Evening Star Newspaper, February 13, 1935, Page 8

A—8 THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1935. _———_———————__———*‘—‘——L———_—__%—___—__________——————————————“d THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. WEDNESDAY, February 13, 1935 pe pext fiscal year to $957,000,000 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. Editor _— The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. cago Office: Lake n . gl‘ronm Omco.‘::lrne nt 8t.. Londen. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Rerular Edition. ‘The Evening B'.al‘ S !‘:}0 per month 71987 Sti0c per month dsy Star n undays). .. . 65cper monty ‘The Sunday Star Sapwe s ‘Der copy Night Final Edition. Nient Pinal and Sunday Star 70c per month tar. ."" bbc per month i ine end .l 5, of each 5000 sent by mail or Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday. .1 yr.. $10.00: 1 mo.. #5¢ Daily only ......1yr. $6.00:1mo. 50¢ Sinday 6nly; 5.0 137, $4.00: 1 mo. 406 All Other States and Canada. Daily and Sunday . 1 yr., $12.00; 1 mo.. $1.00 Daily only . 7 135 *58.00: 1 mo. - 98¢ Sunday only.... '1yr. $500:1mo.. 60¢c Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press 1s exclusively GIT titled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not other- wise credited in this paper and also th local news published herein All rights o publication of spectal dispatches herein . are also rererved. lers mi month, _ Or telephone Natlonal _—— American Liberty. Former President Herbert Hoover, speaking at the Lincoln day dinner of the National Republican Club, extolled individual liberty under constitutional | He pictured Abraham | safeguards. Lincoln as a great liberal who be- lieved that the people should be the masters, not the pawns, of govern-| ment. Without making a direct at- tack on the New Deal administration, the former Chief Executive virtually indicted it. Mr. Hoover told the Republican Club and the country that “whatever violates, infringes or abrogates funda- mental American liberty violates the life principle of America as a Nation.” No one will doubt that Mr. Hoover looks upon much of the New Deal— where it seeks to control private busi- ness. to compete with it, and to dic- | tate what the farmers shall and shall not produce—as infringing upon fun- damental American liberty. There are many other Americans who are com- ing more and more to the same view. Infringement upon and abrogation of American liberties may lead in either of two directions—to Com- munism or to Fascism. The New Deal administration would deny emphatic- ally that it has any intention what- ever of abrogating American liberties or of bringing to the country a Com- munistic or a Fascist state. And yet, as Dr. Glenn Frank, president of the University of Wisconsin, who was also a speaker at the Lincoln day dinner, insisted, there is an inclination on the part of the New Dealers to compro- mise, to turn toward “sleek systems of political management” such as char- acterize either Fascism or Com- munism. Under the continued drive of the New Dealers for a national planning so complete as to make for govern- mental and political control of the general activities of the people a more restive spirit is developing. This spirit is making itself manifest in the Congress, which has shown signs of disregarding the direction and leader- ship of the administration on several occasions since it met last month, par- ticularly in the Senate. tude on the part of Congress was un- expected, in the light of the fact that the administration had been S0 strongly upheld in elections last Fall. But it has demonstrated itself. There is a growing feeling that the Execu- tive is reaching out too far. Democrats who in the past looked to Thomas Jefferson for their politi- cal teaching, but who have in the past two years gone the way of the New Dealers, are beginning to rub their eyes. Republicans, including some of the progressive wing of the party, are asking questions. Still others want to know if personal liberty is to be the price of social security and are wondering whether the brand of social security proposed is worth the exchange. Lincoln warned the country that it could not continue to exist half free and half slave. The country can no more continue to exist half Govern- ment controlled in its labor and busi- ness and farming and half private controlled. Unless the creeping grip of Government domination is checked it will control all. Republican speak- ers have been warning of this danger for months. Their warnings have fallen on deaf ears, until recently, ———————— Certain professional formalities have their ludicrous side. Attorneys begin by complimenting each other and then proceed to express the most scathing personal opinions. B Our Watch on the Pacific. Whether because of the breakdown of naval limitation negotiations or for other reasons, the administration proposes to lose no time in perfect- ing the United States’ defensive po- sition in the Pacific. Plans just an- nounced call for conversion of Ha- waii into a base as impregnable as Britain's Gibraltar or her newer out- post at Singapore In addition to strengthening the defensive quality of Hawali, it is intended to maintain a line of naval bases stretching all the way from Alaska, past Puget Sound, to the Panama Canal Zone. The entire network is to constitute a far-flung first line of defense in the Pacific. The cost of these arrangements, measured by their importance, can al- most be characterized as nominal. It is fixed at $38,098,000. Of that amount, about $15,000,000 would be spent at Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, in- clusive of $10,000,000 for a floating dry dock. The naval projects in Ha- waii are in addition to $18,000,000, which the Army is to spend on con- struction of & huge air base at Hono- lulu. Altogether, for kindred pur- poses, principally in the Pacific area, 4 Such an atti- | | the Army and Navy plan to utilize some $58,000,000. It