as too much patience. His “Silvery Waves” on the piano. Mounting Mathematics. At millions I have had a try, By billions I'm perplexed. I shall go on till, by and by, I wonder what comes next. Humble Protest. “You have some rich relations,” said cause of the immense administration | 1€ SOSSIP- ble to discover it thus far. Of course, I know that it is argued that the banks are under State or Federal supervision and that they get the time is coming when these half- baked measures must give way to well- reasoned and permanent measures. The banking system is one of those measures that will have to have a thorough overhauling. The credit system of the country must be re- moved from the control of the profit motive on the part of stockholder or patron, or both, or the competitive system restored, whereby the strong, conservative and honestly conducted bank is permitted to obtain and hold business upon its individual record and responsibility. We can't have the present hybrid system of individual profit and group responsibility, for it will not work. You might as well try to operate an engine without any governor. We must have in combina- tion the fly wheel of the profit incen- tive controlled by the governor of re- sponsibility. The present insurance or guarantee of deposit system sepa- rates these mutally essential factors, and because of such separation the whole system is headed for great grief sooner or later. JNO. W. HESTER. Federal Charters for Indus ¥Prom the Wilkes-Barre Record. Elimination of the expense of code enforcement is one of the advantages “I have hired & | mentioned in favor of the adoption of a plan for the Federal incorpora- tion of industries engaged in inter- state business. This plan has been suggested by John Dickinson, Assist- ant Secretary of Commerce, and is about to take the steps necessary | grandmother is still trying to play | Frank R. Eldridge, chief of the intelli- gence division of the Commerce De- partment. ‘The basic idea is to inake it possible penses, and all, as Mr. Stewart puts it. The Dickinson-Eldridge idea also points to something like a permanent plan for the regulation of industry. It would tend to perpetuate the pre- rogatives which the Federal Govern- ment has asserted in the business field under the N. R. A. It would mini- mize the importance of limitations in State charters since naturally they wculd be superseded by those granted by the Federal Government. e Russia’s Little Eva. for such industries to govern them- | From the Wall Street Journal. selves without N. R. A. supervision. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is being played At the same time the way is indicated | in Russia. AsRussians, being atheistic, for the retention of Blue Eagle prin- | no longer recognize Heaven, they had ciples in the conditions laid down by | to change the part in the play where the charters. Little Eva dies and ascends into para- As explained by Charles P. Stewart, | dise, pulled up by invisible wires. The ‘Washington correspondent for the | Russians have Eva get well and go to Record: “The plan drafted by Dickinson and “Yes,” answered Farmer Corntossel. | Eldridge, approved, it is said, by Sec- “Buf retary of Commerce Daniel C. Roper, ¢ a5 chey v douion e & fo n :nd"premunbly to be submitted to|From the Williamsport (Pa.) Sun. due course, despite the opposition | ™€ t0the expense of buying my family new clothes to wear to foolish parties.” in January, contemplates work in a cement factory. Shoestring Recovery. A Hollywood designer says that high threatened by those veteran irrecon- cilable foes of the League of Na- Cross-Examination. continuation of the exemption of big|laced shoes are coming back into industries from the pinch of anti-|fashion, reflecting, no doubt, the trend trust legislation. It also aims to re-|of the times, which have seen many & ‘The proposal for the United States’ adhesion to the international tribunal will have attached to it, when sub- mitted to the Senate, the so-called Reed amendment, of which former and some others who share their views. Against injustice it is our defense. Yet sometimes courts appear to legalize What looks like plain infernal im- pudence. “De worst thing about strong drink,” Senator David A. Reed of Pennsylvania | said Uncle Eben, “is dat it seems to tions, Senators Borah and Johnson, | or eourse the law we reverently prise, | lieve them from the expense of code | fortune return to the shoestring from enforcement, but stands by the prin-| which it ciple of collective bargaining. It also stands by the Blue Eagle wage, hour and miscellaneous other standards.” Seventeen. The Government would still hold | Prom the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader. the whip hand, for charters could be| A psychologist, marking up averages revokadpfm' cause, and it is under-|and running up'lmposmg columns of tood that the authority would be |figures, says that the average intelli- :aned in the Commerce Department | gence is that of a 17-year-old. Oh, was the author. It provides that the | have a special attraction for weak |ty return the offending companies to| well, in that case it knows e United States would join the Court ! minds.