Evening Star Newspaper, March 29, 1935, Page 10

“THE ~EVENING STAR, 'WASHINGTON, “D. C; FRIDAY, MARCH 29, -1935. — Y — ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY. .March 29, 1835 ——————— THEODORE W. NOYES. .. Editor ———————————— The Evening Star Newspaper Company ‘Business Office: 11th 8t. and Pennsylvania, M'b e SR QPR Afichivan Bulldiie. ce: ¢ 8t.. London. Eltcbean Ofbce: 14 Regen Rate by Carrier Within the City. i . The Evening -S‘t.l'!h' o m-(fic ‘per month ‘The Evening and Su;adl nfwgen mlan“:n. i e Even ind ol Bohesy Blar Night Fi Right Final ang Jundar 8 By Eoilection made ‘&t # ay be Tefepnone National 5000 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Vltr‘((!:_hl.m e g:uy -n,uflsundly. :{ g ’lao q .. ily " only : 1 mo.. 50¢ Sinday “oniy .. .55¢ pe he end of each sent by mail or 1yr. $4.00:1mo. 40c Al Other sums‘fl] oc-in.a;. o ily and Sunday 1 yr., $12.00; 1 mo.. §1. . Jyr. $8.00;1mo. 7l by vt o Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is excluslvely‘e > blication of titied to the use n:lr! republication of ab) o th 5 A fiknts of = Gisvatches hereln vublication of special are also rererved Good Work by the House. Much of the debate which preceded passage by the House yesterday of the automobile safety-responsibiiity measure related to the need for com- pulsory liability insurance for taxicab drivers. An amendment to the safety- responsibility bill was proposed, and defeated, which would have required proof of financial responsibility as requisite to @ license for operation of taxicabs. It would have been to the advantage of the District had such an amendment prevailed, but those in charge of the safety-responsibility bill showed good judgment in not placing their hill in jeopardy by in- sisting on the amendment. For pas- sage of tie safety-responsibility bill, after so many years of delay, repre- sents something of a victory in it-| self. The measure can be strength- | ened later. | Practically the sole argument against compulsory insurance for | taxicabs, as voiced in the House yes- terday, was that such a requirement would force some taxicab drivers out | of employment by increasing their cost of operation, and that lmonsi those so to be driven out of work are ex-soldiers. Linked with this state- | ment was the prediction that uxiclb{ rates would be increased. But as against the consideration of how a relatively few taxicab op- | erators might be affected is the more serious question of protecting the rights of those who ride in taxicabs. No one should be permitted to carry passengers for hire in the District without the assumption of a re- sponsibility which is traditional in public regulation of common carriers. Cheap taxicab rates are desirable, of course, to Washingtonians as well as to members of Congress. It is still more desirable, however, that the pub- lic be protected against financial loss due to the careless operation of taxi- cabs by irresponsible drivers. As the District Court of Appeals has said: * * * Wehave now in Washington hundreds of taxicabs, engaged very literally in a public calling perform- able only upon the public streets under public license, holding out to the public an incorporated responsi- bility which they do not possess. Painted, named and numbered to heighten that illusion, each cab con- stituting a potential danger both to its passengers and to the public, yet having no financial responsibility to either beyond an equity of redemption in some used motor car. Representative Patman of Texas has promised hearings on a bill to re- quire compulsory lability insurance for taxicab operators. That bill should be reported to the House and con- sidered separately and on its merits. Its passage should appropriately fol- low the automobile safety-responsi- bility measure. In connection with the bill passed yesterday it would be advisable for the Senate to send it to conference for more detailed consideration of the change made in the House exempting cut-of-town drivers from certain pro- visions relating to payment of dam- ages found in court. The fact that s0 many thousands of Maryland and Virginia residents drive their auto- mobiles to work in Washington every day should make such drivers liable to the provisions of law, while in the District, that are applicable to Dis- trict residents, ] - Mr. Hopkins is in a position to speak with something like the same finality that used to distinguish the remarks ©f Mr. McCarl. —_— . Memel. Memel, that tiny patch of former East Prussian area now incorporated in Lithuania, has suddenly become Europe’s most acute danger spot. In- habited by Germans of avowed Nazi sympathies, its restitution to the Reich 1s openly coveted by the Hitler regime. Ever since the Saar plebiscite the Fuehrer and his supporters have been ~relamoring - vociferously that Memel, too, should he restored to the “father- land” | out his capital investment. We have hotheads threaten to do so on their own account. Lithuania remnains in a state of alarm and excitement as powerful German radio stations adjacent to its borders broadcast warnings of the dire vengeance that awaits the little coun- try for venturing to assert the mastery of its own house. The government is resorting to emergency defensive measures. Meantime, Lithuania is arranging to protest to the League of Nations against German interference in her domestic affairs. The protest will con- cern not only the subversive activities of Nazi agitators within the country, but the provocative anti-Lithuanian campaign in progress in Germany. The Nazis will not be much im- pressed by Lithuanian appeals to the League, but the Memel incident chal- lenges attention at the moment when Great Britain and Soviet Russia are conferring in Moscow over ways and means of checking Nazi aspirations. It is undoubtedly in Eastern Europe that German aggression is most to be feared. Memel is well designed to promote the idea of