is estimated that these extra ex- penditures will bring the total to be | disbursed for national defense during and that other grants from the pub- lic works fund will augment the amount to $1,000,000,000. These are big figures, but so are the figures that represent the vital interests for the defense of which the Army and Navy are maintained. It cannot be too often emphasized in Congress and throughout the country that our de- fense budget is America’s national life insurance premium—and a low i premium, viewed from the standpoint of what that insurance safeguards. Not the least gratifying aspect of the program for naval security is the | plan for increased personnel. It calls for 1,032 more line officers, whereby there would be a total of 6531. A Navy expanded to full treaty strength will eventually require 7,944 officers. The President’s budget provides for adding 11,000 enlisted men. Meantime Secretary of War Dern is supporting Gen. MacArthur's move to increase the Army by 47,000 men and 2,000 officers. Mr. Dern has just broadcast the statement that the Army has been reduced “below the point of safety.” Events now current in Europe,| Africa and Asia testify that the| world’s longings for peaceful existence {are still far from gratified. In the| presence of such conditions it is well | | that those responsible for maintaining the United States’ defensive establish- | ment are alive to the undeniable ob- | ligations which the international sit- uation imposes upon this country. s The Gravelly Point Development. | The Commissioners are on solid | ground when they insist that the local ! community is in no position to as- sume heavy obligations at this time {for a National Capital airport, the provision of which, if not. left to pri- vate interests, is essentially a re- sponsibility of the National Govern- | ment. Mr. Hazen's proposal of a loan, re- payable in about ten years by the | District and representing approxi- mately a fourth of the cost of develop- ing Gravelly Point as an airport, cer- tainly represents the maximum finan- cial participation to which the District i should be committed. In view of other needs of the community, more directly affecting the majority of its residents, it is not certain that even the terms suggested by Commissioner Hazen would be universally acceptable to local taxpayers. It is not that the air- | port is not needed, but that there are other things more necessary. | But even before there is serious dis- adequate airport should be built, the House committee now investigating the subject might center its energies on hastening development of Gravelly Point. Gravelly Point, as usual, is again receiving the greatest indorse- ment as an airport site. The views jof the commanding officer of the Naval Air Station at Anacostia, to the effect that proximity of a Gravelly Point airport to the air station would { constitute a hazard, were voiced about lfour years ago by 2 representative of the Army Air Corps in speaking of , the enlargement of Bolling Field. | But, curiously enough, another Air jCorps representative has recently {voiced the opinion that little diffi- culty should be experienced in good weather in co-ordinating activities at the three fields—and in bad weather | there would be a minimum of activity § {at any of them. The existence of this hazard seems to be a matter of opinion. The Gravelly Point development kills several birds with one stone, pro- viding, as it does, for adequate and long-delayed dredging of the river, making useful a now unsightly and unusable portion of the Potomac shore and improving flood control conditions. Perhaps the greatest gain that could be made now would be represented in having Congress committed to the pro- gram of developing Gravelly Point more speedily and more consistently than would be the ¢hse if the develop- ment were left to normal dredging operations. When that program is completed. the decision as to its use for an airport could be based on the actual conditions then found to exist. Gravelly Point will be developed through years of normal dredging. The important consideration now is the advantage to be gained by com- 1 cussion of the terms under which an| abroad and acquired by this country for military service, were lost. One of them, known as the ZR-2, built in England, crumpled and fell in flames into the Humber River near Hull, with a loss of 44 of the 49 British and American officers and enlisted men on board. The Italian-built Roma crashed into high-tension elec- tric wires ‘in the course of a trial flight at Hampton Roads air base, February 21, 1922, and was destroyed by the explosion of her hydrogen gas, 3¢ men losing their lives. ‘Thus of the six dirigible warcraft built and acquired by this country for military service, all but one have been lost. The record is not encour- aging. It assuredly suggests that the lighter-than-air warcraft as built and used in this country is not a depend- able mechanism. Yet there are rec- ords of long service by such gas-borne ships. The Graf Zeppelin has made seventy-three transoceanic voyages and one round-the-world trip, and is still in regular service. Now that all three of the American- wrecked, in each case in stress of weather, the question naturally arises whether the fault lies in the designing or the management of these craft. Is there some fault of construction that has made them susceptible to severe stress of wind? Or has their man- agement been at fault in failure to avoid or escape from dangerous weather conditions? This latest disaster will revive the argument against the dirigible. Sure- ly before an appropriation is made for the replacement of the Macon, if that is sought by the Navy Depart- ment, that argument must be heard and weighed to determine whether American designs and methods of construction and management are de- pendable. o When the banking and currency system returns for his consideration Senator Carter Glass may be inclined