Evening Star Newspaper, February 20, 1935, Page 8

A-8 THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. T, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1935 THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Morning Editien. WASHINGTON, D. C. WEDNESDAY, February 20, 1935 THEODORE W. NOYES...Editor The Evehing Star Ne;;p-per Company ice: 11th St anis Ave 2nd Bt Neaeo Ofce: % Buildine. opean Office; Business and Pennsylv: Office: 110 Lake Michi 14 Re:ll’l! ngland. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Edi n. The Evening Star_. . .. 45¢per month The Evening and Sinday Siar 8t., London. (when 4 Sundays). ngenormonth T Cwhen 5" Sundays) e per month The" Sunday Star. . . .Bc per copy Night Final Edition. N 700 mont! i s egs suvdey iar 20e gt AR Collection made af the end of each onth, Orders may be sent by mail or lephone National 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, Daily and Sunday. .1 yr., $10.0 Ay, only . 1yr.. $6.0 Sunday only. All Other States anda Canada. - $12.00; 1 mo.. $1.00 Dally andSunday. 1 o1 $1200: 4 mox SK80 Bunday on ve. 8500: 1mo. B0c Member of the Associated Press. Tne Associatea Press s exclusively en- titled to the use for republication o(hlll vis a 0 the local news oublished herein. Al rights of Dublication of speclal dispatches hereln are also rererved A Matter of Conscience. News that the New Deal “wins vic- tory” in the gold cases has naturally served to overshadow other points in- volved in the historic decisions of the court on Monday. But the closer one reads the decision of the court on the gold clause in Government bonds the stronger the conclusion becomes that the battle over this particular issue has not been finally won or lost, but has in effect been shifted from courts and Congress to the tribunal of national conscience. The opinion of the court re- garding repudiation of a Government obligation was not the opinion of five against four of the justices. It was unanimous. And while the lawyers in Congress and the Department of Jus- tice are casting about for possible steps which might be taken to relieve the Government definitely and finally from the expense of meeting the obli- gation under the gold clause, the words of the court regarding the sanctity of this and other obligations assume greater significance. One of the arguments of the Gov- ernment in attempting to justify the Joint resolution of Congress repudiat- ing the gold clause was that “earlier Congresses could not validly restrict the Seventy-third Congress from ex- ercising its powers to regulate the value of money, borrow money or reg- ulate foreign and interstate com- merce.” And from this premise, said the court, “the Government seems to deduct the proposition” that when the Government borrows money and pledges the credit of the United States it is free to ignore that pledge and alter the terms of its obligations “in case a later Congress finds their ful- fillment inconvenient.” ‘The court's reply to that argument (as delivered by Mr. Chief Justice Hughes) may, in time, assume even greater importance than is now attached to it: * * * On that reasoning, if the| terms of the Government’s bond as to the standard of payment can be repudiated, it inevitably follows that the obligations as to the amount to be paid may also be repudiated. The contention necessarily imports that the Congress can disregard the obliga- tions of the Government at its dis- cretion and that, when the Govern- ment borrows money, the credit of the United States is an illusory pledge. We do not so read the Constitution. ‘There is a clear distinction between the power of Congress to control or interdict the contracts of private parties when they interfere with the exercise of its constitutional authority, and the power of Congress to alter or repudiate the substance of its own engagements when it has borrowed money under the authority which the Constitution confers. * * * By virtue of the power to borrow money “on the credit of the United States,” the Congress is au- thorized to pledge that credit as an assurance of payment as stipulated— as the highest assurance the Govern- ment can give, its plighted faith. To say that the Congress may with- draw ar ignore that pledge is to as- sume that the Constitution contem- plates a vain promise, a pledge hav- ing no other sanction than the pleas- ure and convenience of the pledger. ‘This court has given no sanction to such a conception of the obligations of our Government. No doubt there was in March, 1933, great need of economy. * * * Bit Congress was without power to reduce expenditures by abrogating contrac- tual obligations of the United States. ‘To abrogate contracts, in the attempt to lessen Government expenditure, would not be the practice of economy, but an act of repudiation. The argument in favor of the joint resolution, as applied to Government bonds, is in substance that the Gov- ernment cannot by contract restrict the exercise of a sovereign power. But the right to make binding obligations is a competence attached to sovereign- ky. * * * The Constitution gives to Congress the power to borrow money on the credit of the United States, an unqualified power, a power vital to the Government, upon which in an extremity its very life may depend. ‘The binding quality of the promise of the United States is of the essence of the credit which is so pledged. * * * While the Congress