Evening Star Newspaper, June 19, 1935, Page 10

THE EVENING STAR With ‘Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. WEDNESDAY .............June 19, 1935 THEODORE W. NOYES..........Editer The Evening Star Newspaper Company. Business Office: 11¢h 8t."and Pennsyivania Ave cliem, Yok oftee; 110 Nast 1900 81, 0o: Lake Buropean Ofice: 14 Regent St.. London. England Rate by Carrier Within the City. _ Yllhl Editien. e Evening Star . .. 45c per month ‘he Evening_and Sunday Star (when 4 Sundays) ., 60c per month The Evening and Sunday Star (when 5 Sundays). .. ~...65¢ per month The Sunday Star . . e per copy Night Fl ition. Night Pinal and Sunday Star....70c per month Night Pinal Star ..."’ Bbe per month Collection made at the end of each month. Qrders may be sent by mail or telephone Na< tional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..l yr.. $10.00; 1 mo. 85¢ Daily only .. 1 - $6.00; 1 mo. Sunday only $4.00; 1 mo. All Other States and Canada. aily and Sunday.l yr.. $12 1 mo.. $1.00 aily onls sl 9E 1 mo. = 75¢ unday only T.9%s 00; 1 mo.. 50¢ Member of the Associated Press. ‘The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news disj credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local fiews published herein. Il rights of publication of special dispatches erein are also reserved. = Just a Dead Hand? While President Roosevelt holds in abeyance decision as to whether he will seek a constitutional amendment ex- tending the powers of the Federal Gov- ernment over social and economic affairs the suggested issue keeps bobbing up. A. Mitchell Palmer, Attorney General in the Wilson cabinet, addressing the Dem- ocratic State Committee in Harrisburg, asserted the need of a constitutional change which would make possible, for example, the operation of the N. R. A, recently declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Mr. Palmer at the same time declared that he and those who believe in amending the Constitu- tion—presumably including the Presi- dent—were the real friends of the great document and of popular government. The question, he said, is whether the Constitution shall remain “pickled” in its original liquor or whether it shall be preserved in a manner to meet the changing demands of new growth. Mr. Palmer’s demand that the Consti- tution be changed to meet changed con- ditions in this country has a familiar ring. It is the demand of others who have met rebuffs at the hand of the Supreme Court. It is the demand of many who have had chimerical dreams. And particularly is it the demand of those who seek an increase in the power of the Federal Government to do those things which they consider advisable. The Constitution is a defender of the liberties of the people—their personal liberties. If it be necessary to curtail these liberties, then it becomes neces- sary to change the Constitution. The American people have lived and labored and died to some good purpose under the Constitution, and they are not in- clined to deal lightly with its amend- ment. It has been amended, but the amendments have not been numerous. Nor have these amendments sought to change the balance of power in the Federal Government or between the States and the Federal Government. The constitutional amendment which apparently is sought by Mr. Palmer and which seems to have been suggested by President Roosevelt in his press con- ference on the N. R. A. decision of the Supreme Court calls for a distinct change in the form of government. If the change s to make. such laws as the N. L. R. A. constitutional it means that there is to be a delegation of legislative power to the President of the United States, although Mr. Palmer denies this. The Supreme Court held, among other things, that there had been a delegation of power to the Executive, Associate Justice Cardozo went so far as to say that the President had been given a roving commission to make law as he saw fit under this act of Congress. Mr. Palmer in his address said that he saw no reason why the people should be governed by a “dead hand’—the Constitution as originally framed—in- stead of by themselves. The Constitu- tion is a very lively document, despite the assertion of Mr. Palmer and his eomparison likening it to a dead hand. It has recently shown its liveliness and life, and many Americans have rejoiced. If Mr. Palmer and the President—and the New Dealers generally—desire to make an issue in the coming campaign of an amendment to the Constitution which will greatly increase the powers of the Federal Government and cen- tralize still further control in Wash- ington, let them try it on. Mr. Palmer’s speech to the Pennsyl- vania Democrats sounds like a step in & campaign to build up sentiment in this country for a constitutional change to make the Roosevelt New Deal legal. It is a defense, too, of the President, whose comments upon the BSupreme Court’s decision in the N. R. A. case have brought no ‘happy response from the country. It has, indeed, a political ring. Rock Creek-Potomac Drive. Completion of the most important link in the Rock Creek-Potomac Parkway— & low-level bridge crossing the creek along the route of the drive south of P street—is brought nearer to realization by announcement that the contract has been let and that work is about to begin on this construction. Thus plans that have been