Evening Star Newspaper, May 16, 1935, Page 8

A-8 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C THURSDAY......May 16, 1935 THEODORE W. NOYES. ..Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: 11th 8t and Pennsylvania Ave. by St L Topean Office; 1% Regent .. London. England. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Edition. 45c per month ar 60c per month ar . .65¢ per month B¢ per copy ' The Evening Star.. ... The Evening and Sunday 8t (whi Sundays) . = ny ‘'when 5 Sundays) . The Sunday Star . Night Fin; eht Final and Sunday Star a) 40¢ per month Star 5! .. ... Bbcper month af ihé end of each month. _Orders may be sent by maifl or telephone National 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, Daily and Sunday . Daily “only 1z All Other States and Canada. {ly and Sunday . 1 yr., $12.00: 1 mo.. $1.00 me only .....]1yr. $8.00:1mo. 78 unday only. 5.00: 1 mo. B60c 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 paper and also th Jocsl news published herein All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved Let Us Have the Facts. The Housing Division of the Public ‘Works Administration has followed & policy of strict secrecy regarding its plans for low-cost or model housing development in Washington, with the | result that little or nothing of & tan- gible nature has been made known. But the fact that the Public Works Administration has considered a tract of land bordering on Rhode Island avenue northeast, south of Rhode Island avenue and between Seven- teenth street and Brentwood road, as the site of a model housing develop- ment has become public property. And citizens' organizations in the northeast section of the city are reg- istering a protest over an undertaking which some of the members believe will lower property values. If such a development would in reality lower property values, then the protest is reasonable and the pro- testants are taking steps that all prop- erty owners would support. But is that the case? Would the develop- ment of this tract of land, spotted now with automobile dumps and faced with an uncertain future, really de- stroy property values in other areas? It is rather difficult to understand how it would. It is unbelievable that the Government would make a dem- | onstration of model housing for per- sons.of low income that would lower | the value of surrounding property— for that would be a most unpopular | demonstration. It is unlikely that the Government would set out to make | a poor example, when the whole! theory of the demonstration is to set & good example. But the whole point is that the Public Works Administration should act immediately to take the com- i munity of home owners and residents of the section into its confidence and | reveal the exact nature of its plans. ‘This has not been done. The protests | against the development are based on fears, but not on any exact knowledge of what is proposed. And such knowl- edge might result in quieting the fears and ending the protests for all time. Some of the P. W. A, housing au- thorities have said they would not go irto any development over the protest | oi the local community. That is the | commendable attitude for the Federal | euthorities to take. But it will be | extremely unfortunate if all the bene- | fits of a model housing demonstration are lost to Washington because of | protests which are manifestly based on speculative fears vather than exact | knowledge of what the Federal Gov- ernment plans to do. g ‘Why not put the facts before the citizens, show what can be done in | model housing development, explain the purposes of the demonstration, discuss the possible future of the tract | in question if it is not developed by | the Government, and then find out what the informed reaction of the | citizens will be? e If it did not seem to be crowding the alphabet, steps might be taken to | organize an aggravation adjustment administration. v The Lost Bill. For the second time in the history | of the American Government an act | of Congress has been lost in the shuffle of official papers. Yesterday the ‘President reported to the House of Representatives that a bill passed bys both branches of the Legislature and | sent to him for approval had been mislaid somewhere in the Department of the Interior and asked that a dupli- | cate be prepared and submitted to him. His message was accompanied by & letter of explanation from the | Secretary of the Interior, which re- | lated the circumstances, so far as known, of the physical handling of | the document. It had simply vanished, without trace. It was not an espe- cially important measure, merely authorizing a bond issue for Ketchi- kan, Alaska. But it might have been one of the New Deal enactments, possibly the bonus bill, or that pro- viding for the extension of the N. R. A, if and when they are sent along for executive consideration. Considering the flood of legislative enactments, it is not surprising that such a slip has occurred. The docu- mentary product of the Government is enormous. The job of keeping track of letters, reports, accounts, bills and laws is one of magnitude, Just at present the admistrative machine is especially congested with the raw material of public business. The personnel set-up is being constantly changed, as “administrations” are re- .arranged, with new combinations formed to meet emergencies and to scapt to the development of new con- ditions. The roster of higher-ups | for such arrangements, although Hit- | thifts from month to month and there is a heavy turn-over in the lower ranks. Somewhere rather far down in the scale the toilers handle the details, and if they slip once in a while, mislay a paper, lose a report, forget where something has been filed, it is not extraordinary, considering 1he limitations of human nature. Now that this relatively insignificant bit of legislation has been lost on the Way to final