Evening Star Newspaper, July 19, 1935, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition, WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY +....dJuly 19, 1935 THEODORE ... Editor The Evening SurvN;:npor Colii;-ny. Business Office: _11th St. and Pennsylvanis Ave New York Office. 110 Bast 42nd 8t. Chicago Ofiice: Lake Michigan Building. European Ofmce: 14 Reent St.. London. England. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Edition. The Evening Star_____________45c per month The Eveaing and Sunday Star (when 4 Sundays) _60c per month The Evenine and Sunday Star (when 5 Sunday The Sundoy St Night Final Edition. ight Final and Sunday Star. ight Final Star _ “”55c per month Collection made at the end of each monih. be sent by mail or telephone Na- _65¢ per month -be per copy 70c per month Orders_may tional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virgin Daily and Sunday.. Daily only __ Sunday only All Other States Dailv and Sunday__1 yr, $12.00; 1 mo. $1.00 Daily only . 1 yr. $800: 1 mo, 73 Sunday only____ $5.00; 1 mo.. 50c Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this Daper and also the local news published herein. Il rights of publication of special aqispatches erein are also reserved 1y Harsh Words. By a strictly partisan vote the House has passed the administration measure closing the door to citizens who might seek to recover, through the courts, damages sustained as the result of gold dollar devaluation and repudiation of the gold clause on Government bonds. In the words of the Supreme Court, the “contractural obligation still exists * * * and remains binding upon the con- science of the sovereign.” But that part of the sovereign represented by the House of Representatives has not heard the still, small voice of conscience. Expe- diency was chosen in repudlation of the gold clause; expediency was victorious again in the vote taken yesterday. House debate was bitter. Harsh words were passed. “Repudiation” was flung again and again at the Democrats, accompanied by such strictures as “this fraud upon the American citizens,” “dis- honorable,” “impair the basis of our national credit,” “confiscation,” “repug- nant to all ideas of Government honor,” “inequity, repudiation and shameless- ness,” ‘“international union of debt dodgers,” “legalized robbery.” But the vote was 258-88. And the votes, the adjectives, are what count. But over in the Senate debate on the A. A. A, amendment taking away the right of suit to recover processing taxes on the ground that théy were illegally collected was preparing the way for later debate on the gold clause legislation, involving some of the same principles. Such men as Borah and Bailey, on the one hand, and Democratic Leader Rob- inson and Norris, on the other, engaged in a highly intellectual and historical discussion over the possibly abstract questions of the right of the citizen to sue his Government as against the doc- trine that the king may do no wrong. The right of the Government to pro- tect itself from suits by citizens was geen by Senator Norris not as the ex- pression of the ancient rule that the king can do no wrong, but “in modern times,” is “the rule of self-preservation.” The doctrine of immunity of the sov- ereign, said Senator Bailey, “is the doc- trine of tyrants, and in its very char- acter it is tyrannical * * * precisely the same tyranny which was exercised by the tyrants from whose foul breasts this doctrine arose, and it contains witfin it the same power of oppression that they exercised by means of it.” from Senator Borah: “* * * More and more the Government is entering the field of private enterprise; more and more the Government is coming in com- petition with the citizen in his daily concerns. At the same time the Gov- ernment is constantly demanding sacri- fices of the people in the way of in- creased taxes. Now it is proposed to add to all this a disregard of the simple principles of justice. A government which is unwilling to open the courts to its wrongdoing as against the citizen is not far from being a government of lawlessness, a government of force.” Senators Glass and McAdoo, two for- mer Secretaries of the Treasury, have already indicated their views of the gold clause legislation, predicting its adverse effect upon Government credit. Able men in the Senate stand ready to oppose it on that and other grounds. Despite the House vote, rough going awaits it. ——— ‘The Emperor of Ethiopia promises to fead his troops in battle. Such a move would restore the ancient days when the accredited hero of the fray was ex- pected to be a personal participant. e Parole Board Changes. The local parole act has been sub- Jected to attack mainly on two grounds. One is the indeterminate sentence, which takes away the exercise of necessary discretion by judges in fixing the term of sentence and has been generally condemned as impracticable; ‘the