an “Eastern Lo- carno,” inclusive of the Germans, if they care to join it, but without them if it be necessary for the rest of Eu- rope through a ring of steel to keep & marauding Reich within bounds. Great Britain has not been especially interested in the fate of Eastern Eu- rope, but Germany's anti-Lithuanian frenzy lends timely support to Lit- vinoff’s efforts to convince Capt. An- thony Eden that the peril of war in that region is & real one and that British co-operation is urgently re- quired if the Germans are to be checked in the Baltic area which they have just staked out as their particu- lar preserve, When the Shoe Pinches. Democratic denunciation of the A. A. A, and planned economy based on scarcity, has assumed the proportions of a chorus on Capitol Hill. Yester- day Senator George of Georgia, after asserting that Secretary Wallace had demonstrated his unfitness to be a member of the President's cabinet, discussed at some length what was happening to the cotton farmers and the cotton mills under the “plow un- der” and processing tax scheme. Said Senator George of Secretary Wallace: He is paying us to plow up our cotton and kill off our hogs and to reduce our acreage and to reduce our | production. But how is he doing it? He is doing it by asking the American farmer to sell out his business. to sell | sold out our farm business for a mess of pottage or one or two or three years of henefit favors. The Georgia Senator added that if Secretary Wallace or Undersecretary ‘Tugwell “believes the American farmer is a fool, and that he wanted to submit to all 'hese restrictive meas- ures which have been imposed upon him, they will have a sad awakening in the immediate future.” Such was the general tenor of one of the sharp- est denunciations yet made by a Democratic Senator of the planned economy policy of the men in charge of the Department of Agriculture. Senator George told the Senate that the processing tax on cotton amounted to a forty per cent tax on the raw material, that it was playing havoc with the cotton mills. He said that the assertion by Secretary Wallace that, instead of eliminating the processing tax on cotton, it would probably go higher, was having a dis- astrous effect on the cotton industry. The fact of the matter, which is becoming plainer every day, is that the reduction of American crops as prac- ticed by the A. A. A, in conjunction with the processing taxes, is increasing prices of food stuffs and of cotton goods, things that the working people of the country, including the farmers, must have. It is clear that this pro- gram of cutting down American production of cotton and other crops is building up production in foreign countries. The foreign markets of the American farmers, such as they have been, are being still further reduced. And the American inarkets are re- ceiving more and more imports of agricultural products. As long as the farmers were receiving their benefit checks and prices of farm products were going up the scarcity system seemed to be working well. But with a check in the cotton price, which has taken a slump in recent days, the farmers and their representatives in Congress are not so sure that this way of doing business is correct. At the other end of the cotton business stand the mills, which both in the East and the South have been hard hit. Many of them have had to close. They are pleading with the Government to do something about the processing tax. The mills of America are the big market of the American cotton farmers. In fact, they have become the great reliance of the farmers since their foreign markets have been curtalled. Yet all the comfort that the mills receive from the autocrats of the Department of Agriculture is that the processing tax may go higher. ——————— American investments in the Irish Sweepstakes dispose of another polite pretense. There are many people who The Lithuanians, to whom the territory was awarded by the Lesgue of Nations, have been cognizant, ever since Hitlerism assumed power, that intrigue was sleeplessly at work to ‘wrest Memel from its new moorings. This week matters reached a climax with the conviction by & military court of ninety-odd Nazis found guilty of plotting against the Lithuanian state. It was the sentencing of the four principal conspirators to death that stirred up furious protest in Germany and converted Memel into an inter- national incident of menacing magni- tude. Nazi-instigated meetings all over the Reich have breathed violent indignation and demanded war on Lithuania for daring to defy the mt and dignity of Hitlerism. Berlin has called upon the League powers to ful- A ’ do not patronize racing merely for the fun of seeing the horses run. ————— The Honest Public Seryant. One of the negative aspects of democratic government is that of the difficulties which beset the honest public servant. It happens that men come to high office by political processes, and that fact, more or less inevitably, handicaps them in the performance of their duty therein. ‘They are members of a party—which means that they must be mindful of their obligation to the organization which has supported their ambition for power, their responsibility to the leaders who have granted them pref- erence and their debt to the rank and file of people who have “voted right.” Also, they perforce must re- { tions which they really do not feel, cater and cringe. 