executive action probably there will be an immediate inquiry ‘nto the ways and means of admin- istrative housekeeping, to prevent any- thing like this happening again. Meanwhile the President’s request for a fresh copy of the missing bill will of course be granted and it will be signed and Ketchikan, Alaska, will get its bond issue and all will be well, But just suppose that this had hap- pened to one of the important emer- pency measures! What a lively time would be had by alll — e Eastern European Peace. Laborious efforts to lay deeper the foundations of European peace through collective action are advanced by the | consummation of the Franco-Soviet treaty of mutual assistance. Signed at Paris two weeks ago, the pact re- | ceived the hallmark of formal ap- | proval ih Moscow on Wednesday, fol- lowing four days of conference be- | tween Foreign Minister Laval and the heads of the Russian government. In effect the new agreement is a re- | newal of the old Franco-Russian mili- | | tary alliance, for it pledges each coun- | | | try to come to the other’s assistance | in case of unprovoked aggression, pro- vided there is not prompt decision at | | Geneva to set machinery of the League | of Nations in motion to prevent war | | or chastise the country that threat- | | ens or starts it. | Of more immediate significance in | the Franco-Soviet pact is the inten- | tion of the contracting governments | to widen its scope into a multilateral | pact comprehending all of Eastern | Europe. The communique issued at the end of M. Laval's visit stresses the | purpose of pursuing this objective | the adhesion of Germany and Poland | |to a general pact of nnn-sggression‘ and “non-assistance to the aggressor” | that is sought, France and Russia | crave to bring Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania into its fold as | well. Hitherto Germany and Poland | have revealed no vigorous enthusiasm | ler's message to the Stresa Conference | in April suggested that under certain | conditions the Reich might consider | them. | Abstention of the Germans and the | Poles from a multilateral pact for security and peace in Eastern Europe will arouse suspicion that they harbor ulterior purposes: Ever since the con- | clusion of their bilateral treaty of | non-aggression in 1934, Europe has been hearing ugly tales of a secret deal whereby in exchange for return of the Corridor to Germany the Reich | would support Polish plans for certain territorial expansion at the expense of both Russia and Lithuania. There has | been nothing to substantiate these disquieting stories, but they have cir- culated persistently. The best way for the German and Polish governments to blast them out of existence would be to demonstrate by actual deed their readiness to participate in some kind of an “Eastern Locarno.” Poland’s position, between Germany and the Soviet Union, is one of ob- vious delicacy. Her hatred and mis- trust of the Russians are undis- guised. She dreads the prospect of having her soil become the battle- ground of strife between the Reich and Russia. On whichever side the Poles were =aligned, they would be confronted by an overwhelmingly stronger neighbor. Next week Fuehrer Hitler will de- | liver before his puppet Reichstag, a & specially convened session, an ad- dress dealing with the international situation. The hour is propitious for a circumstantial declaration of Ger- many’s foreign policy in light of the Reich’s re-armament and the wave of | terror it has spread throughout Eu- rope. The Franco-Soviet pact is well timed to extort from the Nazis some authentic indication of their purposes in re-creating a powerful German army, navy and air force. ot It is the eagle on the silver 50-cent piece that suggested the N. R. A. bird clutching “thunderbolts” and ma- | chinery instead of arrows and an olive branch. There is an inclination to reduce N. R. A. in the same proportion that the 50-cent coin has been theo- | retically devaluated. —e— Looking Forward. Rexford G. Tugwell, who is still | rated as a member of the brain trust, | has dropped into prophecy. Address- ing & dinner meeting Wednesday night at Albany in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of con- servation in New York State, he urged the carrying on of the present program 6f economic and agricultural rehabilitation, failing which he fears the face of the country will be changed, greatly for the worse. To illustrate his fears he read a passage from the supposititous writings of an imaginary English explorer and arche- ologist penetrating the wilderness of America three hundred years hence. This passage doubtless sent shivers down the spines of Dr. Tugwell's hearers: This week we have crossed the Mississippi River and have journeyed in our high-wheel motors deep into the great desert. Our dust-masks have been useful, for without them we should be unable to travel for more than an hour or two after dawn. The Mississippi is nearly dry, so that our pontoons sufficed for the crossing. Our records show that at the junction of this with another great river, the Missouri, there was once a consider- able city and that this was a country devoted to the cultivation of grain. ‘There are now only moving pieces of dust for hundreds of miles. Of the city little remains except some skele- tons of twisted steel. It is not recom- mended that excavations be carried out at this point, since everything of historical value was moved to the eastward as the desert encroached. The cause of these desert conditions is different from that which ruined | tug of war must be short. the civilisation to the East. Here it ‘was the expasure of the plains to the 3 THE - EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C.,: THURSDAY, MAY 16, 1935. ‘There it was the destruction of trees and the washing away of hills by the characteristic torrential rains of Summer. We have seen no living thing