other is that while the Parole Board might function satisfactorily if given the necessary funds for the hire of per- sonnel, it has never received those funds. There has been little or no eriti- cism of the personnel of the board members. They have been sincere men, willing to put in a lot of unremunerated effort as public-spirited citizens. The bill by Mr. Randolph would follow the Federal statute governing sentence and parole of prisoners and would set up a paid board; the chair- man receiving a $6000 salary and the two members being paid for their time, which would amount to about $300 a year, Mr. La Roe, as chairman of the Parole Board, criticizes this feature of the bill on the ground that it would make political appointees of Parole Board members, Furthermore, says Mr. 1a Roe, the Parole Board needs hired help rather than paid members, There is truth in what he says and, therefore, merit in his criticism, But "1 = not | | of German bishops and cardinals. And | it remains that one of the deficiencies of local Parole Boards is the practice often followed of choosing “leading citizens” for board membership, rather than men fitted by experience for dealing with the delicate social problem involved. The present membership of the board has not been subjected to this criticism, but others may. There should be some method of reconciling Mr. La Roe's objection to political appointees with Mr. Randolph’s desire that Parole Board members should have the fixed respongjbilities associated with salaried public service. And, of course, the Parole Board should be furnished with the necessary personnel for parole officers, working in the prisons and fol- lowing up the records and behavior of parolees, e Hitler vs. Catholicism. Long-standing differences between the Nazi government and the Catholic clergy have now burst into open war- | fare. In an effort to combat “political Catholicism,” Gen. Hermann Goering, supreme chief of Hitler's secret state police, on Thursday in a stern edict notified priests pulpit or parish house will\henceforth be dealt with as assaults on the gov- ernment’s authority. It is emphasized that there is no intention to embark upon a “Kulturkampf,” or outright struggle, with the Catholic Church as such, but that the state will punish ruthlessly any attacks from Catholic quarters on the Nazi regime. Goering's decree brings to a climax raged with more or less intensity dur- ing the past year, despite the concordat which is supposed to have regulated the Vatican's relations with the Reich. It has not prevented priests from receiving jail sentences for alleged political activi- ties, and more recently priests and nuns have been prosecuted for smuggling funds abroad. Goering's edict goes beyond such spo- radic misdemeanors. It catalogues a long list of offenses of which the clergy and lay bodies are said systematically to be guilty and which are stigmatized as open attacks on the state. It is ored Catholic ceremonials and festivi- ties are debased into anti-Hitler demon- strations, and that the pulpit is used as a medium for bringing Nazi institutions | and measures, such as sterilization, into disrepute. The clergy is accused of disseminating illegal literature, and public collections for ostensible Catholic charities are said to political purposes and to the financing of Catholic juvenile organizations to combat the “Hitler youth” movement. | Catholics are indicted for imitating the “Hail Hitler” greeting with a “Hail Jesus Christ” greeting. Prior to the Nazi dictatorship the Catholic “Center” party was a powerful factor in Germany. It brought more the iron Bismarck, to book. proclaims that Hitlerism will brook no efforts “in the spirit of the former Catholic party, even if carried on under cover of religious activity.” His decree is interpreted as meaning that priests must take an oath of allegiance to the state and virtually preach under police supervision. to the Nazi declaration of war will not be disclosed until the August conference ‘The church is not likely to take Hitler's defiance lying down. It has more than 20,000,000 German adherents, among them powerful industrialists indispen- sable to the Nazis' economic and mili- tary program. Meantime with Cath- olics, Protestants and Jews tagged as enemies of his cult,“the Fuehrer has forged into existence a formidable pha- lanx of religious foes. It remains to be seen whether he is strong enough to keep them all under the heel. —_— e The youth of Adolph Hitler was em- bittered by hardship and disappointment. How much of his present policy is dic- tated by personal resentment is a matter which psychologists may take up in collaboration with future historians. o Annie Smith Peck. Miss Annie Smith Peck, the world’s most widely celebrated woman mountain climber, would have been a remarkable personality in any sphere of human en- terprise. Explain it as one will by the- ories