1t follows that the more honorable, earnest and sincere an official is the more difficult his lot in office will be. Ideals, he soon discovers, are, in effect, a liability. In sober truth, it is hard to be patriotic, loyal, devoted, even efficient, while one remains a cog in a machine erected by a party for par- tisan advantage. Scant indeed s the unselfish support accorded a servant of the State who visions his duty and his opportunity in terms of rectitude and consecration. To win and to keep popularity he must bend. And the pity of it is that the moment he consents to stultify himself and to degrade his position he plays into hands only too willing to exploit and misuse him. Hence it is that numbers of indi- viduals of noble character and fine intelligence deliberately eschew ap- pointment or election to places which otherwise they might fill with distinc- tion. They sense the punishment they would have to take, the disil- lusionment they would be bound to feel, and for these reasons they “do not choose to run” The common- wealth, of course, is the loser in the circumstances, but the fault is all its own. A nation that will not protect its worthiest friends cannot justly complain if they retire from its em- ployment. But the problem merits the consid- eration of thoughtful citizens. It simply is not necessary that the froth should occupy the top in a democ- racy, as in a glass of beer. None of the founders of the American Re- public had any such craven notion of the institution of organized freedom they were setting up. Washington and Jefferson would be outraged if they could see how all too often and in too many communities of the land their philosophy of liberty, based on mutual faith, tolerance, charity and love, is betrayed. All the more cause, then, should there be among their surviving disciples for appreciation of the occasional honest public servant who does remain at his post despite abundant temptation to abandon it. —_——tt— Grover Cleveland was a great fisher- man and it may have been in one of his silent hours with rod and line that he was inspired by the famous thought, “It is a condition and not a | theory that confronts us.” — cmee— However officials may quarrel among themselves, President Roosevelt stands willing to step in to manage details that seem in danger of being neglected in a general argumeat. —e— Munitions are not equipped with any guarantee that they will never be used against the country that created them. Like music, munitions speak all languages. —— e While conversing about naval ratios, Germany has built an air equipment that ranks as second to none. ——ee—s Foreign influence is entitled to credit in one respect. There is no doubt that it has improved the music in many night clubs. e The Republican elephant is at least assured of an abundance of mahout talent when the next political proces- sion starts. Management of surplus is easier than management of a deficit. The Department of Agriculture has de- monstrated this. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Another Holiday. We've had some scares to think about Since “Happy New Year” day; We've had our periods of doubt And even of dismay. Experience a teacher stands In an expensive school. T'm glad if we can all join hands And just say “April Fool.” St. Valentine has claimed our care. He had his little fling, With scraps of paper everywhere ‘That didn’t mean a thing. Our problems we may yet explain By scientific rule And greet a laughing land again That just savs “April Fool.” Too Much Imagination. “What is your idea of Utopia?” “It's an imaginary state of ex- istence,” said Senator Sorghum, “that is liable to fall down if you try to finance it with imaginary money.” Desperate Impression. Keep politics where it's belenging. A rule of the game you'll be wronging If once you begin To smite general sin In a spirit of moral sing-songing. ‘When you hear a religious oration It's good for your self-contemplation. But every one knows, As politics goes, It is simply beyond reformation. More Werk for Science. “What do you regard as the great need of agriculture?” “Some new kind of fertilizer,” said Farmer Corntossel, “that can be made to stay anchored in a windstorm.” “They who seem most happy,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “are often only pretending to be so in s philanthropic desire to cheer up desponding neighbors.” Tenacity. However criticisms rise, Suggesting consternaton And worry that we can't disguise Throughout a Mighty Nation, We are not tempted to resign The job—none will forsake it. ‘There are too many folks in line Who will be glad to take it. | made for them by their advocates, THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Herbs have come into their own again, both as garden flowers and in the form of teas. ‘The lore of the people has become a society 1ad. Many new books on the herb gar- den have made their appearance. This is well. There is a certain picturesque beauty about these plants, many of them known to all of us, which always has fascinatsd gardeners. Sigrid Undset, in her “Kristin Lav- ransdatter,” gives a vivid description of the herb garden in an ancient nunnery. The earliest “garden books,” as we have come to know them, were de- voted largely to herbs of all kinds. * ok x ok Popularly speaking, herbs are simply any plant of which the leaves, etc., are used for food, medicine, scent, flavor. There are hundreds of them, of course, many anknown to the aver- age person, many of them grown in every garden, hut never used in this way, but only as ornament. Every one xnows the humble mint, 50 much used in juleps. Every home knows about sassafras bark, and 1ts vopular use at this time of year. Every one grows marigolds, but not all know that the dried flowers some- times are used to make a salve. Not every one will realize that the familiar sweet Woodruff is known in strict herbal lore by the high-sound- ing title of “Master of the Woods.” ‘Teutons of old are supposed to have carried some of this sweet smelling herb into battle for good luck. LI Many who become interested in the so-called nerbs—and almost anything that grows, it seems, may be such— will confine tnemselves solely to their picturesqueness. They will not be able to swallow the “teas” made from them, because they may have kept a home aquarium, and know full well what an infusion means in the way of the creation of infusoria, under controlled circum- stances. Any