Evening Star Newspaper, March 14, 1935, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Editien. WASHINGTON, D. C THURSDAY....March 14, 1935 THEODORE W. NOYES. ..Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: 11th St. and Fennsylvania Ave, ce: chiga Euithean Office; 14:Re¢um . Fondon nglan Rate by Carrier Within the City. r . 60¢ per month nday Star ) ©5¢ per month B5c per copy (when 4 Surdays The Evening and Sui (when 5 Sundays| The Sunday Star Night Final Edition. ight Final and Sunday Star 70c per month ight Final Star 4 b5¢ per month Collection made at the end of each ponth. Orders may be sent by mail or lephone National 5000 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. atly and Sunday. 1 yr.. $10.00: 1 mo aily only. 1yr. $6.00:1mo. Sunday only $4.00: 1 mo All Other States and Canada, Daily and Sunday 1 yr.$1200: 1 mo. $1.00 Daily only 1yr :1mo. I5¢ Bundav only 00: 1mo. 50c Member of the Associated Press. ‘The Associated Press is exclusively en- titled to the use for republication of al news disnatches credited wise' .redited in_thi local news published 3 publication of special dispatches are also recerved e 1y Emergency School Needs. Formal approval by the Finance Committee of the Board of Education yesterday of a list of twenty school projects for which aid will be sought from the Public Works Administra- tion, or its successor agency under the pending work-relief bill, should signalize the beginning of a new cam- paign by the Washington community in behalf of a sorely needed school building program meeting require- ments of the immediate present. Children of this school generation in Washington are now experiencing the handicaps of crowded class rooms and insufficient facilities—results of the failure to carry forward any con- sistent program of school building | during the depression. The existing system of financing District needs | through the appropriation bill is fail- ing. as it has failed before, to supply the eity’s school system with the additional building expansion required by increased population. The Public Works Administration, when supplied with funds for needed public works | under the pending work-relief bill, might offer a logical solution of the scnool building problem at this time. Citizens should back the Board of Education and the Commissioners in their efforts to obtain funds for the local school projects, The projects | involved were approved by the Board | of Education for inclusion with the | 1936 appropriation estimates, but were | eliminated by either the Commission- | ers or the Budget Bureau because of | the sharp restrictions imposed on the total estimates. Substantially the same list was included recently by | | | the United States Commissioner of |of Government securities, “Heads I Education in a group of urgently need- ed school projects for the United | States as a whole, sent to the Public | ‘Works Administration with a plea for,‘ favorable action. On this list of most urgently needed local projects are only two new schools. Other items are for the construction of necessary additions to existing schools. There are also understood | to be several proposals for the im- provement, by grading, etc., of school grounds. The total cost is set at two million dollars or less—an amount which normally should be carried without difficulty in the appropriation bill to meet school needs. But the list of projects contains no recommenda- tions for the purchase of land for future school sites, and therefore falls short of the requirements of a well- rounded school-building program for | the future. Commissioner of Education Stude- baker confined his list of school proj- ects—in which the Washington needs | were included—to those which would furnish facilities urgently required now in the different sections of the country. ‘The twenty local projects are merely emergéhcy needs. If the purpose of the work-relief bill—out of which the funds sought would probably come—is to supply employment on necessary undertakings, a local school-building program could not be improved upon as meeting that purpose. Let Washington’s civic and business organizations give immediate and effective support to the Board of Edu- cation. The needs of the schools must not be further neglected. ——————— Ethiopia claims to have King Solo- mon’s mines. If the wealth and the ‘wisdom survived, the plans of Musso- lini would seem less secure. ——— e Venizelos in Exile. His Grecian revolution crushed at every point, Eleutherios Venizelos is @ fugitive on the tiny Italian Island of Rhodes, famed in ancient history as the spot where pirates interned Julius Caesar more than two thousand years ago. The collapse of the vet- eran statesman’s revolt against the Tsaldaris government is complete and ignominious. On land and sea his sympathizers have either been ex- terminated in fighting operations ar have surrendered in droves, awaiting political amnesty or such fate as the victorious authorities may determine to mete out in courts-martial. Mere enthusiasm and fanaticism for the Venizelist cause proved incapable of |ing in currency less valuable than ignation as Europe's foremost states- man. Though Venizelos achieved for Greece in the peace treaty gains far beyond her expectations, his post-war career was doomed to be one of in- cessant strife and vicissitudes. Po- litical enemies overthrew him time and again, only to find him a man who never acknowledged defeat -and who developed amazing powers of recuperation in the face of disaster. Even now the Greek Chamber of Deputies contains a coalition of more than a hundred members who but yesterday were proud to accept his leadership. Venizelos’ foes branded him as an incorrigible intriguer, inspired mainly