of heredity, environment or- social pressure, she had undeniable gifts of individualistic character which made it inevitable that she should write her name large in the chronicle of her time. She was, incontrovertibly, a distinctive as well as a distinguished spirit. At forty-five, however, she still' was unknown to fame. Her friends probably thought of her as being entirely satisfied with the success which she had won as a teacher of mathematics and Latin and as a popular lecturer on Greek arch- eology. But, comprehending her courage and the strength of her will, they can- not have been surprised when they heard that she had adopted alpining as an avocation, She always had loved the out-of-doors, had tramped, ridden horse- back, been an excellent swimmer and enjoyed every kind of game—even those deemed unsuited for feminine participa- tion. Hence there was nothing outlandish about her acceptance of the challenge of the Matterhorn. Her decision, in- deed, was viewed with approval by those who considered it & symbol of the rising determination of women to be inde- pendent, Any one who could conquer mountains, it was argued, ought to be competent to vote. And Miss Peck consistently added to her victories. The highest peaks of Mexico and the Andes yielded their metaphoric scalps to adorn her heavy string of trophies. Even the northern apex of Mount Huascaran, Peru, was not beyond her power of attalnment—reach- ing its summit, she realized that she had ascended to the loftiest altitude ever at- tained on foot by an American”in the throughout Germany | that attacks on Hitlerism from either | the conflict with Catholicism that has | charged, for example, that time-hon- | be diverted to | What will be Catholicism’s rejoinder | THE FEVENING RTAR, WASHINGTON,- Y. ©.” FRIDXY. JULY T9,” 19%. . 4 THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES F. TRACEWELL. Western Hemisphere. Honors were showered upon her, and she proved that she deserved them by refusing to rest upon her laurels. In literature she pro- duced two monumental books on South America, classics of rich pragmatic value, In politics she shared in the campaigns of Wilson and Hughes and was an ac- tive proponent of the equal franchise and many other reforms. At eighty-one she climbed Mour:t Madison and Mount Crescent, in New England, and on her eighty-fourth birthday gave a vigorous and energetic address at a meeting of the Society of Women Geographers. Her mind was clear, incisive and direct to the end, and just before her final iliness she was planning further travels. Her position in the history of the twentieth century is assured not only because of what she did, but also because of what she was—a brave and gallant soul of whom all her contemporaries can be proud. An Airport-Road Solution. A plan has been proposed for the cor- rection of the road conditions in Arling- ton County which menace public safety at the Washington Airport and possibly the continuation of the maintenance of the airport at that location. It is now under consideration in the county, and it will be submitted to the County Board, which, under the terms of a plan pro- posed in the House of Representatives for the sale of Military road by the Gov- ernment for a nominal sum, would have jurisdiction for the substitution of an- other route for the highway. This proposition entails the acquisition with the Alexandria road between the airport and the junction of the pike and the Alexandria road. It would free the | now bisected airport area and furnish route over Highway Bridge, with & connection with the Mount | Vernon Memorial Highway. The proposition to revise the rdad routes in the county has for its objective more than the solution of the airport problem. Dangerous angles now exist in the established lines of travel, con- stituting bad traffic hazards. The growth of this suburban area in population de- mands a better system of routes. The interposition of the airport at & point of | concentration is mnot an insuperable 4 obstacle to an effective correction if the whole project of road changes, which | will not be unduly expensive, is at- tacked now. If the airport is to remain in its present location it must be ridded of the menace of Military road, which bisects the area to the peril of the sur- face-riding public and the air travelers. If it is not to remain there decision as | | to its future location should be made at | once. To palter with the situation by back-and-forth maneuvers is to invite disaster, which will be infinitely more costly than any corrections of route, if | the present situation is maintained, by | whomsoever undertaken. than one imperial chancellor, including | Goering | - Solicitude for the welfare of youth should not leave it dependent on its own resources. Moral instruction should be carefully provided to prevent youth from falling under the influence of some wicked old man. e