Evening Star Newspaper, October 14, 1935, Page 10

"A—10 , THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition, WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY ..............October 14, 1935 — e THEODORE W. NOYES...........Editor e e TR R The Evening Star Newspaper Company. Bustness Omice: 11th St. ana Pennsylvanta Ave New York Office’ 110 East 4nd 8t. cago Office: Lake Michigar Bullding. mmfi‘ln‘ Otice: 14 Rewent St.. mn(fin. Engiand, Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Edition. - e Evening Star _45¢ per mon! enis o dsy B D hen 4 BUAdRYS) o oo e ~--60¢ Der month 85¢ per month -5¢ per copy or P eaehdor telebhone. Na: tional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. 1 1 mol. 50c 1 mo.. 40c By Sk ail s Sunday only. o 8 . boc Member of the Associated Press. ssociated Press s exclusively entitled to the e for republication of ll news dlspatches credited to it or not otherwise credited n this paper and also the local news published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. = = Borah and Roosevelt. Senator Borah's letter to Col. Theodore Roosevelt, jr., urging that the Republican party seize upon “monopoly” and make it the issue of the coming campaign will be variously interpreted. Indeed, it has already been interpreted as an invitation to the old Roosevelt following to join with Senator Borah, even to the extent of placing Col. Roosevelt on the Repub- lican national ticket along with the Idaho Senator—Borah and Roosevelt, the West and the East, and all that. In the light of the letter written in reply by Col. Roosevelt to Senator Borah, however, it would appear that the colonel, while agreeing that monopoly is a thing to be attacked, is somewhat leery about making the suggested leap. Col. Roosevelt does not, it appears, take the view of the Idaho Senator that the paramount issue in the coming campaign is monopoly. Nor does the colonel in his diplomatic reply to Mr. Borah go the length of the Idaho Senator in de- nouncing the present leadership of the party. Mr. Borah said to the colonel in his letter: “Are we so fatuous as to assume that the American people will return to power a party which submits to the leadership of men who are so notoriously tied into, or represent, these interests?” Obviously the “interests” are the monopolies of which Mr. Borah complains. Mr. Borah's denunciation of the Franklin Roosevelt Democrats, whom he charges with amending the laws so as to permit monopoly, is particularly in- teresting. There is an impression among those who have studied the situation and the implications of some of the New Deal laws that the underlying effort of the New Dealers is to bring businds together in great aggregations and that once that has been accomplished it will be the easier for Government to take over the control. The theory is that once such combinations of business have been formed, the demand that Government take control will follow. Preferably Goverpment monopolies in the interest of the “people” than that such combina- tions be permitted to exist in private hands and ownership. There is reason to believe that Mr. Borah has this very thing in mind, so far as the New Dealers are concerned. To Mr. Borah’s mind, Government monopolies are no more to be desired than private monopolies. In that he is entirely correct. The Idaho Senator, looking into the future, believes that the concentration of business, placing the handling of the necessities of life in a few hands, whether privately or publicly controlled, will be ruinous to the American people and to all the ideals for which they stand. Mr. Borah has been notoriously a friend of the “little man.” His present attack on the New Dealers in defense of the “little man” may have the effect of persuading the “little man” that the New Deal, after all, is not his friend, as the Roosevelt Democrats are so anxious to have the *“little man” believe. —— e Prof. Tugwell has a plan for whole- gale construction of homes, none of thein large enough for a pig or two in the back yard. —————— The Blue Eagle is easier to forget be- cause nobody succeeded in putting over & popular song about it. Changing Values. New devices make new values. That is & long recognized phase of the law of supply and demand. Before man took to the cultivation of the soil for the pro- duction of his food the land was of little use to him save as a basis of action and the area of the hunt for the game upon which he subsisted. When vege- tation became useful the land became valuable. There is a new demonstration of this shifting standard of utility down in the South ‘Seas, where the United States has just “colonized” or annexed three tiny islands because they are needed as possible bases in trans-Pacific American air service to Australia and New Zea- land. Little patches on the surface of the sea they are, not big enough for the cartographers to mark in the maps, save on a very large-scale presentation. But big enough to permit a seaplane to descend for fuel and perhaps repairs and to rise again to resume flight. There was a