Evening Star Newspaper, April 30, 1935, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. can compete with the Government, especially when the competitive terms are unknown. One benefit of a Gov- ernment low-cost housing demonstra- tion here will be to clear the atmo- TUESDAY.......April 80, 1935 | hore of uncertainty. Another, it the demonstration is successful, will FHEODORE W. NOYES. . . Eitor | .10 point the way to private under- The Evening Star Newspaper Company ‘Business Office: 11th 8t and Pennsylvania Ave East 4 uilding. London, New York Office: 110 Chicago Office: Lake Michigan Europ>an Office, 14 Regent St.. England. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Edition. The Evening Star The Evening and Sunday Star ) 60c per month r when nday: 5¢ per month The Sunday Star. . .5¢c per copy Night Final Edition. ight Final and Sunday Star.70c¢ per month ight Pinal Star 55¢ per month Collection made 'at 'ihe end of eacl ponth. Orders may be sent by mail or elephone National 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. \ly and Sunday. .1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo., only. 1yr. $6.00: 1 mo.. & Bunday only. ... 1yr. $4.00i1mo. All Other States and Canada. ily and Sunday. 1 yr., $12.00: 1 mo. aily only yr.. " $8.00: 1 me Sunday only. Member of the Associated Press. The Assoclated Press is exclusively en- titled to the use for republication of all local news published herein 2 nublication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. Pl e o The Wheat Campaign. Secretary Wallace of the Depart- ment of Agriculture and his aides are preparing to push with vigor a cam- paign to swing the wheat farmers’ election on May 25 in favor of the A. A, A policies. Indeed, the cam- paign has been under way for some time, through both speeches and lit- erature sent out to the farmers by the A. A. A. The coming election is a referendum on a proposal for a wheat control program covering four years, 1936 to 1939, inclusive. In addi- tion to Secretary Wallace, some of the chief officials of the department on the stump are Chester C. Davis, A. A A, administrator; M. L. Wilson, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, and George E. Farrell, director of the A. A. A. grain division. All the offi- takings of a similar character. ———oe—- Italy’s “Hard Period.” Rome celebrated a 2,688th birthday anniversary last Sunday and Premier Mussolini seized the occasion for one 45c permonth |of his favorite fulminations about| Italy’s necessity to gird its loins for the stern requirements of the incalcu- lable future. ~Addressing a throng of fervent Fascist supporters, I1 Duce warned them of a “hard period” which will shortly “engage all the forces of the Italian people.” Mussolini did not specify the cir- cumstances under which impending times are to try Italian souls. He left the nation guessing which are “those ends which we have already precisely determined.” With two di- visions of his army, aggregating 30,000 men, in Eritrea and Italian Somali- land, the inclination is to suppose that the premier is thinking prin- cipally of a conflict with Ethiopia. But many are convinced that the crucial test for Italy, which Musso- lini cryptically envisions, has Europe in mind as a field of action, with a Nazi threat against the independence of Austria as a cause of strife. Speaking in those parables and riddles to which he is so incorrigibly addicted, Il Duce asserts that “the horizon has cleared, and could become even clearer if political policy aided | economic policy, if there were in | Europe a true peace, a strong, virile peace which does not depress.” Then, at the end of a passage glerifying the “betterment of the situation,” Mus- | solini called upon his people to “raise ; up your muskets and banners and give | & cheer for work!” Whatever Italy’s immediate pur- ‘pnses may be, all reports emanating from that country depict it as hum- ming with military activity. One com- cers and agents of the A. A. A™petent American observer says that it throughout the States and counties | where wheat is grown will participate in this administration effort to win an indorsement of its wheat program and policies. The referendum, of course, is her- alded as an «opportunity for the farmers to express themselves with freedom on the wheat control pro- gram. The farmers, however, are to have their minds made up for them if oratory and literature provided by the GoVernment, which is seeking the referendum, can turn the trick. Checks for not producing wheat are to be dangled before their eyes. Threats are to be made that never any more need the farmers look to the great father in Washington for relief if they turn their backs on the New Deal now. The A. A. A. and its policy of pro- ducing scarcity of crops have been under fire. There is a growing skep- ticism among the farmers themselves that non-production is all it has been cracked up to be. So the A. A. A, out after vindication. And with all the Government money it needs at its back to conduct a campaign it is going to win that vindication if it possibly can. they must turn out and vote. The campaign is progressing in thirty- seven wheat-producing States. If the Government is unable to carry this election by a very considerable vote it will be a blow to the A. A. A. and its policies. More than that, it will prove that these policies are dis- tinetly unpopular. A close vote in the referendum, considering all the ad- ministration is doing in the way of money expenditure to win the elec- tion, will be a virtual victory for the opponents of the idea of paying farm- ers for not producing crops. The plow-under policy has been doing sad things to the cotton indus- try of the United States. The exports of raw cotton are falling off and the cotton mills in this country have been closing in large numbers. And still | Mr. Wallace