Evening Star Newspaper, November 28, 1935, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition, WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY ......... November 28, 1935 THEODORE W. NOYES.. . .Editor Trey shaboimeald Sbslamadils @R G a TSI, The Evening Star Newspaper Company. Bustness Office: s %and Pennsyivania Ave mNN o e ke Michigan Buiiaing. Furcoman Smer G4 Hexent St. London. Eagiand. Rate by Carrier Within the City. 45¢ per month 60c per month 65c per month 5¢ per copy ight Pinal a c per month et Fimad "B 5¢ per month Collection ma “the each month, Orders may be sent by ‘mail of telephone Na- tional 5000. Rate by Mlll—h_vable in Advance, : 1 mo., Rbe 0; 1 mo. ble 1 mo.. 40¢ Member of the Assoclated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for repubiication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local news published herein. fi’ rights of publication of special dispatches erein are also reserved Thanksgiving. With the whole world rife with war and woe, it may be wondered whether or not any living soul has cause for thanksgiving. But a moment’s reflec- tion prompts the thought that, despite the universal currency of trouble, there still is much for which men, women and little children should be grateful. Especially in America, cause for na- tional rejoicing abounds. Perhaps no- where else in all the earth are indi- viduals so free. By grace of the genius and foresight of the founders of the Re- public the institutions of organized lib- erty which they established nearly a cen- tury and a half ago still stand. Thus it happens that no hereditary despot rules the United States, no aristocracy of vest- ed privilege 1etards the march of prog- ress in the land symbolized by the Stars and Stripes. Also, because of the same endowment of socialized independence, no presumptuous dictator commands the masses hither and yon in obedience to temperamental whim. The rest of the planet may be plagued and tortured by tyrants, but democracy continues to pre- vail among the spiritual descendants of George Washington and Abraham Lin- coln. Let there be no mistake about it, the American people are in debt to God for the right which they possess to govern themselves! No student of the history of Western civilization can fail to see the Divine hand in the text of the Declaration and the Constitution. Only agents inspired by providential idealism and sanity could have produced those noble charters of emancipation. Such truths are not begotten of accident or compromise. On the contrary, they are the fruits of character. They come into being by processes of pain and sacrifice; they survive through the attraction which they have for millions gifted with the wit to appreciate and serve them. And in the combination of self-control and responsibility may be found Ameri- ca’s strength to rise above the universal turmoil of the present and to win the unguessed triumphs of the future. The struggle, certainly, may be hard; the burden heavy, but the goal must be worthy of the striving. Surely the Al- mighty Father of Mankind is not sar- donically experimenting. Rather, He is teaching His new Western race the les- sons of experience without which they would blunder and fail. Let the path be long, then; let it be however steep. Zion, the city of brotherhood and love, rises at the end of the road. For the privilege of living and striv- ing, if for nothing else, the Nation today should be grateful. In an era of war it has peace, and in an era of poverty it has relative prosperity. But most im- portant of all, it has freedom to decide its own destiny and obligation to choose the good, the true and the humane part. e The illness of the former German Kaiser is mentioned with the respect due to the declining years of a gentle- man who has retired from business, The Nation's Capital is trying to be patient with the abundance of homicide clues that naturally accumulate in the development of a metropolis. For the moment the big political guess- ing relates less to the nomination than to what town will get the convention. R Another “Franc Crisis.” French politics and politicians being what they are, it is difficult to determine the true inwardness of the latest parliamentary crisis. Throughout the years of depression and world-wide monetary dislocation hard-pressed pre- miers have periodically taken refuge in the ery of “Save the franc!” Generally it was their government’s skin rather than the franc that they were bent on saving, but the distress signal served its purpose and the threatened fresh devalu- ation of the national currency unit was averted. Today, facing a newly returned Par- Hament after an interval of five months, Premier Laval confronts a situation peril- ous to the existence of his cabinet. He has staked his government’s continuance on maintenance of the “gold franc” and on adherence to the program of rigid retrenchment which he has been pur- suing. Late accounts foreshadow that mainly with the support of M. Herriot’s Radical Socialists Laval will obtain the vote of confidence in the Chamber neces- sary for his retention of power. The premier seeks approval not only of hun- dreds of internal decrees designed to cut government expenses and bring down prices, but also to balance the budget, 80 as to defend the franc against devalu- ation and arrest the disastrous flow of gold abroad. In addition, M. Laval de- sires support of his policy in the Italo- Ethiopian conflict and of the recently concluded Franco-Soviet pact. The premier has made a fervent ap- peal to the nation to stand by him on the A currency issue, and paintell a dark pic- ture of “catastrophic possibilities” if the franc is not “saved,” but two other con- siderations