is under no duty to provide remedies through the courts, the contractual obligation still exists and, despite infirmities of Procedure, remains binding upon the conscience of the sovereign. The still, small voice of conscience may not make itself heard above the roars of “Government Wins Gold Case”—but, nevertheless, it is there. Not the National Gallery. modate paintings of all periods and of all schools, reflecting a national esthetic character in numerous dif- ferent aspects of development. It also should be democratic, receiving for ex- hibition the products of untrained as well as highly skilled genius. The Smithsonian Institution authorities already have available material to fill a goodly portion of the edifice sketched by Charles A. Platt in 1924 and given general publicity in that year. Confusion in the circumstances would be most unfortunate. The one plan is a personal expression; the other is designed to represent millions of people. Mr. Mellon himself will provide the money needed to carry his dream to fulfillment, and Congress should appropriate the funds wanted for the more commodious structure proposed by Dr. Holmes. Washington as one of the world's 3% | art centers is worthy of any invest- ment. It would pay in practical as well as idealistic terms, and the whole Nation—not merely the District of Columbia—would profit accordingly. Soviet World Revolution. In Tuesday's Star has been begun a series of articles designed to disclose Communist activities in the United States, especially within the Army and Navy. It is a significant coindence that the appearance of Mr. Collier's first revelations synchronizes with dispatches from Mr. Harold Denny and Mr. Ralph Barnes, the re- spective Moscow correspondents of the New York Times and Herald Tribune, dealing with Soviet and Communist International plans for world revolu- tion. These competent observers point out that amid the feverish zeal with which the five-year plans have been promoted, that “fundamental article of Communist faith—world revolu- tion"—has been pushed into the back- ground and somewhat modified, but that the idea itself has never for & moment been abandoned. Mr. Denny explains that Stalin has set out to prove that Soviet Russia can succeed even in the midst of a capitalist world, and to that task has directed his energies. But, the Times correspond- ent suggestively asks, once the U. S. | S. R. is economically strong and mili- tarily secure, what then? The im- mediate purpose, it appeared from speeches at the recent Congress of Soviets, is to improve the condition of Russian Communist workers suffi- ciently to inspire workers in capitalist countries to follow the Bolshevist example. capitalistic countries Soviet leaders do not nourish hope of “an early revolu- tion.” America is regarded as the least promising prospect because normally labor here is incomparably better off than Soviet labor now, while Red leaders also believe that a successful revolution can be waged only under the guidance of “a trained revolution- | ary party.” For various reasons, Mr. Denny | tells us, Moscow does not see a world revolution as the imminent conflagration once envisioned, but contemplates it a¢ a certainty of the indefinite future “when time and cir- cumstances are propitious.” Soviet au- thorities are depicted as fearing that war at this time might be deflected into a war against the Soviet Union, s0 Moscow policy trends in the direc- fion of peaceful foreign relations. In the Herald Tribune Mr. Barnes expresses the opinion that Stalin and his aides “are still fervent believers in the messianic calling of the Soviet state to lead the world proletariat to victory” and will ‘4ake the first suit- able occasion to place new stress on | international aims,” meantime utiliz- ing every energy to make the Soviet “an example and rallying center for Mr. Denny adds that in advanced |- the proletarians of other countries.” It follows, Mr. Barnes says, that the present Soviet policy, involving League of Nations membership, non-aggres- sion pacts and close ententes with certain capitalist powers is a “policy of expediency” which may be dis- carded on one pretext or another as the Kremlin finds desirable. These authoritative accounts of the Soviet scene emphasize the grave im- portance of the facts Mr. Collier is now bringing to public notice in the columns of this newspaper. —_——————————— Senatorial investigators are sticklers for the devaluated dollar, which can boast that it is poor but honest. In the Name of Relief. ‘The work relief bill, which holds the center of the stage in the Senate today, will be made the vehicle for consideration of and action upon the pet projects of a number of Senators. Already Senator Thomas of Okla- homa, encouraged by the decision of the Supreme Court in the gold cases, has proposed an amendment to the work relief bill which would expand the currency by about a billion dollars, mostly through the added use of silver coins and certificates issued against silver now owned by the Government or to be purchased. Senator Le Follette of Wisconsin has offered an amendment which may be considered more germane to the bill than that of the Oklahoma Senator. The La Follette proposal is to add a second title to the bill, providing $5,200,000,- 000 for public works. This is not an addition to the lump sum of $4,488,~ 000,000, which is placed at the disposi- Nothing