one who has created infusorians for feeding baby fishes, by the simple expedient of soaking dry hay in a gallon of water for three or four days, will rather shrink from drinking teas of this description. | No matter what the remedial claims they will make no especial appeal to the person who has thus fed baby fishes of the egg-layers. Infusoria, popularly called, are| really protozoans, all but invisible to the famous naked eye. A low-powered miscroscope, put on | a drop of infusion made from dried | hay or lettuce, or other vegetable mat- | ter of a similar nature, will reveal scores of elementary living creatures, often in the form known as “slipper animalcule.” These minute forms suffice as food for baby fishes almost as small. In the main, such infusorians are harmless to humanity. even when taken into the intestinal tract. There is little doubt that most of us do in- take thousands of them every day, and are none the worse for them. Yet some rare forms can cause human disease, and, on the whole, They are closely related to other forms of elementary life which do cause serious human disorders. * % o 1t Is true enough that infusions for the purpose of feeding baby fishes are made differently than infusions of herbs for human consumption. The former are created as the re- sult of several days working, composed of bacterial action, first to create the food for the infusorians and then the bringing into being of the latter, in another of those magical happenings of Nature which the microscope has revealed to mankind. The entire proc- ess takes several days and the tem- perature of the water is usually around 70 degrees for best results. Infusion of herbs is different. It is done with boiling water and the parts of the.plant used soaked in this until cool, then strained off. It will be realized at once that this process probably would not result in the creation of infusorians any more than does the familiar brewing of tea or coffee. And yet such a curious thing is the mind of man that many a person ac- quainted with the two processes de- scribed will steadfastly refuse to drink even the old-fashioned sassafras tea | of youth any more. This is “finickiness,” undoubtedly, | yet it is just this spirit of care which has resulted in so much gain in the modern world in the elimination of many old-fashioned diseases. For there are old-fashioned diseases just as there are old-fashioned remedies for them, and many a strict modern will pause to believe now and then that many old-fashioned ills might not have got such a hold on mankind if so much credence had not been put in such old-fashioned remedies, ok ok X Perusal of any reasonably complete herbal will reveal that much of this lore is empiric to a degree. Empiricism, of course, simply means resting on observation and experiment, rather than theory. The secondary meaning of the word is “quack,” which is the term often flung at the unorthodox in any line by those who believe completely in prevailing au- thority. ‘The Pipsissewa, or ground holly, once was used by plain people as a diuretic, and no doubt scores might yet be found right in the heart of any large city who still use it. The various Sempervivums have be- | come popular in recent days as rock garden plants, but long ago they had | a vast reputation, particularly the| Live-for-Ever, or Aaron's Rod, as a wart remedy. The leaves were sliced | in two, and the inner surface applied. | Practically all of the wildflowers, now enjoying the vogue given to all old things in 8 sophisticated age when already we are tiring of the new, have their uses in herbal lore. ‘There is scarcely a familiar wilding which some one or other, in the past or even now, has not used to cure one or more of the hundreds ills to which flesh is heir. If this old knowledge is used with discretion, with some proper guidance, who is there to say it nay? Surely it has a certain intrigue about it, going back to the very roots of the race. There is something high- ly picturesque in the use of the chil- dren of the flelds as remedial agents. It means that one depends upon him- self, and his own brain. First he they had just as well be left out of human diet. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. Some politicians, Republicans as well as Democrats, think the forth- coming pre-1936 regional convention of Midwest Republicans contains pos- sibly more dynamite than salvation for the G. O. P. Their theory is that the advertising of sectional differ- ences and the limelighting of the cleavage between the agricultural lib- eral West and the industrial con- servative East could do irreparable damage if it should reveal to the world that party unity is an iridescent | dream. Meantime, representatives of all shades of Republican thought are | making a show of welcoming the meeting and foreshadowing rosy re- sults. Although its sponsors proclaim that the project has nothing to do with candidacies, it’s inevitable that these will be in evidence, either openly or behind the scenes. Henchmen of brethren in receptive mood are cer- tain to be on the job. The promi- nence of William Allen White in the arrangements for the pow-wow re- calls that the Kansas editor was host to Herbert Hoover during the Call- fornian’s trip across the continent earlier in the year, a circumstance which arouses speculation as to the extent to which Hoover influences may have brought about the impend- ing rally. John Hamilton, general counsel of the Republican National Committee and member for Kansas, is described as architect in chief of the scheme. He ranks as the Mid- west's candidate for national chair- man. * ok k *x #Gov. Alfred M. Landon of Kansas, who revealed in Washington this week the plans for the proposed get- together, is said by close friends, despite mention of his name as presi- dential timber, to aspire to the United States Senate rather than the White House. Senator Arthur