in the making for more than thirty-five years are about to be carried out. A major improvement to Wash- ington’s park system is near at hand. But discussion must soon center on another link which will have to be put into serviceable use before the Rock Creek drive becomes, in fact, a real con- nection between the East-West High- ‘way in Montgomery County and Potomac Park. This is the link that runs through the grounds of the National Zoological Park. The road is under the jurisdiction of the Zoo authorities—the Board of They have contended before, and with some justification, that heavy use of the road at night would disturb the animals. It might be argued that the animals &t the Zoo have no more right to protec- tion from the noise of traffic at night than their two-legged fellow citizens who live outside the Zoo grounds. But the Zoo grounds are closed at sundown; un- restricted use of the Zoo roadway after dark would increase the problem of properly policing the grounds. That part of the Rock Creek drive that runs through the Zoo, following the course of the creek, is badly in need now of resurfacing and widening. These improvements should be made under any conditions, and when they are made it should be possible to erect fences and a new Zoo entrance in such manner that, diverting Rock Creek drive traffic by way of Klingle road and Adams Mill road to the present Harvard street entrance, there would be little disturbance to the animals and not much loss of what is now Zoo property. Other plans have considered a-pew road from the Harvard street entrance along the east side of .\‘.hecnek.ltmemeotthacufl,w below the Calvert Street Bridge. Unless there is such new construction or the present Zoo road is utilized, the al- ternative will be that trafic must go around the Zoo by way of Tilden street, Connecticut avenue and the entrance to the park near the Shoreham Hotel, from Calvert street—a most roundabout and unnecessary detour. Anglo-German Naval Deal. As a result of the most astounding diplomatic transaction in post-war his- tory, Great Britain and Germany have signed a “permanent and definite” naval agreement, whereby Germany receives the right to a total tonnage at the ratio of 35 to 100 for Great Britain. The pact nullifies the clauses of the Ver- sailles treaty restricting the Reich to a fleet of 150,000 tons and permits her to build one aggregating roundly 400,- 000 tons. The most startling feature of the agreement is that which grants Germany nominal parity in submarines, and actually and immediately forty-five per cent of British strength in that category. The official explanation of the submarine concession is that British tonnage in that type of ship is so much smaller than the French that Germany considered that the general treaty ratio of thirty-five per cent would not give her a reasonable proportion of undersea vessels as compared with France. Germany is naturally elated over hav- ing delivered this final death blow to the treaty of Versailles. The Reich is particularly overjoyed at its triumph in recovering the right to rearm with sub- marines, freely granted by that power which was the chief victim of U-boat warfare. On the heels of his success in defying the military clauses of the peace treaty, Hitler's achievement in destroy- ing its naval provisions, with British sanction, makes his victory complete. Nazi diplomacy is entitled to plume itself over the amazing results, which are hailed at Berlin as the dawn of a new day. France is grievously upset over these developments. She finds it difficult to reconcile them with repeated assurances that the bedrock of British policy is to do nothing capable of creating a breach with France. The British thesis is that as the Versailles treaty was irrevocably broken by Germany’s unilateral violation of the military clauses and as the Reich is already creating & mighty air force and laying -down submarines, the only realistic policy is to keep Germany’s rearmament within bounds by freely negotiated agreements. The British argue that they have proceeded in the manner best designed to prevent the outbreak of unrestricted naval com- petition. It is more than open to doubt that such reasoning will appease French anxieties over a situation that now. car- ries the triple threat of a Reich rearmed by land, sea and air. Nor is Italy, al- ready irritated over alleged British inter- ference in the Abyssinian affair, likely to look with favor upon British con- nivance in plans that will make the Ge the equal, if not the superior, of the Italians in sea power. The Anglo-German agreement ap- parently contemplates a new naval con- ference in which Germany will partici- pate and at which Britain presumably would seek to have the 100-to-35 per cent general tonnage ratio she has allo- cated to the Germans ratified. Whether that comes to pass or not, the agreement is apparently to stand as a bilateral Anglo-German arrangement. Germany reserves the right to propose an increase of her ratio “if the general equilibrium of naval armaments is violently upset.” On the face of things yesterday's events in London throw out of the win- dow not only the remnant of the defunct treaty of Versailles, but also the Wash- ington and London naval treaties. That clothes the Anglo-German deal with an international aspect of which it can