weigh heavily in M. Laval's mind, neither of them connected with monetary matters. One is the internal menace constituted by the Fascist vet- erans’ organization known as the Cross of Fire. The premier’s supporters de- mand the vigorous suppression of these forces, captained by the militant Colonel de ia Rocgue, contending that he aims at the overthrow of the Republic and es- tablishment of a dictatorship. M. Laval pas pledged that if he retains office and his program to sustain the franc is safe- guarded he will forthwith consider meas- ures to curb the Cross of Fire, The other factor perturbing the pre- mier is the delicate international position in which France finds herself. She has formally identified herself with League sanctions against Italy, and, under Brit- ish pressure, has just agreed to discuss ex- tension of them so as include oil, cotton, steel and other “essential war materials.” But it is notorious that M. Laval has re- luctantly accepted aggressive British leadership in Geneva's anti-Italian policy, and is particularly hesitant to join in the more drastic economic penalties now proposed. Frénch doubts and fears in this con- nection will not be mitigated by the an- nouncement that Mussolini has ordered new and mysterious military moves with a view to European complications that might be caused by an oil embargo. With the German peril almost uppermost in the French mind, virtually to the ex- clusion of all other considerations, M. Laval does not contemplate without anxiety the possibility of alienating Italy and driving Il Duce into Hitler's waiting arms. e An Envoy in Irons. A case of duplex immunity has arisen at Elkton, Md., where the Minister to the United States from Iran, formerly known as Persia, has just had an en- counter with the law in the person of a town constable through the undue haste of his chauffeur. By virtue of his status as the representative of* & foreign government the envoy is immune from arrest, and by virtue of his strictly local office the town constable is immune from Federal jurisdiction, which alone governs in the event of a trespass upon the diplomatic prerogative of immunity. The whole case is a complex, out of which nothing serious is likely to reslt, how- ever embarrassing it may be to the envoy. Diplomatic immunity does not warrant the violation of the laws of the land to which a foreign representative may be sent. And this comprises the laws and the regulations of the subordinate and semi-independent communities that con- stitute the United States. The very privilege of immunity from arrest and direct penalty involves the obligation of a scrupulous regard for those laws and regulations, thus becoming a higher law of compliance incident to the diplomatic status. - . In the Elkton case it appears that the envoy's chauffeur was driving at a high rate of speed, owing to the urgency of the errand. Technically, under the rules, he was the offender. Immunity did not apply to him. Yet his detention involved that of the envoy, who was immune. Inci- dentally there occurred an ebullition of temperament which resulted in the actual arrest of the envoy, with mention in the descriptive dispatches of the use of hand- cuffs. It may be doubted if ever before in tje history of American diplomatic relations has a foreign envoy been hand- cuffed. Naturally, the Iranian govern= ment may be disposed to demand an apology for this trespass upon the diplo- matic prerogative of immunity, and this Government would in such event be re- quired to express its deep regret that a local constable should have so far violated the immunity of the envoy as to use “irons,” however rudely the envoy may have resented the interruption of his Journey, ‘Washington has suffered severely in the past through the fast-driving ten- dencies of representatives of the foreign governments, chiefly the minor members of the embassies and legations. It has had no remedy other than polite repre- sentations that such conduct on the part of official guests of the Government is not suitable, which have invariably re- sulted in corrective action by the prin- cipals, the governments whose repre= sentatives, major or minory have been at fault. Elkton can make no direct repre= sentations to Teheran and will probably make no representations to Washington. But the incident of the speeding car and the concurrent incident of the hand- cuffed enwvoy will in ajl likelihood never be repeated, there or elsewhere, at least not for a long time to come. When Japan goes a-visiting in China the local populace is worried because of the amount of military ceremonial in evidence, A Ship Finding Herself, Memory of Rudyard Kipling’s short story, “The Ship That Found Herself,” is revived by the announcement that one of the great trans-Atlantic liners that had to be withdrawn from service because of excessive vibration in the structure has been placed under treatment for this affliction with such prospect of success that it is expected she will resume her sailings in the Spring. She was recently taken for a four-day run in European waters, during vghlch engineering experts conducted tests to find a means of syn- chronizing her huge propellers, which will mean the elimination of the tremors. Kipling’s craft M.l case of jitters on her maiden voyage. Every part of her jarred on every other part. There was a complete lack of co-ordination. Each section of the structure and the mechan- ism had it§ own vibration, it own way of working. Finally a degree of common sense caused these jarring factors to get together in teamwork and then the ship “found herself” and everything was smooth and placid and efficient. In that tale the moral was, of course, obvious. In a composite structure