and his aides stick to their theories upon the hypothesis that their theories are right and the rest of the world is wrong. ———e— Germany is mentioning submarines with pride in spite of the fact that candid survey points to the record of submarines in war as distinctly inglorious. ————— One of the hopeful features of a five billion dollar appropriation is the reminder to the country that there really is so much money. Low-Cost Housing Projects. For about twenty-two months the Housing Division of the Public Works Administration has been considering low-cost housing projects for Wash- ington without turning a spadeful of earth in making a start on any of them. Some time ago it was learned that there are prospects for a begin- ning on at least one project in the District before Midsummer, and the President’s announcement yesterday that such work in a number of cities, including Washington, would be well under way by August is gratifying verification. The difficulty in Washington, as elsewhere, seems to have centered chiefly in obtaining the land at prices cheap enough to warrant real low- cost housing construction. Cheap enough land in the city is difficult to find under normal conditions and the price will rise naturally once word gets around—as it does in a remark- ably short time —that the Govern- ment is the purchaser. The housing project for Washington that seemed for a time most likely to be adopted was near Howard University, and it was finally abandoned because of the cost of the land. At least two other sites in the District have been un- der consideration for some time, with success in land buying kept a tight secret at the P. W. A, As long as the Government is con- templating its own building, private builders will naturally hold back to awalt the outcome. No private builder The farmers are being told that | is more apparent than in Germany. | The aspect of Italy is described as | one of “intense preparation for any eventuality.” It was in that spirit that Mussolini thundered in Venezia Square the day before yesterday. His senti- | ments, no matter how obscure in mo- tive, unmistakably suggest that Il | Duce is anticipating trouble some- | Where in the not remote future and | is getting ready to face it. His Stresa | declaration that Italy has 600,000 troops prepared to move in case of emergency betokens Mussolini's state of mind. Yet another indication is the approaching conclusion of a Franco-Italian air alliance. Let it be hoped that it is not trans- Atlantic woes that are agitating the Fascist soul—that the “hard period” | for which Italians are asked to steel | themselves does not comcern the im- | prisonment of Mussolini’s consul in !the Dominican Republic on a | charge of conspiring to assassinate is | President Trujillo or any untoward developments that might flow from that incident. oo | Civil Service and Work-Relief. | In his radio address Sunday evening | the President, anticipating criticism of one sort later on, declared: “It must, however, be recognized that when an enterprise of this character is extended over more than 3,000 counties throughout the Nation, there may be occasional instances of in- efficiency, bad management or misuse of funds.” That is obvious, and little criticism will fall on the President or his super- vising assistants for occasional mis- takes as long as there is general rec- ogmition of the inherent honesty of purpose in the program and in the integrity and efficiency of those di- rectly in charge of its administration, But it would seem that one precau- tion that might well be taken in con- nection with the hire of clerical and other employes who will form the cogs in the President’s carefully built work- relief machinery would be to choose | them from the eligible lists of the Civil Service Commission and thus to main- tain the principles of merit system where those principles may be practi- cally applied in “an enterprise of this character.” No estimate has been made officially regarding the number of employes who must be chosen, in Washington and in the field, in connection with admin- istrative features of the work-relief act. But it has been published that the Civil Service Commission can fur- nish eligibles for all positions to be created, and the Treasury is already leading the way by planning to take on, gradually, some 1,000 additional employes for disbursing activities. It lies with the President as to what policy will prevail in this respect; whether new employes are to be hirec from the civil service registers, or whether patronage is to become a pre- dominating consideration. The Pres- ident’s enunciation of policy in this matter will be awaited with interest. —————— Every large city has a police shake- up now and then. It may not always be so much an expression of resent- ment as a show of deference to time- honored custom. ——————— First in the Western World. Dr. Vilhjalmur Stefansson, perhaps unintentionally, has revived the an- cient controversy about the discovery of America. The problem probably cannot be solved definitely, finally or to the satisfaction of all parties. To Christopher Columbus many will pre- fer to grant predominant credit; to Eric the Red and his sons Lief and Thervald and to Thorfinn Karlsefne others wil choose to accord the honor. Meanwhile, archeologists exploring British Columbia, California, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, Peru and Chile have demonstrated con- vincingly that the Western World was settled from Asia long- before its existence was known to any inhabitant of Europe. But Dr. Stefangon’s elaims for ihe THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., TUESDAY, APRIL 30, Irish are valid enough to be entitied to greater acknowledgment than they customarily have received. The logic of his contention is sound, and the basis of his argument is reliable history. Iceland, as