OOt Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. “Now what may basic value be?” The money sharp inquired. The shells collected by the sea As money were admired. The farmer finds himself today Still hopeful, though amazed. He finds a way his debts to pay With hogs he never raised. He hopes that as events proceed He'll manage to make out And satisfy financial need With wheat forbid to sprout. To mathematics we incline Manipulated thus: Strive to refine the minus sign And make it equal plus. The Manageable Negative. “Men must learn to say ‘no’ in this life,” said the old friend. “Of course,” said Senator Sorghum, “but it isn’t so simple as it seems unless there is enough influence available to sustain a veto.” Jud Tunkins says lawyers are naturally good people, only it isn't always so easy to keep ’em out of bad company. The Object All Sublime. As war’s excuses still are told They sound a trifie sappy, ‘The purpose now is, as of old, “To make us humans-happy.” Asia holds a threat severe, Africa is scrappy. Europe’s war cloud hovers near— To make us humans happy! The tanks and submarines will roam, With lethal gadgets snappy, And send folks to the Heavenly Home ‘Where humans may be happy. Transportation, “Don't you think Crimson Gulch ought to have an airport?” “No,” answered Cactus Joe. “An automobile is better for visitin' boot- leggers. A fiyin’ machine would be rather too conspicuous.” Prize Poetry. When modern poets are compared By critics well rehearsed, An impulse chivalrous is shared To murmur “Ladies, First!” Kipling may have had his day, But when he writes a line, an equally direct connection with the | together | | funds. Objections to the Clark Amendment To the Editor of The Star: In your recent editorial on the Clark amendment I believe you misunder- stand the objections to the amendment. The objection is not that the employer will discharge his older employes but that he will induce the older employes to enter the Government plan while re- taining his younger employes in his pri- vate plan. The amendment specifically permits a division of employes between the Government and private plans. As a qualified actuary I would advise you, if the Clark amendment stands, to put all of your male employes over age 35 and all female employes over age 30 into the Government plan, and to pur- chase a group annunity policy in one of the leading life insurance companies to cover thie others. All of your employes will then receive the same as under the Government plan, your cost will be less than the taxes in the act, and everybody will be happy except the actuaries who had the income and disbursements under the national plan nicely balanced until some one thought of this way of unbalancing them. I doubt if any stigma would attach to you for adopting such a course of action, as the Government ex- pects the taxpayer to use every legal means to avold payment of taxes. If you came to me as a client this advice would cost you plenty, and would be worth it. Increasing the tax under the act would not bring the scheme into balance, for | if the ultimate rate were 8 per cent instead of 6 it would be to your advan- tage to put employes over age 40 into the Government plan, etc., and the same for any higher rate except that the dividing age would be different. Another objection to the Clark amend- ment is that it exempts private plans irrespective of their prospects of remain- ing solvent. Except for private plans insured with insi ol of a roadway connecting Columbia pike | Wik aD ifsuisnee eoipsny] JNE out of five of the present private plans either are on the verge of insolvency or will be in the next 10 to 20 years. Private plans should be exempt only if they are actuarially sound. Another objection to the Clark amend- | ment is that there is no restriction on the investment of the private pension One of the commonest mistakes is to invest the fund in the employer’s business. When the employer goes bankrupt, the pension fund loses. How many of the present employers will be in business 25 years from now? 1 can think of several more objec- | tions, but this letter is already too long. JOSEPH B. GLENN, Assistant and Acting Actuary, Railroad Retirement Board. e ! Old-Time Saloon an The New-Deal Saloon | To the Editor of The Star: Referring to the letter in The Star, “Tolerance Makes for Temperate Drink- | ing,” no one but an anti-prohibitionist could approve the sale of liquor in a “hidden bar” or any other place. True the prohibition law was not thoroughly enforced. How could it have been with its enforcement largely in the hands of those opposed to it? Was it not as successfully enforced as laws against theft and burglary? No one asks to have these repealed. The New Deal saloon has vices the | old soul-destroying saloon did not have! First, no respectable men—only those in the f{rresistible grip of the demon drink were willing to be seen going | there. Secondly, no women, young girls or boys thought of entering the old saloons; neither were they allowed to be bartenders there. But the New Deal saloon has made drinking fashionable, ( “smart,” up-to-date and “quite the thing” not only for men, but women, | young girls and boys! Who is referred to in “we are now fully reconciled to public and private drinking under sanction of law”? Surely not the mothers and fathers of those 505 young people under 21 years of age who were arrested in Washington for drunkenness last year; or those whose husbands and sons are squandering the family income on drink, or the parents of those youths, girls as well as boys, who escape arrest for drunkenness, but come reeling home at night; surely not husband who comes home only to find a drunken wife; surely not the splendid worth-while men and women who have the best interests of humanity and our country at heart! The “we,” of course, means those who want to drink themselves, certain vote- getting politicians, all the liquor people who are making money out of it, all the army of bootleggers and smugglers now reaping fortunes by it—and the wets want to add to this number all those they can make believe legalized liquor is pouring money into the Treasury. Not one word do they say about the vast expenditure necessary for inspectors to enforce the law, to determine whether licenses should be granted to those ask- ing for them, to hunt out illicit stills and battle against the greatly increased number of smugglers, all the clerical force required and the salaries of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. The wets dare not reveal the cost of enforcing the present repeal law! And they also ignore the cost of providing care for the indigent alcoholic insane and those reduced to poverty through drink. Those maimed or injured by drunken drivers or whose loved ones were killed by them are not among the “reconciled” ones. How many accidents will result this year from beer and other intoxicants sold at the 3,000 licensed places in ‘Washington? GEORGIA ROBERTSON. Discrepancies as to Revenues From Dogs To the Editor of The Star: The Sunday Star of July 14 carried a well-written and profusely illustrated article on the “City Pound,” by Ran- dolph Roberts. Being a lover of ani- mals, I read it with interest, but I must say with amazement also when I from $48,000. other revenue from pound fees, but, Owners of outdoor pools and tanks of fishes indoors generally ask two ques- tions at this time of year: Why won't my fishes eat? How can one ciear up the water which has turned green? Increased powers of the sun at this season are responsible for both these faults. It is & curious chain which deprives water animals of appetite in Summer, especially in the aquarium. Sun makes the plants grow, and that is well, but also it heats up the water. The larger the tank, of course, the slower this is accomplished. As the water temperature rises, the already small amount of oxygen in the aquarium is further decreased as the oxygen begins to be driven out. The cooler the water the more oxygen it holds; the warmer the less it holds, under average conditions. It is probable that the average aqua- rium, even under good management, is just o the border line of insufficient oxygen: Usually this condition is made worse by the fact that the tank is over- crowded. * xox % Those who complain of decreased appetite on the part of their finny charges can “pep up” their eating at least two or three fold, or even quad- ruple it, by running a small electrically driven aerator in the tank all night. It is not always realized that plants use free oxygen during the night the same as animals. If the tank is overcrowded with life | anyway, and in addition has not had the water stirred, in any fashion, the heavy gases, such as carbon dioxide, remain in it. These add to the confusion of the fishes. They are deprived of their appe- tite at the same time they must breathe more laboriously in order to live. With them, as with us, breath is the first consideration. They are so busy trying to get enough oxygen that they more or less are indifferent to food. Basically their processes of metabolism | are slowed up, so that there is little demand for food. . The use of a small aerator, which may be purchased at a very moderate price, is the answer. * k% Fishes that may bave been fed but once a day will demand food at least | twice, after tne aerator has been run one night. A very slow flow of air through the water 24 hours around is best, but if one does not care to keep it on so long | is at night when the | the best time plants are breathing oxygen, just as all living things do. The next best is all day and turned off at night. The next best system probably is that which gives a heavy rush of air for certain periods, perhaps as much as two hours at a time, preferably two to four | times a