Evening Star Newspaper, May 1, 1935, Page 10

THE EVENING STAR With Sundsy Morning Editien. WASHINGTON, D. C. WEDNESDAY.....May 1, 1835 JHEODORE W. NOYES. . . Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company st Seia Pensvivania Ave A 2nd Bt. Sietes SRk ikt Bl 3 h! U Biee 25 Repent 8. London: Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Edition. The Evening Star 45c per month The Evening and Sunday Siar (when 4 Bundlgsl. .. 60c per month The Evening and Sunday Star (when 5 Sund: 65¢_per month ‘The Sunday Star . be per copy Night Final Edition. ight Final and Sunday Star. 70c per month light Pinal Star 5é¢ per month Collection made 'af 'ihe "end of each montl Orders sel 5 may be by mail or telephone National 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Rfi} and Sunday. .1 yr., $10.00: 1 mo.. 85¢ only. . 11yr. $6.00: 1 mo.. 50c Bunday only. 1yr. $4.00; 1 mo.. 40c All Other States and Canada. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $12 N‘i 1 mo.. $1.0 0 Duily only. .. $5.00; 1 mo. 78o nday only.....1y 5.00; 1 mo., 60¢ Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively en- titled to the use for republication of all news dispatcl-es credited to it or not other- wise' credited in this Daper and also the local news published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. A Red World Front. On recurring occasions assurances of more or less authoritative character emanate from Moscow to the effect that “world revolution” against “cap- italist” countries no longer finds a place in the Communist program and that the government of the Soviet Union in particular is wholly disso- ciated from any such plans. A some- what different picture is presented by & proclamation issued at Moscow on Tuesday, on the eve of May day demonstrations throughout the world. In it the Executive Committee of the Communist (Third) International makes a renewed appeal for a united front of Communists, Socialists and | all proletarians in the struggle against | Fascism and imperialist | capitalism, ‘war. Coincident with this Communist party manifesto calling for interna- tional solidarity, Soviet Defense Com- missar Voroshilov, in May day orders to the Red Army, describes the Union | of Soviet Socialist Republics as “the citadel of the world proletarian revo- lution.” Its name, the Soviet war minister exclaims, “sounds to the workers of all countries like a battle- cry, inspiring them in their struggle for liberation, for the right to build for themselves a bright and happy life such as that which is being built by the workers and farmers of the Boviet Union.” The outside world has full sym- pathy with, and understanding of, the Soviet Union's purpose to maintain a military machine sufficiently powerful to thwart designs on Russian terri- tory, in either Europe or the Far East. Today's military mobilizations in Mos- cow, Leningrad, White Russia and the Ukraine are designed to show that the U. S. 8. R. is determined to remain in a state of preparedness for all eventualities. But other countries, including those far remote from Russia’s borders, as well as her neighbors, are justified by such ebullitions as those forthcoming today from the Communist Interna- tional and Commissar Voroshilov in fearing that Soviet military power may not be maintained exclusively for home defense purposes. The procla- mation of the Communist Executive Committee is addressed to “all the toilers of the world and to the op- pressed peoples of colonial countries.” Moscow periodically laments that sub- versive purposes abroad are falsely at- tributed to Stalin and his colleagues. Foreign governments and nations can hardly be blamed for mistrusting Soviet aims when it is set forth in May day proclamations that “in capitalistic countries millions of unemployed are losing all hope of ever finding work gnder capitalism” and that they should “turn their eyes toward the Soviet Union, which reveals the path away from capitalistic exploitation and to- ward freedom and socialism.” 1t is to the credit of America’s toil- | ing masses that in their overwhelm- ing majority, and throughout the grinding years of depression, they have resolutely ignored the siren song of Moscow. But May day outgivings in the “Red Citadel” are fresh warnings to industrial countries everywhere that they need to remain vigilantly on guard against the doctrine that eommunism is so determined to spread. Russian fiction writers were gloomy and the conditions in Russia have done nothing to cheer them up. ————— May Day of 0ld. ‘Humanity is prodigal with its past. Philosophers, ancient and modern alike, have bemoaned the tendency of mankind to relinquish old things, old customs, old institutions, without thought and without struggle. A passion for novelty periodically ap- pears to possess the mass mind, and its effect is not altogether productive of progress. To illustrate the dif- ficulty, the fate of May day may be cited. Currently it has a political connotation, and few indeed are those who recognize in its degradation a form of treason to a colorful and poetical concept of long ago. Yet it was only in 1889 that the first day of the fifth month was ap- propriated to the uses of partisanism. Up to that date the annual fete was eelebrated In its essential character of rejoicing for the Spring. The origin of the feast was that of man’s comprehension of the marvelous miracle of the rebirth of Nature, the triumph of life over death which, re- gardless of specific form, is the cen- tral theme of every religion. Through India, Egypt, Phoenicia, Greece and Rome ethnographists have traced the bright thread of its influence. Even the Druids, isolated from the main stream of advancing culture, held the oceasion sacred. The Anglo-Saxons received it at the hands of Caesar; the Irish had it from some unknown sea-borne source. BHE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 1935. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN., in certain of its aspects the supersti- tions of barbarism, it nevertheless was » holiday of flowers, & carnival of fun and innocent frolic which, reaching its apex in the glorious exuberance of the unfolding Renaissance, was basically alliled wtih the powerful impulses which also brought forth Michelangelo and Shakespeare, the Reformation and the democratic theory of self- disciplined liberty. Its significance was youth; its synonyms were health, vitality, enthusiasm, universal happi- ness. And the tragedy of the materi- alistic world of the present era is that of the loss of those values. The race let them go too carelessly. Amuse- ment has taken the place of enjoy- ment, and the children of earth are robbed of their heritage. But, providentially, there is reason to hope. The punishment which hu- manity has taken in the depression gaused by the wars and revolutions of recent decades should have its natural reaction and reward—another rebirth of the spirit of mankind, a life more abundant, beautiful and {ree, ——————————— The Boston Conference. A Republican tea party in Boston opens the new G. O. P. drive to shake the country loose from the New Deal, bureaucracy and debt. More than a thousand party workers from the six New England States gathered to dis- cuss the conditions which confront the country. The speakers placed per- fonal responsibility on President Roosevelt for the acts of the present administration. The New Deal was characterized as “grotesque economic folly.” No attempt was made to write a party platform at the conference, the first of & series of regional party gath- erings. Its chief purpose was to stir Republicans and Republican party workers to activity and to center the fire on the Roosevelt administration. Not all of the speakers were from New England. Representative Christian- son of Minnesota, former Governor of that State, and sometimes men- tioned as a possible Republican can- didate for President next year, was & principal speaker at the dinner which topped off the day's confer- ences. Col. Theodore Roosevelt, pres- ident of the National Republican Club, | was another outlander to address the | New England Republicans. Col. Roose- | velt did not hesitate to say plainly | and unequivocally that the Democrats |intend to “buy” the coming elec- | tion through the use of the relief | funds which have recently been pro- | vided in the administration work-re- lief bill. New England, which was stanchly Republican during many years, has | more recently become a favorite hunt- | ing ground for the Democrats. Massa- | chusetts boasts a Democratic Governor | and two Democratic Senators today. Connecticut does the same. Rhode Island and New Hampshire each has | 8 Democratic Senator, and the former | ® Democratic Governor, Maine has a | Democratic Governor, although its | Senators are still Republicans. Ver- mont alone retains its Republicanism | unadulterated. In the campaign next | year the G. O. P. is planning to re- gain control in these New England i States. They see in the cotton textile | situation that has forced the closing of many mills and loss of jobs to thou- sands of workers, a real issue against the New Deal, with its processing taxes. situation in New England that is similar to those in other sections. The men and women who are out of work are receiving “relief” from the hands of the Democrats. The Democrats are not slow to say to these people that if they wish to continue to receive relief they should continue the Demo- crats in power. The same thing oc- cured in the campaign of 1934, when even Pennsylvania turned Democratic. It is against such odds that the Republicans must fight. The .speak- ers at the Boston conference laid emphasis on the need of retrench- ment of Government expenses, which may be expanded by the Democrats into en argument against the relief benefits now being paid to so many millions of destitute workers, to farmers who do not plant crops and to others. Against this huge expendi- ture the Republicans urge the need for decentralization of government to protect the liberties of the States and of their people; they urge the need of a balanced budget and the wisdom of breaking up e huge bu- reaucracy that is growing greater day by day and living off the industry of the rest of the people. The regional conferences of the Republicans may do much to stir public opinion, They offer a forum much wider than a single State meet- ing and at the same time give oppor- tunity for the discussion of problems’ that intimately affect the people of each region as distinct from the prob- lems of other sections of the country. For the conferences to undertake, however, to adopt resolutions contain- ing platform pledges would both unwise and beyond the legal scope of such gatherings. A party plat- form is a national document, written only in national committee. And, after all, it is too early to write such & platform. “Soak the Rich.” Senator Robert M. La Follette, jr., of Wisconsin, yesterday broadcast to the Nation the news of the beginning of another “soak the rich” campaign. Tax legislation toward that end, he said, would be forced in the present session of Congress, and a coalition of left-wing Democrats and insurgent Republicans “will make the best fight of which they are capable for drastic increases in the taxes levied upon wealth and income.” Presumably, the spirit of the age The Republicans face, however, a dice and