by a lust for personal power. Yet he accomplished great things for his country, including an international status such as the Hellenes had not possessed for more than half a cen- tury. Despite the inglorious ending of his stormy career, the grand old man of Greece will be remembered as one of the most potent and dynamic actors who bestrode the world stage in our time. “Calling” Gold Bonds. The Government’s right to “call” its gold bonds prior to the date of ma- turity, unless it is willing to pay in gold, is challenged in a suit brought by the Dixie Terminal Co. of Cincin- nati, filed in the Court of Claims of the United States. The suit was filed by Robert A. Taft, son of the late President and Chief Justice, as presi- dent of that corporation and its coun- sel. It is particularly interesting in the light of the refinancing program of the administration, which looks to the call of Government gold bonds valued at hundreds of millions of dollars before the date of maturity. For these bonds the Government is proposing to pay off the bondholders in “legal tender” currency or with other securities bearing lower rates of interest. The contention of Mr. Taft and the company he represents is that the government, having violated that part of its contract written in the bonds which calls for payment in gold, can- not hold the bondholders to that clause in the contract which gives the government the right to call in the bonds before the date of maturity and pay them off if it persists in pay- the gold it originally promised to pay. Says Mr. Taft, with much force and Jjustice: “We believe the credit of the United States cannot long sur- vive if the Treasury can declare Londs due and payable, when, as and if it pleases, in money of any value it mey happen to fix at the time.” The effort of the Government to change the value of money from time to time, and then to fix the time the Government will pay its debts is, to the average mind, just another way |of saying to the people, the holders win, tails you lose.” As Mr. Taft points out, under such conditions, the Government is going further along the road of repudiation, even than in its refusal to pay off in gold. The Government’s refusal to pay in gold when the citizens present their Government securities is one thing. | Now the Government is demanding that the citizens turn in their bonds before the date of maturity, so that the Government will cease paying in- terest to the bondholders and that the bonds may be paid off in depreciated currency. In the suit now filed by Mr. Taft the bondholders are, in ef- fect, saying to the Government “We prefer our bonds and the interest we are getting on them until the date of maturity.” The question raised in the suit dif- fers from that which was decided in the recent Supreme Court gold deci- sions. What the Court of Claims will do about it remains to be seen. It is a matter which the Suprems Court should be called upon to determine without delay in the interest not only of the bondholders but also in the in- terest of the Government and its re- financing plans. D ) Primitive conditions have developed much mentality. Some of the old stump speeches were quite as pro- found and polished as those delivered in a neatly furnished studio before a microphone. The Airport Menace. Somewhere a group of innocent American citizens may be awaiting a horrible death to prove that Wash- ington needs an adequate airport. This group may number from five to fifteen men and. women. Today they are engaged in the pursuit of their affairs. They have their joys and their sorrows, their daily grind and their moments of relaxation. They live. But aviation people feel that if ‘Washington dces not do something about its airport there is going to be a terrible accident. They regard it as inevitable; marvel that it has not happened ere now. They feel that some day, any day, perhaps today, a loaded passenger plane, coming in across Military road, with no room to spare, may plow into a truck or pos- sibly a bus full of passengers. So this group of people one day will be gathered together in an air- plane, called there by business, pleasure—any of the reasons that bid people travel. They will climb aboard prevailing against the loyalty of the majority of the Greek people to their existing government and the military force at its command. Even the revo- lutionists’ contention that they took up arms against a threatened restora- tion of the monarchy did not suffice to rouse the nation to plight.its faith in Venizelos’ last crusade. with their burdens of cares, plans for the future. They will be waving fare- wells to relatives and friends who came to see them off, or they will be looking out of the airplane window in eager anticipation for faces they know as they arrive from some other place. Then it will happen. These inno- THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 1935. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. « quate, safe airport which will meet the minimum requirements of today. They want to abate a nuisance and a death trap. For nine years the Capital’s airport deficiencies have been realized. For nine years nothing has been done to correct them. For nine years lives have been hazarded and are being en- dangered every day. The days, weeks, months, years go by and the danger continues and grows. With every increase in air- plane size and speed, with every aaded schedule, the risk mounts. —————— How About the Public? Representative Hull of Wisconsin offers a novel criticism of the proposed automobile safety-responsibility bill, now on the House calendar. As re- ported in The Star: Hull argued that if a rich man killed or injured a person in an autp- mobile accident by reckless driving he could pay the damages and his per- mit would not be taken from him, Wwhereas a poor man would be forced to surrender his registration card and driver’s permit. That, of course, is not an accurate description of the bill's provisions. If a “reckless” driver kills or injures somebody, he must reckon with the laws against reckless driving, whether he is rich or whether he is poor, and perhaps go to jail. Under the proposed law if he is convicted of certain spe- cific, serious offenses, such as leaving the scene of the accident without making known his identity—hitting and running—or driving while intoxi- cated, he must show financial re- sponsibility before being allowed to drive again. And if he has caused damage and the court hae rendered a judgment against him he must re- spond before getting back his permit. The law is aimed at a particular class of drivers—the drunken, reckless and irresponsible drivers, against whom a long-suffering public has no protec- tion. In theory, perhaps, no person should be permitted to drive an automobile without being prepared to assume financial responsibility for the dam- age his carelessness or recklessness may cause to innocent persons. But this bill is not nearly as drastic as that. Carried to its logical conclusion, Mr. Hull seems to argue that there should be no law against throwing bricks through plate-glass windows. The rich man might do it and settle with the owner not to prosecute. The poor man would probably have to go to jail. ————— Mr. Strachey mentions an intel- lectual Communism, but is advised to go home and take lessons from G. Bernard Shaw if he hopes to make parlor socialism entertaining. ————— It may require over a year to take a census of the people of this country - and maybe a little more than that to ascertain exactly how much it will cost to house and feed them. —_—— e There is some regret because Russia in its publicity turned from little bedtime stories of Utopia to the cruelties of ogres who shoot people at sunrise. ————— Munitions interests are heard with inevitable apprehension that some in- ventor may try to hitch the machine gun up'.!.ovthe'cnsh register. e The N. R. A. developed a surplus of high-power salesmanhip that has to struggle to find something to do with itself. ————— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Colyumystery. T've studied bitter phrases, I can say ‘em with a smile Or show frowning that amazes in a very little while. I lead foes to the slaughter with a force they can’t resist. If they do not know, they oughter. I am now a kill "em-ist. My epithets revising in a way that seems humane, I set my advertising to a delicate refrain. I get my little volume where harsh names are in a list. Regardless of a “colyumn,” I am now & “call "em-ist.” Limiting Speech. “Are you afraid of Communists?” “No,” answered Senator Sorghum. “But they should be permitted to talk only on radio, so you can shut them off when they're tiresome.” Spotlight for All The spotlight glows with brightness strange As many strive to grab it. This tendency, so hard to change, Has now become a habit. The man of intellect severe In its bright ray will ramble. A little moth will then draw near And have its turn to gambol. Soothing Alias. “How’s your boy Josh doin’ in col- lege?” asked 81 Simlin. “Great,” answered, Farmer Corn- tossel. “He knows the botanical names of the things we're supposed to raise, and, not recognizin’ ‘em offhand, my feelin’s ain’t so much hurt by plowin’ ‘em under.” “My ancestors followed one mod- ern idea,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown. “They fought to avoid taxes and then collected more taxes to pay for the fighting.” Long Ago. Long time ago is yesterday, The sun has traveled on its way Now the grizzled old warrior, seven | cent people, full of life, will go to a|And now arrives with light anew times premier of Greece and for a crashing, flery death because Wash- To show the task that we must do. generation its dominant personality, | ington has.not been provided with an | gome novel thought attention claims, fades from the picture, dejected, de- | airport which meets the requirements | we face new thrills and other names, feated and humiliated, and compelled to seek refuge in exile. There are few more pathetic figures in modern po- litical history. At the Wm'lg ‘War Peace Conference in Versailles he towered as a giant and won from ‘Woodrow Wilson the accolade of des- ] of safety and common decency. For nine years local civic and avia- tion bodies have realized the need for an adequate airport. They have asked time and again that something be done about providing a model airport, or, failing that, just an ordinary, ade- Swiftly the past departs we know And yesterday is long ago. “Riches hsb wings,” said Uncle Eben, “and it depends on circum- stances whether day’s ginter act like an eagle or & goose.” 