since leaving the Tennessee Valley. Further chapters of this impressive pre-archeological research report are in order. Doubtless the unnamed and as yet unborn expl.urer will have some- thing to say about what became of the 125,000,000 people who inhabited this desert land three centuries before his arrival and what was the state of other lands and other nations blessed with clearer vision of their vital needs. ———————— Time-Limited Tug of War. The issue between temporary exten- sion of an emasculated N. R. A. and two-year extension of the act has been joined between House and Senate. But how solidly joined? The Senate might say to the House, or the House to the Senate: “We will fight it out along this line if it takes all Summer.” But all Summer is entirely too long. | One month from today the N. R. A, and all its works go out of existence automatically, unless something is done to extend them. And something must be done within a month. The It must also be conclusive. The issue is between House and Senate—which means that it is be- tween the administration, which has complete control of the House, and the less submissive Senate. But there is | a third party in the form of the | United States Supreme Court which may step in and cut the issue squareiy | in two. Should the highest court, de- | ciding the case which the defending government has been willing to submit as a test, rule the N. R. A. unconstitu- tional the House and Senate con- testants will be left fighting over a bone. In the meantime, Donald Richberg has not contributed much to the possibility of a reconciliation between friends and foes of N. R. A. by his | allusion to the fact that only “con- | “without delay.” While it is mainly ‘ fused, muddled minds” could be ca- pable of attacking its sound prin- ciples, Many of these ‘“confused, muddled minds” are apparently pos- sessed by members of the Senate, for less than & handful of Senators were willing to rise to the defense of N. R. A. when the Senate so quickly voted the less-than-a-year extension. Yet these are the very ‘“confused, muddled minds” that must be brought into line | if the President’s wishes are to prevail. | ———— Some of the national legislators are a little like the famous old Texas toreador who wanted to go home and | would have done so if the home crowd had not persisted in throwing him back into the ring. T e 11 Duce warns nations not to inter- fere with his management of the Ethigpian situation. If Abyssinia can open‘up King Solomon’s mines it may still have a chance in financial di-| plomacy. Bandits held up a bank in Riverdale for the small sum of $3,500. Crime does not pay—at least not as much as | it once did. oo SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Inflation. I fear any ills that inflation may cause, A head may be swelled by a round of applause; A foot may be swollen too big for a shoe | By marchers requiring some benefit | new. A pain in the neck may occasion a | size | That enlarges the girth of white col- lars and ties, And the rubber balloon will enlarge as you gaze, Though it may be punctured in vari- ous ways, Inflation we never can wholly escape, And sometimes it leaves us & bit out of shape; It is something for which we must sometimes prepare, | And the most that it needs is intel- ligent care. Unchanging. “Do you ever change your mind?” “Seldom,” answered Senator Sor- ghum. “But you may make a mistake.” “Yes. But the second guess is as likely to be wrong as the first.” Jud Tunkins says epithets have made & speech more interesting to him, because they leave him hoping that maybe there'll be some kind of & fight. The Line-up. The world is like a barber shop, Where Old Man Trouble likes to stop With all his tribe, with care complete To be made just a bit more neat. Fate trims 'em duly, one by one; Alas, his task is never done, Fate, still serene and never vexed, Works on, and simply hollers “Next!” Individual Responsibility. “Why do you encourage your hus- band to go into politics?” “He has been very unlucky at the races. I'd like to have him try some game where he can do his own run- ning.” o Clubby. Let’s try to be clubby, whate’er may betide, With & smile whose persuasion can- not be denied. Let’s try to be clubby—but not so polite That we formally bow when we're shooting on sight. Let’s try to be clubby, and all shout “Hooray,” ‘Though we sometimes appear rather rough in our play. Though we often resort to & sneer or & snub, Let's try not to make it a suicide club. “Lawyer advice,” said 'Uncle Eben, “is like a pill dat you takes hopin’ you'l be lucky enough 0 get Jon moaey’s - worth.” . X ot THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. ‘While & rock garden may be con- struced flat on the ground, by its very nature it is better in the semi-vertical. ‘This rise, however, should not be too sharp. Thus a good rock garden is wider than it is high. . If rocks are simply placed on the level, plants soon grow all over them, hiting them from view. The rocks are thus waste material, in a sense, whereas they serve real purposes if placed on an ascending slope. A primary fault comes in selecting Tocks too small. The basic idea is to duplicate, in a sense, natural rocky settings, where small amounts of soil have blown into small pockets, thus furnishing beds for wind-blown seeds. | In such natural settings the rocks are as prominent as the flowers. A | rock garden built after this pattern will seem to have too much rock, at first, but as the seasons pass the plants will grow and tend to push out over the stone. * k% X Dark pieces of stone, flat rather than round, and larger than one might handle easily, are best for this work. Grays and reds should pre- dominate. These must be placed in the slope 50 that the flat surfaces, not the ends, are up, and so sloped that the pockets of soil left will drain down into the earth, not out over the rocks. If an embankment is