is further from the wish|tion of the President by the terms of ©of Andrew W. Mellon than any desire the present bill. It merely supple- to hurt the National Gallery of Art|ments this work relief program of the project, first formulated many years administration, providing for & con- ago and repeatedly urged by leading | tinuance of the Public Works Ad- citizens in Washington and elsewhere ministration and supplying funds for throughout the country. The former | various classifications of projects. Secretary of the Treasury plans no such comprehensive establishment. On the contrary, he has stipulated that his gift is a separate and distinct in- stitution—a collection of old masters, & building to shelter that collection and an endowment to enlarge it from time to time. The National Gallery of Art, as outlined by the late Dr. Willlam H. There lies in the offiing, too, an amendment to pay the soldiers’ bonus out of the funds appropriated in the work relief bill, not to mention addi- tional currency inflation amendments. ‘These amendments for the most part will be defeated, it is belleved. But their mere consideration may take time. There are plenty of serious problems directly connected with this Holmes, should be of far wider scope.| work relief bill for the Senate without It should be large enough to accom- ' attempting to add these legisiative N “riders.”” Among them is the question of the payment of the “prevailing wage” or the so-called security wage to those employed on the work relier projects. Senator Wagner of New York, stanch administration supporter and New Dealer, came out yesterday in favor of the McCarran amendment for the payment of prevailing wage. This may not have been unexpected. At the same time it was & blow to the administration hopes. Senator Wagner is one of those who believe that the adoption of & plan to pay 3,500,000 relief workers an average of $50 a month would tend to bring down the whole wage scale in private industry. “What kind of re- covery can we build,” said Senator Wagner to the Senate, “by assaulting the standards of life of the worker?” He declared that the general wage levels in private employment would come tumbling down to the security level “with the certainty that the river finds the sea.” Many of the Senators entertain opinions similar to those of® Mr. Wagner, and many of them will vote those opinions when the showdown comes on the McCarran amendment. The Democratic leadership, while hopeful of an early disposition of the work relief bill, scarcely believes there is a chance for a final vote on the measure this week. The magnitude of the sums of money involved in the bill and the provision for the expend- iture of this money entirely at the discretion of the Chief Executive, without any guidance from the Con- gress, has weighed upon the minds of many of the Senators. It is foreign to the manner in which Congress has dealt with money matters in the past. Senators are wondering what it augurs for the future. ———— Ethiopia claims to be the location of King Solomon’s mines. The Dickens vogue may be accompanied by a re- vival of interest in H. Rider Haggard. “She who must be obeyed” could easily attract attention in view of brilliant feminist demonstrations. e —— Public policy is & factor recognized in court deliberation. In affairs great or small a situation may arise which makes it necessary to modify absolute ethical precision to practjcal exigency. N —— The thrifty householder may again proceed to give his attention to rent, taxes and the market basket, oblivious, for a while, of the position gold is to occupy as a currency base. e ree————— ‘Tax delinquent lists sometimes sug- gest the progress of obscure citizens toward mention in something that occasionally bears resemblance to a social register. Some economists contend that one kind of money is as good as another if the people have the faith and enter- prise to work for it. e — A patriotic example is set by the United States Supreme Court in as- serting the will of the majority when the score is as close as 5 to 4. Baby bonds will show what the in- fant prodigy idea can accomplish in national economics. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Genealogy of Bings. They've studied up the family tree of Ebenezer Bings And proved that his descent is straight from dukés and earls and kings. He has a brand-new coat of arms so handsome and so gay, A mixture of menagerie and patterns in crochet. They only mention relatives who fought with courage fine Or rose to great distinction in the intellectual line. But if they searched enough, Il bet the fact they'd run across That somewhere in that family tree somebody stole & hoss. Them family trees don't allus tell as much as they keep hid. It wouldn't be a thing ’gainst Eben- ezer if they did. He's gengrous an’ he’s kind and allus pays his honest debts. He doesn't drink, nor chew, nor smoke, not even cigarettes. But then it takes all kinds o’ folks to make a world, you see. There's & mighty wide assortment in 'most every fam'ly tree. Let’s just admire the gilding an’ the trimmings an’ the floss An’ be content to overlook the chap that stole & hoss. “Occasionally,” sald Senator Sor- ghum, “a man starts as a leader and then has to go with all his might to keep at the head of his own proces- sion.” Poetical Preference. “Dancing is the poetry of motion.” “I suppose so,” rejoined Miss