to speak kindly but firmly, as befits the meeting with a prodigal son. — st The ground hog is still respected as a weather prophet. Although his in- fluential shadow is only a myth, you can not shoot it any more than you can shoot Santa Claus. — Flemington, N. J., will soon be able to call a meeting of local authorities to counteract a feverish attack of publicity due to underworld infection. R E SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON The World's a Stage. A royal pageant fills the street With costumes most exacting. The good King George has done some neat Play acting 'Mongst continental powers we view Great work contacting. stalin and Mussolini, too, Play acting! Herr Hitler takes a lot of blame, Big business transacting. He needs for his box-office game Play acting! Fallacious Phrase. “What is your idea of senatorial courtesy?” ghum, “that compels untruthfulness. I am compelled to Tefer to a man as ‘the gentleman from this State or that' when he is obviously no such thing.” College Yellers. We truly love the college noise, And yet by many it is said That alma mater has some boys ‘Who should be spanked and sent to bed. Jud Tunkins says the war on crime would be easier if a wicked client couldn’t have a good lawyer. Trial by Publicity. The air has brought opinions free That puzzle us anew. ‘When radio talkers disagree What shall a jury do? Closing the Stock Exchange. “Are you a member of the Stock Exchange?” “I am,” answered Mr. Dustin Stax. “And proud of the fact I'm right in sympathy with the general public in a demand for shorter hours and more pay.” Revolving Along. bining a greatly needed enlarged dredging program of the Potomac in this vicinity with development of the site, which will in all probability pro- vide the solution of the problem of locating the airport. —— o It is obvious that the Nation’s banking system, regardless of adjust- ments and readjustments, is perfectly safe. The public s bound to need banks in its business. - Another Dirigible Lost. Pending receipt of a full report it is assumed that the dirigible Macon, lost at sea off the Pacific Coast last night, was the victim of a structural collapse while under the stress of a severe storm. By merciful good for- tune all of the crew but two were saved. The craft is a total loss. This is the third American-built dirigible to suffer defeat from the elements. The Shenandoah was struck by a thunder squall near Cald- well, Ohio, September 3, 1025, and was destroyed, with the loss of four- teen lives. The Akron ran into a severe storm and fell in Wreck- sge into the Atlantic off Barnegat April 4, 1933, with a death list of seventy-three officers and men, only four of the complement surviving. Only one of the dirigibles in ac- tual American service has survived the stress of weather, the Los Angeles, which was built in Germany and re- ceived by this country in war repara- tion. She is now retired from cruising service, being used for landing stage tests. Two other dlr!gl?les, both built The world, we hear, is upside down. ‘We need not wear a sullen frown. This world, as any schoolboy learns, Upon its axis swiftly turns And executes, in neighboring space, Some other motions with much grace. It can’t be very long before It will be right side up once more. “Camp meetin’,” sald Uncle Eben, “is responsible foh some idea dat de person who kin holler de loudest has got de most religion.” e Consumers Get a Break. From the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal. Two State governments are not waiting for Washington to find the right yardstick to be applied to public utility rates. They are proceeding with this enterprise upon their own. In Wisconsin the Public Service Commission has ordered all of the 171 private and municipally owned elec- trical utilities in the State to show cause why a new system of lower rates should not be established. A hearing will be held within 10 days on the proposed schedule. The new arder goes on a theory of low rates to increase use. At the same time, Gov. Frank J. Fitzgerald of Michigan has instituted a movement to secure utility rate re- ductions through conferences with companies and without the formality of long-drawn-out appraisals and resulting litigation. The motive un- derlying this effort is to cut out the delay and red tape that have attended efforts of the Michigan State Utilities Commission to press such agreements in the interest of consumers. — ra—————— The Farm Problem. From the Roanoke (Va.) Times. It takes real statesmanship to satisfy the farmers without giving them what they v'u.nt. built service dirigibles have been{ “It's a fiction,” said Senator Sor-| Rubber tires for milk wagons and rubber-bottomed bottles were advo- cated by this column eighteen years ago. Last week the Associated Press car- ried a dispatch from London telling of the silencing of delivery trucks by rubber tires and soundproofing of bottles, “even when they’re bounced.” The whole world has risen to the need for soundproofing. We hear a lot about air-condition- ing being the business of the future, but soundproofing is going to give it & close run. Little has been done in this regard, surprisingly little, in view of the plain fact that urban noises have increased amazingly over the years, together with a proportionate in-rease in “nerves” on the part of the metro- politan populaces. Every one, up until the last few years, took the rather simple view that no one ought to be offended or hurt or discomfited by noise. ‘Why, noise was natural, was it not? * x kx About five years azo metropolitan New York began to be noise-conscious. Not much has been done, even a beginning has been made. About 95 per cent of possible silenc- ing still has to be carried into effect. Consider the airplane alone. Such vast nolse out of the sky is something new on earth, except in a cataclysm of some sort. has been done about it yet, although no doubt something will be, sooner or later, not so much for the