time when the sea ad- venturers of two or three centuries ago began their explorations in the great waste of waters west of South America, when all of these little bits of land were sought and examined, sometimes ex- ploited. As trade conditions developed the products of the soil and the adjacent waters had their values. The larger islands were seized in the name of this: or that monarch and colonies were cre- ated, the natives were exploited and trade was stimulated. Sometimes the | zeal of religious missioners carried them out to these tiny spots, rising above the THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. €, MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1935. surface of the great sea, to redeem the benighted dwellers from pagan darkness. History was written over there, some of it rather horrid history. Probably in the course.of the cruising about of countless ships, flying almost every flag that flutters in the name of a government, all of these islands have been “discovered,” explored and ex- ploited as far as their resources have warranted. Of late years there has been a slump in the island market. Trade conditions have changed. Cercain of the products of the South Seas have been supplanted by laboratory-made goods. Islands are veritably a drug on the market. But now comes aviation, long-range, overseas, 'round-the-world aviation, and the little islands acquire a new value. Just as stopping places. Nobody thinks of them now as possible trading posts, or plantations, or political outposts, or areas of religious exhortation. They are Just useful for the requirements of the great man-birds that are now darting across the wide waters that once defied the stoutest ships that floated on the surface. And so Uncle Sam, finding three of these tiny fragments, possibly the tips of old volcanoes, submerged for eons, that lie upon the air route to the antipodes, takes them into his posses- sion and they become valuable American territory—another demonstration of the evolution of man's terrestrial environ- ment. — Border “Incidents.” In a defense of Mussolini’s war, Baron Aloisi, 11 Duce's spokesman at Geneva, broadcasting from Rome on Sunday, said there had been “about ninety incidents” on the Eritrean-Somaliland-Ethiopian borders during the past ten years. The baron, appealing to “the well-known spirit of justice of the American people,” pleaded that the Italian Army has been compelled, “exercising our rights of self- protection,” at last to put an end to border “incidents.” Because of such a justification of Italy's African campaign, a certain omi- nous interest attaches to the latest “inci- dent” on the Soviet-Manchukuo border, with resultant bloodshed among Russian and Manchukuan = Japanese military patrols. Such “incidents” in recent times have been piling up in that embattled vicinity with alarming frequency. Moscow has called upon Tokio for prompt ex- planation of an alleged violation of Soviet territory early this month. The protest will be pressed no doubt with vigor, because several other incidents of similar character were the objects of Soviet remonstrance, only to be ignored by Japan. On the present occasion mounted Rus- sian guards claim they were attacked about two miles inside Soviet territory. Forty-eight hours later another Man- churian-Japanese patrol, Moscow asserts, crossed the frontier and opened fire on Red Army troops. Machine-gun and rifle volleys ensued, with casualties on both sides. That the affair was not accidental is said by the Russians to be proved by the fact that the “invaders” created a smoke screen for their opera- tions by setting grass afire. QGrodekovo, the scene of the hostilities, is in the Khabarovsk region, which has witnessed recurrent boundary disputes. The course of the Amur River changes frequently there, sometimes putting Russians in Manchurian territory and Manchurians within the Soviet border. Moscow has periodically proposed a Russo-Japanese Commission to adjust this chaotic and controversial situation, but without suc- cess. A syggested demilitarized zone also failed to arouse Tokjo's interest. The latest border “incident,” though one of the most serious of its kind, will probably blow over without developing into grave trouble between the two rival Far Eastern powers. Following prece- dent, Japan is expected to disavow any responsibility for it and refer Moscow’s demand for satisfaction to “independent” Manchukuo. But that ruse will not abolish the Soviet's abiding suspicion that military episodes on the Siberian border cloak Japanese militarists’ long- ing to occupy the Soviet maritime prov- inces, including Vladivostok and the Kamchatka Peninsula. The Kwantung Army, which carried out the Manchurian invasion in defiance of the civilian regime at Tokio, has been more or less quiescent since its activities in North China a few months ago. Can it be, Moscow is asking, that the Japa- nese war lords think the preoccupation of Europe, including the Soviet, in the Italo-Ethiopian conflict affords them the coveted opportunity for an