* A , the mercies ¢f N. R. A—codes, ex-!and then some. 2 I .. JANUARY 10, 1935. The Political Mill By G. Gould Lincoln., President Roosevelt's special mes- sage to Congress on social security legislation—old-age pensions, unem- ployment insurance, etc.—is to go to the Capitol by the middle of next week, the President says. Western Senators and Representatives say that it will have to be potent to meet the drive of the friends of the Townsend $200-a-month old-age pen- sion plan. They predict that within & couple of weeks Washington will have begun to feel the full strength of this drive. The Townsend plan has galloped across States of the ‘West like clouds of grasshoppers, eat- ing up opposition wherever it has raised its head. The Westerners be- lieve that it will be equally strong once the virus is injected into East- 1ern veins. The recent action of the | Democratic majority in the House, | killing the rule under which 145 | members, or one-third of the mem- | bership of that body, could sign & petition and force a vote on discharg- ing a standing committee from con- sideration of a bill before it, came, they say, in the nick of time to de- lay, if not prevent entirely, consid- eration of the Townsend plan. Under the amended rules it takes a ma- fority of the House membership, 218 when there are no vacancies, to make such a petition effective. The ‘Townsend bill may sleep in a com- mittee, therefore. * ko ok ‘The old and the near-old, those who are 60 and over and those who expect to be 60, have become excited in Massachusetts as well as in Cali- fornia about this plan to give a $200-a-month pension to every man and woman 60 years old or more. Fifteen million signatures to a peti- tion for the Townsend bill is the lit- tle document which the bjll's sup- porters are planning to submit to Congress. The administration’s plan is not like the Townsend plan for old-age pensions. The age limit is believed to be 65 and the amount of pension, perhaps as much as $40 a month. Half of this amount would be pro- vided by the States and half by the Federal Goverrment. Probably a mere $75,000,000 would be sufficient to start the Government on the way to this pension spending. So far as unemployment insurance is concerned, it is expected that the funds to pay this insurance—which is not to be an immediate substitute for. relief for the destitute and un- employed—will come perhaps entirely ! from the employers and the emyloyes. ! The States will have to enact the {laws, but the Federal Government, using its power to withhold Federal money, will be in a position to com- {pel the States to keep to certain standards. That power, by the way, of money spending by the Federal Government has grown vaster and vaster with the years, and particu- larly with the recent years. It can compel the States to borrow money for all kinds of projects. There is no reason why it cannot fail to compel States to pass laws such as the Federal Government demands. The States seem to like the process— although it is a process that spells ultimate doom of independent action {by the individual States. x Washington is all agog over the form which the $4,000.000,000 -one sum—or lump sum—work reliéf ap- propriation is to take. More par- ticularly it.is -interested in who is going to handle this vast sum for the President. Obviously the Chief Executive could not give the time to work out the details of such a spend- ing program, nor one iota ‘of the time that will be required to see that it is properly administered. Whether the job will be turned over to an existing agency, a combination of existing agencies or whether a new agency will be set up to spend this money is part of the question. The President has at hand e well set up public works outfit in the P. W. A. It could be expanded and a lot of preliminary work avoided thereby. ‘There are politicians and some po- litical leaders who do not think that Secretary Ickes, as P. W. A. admin- istrator has “done right” by them, i. e, has not given them what they wanted. They do not want Mr. Ickes to control this new fund. It is interesting that just at this time there should be considerable conver- sation about grooming Mr. Ickes for a vice presidential candidate in 1936, to run with President Roosevelt. * k ¥ x ‘The present expectation is that the $4,000,000,000 appropriation will be sought in a special appropriation bill. It probably can be handled more ex- peditiously that way. Senator La Fol- lette and other “big works” Senators promise to offer amendments increas- ing the total amount up to $10,000,000- 000 or more. There seems