familiar with history, must wonder sbout the wisdom of perse- cuting money, Far greater statesmen than Mr. La Follette, it happens, have experimented along the same line— and falled. Justinian and Nero did their share to destroy civilization in that regard and have their folly for their monument In the judgment of mankind. Riensi and Savonarols, Karl Marx and Lenin were fanatics who attracted multitudes to their respective banners with like slogans of class appeal, yet are chronicled among the pathetic apostles of lost causes, not among the master builders of human progress—even the archi- tect of the Soviet Republic has been betrayed and rejected by his followers. The notion is not as pragmatic as it seems. Wealth is less definitely material than some suppose. It can- not be cut up like a cake and dis- tributed to a mob, nor can it be expropriated successfully by processes of legislation or administration. It is good for big use only while it re- mains big. To illustrate: Ten million dollars actually is worth ten million dollars plus a natural degree of credit approximating again as much, but when it is shared by ten million individuals it is worth only one dollar to each of the sharers. Mr. La Follette should read Mungo Park’s journal of his African travels. The explorer encountered tribes dedicated | to the proposition that it is feasible to cut steaks from the flanks of living cows. Certainly, the rich can be “soaked.” Indeed, they have been, in numerous ways, for many years. But it still is a question as to whether or not the Nation is advantaged by the procedure. ——rat Heart balm snd alimony are re-| sented. In a highly commercialized era the line may be drawn at credit- ing love with a legitimate status as an | the fine old bullding, investment. ———— Getting rid of the chain letter ‘send-a-dime” game gives another, ‘example of difficulty in protecting the | rights of people who regard liberty | as meaning the right to be foolish. s Holding companies are not popular, owing, perhaps, to the fact that the ultimate consumer finds no sociable | pleasure in arguing about his bills | with a total stranger. — e Russia may be easy to mobilize for war for the reason that soldiers must be fed, and many citizens would like to chance on qualifying for regular rations. R It is obviously tactless to mention submarines, thus beginning proceed- | ings by discussing what everybody dis- | likes to think about. ————————— In the turmoil arising in Europe the King of Abyssinia may be justi- | fied in hoping that he will be over-; looked for a while. ————— According to the dictionary, “armi- stice” means a suspension of warfare, The word begins to assert itself with | emphasis in its original significance. ———s SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Idle Gossip. A little idle gossip, please, | To soothe a weary hour; For gossip brings a sense of ease— Unless it's growing sour, It banishes our cares afar ‘When we're inclined to shirk— But gossip turns to vinegar ‘When it begins to work. A little idle gossip, please, But not served up too hot, And not the kind that somewhere sees A propaganda plot. Let’s have it served with proper skill That frees it from distress; With courtesy which always will Assure its idleness, To the Contrary. “Are you a student of political econ- omy?"” asked the visitor. “Not with the apropriations now be- | fore me,” said Senator Sorghum. 1 “I'm now a student of political ex: travagance.” Jud Tunkins says daylight saving | time, 50 far as he tries to figure it, is | just & little something more to argue about. Promises and Threats. The promises are freely made | and | not spur Capitol Hill, especialy the ‘Within this land of ours, While threats are put upon parade By various distant pow'rs. And so we hold a hopeful view, Though doubts sometimes assail, That every promise will come true And all the threats will fail. Critical Comparison. “What makes Crimson Gulch so eager to go dry again?” “The town meeting has decided,” said Cactus Joe, “that the old bootleg licker is better than what the Govern- ment sells.” Baffied Inquiry. The pictures in the papers They show us features fair ©Of people who cut capers Which often soothe our care. As we observe their graces There’s no one who can teach How folks with kindly faces Should use such cruel speech. “Nebuchadnezzer went out and ate grass,” said Uncle Eben, “’cause mebbe de palace expenses was runnin’ %0 high he couldn't afford to have it cut.” Bearing Down., Prom the Milwaukee Sentinel. Drought last Summer and a dust- storm this Spring. Mother Nature seems to look upon the A. A. A, as & stepson. ———.—————— Bargai - “lh ‘Worcester (Mass.) Bvening Ga- The King of a South Sea island & ‘Rorss peobab, bes me- miknt e a 3 whawmflfl. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Hencefortn let Friday be known as 8 day of good fortune, not bad, for the first thrush of the season sang beneath the window just at dusk. Spotting the first woods thrush each Spring is better than many another game. It pays no monetary dividends, but those far greater, in health, sanity, happiness. He who loves the creatures of earth is never at loss, never i1l at ease, never asking how to kill time. Time triumphant is his, as he listens to the glorious triolets of the thrush, speckled-breasted friend of man, who does not deserve him. . * % ok Xk Last Spring it was April 28, not April 26, when the first notes of the thrush melody, one of the half dozen supreme natural inventions of song, first swept into enchanted ears. ‘That year the felicitous triads were heard several blocks from home and in"the early morning. Still they were welcome, but this year the more so because