's first real drenching rain| The strange thing about this tale is deserves to be chronicled. Not just in statistics alone; after all, the exact number of the inches of rainfall means very little, except in the records. ‘What counts is the character, the length, the time. ‘Whether Spring has begun or not is a question for men to argue, as men argue about everything. Creatures of Nature, flowers, dogs, squirrels, frogs, these and many more know Spring is here. Hence their gladness at the first real rain, precipitation of the type which means so much to all the things that live close to the heart-beat of the earth. * ok ok x ‘The number of inches of rainfall means nothing to them, but the drenching quality everything. Even the squirrels run and frisk a great deal more on these days when the grass is soggy, as grass loves to be at this time of the year. Those warm days at the beginning of the week, with the continuing rains, were divinely ampointed for the grass. ‘Watchers could see the blades get- ting greener and greener as the drops continued to fall. Surely this was a rain worthy of special note. Somehow the first of anything al- ways appeals to mankind. So the first real rain of the Spring brings with it something out of the ordinary, something felt and under- stood by all those sensitive to such things. * k% % It cannot be pointed out too many times that not all persons are sensi- tive to such annual changes, such natural happenings. There is no snobbish feeling of su- periority connected with this, but simply a belief that he or she is for- tunate who is able, amid the excite- ments of life, to realize such happen- ings at their true worth. All such persons have an amount of pleasure they can call their own which is not understood at all by those who are so immersed in their own lives that they never have time to stand still and watch the processions of Nature. A casual glance at a flower, now and then, is not what we mean. Many a person pays attention to such things, from time to time, but always in a spirit of semi-apology, as if natu- ral happenings were of no montent except to scientists and others who make their living from their con- sideration. They are, and always have been, of supreme importance to all artists, poets, novelists and others who may or may not earn money from their observation, but who before that paid and, above all, pay attention to such things simply because such natural happenings interest them in and for themselves. * ¥ ¥ ¥ Hence not a drop of water falls, not a wind blows, but these happy per- sons, who manage to get somcthing free if any one ever does, note it in passing. They do not feel that Nature is squeezing an old story dry. Fortunately it always is a very new ory. Spring, particularly, is a brand-new tale, spun out of the ages, out of all the materials that exist. Notebook of Science Progress in Field, . Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. One must look to the great island universes—the extra-galactic nebulae which are scattered uniformly through space at distances ranging upward from a million light years away from the earth—for the source of the bom- bardment of cosmic rays, the most penetrating radiation known, which will go through the thickest walls like water through a sieve. Such is the conclusion of Dr. Thomas H. Johnson, research associ- ate of the Carnegie Institution of ‘Washington, who has been studying the intensity of these rays in differ- ent latitudes in the hope that their variations might shed some light on their nature. This has been one of the chief activities of the institution’s Cosmic Ray Committee, headed by Dr. Arthur H. Compton of the University of Chicago. “The total energy falling upon the earth’s surface in the form of cosmic radiation,” Dr. Johnson says, “is about one-thousandth that of starlight and about one-billionth that of sunlight. The energy of a single ray surpasses that of any other form of radiation, and the rays are easily detected, one at a time. If we had suitable nerve responses we would be conscious of about 25 shots per second passing through some part of the body. “The most discriminating method for analysis of cosmic radiation con- sists in passing the rays through a magnetic fleld and studying the de- flections. In cloud chamber magnetic analysis the primary radiation is con- fused with secondary radiations. To investigate primary rays by this method an apparatus which works out- side the earth's atmosphere is needed, and the magnetic field of the earth itself is just such an apparatus. Ten- billion-volt rays are powerful enough to reach the earth only within a very small angle close to the western hori- zon. Sixty-billion-volt rays are re- quired to reach the Equator from all directions.” Dr. Johnson's studies indicate that the particles of which cosmic rays are constituted are practically all posi- tively charged and hence cannot be ordinary electrons, which are nega- tively charged. “Hence,” he says, “comes the ques- tion of what the unbalanced positive rays are. Three possibilities have been suggested. The first is the positive electron, a particle of very nearly zero mass and unit positive charge. Rays of this type are often produced when high-energy gamma rays of protons collide with atomic nucleii, and they also are generated by certain types of spontaneous nuclear disintegrations. Though considerably more rare than their negative counterparts, they could possibly be present in the cosmic radi- & tion. “The second possibility is the posi- tive proton, the nucleus of the more common form of hydrogen. Protons occur in large numbers in stars and in the interstellar regions and are likely candidates. The third possibil- ity is the alpha particle, or helium nucleus, which also occurs abundantly the universe. The double charge carried by these particles and the corresponding rapid loss of energy in traversing matter would to put them out of the picture as far as sea level rll:l.luuon is concerned, though they t-well be present in the higher atmosphere. At sea level, Princinal ‘candidates for tbe Tays are for Tays are ’J:'; the proton and the positive elec- tron.” | [ ' rose of Summer. STARS, MEN AND ATOMS that it is always the same. The government of Spring has no New Deal. It is always the old deal, in the same old way. It was the same when the Psalmist wrote about the green meadows; it will be the same when pastures are no more. Nature preaches a stability of gov- ernment which seems to have little effect on mankind, ever in search of | will new and better governments. Maybe this is because