Capper, Re- publican, will be up for re-election next year, but Gov. Landon has declared that he would never run against the editor-statesman for nom- ination. Among Midwestern poli- ticilans who are promoting the re- gional convention there’s a persistent talk about a 1936 ticket to be headed by Col. Frank Knox of Illinois, with Landon as his running mate. The Governor has made a comfortable fortune as an oil producer, though he’s a lawyer by.profession. He is a World War veteran, now serving his second term at Topeks and is 47 years old, His recent business in Washington was concerned with getting $250,000 of F. E. R. A, money to repair the ravages of the recent dust storm in Kansas. * k¥ With G. O. P. presidential specu- lation in the forefront of disci interest is revived in the availability of Supreme Court Associate Justice Harlan F. Stone, upon whom many Republicans continue to look as their best bet if the elephant decides to go liberal in 1936. Justice Stone’s intimate friends doubt whether he must be sure, however, that he has a good one. has never burned incense before the shrine of the Pittsburgher who was Secretary of the Treasury from 1921 until 1932, took a shot at “Uncle| Andy” by observing that “we had three Presidents serving under Andrew W. Mellon.” Couzens was referring to “legal evasion of the tax laws” dur- | ing the Harding, Coolidge and Hoover administrations by certain rich men. * ok ok % Bernard M. Baruch scored heavily before the Senate Munitions Commit- tee this week. Members of the com- mittee were obviously appreciative of the silver-haired New Yorker's candor | in volunteering the details of his pri- | vate financial activities when he be- | came chairman of the World War In- | dustries Board. It was not the com- | mittee’s purpose or desire to go into these matters, but merely to get the benefit of Mr. Baruch's views on the | best way of taking the profit out of | war. His disclosures are regarded at | the Capitol as having pretty effec- tually disposed of recent aspersions cast upon him by certain detractors on the radio. * ¥ Xk & Frank O. Salisbury, English artist| whose portrait of President Rooseyelt | has just been unveiled at New York, says that F. D. R. has no fewer than | 50 different characteristic facial ex- pressions and is therefore far more difficult to paint than Mussolini. Al- though he passed a week in the Presi- dent’s office, studying him before starting the picture, Mr. Salisbury had only an hour and 45 minutes for the actual sitting, which took place while the President uninterruptedly trans- acted executive business. In reply to protests against giving foreigners com- missions to paint American Govern- ment leaders, the English artist points out that the official painting of King Edward’s coronation, which now hangs in Buckingham Palace, was made by an American, Edwin Abbey. * * ® % Miss Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor, will be the June commence- ment orator at Wellesley College. It is apparently her acceptance of the in- vitation to deliver the address that gave rise to unfounded reports that America’s first woman cabinet mem- ber is to become president of Welles- ley when the incumbent, Dr. Ellen F. Pendleton, retires next year. * Xk % % Ambassador Bullitt’s departure for his post at Moscow this week puts an end to suggestions that revocation of Soviet recognition and severance of diplomatic relations might result from the collapse of Russo-American debt and trade negotiations. Resolu- tions pending in both Houses of Con- gress, looking to a breach with Mos- cow, are not destined to get any- where. The only apparent conse- quence of the debt-trade breakdown is indefinitely to hang up arrange- ments to spend $1,000,000 on Ameri- can Embassy and consular premises in the Soviet capital. Mr. Bullitt re- turns to his job in the hope that ways may yet be discoverable for has any interest in political office or could be tempted to renounce his present assured career for the gamble of a national contest. They observe that he has the experience o{u m:vmer Supreme Court justice, Char! ans Hughes, in 1916 to remind him of the of such a venture. Any consider “Some men,” sald Uncle Eben, “re- | 818 fill their guarantees that the Germans | member that politics is a synonym | sembles de automobile horn dat ain’ resident in Memel shall be protected | for expediency—they must make com- | doin’ much to push things along, but in their minority rights. If the pow- | promises, hedge and trim, do favors, | manages to sound like de whole ers do not move to that end, Hitlerite ' pretend to enthusiasms and indigna~ ' works." In the course of Senate debate on income tax publicity Senator Cou- sens, of Michigan, who patching up a Yankee horse trade with Stalin, Litvinoff & Co. * ok ok % Support of Senate repeal of the in- come tax pink slip law by Senator Harrison, Democrat, of Mississippi, chairman of the Finance Committee, and other administration leaders is interpreted as certain indication that both President - Roosevelt and Secre- tary Morgenthau all along favored abolition of the provision, though they religiously refrained from taking sides in the controversy. (Covrrisht. 