right under the window. Home is the best place to hear this wonderful, true Spring song, right out of the heart of Nature. * % * X Although esch thrush changes it slightly, to suit himself, as becomes an artist, he keeps it supremely true to the divine creation. Composed once and for all many thousands of years ago, the song of the thrush proves how good the old may be. 1In the face of man’s impetuosity, his eagerness (o destroy the old to make way for the new, the thrush assures us that all is well. The thrushes would not be at all in favor of tearing down the Capitol Building to erect in its place “a shin- ing structure of chromium and glass.” Thrushes, as well as starlings, like frmly tying some of us tb a past of which we are proud, not ashamed. Those who perpetually want to tear down, probably have no roots. K ‘The thrush never changes, thank heaven. You can depend on & thrush to be a thrush, just as you can on a tiger to be a tiger, an elephant to be an elephant, and a clam to be a clam. Of all the natural creations, only undependable one is man, self- styled peak of creation. Maybe if the tigers, the elephants and the clams knew how to think, and to put their thoughts down on | paper, they would paint a different picture of mankind than the one man | has set up for himself. A thrush, we are convinced, would come a great deal nearer agreeing with our own self-portrait. For the thrush is one bird of the woods which nevertheless has fol- lowed man straight to his clearings, wherever they may be, forest, town, city, suburbs. farm. Not even the robin has manifested more of a liking for man's society. This is all *the stranger since the varjous thrushes are quite shy. The famous hermit thrush is sel- dom if ever heard near the modern WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC There will be a head-on collision be- tween eminent New Deal friend and foe at Pittsburgh on Saturday eve- ning, May 4. At the annual banquet | of the steel metropolis’ famous Amen Corner, Senator Joe Robinson of Arkansas, Democratic majority leader, | and Senator L. J. Dickinson, a Re- publican 1936 white hope, of Iowa, will participate in a bi-partisan dis- cussion rather ambiguously entitled “Some Reflections on the New Deal” Instead of set speeches, the affair will take the form of a joint debate. with Dickinson leading off in attack on Roosevelt policies, and Robinson re- joining in defense, both combatants later being allotted opportunity for rebuttal. John O'Toole, collector of internal revenue at Pittsburgh, will preside over the oratorical fisticuffs, for which there have already been more than 1,000 reservations. The tip 18 out that no punches will be pulled and that the going is to be hot and heavy from start to finish. It is ex- pected that Senator Guffey and Gov. Earle, as well as former Senator David A. Reed, will be among those in ring- side seats. * X ¥ % President Roosevelt's vigorous though soft-spoken radio appeal to Congress to speed his “must” legis- lative program—social security, N. R. A. renewal, and the utilities, banking transportation measures—may Senate, into prompt action all along the line, but gradually it's expected that F. D. R's admonitions and wishes will soak in and accelerate the slow motion of the recent past. The White House board of strategy obviously de- cided that moderation in the presi- dential broadcast would be more effec- tive at this time than big stick stuff. The President’s failure to refer to a number of curent issues tells a story of its own. He was eloquently silent about A. A. A. amendments, the 30- hour week, the bonus, food and drugs legislation, the anti-lynching bill, the Wagner labor disputes measure and taxation. Many authorities -deduce from this that Mr. Roosevelt will lose | no sleep if these various propositions are either junked altogether, or shelved until next session. The busi- ness which Mr. Roosevelt does want enacted right away is more than enough, because of its controversial nature, to keep the congressional mills grinding far into the Summer, * kK X His radio allusion to the presiden- tial duty of occasionally seeing the country “in a long-range perspective” touches upon a point which Mr. Roose- velt has mentioned more than once since his recent return from Florida. He confesses himself an ardent be- liever in the wisdom of getting away from the trees in order to have a pe- riodical look at tke whole forest. Some members of his cabinet seem to share the same view. One of them recently told a congressional committee that he thought there was much to be said for the suggestion that the head of an executive department ought to spend at least 50 per cent of his time away from Washington, brushing shoulders with the people and feeling the na- tional pulse. * ok ok % Exhaustive studies are under way at the Bureau of Internal Revenue regarding disposition of the income tax pink slips, on which Congress put the Indian sign after millions of tax- payers had filed them. Several “prob- lems” remain to be straightened out before the slips are consigned to ob- livion. For one thing, there is a cer- tain number of taxpayers who, be- fore the slip was repealed, received extensions of time in which to file returns. Many other taxpayers, antic- ipating repeal, or for other reasons, did not submit slips on March 15. Until various angles raised by these are thoroughly explored there g apparently be no decision about fate of the alips. The pre- the | home, but no bird is more visible or audible than the so-called brown thrush, with speckled gray breast, and trim figure. * ok k% Pretty soon now there will be many of these delightful songsters, where there was but one the