men will never let well enough alone, whereas nature seems to have a way of being fairly satisfied with the ways set up in the beginning. , We call these ways evolution, and it is a word which has a satistying sound. It seems to mean progress— another highly satisfying word to modern ears—along good lines. Therefore when we see the rain come down, at this time of the year, we are happy over it, because we know that it is needed by the grass and the trees and the shrubs and the plants, that it gives them a new start in life according to the old plan, a revivification pressed forward by sun- shine and warmth to an assured destination. The real things of Nature, not such as have halfway struggled away from her, are thus in the posi- tion of Maeterlinck’s dog, which, dumb though it was, found in him as its god a satisfying surety which man- kind at times seems to lack. * %k % % ‘This government of the Spring, this old deal that is new every year, wastes no time in calling names. If it staggers anybody, it is not by giving a fancy title to anything, but solely by continuing the old process of experimentation along the same old lines. Evolution, or whatever one chooses to call it, is conducted in a very con- servative way. If a new form is evolved, such as an albino fish (its father and mother were dark blue and red) nature is very likely to permit the pink-white fish to die out, keeping only the more standard sorts. When such a “sport” is born in an aquarium, the fish culturist can treasure and breed the new line, so that in time he will have more albino forms than he knows what to do with. It meant nothing to Nature, however, one way or the other. Rain falls within her province in the same way. The flood, as it is called, which saw rain for 40 days and nights, was “just another rain” in the long Mst of Nature. The fact that it drowned a world meant nothing to her. Every ordinary rain, in the ordinary day-by-day world, is “just another rain,” to some people. They honestly have no interest in such things, so no blame attaches to them. Many will feel, some will know, that those are missing a great deal, be- cause they are pushing away from themselves a real and genuine interest, one from which the interest can never be squeezed, so long as there is life. The first real rain of Spring was not something of no moment. It| might have been of no concern in the | life of some people, but in the life of the world and of a great many inter- ested observers it was a signal success, a real solo event, because there can be but one first rain every year, just as there can be but one really last stituent of the primary cosmic rays. As to the secondary rays, probably generated in interstellar matter by primary protons, he finds them com- posed of positive and negative elec- trons evenly balanced. The behavior of the primary cosmic rays, Dr. John- son says, shows that their behavior is thoroughly consistent, at least, with the theory that their principal sources are the extra-galactic nebulae. * % X Relics of one of the most fantastic episodes in American history have Jjust come to light at the Smithsonian Institution. One of these is a rare broadside, dated September 14, 1822, by Capt. John Cleves Symmes, a re- tired Army officer, in which he ad- vanced the argument that the earth was hollow and that a ship might sail into the interior through a “hole” at the North Pole. Symmes at that time was urging the United States Government to send cut an expedition to “discover” the inside of the earth and claim it for the American people under the pat- ronage of “myself, my wife and her 10 children.” It would be, he argued with considerable plausibility in the light of the geophysics of the day, a warm, fertile and probably inhabited world, almost as great in extent as the outer surface of the globe. All this seems incredibly fantastic today. But at the time groups of Sym- mesites were organized all over the United States and several petitions were presented to Congress asking that such an expedition actually be organized. All the petitions were laid on the table by Congress, some of them with considerable “kidding.” There were, however, two tangible re- sults. First, the interest aroused in exploration by the Symmesites may have been one of the factors that led to the Wilkes Exploring Expedition. Second, the Symmes scheme furnished the basis for one of the most stirring tales of Edgar Allen Poe, “The Ad- ventures of Arthur Gordon Pym.” The fantasy also may have inspired some of the writings of Jules Verne. With the broadside is an age-yel- lowed pamphlet—almost ludicrously cautious and circumspect to the reader of today—in which objections are raised to the ideas of the former Army officer. With the broadside is Symmes’ map of Symmesonia, the supposed continental mass beyond and below the northern “verge of the world” with the Symmes River southward into the Atlantic at about the location of Davis Strait. This would be, Symmes said, by far the greatest river in the world, since it was on;‘ o';‘ thl; main outlets of the oceans e interior into of the exterior. £, Sestne * X ok % The two Islands of Juan Fernands one of which was the scene of c:é solitary exile of Alexander Selkirk, which afterward was imm “Robinson Crusoe,” have been made a national park by the Chilean govern- ment. Fhe park area also includes the mysterious Easter Island, 2,300 ThePolitical Mill By G. Gould Lincoln. Coming taxes cast their shadows before them. Perhaps, in the light of the proposal that the Government put up $5,000,000,000 for relief and work relief, and in the light of the coming passage of the soldiers’ bonus bill, taking another $2,000,000,000, it is just as well that the American people begin to