he insists, is & portion of the geographical West, and when Europeans had reached it they were well within the range of ocular acquaintance with the chain of neighboring islands leading to the mainland—it is possible to see from one stepping sfone to another in clear weather. And the Norse adventurers did find a Christian community in Iceland when they first arrived there. The monk Dicuil, in his “De Mensura Orbis Terrae,” written about 825 A D, reports that the territory was settled by pilgrims from Ireland prior to 795; and Are Prode, the original Icelandic historian, in his “Islending- abok,” testifies that the Norsemen “found Christian men there whom they called ‘papa,’ but they soon left because they did not wish to dwell among the heathens” Gjerset ex- plains: They left Irish books, bells and cro- siers, from which one must judge that they were Irish. The “Landnamabok” also mentions these Irish monks, and the name of the Island of Papey, off the east coast, still brings to memory their stay in Iceland. People from Norway, according to Are Frode, appeared in 870, and peo- ple from Sweden, according to the “Historia Norwegiae” and other rec- ords, somewhat later. There was a central parliament for all Iceland in 930, Christianity was adopted in 1000, no less than eleven monasteries—each a center of learning and culture— were established during the twelfth amd thirteenth centuries, and political union with Norway was effected in 1262. From the last date onward the chronicle is unquestioned. And Co- lumbus did not sail from Palos until August 3, 1492, ‘The map holds the key to a com- prehension of the mystery. Study of it will support Dr. Stefansson. The Western World is nearer to Ireland than to Spain, and the significance of that fact merits attention, S Japan’s friendly inclination is beau- tifully expressed by the cherry blos- soms. It would be an even greater cause for gratitude if the wonder- away the Japanese beetles. ————- It is no new experience for the farmer to find the display of in- 1creas¢d prices in the grocery store lnolh\ng for him to give three cheers | about. —_— e The President refers to “the Con- expressions of opinion that a loose grammarian might have referred to it as “those Congress.” ————————— Some small children have hard luck in being kept away from the movies and compelled to go to court and play around with the family skeletons. —_— st Some of the material assembled in & brain trust must inevitably be scru- on watered stock. —_————— School conditions in the country | are described as distressing, with need of more money for education, but not a cent to waste on propaganda. ——ee—s SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Tuneful Uncertainty, They told me if I'd sing a song The world would all seem gay. ‘When various things were going ‘wrong I lifted up my lay. ‘The neighbors said “Come to an end, And throw into reverse, For when you try to sing, my friend, You're making matters worse.” ©Oh, ye, whom Nature has endowed With voices that are great, ‘When you set forth with spirit proud ‘To warble, hesitate. ‘The blessing that you meant may be ‘Transformed into a curse, ‘There's naught like singing off the key For making matters worse. Not So Different. “Times aren’t like they used to be?” “They don’t seem so different to me,” saild Senator Sorghum. “Ever since I can remember people have ‘been making fun of the fashions and asking whence taxes come and where they go.” Work, We'll find relief from every grief, ‘We'll never cavil at the cost. ‘We know our troubles will be brief If courage true is never lost. With disapproval we must view All idleness that dares to lurk, And find some occupation new For theories that would not work. A Promise. “Did you make your boy Josh promise to stay on the farm this Summer?” “Yes,” answered Farmer Corntossel. “The duststorms have him puzzled, but Josh says he'll keep his word and stick by the old place if he has to learn aviation.” “It will be & more pleasant world,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “when men work as hard to reward a friend as they do to punish a foe.” Variety to Please All Mocking bird, why do you try To change your tune so often? Sometimes you rather harshly cry And then your note will soften. When I to you am listening I ask “What is your mission? Are you an artist when you sing, ©Or just a politician?” “Parrots is like men” said Uncle Eben, “De kind o' words dey use tells you what kind o' company dey been eepin’.” working empire could send along a | sort of Oriental pied piper to charm | he recalls something else which, he | tinized for trac¥s of securities based ' THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. People who are difficult to talk to offer a problem to most of us. Accustomed as we are to persifiage, badinage, and other “ages,” we dis~ like working too hard in conversa- tion. There ought to be some give ard take here, especially there should be less of this business of critical talk. He who is hard to talk to special- izes in making adverse comments. Say to him, “How do you like my new hat?” He answers, “Oh, I had one like that last year.” 5. Advise him that a certain show is good, he has seen fit. Tell him your opinion of a wight in the public eye, he invariably has an exactly opposite opinion, * % % ¥ Hence it may be realized that fail- ure to talk is not his fault, exactly. Nor does he talk too much, perhaps. He just talks the wrong way! ~ Good conversation ought to he bound by the ordinary rules of civility. This invariable “Why did you do that, why didn’t you do this?” might give way to a placid acceptance of facts, There are more facts, in this world, than the difficult talker knows about. Every person he talks to is a fact, with all of a fact's obduracy. Statistics by no means limit the horizon of facts. times a stubborn fact. Consider