hardly be that the last has been heard. Conflicts as to compensation cannot, unfortunately, be submitted to the | Bureau of Standards in order to make the Scales of Justice weigh in precise relationship to \‘.h'e wage scales. Reaching Back Into the Past. Fifty ye ago & Mr. John Q. Tax- payer paid a special assessment in con- nection with the openipg of & new street in front of his home. In the fifty years since then Mr. Taxpayer has met his obligations faithfully as a citizen, pay- ing his real estate taxes and his auto- mobile taxes for the improvement and such improvements, instead of benefiting Mr, Taxpayer as an individudl property owner, will in reality constitute a dis- tinct nuisance. Nobody willingly wishes the street in front of his residence to become a traffic artery. In 1931 the old Borland act, battered almost beyond recognition by decisions of the courts, which attacked its validity and pointed out its many inequitable features, was revived by the local author- ities, as far as was legally possible, in the form of & new law. One of the pro- visions of that new law was tliat there should be no further assessments against property which had paid prior street assessments. It was believed nobody would be affected except those who had paid assessments under the Borland act of 1915, % Since then old tax receipts for street assessments have come to light—some of them dated as far back as 1860. Care- ful property owners have preserved them. And the bill just passed by the House provides that the exemption from new assessments shall run back only to 1885— fifty years ago. The amount of money that may be saved by this almost gro- tesque reaching back into the past is not known. It cannot be much. But the bill is plainly inequitable, as are all assessments for street improvements other than those used to open new thoroughfares in new residential dis- tricts. Improvements to existing streets represent community improvements— not improvements to abutting property— and should be paid for by the community from the general tax fund. A reformed convict is welcomed in base ball. Men suffer because they can- not form an accurate estimate of their own capacity in early life. If the already famous player had known his possibil- ities he would never have permitted himself to get out of moral training. ————————— Bureaucracy has its faults, but stu- dents of recent Russian history continue to insist that a multitude of catalogued and initialed bureaus are better than one concentrated Soviet. Substitutes for the dime chain letter are already devised. No scheme looking to correct finance can ignore the homely adage, “There is a sucker born every minute.” ——r——————— The idea of war naturally shocks the average Abyssinian, who asked no more from the world than the privilege of playing in his own back yard. ——a—————— Some day, by way of variety, a fem- inine defendant will appear who is brunette and homely. Finland’s small, but punctual, pay- ment still stands conspicuous as an act of decency among nations. Shooting Stars BY PHILANDER JOHNSON, Old Recipes. With terms scientific Our speech is prolific. We're having our different days For father and mother And many another Forever deserving of praise. Obscurity reaches One sage as he teaches, But another with courage will try. ‘We will yet be commanding Complete understanding We still have the Fourth of July. Psychology’s mentioned By minds well intentioned. We borrow vast figures from space. An epigram'’s flashing, Then reason comes dashing ‘With rare mathematical grace. Our forefathers’ learning, ‘To which we're still turning, Shines out like the stars in the sky.’ We'll hear each oration With patriotic elation And be glad it's the Fourth of July! Our billions of treasure We're counting with pleasure. ‘We know what our glands ought to do. A slight calculation Will bring information Of vitamins much or too few. To tell of reactions ‘We figure in fractions. ‘We have to admit by and by That the formula needed, ‘Which still must be heeded, Is the old-fashioned Fourth of July. Pride of Oratory. “You have made practically the same speech all your political life.” “I have,” answered Senator Sorghum. “Have you changed public opinion?” “No. But it is something to have taken 50 many encores.” Jud Tunkins says maybe we along better if some of our men could hold office instead of writing magazine articles. Applying an Adage. “Early to bed and early to rise Makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” But those who pursued the proverbial plan Are praying for strength as the budget they scan, And also for wisdom that never relaxes As they make calculations for paying their taxes. get Disagreement. feelin’ runs high in the Gulch. The jurors forgot about the case in hand and drifted into a political argument.” NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM Margares Germond. SECOND HOEING. By Hope Willlams Sykes. New York. G. P. Putnam's A well-deserved reception is just now being given to this splendid story, which is grounded in the beet-growing soil of owmmcwnmhm ‘When Adam brought his wife perpetually increasing brood to America from Russia he also brought with him his belief in the system of slavery which gives to the head of the house the privi- lege of compelling his wife to work as a laborer in the flelds until