understand that these things have to be paid for and that they are going to foot the bill. They pay through increased taxes. There is no other way. The first muttering of the storm of taxation that is on its way was heard yesterday in and about the Senate Finance Committee when it had before it the House bill for the repeal of the “pink slip” publicity feature of the income tax law. * kK % Two members of the Senate com- mittee, Senators Couzens of Michi- gan and La Follette of Wisconsin, had thought up additional ways of raising revenue, and brought them to light. Then a little later Senator Pat Har- rison of Mississippi, chairman of the committee which handles all the rev- enue legislation which comes before the Senate, strongly intimated that there would be a new revenue bill put through, probably before the close of the present session of Congress. His statement was made after the commit- tee had Voted down the Couzens pro- posal, which was to increase the ex- cess profits tax on capital stock. What he said was that new revenue legislation should wait until after Con- gress had passed all the laws it wishes carrying appropriations of Govern- ment funds. Then, Senator Harrison said, 1t would be possible to know def- initely just what new revenue was needed and also to get the slant of the Treasury Department officials. * x X * The La Follette tax amendment, which was not voted upon in the committee, but which he offered in the Senate preparatory to the arrival there of the pink slip repeal bill, pro- Poses to raise $260,000,000 to $275,000,- 000 through increases in the normal and excess profits taxes on income and through a lowering of the exemp- tions. La Follette would boost the normal tax rate from 4 to 6 per cent and the surtaxes would begin on the excess of $4,000 income and range rom 4 per cent to a maximum of 71 per cent on the excess of $1,000,000. The present surtax rates go as high as 59 per cent. Exemptions under the La Follette amendment would be cut for married men from $2,500 to $2,000 and for single persons from $1,000 to $800. A All kinds of Federal taxes come out of the income of the people of the Nation. The Federal income tax is the most direct and easily r able, however, of the whole lot of taxes. It may be worth while to consider just what it means in in- creased taxes, as shown by the La Follette amendment, to raise even $260,000,000 additional revenue—when the country has in the immediate offing appropriations totaling more than $7,000,000,000 for relief and soldiers’ bonus. Senators and Repre- sentatives are beginning to catch their breath these days and wonder, after all. what is going to be the end of this great program of Government spending. They are worried. Senator Harry Flood Byrd of Virginia, Senator Millard E. Tydings of Maryland and Senator Alva B. Adams of Colorado, all Democrats, have not hesitated to give their views on this matter of excessive spending, and other Senators on the Democratic side of the Cham- ber are getting around to their views. This feeling of uneasiness over huge expenditures is playing its part in the delay of the President’s work relief bill in the Senate, as well as the prevaiiing wage amendment. x & There is one thing that might wake the whole country up to the spending program which has been going on and to which there seems no end. That is to levy an income tax on every in- come, no matter how small. The La Follette proposal to reduce exemptions now allowed individual income tax- payers is a step along that direction. At present the millions in the country are inclined to applaud big Govern- ment expenditures. If they realized by a little application of the direct tax method what these expenditures mean to themselves in the way of tax burdens, their point of view might be different. Up to the present, how- ever, appropriations of public money have been exceedingly popular. When Senator Long of Louisiana {alked in the Senate yesterday of the folly of bringing a $5,000,000,000 ap- propriation bill into Congress without making any provision for raising the revenue to meet this expenditure, Senator Carter Glass, with a grim humor, asked: “Does not the Senator know that the Wagner-Costigan anti- lynching bill has not yet passed?” And when Long said: “What has that to do with this matter?” the Virginian replied: “The Senator knows very well that if the Senate were to impose now the taxes necessary to meet the cur- rent indebtedness all of us would be lynched before we would get back home.” And yet the Senate in all probability will go right ahead and appropriate $5,000,000,000 for relief. * X kX Senators who do not like the pink slip publicity feature of the income tax law have plucked up their cour- age after the 3-to-1 vote registered by the House in favor of pink slip repeal. In the Senate Finance Com- mittee by a 2-to-1 vote the La Fol- lette proposal to have income tax returns made public records, instead of the pink slip designed for pub- licity, was turned down, and the com- mittee probably stood just about as strongly for repeal of the pink slip, although no record vote was taken on the motion to report the bill favor- ably. In the Senate itself, when a record vote is taken on the publicity of income taxes a considerable ma- jority has voted for publicity. Sen- ators are sensitive in the extreme when it comes to matters of publicity. They do not like to vote -against publicity. They do not like the idea of being charged with aiding wealthy tax dodgers to “cover up.” How- ever, there has been a real protest from a lot of people who must pay income taxes against this pink slip business, and it undoubtedly has had its effect, not only on the House members but also on Senators. * x ok * The growing volume of court de- cisions holding that the N. R. A. is apparently, on . , 85 Wi as on Congress. Donald R. Rich- berg, director of the National Emer- gency Council, has proposed impor- tant modifications in the N. R. A. in miles from the Chilean mainland, with | his its gigantic stone statu houses and tablets el Easy Going for F. D. R. Prom the Wichita Eagle,” Probably that sleigh ride was a revelatjon to the President. He must have doubting lately whether anything along smoothly in this world any more. .