built up with earth, where none was before, it is best to make a foundation of some large slabs, to be entirely covered with | earth. If the slope is already present, as it so often is, these concealed stones may be omitted. L Sedums, thymes and phloxes form & fine company of plants for begin- | ning the rock garden planting. The best rock garden we have seen | g, uses the following sedums: Sedum acre (golden moss), 4 to 6 inches. Sedum album, inches. Sedum sarmentosum, dwarf, rapid grower. Sedum spectabile, 18 inches, pink flowers. white flowers, 4 Sedum ternatum, 4 nches, shade or | | sun. The old favorite sempervivum, pop- | ularly known as “hen and chickens.” is 4 to 6 inches tall. These plants are mostly used for foliage effect. Thymes are very dwarf and are used in gardens between stepping stones. Stepped on, their odor is more pronounced. This brings up a point in construction: The best rock gerden is one in which the rccks are | so placed that a series of natural stepping stones are left, at in‘crvals, from top to bottom. Thus nne might walk up and down without stepping on any of the plants. * x x ¥ The thymes need sun, flowering in | June and July. Some of the best for rock garden work are Thymus citro- dormus (lemon thyme), thymus lanuginosus (woolly thyme), thymus serpyllum splendens. The last two may be stepped on. ‘The smaller phloxes make delight- | ful spots in such a garden. These ir.- clude the P. subulata (late April and May), the atropurpurea, carmine red: alba, white; fairy, pale blue with purple eye; lilacina, pale blue; rosea, rose pink, and vivid, bright pink with Ted eye. Phlox divaricata canadensis is slightly larger, blue, blooming in April and May. It grows about one foot high, and is best at the top of the rock garden. Plants hitherto mentioned do better on the lower levels, especially the sedums. The best rock gardens are partly in full sun, partly in semi-shade, thus affording opportunities for a wider | and placements are matters for ex- | variety of plants than if the garden were all in sunshine. For a shady place, with some mois- ture, the following may be used: STARS, MEN Forget-me-nots, blue, an old-time favorite; the violas, in- cluding especially the varieties Jersey Gem, blue, May, and Button's apricot, or golden yellow; cowslips, all colors, May; epimedium, white, 8 inches. It will be noticed that these all bloom in May. Other desirable rock garden plants follow: Candytuft, 8 to 10 inches, April and May. Veronica rupestris, blue, 2 to 3 inches, late May or June; plant 6 to 8 inches apart, sun or partial shade. Alyssum saxatile, 1 foot, yellow, April and May. Aubretia, rosy lilac, 6 to 8 inches, blooms April to July. Nepeta mussini,1 foot, lavender, plant | 8 inches apart; gray foliage its chief charm. Violets, all kinds, for early bloom. Dodecatheon media, Shooting Star, 1 foot, May. Asperula, Sweet Woodruff, white, May, 1 foot. Aster, variety mauve cushion, inches, October to November. Calamintha, sun or shade, purple. Campanula carpatica, 8 inches, blue, June to October. Cerastium tomentosum, white, May, | silvery foliage. * 8 inches, May, * ok ok Cotoneaster (accents come on sec- ond and fourth syllables) is a low- growing shrub, good for the top of the rock garden. It grows very broad and will begin to crowd out other plants in a few years. Trailing evergreens, German iris, lemon lilies, day lilies are good for the very top. Among the gems of the good rock garden is Daphne cneorum (pro- nounced knee-orum, accent on the | “0.”) This lovely plant, growing about 8 to 12 inches high, is a mass of rose wers, very fragrant in Spring and ain in the Fall. No rock garden should be without it. | Dicentra eximia, the plumy bleed- ing heart, grows about a foot high and blooms more or less all Sum- ! mer, in sun or shade, making it very | desirable. * % % % Other good plants follow: Dianthus alpinus Allwoodi, | inches; blooms July and August. four | white and pink, dwarf; August; a great favorite. | Dianthus deltoides, pink and crim- | son; June and July. | Helianthemum, rock rose, white, vellow, orange or scarlet; early Sum- ! mer. Will not grow in damp, heavy soil. Iris cristata, 3 inches, amethyst blue; in May. This is one of several | tiny iris. This particular one loves shade. P ! Iris pumila. 4 inches, white, blue or yellow; prefers sunshine. | Lavendula nana, dwarf lavender; July and August. | Linaria alpina, orange and purple; Summer and Fall. | Linum, flax, blue, yellow or red; | all Summer; does not care for heavy, | damp soil. | Plumbago carpentae, 6 to 8 inches, blue; Summer, Fall. Ranunculus, buttercup, 10 to 12 inches; likes shade and moist, loamy soil. Bloodroot, and moisture. Saxifraga decipiens, 4 inches, white; May and June. Saxifraga megasea hybrids, rose or pink; April to June; sun or shade. Strawberry begonia, three inches, white; June; shade. Heuchera, coral bells, 12 inches; May and June., Will grow in partial shade. ‘The plants named above are but few of the many which may be used in the rock garden. Their selections July and | 6 inches; April; shade !penence and artistic judgment. Nature, however, helps us, given time, s0 no one should shrink from begin- | ning this delightful type of gardening. AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY, Siam’'s forests that flash like ad- vertising signs are described by Dr. Hugh M. Smith, former chief of the United States Bureau of Fisheries, who has just returned to the United States after 10 years as biological adviser to the Siamese government. On his long exploring trips up the Siamese rivers-he frequently encoun- tered this strange phenomenon, which he describes as the strangest in all his experiences. In Lhe dense dark- ness of a tropical nignt a single tree, or even a whole avenue of trees a quarter of & mile long, would become luminous and flash off and on two or three times & second. ‘The phenomenon is due, Dr. Smith said, to the synchronous flashing of | fireflies. On every leaf of such a tree will be fcund one of these insects.