aggressive move in Siberia? , ————— Responsibility for a war is always denied on the theory, perhaps, that the chariot of Mars is equipped with a self-starter. R Serio-Comedy in Ethiopia. However distressing the Italo-Ethi- opian situation may be in its present or its eventual aspects, one high light of veritably comic relief has been pre- sented for international entertainment that may become historic. That is the posture of the Italian Minister at Addis Ababa, Count Luigi Orazio Vinci-Gig- liucei. Contrary to all established usages, this somewhat undiplomatic diplomat not only failed, but refused, to quit the Ethiopian capital when a state of war between the two coun- tries began. Ordinarily, when two na- tions are in conflict, the first step taken by each is the dismissal of the repre- sentative of the other from his post. He is “handed his passport,” if he does not himself apply for it. This is both the first step toward war and the last step of peace. The Minister or Ambas- sador, as the case may be, goes of his own initiative, upon orders from home, as a signal of the final breach of rela- tions. Just what prompted the Italian Min- ister at Addis Ababa to stay there after the breach of relations and the precipi- tation of war must remain for elucida- tion. There is mention in the dispatches that he insisted upon staying in Ethi- opia until the last of his nationals, \ members of a consular caravan, were safely out of the country. They were themselves somewhat tardy in getting out, owing to the general befuddlement of the negotiations that finally broke down, the failure of which brought about a state of war. He could not conceiv- ably hasten their progress by staying at the capital. It would seem rather to have been a theatric gesture, this “stand on the burning deck” pose of Count Luigi Orazio Vinci-Gigliucci, whose “iame is rather too long to figure in heroic meter. Samething must be said for the pa- tience of the Ethiopians, who would have been quite within their rights if they had clapped the Minister in quod and thus interned him as an enemv alien when the guns began to barz on the Eritrean front. The spectacle of this obstinate representative of I1 Duce standing by in the heart of the enemy’s country and, as a last resort of precau- tion, burning the legation codes in a bonfire on the front steps of the min- istry while the Ethiopian sentries at the gates looked on with open-mouthed wonder is certainly one for the future historian to note as a strange feature of this altogether strange war. —_———————— Effort to drag Solomon and the Queen of Sheba into the Ethiopian situation is manifestly unfair. Neither is here to exercise the privilege of self-defense. As a dispenser of wisdom, Solomon has been displaced by the syndicate humor- ist. The Queen of Sheba, while hon- ored as the first lady of her land, left no household hints to immortalize her in proletarian gratitude. —_————————— In his wish to get back to the found- ers of the Republic, Senator Borah is willing to pause for a session with one of their strongest admirers, Theodore Roosevelt. In & democracy an ancestral name has its value. — e It is now feared that Solomon and Sheba figure with no greater authen- ticity in the history of Ethiopia than Romulus and Remus figure in that of Rome, —— e War correspondents in Africa are re- strained by censorship so rigid that they are denied even the social pleasure of an occasional press conference. — e Africa has not been shrewd enough to put an embargo on the ostrich feather supply and so compel indirect tribute from patrons of fan dancers. —on Communism has never made anybody prosperous or happy. Of this fact the A. F. of L is obviously aware. r————————— The League of Nations could not pre- vent a fight, but will be hailed with honor if it succeeds in stopping one. —_—e— Governments that have had kings dis- placed by dictators are now asking what comes after a dictator. —_— e The Mediterranean Sea, from Gibral- tar to Suez, is calling for new rules for safety driving among ships’ pilots, —————— ——— Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Deed. ‘We gather on a holiday A name to celebrate; Sometimes we may, the scholais say, Be wrong about the date. Yet as of heroes great we read In tales of other days, It's not the man, it is the deed, We gather round to praise We picture him with flashing eye And an undaunted air, Yet those who knew him heard him sigh Beneath his weight of care. And of himself perhaps he took By far too little heed. This is forgotten as we look ‘With honor on his deed. Amateur Nights, “Do you find satisfaction in radio?” “Not always,” said Senator Sorghum. “Radio has its amateur nights for states- manship as well as music.” Jud Tunkins says you can’t’'get some- thing for nothing. Selling nothing to somebody is the hardest high-power salesmanship there is. Dream Land Development. “T seek to make a dream come true,” An orator exclaimed anew. But who shall make a passing dream Serve as an architectural scheme? Too often will a nightmare rude Among our pleasant dreams