1085.) | 1and of opportunity” are no better for | German “efficiency” in 1917. It might Four Ways to Improve City’s Traction Service To the Editor of The Star: The readers’ column in the paper gives a pretty good indication of the popular feelings and sentiment In any community, and so also in Wash- ington. I have been particularly struck by the many attacks on the local street car system. I must say I agree with most of the complaints— the system is bad—very bad indeed. Peculiarly enough, the company does not answer these attacks and from its point of view perhaps it is the best policy. It has succeeded in establish- ing a 10-cent fare, has a practical monopoly of transportation—bus and car service—so why worry about Gen. Johnson’s 18,000,000 “rsts”? I have a great faith in the power of the press in bringing about needed reforms and in voteless Washington your paper plays a doubly important role. Won't you seriously try to do something about the following mat- ters? (a) Make the company comply with the city ordinances limiting the number of passengers on each car and supplying an adequate number of street cars to take care of the traffic., At all hours the street cars in the downtown areas are crowded. (b) Make the company modernize its antiquated and poorly kept rolling stock. (c) Induce the street car operators to be more civil and considerate. (d) Investigate the possibilities of public ownership and operation. It cannot possibly be worse than present conditions. I am making these recommenda- tions based on many years of experi- ence as a traffic expert and ride the street cars. MELVILLE DE B. BRAND, Learning to Think And Learning to Do To the Editor of The Star: The trouble about being inarticulate is that all your thinking is handed you pre-digested and done up in pound packages, which is not always a sure-fire solution or good for either the doctor or the patient. If atoms could only talk a lot of “bombarding” would be found not only unnecessary but positively harmful. At the Town Hall lately, Dr. Ans- packer essayed to place a finger on the ‘“real American tragedy” as summed up in the maladjustment of ambition and capacity applied to edu- cation, but when so liberal a paper as The Star brings home that lesson for the millions whose chances “in the “civil conductors” than for civil en- gineers, it may not be thought im- pertinent to suggest that there is, or ought to be, in education something more than seeking a “position” and that the man who has learned to think and think straight, even though | his “place” is the hewing of wood and drawing of water, will put into his vocation a quality sadly needed today | in national standards and indeed mi world standards, no less. | Theodore Roosevelt's slogan, “All| Men Up,” in contrast with some hun- | dred-percenters’ “Some Men Down,” was abundantly justified when our preparedness tests went up against not be a bad idea for thase educators who are disturbed by the rush of second-class minds for first-class thoughts to try such a slogan on their scheme of education, for Bacon’s charge of “immorality” fits as neatly to learning to swim as learning to think. In both you learn to do by doing. ANNA 1. COOPER. Corrects Errors as To Czechoslovakia |P. To the Editor of Tha Star: In a recent issue of The Sunday Star Mr. Randolph Leigh opens his dispatch from Prague with this state- ment: “As a relief measure in the crisis of 1360, a German (Austrian) ruler put the starving of Prague to work on the famous hunger wall.” That is true, except that the ruler who sought to relieve unemployment in that way was neither German nor Austrian, He was Charles, king of Bohemia. ~ The two independent states of Bohemia and Austria were not united under a common ruler until 1526. The gem of Mr. Leigh's article, however, is his statement about the alleged state church of Czechoslovakia. He says: “In reli- gious matters, the government has reversed the general tendency of | modern times by attempting to estab- lish a state church. As a result of| this policy approximately 2,000,000 have changed their religious affilia-| tions.” That statement is, of course, utter nonsense. A citizen of Czecho- slovakia is guaranteed religious free-| dom: he is at liberty to join any church he wishes or no church at all. The Czechoslovak church mentioned by Mr. Leigh is an independent body organized by private citizens; it has no connection with the state. J. J. KRAL. ——e————— Reason for Failure Of the Leviathan To the Editor of The Star: 1 note that our Government is going to retire the Leviathan and proceed forthwith to build another huge ship to take its place. If the Shipping Board or its agents have not been able to operate the Leviathan at a profit, | after having squandered many mil- lions of the taxpayers' money in the effort, what reason have they for sup- posing that they could do any better with another ship? I am informed that a sister ship of | the Leviathan, operated under the British flag, is being operated very profitably. Why? Can it be that the traveling public prefers British ships because of the better discipline? Can it be that our coddling of labor agita- tors, which created the lax discipline on the Morro Castle, has disgusted the traveling public? ‘We can build ships and stud them with gold and diamonds, but we will not have them patronized until we cease the folly of coddling the per- sonnel to the destruction of that disci- pline which alone can insure safety at sea. F. G. CAMPBELL. Play Streets Urged For Children’s Use To the Editor of The Star: May I, through your columns, bring to the attention of our District recrea- tion authorities the possibility of set- ting aside certain of our streets as “play streets” for our children? These are highly essential, especially in some sections of our city that are woefully lacking in facilities and opportunities for play. I have no doubt but that such & wise provision would help to reduce somewhat the slaughter of our innocents by automobiles. New York City has many such play streets, where the inalienable rights of children to wholesome recreation have been restored to them. The City of Washington sets aside for- coasting certain streets in the Wintertime on those rare occasions when they are covered with snow and ice. Why not disport without danger to life and limb? I am sure no all-wise creator gave mechanized transportation the right of way over children in the use of . A reader can get the amswer to any question of fact by writing The Washington Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Was) D. C. Please inclose hington, stamp for repiy. Q. Please give dates for the Gov- ernment salary cuts—M. K. A. The first was 8'; per cent July 1, 1932; second, 62; per cent April 1, 1933, making a total salary cut of 15 per cent. The first 5 per cent restoration of salary began February 1, 1934; second 5 per cent July 1, 1934: third 5 per cent will begin April 1, 1935. Q. How is the last name of the quin- tuplets pronounced?