no doubt, however, that the administration will be entirely successful in keeping the appropriation to the $4,000,000,000 limit the President has set. There will be a roar about the lump-sum ap- propriation on the ground that Con- gress is again abdicating and turning its powers over to the President. The bill carrying this money is expected to say that the money is to be expended for half a dozen or more kinds of work, without tying down any specific sum to each kind of work, and to let it go at that. Slum clearance, rural housing, rural electrification are among the kinds of projects that the President himself has specified. If the President has all this money avail- able to spend as he determines, he will have a huge club to hold over the heads of the public utilities. He could dump as much as he wished into any State or community to build power plants to produce electricity in com- petition with the private concerns. * ok k% Representative Louis Ludlow of In- diana. energetic Democratic member of the House from Indianapolis, has been at considerable pains to ascer- tain the sentiment of the Governors of all the States of the Union on the “direct primary.” He has reported to the House that the Governors are as & whole strongly in favor of the pri- mary system as opposed to the old convention system of nominating party candidates for office. Mr. Lud- low was actuated to make this can- vass of the Governors because it has been said that Indiana would lead a movement away from the primary and back to the convention. Mr. Ludlow said: “In taking this Nation-wide refer- endum, my purpose was to bring out in bold relief the true status of the primary in America. Only one soli- tary Governor of a State that has the primary expressed himself in op- position to that method of nominations, and that one is the Gov- ernor of Michigan. With that ex- ception, sentiment among the Gov- ernors is unanimous. Every Demo- cratic Governor who expressed his views was for the primary and against the convention ernors, as expressed Touid e n. sesctionary l'teop. ‘The :iovmon of the various States are thus on record as being overwhelmingly in favor of the pri- A ! A reader can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Washington Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C. stamp for reply. Q. What was hyssop which is men- tioned in the Bible?—G. C. A. The plant has not been identi- fled. Twigs of hyssop were used for sprinkling in the Mosaic rites of puri- fication and sacrifice. Q How many cadets have been sraduated from West Point?>—H. K. B. A. As of June, 1934, there were 10,182 cadets graduated from West Please inclose Q. Are the varnishes used on violins now the same as those used by the | early violin makers?—Z. A. 8. A. There is the theory that the varnish used by the old masters per- meated the wood and became actually a part of it. In this respect, the var- nish used by modern violin makers differs, since it does not pervade the wood. Q. What was the old name for the Hawallan Islands’—E. B. A. They were formerly called the Sandwich Islands. Q. How did the curfew originate? —H. A 8. | A. The word is taken from the French words, “couvrir feu,” and de- | scribes the obligation which was placed upon all citizens to cover with | ashes or to bank any fire which they might have in their houses at a | certain time of the day when the | curfew bell was rung. This was soon | after sundown and was & measure of fire prevention. Q. Is & chief boatswain in the Navy & commissioned officer>—A. J. R. A. He is not. He is a chief petty officer., | Q. Who built the old Cumberland road?—L. S. A. The National Old Trails road is | an American highway, the only one | originally built by the United States | Government. It was conceived by | George Washington in Colonial days, financed by Congress on admitting | Ohio into the Union in 1802, and ex- tended by Congress in 1825 to Santa Fe, then in Mexico. In 1837 it passed under State control. It is variously | known as the National Pike, Cumber- land Road, and Santa Fe Trail. Itex- tends from Washington, D. C. to Los | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN, —_— Q. How did Mackinaw coats get their name?—M. B, A. The material of which they are made resembles that of Mackinaw blankets. The blankets were formerly distributed from Fort Mackinaw to local Indians. Q. Why is there no coal between Pennsylvania and Canada’—G, C. A. The geologically oldest rocks in which coal beds are known to occur are of Mississippian agc. The coal measures of Pennsylvania are of Pennsylvanian age. The Carbonifer- ous formations, which include the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian rocks. extend to Northern Pennsylvanis and beyond them to the north are only Devonian rocks, or those of greater geologic age, none of which are coal- bearing. Q. What kind of food is dobef==J. L. A. Dobe is fried plantain.’ Ripe plantains are selected, cut into thin sections, powdered with sugar and fried in butter. Q. Please give some information about the Morris Arboretum’in Penn< sylvania—G. 8. E. A. Bequeathed to the University of Pennsylvania by the late Miss Lydia Thompson Morris, this 170-acre arboretum comprises two family estates, Compton, of 95 acres in Chest- nut Hill, and Bloomfield, a 75-fcre farm adjoining and just over the Montgomery County line. Both over- look the Whitemarsh Valley. For more than 40 years Miss Morris and her brother, the late John T. Morris, gathered rare and beautiful shrubs from all parts of the world and planted them in the grounds. The resulting gardens among the loveliest in the United States. The bequest provides for the and woods are | development of the arboretum and for botanical research and instruc- tion, Q. I notice that some writer states that one reason for the rapid spread of the starling and English sparrow in the United States was that some of their natural enemies were not brought with them when they came into this country. What are the na- tural enemies of these two birds’— H. J. A. Among their enemies may be mentioned any of the good-sized hawks, the little owl, the weasel and the gray squirrel. Mammals such as the weasel and squirrel attack the nests especially. Several types of Angeles, Calif, a distance of 3,096 birds, which are natural enemies of miles, and it is the most northerly | the sparrow, but not of the. starling. all-year road from the Atlantic to the | because of the latter’s greater size Pacific. It has more miles of pave- | and pugnaciousness, are the rook, the ment than any other highway in | magpie and the jay. Neither bird America, permits the fastest road | had any internal parasites and: the transit from coast to coast, and car- | fact that both species took up their ries more transcontinental travel than | residence in or near cities lessened any other two highways. Q. Does streamline design on auto- mobiles reduce or increase the wear on the tires>—T. H. A. Airflow design on cars, all other things being equal, would tend to re- duce the wear on tires, since at high speeds somewhat less work is being done through them. Q. Please describe the personal ap- | pearance of Van Gogh.—H. M. | A. Thomas Craven says: “The face of Vincent Van Gogh was a thing to turn one’s soul—it was gruesome and holy, the composite of peasant, con- | vict and Christ. His angular mattoid skull was crowned with short red hair; | his pose was huge, his mouth fierce and set like a trap; his cheek-bones stuck out, and his greenish eyes, deep- sunken beneath enormous brows, stared | at the world, now with the gentle blankness of an infant, now with the ghastly brilliance of a religious lunatic.” the number of natural enemies which they had had in England. Q. How early were waterworks con- structed?—F. A. B. A. Waterworks structures have ex- isted from the earliest periods of civ- ilization, and remains have been found in many prehistoric ruins. Those of Lake Moeris, in Egypt, are believed to date from 200 B.C. These were the largest reservoirs in the Nile Valley. In India waterworks and res- ervoirs were in existence centuries be- fore the Christian era. There are also numerous biblical references to such structures. The water supply of Rome was one of the marvels of ancient times. Q. Is there a time when a galloping horse has all of its feet off the ground at once?—M. M. M A. There is one phase in the gal< lop when the animal is entirely off the ground. with the four legs flexed under the body. Tinkham’s League Plot Charge Gets Only Scant Consideration Representative Tinkham's charge] that the United States is being enticed | into the League of Nations through | membership into the International La- bor Office received scant consideration by the press, as did also his attack | upon Secretary of Labor Perkins as the instigator of the plot. “Representative Tinkham charges that our entrance into the interna- tional labor organization was a plot hatched by Miss Perkins to get us into the League of Nations through | the back door,” observes the San Jose Mercury Herald. “He is unduly | alarmed, for this organization con- cerns itself only with labor conditions and problems in each country. It is to our interest to assist in every possible way the raising of the standard of | living of foreign workers, for we have | a high standard. Cheap labor is one | of our handicaps in world markets, enabling. as it does, foreign producers , to undersell us.” The Buffalo Times adds: “We have banded together with | 62 other nations to try -to stabilize world labor conditions. That is the | nefarious plot uncovered by ’I‘ink-i ham.” i “Representative Tinkham.” says the Canton (Ohio) Repository, “is getting a little ahead of the facts. True, the co-operate with other nations in labor matters were really an