intrude. Those who substantial progress make Think hard while keeping wide awake, Tribute. “What has become of Bronco Bob?” asked the traveling man. “He got the usual epitaph,” said Mesa Bill, “which reads, ‘He was a good sheriff while he laste Glory Missing. ‘The picture is on view of men ‘Who gather for a fray. It only offers once again A pitiful display. ‘Too often we’re compelled to sit ‘With heads in sorrow bent, And say, “This may be war, but it Is not magnificent!” “A man dat 'tends to his own busi- ness,” said Uncle Eben, “can’t avoid enemies. He's envied foh havin’ any business to ‘tend to.” ———————— Gratitude Overseas. From the Springfield (Mass.) Republican. “Optimism was expressed on the Clyde” in regard to the effects of the British government’s decision to spend $50,000,- 000 on new warships; it’s an ill hurri- cane that blows nobody good. oo Still Searching. Prom the Atlanta Journal. & A Chicago woman says she hasn’t seen h-u:mabmd un%humppedwt!u e 58 of beer years ago. he's looking for & glass of good beer. d M THE POLITICAL MILL By G. Gould Lincoln. Borah and Roosevelt as a Republican national ticket, suggested as a possibil- ity after the publication of Senator Borah’s letter to Col. Theodore Roose- velt, jr.,, asserting that the big issue in the country today is “monopoly,” has its interesting possibilities. That Col. Roose- velt has responded rather lukewarmly to the Borah letter does not entirely do away with the idea. Such a ticket would have its appeal to many persons. Whether it makes an appeal to Col. Roosevelt is another matter. * ok k% In the light of the views of Senator Borah, sometimes expressed, on the currency question, and his dabbling with the Townsend old-age pension plan, there is grave doubt that Col. Roosevelt would be willing to become a running mate of the Idaho Senator, even if the plan is seriously put forward. Senator Borah has been at various times for currency expansion—which is another way of saying currency inflation. While he did not commit himself to the Town- send old-age pension plan, with its $200- a-month payments to every man and woman in the country 60 years of age and over, he did introduce Dr. Town- send to an audience in Idaho not so long ago and speak sympathetically of the pension plan. And whether Sen- ator Borah likes it or not, it appears that the Townsendites have taken him to their bosom and regard him as their champion. This may be good politics in Idaho, where the Senator comes up for re-election to the Senate next year, but it will not be so willingly accepted in other parts of the country. * ok ok % It is nothing new for Senator Borah to rail at the leadership of the Repub- lican party as it now stands, as he did in his letter to Col. Roosevelt, asserting that it is tied in with the “interests.” If he should become the party's presidential nominee, however, it would be interesting to see just how far the Republican or- ganization was changed. How many of the present leaders would Mr. Borah go along with and how long? It is his firm conviction that many of the men who have been the backbone of the party organization in many of the States, par- ticularly in the East, must fade out of the picture if the Republican party is to live. On the other hand, who are to take the places of these old, recognized leaders? It is a tough nut to crack. Also it is easy to see that these organization leaders, who probably will have a good deal to say about the make-up of the State delegations to the Republican na- tional convention, would scarcely wel- come the nomination of Mr. Borah for President. In fact, they will do their utmost to defeat him. * X x % The Idaho Senator himself has no particular illusions about his chances in a Republican national convention. He realizes the difficulties that confront him. When his attention has been called to the opposition on the part of people in the East to his demands for currency inflation, he has made it clear that he understands this may defeat him for the nomination, even if he becomes a can- didate. Senator Borah must decide at some time before very long whether he is to be a candidate to succeed himself for the Senate or whether he is to make a bid for the presidential nomination. He might, it is true, do both. The nomi- nating primaries in Idaho take place on August 11, 1936. Mr. Borah would, of course, have to announce his determina- tion to be a candidate for the Senate some time before that date. Vice Presi- dent Garner, however, it will be recalled, got himself nominated for his old seat in the House of Representatives at the time he was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 1932. So it is possible for Mr. Borah to make the bid for the presidential nomination and at the same time to hold on to the senatorial possibility. There is always the danger, of course, that he might weaken his chances in Idaho if he made a flop of the fight for a presidential nomination. The Idaho law says that a candidate for office must declare himself not less than 30 days before the primary. He may file