the mule. * Kk ok K First comes the talker you can't possibly surprise. Every one desires to surprise others, at times. It is impossible, however, to cause this fellow to lift a brow. He either knows it all beforehand or surmised as much. He never winks an eye until you have finished, because he wants to find out all he can, but the moment you finish he says, “Oh, I heard that yeste day,” or “That's an old one,” or “You tellin’ me?"” One hopes, some time, to catch him napping, but the chances are small. He is prepared, you see, for all comers. He is determined that nothing will cause him to show surprise, i we Then there is he who proceeds to douse all enthusiasms with very cold water. Rush up to this one with a light in your eyes and proceed to dilate on the merits of something or other. Either he receives your talk without enthusiasm or he ignores it alto- gether, If you force him to say anything says, is much better. It seems impossible to make him register a like enthusiasm over the thing you have discovered. If you speak admiringly of a dis- covery he points to some other dis- covery. If the subject is another human being he says, “Pshaw, you should have seen So-and-So.” F ‘Then there is the particularly ob- STARS, MEN Laboratory The disruptive tendencies which { find expression in crime do not brand | the criminal as an unnatural monster, | Dr. Willilam A. White, superintendent of St. Elizaketh’s Hospital, told the |New York Academy of Medicine in | the second of his series of Salmon | lectures the other night. Much of society's attitude toward the criminal, Dr. White said, is due to an outworn philosophy which regard- ed man as naturally the acme of per- fection, and hence any deviation from perfection as contramy to human na- ture. This human self-righteousness, he explained, was a defense reaction of man against the sense of helpless- ness in the vast, mysterious universe which surrounded him. In most of its other aspects this philosophy has | been abandoned. Man recognizes his littleness in the physical universe due to the revelations of astronomers. He other fields. Said Dr. White: “The attitude to- ward crime and the criminal classes is which could be chosen of man’s prej- incorporation of these prejudices into his thinking and acting. “Man has, from the beginning, thought very well of himself. His early concepts of the universe were that the sun, moon and stars were put into the heavens in order that they might light and warm him par- ticularly, and that the sun revolved around the earth—the earth, because it was the habitation of man, being the center of the universe and man, the flower of creation, being the par- ticular object of the love and con- sideration of God. “This tendency has always existed. It is part of man'’s feeling of insecur- ity and the safety motive in his think- ing, feeling and acting. He seeks safety and security in such beliefs and he resists anything that runs to the contrary. He has always been in- clined, probably because of his lazi- ness, to believe that his instincts were absolutely correct guides to his con- duct and that common sense was all that was necessary to insure success in his life, “In the face of repeated examples of failure of instinctive processes and the inadequacies of common sense, his feeling of insecurity is activated and he resists the evidence of his senses. In the same way he has resisted the evidences of his inadequacies which have come from the emotional side of his life. He has regarded himself as having reached the peak of evolution and presenting innumerable perfec- tions, at least in their possibilities, but he has failed to recognize the disruptive and death-dealing tenden- cies that run along side by side with his greatest possibilities. So in deal- ing with criminals he has exalted his own feelings of perfection at the ex- pense of others’ mistakes, has char- acterized them as sinful and bad and, by implication, considered himself as good, and therefore worthy.” * x % *x Much the same attitude, Dr. White said, has crept into the educational system. Education has come to have as its main objective the compression into a common mold of all the varied possibilities represented by the indi- vidual child rather than an effort to discover in each one his outstanding capacities, Where efforts have been made to get away from this system, Dr. White said, educators have swung to the opposite extreme, leaving the child without any contyol at all. He pleaded for a via media in education whereby the individual might be con- sidered from the point of view of & social unit. “As such.” he said, “society becomes of absolute importance to him, as only through # ean be find his greatest ‘ Every living thing is a fact, some- | has yet to recognize his littleness in | perhaps the most outstanding example | adiced feelings about himself and the | never to let on that any anecdote you tell him is funny. 'You may have heard him roar with laughter at a very poor yarn told him by the boss, but when he stops to listen to your really good tale he is very critical and positively doesn't see a thing funny in it. Perhaps he may smile tepidly, but not for worlds, evidently, will he admit that what you tell him is worth hearing. Then there is the very busy man. He is so terribly busy, in truth, that he scarce can find time to permit you to intrude a thought. He is plainly of the opinion that little you could say could be worth his hearing, but out' of politeness’ sake he will stop, if you will make it brief. When he has thus put you at a very great disadvantage and insured that you do not do yourself justice, he blandly says to himself, “Ah, I knew it!” You can hear him saying it to himself as plainly as if his lips moved. * ok x x Another person most difficult to talk to is he who has a specialty. People with ‘“causes,” with axes to