| Hundreds of thousands of them flash simultaneously. The mass effect is like heat lightning. Dr. Smith relates some remarkable authentic incidents of Siam’s strange “walking fishes.” One case in par- ticular which came under his per- sonal cbservation was that of a fish taken out of a garden pool which the owner wished to clean. The fish was placed in & pail of water and given to. & native servant to deposit in another pool about a quarter of a mile away. The fish goi out of the | pail and in a half hour ‘“walked” about 400 yards back to his home pool. This apparently demonstrated, says Dr. Smith, not only the crea- ture’s known ability to make progress on dry land, but also a sense of direc- tion and & homing instinct. In parts of Siam during the dry season, says Dr. Smith, men go fish- ing with spades in the desert and it is a profitable occupation. The “desert” has been covered with water or transversed by smail streams a few months earlier. With the coming of the drought the fishes have bur- rowed deeper and deeper into the mud, which has become baked above them. There they remain, like hiber- nating animals, ‘for' the rains to come again. They are seemingly in a state of suspended animation. The fishermen simply spade up the baked clay in layers and send these to market. Sometimes the fishes will burrow to & depth of more than & meter. There is at least one family of fishes in Siam, Dr. Smith reports, that will “drown” if kept too long under watey. Their gills are small, so that they cannot get enough oxygen under the surface and must come uUp every now and then for air. Among the more fantastic specimens of Siamese zoology he 1s exhibiting to his Washington friends is a centi- pede nearly a° foot long which lives under brush piles and has piercing fangs and poison glands. of ocean bays u curator of marine invertebrates, has | just described three new Atlantic | species. ‘The mud bottoms often are honey- combed with the burrows of these | | strange little creatures who live almost | entirely underground and spend most of their lives in constant digging, using their second and third pairs | of legs as shovels. In the dark depths | of the mud, invisible to the human | eye, there is intense and constant | activity. The animals are engaged | almost constantly in extending their | burrows or adding new tunnels. Some- | times these connect with the burrows ! of other individuals, but such con- | nections continually are being blocked | off or tunneled around. The burrowing habits of these shrimps have been studied extensively by G. E. MacGinitle of Notre Dame University, who describes them as follows: | “First it digs downward, nearly | vertically, for several inches, back- ing outside with each load of mud and depositing it at the tunnel entrance. When the burrow has pro- gressed to a distance approximating the length of the shrimp’s body it makes & large, rounded space in the lower end to enable it to turn. From this time forward it never leaves the burtow. . The ahimals seem to be moving almost constantly. - When they re not busied with working over the sand and carrying ft away they spend their time in cleaning their ap- pendages, gills and backs. Such care- ful end sanitary measures probably are necessitated by the nature of thelr habitations. “The burrows perforate the sand in every cirection. The number of these amnimals and their constant ac- tivity leads one to coaclude that they serve much the same function for the bottom soil of estuaries that the earth- worm ‘does for the fleld. Their tun- nels sometimes extend downward as far as any other forms of life exist, and because of them other species of animals. living in the mud are sup- plied with fresh water and the deeper sand is constantly being brought to the top.” This animal, the account continues, feeds by sifting the sand for its con- tained detritus. The feeding activity is-enormous. It will sift from 20 to 50, cublc eters in a 24-hour perfod. One of the :nost interesting features of the life of the mud shrimp is the ‘meriageries of other animals with ‘which it shares its burrow and seems to act in partnership. This menagerie “is made up of worms, copepods, tiny crabs, a clam, and even one species of fish All, appar- ently, are attracted to the burrow by the food supply. Picking Their Cases. From the Rochester (N.Y.) Times Union. ‘Times must be getting better rapid- ly. First-of-the-season hitch-hikers are quite choosey about the kind of car they might patronize. The new get_the thumb-up, while the old Gypsophilia repens, baby's breath, | The Political Mill By G. Gould Lincoln. With the embattled. farmers here fighting for the A. A. A, it is now reported that another army is to march on Washington in support of the N. R. A. This army will not be composed of farmers, however, but of industrialists who Wish to save the N. R. A. That Government agency and its codes have become endanged, it is believed, because of the refusal of the Senate to accept the adminis- tration’s plan to extend the N. R. A. for another two years. The extension until April 1, granted by the Senate grudgingly, is not enough. Further- more, the anti-price-fixing amendment to the existing law and the amend- ment to exclude from its operation “wholly” intrastate business make no | hit with some of the supporters of the N. R. A. The industrialists have | been called into action by Ward Cheney, silk manufacturer of Con- necticut, who reports that the re- sponse has been very good. Mr. Cheney says they are going to fight for & “strong two-year law” and that the Senate resolution is not at all ac- ceptable to business and industry. * x % ox ‘The charge has been made both on the floor of the Senate and in the | newspapers that the farmers who have just been here clamoring