other night. Each one will have his own individ- ual way of singing the old, old song of thrushdom. Each will be lovely. That is true of every leaf on every tree, every blossom on every bush. Man alone is vile, as the old human ‘words put it. But we would not dwell too much on that aspect of humanity, only some- how the sweet freshness of the Spring makes a very poor background for us. Not for thrushes, however, or for bees, or trees, or flowers. Not for the little bush Basils, enter- taining herbs in the‘lwme garden. * *x * The green haze at our very door- ways is as much of a miracle now as in the days of the Civil War, when another Government employe, one Walt Whitman, put his memories down in strange verse. Happy is the thrush, which for a few seconds, at least, brings us close to anclent wisdom. | Now we are at the very beginning of a world, if we wish to pretend, not in | the rather tawdry, somewhat pathetic, year of 1935. Just for a little time, in the gloam- ing, we can imagine that the vain striving of experimentation has been et aside, and we are in a world once | more young, filled with nameless ter- | rors, not those we wot of only too well. R The utter newness of the Spring— | this is what impresses one most, per- | haps. | The good green vegetation is self- | renewing, from the inside out. A plant is no machine. It is or- ganic. Man may foolishly dub his own body a machine, in line with a mechanical era’s nomenclature, but the body of man is no machine, either. Not this side of Paradise will we get | | another. The body, like a plant, must be renewed from the inside out, if it is to be rencwed at all. | Cogs that can be put in are inex- | pressibly crude, but the cells which are built up from within are unbe- lievably precise. * * *x ok These blessings of the Spring come | to all of us alike. | Nature is the true democrat. ‘These thrushes, now to be here all Summer, sing for all of us alike. ‘Their lovely song is for ears. He who hath ears, therefore, let him | hear the song of the thrush, sweetest singer of all the woodland dells, come to our little street. at the bottom of the hill, to sing us a real serenade, genuine slumber music in loveliness and truth. At the bottom of our hill, when the cool of evening settles down, let the | sweet thrush sing blithely on his | bough, puffing up his little chest, turn- ing his head from side to side. 0| | that all may hear in the democracy | | of Nature. WILLIAM WILE. | | sumption is that Congress will finally | determine just what shall be done with the outlawed little documents. * X X X American naval _authorities are | deeply interested in the revelation that | Germany is building a submarine fleet in defiance of the treaty of Versailles. | ‘What mostly concerns the U. S. A. is | what Great Britain is going to do about it. If, as expected, John Bull retaliates by expanding his auxiliary | fleet, as he is permitted to do under | the “escalator” clause of the 1930 London treaty, this country would un- | doubtedly feel it necessary to consider | a revision of its own building program | because of the American policy of | maintaining full parity with the British. We have relatively little in- terest in Germany's military rearma- ment, but we might sit up and take notice of Hitler’s naval plans and the extent to which they violate our | separate peace treaty with Germany | | if we had to build more ships. * X ok X Cordial greetings awaited that one- time front-rapk Old Guardsman, former Senator George H. Moses of New Hampshire, when he appeared on the Senate floor this week to hob- nob with cronies of other days. Ex- | members have the privilege of re- visiting the haunts they once adorned. Asked how he’s putting in his time |in this lean Republican era, Moses "snld: “I am doing nothing as grace- | fully as a person can, and waiting to |80 on the dole. T was bitterly dis- | appointed when the Townsend plan fell through.” | * ok ok x | _*“A Hostage to Millions” is the title | | of & volume of reminiscences by Eva- lyn Walsh McLean of Washington, scheduled to leave the press next Fall, Her story will range, Mrs. McLean's publishers announce, “from a mining camp childhood to the ownership of the Hope diamond and the author’s | present position in Washngton so- vcmy." | * ok kX Lieut. Col. George V. Strong, U. 8. A, Uncle S8am’s most battle- | scarred disarmament veteran, has re- turned to Washington for general staff duty after more than three years of continuous service in Geneva as the State Department’s military ob- server at the World Disarmament Conference. Col. Strong has been | representing the United States at Geneva in disarmament matters off | and on since 1925, (Copyright. 1935.) o Machine Age. | From the Louisville Courier-Journal. Probably many of those who in- veigh against the machine age would be perfectly happy if they could meet the next installment on their cars. —————————— Conferences Are Simpler. From the Los Angeles Times, Gandhi vows a four weeks’ silence to catch up with his correspondence. Over here in America we just go into conference, It's simpler. Generous Storks. From the Richmond News Leader. The idea of giving generously to families on relief has now been adopted by the stork. Overstatement. From the Albuquerque (N. Mex.) Journal, People don't mind how much you say. you use in saying it that is objec- | only one way out that I can see. | only I had the nerve— Can I do it? It's only the number of words | passed DEATH IN THE AIR. By Agatha Christie. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co, As the midday sirliner from Le Bourget to Croyden rose from the flying fleld and nosed ioward the Eng- lish Channel only one of the twenty- five persons on board knew that the plane carried an unseen messenger of evil and that death would strike swift- ly before the plane reached its des- tination, ‘There were ten passengers in the for- ward carriage of the Prometheus and eleven in the rear car, including Jane Grey and M. Hercule Poiret. Two pilots and two stewards made up the ship's company. A glimpse into the minds of these eleven rear-carriage travelers reveals that most of them were in trouble. * M. Poirot had cast an all-seeing eye over the group and directed his atten- tion to Jane Grey. She was pretty, and he wondered why she was so de- termined not to look at the attractive young man in a blue pull-over who was sitting directly opposite her. Air- sickness, however, soon caused him to lose interest in everything except his | own misery. Jane Grey was enjoying to the full | the thrill of her second flight, but not to the extent of forgetting her de- | termination not to look at the young | man, whose presence was a bit excit- ing even though it made her uncom- fortable. She had bought an Irish Sweep ticket, won a hundred pounds, taken a vacation from her beauty parlor job and gone to Le Pinet, where for ten days she had gratified her desire to indulge in the gay life about which 50 many of her customers had talked. Now it was all over and she was on her way home, and sitting opposite her was the young man who had figured in an unusual incident at the roulette table. If there was to be any acknowledgment of acquaintance it must come from him. So Jane obsti- nately looked out of the window and thought of her vacation experiences and pleasures. Norman Gale was thinking of the roulette incident, and also that the young lady was really pretty. He was sure that she remembered him and with a slight feeling of excitement he wished she was not so determined to avoid him. Across the aisle the Countess of Hor- bury was thinking: “What shall I do? It’s the hell of & mess. There's bid Can I bluff it out? ® ¢ * That cat, Venetia Kerr, being here makes worse. She always looks at me as though I were dirt. Wanted Stephen for herself. What shall I do? I've got to make up my mind. The old hag meant what she said.” The Honorable Venetia Kerr was thinking of Lady Horbury: “Little tart! That's what she is. Poor old Stephen! If he could only get rid of her!” Sitting beside M. Poirot was Dr. Bryant, lovingly caressing a flute and thinking: “I can’t decide. I simply cannot decide. This is the turning point of my career.” He reflected also that perhaps in music there would be some escape from the cares which burdened his soul. In another seat M. Dupont and his son were engaged in an animated dis- cussion of pre-historic pottery, and one noticeably restless passenger, a writer of detective fiction, was men- tally working out a complicated alibi for professional purposes. Sitting be- hind Mr. Clancy was Mr. Ryder, think- ing: “I'll have to keep my end up, but it's not going to be easy. I don't | see how I'm going to raise the dibs for the next dividend. If we pass the dividend the fat's in the fire.” A wasp buzzing around the sand- wiches and coffee annoyed several of the passengers until it was neatly killed by Jean Dupont. In the end of the car another pas- | senger, a large, homely woman, had ceased to think. She appeared to have fallen asleep, but the unseen passenger had struck with swiftness and sureness. She was dead. And from this assortment of sus- pects another Agatha Christie murder mystery of intense excitement moves | to the inevitable surprise solution with the unerring logic of M. Poirot, | himself a sucpect, preventing the | heads of police of two nations from committing th> unpardonable sin of allowing the criminal to escape. It is a splendid piece of work, interesting, romantic and satisfying. * % X X SHADOW OF DOUBT. By Arthur Somers Roche, New York: Dodd, Mead & Co. The evening had been a bad one for Sim Sturdevant. Everything had gone wrong from the moment he told the woman he loved that her latest screen appearance had been a flop. It was not the beautiful popular actress that 8im had loved from the beginning of their acquaintance, but the splendid-souled woman he knew Trenna Plaice to be. He understood her highly tempera- mental nature and had not minded particularly the cyclonic outburst that followed his statement of the failure of her picture and his offer of & radio contract. He was deeply hurt when she flung at him the announce- ment that she was to be married the next day, though if she loved another man he could accept his defeat and wish her happiness. But he was totally unprepared for the startling news that the man of her choice was Len Haworth, wealthy clubman and Broadway playboy of notorious ill- repute. Leaving Trenna's apartment, Sim walked to the “Merrygoround,” and signed up Inez Johnson, star of that place of entertainment, for the radio proposal that Trenna had turned down. While engaged in conversation with Inez a rowdy group, including Lisa Bellwood and Haworth, had entered the cabaret, and Haworth had come to Sim's table, made himself generally objectionable and then made an insulting remark about Trenna. Sim had knocked him down. There had been no fight. Haworth had stag- gered back to his table and in a few moments he and his companions left the place. Sim had wanted to take Inez home, but she had refused his offer and gone on alone. Reflecting upon the unhappy events of the eve- ning, 8im had walked home. And now, in the middie of the night, his telephone was ringing and Reed Ryan, n r reporter and friend of Sim's, was telling him that the man he had hit on the chin about four hours earlier had been found mur- dered in his apartment, that the police were on the way to see him and that Lisa Bellwood and Trenna Plaice were also being questioned as likely suspects. There was to be no rest for Sim Sturtevandt that night nor for many other nights and days as the investi- gation brought to light events involv- ing all of them in a sensational mys- tery that grew deeper as the hours . Other interesting characters v| stamp for reply. Q. What date is set for the com- memoration of Mark Twain's birth 100 years 2g0?