grind, people who are possessed of the great “single-track mind,” what- ever the cause, are mostly persons most of us find rather hard to en- gage in everyday conversation. ‘While it may be admitted that in this class come some very splendid specimens, in the main they are dif- ficult to talk to, because they do all the talking! While from one standpoint such a persom is easy to engage in talk, since he may be permitted to do it all, a monologue of this character is rather wearying, in the last analysis. Orators, as a class, are tiresome. ‘Those who “reminisce” are worse. They go into too much detail. The in sidetracking them at all. * K X ¥ The so-called “stuffed shirt” is an- other person many find hard to | talk to. He may or may not be conceited, | to solve, in the conversational way | He may be aboard a public vehicle, direction, to the effect that it is a | beautiful day. He fails to reply. His alr says plainly enough, “Who are you, my dear sir? Let us permit | the day to take care of itself, and do | we mind our own business, severally | and individually.” | Those who simply won't listen come within our present scope, Many find these the most diffi- cult of all. Others have trouble with sentimentalists, others with intensely conceited, egotistical persons. These, | however, tend to merge. One may | never know exactly about them. | The shy person offers real trouble to some, yet often enough a little “draw- | ing out” will prove that the shy one is not shy at all, get him or her on a congenial topic. i The solution of all these problems | lies in tact. | But who, after all, is the tactful gress.” There are so many different | noxious wight who has taken a vow | person? AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. individual development. Per contra, | only through the greatest individual 1deve]opmenl of each unit can society | reach its greatest possibilities. Edu- | cation of the individual and develop- | ment of social standards are mutually | related in this way and must be con- | sidered not apart, but together. It is | but another instance of the organ- |ism as a whole versus the separate parts considered by themselves. “Perhaps one of the next develop- ments will be a definite recognition that there is a psychology of inter- human relations. Up to the present time psychiatry has largely been a medical specialty, and as such was interested in dealing with the sick individual. I believe one of the next steps will be the recognition that there is a fleld best approached, not from the individualistic point of view, but with the appreciation that we are here dealing with a higher integration. “It is easy enough to speculate upon the stupendous possibilities which might result from the development of such a new department of thought. Communities, large and small; munic- ipalities, states and nations would come in for their respective considera- tion, and there might easily come about principles of international re- lationship of the utmost significance to a world being knit together into closer relationships in spite of the maintenance of widely divergent in- terests.” * x x % During the past half century, Dr. White said in the same lecture, the number of insane has risen out of all proportion to the population increase in the United States. From 1880 to 1920 the population rose approximate- ly 110 per cent, while the number in mental hospitals rose 468 per cent. Recent studies have shown, Dr. White said, that approximately one person out of 22 becomes .a patient in a mental hospital during the life- time of a generation. A partial rea- son for the increase, he pointed out, has been the rapid urbanization of the country, with a resulting change in living conditions to which many could not adjust who might have been well adjusted to the simpler rural life. In this connection, Dr. “7hite said, “there is one set of facts that seem to me of great importance and the existence of which seems to have gone almost entirely without recognition. This is the comparative death rate between the so-called insane and the comparable age and sex groups of the general registration area of the United States. “The death rate corresponds with the malignancy of the psychosis and the psychosis is measured from the point of view of capacity for social adjustment. Those who are capable of making social adjustments live as long as the average individual. Those who are incapable of making any ad- justments at all, like the idiot, would die ot starvation and neglect in a few days if left alone. Under the best conditions of institutional life their lives are very short—about 10 years on the average. In other words, in- sanity tends to materially shorten life. It interferes with the continuity of adaptation and one of the elements of success in life is just this capacity for continuity.” —— e Our Growing Speech. Prom the Newport News (Va.) Times- Herald, The Long-Johnson-and-other de- bate may not be getting anywhere, but it is certainly enlarging the average vocabulary, —_—— e Eyes. Prom the Grand Island (Nebr) Inde- pendent. “Brown eyes” says a psychology teacher, “indicate a strong character. defense. ; difficulty in talking to them comes | but either way he is a dfficult man| and you try a chance remark in his| 1935. Community Shame the Surest Lynching Cure To the Editer of The Star. As in the case of the English boys who fought to decide whether lob- sters were red or green, both propo- nents and apponents of the Wagner- Costigan anti-lynching bill are but half right. “The era of legal sufficlency is past,” says Dr. Roscoe Pound of the Harvard Law School in his “Philoso- phy of Law,” “hence we must build rather than merely improve; create rather than merely order, because ob- servation shows social interdepend- ence through similarity of interests and through division of labor as the central facts in