for the A. A A, not for only its continuance | but also for the amendments which | | have been proposed by Secretary Wal- | | lace to strengthen its operation, have been persuaded to come here by the agents of the Federal Government. The opponents of the N. R. A. have even gone so far as to suggest that| Government money has been used to finance the organization of this “vol- untary” army, whether the actual ex- | penses of any of the farmers were | paid out of Government funds or not. The march of the farmers on Wash- | ington, which was no march, since | they came by train or automobile, was | timed to an instant. On May 25 there | is to be a referendum vote on the | Government’s wheat program, under which the farmers are paid for not growing wheat, The farmers in nearly | all the States of the Union are to| take part in this referendum. The | A. A. A is making desperate efforts to roll up as big and impressive a vote | on this proposition as it can. It has| speakers and lecturers out in the wheat districts telling the farmers what is | in their best interest and how cur-| } tailment of crops, plus the Govern- | ment checks, is putting them on their | feet and will keep them there. * ¥ x % | The wheat farmers are not so dif- | ferent from other human beings. They re willing to be paid for their wheat d for not growing wheat. If the | administration went to them with a| plan for crop curtailment. on the theory that it would make them rich- | er, without offering to pay them cash for curtailing their crops, how many | of them would vote for the A. A. A. wheat program? The “march” of the | farmers to Washington may have been | | 8 demonstration of sentiment in favor | of the A. A. A, but it was not abso- | lutely altruistic. Nor will the march | | of the business men and industrialists on Washington in favor of the N. R. A. be entirely altruistic either. | The march of the farmers on Wash- ington was timed also to influence, if possible, the action of the Senate and House on the propased amendments to |the A. A. A lJaw. This bill is to | follow in the Senate the Wagner in- | dustrial disputes bill, now the un- finished business of the Upper House and perhaps to be passed today or | tomorrow. It gave President Roosevelt an opportunity to address the farmers and to put a lot of Democrats as well as Republicans in an Ananias Club | | of his own. They were critics of | | the A. A A, and the President called | them “liars” It looks as though the | campaign was beginning to take on some heat. | * x % * ‘With the House ready to back up the | President in his demand for a two- | vear extension and other changes in the present N. R. A. law, the pressure of business and labor for such a law will naturally be placed on the Senate. Indeed, labor is counted upon by the administraticn to come to the front in this fight even more strongly than industry, and more potently. Donald put the backs of the Senators up, how- | ever. with a “pep” speech to some | 1500 of the men and women con- nected with the N. R. A., declaring | that the Senate resolution is “complete | folly.” and that only muddle heads | Clark of Missouri, Democrat, author A. until April 1 next year, character- ized in the Senate yesterday Mr. Rich- bition of impudence on the part of under my observation during my life- time.” Senator Clark said that Rich- | berg, “thank God,” was a temporary | bureaucrat. This ‘may have been “merely a burst of optimism on the part of the Missouri Senator. There | have been other suggestions that Mr. Richberg was on his way out, par- ticularly when-he was denounced by leaders of the American Federation of Labor. But Mr. Richberg was able to make it up with the labor leaders, and he is still on deck. This fight between the Senate, on one hand, and the President and the House on the other. promises to be hot. In the meantime the Supreme Court may by a decision in the Schechter case upset the apple cart in another direction. * x ¥ x The supporters of the Patman “greenback” soldiers’ bonus bill in the Senate continue to back and fill. One minute they are ready to let the bill g0 to the President for his veto. The next day they relent and prefer to hold it before the Senate, Well, as long as it stays where it is the bill certainly will not become law, the bonus will not be paid and the green- backs will not be printed by the Gov- emment. The word is that Senator Thomas of Oklahoma, leader of the Patman bill f8rces in the Senate, will withdraw his motion to reconsider the votes by which the bill was passed | and amended “tomorrow.” The only hope of the Patmanites to pass the bill over the President’s veto is to persuade some of the Senators who voted or were paired against the .original passage of the bill to vote to override or to absent themselves. On Just what ground a Senator who op- posed the original passage of the Patman bill eould justify the over- riding of a presidential veto of the bill, outside of cheap politics, it is difficult to.understand. It has been suggested that the administration might even stoop to easing up on the Senators so that they may vote to override or stay away when the vote is -taken. Vice President Garner's name has been used in connection with this scheme, but the Vice Presi- dent has declined to affirm or deny or to say anything about the matter. If any of the Senators who voted against the Patman bill on its passage [m found supporting the bill, either | by their vote or by their absence after instance would be ousrcoma. Beosior M- A would criticize the system. Senlwri of the resolution {o extend the N. R.1 berg’s speech “the most brazen exhh‘ ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ). 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 atamp for repi; Q. How mai there in this country?—J. L. - A. Recent figures of the American Numismatic Assoclation show that more than 600,000 Americans col- lect coins. Q. What proportion of retail buying is done on charge accounts?