Cay- enne. “But sometimes I prefer the poetry that goes to the head instead of to the feet.” Old Friends, Old friends are true friends; Sunshine in the sky Has kept us warm and fought the storm Through ages long gone by. Sometimes the new friends Leave the heart aglow, But it’s when they're like the men ‘We cherished long ago. “A man who is too good-natured,” THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. What can the home gardener do differently this year? He might stand on his head in the middle of the yard to the consterna- tion of his neighbors. Better, however, would be for him to write for some seed catalogues from firms he has never patronized. As delightful as the old standbys are, there is no gainsaying that one knows them from cover to cover. Some of the old favorites we could tell you about without once looking in them. It is but natural that once a grower has evolved a good list, with illustrations he and his customers like, he will stick to it. Nothing is more proper for him than to think it & pretty nice cata- logue, as 1t is. * Kk Kk ok The dear steady customer, however, tends to become bored with it. Not that he does not appreciate it, not that he does not find it in- teresting, but at the same time he tends to slight pages which used to hold him enthralled. Maybe he does not order a thing from its pages. This in time disturbs the sender. He cannot afford to send a big 200- page catalogue around to those who do not buy anything. He is in business, primarily, to sell seed, not to entertain thousands of readers. He values the entertainment fea- ture, so do his readers, but in the last analysis every one can under- stand that the man must sell seed to keep on being able to put out such a nice book. * ok ok K He informs us, very politely, that we have rot bought anything for a year or two and he cannot afford to keep on sending us the book unless we do; he will be delighted to con- tinue sending it, though, if we indi- cate to him a continued desire for it. Well, let us take him at his word and forget for the year his nice big catalogue. If we must send a request, let us send it instead to some other firm, one we have never patronized, and who, perhaps, deserves some of our few pennies for plants and seeds. This will give us an entirely new fund of garden reading matter, give other deserving seedmen a chance with us, help distribute the wealth of the Nation around a bit. * x ¥ ‘There is a certain thrill in getting these new catalogues. Some of them are little, some large, some beautiful, some not so hot, as the young people say; some putting the “novelties” first, some placing them last; some starting off with vegetables, others with flower seeds. All of them “play up” more or less the same things the old books with which we are familiar do. This comes about, of course, be- cause seeds are seeds and plants are plants. There are societles for almost all the better known flowers now and these organizations have worked for certain standards. A new movement during the last two years has been the getting to- gether of growers throughout the country and the selection of certain “novelties” for sale by all. * o x *x This movement is a distinct gain for the home grower and undoubtedly Now that it can be told, there was an amazing consensus at Washington —within the administration, in Con- gress and among lawyers—that the Supreme Court would divide on the gold clause cases exactly as it did. ‘The derant prediction was that the “liberals,” Justices Brandeis, Stone and Cardozo, and the “middle- of-the-roader,” Justice Roberts, would sustain the Government'’s contentions; that the “conservatives,” Justices Van Devanter, McReynolds, Sutherland and Butler would dissent, and that Chief Justice Hughes, siding with the pro-Government group, would cast the deciding vote in support of the New Deal. All of which happened. Some authorities, never doubting a Govern- ment victory, thought that the bench might divide eight to one, instead of five to four. Others foresaw a six-to- three division. New Dealers doubtless would have liked a more substantial margin in their favor, but are jubilant over the result. There is a disposition to feel that there are now no more constitutional hurdles which the Rooseveltians will not be able to take. * kX X Sectional and political backgrounds of the nine justices who have just made American history might have Jjustified the expectation that in the gold cases they would be found lean- ing, respectively, in exactly the op- posite direction. The five members of the court who were for the New Deal are all from the conservative East, and three of them—Hughes, Stone and Roberts—are Republicans, Two of the four dissenters—McReynolds and But- ler—are Democrats and the entire group hails from the liberal West. ‘This demonstrated freedom po- litical bias testifies anew and eloquent- ly to the Supreme Court’s non-par- tisanship and unquestionably strength- ens its popular prestige. * K k% ‘Mr. Hughes handed down the epoch- making gold decision approximately on his fifth anniversary as Chief Jus- tice. He was confirmed by the Senate on February 13, 1930, and took his seat on February 24, 1930. Apropos his appearance once again in the Su- preme Court’s liberal line-up, this observer recalls a bit of typical Hughes repartee when a friend two or three years ago asked the Chief Justice how he was bearing up under the