human existence.” ‘The opponents proceed from an out- moded legal philosophy, and the pro- ponents scek to make law do work that must follow from the rise of cul- tural levels among the people them- selves, The tragedy is in wasting time and generating attitudes on both sides of the question when basic social prob- lems await solution. History testifies that laws do not change human na- ture, while education may give it new directions for ancient urges, and it has been shown that mob action re- sults from no single cause in society, but from well-recognized collective behavior towards some class of be- havior felt to be antagonistic to the good of the group. In a milder form the very flood of petitions sent in to Congress at the urging of those lead- ers who would benefit by the prestige from securing the passage of the bill is a mob action. It precludes calm deliberation and the evaluation of social data and laws of social action. Recently Negroes in Harlem in- dulged in a destructive form of mob action merely upon a rumor, but actually from generated oppostion to what they felt to be discriminatory conduct affecting their welfare. Laws | to further our wider understanding | of interdependence are what America ne | eeds. Social history shows that until the people in sny given group, commu- | nity, state or nation feel the possible condemnation by society to be greater than the satisfaction flowing from | | collective action against what antag- | onizes them there will be mass action, even unto war itself. Otherwise, we should not need religion, ethics, law, education, parliaments and the like | as breakwaters or dams for human tendencies in society. The President's | condemnation of lynching and the slow, but gradual, spread of commu- nity shame following such a debauch | will do more to stop the declining practice and bring perpetrators to Jjustice than liability laws. CHARLES M. THOMAS. —_— e Association Indorses Scott for Judgeship To the Editor of The Star: | From the tenor and tone of arti- cles in The Star, it sounds as though there are no other colored lawyers | in Washington except Judge Cobb | competent to be a municipal judge. One writer referred to the position as insignificant, and so infinitesimal that the President should not rate the position as a political one just for the sake of keeping the incumbent in office. No one denies that Judge Cobb has not made a good judge, but can we not presume that there are other lawyers, who, if given an opportunity, would make just as good a judge or perhaps better? We believe The Eve- ning Star to be fair and impartial to any one. But it does seem from a re- cent editorial in The Star that a | great calamity would befall the peo- | ple of Washington if Cobb were not | reappointed. We strongly believe in the old adage: “To the victor belongs the spoils” when competent victors can be found. Judge Cobb has held the pesition for nine years and has rendered faith- ful service as a Republican. And now there is a Democratic candidate that we know is well qualified for the position. Mr. Armond W. Scott has lived in | Washington for more than 30 years | and recently he was the victim of un- warranted and unfounded charges, | charging him with inciting the Wil- mington riot, an incident he had noth- ing to do with. He has in his possession many telegrams and letters from some of the leading and best-known fam- ilies in the City of Wilmington exon- erating him to the limit. Mr. Scott has proven himself to be a good law- yer, a good citizen, a good neighbor, a good churchman, father and hus- band, and upon such a record the Association of North Carolinians in- dorses him for municipai judge 100 per cent. This was done at its regu- lar meeting the 8th day of April, 1935. J. F. Holland, president; G. C. Scur- lock, attorney, vice president; Rev. George O. Bullock, chairman of the Executive Committee, and Miss Celelic Standfield, secretary. JOSEPH F. HOLLAND. More Street Cars and Not More Busses Needed | To the Editor of The Star: | ‘The protest that the several citizens’ | associations are making against the | contemplated bus service on Thir- | teenth street is taking the turn that | the writer has expected it would take. In other words, the owner of an auto- mobile feels that he has some right, especially with the taxes he has to pay on every gallon of gasoline and other taxes too numerous to mention. So if he makes complaint to the Public Utilities Commission it should be heeded, because the automobile own- ers are doing their share in running the District of Columbia. I have tried my utmost to get those really interested in my plan of & bet- ter street car service for Washington. I have been fighting for the street car as the only means of travel on account of what the bus would do to make more congestion. The bus goes everywhere, while the good old, re- liable street car stays where it is put, has a regular place to travel and for that reason is more easily regulated. And if the Public Utilities Commission will change ideas about filling up the streets of Washington with hundreds of busses and tell the Capital Transit Co. to purchase 100 new, up-to-date two-man street cars, the congested streets will still be for those that really pay the freight, the automobile owners. 1 strongly protest to those that are withholding the order for the double tracking of Kennedy street, and not only from Georgia avenue to Third street, but starting at the plow pit on Fourteenth street, to Colorade avenue, to Georgia avenue. Why are they not building the double track? Is it be- cause they want to discourage those who ride the street cars and make them take the express bus and buy & 10-cent fare on 4 badly congested street? I ask them on behalf of the street car riders to build those tracks 50 as to give them the better service to which they are entitled. FELIX A. URY. - Weak Rails. Prom the Pasadena. (Calif.) Post. ‘Weakness in rails unsetties stocks, than that. | the reduction 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. Has Earl Sande, the jockey, re- tired from the turf?