—M. E. M. A. The Canadian legation says that Dionne is pronounced Dee un, long e, short u. Q. How many currency bills are printed in a sheet?—J. L. A. There are 12 bills to the sheet. Q. How long has cheese been made in factories in the United States?— G. W. A. Previous to 1850 practically all the cheese made in the country was a farm product. Jesse Williams started the first cheese factory in the United States in Oneida County, N. Y, in 1851. Q. Why is Cincinnati, Ohio, called | the Queen City?—E. K. A. During the early eighteen hun- dreds the hills surrounding Cincin- nati were covered with vineyards, which offered ready employment to the German population there, who hailed mostly from the Rhine Valley. Up until the latter part of the nine- teenth century, Cincinnati was the most important wine center of the country. Henry Wadsworth Longfel- | low christened Cincinnati as the Queen City of the West in his poem, “Catawba Wine": the vine, this greeting of mine, the winds and birds shall deliver, to the Queen of the West, in her garlands dressed, on the banks of the beautiful river.” Q. How tall is the Great Pyramid? ~—R. B. 8. A. It has at present a perpendicu- lar height of 451 feet. This was originally 482 feet. Q. How much land was in the parcel which Peter Minuit purchased from the Indians for $24>—W. H. G. A. Peter Minuit in 1626 purchased Manhattan Island from the Indians. There were 22000 acres which he thus secured for a sum equivalent to about $24. Q. How much does an average-sized rat weigh?—A. F. D A. The domestic rat weighs about 4 ounces on an average for adults. Q. On what occasion was a for- eigner invited to become a citizen of the United States in order to help with its government?—W. M. J. A. According to the Journals of Congress, Volume XII, “On October 6, 1778, the American Congress re- solved that ‘The Honorable Benjamin Pranklin, Arthur Lee and John Adams, esquires, or any one of them, be directed forthwith to apply to Dr. Price and inform him that it is the desire of the Congress to consider him as a citizen of the United States and to receive his assistance in regulating their finances. That if he shall think it expedient to remove with his family to America and afford such assistance, & generous provision shall be made for requiting his services.'” Dr. Richard Price was obliged to refuse. Q. Where is the Riff country?— . W, A. It is located in northern Mor- “And this song of | occo along the Mediterranean littoral, Is native name is Er Rif. This is the part of Morocco which forms a Spanish protectorate, the rest of the country being under French control. 1t is inhabited by flerce and warlike native tribes, who arose against the Spanish rule several years ago under the able leadership of Abd el Krim. Spain put down the rebellion at great cost and heavy loss of life. Q What kind of a bird house sihould be built to induce s cardinal to live in it?—P. R. A. The cardinal does not like bird houses and can not be induced to occupy one. Q. Has the Territory of Alaska a flag?—V. K. A. It bas a flag of its own. The design was chosen in a contest keld by the. American Legion in 1927 and was adopted the same year. Q. When was the Ameriean Federa. tion of Labor organized?—T. E. H. A. It was organized in 1881. Until 1886, it wa= known as the Federation of Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada. At that time there was no executive eouncil and president as there was after 1886. There was a president and vice president of a legislative com- mittee. Samuel Gom served as | president, of this committee from 1881 to 1886. He was then elected presi- dent of the American Federation of Labor and remained its president until his death, with the exception of 1895. Q. Is it true that a chameleon can look in two directions at the same | time?—N. P. A. Its eyeballs move independently. | It can see in two directions at the same time. | Q. How much meat does the aver~ | age American eat?—P. P. C, | . A. Since 1900, consumption of meat |in the United States has averaged slightly less than 140 pounds per capita. More pork is now consumed in this country than any other kind | of meat, but from 1900 to 1911 and from 1917 to 1920, pork was second to beef. | | | | Q. Is money used in Russia and are taxes collected?—F. P. | _ A. There is money in circulation in Russia apd workers are paid with money. Taxes are collected in Rus- sia, but in kind, rather than in | money. Producers of wheat, for in- stance, must turn over a percentage | for the support of the government. The same system of money taxation | followed in capitalist countries is not | followed, for the government in Russia |is r&ea to take practically anything it needs, Q. What vocations did the sons of Benedict Arnold by his second mar- riage follow?—M. C. G. A. Benedict Arnold's four sons by his second marriage were educated at | the Royal Military College, and all | received commissions in the British i Army. | Q. Who comprised the jury to select | pictures and award prizes for the four- teenth biennial exhibition of contem- porary American oil paintings at the Corcoran Gallery of Art?>—S. T. | _A. Jonas Lie is chairman. The other | members include Victor Higgins, Henry Lee McFee, George Harding, Richard Miller and C. Powell Minnigerode. Q. What is the favorite food of the | silkworm?