day, always before meals. Nothing increases the appetite of the finy fellow like air. The belief that this supplies oxvgen to the water is true, in a sense, but the amount is negligible. The main thing accomplished is to sweep the water of inimical gases. This makes available all the oxygen there is in the water. It makes the animals feel better™™®ases their breathing and, since they need oxygen to help digest their food, sets them up for their meals. Even a very large aquarium angd one which is in no sense overcrowded cannot take the place of this rush of air. Gases which form as the result of a “heap o' living,” will form in a large tank as well as a sma§ one. They will be more diluted, of cousse, but in time they will become concentrated, then is when the gasping begins. * K K X In the outdoor pool a lack of appetite is not so likely to occur, both because the ratio of water to fishes is many times as great, but more because Nature ruffies the surface with her winds and the whole top of the pool is in contact with the air and this top is very much larger than that of even the largest tank. The chief trouble with the outdoor pool, if we can judge from the inquiries which come to this desk, is the seeming determination of the water to “go green” at this time of the year. This simply means that various forms of minute green algae have increased so, answering to the stimulus of the light, that they have colored the water a pea soup green. This also occurs in the aquarium if it is given too much light and espe- cially if the tank is overcrowded. The latter condition necessitates more food and the more food the greater the chance that some of it will go to waste. It is this left-over food that furnishes, after certain transformations, the nutri- ment of the green algae. In pool or aquarium it is a difficult condition to correct, as most persons know who ever have dabbled with fish keeping. Cutting down severely on the light, especially sunshine, is the common remedy such as it is. This is more easily done with a tank than a pool, of course. It is comparatively simple to pull down = blind or put a screen of paper | behind the tank. The outdoor pool is another matter. »x & Lily pads finally screen any pool in which they are planted, that is one of the best reasons for planting them. Before they do their work, however, the water is very likely to be deep green, hiding the fishes from view. What can be done about it? Permanganate of potash, enough to | | color the water a deep pink, is supposed to clear it up, as well as be harmless to fishes and plants. A tremendous dilu- | tion of copper, a million parts of water | to one part .of the metal is supposed to achieve results. One is foolish, how- ever, to take any chances with copper. The permanganate may be tried. Some swear that clams will clear up a pool, but the danger of their demise is to be reckoned with as a dead clam will foul the water. Others champion tadpoles, even snails. | It is questionable whether any of these | methods are sure-fire in every case. Flushing the pool with fresh water | may or may not be helpful. | Cutting down the light for a time by erecting one of these fancy lawn umbrellas over the pool might be tried, although it probably would slow up the | growth of the lilies, There is a great deal of good and bad fortune in pool and aquarium man- agement and he who has had only the former will have little sympathy with the owner who has met a combination of inimical circumstances from time to time. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. President Roosevelt is not impressed by the hot weather clamor for adjourn- ment of Congress. He stands pat on the demand for enactment of his tax | program, along with other pending leg- | islation, before House and Senate stack arms. All doubts on this score have been removed by F. D. R.'s “analogy” in placing those opposed to the wealth taxes in the category of defense lawyers with rich clients and weak cases, who habitually maneuver for postponements until the next term of court. The Presi- dent suggests it is this sort of subter- fuge propaganda that is now rampant on Capitol Hill, with a view to putting off as long as possible the evil day feared by those affected by the pro- posed levies. Recent overwhelming House defeat of adjournment proposals indicates clearly that Mr. Roosevelt is going to have his way in keeping Con- gress on the job. Beneath the surface there is plenty of adjournment senti- ment, but the Democratic leadership now expects no trouble in keeping it under control for administration purposes. s %% » Although the White House Marines have the adjournment situation well in hand, they are far from assured about the extent to which tax legislation may stray before finis is written to the Presi- dent’s project. Any number of schemes are in the offing, ranging from bonus riders to suggestions of a sales tax, wholesale