bouquets that were being showered upon him for having “blossomed out” as a lib- eral. With a merry twinkle in his eye and a characteristic chuckle, the Chief Justice retorted: “I blossomed out a long time ago, but the trouble is that it never bore fruit!” * X Xk % ‘The gold decision plants a bright newlutbummupnl'::mruy Cummings burning midnight in- candescent in the dissy days of the mn&l‘:&flx In connection with in the Supreme Court, Attorney General shares the the laurels with Stanley Reed, general assistant solicitor general of the =3 of aay, | WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. for the originators, since it gives them & much wider distribution. Today ‘the local seedhouse, planter and grower may have a Natlon-wide distribution through catalogues. The time has long gone by when the local seedsman sold solely in his own locality. There is something in human na- ture, truly, which makes us believe in the far away and the remote. ‘We might not admit as much, even to ourselves, but in the back of the mind somewhere there is a belief that a thing necessarily must be better if we get it from half way across the continent. We may know that our local seeds- man sells about as good seed as can be grown; nevertheless we calmly overlook him in making out our annual order. ‘We prefer, admit it or not, to send away, and to unwrap with anticipa- tion later. * ok k% This may seem slightly harsh on the local seedsman, but he makes good by selling to people far away from here. He, too, benefits by this trait in human nature, this queer twist which makes the strange and far away slightly more intriguing to us. This attitude is seen in many walks of life. There are many small fishes, for instance, which grow in Southern waters which would make fine aquar- jum “tropicals,” but they seem to have very little appeal to the American aquarist. They are, however, uniformly pop- ular with the fanciers of Germany! And so it goes. Every home gardener knows the lure of looking through the annual cata- logues. This year let him write for some he has never seen before, not failing to include some of his local growers, if he has not secured their catalogues regularly. % * % k% Looking through the catalogues, or “fireside gardening,” as it has come to be called, is & delightful diversion, one which entertains at the time and which helps vxpand one's garden ideas. The newcomer to the garden, or he who has not yet had one, is in no need of this expansion. The old-timer, however, the man or woman who has gardened for some years, really. needs a new breath of air, as it were. The old gardener has tended to use the old tools to plant the same old things year after year. He has ordered from the same houses and has seen the same illustra- tions so long that he longs, although he may not exactly realize it, for new ones, depicting somebody else’s ideas of the dear old plants. * ok k% Get out of the garden rut, then, by ordering quite fresh catalogues and getting these other growers’ ideas and ideals. Growers, on the one hand, and plant lovers on the other, make up a won- derful fraternity, in whicH the love of growing plants binds all to the soil. They must keep together by all knowing as many of each pther as possible. Since to know all is not pos- sible for either of them, it will be well for the gardeners to take the initiative by sending for new cata- logues from time to time. There are 6,000 seedsmen in the United States. How many do you know? new legislative measures to which the Government might have had recourse in case of a rebuff in the Supreme Court. Arrangements for remedial action were perfected In meticulous detail. They would have been sprung and consummated at a rate of speed comparable only to war-time emer- gency laws. * x x x ‘With gold worries out of the way, full steam ahead is now the order of the day with respect to the Roose- velt legislative program. Work re- lief, social security, barmking reform, N. R. A. renewal, the holding com- panies bill and other “must” pro- posals will be pressed forthwith. House,and Senate Democratic leader- ship will be marked by corresponding vigor and confidence. Failure of the Supreme Court to vindicate the Pres- ident’s gold measures would have ma- terially cramped the administration's style. Republican emotions, in light of what has happened, reflect some depression. The G. O. P. would have been in position to make no little political hay out of a veto of F. D. R.'s monetary policy. * * ok % Friends of former Representative Burton L. French, Republican, of Idaho, who has recently been in ‘Washington, are hopeful of obtain- ing for him the Republican vacancy on the Federal Trade Commission. After 13 terms in the House Mr. French succumbed in the 1932 Demo- cratic landslide. The Idahoan was chiefly prominent in Congress as chairman of the House Subcommittee on Naval Appropriations. Big~Navy- ites long found him a stumbling block. Once upon a time French aspired to sit alongside Mr. Borah as a Senater from Idaho, but failed of nomination. * ok ok K To reap advantage from rising meat Food Institute of the United States has just been established. It wants people to know that the country pos- sesses & natural food resource, the prices of which to date have not been affected by the general rise in the cost of household necessities. Based upon sea food landed in the principal ports of New England, the