she dies in her tracks and of demanding labor as peons from his sons and daughters until they reach the age of twenty-one. As the story opens the Schreismillers executing an important change in eir social status. They are moving from the tar-paper shack that has been their home in Shagtown to the tumble-down, filth-laden house ¢h a farm where they will be “renters” and not just beetworkers. Nine of his eleven children and his wife are being driven by Adam to complete the moving in the teeth of a raging blizzard. The twelfth child is soon to be born. . It is with an intimate knowledge of the minds and the habits of these German-Russian aliens who have sought refuge in the farm lands of America from the tyranny and oppression of their own lands that Miss Sykes has produced a vivid picture of the struggle of the Schreismillers to wrest a living from the soil against the forces of nature and of their individual efforts to escape from the brutal realities of the form of slavery to which they are compelled to submit. Through the seasons of planting, thin- ning, second hoeing and harvest is to be found the parallel representing the life of Hannah. There is a sturdiness of courage in this girl-woman of the soil that wins and warms the heart as life’s expectations fade into disappointment and then renewed hope leads on to the inevitable destiny that is the reward of sacrifice. In the home, in the field, in righting the wrongs of others and in love she is true to herself and to the high principles of truth and honesty in which she believes. The novei is one of richness and beauty, teeming with life and activity, and genuinely satisfying. THE KING OF THE GREAT CLOCK TOWER. By William Butler Yeats. New York: The Macmillan Co. In a brief prefatory note to the de- lightful collection of commentaries and poems comprising his booklet, Mr. Yeats says that when he discovered that in two years he had produced no verse he was of the fear that he had grown too old to write poetry. He de- cided to force himself to write and then seek counsel from a fellow-poet who, though not of the same school, could be depended upon to express a candid TTTIITTI JggaEial T B& ] b T ; ; i Eag ~ s?gfifig BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Not so, however, as the more astute observer knows. He may seem to be gone, but in a few again, each and every time, without any excep- tions whatsoever, it begins to take on its comic qualities. * k% % To call this some sort of compulsion neurosis is wide of the mark. This fellow is free from ‘em. He comes back, some will think, bel cause he wants to come back. Or he usually leaves something behind he thinks, a few seconds later, he may need. It may be, let us whisper, that he wants to catch somebody making a re- mark about him. Now there is very little “psychology” in all this, practically none, but it is human nature just as it is, and just as 1t has been for hundreds of years. Fancy words with high-sounding syl- lables explain wery little. What they may explain can be under- stood by a study of humanity, its rea- sons and motives. * % % It will be found, in almost every in- stance, that the steady room-returner is impetuous. Instead of gathering up carefully all materials he may need before he ves the room, he waits until he gets the elevator to discover something missing. Then he returns for it, & very natural : 1 5 T 55:5? James L. O'Neill, the banker now administrative c! abbreviated N. R. A, is i | E»EES fsiiie i H g L B e Eez ok ] e e i very matter. If the impetuous man leaves, we say that it is but talk about them “behind the why would any one talk to their face? The sort of that is carried on of this type is almost always of no consequence, merely chatter, in most cases, with which the room-returner has really nothing to do. Just & few comments, natural, good- natured, about him, perhaps—every one indulges in such remarks, so that no apology is needed. The one necessary thing is not to let him hear them. That is the true politeness, not the refraining from making simple, natural remarks about him. * % ¥ % ‘The world is too much in thrall to set ideas, that you must do so and so, that you must not do thus and thus. Most of these ideas are much too general, much too rigid, invariably plac- ing the gaze upon a minor quality and completely removing it from the place it hurts. It is much better to talk good-na- turedly about some one or other, even “behind his back,” than to ignore him altogether, or regard him,with a sullen stare. It is delightful to talk about people, as a matter of fact, so delightful that every one does it, of course. ‘While there are many protestations to the contrary, mostly they are what used to be called “bunk,” and every one knows it. Every one goes right ahead “talking behind backs,” because behind ’em, forsooth, is the very best place to talk. cution, or what he can represent to be such. He is also a devout apostle of the theory that it’s better to be abused than ignored. Any extreme efforts to cramp Huey's Senate style are sure to be capitalized by him to the n-th de- gree. Monday’s smashing defeat of the Long share-the-wealth amendment to the social security bill, roared in an elming aye-and-no vote, elo- tly indicated the new temper of A world,” at his Yellow Springs, Ohio, and the of at Wi n. He on the