benefit of nervous humanity, of course, as for | the gain of transport and air service in general. aboard trains. These nuisances abated until just a few years ago, although every one understood them, and most deprecated them. They were held to be an inseparable part of a train journey. Now we know better. S The intense racket of the night flight will some day be abandoned, and folks will wonder why the world ever put up with it. The keen-eared person will wonder tary reasons Surely silent planes would be more effective. If they could be silenced (and we understand they can) airplanes would be in a strategic position for camou- flage. be imagined than a cloud? Almost any painter could rig up a plane to re- semble a cloud. it would seem, espe- cially at the distance they fly. The world has grown into its planes so gradually that few persons stop to realize what the night noise will be, say 50 years from now, unless something is done about it. Milk wagons won't be in it, as the idiom has it. * % x % Noise control of the future will be waged on three fronts: 1. Mental. 2. Physical. 3. House soundproofing. Education is the fancy name for | the first front, because the big job 1l WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY tREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. ‘Thomes H. Eliot. a grandson of the late President Charles W. Eliot of Harvard University, who is associate solicitor of the Department of Labor, is receiving honorable mention around town as the principal writer of the unemployment insurance and old-age pension bill. He is one of the bril- liant young products of President Roosevelt's alma mater who throng the different legal divisions of the New Deal. Following his graduation from Harvard College in 1928, he occupied a fellowship at Cambridge University, England, for a year and then returned to America to take his degree at Har- vard Law School in 1932. While there he won the Ames Competition for the best law argument. After a year's practice in Buffalo, he was ap- pointed to the Department of Justice in Washington, and in August, 1933, was transferred to the Department of | Labor. Mr. Eliot's brother, Charles W. Eliot, 2d, is also on duty in Wash- ington, as executive officer of the | National Resources Board, which re- cently transmitted an elaborate report to the President. A% =% Before it reaches the floors of the two houses of Congress, the economic security bill will have undergone the minute scrutiny of the staffs of expert draftsmen who function, respectively, as “legislative counsel” for the House and Senate. The House experts have had the first crack at the measure. Their job as well as that of their Senate colleagues is to X-ray im- portant legislative proposals, to see that proper phraseology is used, and to plug any possible loopholes. They are veterans at their work and are seldom caught napping. The chief of the House legislative counsel is Mid- dleton Beamen. The head of the Senate staff is Charles F. Boots. x5 * ‘When the critics of the manganese ore tariff concession in the reciprocal treaty with Brazil cleared for action they invited combat with Secretary about tariffs and tariffmaking than almost anybody else in the United States. That explains why he was able to hit back at the manganese people with annihilating facts and figures. Due to his long experience in Congress, particularly on the Ways and Means Committee, he knows all the tricks of the lobby trade and is especially familiar with its prediléc- tion for distorted propaganda when it embarks upon & log-rolling campaign. The Secretary’s recent blast exposing the “grossly exaggerated” claims about the manganese industry is a master- piece of rebuttal and refutation. Among other things, he disclosed that exactly 354 out of a total of nearly 45,000.000 gainfully employed Amer- jcans were engaged in mining man- ganese ore in 1929, when the “sky- scraping” Hawley-Smoot tariff was enacted. * Kk kK Lincoln day oratory was conspicuous by its absence in the Senate. Instead the chamber celebrated in the Fourth of July spirit, with Senator Huey Long’s violent attack on Postmaster General Farley supplying the fire- works. In former days Lincoln's birthday anniversary was the invari- able occasion for fulsome, old-fashioned eulogies of the Great Emancipator by Republican stalwarts like Smoot of Utah, Shortridge of California and Fess of Ohio. Now that these Old Guardsmen no longer adorn the scene, Lincoln day spellbinding seems to have vanished with them. * k *x % New York Republicans, especially of the younger element, who are now specializing in ways and means for reorganizing the G. O. P,, want more attention paid to woman members of the party with a view to making a there, to mitigate such nuisances, but | It is so new, in fact, that nothing | Consider the dust, dirt and cinders | continued un- | why such noise is tolerated for mili- | What finer concealment could | of State Cordell Hull, who knows more is to induce millions of persons to admit that a noise is & noise. To them s noise is nothing at all. They love noises, as a matter of fact, and would not admit that any sort of nolse, however compelling, could do them any harm. If you were to confront such & person with the sworn statement of the best physicians, that noises oft cause disease, they would laugh. Such laughter, of course, is no new thing in the world. The world ought to know how to handle the laughter of ignorance bty this time, but it is as helpless today as ever it was. Hence the need for education, as some say; propaganda, &s others put it. The needlessness of noise must be impressed upon them all, until the demand for their suppression is over- whelming. It is impossible to believe that noise could not be put to some better use than just to escape as noise. Surely all those disturbances of air waves, which we call collectively “noise,” might be used to run motors, or do some usual work. The fretting of noise