entrance into the League, there are many citizens of Representative Tinkham’s own State who are not frightened by the pros- pects of the United States joining the peace organization.” The Portsmouth (Ohio) Times as- serts: “As for the World Court and the thwarting of the will of the Amer- ican people, Representative Tinkham should look again at the record of public and legislative opinion on that issue. The United States has been kept out of the World Court by an uncompromising minority of Senators. Public opinion has been thwatrted all right. but not in the way Representa- tive Tinkham means.” “Did not the worthy Congressmen have full power to check up on the soundness of Sec- retary Perkins’ statements concerning the International Labor Office?” asks the Kalamazoo Gazette. “Was it not their privilege to discuss and debate and denounce the resolution for hours on end if they had chosen to do so— indeed, to defeat the proposal by a crushing majority and thus protect this country against the awful fate which Mr. Tinkham describes.” It is the opinion of the Newark Eve- ning News that “the Representatives international labor organization is knew what they were doing so thor- part of the League of Nations. But it | oughly that, to make their position was organized before the treaty of“doubly plain, they put into their ac- Versailles went into effect. Further- ceptance resolution a provision that more, it was organized in Washington | the President, in accepting member- by a conference whose president was ship in the labor office, should as- the United States Secretary of La- sume no obligation under the coven= bor.” | lewport News Times-Herald explains that the I. L. O. is & co-oper- ative organization aimed at abolition of child labor, for improving the con- dition of women in industry and for bettering conditions and hours of work. Its sole connection with the League is that it is trying to do some of the same things the League of Na- tions seeks to do in one of its subdi- visions.” The Times-Herald continues, suggesting that the Tinkham attack “smacks more of a post-Christmas nightmare prompted by too long a so- journ at the Christmas dinner table.” | The Dayton Herald and the Tulsa ‘World are inclined to share the Rep- resentative’s concern over what the Tulsa paper calls “a frequently mani- fested disposition to creep in at the League’s back door.” Even though it assumes that “many Americans feel the way the Massachusetts Represent- ative does about getting too much in- volved with the League,” however, the Portland (Me.) Press-Herald sees no 400d reason why this country should not co-operate with it in many of the things it is undertaking to do. ‘The Lynchburg Daily Advance goes 30 far as to say: “Even if the step to ————— mary system of making nominations tol'r;ublk: offices and in opposition to ant of the League of Nations.” The Kansas City Star concludes that “in the state of mind produced | by the fraudulent entry of his coun- try into the League, it is probably use- less to wish the member from Massa= | chusetts a happy new year.” - The Munitions Inquiry. | Prem the San Jose Mercury Herald. The investigation of the munitions | industry by a Senate committee has uncovered many abuses. Among them are lobbying, bribery and interference with the efforts of Government to prevent the export of arms when cal- culated to foment wars. The need of regulation is shown, but the facts revealed afford no sup- port for the theory that the private traffic in arms is a major cause of war. The abuses call for correction, but the problem is an intérnational one and the regulation, to be effective, must be international. To provide for national defense there must be ade- quate munition supplies, and so long as they are unlimited in other coun- tries the United States cannot with safety limit them. The causes of war lie not in the profit motive of munition makers but in national ambitions, desires’ and passions. The only way to remove the convention system.” them is through the slow process of * x ok % building an international order on the the primary | time backward ‘The appointment of Ferdinand Pe- cora to be a justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, re- cently sent to the State Senate by Gov. Lehman, will leave vacant an l;xunt place on the Federal Se- es Commission. When it comes for President Roosevelt to fill this place his selection will be care- fully scanned to determine whether » basis of law-abiding behavior. The United States Senate has the opportunity to render a great service to this cause by demanding that our Government throw its full moral strength and influence in support of | the international court of justice and the efforts of foreign nations to ad- | just disputes by arbitration. concilis tion and other peaccable means. Thi far it has been the greatest obstacle: to our co-operation for such ends, A