income tax revision, excise taxes, tariff readjustments and other proposals widely removed from the origi~ nal redistribution of wealth program. Rooseveltians are earnestly bent upon confining new taxes to those which the President recommended, but Congress is proverbially independent of executive influence in the revenue field and there is no lack of determination to write its own ticket on the present occasion. Committee hearings are unique in that they are being conducted without the semblance of a bill to go on. Any administration measure doubtless can be forced through the House, but it will be another story in the Senate, with amendments galore the probable order of the day. * % % Many authorities are convinced that the utility iobby investigations already pretty well forecast eventual of the holding company bill inclusive of the death sentence clause. Should" this turn out to be the case, the utilities will have themselves largely to blame, for some of their tactics, like the Warren, Pa., telegraphic tragi-comedy, strike Congress as the last word in dumbness. Coupled with the fact that it's admitted at this early stage that a round million dollars was spent in anti-death sentence propaganda, enough has been brought out, it is felt, to sink without trace the utilities’ hopes of defeating the “de- structive features” of the. holding com- interests in the publishing and educa- flelds X X % ¥ . | trict includes the citv of Providence and neighboring mill towns. The elec- tion will be a test of current New Deal sentiment in industrial New England, which recently has been in somewhat disaffected mood. The Democrats ex- pect to win by a normal off-year vote, but Republicans are putting forth ex- traordinary efforts to capture the seat because of its symptomatic value. * ok % % George W. Russell, Irish poet, essayist | and painter—world famed as “Z"—who has just passed away in England, spent several weeks quietly in Washington last Winter. He was much interested in plans for_giving American rural popula- tions a more abundant social life and conferred frequently with New Dealers active in that field. first induced to study our agricultural- sociological conditions by the late Mary Harriman Rumsey. “Z&” enjoyed personal contacts and conversation, preferring, he always said, to impart his views by such methods rather than through public addresses. He was a fascinating fire- side companion. F o James G. McDonald, the League of Nations’ high commissioner for German refugee affairs, who has just submitted his final report, laid down the chair- manship of the Foreign Policy Associa- tion at New York to accept the Geneva post. Since 1933 he has traveled ex- tensively throughout Europe and North and South America, working with states- men and philanthropists on behalf of the victims of Nazi oppression. His report points out that the number of unprovided refugees left in Europe, pending execution of further plans for emigration, is relatively small, and that the grant of a few hundred permits to work in each country gvould not make any substantial differefice in labor con- ditions, while it would go far to relieve the gravest refugee hardships. Mr. McDonald proposes & special League agency to take up refugee matters where his commission leaves them off, after placing some 65,000 German outcasts in new homes abroad. * kX X Although there’s only slight danger that the United States can become in- volved, diplomatically or otherwise, Washington will keep an all-Summer, vigilant eye on Italo-Ethiopian develop- ments. Ambassador Breckinridge Long only recently returned to Rome fresh from conferences with President Roose- velt and Secretary Hull and is in posi- tion to represent to Mussolini the United States’ strong desire for peace. Our State Department people are hopeful that if war comes, it can be “localized,” but there’s the grim experience of 1914~ 18 to show that you never can tell. * k% % New Dealers whose business it is to X-ray political trends claim that the Roosevelt “slump” is in reverse, com- pared to the situation a month ago, due to better business conditions and a cer- tain “reaction” in the President’s favor following recent attacks. G. O. P. analysts totally disagree with this rose- tinted A (Copyright, 1935.) e Russian Divorces. Prom the Bay City (Mich.) Daily Times. Soviet is going to make it harder to obtain a divorce. From now on the departing man or woman probably will be required to wave good-by. | to be served, | tardy guest and of the ones assembled There is, in truth, no sure cure | for anything and any one who thinks | he has found it should realize that he | | has just found it once, in all probability | maybe it won't work at all the next time. | Mr. Russell was | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS By Frederic J. Haskin, A reader can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Washing- ton Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washing- ton, D.C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. Is it nicotine in clgarettes which stains the fingers?