sufferers, after all, is of little use to themselves, but they cannot help it, because they are the advance guard of a new civili- zation, unless the old one breaks down completely, It is a sad thing to comtemplate, the disregard for notse on the part of so many sturdy souls. Is it possible that this dis- regard is a sign of the impossibility of really civilizing mankind? ¥k kb The second front, that of the physical noise itself, can be put into operation only after more persons begin to realize, and to complain. We have just shown the plain diffi- culties standing in the way of this. But no one who believes most of our | modern noises useless and needless, and therefore a vast economic waste, ould lose heart, for as goes the advance guard so will go the army, in time. Suppression of noises will come about, not because those with sensi- tive natures demand it, but be- cause every one in time will come to | see their needlessness and their harm. Then will come an honest effort | to do away with them, and when this time arrives a tremendous advance will be made toward a restoration of the old-time sanity of civilization. Is there any one who can say that civilization today is as sane as it was a quarter of a century ago? *x ¥ ¥ x The third front, that of house soundproofing, 1s surely on the way. It has been rather absurd, come to think of it, that all these cen- turies have gone by without the con- struction of homes that would bar ! out almost all, if not all, outside | noises. H This is a step that is bound to come, not only as scundproofing, but as useful in many ways, notably air- | conditioning. Really soundproofed homes would be warmer in Winter {and cooler in Summer. They would permit others to live as they please without thus often preventing others | from living as they pleased. If there |1n any civilization left in a hundred | years, it is going to be a much quieter | | one, and happier and pleasanter for all. We hail the soundless Utopia!l | livelier appeal to that branch of the electorate in 1936. Something must be done, it is argued, to offset the | conspicucus recognition women have | received in the New Deal, such as the | appointment of a woman Secretary of | Labor, inclusion of women in the little cabinet and the naming of America’s first woman diplomat. The selection of Representative Mary T. Norton of New Jersey as Democratic State chair- man is cited as another example of political wisdom by which the Repub- licans ought to profit. ok ox % If the Chamber of Commerce of Colorado Springs, Colo., has its way the United States is going to have an “auxiliary National Capital” in the western half of the country, “in the interest of greater security and effi- | elency.” Arthur H. Hill of San Diego, | Calif,, informs the Literary Digest that the Colorado Springs organiza- tion recently appointed a special com= mittee of 12 members “to investigate the possibilities of such a movement.” Mr. Hill thinks that in case of war coastal cities like New York, Washing- ton and San Francisco would be in great danger of attack by air. He therefore advocates & western auxili- ary capital, including, in addition to legislative halls, an auxiliary White House, “where our overburdened Presi- dents might have a frequent change of scene and climate.” * * % % No matter what the final fate of the $4,880,000,000 work relief bill in the Appropriations Committee may be, it's certain to become the center of a bit- ter and protracted fight on the Senate floor. With the powerful influence of organized labor back of the “prevail- ing wages” proposal, Republicans and insurgent Democrats are expected to make a stiff attempt to thwart the administration plan to pay “security wages” averaging $50 a month. Con- gressional leaders look for the battle of the session over this highly con- that the scrap will delay the final passage of the bill beyond all original expectations. But the White House marines expect in due course to have the situation well in hand. * % % X Senator Joe Robinson’s friends re- Joice in the decisive rejection by the Arkansas House of Representatives of the resolution to invite Senator Huey Long to speak in Little Rock on his share-the-wealth plan. Hints have been in circulation for a year or more that Long might invade Arkansas politics again in 1936, with a view to encompassing Robinson’s defeat for renomination and re-election. The 58-t0-13 anti-Long vote in the Little Rock House would indicate that Arkansas Democrats are still over- whelmingly true to the veteran m: jority leader in the United States Se: ate. In addition to Joe Robinson, re- port has credited Long with the in- tention of sending his sound trucks against Pat Harrison in Mississippl next year. (Copyright. 1983.) ———— The Sucker Birth Rate. From the Kansas City Times. “Bucker Trade Is Good”—headline. It always is. It is a branch of business that has suffered but little throughout the depression. Barnum has been vin- dicated time after time. If it isn’t one that is born every minute it's two. —— e Drastic-Step Finance, From the Paducah (Ky.) Sun-Demoerat. Editor of a rallway journal says “drastic steps” must be taken to avert Government ownership. The first “drastic step” probably will be to bore row some more money from the Gov- ernment. % troversial point, with the probability | PO NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM Margaret Germond. THE ANGEL WHO COULDN'T SING. By Sophia Cleugh. New York: Doubleday, Doran & Co., Inc. ‘Two great celestial forms, shadowy, tremendous, inspiring, are poised in the far-off vastness of that ethereal realm which is the abode of the eter- nal stars. One of these mighty fig- ures is magnificlently robed in blue. The other, equally resplendent, dif- fers in appearance only in the rich purple of his raiment. Back of the calmness and the patience of their bearing lies the wisdom of the ages, but even in their superior serenity they are troubled, for their charges are unhappy. The