institute cites Bureau of Fisheries’ figures for November, 1934, the latest available, showing that fish prices were only 50 per cent of those in November, 1928, and the lowest that have pre- vailed for seven years. * ok X % Priends of the University of the South, at Sewanee, Tenn., hope Presi- dent Roosevelt will find it possible to attend its commencement in June. They have a spokesman at court in \ NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM Margaret Germond. UNROLLING THE MAP. By Leonard Outhwaite. New York:The John Day Co. Between the attractive blue and sil- ver covers of this new volume the map of the world? chapter by chapter and page by page, is unrolled, revealing in concise chronological text and in graphic illustration the most fascinat- mm&eczm-uhmry.mmo: lon. In the preparation and compilation of this work Mr, Outhwalte undertook the tremendous task of embracing in one easily readable book all of the most important facts about the ex- plorers and adventurers who have traveled the earth, and in each in- stance to present a description of the men who went forth into unknown places, the degree of civilization that existed during the era in which they lived, the territory into which their expeditions carried them and the ex- traordinary achievements of these explorers, geographers, navigators, scientists, aviators and others who through 5,000 years of the world's history have steadily pushed backward the frontiers of darkness. From Hannu, the first explorer of whom there is any historic record, to the adventures of Prof. Piccard in this current year, the expansion of the earth’s known boundaries is revealed in brief entertaining storles that con- tain & wealth of information, and in maps that are almost hypnotic in their fascination. The secret of this particularly outstanding feature of the work lies in the fact that the same basic map of the world is used throughout the volume. It is black, with fine white latitudinal and longi- tudinal cross-bars, and with all of the continents and islands of the globe also faintly outlined in white. Against this background of blackness the first map shows five small patches of white along and near the eastern end of the Mediterranean—the early empires of Egypt, Phoenicia, Assyria, Sumer, Elam and & tiny white dot marking the ancient and curious Minoan civilization on the Island of Crete. The first section of the book, 5 ning with the voyage of Hmnbeu.‘hs‘n 2750 B.C., from the Egyptian city of Hamamat to the land of Puoni, a re- glon bordering on and beyond the southern and eastern end of the Red Sea, deals with the adventures and explorers who traveled the seas and the lands comprising that part of the earth which in later years came to be known as the Classic World, and in- cludes the voyages of Ulysses, Alexan- der the Great, Nearchus, Pytheas, Diogenes and others. As the achieve= ments of these adventurers into the unknown are recorded the accompany- ing maps show an expansion of white. With the coming of the Middle Ages and the discoveries of the Norse ad- venturers, the Crusaders, Soleyman, Ibn Battuta, Friar William and Friar Johnson, a more rapid spread of the white is noted, leading up to Marco Polo and the great age of adventure which grew out of the unbelievable accounts he rendered of the extraor- dinary experiences which befell him among many strange peoples during his travels to far places. Following Marco Polo the recession of the blackness becomes more pro- nounced with each century, until the final chart, recording the exploration of Little America and the scientific discoveries of the early part of this year, leaves only a few tiny black specks on the map of the world of 1935. In addition to these forceful illustrations and the intensely interesting stories of which they are a part, the book contains a number of sketches by Gor- don Grant, world-famed artist, of the characteristic ships which through | 5,000 years have carried the venture- some into every corner of the globe. * x k% HEROES, CHILDREN AND FUN. By Robert Underwood Johnson, mem- Academy of ber of the American Arts and Letters. ‘With but a few exceptions, this lat- est volume of verse by one of Amer- A reader can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Washington Evening Star Information Q. the same as the League of Nations?>—L. C. W. A. The Permanent Court of Inter- national Justice at The Hague, com- monly called the World Court, was established in 1921, in accordance with Article %4 of the League Cove- nant. It is legally independent of the League of Nations, but is closely as- sociated with it as part of the ma- chinery for peace, Nations not mem- bers of the League may join the Q. Will birds be poisoned if they eat insects which are poisoned when spraying trees?—E. B. K. A. The Bureau of Biological Survey says that as a rule there is no danger to birds from insects which are poisoned by spraying trees. In- sectivorous birds rarely pick up dead insects, but choose live and active in- dividuals as their prey. PFurthermore, the number of poisoned insects which might be picked up under adverse food conditions would hardly con- tain enough poison to constitute a lethal dose. It is only if a large meal of poisoned ipgects were eaten that harmful rest might be expected. Q. What is the law regarding Orientals becoming naturalized citi- zens of the United States? Do Amer- ican-born Orientals automatically be- come_citizens>—M. J. A. The naturalization law provides that naturalization is restricted to free white persons and persons of African nativity and descent. How- ever, any individual born within the limits of the United States and under the jurisdiction therof is a citizen, regardless of his nationality. Q. Please name the wives of King Henry VIII.