as much as 60 days prior to the primary. * x % x Gov. Hoffman of New Jersey, whose friends have been anxious to toss his hat in the ring when opportunity arises for the Republican presidential nomina- tion, is sticking to his proposal that the Republican party sponsor in its coming national platform an amendment to the Constitution which would have the Su- preme Court of the United States pass upon the constitutionality of laws en- acted by Congress before those laws be- come effective. The youthful Governor of New Jersey has had an avalanche of criticism because of his proposal. In his enthusiasm he seems to have spoken out of turn. The country is not likely to back up the amendment he proposes, for the simple reason that it would throw the present arrangement out of balance. He insists that if the amend- ment were adopted it would not make the Supreme Court past of the legis- lative machinery of Government. It is true that the language of the amend- ment would not so state. But the con- ion that the court would become so inVolved is unescapable. It looks as though Gov. Hoffman had spoken out of turn. * k k% The American Federation of Labor, now meeting in Atlantic City, is to be called upon to decide whether it shall back a constitutional amendment which would permit Congress to pass laws limiting hours of labor, provide for minimum wages, etc. In effect, the pro- posal is to amend the Constitution so as to make the Roosevelt New Deal laws constitutional, particularly the N. R. A, and even to go further. If the federa- tion goes on récord in favor of such an amendment, will it give the Roosevelt Democrats courage to come forward with a definite plan for a constitutional amendment? The President and his fol- lowers have up to date shied away from the idea of definite amendment to con- _stitutionalize the New Deal as a cam- paign issue. It is a fact, however, that if the Supreme Court turns down the A. A. A, the Guffey coal act, the T. V. A. and several of the other New Deal laws, as it did the N. R. A, the Roosevelt Democrats may be forced to come for- ward with some plan for a constitu- tional amendment, or else admit that the New Deal laws have gone into the discard. The support of the American Federation of Labor for such an amend- ment at this time might have a consid- erable effect, and certainly if the court declares these laws unconstitutional. ———————— Excessive. From the Springfield (Mo.) Leader-Press. Surgeon extracts bolt, nut and washer from brain of Michigan man. A per- son, it seems, can be too mechanical- minded. ———— Reduction by Attraction, Prom the Ann Arbor Daily News. Recent naval reduction conferences THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Often skepticism is deplored, but a little of it in everyday life is a good thing. It holds the balance true, especially ‘when people insist on telling you about personal matters. A discount of at least 50 per cent, when' se)!-laudation is concerned, is no bad thing. If one is inclined to suspend judg- ment, as well as given to questioning the truth of facts and the soundness of inferences, he will be in a better position to see life in a good-humored way. This is the good humor of the great average man, and woman, too, for that matter. It seems to us that there is positively more of this to be met in Wi now than for many years past. We leave to others the explanation, and maybe some may be skeptical, but it seems to'some observers that there is more inclination on the part of every one to be in a good humor. It may be nothing more than the advent here of many persons from all over the country. Some of them are homesick, with that nostalgia which overtakes at times both the sentimental and those who fondly believe them- selves very “hard-boiled.” *x ok x A little honest skepticism, in the ordi- nary sense of the word, not its old spe- cial sense, will go a long way to giving even the most dour person a good- humored outlook. When old Bill Smith comes up and tells us that he has just received a $2,000-a-year increase in salary, let us congratulate him instantly and heartily —and mentally cut it to $1,000, which is probably much nearer to the truth. This would make even a saint feel better about it, if the saint had received no increase at all; at the same time it would no doubt be much nearer the truth. Say what one will about truth, it has its heartening side, after the first blow. There are two kinds of truth—the truth we like to hear, and the truth we don't! Sometimes there is a dull, sickening thump in the latter, at first, but afterward it is salutary. There is a tonic effect to truth, the first or the second sort, it makes no difference, but often some time must elapse before it is discovered in the latter. * k% x Must we think that all the grouches going around the world are sick people? No, many of them are just men and women who have not been able to bear up under disappointing personal truths. To find out, in middle age, that one is not a genius, after all— Isn't that sickening? To realize that many other persons, who