—P. H. A. It is estimated that from 47 per cent to 60 per cent of retall sales are credit sales. Q. How long had the paper currency been the size it was before the smaller bills were substituted?—R. A. S. A. Since 1861. Q. When is the Colonial celebration at Willlamsburg, Va.?—S. C. A. The Virginia Court Season at Old Williamsburg began on May 11 and was celebrated for three days. The fes- tivities were designed for a restoration of Colonial customs and included May revels, old-time music and dancing, costumed formalities, a masque, etc. Q. Has William Allen White, the —G. M. A. He has written many. Among them are “Life of Woodrow Wilson™” and “Life of Calvin Coolidge.” Q. How fast is the Hiawatha? 1Is it a steam locomotive?—L. M. A. The Hiawatha, said to be the fastest steam locomotive in the world, is designed for a speed of 2 miles & minute. It is the first of two such locomotives which will run between Chicago and St. Paul. Q. Where is John Brown buried?— C. ¥ A. Brown's body was interred at North Elba, N. Y., his early home. A bronze memorial has been placed there recently by the John Brown Memorial Association. Q. How do automobile taxes for 1934 compare with those of the previous year?—F. W. A. The total motor tax bill for 1934 was $1.160,564,380, as compared with the 1933 total of $1,128,262,331. Q. How long has the office of cor- oner been in existence?>—J. T. A. This is an ancient office which was first referred to as custos placi- torum in s. 20 of the articles of Eyre (1194), though it was probably insti- tuted before that date; possibly by Henry I (1100-31). C. P.C. H. A. The pony express was founded sell, who routed it from St. Joseph, Mo, to Placerville, Calif., via Salt Lake City. to receive musical training?—F. G. A. At the age of 5 Schubert began to receive regular instruction from his father. At 7 he was placed under the charge of Michael Holzer, the kapell- meister of the Lichtenthal Church. Q. What is the theory now about the ability of adults to learn after they reach 45?—C. M. A. Dr. Edward L. Thorndike, presi- dent of the American Association for Adult Education, in a survey on adult interests, says that “adults may excuse themselves from learning be- need of entertainment rather than terested.” past 45 cannot assimilate knowledge with the same facility that younger persons do has been discounted by Dr. Thorndike after nine years of research, y coin collectors are | newspaper editor, written any books? | Q. Who started the pony express?— | on April 3, 1860, by William H. Rus- | Q. How early did Schubert begin | cause they are tired or sleepy or in | improvement, but not because they | cannot, being old, be sufficiently in- | The theory that persons | Q. When was the name United iu;es of America decided upon?— A. It was agreed to by the Consti- tutional Convention on August 7, 1787, in considering the report of the Com- mittee of Detail. The selection of this name was logical, since it was composed of States which were unit- ing, and the whole country was com- monly termed America. Q. Please give & resume of Rider Haggard's “She.”—M. L. C. A. A young Englishman goes to | Africa to avenge the death of an | Egyptian ancestor, whose strange his- tory has come down to him in an old ‘manuscrip(. The ancestor, & priest of Isis, had been slain by an immortal | white sorceress somewhere in Africa. The sorceress, She, and the Eng- lishman, finally meet, recognize a mysterious bond between them, and at the climax of the story visit a place where burns a mysterious fire whieh | gives thousands of years of life, love- | liness, strength and wisdom, or else | swift death. She, for the second time, passes into the flame and is in- stantly consumed. Q. When was the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal constructed?’—W. W. A. | A. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal | originated in & project formed by | George Washington as early as 1774, to { make the Potomac navigable from | tidewater to Cumberland, and to con- nect it by common roads and portages with the Ohio. The War of the Revo- | lution postponed the scheme, but it | was taken up again in 1784, and the | company was incorporated. Of this company Washington was president | until his election as President of the | United States. The project encoun- | tered many obstacles, and in 1820 was abandoned as impracticable. A new company was later organized, which constructed the Chesapeake {and Ohio Canal from Georgetown to Cumberland, completing it in 1850. | @ Why do butchers put salt on their meat blocks?—H. E. M. A. The Department of Agriculture says that butchers put salt on meat blocks to keep down bacteria and mold. This, however, is not done much | at the present time, since most butch- ers use a metal scraper and clean the block off well. | | Q. How long ago was it believed that curses would protect graves from robbers?—A. T. A. Egyptians believed in the effi- cacy of curses and engraved them on tombs. One dates back to 2700 B.C. Q. Why are grapes used as a sym- bol in the seal of Connecticut?>—A. L. A. The follwoing is an excerpt from New Haven Historical Society Papers, Volume VIII: “The device of the seal challenges curiosity. Why were rows of vines selected as the prominent | feature? * * * It may well be * * * )lh.v. there was no special significance |in the arrangement of the vines in three rows, but that it was merely | intended to depict a vineyard. * * * The wild grapes of this country 1iade & strong impression upon the early voyagers who came here from the North of Europe * * * in the tract by Rev. Francis Higginson called ‘New England's Plantation,’ written in 1630, he says that ‘excellent vines are here up and doune in the woods. Our Governour hath already planted & vineyard, with great hope of increase.’ This would sufficiently account for the selection of vines, rather than any other form of vegetation.” Q. Please tell what some labor leader has said concerning the effect of music on workers.—G. N. A. William Green, president of the American Federation of Labor, has said: “Music is a friend of labor, for it lightens the task by refreshing the nerves and spirit of the worker and makes work pleasanter as well as | profitable.” No act of Hitler since he began | scrapping the restrictions of the treaty | R. Richberg. head of the N. R. A.. has | of Versailles has seemed so foclhardy | | to the American press as his flaunting of Germany's submarine program be- fore an already alarmed world. ‘The Kansas City Star remarks that “once more the French may be grate- ful for the stupidity of German for- eign policy,” and the Scranton (Pa.) Times adds: “Germany apparently doesn’t learn from experience or is disregardful of what the rest of the | world thinks about it. When nations take that attitude they will be certain to sooner or later draw the conse- invite but usually result in.” “Prime Minister MacDonald, in his speech to the House of Commons,” says the Boston Transcript, “made the position of the government clear | when he said: ‘The German decision | to build submarines is ominous and I | do not minimize its gravity, but we | are still prepared, without in any way | conceding the right to abrogate any treaty provision to receive German representatives in London for the con- templated preliminary discussions.’ The hand of fellowship is thus ex- tended holding the olive branch, but that may be discarded and the hand clenched and clothed to become the mailed fist, for this speech of the .| peace-loving premier was a fighting speech.” “The outcry in Britain and in Ttaly,” as viewed by the Indianapolis News, “has special interest because it comes from two countries with which Hitler formerly entertained hopes of gaining favor.” The Syracuse (N. Y.) Herald draws the conclusion: “Other powers are likely to give grave con- sideration to the inconsistency be- tween Hitler’s claim that his aims are peaceful and defensive and his re- try's military strength.” “The potential neutral was Great Britain,” according to the New York Herald Tribune. “Given Germany's ambjtion again to dominate the con- tinent and force concessions from her neighbors, her patent strategy was to feed the British desire to remain aloof from the row. Instead, Hitler has elected to win popular applaase at home and, more particularly with his deception in the matter of a few sub- marines, to drive Britain into the op- posing camp. What a mentality!” “The Nazi submarine crusade is re- garded by many as making war cer- tain, and as probably advancing the date of opening two or three years,” asserts the Tulsa (Okla.) World, and the Knoxville (Tenn.) Journal states: “No wonder Great Britain views with alarm a breach of the peace treaty that involves the reinstatement of a mode of naval warfare that would, in the event of war, constitute not only & serious challenge to the supremacy of the sea, but might cut off from these proud little islands the supplies by the aid of which they dominate an empire.” “The nations of Europe,” advises Nary, Republican leader, insists that none of the Republicans who voted against the bill will be found voting to ovaszide Lhe Fresident’s veio. o ported resort to the development of | & submarine auxiliary to his coun- | 'Hitler’s »Flaunting of U-Boats Seems Foolhardy to Americans | the Shreveport (La) Journal. *“have it 1n their power to prevent a return of the U-boats to German waters, and if they are wise they will proceed now to use whatever force may be i necessary to halt their constiuction. | This will be a much easier task than that of ridding the seas of them after they have once more started upon & course of ruthless destruction.” “The public sees how futile was all | the disarmament discussion,” says the | Flint (Mich.) Daily Journal, while !the Cincinnati Times-Star ponts to the result: “In its political conse- quences, the policy is likely to prove a first-class blunder. Nothing Hit- & bureaucratic official which has fallen | quences that such actions not only | ler could have done would be better calculated to stifle pacifist’ sentiment in Great Britain and urge her gov- | ernment into frank co-operation with Prance. Russia and Italy | i * suggests the Buffalo Evening News, “no doubt new and even more effective means of fighting the submarine have been warked out in the world's admiralties, so it is unlikely that in the next war the submarine will play the great | role it played in the last. All the more reason, therefore, why the Nazi regime should have held off its deci- |sion to construct submarines. For | the only practical effect of that move | will be to add one more nation to the | now formidable list of its enemies." —————————— A Vote Collector. Prom the Indianapolis News. After a Senator has swung from the Patman bonus plan to Vinson's solution and then jumped to the Har- rison compromise he must feel that he is agile enough to get all the votes that courage and honest econviction command. Spring. Prom the Worcester Evening Gasette. A nice thing about Spring is that it gives existence a bit of variety, We temporarily quit hunting for the clam in the chowder and go looking for the strawberry in the shortcake, ——————— Flat and Flatter. From the Grand Rapids Press. ‘The only thing flatter than the new pancake hat for women is the pocketbook for men. A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton, Sanctuary Man has within his heart an inner shrine; None enter there. It is Gethsemane for his dark hours xtM".’hh:'ndum' Ise is the olive grove thatgools his pul : In seeking pe.el...h " . t is the chapel of his victory 1 ‘When battles cease. It is the fortress .where he plans advance In hostile zone— The sanctuary where he bares his soul To God alona . J