—E. M. M. A. They were: Katharine of Ara- gon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katharine Howard and Katharine Parr. Q. How many people have visited the Grotto of Lourdes?>—YV. J. K. A. It is estimated that it has been visited by 35,000,000 persons since 1858 when, according to tradition, the Virgin Mary revealed herself re- peatedly to a peasant girl and the healing efficacy of the spring was revealed. No precise data have been published as to the total number of permanent cures. It is estimated that 1 per cent of the visitors are pil- grims in search of a cure. Of these, 1.5 per cent profess to be cured. Q. What was the date of the Pueblo, Colo., flood?—R. N. A. The Arkansas River overflowed and flooded Pueblo June 5, 1921, Q. How many Americans served in the German Army during the World War?—T. C. D. A. There are no records of the number of Americans, born or nat- uralized, who served in the German Army. In 1914 there was a sub- ANSWERS TO QUE BY {'REDERIC J. BASKIN, TIONS stantial emigration, 300,000 to all countries, but how many found their way into the German or other for- eign armies is not known. A great many reservists were recalled. There may have been as many as 10,000 Americans in the German Army, perhaps more. Q. Who wrote o i e 9 van Druten, a - lish playwright. L e Q. What is the subject matter of vhe Lieroglyphs on the obelisk known as Cleopatre’s Needle?—L, W. E. A. The hieroglyphs are inscribed in vertical columns which are read from the top downard; the middle column is in honor of Thothmes, by whom the obelisk was first erected, and the side columns in honor of Rameses IIL Q. Did male physicians practice obstetrics in Colonial days?—F. A. G, A. The midwife occupied e most interesting post in the community in the early settlements of this country. It was deemed beneath the dignity of male physicians to act as obstetricians, consequently the wome en monopolized the practice. The first record of a man's officiating in the capacity of an obstetrician is to be found in the notice of death on July 22, 1745, of e doctor of New York whose name was Dupuy. Q. Is it proper to leave the flag up all the time on Government prop- erty - to take it down at sundown? A. If the Government property is a military or naval reservation, the regulations prescribe the furling of the flag at sundown. If it is not military or naval, there is no regu- lation involved. It is customary, however, for both Government and private buildings to furl their flags at sundown in conformity with mili- tary regulations. Q. Is Vidocq, the French detective, a real person?—D. T. A. Francois-Jules Vidocq lived from 1775 to 1857. In his early days he was a criminal. Escaping the galleys in 1796, he joined a band of highwaymen. Later he turned them over to the po- lice and became a spy on criminals. In 1812 a small detective force was organized with Vidocq as its chief. Q. How many deaths occur from asphyxia?—J. C. A. According to the American So- clety for the Prevention of Asphyxial Death, nearly 50,000 deaths occur an- nually in the United States from asphyxia. Various forms of asphyxia include drowning, electric shock, car- bon monoxide poisoning, gas inhala- tion, overdoses of anesthesia, asphyxia of stillborn children and similar cases. Q. When were the Muir Woods made a national monument?—J. D. 8. A. The Muir Woods, California, named in honor of the late John Muir, explorer, naturalist and writer, was established as a national monument by presidential proclamation of Janu- ary 9, 1908. The monument was cre- ated to preserve a remarkable grove of Sequoia sempervirens, commonly known as redwood trees, on a tract of land containing about 295 acres pre- sented to the Government for this purpose by the late Willlam Kent, ex- member of Congress from California, and his wife, Elizabeth T. Kent, of Kentfleld, Calif. Q. When were incubators first used for babies>—M. G. S. A. The first was used in the Paris Maternity Hospital in 1880, It was designed by Dr. Tarnier. Completion of Boulder Dam Stirs Country’s Imagination Completion of Boulder Dam, which will control the waters of the Colo- rado River, is believed by newspaper observers to present possibilities of an unprecedented character in changing lca’s outstanding poets contains lines | ngtyra) conditions of the great South- written during the year 1934. The poems are grouped under eight clas- sifications, and in that portion de- voted to public or political themes is one in tribute to a man who won the esteem and the love of all— Albert of Belgium. Thou shouldst have died in battle, Noble Knight, And Byron should have writ thine epitaph. Caesar, who tore a continent in half, Trampling thy soil with swarming legions’ might, Knew thy brave race, and would have chosen thee His vli:;or, conquered by thy chiv- alry. Though, for & while, men balance loss in, and gain, And in the fatal harvest of the seed— ‘The fell surprise of every evil deed— Doubt that the struggle may have been in vain, Time shall remember how from