are no more geniuses, nevertheless are much, much cleverer, especially at personal gain for themselves— That is rather upsetting, too, at times. Such things, without a doubt, manage to make their presence felt with many a person who never would admit it, or even suspect it. The best, the surest, way to to ease the shock of truths that hurt is to dis- count them, with the full assurance that more often than not a much closer aproximation of the truth is arrived at. ' It is, in the general affairs of life, truth slone which has the tonic quality of salt spray. Its power is felt by all per- sons, truthful or untruthful. The former may shrink, but the latter always fiee, from the unadorned truth. Life is mostly a battle betveen truth and un- truth, in large affairs as well as small. If we could know the real truth the unodubted truth, in all we do and say and think and believe, we would have answered Wordsworth’s riddle of life. “If 1 could know what even a simple flower is,” he said, in effect, “I could know what man and God is.” The fact seems to be, as well as one may know any fact, that truth is hard to get at and even the wisest is not sure he has found it even when he has. For everything deduced there may be an- other deduction, and who is to judge? Fortunate is he who says to himself, “Why, I am the judge, of course!” *xx % The skeptic in the affairs of everyday life is not so, but is forever wondering if he is right or whether sume one else may not be right. He salts the everyday with doubt, be- cause he is an honest man and recog- nizes the seven times seven veils in which truth hides herself. The net practical result is that he is fair with every one. He is good humored, because he takes life seriously, but not too seriously. He has a ready smile for his own foibles, first of all, and then for those of others, especially when they involve controversy. Whether he is a leader is extremely doubtful—but, then, how many men are leaders, after all? Followers constitute the bulk of hu- manity. The leader may take himself oh, 50 seriously, else he would not be & leader, but the follower may be for- given for taking both himself as follower and the leader as a leader with grains of salt. * ok % Often the twisted smile ‘of the skeptic is one of life’s treasured possessions. Most of us know at least one person who becomes, in memory, nothing more than such a smile. It usually is & grin almost in its impish quality, based on a sure understanding of humanity. The sure thing, however, about this beloved smile, which each one of us knows, is that it conceals love of all of us. Conceals? Nay, reveals, as surely as the sun re- veals the divine eternity. * x % x The skeptic in the everyday plays a humble but a noble part, because he takes the things of ordinary life and transmutes them into something lovely. He may be a rough, pipe-smoking male to the outward eye, but to the under- standing heart he is something else again. His trousers may be baggy, his coat not quite fit, his face may need a shave. At the bottom of his heart, however, he is right in the best sense. He knows the heartaches of disap- pointed ambition, the dull pain of mark- ing time while others seem to go ahead. rie is—dare we name him—Mr. Aver- age Man, sometimes called, though rather foolishly, the Man-in-the-Street, and if he doesn't watch out an auto- mobile will get him, after all! WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. Confidence prevails in Washington that American business, in a high- minded sense of patriotism, is going to respond whole-heartedly to Secretary | Hull's appeal to refrain from dealings with Italy and Ethiopia. There may be chiseling transactions by venture- some traders craving to make hay while the sun shines, mindless-of the perils which the Government is bent upon averting, but it is expected that such activities will be both isolated and incon- sequential. Recent statements by the Italian commercial attache in New York, pointing out “the more secure foothold in the Italian market” which awaits American trade because of Mussolini’s inability to buy from League countries, suggest that Il Duce thinks our export- ers are ready to grab orders and suc- cumb to the lure of high profits at whatever risk to national interests. Washington authorities are convinced that this seductive appeal will fall flat as far as the really important American busiress and financial world is con- cerned. Would-be traders are at any rate on notice that while they are at liberty to sell goods, they may at the same time buy trouble, because of Uncle Sam’s refusal to give protection to their transactions. Public opinion would frown on such business—an additional reason why it is not likely to be attempted on any appreciable scale. * Xk X % Probably the administration rejoices that Congress is not in session. If House and Senate were on the job it's dollars to doughnuts that from some quarter, either isolationist or interna- tionalist, the Roosevelt-Hull program for keeping us out of war would come under fire. Alleged abandonment