—A. R. A. He has become a snger and inaster of ceremonies in & New York night club. Q. What kangaroo carry young in a pouch?—K. W. B. A. The phenomenon of a pouch in which the female carries her young after they are born is peculiar to the group of mammals known as the animals besides the the marsupials. With the exception of | the common opossum of the United States and a close relative of tropical America, all the members of this group are confined to Australasia. Besides the kangaroo, the most famil- iar member, the group includes the wallaroo, several species of wallaby, the wombat, the koala, the Tasmanian wolf and the Tasmanian devil. Q. How cold is the region beyond the atmosphere>—W. K. L. A. Prof. A. S. Edington believes that the temperature of space is 5.4 degrees above absolute zero. Q. Please publish the West Point Cadet Prayer—M. R. McK. A. It is too long to include in this column. Coples will be mailed upon request. It begins: “O, God, our Father, Thou Searcher of men's hearts, help us draw near to Thee in sincerity and truth. May our religion be filled with gladness and may our worship of Thee be natural.” Q. What causes cold chills to run over the frame of an apparently healthy person on hot days?>—W. Y. G. A. The Public Health Service says that cold chills experienced by healthy persons on warm days are due simply to nervous reaction to the environ- ment. Q. What causes the fogs which are so common about the Newfoundland Banks?>—H. C. A. The conflict of a cold ocean cur- rent from the North and a warm cur- rent from the South is the principal cause. Q. Are Americans lending much money to European borrowers in com- parison with what they are getting back?—S. H. A. Only about $20,000,000 has been | lent since 1931, one of the largest items being $5,000,000 to borrowers in Finland. In the last year alone Americans collected nearly $100,000.- 000 in interest and dividends from European borrowers. Q. What is conscience?—E. J. A. Conscience is the mental faculty which decides between right and wrong, and while generally regarded as giving decisions intuitively, many authorities believe that in all moral judgments there is implied reference to moral laws. Conscience may be relied upon if it is kept in active use, but as in the case with other things, if not used it becomes atrophied. Q. Was Emmeline Pankhurst's hus- band interested in woman suffrage? —G. T. A. Dr. Pankhurst assisted his wife in forming the Women's PFranchise League in 1889. He died in 1898. Q. When did European painters begin to do landscapes?>—G. G. A. While some of the earlier artists pointed the way to some extent, it was not until the middle of the nineteenth century that landscape painting, both in oil and water-color, was actively pursued in Europe, Q. Can the United States Govern- ment issue a passport to a person who has lived in this country for many ye;{n,c but has not become a citizen? A. Tt issues passports to American citizens only. Such a person would get a passport from the country whence he came, w.nd a re-entry per- mit from the United States Depart- ment of Labor. | Q. Why is the United States cone | sidered one of the outstanding coune tries of the world?—F. 8. A. It is so regarded by virtue of its rea, population, wealth, its form of government, its high standard of liv- ing, its business and commercial de- velopments, the large number of ine ventions and scientific discoveries at- tributed to it. Q. How many more C, C. C, camps | are there to be?—A. N. A. It is planned to double the num- ber. There are now 1,457 camps and |1t is hoped that about 1,500 will be | added. | — | Q. When did Mexico have three | Presidents in one day?—C. W. V., A. On February 23, 1913. President Madero and Vice President Suarez | were put to death, Pedro Lascurain, | minister of foreign relations, suc- ceeded by virtue of his office and ap- pointed Gen. Huerta to his office as | foreign minister, then immediately | resigned the presidency in favor of { Huerta. | — Q. What causes beriberi?—E. T. A. A dlet consisting principally of poiished rice, that is, rice without the outer husk, is the cause of beriberi It is the husk containing the rice kernel which contains the necessary ;vlumms, and before the polishing of | rice the disease was unknown. Q. When is Rosary Sunday?—M. B. | A. It is the first Sunday in Oc- tober and is a feast instituted by Gregory XIII for the confraternity of the rosary. Q. What is the world record for & mile run?>—R. O. A. The world’s official record for the mile run is 4 minutes 6.8 seconds, made by Glenn Cunningham in 1934. Q. How much is spent yearly for baker's cake and pie?—W. W. | A. Cake is bought to the amount of about $175,000,000 and pie is esti- mated at $60,000,000. | Q. What State has passed s law | which makes it impossible to sue for monetary compensation for alienation | of affections, breach of promise to | marry, etc.?—K. D. W. A. Indiana was the first to pass such a law, but New York State has now done so. Several other States are considering similar legislation. Q. Of what disease did Napoleon die?>—C. F. A. A posi-mortem examination proved that he died of cancer of the stomach. Q. How many different operas were sung by the Metropolitan Opera Co. | during the season which has just closed?>—G. C. C. A. Thirty-seven operas were pre- sented. Wagnerian opera led with nine. Verdi's works were next, with six presented. | Q. Is there a building in Rome which has been perfectly preserved from ancient times?