Blue Angel has been on guard for a long time when the Purple An- gel approaches with the question: “What, brother, watching the earth again?” “What would you have me do, brother? I am on duty. My charge is down there.” The two angels talk on, discussing. the difficulties which have beset their charges during the various pilgrim- ages they have made on earth. In previous incarnations the little girl for whom the Blue Angel is guardian has suffered greatly and has learned much. He had been reluctant to let her go back to the earth, but, know- ing that the beings who dwell upon the earth will remain incomplete and restless in the great beyond until they have learned to understand that they have the whole of eternity before, be- hind and around them, he had grant- ed her plea for another earthly pil- grimage, and for eight years he has remained poised in the vapors of space, his eyes gazing steadily toward the earth. It is with regret that the Purple Angel learns of the return to earth of his companion’s charge. His own charge is restless and discontented, and is eager to be on the move again. The unhappiness of this aspirant for a place in the heavenly choir 18 due to his inability to sing. He had at- tained so much in his earthly jou neys, the Purple Angel tells his blue- robed brother, and deserved reward. He had for a long time drunk of the cup of life, knowing why. He had al- ways been industrious and a hard worker. “He has only just returned from his last incarnation, which was such a| difficult affair,” continues the Purple Angel. “Brother, my charge has such an unhappy knack of choosing the wrong parents. He either plunges headlong for people who don’t want him, or else he whispers in the ear of a couple possessing extremely definite ideas of what they need. And once more continual misunderstanding has to be overcome. Last time, of course, you remember how he plagued me to let him go. In vain I warned him. 1t was not the right moment for him then.” “No,” agrees the Blue Angel, “it was not.” “He had to be off. And he lived a lonely and miserable span—doing work he never could see the use of— and died a bachelor. Never met one of the souls he had & right to meet.” *® x x There is dread in the voice of the Purple Angel as he discloses the fear that his charge is again going to ask to be allowed to make another pil- grimage. But the Blue Angel has been longer at work as a guardian of human souls, and from the depth of his knowledge replies: “Comfort yourself, brother. You and I know that he is made to sing his immortal song. For that purpose he goes into the world. He will not rest until he has sung it. All his ac- cumulated experience and knowledge will go into it.” “If only he will be patient. But it would be too troubling if he demanded to go back down there too socn. Espe- cially at this time, when the being that is the other half of him is al- ready well started on her pilgrimage.” “He has been singularly unfortunate in missing her so often,” laments the Blue Angel. “The last time he was a poor boy.” “I warned him against choosing those parents—not one idea in com- mon. And your charge was born an heiress.” Out of his superior wisdom the Blue Angel again reminds his troubled brother that each soul has the same goal, and that in the end, however winding and rocky the path, all goes right. He then tells the Purple Angel that his little charge is fatherless again. She is unhappy, not over the loss of the father she barely remem- bers, but because her mother does not want her. He makes it possible for the Purple Angel to look down upon his weeping charge. “Suppose they miss each other again?” asks the Purple Angel. “That is impossible—each time the relation must be more perfect. This time they must learn to know each other well. The force which attracts them is so great that nothing can keep them apart for any length of time—as we know time. Yielding to the plea of his charge, the Purple Angel lowers his hands, palms upward, and bids the unhappy soul to come. A great iridescent bubble, partially luminous, within which a shadowy presence appears, is poised between his fingers. The pres- ence within the circle is given another chance to consider his choice, for the only parents available for him are not suited to his soul’s purpose. -He insists n going, and the Purple Angel, lifting the gleaming bubble high above his head, lets it float away—down— down—down through space. * ok ok % Thus it happened that a marriage was made in heaven. And thus it was that old Jonas Small, in the very early dawn, through the haze which obscured his poor vision, thought for a moment he caught a glimpse of an iridescent bubble descending steadily toward the stately home of Sir Archi- bald and Lady Corliss. A miserably unhappy childhood is the lot of little Christopher Corliss in this new home of wealth to which he has been assigned. Meanwhile, Chris- teen Gay, his cousin and eight years his senior in this incarnation, is grow- ing in strength and knowledge and in personality. She is seventeen and he is but nine when they meet. Not a likely moment for a realization of the destiny so carefully planned for them by those watchful guardians be- yond the earthly realm, in the years that follow Sir Christ er, im- patient with his son because of his tendency to dream and his inclina- tion to become a poet, marries him to a cold, selfish, material-minded girl who has as little understanding of his nature as has his father. Against the perpetual festivities and ceremonial events in which England reveled in the declining Victorian era, and through the succeeding years of cataclysmic chnn:'zs, Christopher and Christeen and each other. It is not through the influence of his wealthy surroundings, or the understanding of his tyrant father, or the inspiration of his un- companionable wife, but through the tender, compassionate love of Chris- teen that Christopher finally sings his immortal song. m-rmuumummnnu ? | ple. know themselves | States. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ). HASKIN. A reader can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Evening Star Information Bu- | reau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. Why are speed records always attempted at Daytona Beach?—C. P. A. The hard sands of the beach at Daytona, Fla., make possible the fast- est’ automobile driving in the world. mh&chhmtmfidelt low Q. Who is the most conspicuous member of the new House of Lords?— A. C A. The Duke of Kent. There are now five princes of the blood royal in the House of Lords. | | Q. Do old bulbs use less electric current?—E. W. ! A. They use the same amount as | similar new bulbs. “The old bulbs give | much less light in proportion to the | current consumed. Q. How far from the Pacific Ocean | is Death Valley?—E. §. A. It is approximately 200 miles east of the Pacific Ocean in a straight | line. Q. Who wrote, “For when the One | Great Scorer comes to write against your name—He marks—not that you won or lost—but how you played the game”?—A. D. H. A. These are the concluding lines of 'l‘slummu Foot Ball,” by Grantland ce. Q. What wild animals are found in Bwitzerland?—I. F. H. A. Among them are bears, wolves, chamois, goats, boars, stags, badgers, foxes, hares, otters, squirrels, birds of prey of large dimensions, the snipe. heathcock, cuckoo, blackbird and woodpecker. | | Q. How many parts has a violin? What kind of wood is used?—H. K. A. There are 70 parts of a violin The back, ribs and bridge are made of maple or plane wood. Spruce is used for the belly, the corners, the molds, linings and sound post. Ebony or rose- wood is used for the finger board, nuts, pegs, tail piece and tail-piece button. | Q. How cold is dry ice? Why does it burn one’s fingers to touch it?— M. C. A. The temperature of this ice is 108 degrees below zero F. and it is so cold that it evaporates without first melt- ing and then absorbs all the more heat in & way that deadens the nerves and | tissue, causing symptoms and pains identical with those brought on by burns. Q. What were some of the unusual names of the children of Roger Clap of Dorchester, Mass.?>—C. F. A. This Colonial parent gave such names as the following to his 14 chil- dren: Experience, Preserved, Hope- still, Waitstill, Thank, Desire, Unite | and Supply. Q. Is the theater in the Folger Li- brary an exact reproduction of some theater of Shakespeake's day?—N. D. A. It is not an exact copy. It is modeled after play houses of Eliza- bethan times. It seats about 300 peo- The ceiling simulates the sky over the open-air pit. Q. Can the American citizens who went abroad to vote in the Saar ple- biscite retain their American citizen- ship?—C. E. L. A. There is no provision in any of | our laws which would operate to af-| fect their United States citizenship. | India { yellow races, while the third is that Q. I am planning on visiting Wash- ington this Spring and would like if possible to be there when the cherry blossoms are in bloom. What time does this usually take place?—R, 8. N. A. The single Japanese cherry blos- soms usually bloom between April 1 and April 15 and last about 10 days. The double blossoms usually bloom between the 15th and 30th and last about two weeks. However, the dates depend a great deal on weather con- ditions. 4 }Q‘. nlul does Mediterranean mean? A. It means midland. The sea was 80 named because it lay in the center of the world as then known. Q. Is cactus juice used commer- cially>—B. V. R. A. Cactus juice was introduced into commerce about 1927 and is now used for many substances, which include drugs, soaps, cleaners, candy, boiler compounds and water softeners. Q. What are the three types of hair?>—M. J. A. The structure of human hair is threefold: Short and crisp, generally termed “woolly,” always jet black in color; straight, lank, long and coarse, and black almost without exception; wavy and curly or smooth and silky, mainly fair, with black, brown, red or towy varieties. The first is the hair of all the black races except the Australians and the aborigines of The second is the hair of the of Europeans. The Australian, Pa- puan and Dravidian types exhibit a variety of hair intermediate between one and two, which may be called “frizzy." Q. What country was the first to }sav; workmen's compensation laws?— ‘A Switzerland, in 1881, was the | first country to declare that for acci- dents in certain employments the em- ployer was to be liable without any proof of fault. Q. What is the highest rank in the United States Army at which a Negro officer has been retired?—G. T. A. That of colo Q. Where do occur>—W. H. G A. Waterspouts occur most fre- quently in the warm seas of the tropics. Three waterspouts were re- cently reported as having been seen off Waikiki, Honolulu. J. F. Voorhees. United States weather observer, esti- mated each to be about 150 feet in diameter. Q. How tall was Wild Bill Hickok? —A. E. A. James Butler Hickok has been described as being exceptionally hand- some and fascinating. Gen. Custer, who knew him well, said that he was 6 feet 1 inch in height, Q. Did Abraham Lincoln receive a larger popular vote at his first or sec- ond election as President?—W. H. A. At his second, in 1860, he re- ceived 1,866.352 votes. In 1864, he Teceived 2,216,067 Q. Is the trip from Cape Town to Buenos Aires longer than the return trip?