biparty sys- it very vigorously “I'm having a very Buckeye school- philosophizes, “free of trying by Govern- all the ills to heir.” 4 8 ) §EE E b Mussolini war with Abys- humble but dependable Ameri- will be in the thick of the has been buying Oklahoma for Despite wholesale 8B £f i all set to campaign for retention of this year on a platform calling “adoption of certain important fea- Roosevelt New Deal. Col- . A. under Supreme Court fire has required a sudden and somewhat issue by problems abnormal wheat situation facing Canada, due to a bumper A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - By Frederic J. Haskin. A reader can get the answer to any Qquestion of fact by writing The Washing- ton Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washing~ ton,D.C. Please inclose stamp for repiy. Q. When was bling legalized Nevada?—M. K. * 2T - - A. On March 19, 1931, a bill legalizing and licensing gambling was signed. Q. How long have coll entran requhemnubeenlpon:lntheedw: tional system?—R. C. A. The history of college entrance nquken;’enu dates back to Harvard in , when a speaking knowledge of Latin, ability to make Latin verse, and 8 thorough grammatical education in Greek were the only requirements. Q. How long has ting been known?—D. H. iR A. The existence of this metallic ele- ment was first made known in Europe by Antonio de Ulloa in 1736. It is usually found in granules, but sometimes is found in masses the size of a pigeon’s egg. Pieces weighing 10 or more pounds have been found occasionally. Q. Who invented the claque?—J. A. M. A. This “hired applause” is of great antiquity, and its institution is attrib- uted to Nero. Q. When was the first base ball game played at night?—L. R. A. The first night game is said to ’l.xnnvlessl;een played at Fort Wayne, Ind, Q. Is it true that foreigners are allowed to vote in Chile?—T. P. A. Last Fall the franchise was broad- ened to include women and foreigners. For the first time they cast their ballots on April 7. This applies to municipal elections only. Q. Where is Fox Channel?—E. M. A. The channel lies between South- ampton Island and Baffin Land in the Hudson Bay, Canada. It was named mtcxrw !i.uke Fox, who explored the region Q. How many ex-service men have re- %eigred the Purple Heart decoration?— A. -lt has been estimated that approxi- mately 50,000 ex-service men have re- ceived the award. Q. What was the first song which Jenny Lind sang in America?—B. M. A. It was “Voi Che Sapete,” from the “Marriage of Figaro,” music by Mozart, text by Lorenzo da Ponte. Q. When was the Windsor Hotel fire in New York City?—A. L. A. The fire was on March 17, 1899. Forty-five persons lost their lives. Q. How early was the travel service orMThomu Cook & Son established? —M. C. A. Thomas Cook on July 5, 1841, began an excursion train between Leicester and Loughborough on the Midland Railway, England. From this small beginning the enormous business of Thomas Cook & Sons, managers of tours and excursions, was evolved. To John Mason Cook, son of the founder, the present scope of the business is mainly due. Q. Did James Fenimore Cooper’s daughter write?>—E. L. B. A. Susan Fenimore Cooper, in addi- tion to acting as her father's secretary and amanuensis during his latter years, was the author of “Rural Hours,” “Fields Old and New,” “The Shield,” “Mount Vernon to the Children of America,” and other books. Q. How many miles of waterway has Louisiana?—E. R. A. The State has 4,794 miles of navi- gable waterways, much of them being on the large bayous in the south. Q. Who were the Coodies?—A. G. H. A. In the political history of the United States this nickname was applied to those members of the Federalist party in New York who favored the War of 1812. It was adopted from the fictitious name, Abimelech Coody, assumed by the leader of the faction, Gulian C. Verplanck, when writing in the public prints. Q. How is a punkah made?—S. D. A. This is a gigantic fan used to keep the air stirring in rooms in India and other tropical countries. It consists of a light frame of wood, covered with calico and suspended from the ceiling. It is usually operated by & native servant. Q. What was the 5-mile act?—R. H. A. It was an act known as the Clar- endon or Oxford act passed by Parlia- ment in 1665. It prohibited any clergy- man ejected from his living in 1662 by the enactment of the act of uniformity from approaching nearer than § miles to any town, city, or parish where he had formerly preached. - The penalty for disobedience was 40 pounds. It was a severe blow to the Puritans. Q. Do the Baltimore oriole and robin ngbr;nbeloutothom!mfly? A They do nof. The robin redbreast is a species of thrush. Q. What is the date upon which it is hoped that the world calendar will be adopted?—A. N. A. The objective is 1939, when January 1 falls on Sunday. Under this system the year would remain as it is, with invariable quarters composed of one month of 31 days and two of 30 days. A holiday would be inserted between December and January, and in leap year a second holiday would occur be- fween June and July. Q. In what Southern bakery was steam fll’il‘ *7—“. M. bakery conducted rgaret Haighety of New Otjensts o oot o5 have been the first. Q. Where are the most lobsters pro- duced?—E. H. A. The greatest lobster- e area is located off the coast o(pé?n;dma's 3