grasping foe The world was saved by thy tri- umphant “No”l In another group is one which ex- presses a thought often in the minds of weary mortals to whom the grant- ing or the withholding of a kindly smile might spell hope or discourage- ment: One thrush can fill a valley with delight; One smile dispel the cloud of some despair; One generous word can lift us to a height Above the dally judgment day’s imy Of our best selves—such light and easy blame, Today with laughter but tomorrow shame. west. It is called the world's biggest engineering project, achieved in the face of dismal prophecies of a few years ago. ‘The Pasadena Star-News says it is “little less than phenomenal in its success.” The Portland Oregon Jour- nal points out that “big as the project is, there has been but little fear that it would not pay its way and repay its cost.” “Just what use Boulder Dam will have in the New Deal scheme,” re- marks the Grand Rapids Press, “is not yet announced. It will safeguard life and crops in the rich, fertile Im- perial Valley from this year onward. But what use to make of its irrigation possibilities may pu2zle the adminis- tration. Reclaiming land means pro- viding for new and greater crops, but the Government is also engaged in an active crop-reduction program. On one point there can be no doubt. Boulder Dam represents an engineer- ing triumph over experts who but a few years ago said it couldn’t be done.” “Before the dam, constructed in record time, could be completed,” ac- cording to the Jersey City Journal, “there had been a cry that farmers have been guilty of overproduction, as well as the manufacturer, and the effort is being made to throw huge acreage back into the wild state as a habitation for our game. But perhaps the need of a dependable supply of potable water for. the cities of the Southern Pacific Coast, as well as the power to be generated, are reason enough for the construction. Then, too, the dam is expected to put an effective check to the destructive floods loosed by the erratic Colorado almost every year. Creation of such 2 huge lake in the arid southeastern corner of Nevada will be of interest to sportsmen as well as prospective settlers and water supply and flood- control engineers. Unless the soil You who know not how many you | thereabouts is so alkaline as to make have made Kinder by kindness, cheerier by cheer, We l‘r:lst you as the desert misses shade; And though remembrance brings your spirit near, We crave your presence, as at eve- ning hush ‘The eager valley listens for the thrush. ‘The volume is attractively bound in in devoted to many subjects that will win approval and give delight. Panama | Those Ill-Informed Easterners, Local authorities on fishing are writing controversial letters to the New York Times the fur-clad ' k £ g the waters unsuitable for fish, the lake develop a resort sec- tion about its borders. It will be in- to note, also, whether any i.g! i I Gazette that is made by Nevada will expose this State to a heavy financial responsibility and, while the State will gladly assume this in order to bring about important in- dustrial developments in its thriving southeastern sections, it is imperative that legislative precautions be lald down that will in accomplishing this protect the State against financial loss.” “Wkat was originally conceived as a defense measure against destructive floods has become a constructive con- tribution to the Nation's wealth and the welfare of a great multitude,” suggests the St. Joseph (Mo.) News- Press, while the Watertown (N. Y.) Times records that “residents of the Southwest will not only be assured safety against flood, but have avail- able sufficient electrical energy to light their homes and operate their farms at a negligible cost.” “When the gates slipped into place engineers had finished the job in less than five years,” according to the Tampa (Fla.) Daily Times, “and the vast canyon which the Colorado River had required 3,000,000 years to carve, was dammed. Completion of the dam and dropping the gates into place was merely an incident of the task, re- quiring only an hour until the river's flow was stopped. Other ‘incidents’ will be the bringing into being of a lake 115 miles long and 30 miles wide in places.” Arkansas Is Willing. From the San Antonio Evening News. Assuming that the action by the House at Little Rock represents the popular will, Arkansas is ready to serve as the Roosevelt administra- tion’s “guinea pig” for trying out new “Brain Trust” ideas. Having taken seriously Secretary Wallace’s proposal that four “economic councilors” be appointed “to pass on key questions of national policy and submit them to popular vote,” the legislators fore mally invited the Secretary of Agri- culture to come to Little Rock and explain his idea in detail. They in- dicated their willingness—not vet ratified by the Senate or by the citi- zens—to let the Government first “try it on Arkansas.” The resolution pointed to all the benefits which would accrue to the State from such a program. Appar- ently the lawmakers do not count on any scheme failing to work. However, their faith in the Brain Trust’s infale libility is no more remarkable than The Real Marvel. Prom the Rochester Times-Unon, ‘The wonder is not that $1,450,000 ‘The reason the centenarian crop is 80 short has been discovered. A Chi- w ‘woman, lOli’uyl nnbog.flm long except by minding his own business.