—W. P. A. The brown stain on fingers or teeth is tar. Q. Please define & holdin —C.J.P. b A. Commissioner Walter M. W. Splawn, special counsel to the Committee on In- terstate and Foreign Commerce during the holding company inquiries, defined the holding company as_follows: “The holding company may defined as any company, which, by virtue of its ownership of securities, is in a position to control or substantially influence the management of one or more other com- panies; that is, a holding company is different from a mere investment com- pany. An investment company buys securities as an investor would do and without any purpose of determining the policy of the management. But when a company by virtue of its ownership of securities is in a position to control or substantially to influence the man- agement of another company it is prop- erly classified as a holding company.* —_— . Q. What is Stepin Fetchit's real name? How old is he?—R. C. A. Lincoln Theodore Perry. He is 33 years old. Q. How fast can robins fly?—H. W. A. Miss Phoebe Knappen of the Bio- logical Survey says that robins paced by automobiles have shown speed up to 32 miles an hour for short distances. When these birds migrate they probably do not travel over 30 miles per day on account of swppm; to feed. Q. Why is the word arms so often applied to hotels and inns?—B. E. A. The inn sign was taken or imi- tated from that displayed on the houses of noblemen and prelates. Inns fre- quently had as their sign the cgat of arms of some person of importafice in the vicinity. It is in this connection that the word “arms” came to be used in the names of inns. The reference is to the coat of arms. Q. How long should dinner be Kept waiting because a guest has failed to arrive?—D. T. A. Twenty minutes is all that for- mality requires. A hostess must then use her judgment. The kind of food the importance of the would have to be considered. Q. When was Joan of Arc burned at the stake?—S. C. A. The Maid of Orleans was burned at the stake in Rouen, France, on May 30, 1431. The prosecutor was the Bishop of Beauvais, backed by the University of Paris. j Q. Who was the first white man to set foot on New England soil?—M. C. G. A. Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold of Fal- | mouth, England, landed at South Dart- mouth, near New Bedford, Mass, on May 15, 1602. 2 Q. What State is called the Evergreen State?—L. C. A. Washington—on account of great evergreen forests. its Q. Is Germany mostly Catholic?—A. R A. It is two-thirds Protestant and one- third Catholic. Q. Who selects the names for new highways?—H. E. B. A. The Bureau of Public Roads says that highways are no longer distin- guished by name, but by number. Q. When was the Lucia torpedoed? —J. P. A. This American vessel, equipped with buoyance boxes in order to make her unsinkable, was torpedoed by an enemy submarine on October 17, 1918. She remained afloat 24 hours before sinking. Q. What organization was known as the Pewter Muggers?—E. J. P. A. This was a New York faction of the Democratic party which was op- posed to the Tammany candidates in 1828. Their meetings being held in a Frankfort street resort over pewter mugs, the name was affixed by their opponents. Q. Where i3 Jane Austen, the nov- elist, buried?—W. W. A. She is buried in Winchester Ca- thedral, 14 miles from her birthplace at Steventon, Hampshire, in England. Q. What became of the gondola In which Prqgf. Piccard and Max Cosyns ascended into the siratosphere?—- W.R. 8. A. The gondola of the balloon in which the flight was made has been presented to the Science Museum in Kensington, England. Q. How many active volcanoes are there?—K. S. A. There are approximately 66 vol- canoes in the world in active eruption. Q. Please give a list of photographic books such as Stallings’ “The First World War,” and Lorentz’s “The Roosevelt Year."—L. M. A. A partial list is garet Bourke-White's es on Russia,” “The Breathless Moment,” by Philip Van Doren Stern and Herbert Asbury; “Eyes on the World,” by M. Lincoln Schuster, and “Metropolis,” by the Allens. A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamikton In the Hills The lingering dusk of Midsummer. A breeze Plays wind-harp music in the full-leafed trees. Sweet echoes of aeolian harmonies Float to the hillside where at ease we rest w;mmu a fleet of soft clouds drifting Listening to melody from our ly green Blowing, flowing thru the trees Light aeolian harmonies! Half caught, yet part of idle twilight dreams The aerial music of the wind-harp themes: waving grasses, gliding follows: Mar- dunes; Strains too ethereal for human tunes, Medley of earth and sea the dusk-wind croons— 8ifting, drifting thru the trees Faint aeolian harmones! . A