—H. J. G. A. The distance between Cape Town and Buenos Aires by great circle sail- ing is 3,728 nautical miles, which is roughly 4,300 statute miles. This is the course taken going east. The course taken going west is by rhumb line and is 3,834 nautical miles, which is appseximately 4,410 statute miles. erspouts usually Baby Bonds Ar As Symbol Widespread approval of the Gov- ernment’s issue of “baby bonds" is indicated by press comment. While some object on the ground that i:| competes with banks and insurance companies, most observers ‘hink the distribution of Government boucds in denominations that permit the small investor to become a Government bond holder will creste a universal interest in the financial stability of the country. “It is felt” says the Burlington | Daily Hawk-Eye Gazette, that the! simplicity and ease of an investment like this will appeal to the public.” According to the Danbury News- Times, “These baby bonds will have a position about half way between currency and the usual investment bond. Government will redeem & dollar at any time. It will redeem a baby bond at any time bevond six months after the issue date.” “More valuable than all this, how- ever,” believes the La Crosse Tribune and Leader-Press, “is the fact that widespread ownership of these bonds | should add, as Prance and England long ago discqvered, to the citizen's sense of identity with his country.” Smilarly, the Green Bay Press- Gazette says, “It will make the ‘little fellow’ feel the swelling pride and honor of proprietorship in his coun'ry, and the care, too, that must be ex-| ercised in keeping it solvent and clean | and seeing to it that it receives 100 cents on the dollar for what it/ " According to the Milwaukee | ‘It will be a reminder that | ral Santa Claus does not get his money from the North Pole. but from savings of earners.” | “This change in ownership of securities,” thinks the Newark Evening | News, “could give to literally millions of citizens in peace time a sense of partnership in Government they have not had since the days of Liberty bonds and thrift stamps.” | On the other hand, the Indiana-| polis News declares: “How the Gov- ernment can force savings interest | rates down through one agency, and then propose to use the low rates to drain money from the banks through the Treasury Wwithout confessing & squeezing operation is not clear.” ‘The Rock Island Argus brings out: “Some banks may be glad to g8t rid of cash because of their over-liquid condition. Other banks may not react so favor- ably to the Morgenthau plan of | financing the New Deal” However, in connectin with the attitude of some of the banks, the Council Bluffs (Iowa) Nonpareil says: “This administration’s policy as to| banks has been constructive and | sound. It has bailed them out of their frozen loans by loaning to land owners and to some owners who owed the banks. It has stopped the panic and completely removed fear among depositors by insuring their deposits in banks. It has strengthened banks | and enabled them to write off their losses out of their own capital by | putting new capital into banks, 50| that one borrower should refund his current debt to banks by borrowing long-time money from his own stock- hnlderl'.' we, the people of the United “Nor would they compete with the em——————————— unusual. It is filled with events and incidents that mark the daily life of | all, and its particular interest lies in | its content of a wealth of philosophic and spiritual thought that will r;en-l lera careful consid e Attractive of Partnership banks.” thinks the Montana Record- Herald “which, in any event. already have been surfeited with savings de- posits and burdened with a huge total of idle excess reserves.” In the opinion of the Peoria (Ill) Star, “Every baby bond bought directly by the peovle 1s just that much less gravy for the bond dealers, and very naturally they will protest.” According to the Grand Rapids Press: “It does illustrate the manner in which the present spending rate will make itself felt long beyond the present emergency. Because of the Treasury’s financing methods, the reckoning has not appeared to be a matter of great importance.” “Thus the administration,” says the Flint (Mich.) Daily Journal, “is in- directly carrying its financial policies directly to the public for vindication Upon the response accorded the bonds can be determined the extent to which the public believes the Government can repay its huge debts.” - Jigsawing Germany. From the Cleveland Plain Dealer ‘The German Reich under the Hohenzollerns was a federated em- pire, and under the subsequent regimes it has been a federated republic. The federated states had definite histori- cal origins and, though the boundaries were whimsical, each state had its own cherished traditions. Prussia was more powerful than all the rest combined, and yet all the others, from former great kingdoms of Bavaria and Saxony down to the microscopic prin- cipality of Schaumberg-Lippe, were strong for their individualities and for their pageants of monarchic or demo- cratic home government. Manifestly there is little or no logic in the existence of separate states un- der a government as strongly central- ized as that of Adolf Hitler. Elimina- tion of state lines and the creation of equal geographical divisions for facilitating public business were parts of the accepted Nazi program. An- nouncement of the reform has been delayed from time to time. but it was definitely promised for Wednesday of this week. But on Wednesday formal announcement was made that the promulgation of the law was post- poned indefinitely. The opposition within the ranks of Hitler's party is too strong to be slighted. And there is much for this opposi- tion to say. The general Nazi policy has been to cherish German tradition, and there is definite value in the localized history and literary lore of the individual divisions. Strangely enough the opposition comes both from mighty Prussia, which s un- willing to relinquish its dominant position, and from the littlest states which dislike the prospect of arbitrary absorption. Government efficiency and economy are on the side of Hitler; sentiment is against him. e Matrimonial Syndicate. From the Davenport (Iowa) Times. A defendant in Budapest is accused of marrying 20 women without ob- taining a divorce. The problem of what to do about holding companies is world-wide, Ol1d Tortures Outdone. From the Atlanta Constitution. The ancients had their methods of torture, but we bet none surpassed riding in an overcrowded bus, .