—T. N. | A. The Pantheon is the only one. ‘Balance of Britisl; hudget Inspires Comment on Taxes Comment in this country on the balancing of the British budget and of income taxation brings out the fact that Englishmen still pay higher taxes than are re- quired of the people of the United | States. Some newspapers also direct attention te the failure of Britain to take Into account the war debt to the United States. “Once again,” observes the Chicago Journal of Commerce, “the British government boasts that it has bal-| anced the budget, with, through adroit maneuverings, & surplus of better than $2,000,000. Personal exemption in income tax returns is to be in- creased in all brackets, and in the lower brackets there will be definite cuts. These favorable changes, it is said, are being made to offset the un- popularity of rising arms expendi- tures, which will account for a large percentage of the entire outlay for the coming year. Unless it is en- tirely wrong to draw conclusions, then, one is left to presume that the British government is aware that the general public is not desirous of war— | or of expenditures lcoking to war. | It is our belief that the people of the United States see international affairs at the present time from the same viewpoint. Outlays for mili- | tary preparations are governed by governments, not by the people.” “As if these things were not enough for one time,” says the New Orleans Times-Picayune, “we learn further from Chancellor Chamberlain that | the cost of living is below the level of 1931 and retail trade is expanding. His words, while they will be taken by other nations with the proverbial grain of salt usually reserved for pub- lic pronunciamentos, are encourag- ing, and it must be said on behalf of the British that usually they have had something to back up such claims as they have made. Therefore, we may consider the lately revealed na- tional situation in Britain an encour- aging omen. If enough nations re- cover from their individual troubles, recovery on the world scale would be the natural and almost inevitable ‘next step.’ " “It makes an American lament the more,” declares the Providence Jour- nal, “that his own National Govern- ment is not only refusing to adopt a similar policy that has proved so productive of good results in Great Britain, but is actually experimenting with financial ideas that have yielded such discouraging fruits as a per- sistently unbalanced budget, a con- stant scramble for new taxes, the largest public debt in our history and a continuance of those doubts and fears in the business world upon which depression thrives. Can there be any doubt as to which procedure— the British or the American—is the more intelligent?” Making ll‘ceompnrhon between Brit- ish and American financing, the Oklahoma News states: “In the fiscal year 1934 Britain derived approxi- mately 54 per cent of her total revenue from . income and death levies: the United States raised only 356 per cent from such ability-to-pay taxes. Britain, with about one-third our population, has twice as many income taxpayers. Britain has about 40 per cent more income taxpayers than she has unemployed persons. We have about six times as many unemployed as we have income taxpayers. Britain has learned to take care of her un- . | says & market report. Weakness in |employed by taxing those who have Black eyes, of course, indicate a ‘weak | rails has been known to do even worse | incomes. We haven't learned—yet.” “A sales tax would roughly ap- 1 | proximate the effect of the British income tax in the lowest brackets.” explains the New Haven Journal- | Courier, while the Hutchinson (Kans.) | News points out that “with the same | tax rate our Treasury could show the |same comfortable surplus” and the Nashville (Tenn.) Banner says: “The |new schedule is described as poor | man's budget, inasmuch as it has reductions that will especially help | those whose incomes are less than $2,500 a year. As seven-eighths of | the families in the country fall within | this category, the wide diffusion of | the benefits under the new budget |is evident. The tax reductions for those whose incomes exceed $2,500 & year are small. For a single person with $2.425 the new tax is to be $229. A married couple with an income of $4,850 and no children pay a tax of $589.30.” “Perhaps the American people aré not yet ready to bear such taxes” | suggests the Watertown (N. Y. Times, while the Sioux Falls (S. Dak.) Daily Argus-Leader believes “we should profit by England's experi- ence,” and the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Times feels that “America may well | consider the methods and the record of Great Britain.” The Wall Street Journal, on the debt question, con- cludes from the situation: “A debtor | refuses to repudiate, refuses to de- | fault and refuses to pay.” The Buf- falo Evening News hopes that “soon the British government will be moved to propose negotiations for a new agreement on the war debt.” b Progress and C | Prom the Kansas City 8t ‘We have heard a great deal about | the progress of civilization. But what | about the civilization of progress? — e Cupid and Cupidity. From the Springfield (Mo.) Leader-Press. American women get $936,000,000 alimony annually. Cupid seems to be ;rMn' way to cupidity. ——— Setting the Pace. | Prom the Reno (Nev.) Evening Gazette. Another reason we stay broke is be- cause our neighbors are always buying something we can’t afford. A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton Quiet Mandate I want your hand close-cradled in my palm That I may time your pulse to mine and calm You till the tremors in your veins shall cease And all your restless fingers be at peace. I want your destiny that I may hold Your every aim and dream and so enfold ‘Them in my own that you may always Your errant fate at harbor in my mind. I want your heart that I, and I alone, May tune its beat in rhythm with my own And quiet all its wild impulse until Mine rules it with the mandate: “Peace, be still”