of “freedom of the seas” is the issue which would most probably call forth brickbats. Spokesmen of the cotton-growing South, the grain-growing, cattle-raising West and the oil and copper regions might be tempted to raise their voices against a policy which discourages, though it does not actually forbid, dealings in American commodities likely before long to command peak prices. It must be the President's fervent hope, apart from other reasons, that grim-visaged war will have smoothed his wrinkled front long before Congress returns in January, with the undesirable possibility of discussion of a program which so far has met with practically unqualified popular approval. As the neutrality act expires at the end of February, it will come up for recon- sideration in the regular order before the session is very old. * ok x X : Current events indicate that thé Re- publicans are veering away from the constitutional issue and featuring the New Deal spending orgy as their best bet for 1936, Mr. Hoover's sledge-ham= mer attack on the Roosevelt fiscal poli= cies has been followed by similar on- slaughts from the Republican National Committee and the Republican Congres- sional Committee. G. O. P. strategists seem to have reached the conclusion that American voters respond most ef- fectively to appeals to the pocket nerve. Many an election in the past has been fought and won on that issue. It begins to look as if the elephant were going to paraphrase an old-time campaign slogan and go to the country with the battle cry of “Turn the spendthrifts out!” * ok x x Statistical agencies in Washington are flooded with™ requests for commodity price data in the period following the outbreak of the World War. The rec- ord shows that after the initial flurry, which depressed nearly all prices, com- modities rose rapidly until our entry inte the fray in 1917. So many price controls then were put into effect that the curve iy flattened, but when restrictions were re- moved after the armistice the advance continued until the price break of 1920. Although nothing so spectacular is ex- pected to follow the outbreak of war in Africa, economists think the general price tendency will be the same. It is expected, in other words, that the trend of commodity and stock prices from now on wiil be upward. * x * % Col. Louis McHenry Howe, secretary to President Roosevelt, is still conva- lescent in the Naval Hospital at Wash- "ington, but apparently definitely on the road back to old-time vigor. At any rate, pending return to his living quar- ters in the White House, which are still undergoing renovation, the canny coun- selor, who has been at Mr. Roosevelt's elbow continuously for 25 years, is well enough to take a hand again in the game of politics which he plays so as- tutely and give public expression to his views in an authorized interview. Throughout his long and gallant fight for recovery Col. Howe has kept in touch with national events and developments, reading voraciously and occasionally seeing friends, with the result that he is up to the minute on what's what and who's who. Democratic leaders will re- joice when Howe is in harness again. Some of them think that certain admin- istration missteps might have been avoided during the past six or seven months if the shrewd and sagacious lit- tle colonel had been at his old post of advisory duty. o ok x When Senator Vandenberg of Michi- gan returns from his European trip this month, some of his friends are ready to tell him that, as things are now shap- ing, he should be in highly strategic position at the Republican National Convention next year. They think he is destined, like Warren G. Harding in 1920, to be the senatorial dark horse in the situation and logical heir to a com- promise nomination. Some such cal- culations may explain why there has been no organized Vandenberg move- ment comparable to the activities on behalf of ‘Gov. Landon of Kansas and Col. Knox of Illinois. From a conven- tion deadlocked among, say, Landon, Knox, Borah and three or four other favorite sons, the man from Michigan might loom as the inevitable choice, just as Harding did in consequence of the Lowen-Wood-Johnson contest at Chi- cago 15 years ago. Vandenberg is be- lieved to stand well with Hoover, who is sure to be at least an influence in the convention. Borah is partial to his ‘Wolverine colleague, too. * % * x ‘There are many indications that the United States is getting better and more impartial news from the African War than any other country in the world. ‘The volume and interpretative nature of dispatches from Geneva and the Euro- pean capitals in our papers are also be- of superior quality. ‘gunr Davis breed is x‘mt extinct. * % % W. P. A’s theater project is to be inaugurated about November 1, it is announced in New York. Thousands of unemployed actors, stage workers and others, now mostly on relief rolls, will be placed in “dignified, professional . Elmer Rice, playwright, is in charge of the histrionic branch of the 2 (Copyright. 