--C. E. 8. . | A. The favorite food of the silkworm | moth is the white mulberry, but other | species of mulberry have been found suitable. Defeat of the “prevailing wage” amendment to the work-relief legisl: tion is heartily approved by a ma- jority of the press, champions of the administration’s relief policies as well as critics joining in condemning the restriction which labor spokesmen would have written into the measure. “To have clung to the McCarran amendment, making it imperative upon the administration to pay in work-relief projects the sam being paid by private industry the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer, “would manifestly have put the latter to a great disadvantage in having to com- pete with the Government. That is a more vital phase of the matter than | may be supposed. At this time, when the Government itself is insisting that private enterprise gird its loins and take up the unemployment load, thus relieving the administration of much of this burden, it would be foolhardy for the Government to set a policy in respect to wages paid which would further embarrass private enterprise and by that extent further add to the difficulty in throwing this func- tion back into private hands. And then, of course, the cost phase is not to be minimized.” “There might have been substantial ground for the labor federation’s com- plaint, if relief wages for skilled labor on Federal structural projects were to be paid on a cut-rate basis, but that possibility is obviated by the Russell substitute,” thinks the Syracuse (N. Y.) Herald. The Bloomington (IIl) Pantagraph believes that “it would have been disastrous to saddle the bill with the ‘prevailing wage,’ ™ and the Charleston (S. C.) Evening Post holds that “it may be taken for granted that the President will not pay the prevailing wage on any projects un- dertaken solely or principally in order to provide employment.” On the other hand, the Lowell (Mass.) Evening Leader takes the po- sition:» “The compromise authorizes the President to set such wages as would not tear down existing wage levels, but stipulates that prevailing wage rates must be paid on all Fed- eral public building projects. The general impression has been that the work-relief program will consist very largely of just such projects. So that while there is some concession to the President’s desires it cannot truly be said that the action of the Senate is an administration victory.” “Senators who wanted to prevent the tearing down of private wage levels,” argues the Birmingham (Ala.) News, “should be satisfied with the safeguard which has been written into the bill.” The Akron Beacon Journal declares that “the bill is purely a meas- ure to take unemployed workers off charity rolls, and the public is right- fully offended at the Senate’s obtuse attitude.” The Columbus (Ohio) Citizen feels that “some of the groups have been playing politics to put the administration in a hole.” The Port- land Oregon Journal thinks that “for our thoroughfares. Regulation is nec- essary, of course, but confiscation is theft, however legalized. Why not let our children have a few of the precious things of the earth, for a higher au- thority even than that of the United States Supreme Court has duly estab- lished that the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness taereof, wt:ntevelr the A. A. A. may arrogate to themselves. Defeat of Wage Amendment Acclaimed as Essential Step the President, for Congress, and for every citizen, the opportunity is re- newed to adjourn factionalism and politics.” It is charged by the San Francisco Chronicle that “the President won by consenting to a modification to save | the faces of deserters from the Mc- | Carran amendment,” and that paper | concludes: “The bill as adopted pro- | vides for the paying of $50 a month | wages so long as that does not affect | adversely the going private scaie. The one exception made is that on all per- manent public building projects. The President is to be the judge whether the relief wage affects private scales, as a House amendment had provided. Public building work is let by econ- tract, so the reservation there is one of form rather than substance.” “A substantial administration vic- tory after a seven-week fight” is con- ceded by the Los Angeles Times, but that paper offers the criticism: “Though the administration was un- questionably right in its opposition to the McCarran amendment, it is as certainly wrong in embarking on what amounts to a blind program with no plans of its own for efficient and eco- nomical work-relief. Schemes for spending the money, or at least proj- ects on which ‘it could be lavished, have been offered in abundance and to a total which would require many times the proposed expenditure. But if these are to be sifted until only | worthy projects remain, the sifting process will take so much time that | the unemployed will starve to death waiting for jobs, and if they are han- dled by either the grabbag or the po- litical preference method, the waste and scandal will be tremendous, and the social effects no better—probably worse—than those of the dole.” Capt. Blake Recalled as Potomac Commander To the Editor of The Star: I read with much interest the arti- cle in your March 26, 1935, edition, Page B-1, regarding the old Charles Macalester and in which the state- meént is made that “He (referring to Capt. John Henry Turner) took over the wheel from the first captain, ‘Tom Ross, who started the boat on its maiden run down the Potomac back in the Spring of 1890.” If my recollection is correct, I can recall a Capt. Blake back in the ’90s who commanded this boat for many years. I could find no mention of his name in the article. T. T. LEMON. A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton Familiar Streets T've known them all my life, In them I played The old ga'nes, tag and hide-and-seek. At the hizh peak Of a successful throw or in some strife Or when my very heart and soul were flayed I've sought them; I have never lost my way Even at night: but at the end of day Found solace in the sweet, Safe harbor of each avenus and street, A