‘ ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN, 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. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. Please list some of Paul Robe- son’s athletic achievements—F. M. C. A. Paul Robeson the Negro con- cert singer and actor, was a four- letter man at Rutgers University. He threw the javelin, played on the foot ball team, was center on the basket ball team and caught on the base ball nine. He was rated by Walter Camp as one of the all-America ends in foot ball. Q. Has work begun on the San Diego Exhibition to be held this year? —C. 8. R. A. Approximately 5,000 workmen are engaged ia the Balboa Park section in building the Lundred or more Spanish-style structures which will house the exhibits of the California Pacific International Exhibition It will be formally opened on May 29. Q. How many persons are killed every year>—F. M. A. According to Dr. Louis Dublin, life insurance statistician, more than | 11,000 persons annually are the victims of homicide in the United States. Q. How many members has Father Coughlin’s League for Social Justice? —H. P. A. More than 8,000,000 members | have joined the organization since its tion. Two hundred clerks and secretaries are required to answer the immense volume of mail received. Q. Are alligators decreasing in rum- ber now that so many skins are used commercially?—F. 8. C. A. The tannery business and the sport of alligator hunting have de- creased the number to such ua ex- tent that Florida has set aside a national park for their protection. The area includes the entire southern tip of the State, about 2,000 square miles, and includes the present Royal Palm Park. Q. Where did the execution of the two Berlin women take place?—H R. A. Baroness Benita von Berg and Frau Renate von Natzmer went to the executioner’s block in Plotzensee n. Q. In the naval war between the United States and France in the early days of our country. how many ships were captured?—C. K. B. A. The war lasted about two years. It was ended by a treaty of peace ratified by the Senate February 3, 1801. During this warfare 84 armed French vessels and nearly all pri- vateers were captured by the small, new United States Navy. The Re- taliation was the only ship of the Navy which was taken by the enemy. Q. How many fingerprint records are kept at the Department of Jus- tice?—F. N. , A. There are 4,800,000 fingerprint records on file in the department. Q. Who brought scap to the Ro- mans and to England?—C. B. A. Pliny speaks of two kinds, hard and soft, as used by the Germans. He mentions it as originally a Gallic in- vention for giving a bright hue to the hair. It is probable that soap came to the Romans from Germany. Although soap is referred to in the Old Testament, authorities believe that ashes of plants or other such purifying agents are implied. The earliest kinds of soap appear to have been made of goat's tallow and beech ash. As early as the thirteenth cen- tury, however, a factory for making soap from olive oil was established at Marseille. Soap making was introe cuced into England during the next century. Q. How is the Indian name for Lake Superior spelled? The two words begin with G.—C. A. G. A. Gitchee Gumie. Q. When did the Post Office De- partment first put out stamped en- velopes with the return statement on them?—N. E. A. Return card envelopes were first issued in 1865. Q. Have scientists determined what effect the intermarriage of the Pit- cairn Islanders has had on the group? —H. M. C. A. Dr. H. L. Shapiro of the Amre- ican Museum of Natural History after | a visit on Pitcairn Island is convinced that the group has suffered no il effects from several generations of in- termarriage. He found the descend- | ants of the mutineers to be strong, in- telligent and attractive. Q. Is it true that the first azaleas |in this country were planted in Mo- bile>—F. M. K. A. It is said that Pifise Langlois, who arrived with the French colo- nists in 1711, returned to his home in Toulouse on a visit and saw aza- leas blooming in his parents’ garden. On his return to Mobile he brought seeds and planted them. By the end of the French perifod azaleas had spread over the town. These are be- lieved to be the first azaleas planted in the New World. Q. Will you piease advise what the food value, vitamins, etc., are of avo- cado pears? Are they fattening? Give any other information available. —J. E. A. The avocado is a native of the West Indies and Gentral America. It is the only species of this order culti- vated for the fruit. The fruit is un- usual in that the flesh has a high fat content, 10 per cent on an average. | The water content is 81 per cent, and | the carbohydrates 7 per cent. The | fuel value is high, 512 calories per | pound. Q. How high is Fujiyama?—A. A. A. The sacred mountain of Japan | has an elevation of 12,395 feet. It is | 60 miles west of Tokio, and is an ex- | tinct volcano having a crater 2'2 miles |in circumference and 500 feet in depth. Q. What kind of a flower is the | Katserblume?>—W. B. G. | _ A. The state flower of Germany un- der the empire was the Kaiserblume. | This is known in America as the blue | cornflower, and it was a special favor- ‘ ite of Emperor William I. | Q. Has the State of Vatican City 2 flag?