1935.) ———— O —— Immune, Prom the Indianapolis News. Massachuseits has passed & noise- shatement law, but it does not affect political orators, r. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS By Frederic ], 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. Of what churches are the Little Church of Flowers and the Wee Kirx o' the Heather in Glendale, Calif., copies?— D. D. A. The Little Church of Flowers is in the style of the village church of Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, England. The Wee Kirk o' the Heather is a faithful copy of the Scotch kirk where Annie Laurie worshiped. Q Who votes for a Congressman at large?—E. 8. A. All voters in the State. Q. How does the density of popula= tion in China compare with that of the United States?—G. O. F. A. China has a population density of 1125 per square mile. That of the United States is 41.3 per square mile. Q. Who was Etienne Bezout?—H. M. A. He was one of the foremost French mathematicians of his time (1730-83), whose chief work was the Theorie Gen- erale des Equations Algebriques. He also wrote widely adopted text books in mathematics. Q. Please describe the statue of Mus- solini which Rome is building.—W. F. A. The statue of Mussolini will be of bronze, 213 feet high, and the artist is Bellini. It will stand above the Forum of Mussolini on Monte Mario. The figure of Il Duce is swathed in lion’s skin and the 80-foot arm is raised in Fascist salute. Q. What is the highest peak in the Green Mountains?—W. C. K. A. Mount Mansfield, with an altitude of 4,364 feet. Q. How old is the expression, “dog Latin?"—J. J. D. A. It dates from about 1770, when the phrase was used by Lord Hailies in his “Ancient Scottish Poems.” Q. When was Lloyd's News first pub- lished?>—E. R. A. The first issue appeared in 1696. Q. What caused the infestation of rodents which raised havoc in the vicin- ity of Bakersfield, Calif, a few years ago?—J. W. B. A. The cause of the rodent plague in the vicinity of Bakersfield, Calif., was that because of weather conditions Kern Lake had become dry, and the bed was used for agricultural purposes. Further weather conditions ruined the crops being grown on the lake bed, and they were left to spoil. This unusual food supply caused a rapid and tremendous increase in the rodent population of the region, which included house mice and several species of field mice. Q. Is the first Chickering piano still in existence?—J. R. H. A. It is in the Henry Ford Museum at Dearborn, Mich. Q. Are postal receipts increasing or decreasing?—B. W. A. Steadily rising postal receipts as a reliable barometer of business conditions were termed evidence of prosperity” James A, Farley in an address prepared for delivery before the National Associa- tion of Postmasters. The Postmaster General said postal income had in- creased from $588,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June, 1932, to $630,000,000 for the past fiscal year, despite the reduction in rates for local postage, which resulted in a loss of income of $21,000,000 a year. Revenues for July and August showed an increase over a year ago of more than 8 per cent. In the 12 largest cities revenue from September 1 to 15 shows an increase of more than 10 per cent. Q. From what kind of plant does henna come?—A. R. A. Henna is an ornamental shrub or small tree, Lawsonia inermis, a native of Africa and Asia. It bears fragrant flowers ranging from white to red. In California, Florida and England it is cultivated for ornament and is called Egyptian privet. The dye is obtained from the leaves. Q. Who founded the Camp Fire Girls>—M. C. A. The organization was founded in 1911 by Dr. and Mrs. L. H. Gulick and others. It was incorporated in 1912. Q. Why was an early political faction in the United States called Coodies?— P. 8. A. Coodies were New York Federalists who favored the War of 1812. The name was derived from the pseudonym, Abi« malech Coody, which was adopted by Gulian C. Verplanck, the leader of the faction, in his communications to the press. Q. When did Thomas Cook, the tour- ist pioneer, live?—W. W. A. He was born in Melbourne, Derby- shire, England, in 1808, and died in 1892, The first trips were in 1841, between Leicester and Loughborough, on the Midland Railway. . Q. What was the name of the King of Britain who was King Arthurs grandfather?—R. A. A. In the old romances his name was given as Constans. PQ}.‘Why is Pick’s disease 50 called?— 'A. The disease was named after Friedel Pick, a Prague physician wha died in 1926. $ A Rhyme at Twilight B, Gertrude Bm:ka Hamilton The Dignitary He might have preferred a simpler post Than his exalted rank; In his sky-blue eyes a twinkle shone For pomp and stately swank. His explanation for dignity, For astute campaign and victory, Was voiced with somewhat rueful glee: “I had to ascend—Milly made me.” He might have enjoyed smart seasoning, Champagne poured on his ham; His roseate skin attested to Of noted muffler of white lamb fleece, Of snowy linen, no spots of grease: 2 “Milly makes me—she does not cease.” He might have gone in for merriment; But his season’s social plan,