—W. G. A. The entire year is considered one of commemoration, culminating in the celebration of his birthday November 30. Q. Why is & tap room so called?— F.C. F. A, Tap room is ed old English term which described the drinking room of an inn or ordinary. It was usually associated with ale and beer drawn from a tap, but can be ap- plied to any drinking room in modern usage. Q. Of what material is the dust on butterflies’ wings composed?— H. M. K. A. The scaly covering of the wings of the butterfly comes off on the fingers as dust when the insect is handled. If examined under a micro- scope this dust is seen to be com- xnued of minute scales of definite orm, Q. Is Rebecca West the real name of the author and eritic?>—W. G. A. Her real name was Cicily Fair- field. Q. How many quarts of strawber- ries are eaten in the United States | each year?—M. D. | A. In 1934 there were 318,336,000 | quarts of record. Berries picked and | eaten on farms would not be included. Q. How long has the United States | had a Public Health Service?—B. L. A. Its official seal bears the date of its origin, 1798, when it was known as the Marine Hospital Service. The | present name was authorized by Con- | | gress in 1912, Q. Please explain how fishing is | done with cormorants.—J. E. C. A. The cormorant, a sea bird with State. When it is considered t the annual consumption of sugar in the United States is more than 6,000,000 tons, it can readily be seen that Louisiana could not produce emough to supply the entire country. = Q. Please give some information about the early life of Oswald Gare rison Villard —H. K. A. Oswald Garrison Villard, Ameri- can journalist, son of Henry Villard; and grandson of William Lloyd Gar- rison, was born at Wiesbaden, Ger- many, in 1872. In 1893 he grad ated from Harvard, where he was an assistant in United States history. from 1894 to 1896. After working as a reporter on the Philadelphia Press: (1896-7) he became an editorial writer for the New York Evening Post and- its publisher, Q. Who is making payment in this country of the Dail Eireann Loan bonds?—M. P. A. They are being repaid by the repayment officer, Mr. Garth Healy, 117 Liberty street, New York City. It is well to point out, however, that the final date for receiving applications for repayment was August 31, 1934. Q. How did Dr. Mary Walker dress when attending a presidential recep- tion when Chester A, Arthur was President?>—C. P. A. Perley Poore's “Reminiscences” includes the following: “Brilliant as were the daimonds of Mme. de Struve, the wife of the Russian Minister, and effective as was the bronze, golden silk dress, trimmed with gold beads, of the wife of Attorney General Brew- ster, the observed of all observers was Dr. Mary Walker, who came trip- ping in with elastic step, shook hands with President Arthur, and was pro- fusely poetical in wishing him the compliments of the season. She wore a black broadcloth coat and panta- loons and carried a high black silk hat in her left hand, while in her right hand she flourished a slender cane. After leaving the President, she passed aiong the line of ladies who received with him, giving to each a sweeping bow, and then went into & long neck, which has a cosmopolitan | | distribution, has been trained to fish | {for hundreds of vears. In England | | the master of the cormorants was | formerly one of the officers of the royal household. The practice is | nearly obsolete in Europe, though still | |common in Japan and China. A | |strap is fastened around the bird’s neck, so as (without impeding its | breath) to hinder it from swallowing fs captures. The activity the bird | displays under water is almost in- credible. It dives for fish from the boat its master is fishing in and catches as many as 100 fish an hour, bringing them back and delivering | them to the boat. The cormorant is easily obtained and the training of young birds is readily accomplished by at first restraining them by a leash. | Q. How much did the American I;‘m;usy in Tokio cost? In Paris?— | A. The new United States Embassy | |at Tokio cost over $1,000,000. The | embassy building in Paris cost $1.- 600,000, Q. How many people die each day in the United States?—A. B. D, A. About 3,780 individuals die daily. Q. Would it .be possible for the State of Louisiana to grow enough | sugar cane to supply the continental | United States with sugar?—C. J. G. A. The Bureau of Plant Industry says that the maximum quantity of sugar cane produced in Louisiana is approximately 350,000 tons. It is estimated that under the most favor- able conditions possible, about half a million tons could be produced in the the east room, where she was care- fully scrutinized by the ladies. Q. What is a vang?—E. G. A. A vang is one of two guy ropes running from the end of a gaff to the deck to steady the peak. Q. How long has Dan Beddoe been singing?—L. A. A. Since 1883, when he won a Welsh eisteddfod with a tenor solo. Q. How long can a person live without food? Without water?>—J. P. A. The human being can live about 40 days without food, about four days without water and about five or six minutes without air. Q. What is meant by a Scotch ver- dict?