—E. M. A. The flag of the state is white and | yellow charged with the crossed keys and triple tiara. Q. What is the name for a lattice on which a tree or shrub is trained to grow flat>—M. L. | A. It is called an espalier. | | Q. Had any of the American Indians a system of writing?>—J. R. L. | A. They had not. | Q. What does “da capo” mean in music?—B. T. A. The expression is Italian and means “from the beginning.” It indi- cates that the performer is to return to the beginning of the movement, or to a place marked S, and finish | where the word “fine” is placed. Q. Who publishes the Sailor'’s Mag- azine?—C. D. A. The American Seamen's Priend Society. The imagazine has been published for 105 years. Higher Food Prices S;imu]ate Argument Over Reduced Crops Increasing prices of food to the con- sumer, due partly to last year's drought and partly to the crop reduc- tion policy of the Government, stimu- late discussion of the wisdom of at- tempting to benefit the farmer by curtailing his output. “Something must be wrong with the process,” thinks the Canton (Ohio) Repository, remarking that “apparently, farmers can't be strength- ened without weakening their city cousins, temporarily. * * * The higher scale of prices is exactly what was expected from the agricultural adjustment program. Aided by an unforeseen drought, the program has produced more tangible results than the adjusters dared believe possible. Farm income is increasing enormous- ly. “Processors are doing better. The people—the consumers, that is—are paying the bill. Eventually, they will be repaid in the form of greater buy- ing power among farmers.” “Time will reveal,” according to the Buffalo Evening News, “the extent of the damage done the consumers of the Nation by the A. A. A. insistence on crop curtailment and the destruc- | tion of surpluses. Critics will admit that the farmer has benefited, but the resulting prosperity has been ‘spotty,’ confined mainly to the cot- ton and corn areas of the United States. The industrial worker, the urban consumer, has, however, paid and 1s paying a heavy price for the | relief afforded the farmer. He will some day register an emphatic pro- test at Washington against the process which imposes a levy more deadly than the sales tax upon himself and | family.” Taking a favorable view of the situation, the Newark (N. J.) Eve- ning News observes that “the theory on which the Government is acting is that if and when prices generally get back to the prevailing levels of 1925 and 1926 production and consump- tion will more nearly balance.” The Evening News thinks “then there will be gainful employment at fair pay for all the able-bodied who desire it, and p! will be with us again,” and concludes: “Rising prices indicate that somebody is beginning to bene- fit, and when they exist without sus- piclon of extortion there is nothing for the individual to do but be patient and pay them, hoping ‘his own time will come.” “Reduction among some field crops,” the Portland Oregonian explains, “was much more radical than among others, and reduction of hogs and cattle has been much more radical than among | their eating habits again that those foods which mount to unreasonable | levels as a result of the A. A. A. pro- | gram will suffer a permanent loss. As the prices go up, the market may be- come narrower and narrower and never recover.” “It is hard to understand why a | further increase of prices should be desired,” in the opinion of the New | York Sun, while the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch argues: “This evil of a higher cost of living so far has no | compensating goal. The depression, |in so far as it is symbolized by the numbers of unemployed, is not yet over. A higher price level, during times when people are not working, or when wages, salaries and dividends are unusually low, is no sign of prosperity, but, rather, is a sign that | something is wrong somewhere. It calls for attention and remedy. for its only effort is further hardship to | millions of people.” The New York Times remarks that |at least “the housewife may note that her retail cost of food has in- creased only about one-third as much |as the increase in wholesale prices received by the farmer; that the farmer is now able to buy a larger quantity of industrial goods, and that | @ better balance has been restored within the price structure. She may also note that, despite their recent | rise, retail food prices are today no | nigher than they were in 1931." —_— et Interest Cutting in Bolivia. From the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. | Bolivia has just cut the rate of in- terest on mortgages from ten per cent | to eight to encourage agriculture. Ap- | parently in some parts of the world farmers are easily encouraged. e e A Challenge to Nippon. From the Troy (N. Y.) Record. Now that the Soviet government | has decided to introduce base ball into the U. S. 8. R. it is evidently deter- mined to be prepared to meet Japan on any field. —_————— Loose Brains, Prom the Forth Worth Star-Telegram. One should not think of the story of Demosthenes and his pebbles when listening to oratory that seems to rat- tle. The noise one is hearing comes from higher up. —_——eatee A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton. Diurnal Miracle In the morning of life he wooed a girl As radiant es the dawn. He followed her with the joyous zest Of a huntsman after a fawn. In the noon of life, when dawn had passed, He was moved to ecstasy By one who made his pulses stir Like some glorious storm at sea. lnghe evening of life he was enthralled y a mind attuned to his own. A he marveled to find himself at last king upon his throne.