>—A. L. E. A. It means not proved. A jury in & criminal trial in Scotland can bring in this verdict in certain cases. The defendant cannot then be tried again on the same charge. Q. What is canthoplasty?—E. B.R. A. This is the operation of slitting | up the outer canthus or corner of the eye so as to enlarge the opening be- tween the lids. The operation was proposed by Ammon when the eye- lids are not sufficiently cleft, or when the eyelids produce tension on the eyeball, as in inflammatory processes. Q. How did Dickens hit upon Boz for a pen name?—L. G. A. “Boz, my signature in the Morning Chronicle,” Dickens says, “was the nickname of a pet child, a younger brother, whom I had dubbed Moses in honor of the vicar of Wake- fleld, which being pronounced Bozes, got shortened into Boz.” Senator Pat Harrison's compromise | bonus bill has met with varied re-| sponse from the press. Many observers doubt that the President will sign any bonus measure while others be- lieve he might accept the compromise as the only means of defeating ‘the inflationary Patman bill. Little con- fidence is placed in any general state- ment of policy against future pensions since it is deemed impossible for one Congress to commit a future one on | this subject. | “The compromise bill now proposed | is expected to insure the passage of a | bonus bill at this session and to avert | the danger of inflation or rubber money,” says the Tulsa Daily World. Under this bill, as explained by the| Chicago Journal of Commerce, “if a veteran wants to get cash for his cert; ficate, he may surrender it and re- ceive 3 per cent negotiable bonds, con- | vertible into cash at current values, | and with interest computed from the date of the armistice—November 11, 1918—instead of the later date, that of issue. If the veteran should wish to continue on the 1945 payment basis, or convert his certificate and retain the bonds, he is at liberty to do so.” The same paper adds that, “regardless of what you may feel on the subject of economy, which is such a non- entity with the present administra- tion, you can’t blame the immediate- payment advocates for claiming that the Harrison bill is an attempt to chisel.” In the opinion of the Fort Worth (Tex.) Star-Telegram, on the other hand, the bill has two strong points: “First, it casts out, at least in prin- ciple, the contention inherent in both the Patman and the Vinson bills that | the face value of the adjusted com-| pensation certificates is a ‘debt’ which was due when the certificates were issued instead of the anticipated value of deferred obligation due 20 years later. Second, it would put on record, for what it is worth, a congressional declaration against revival of the gen- eral pension system, the elimination of which was the prime object of the adjusted compensation law.” “It would seem,” declares the Buf- falo Evening News, “that this latest effort to solve the bonus riddle would also thinks that, “there is no sound reason to believe that the President will retreat from the uncompromising “stand by his guns” and uxem)fl,w-&x.ee Journal expresses the op! it, “if President Roosevelt is behind this compromise, or if he is willing to entertain it, he is making a mistake.” ‘While doubting that the President 'Compromise Bonus Measure Gets Uncertain Response ing himself in a position where he can accept the least of several evils if his hand is actually forced on the bonus question.” “It is likely to be satisfactory to neither group and settles nothing,” asserts the Louisville Courier-Journal of the Harrison bill. “The only hope for the taxpayer at present is that the Patmanites, Vinsonites and the Harrisonites agree to disagree, bring- ing about a stalemate.” But, the Philadelphia Record would “end the whole vexing question, once and for all” This paper says, “If we're going to pay the bonus, pay it now.” The Sioux Falls Daily Argus Leader and the St. Paul Daily News be- iieve that the compromise bill will disappoint many veterans, the former contending that “there is a suspicion that the objection of the administra- tion to full and immediate payment lies in the fact that the bonus is not subject to political meddling.” In so far as cash payments are concerned, the Grand Forks (N. Dak.) Herald sees little difference between the Pat- man and Harrison bills, since “both provide for payments to veterans in excess of the sums originally intended by Congress.” “While these proposals may serve to dispose of the existing dispute over the bonus question, the qualification concerning no future pensions should not be taken too seriously,” in the opinion of the Akron Beacon Journal. The South Bend Tribune, the St. Joseph News-Press, the Canton Re- pository and the Youngstown Vin- dicator take a similar position, con- tending that “no Congress can coms= mit & future Congress about pen- sions.” The Oswego (N. Y. Pal- 1adium-Times and the Saginaw Daily News are hopeful of the moral effect of such a declaration, but the As- bury Park Evening Press says:.“The principle is admirable, but there is nothing to make it work.” The Chattanooga Times suggests as & solution “a constitutional amend- ment definitely fixing the compensa- tion of veterans and their depend- ents, and thereby taking the whole business out of politics.” ———— e Back to the Farm! From the Rochester Times-Union. The back-to-the-farm movement must go ahead in regular order, but first the top soil must get back home and stay there. A Rhyme at Twilight By e Gertrude Brooke Hamilton Trail of Glory If I could choose when time shall merge for me Into eternity, When all the hours of doubt and darkness here Shall be made cléar And I have reached the ultimate Of every soul, T'd choose the moment when the day's