or or- ganization there must be co-ordination. Each separate unit must be subordinate to the law of unifled action. It applies to soclety as well as to & mechanism. In nature the crystal is the perfect ex- ample of unity and efficiency. A well- planned and ordered structure is stronger and more efficient than one that is strong only in its several parts or elements. This giant steamship was out of tune. There was too much power somewhere, & lack of perfect timing between vibra- tions. The ship’s “chord” was not quite true, with a discordant overtone that set up & protest throughout the metallic organism. If now the four giant wheels that churn the water and drive the ship can be brought to a perfect unison of ac- tion and their joint vibration coincides with that of the ship’s structure, all will be well. The case illustrated the fact that there is more in the magnification of seagoing units than the mere enlarge- ment of scale, oo Christmas Seals. Th campaign against tuberculosis is meeting with success. Such is the verdict of physicians and of statisticians whosé businss it is to study mortality rates. But the battle is not yet won. Rather, it is indicated that, because of widespread poverty resulting from the depression, some of the gains of recent years may be lost. The white plague always has been a poor man’s disease. It has a definite relation to economic stress, When times are hard it prospers. Its allies aregtension, under-nourishment and decreased resistance, overcrowding, tardy recourse to medical help and inade- quate nursing care. In brief, it takes advantage of conditions which lower social and individual standards of life. So it well may happen that there will be a rise in the tuberculosis death rate this Winter. Also, it is not unlikely that the disease will manifest itself in renewed virulence later on. There is reason to suppose that it is making un- disclosed inroads on the Nation's health right now—attacks which will be obvious enough in their effects a decade hence. But the danger should not discourage any one. On the contrary, it can be met with optimistic confidence. The little Christmas seals annually distributed by the National Tuberculosis Association and its two thousand affiliated societies provide a means for continuing the campaign. At a penny each, they bring the money required for the war against the scourge. This season it is hoped that they may be especially popular. Perhaps never before has there been greater need for their sale. e Literary style has its admirers. The United States Constitution has never been attacked with the forceful and con- vincing expression that distinguishes its original supporters, e Societies, guilds and other forms of association multiply. Perhaps one of the, modern forces to be considered is the general rush of people to become joiners. — e A press conference permits so many things to be said off the record that an occasional squid may be suspected of throwing sepia in the goldfish bowl. PR R e Rulings by Mr. McCarl might be simpli- fied by printing the oath of allegiance just above the space where a pay check is indorsed. - A new deal is scrutinized to ascertain whether an Undersecretary has been slipped into the deck as a joker. — e ‘The A. P. of L. has become another set of initials that has problems of its own. A greater problem than managed cur- rency is that of managed oratory. TR Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Holiday Petition. A slight request of Santa Claus Is all that I am making To bring contentment when I pause To give the tree a shaking. As crop production we renew In conscientious wonder, Let snow be all that comes to view That needs to be plowed under. Bring oranges just as of yore And do not coldly flout us. But think a little while before You scatter bombs about us. Unworking. “Are you afraid of a general strike?” “Not among those who actually toil,” said Senator Sorghum. “What I am most afraid of is a number of theories that positively refuse to work.” Jud Tunkins says everybody makes mistakes, but the big mistake is to be proud of them. Starting All Over. Of evolution there is need, And yet we feel misgiving. For a new start must we recede From modern modes of living? ‘With words profound we play around ‘With elephants and donkeys, Yet for a starter are we bound Of ourselves to make monkeys? Winning a Welcome. “What did your wife say when you came home late from the night club?” “I wore a mask and carried a dark lantern,” said Mr, Meekton. *“You can’t imagine how glad she was to see me when she found I wasn't a burglar.” Neo Shooting. It is bad iuck to shoot a duck, For game is well protected. The volume of our garden truck In part must be rejected. Humanity looks here and there, And, with & show of reason, Requests the gunners to prepare ‘To give us a closed season. “Thanksgivin’,” sald Uncle Eben, “is one occasion dat everybody kin celebrate wifout argument whatever.” . THE POLITICAL MILL By G. Gould Lincoln, When Congress reassembles in Janu- ary the question of neutrality legislation will come tq the fore again. The resolu- tion, now a law, which was adopted just before the last session adjourned, does not, in the opinion of some of the legis- lators, go far enough. Take, for example, Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg of Mich- igan, who has been a foremost advocate of neutrality as well as of the proposal to take the profit out of war. Senator ‘Vandenberg has recently expressed quite forcibly his ideas with regard to American neutrality and the course which should be followed to keep the United States out of any European conflict. He de- scribed what must be done when Con- gress settles down to deal with a “perma- nent” neutrality law. He said: “First. It is not enough merely to warn Americans that they travel on belligerent ships ‘at their own risk.” They should be prohibited from any such travel at all— except when no other ships are available when seeking to leave war zones for home, It is impossible, in practice, for them to travel ‘at their own risk.’ They cannot actually shed their citizenship. It is indefeasible. The outraged emotions .of their fellow citizens, in the event of ‘major calamity, will not stop to assess the niceties of a presidential proclama- tion which warned them of their tem- porary expatriation. As a matter of fact, they are not expatriated. Nor should they be. But they should be told, by force of law, that they have no business needlessly risking their country’s peace by needlessly risking their own necks. “Second. All loans or credits to actual belligerents should be prohibited—be- cause money is the most dangerous, the most powerful and the most unneutral of all contraband. This, it seems to me, is an axiom. But fortunately it is an academic axiom at the moment because the Johnson act prohibits loans to de- faulting nations at any time; and, un- fortunately, practically all major powers are defaulters to us at present. We not only get into trouble with these foreign loans; in addition we do not get our money back. It is not only bad ‘neu- trality,” it is bad business. So far as I am concerned, we have had enough. “Third. The final question, frankly less clear than the rest, involves general trade with a belligerent—trade other than direct ‘arms, ammunition and imple- ments of war.! My own view at the mo- ment—subject to revision in the light of larger exploration of the matter—is that this remainder of trade with a bel- ligerent might well be on a ‘cash-and- carry’ basis. In other words, it could pro- ceed at the buyer’s risk rather than our own. “The whole purpose of the new formula must be to make neutrality mean what it pretends to say. The whole trend, as I see it, involves no surrender of sover- eignty or honor; only the surrender of equivocal privileges which are calculated actually to be anti-neutral in net re- sults.” * x x * Just what the Michigan Senator means by a “cash and carry” basis for American trade with warring nations is not quite clear. It seems to mean, however, that American merchants are to have the cash in their hands before they ship goods to the belligerents. This at least would asure payment, and not make it necessary for the American traders to seek Government aid later to collect money owed them. The idea of the Michigan Senator is to have American producers and business men generally abstain from making profits out of selling goods to warring nations when by selling these goods America might be drawn into the war— as it was in the World War. The picture of what happened in the years 1914-1917, before this country was involved in the struggle, as painted by Senator Vanden- berg is not pretty. But in those days it was considered that America was living up to its rights by its insistence upon trading with belligerent nations. Eventu- ally that is what drew the country into the war—although there was. of course, a great deal of sentiment in this country in favor of the allied cause. ok ox What Vandenberg terms the old idea of neutrality was put forward promptly by the State Department in August, 1914. A circular issued said: “The existence of war between foreign governments does not suspend trade or commerce between this country and those at war—except as this rule be modified in respect to ac- knowledzed contraband.” This, said Senator Vandenberg, was not only the let!er of international law, but was also “an exceedingly useful philosophy for our cash registers.” In October of 1914 the State Depart- ment issued a further circular, which said in part: “A citizen of the United States can sell to a belligerent government or its agent any article of commerce he pleases. * * * A neutral government is not compelled to prevent these sales to a belligerent. * * ¢ Contraband articles are subject to enemy seizure; but it is the enemy's duty to prevent the articles reaching their desti- nation, not the duty of the nation whose citizens have sold them. If this enemy of the purchasing nation happens for the time to be unable to do this, that is for him one of the misfortunes of war.” * *x * x Secretary of State Bryan in 1914 de- clared that “money is the worst of all contraband, since it commands every- thing else.” The department asserted at the outset of the war: “Loans by American bankers to any foreign nation which is at war are inconsistent with the true spirit of neutrality.” But war trade was in the air, and before long there was discrimination between loans of money and loans of bank credit. In 1915 Lansing was Secretary of State, and he wrote: “Can we afford to let a declaration as to our conception of ‘the true spirit of neu- trality’ made in the first days of the war stand in the way of our national interests, which seem to be seriously threatened? My opinion is that we ought to allow the loans to be made for our own good.” President Wilson acquiesced, and a month later the first bl‘ loan to allies was made, $500,000,000 to English and the French. Nothing like thatxcan ever happen again, if Senator Vandenberg’s idea of neutral- ity shall be adopted. x ok X ¥ ©Out in Fort Wayne, Ind., the Repub- licans are planning a new kind of political conference for December 5. Dan C. Flanagan, chairman of the conference, has invited a number of the men prominently mentioned for the G. O. P. presidential nomination to come to the meeting, among them Senator Borah of Idaho, Gov. Landon of Kansas, Senator Vandenberg of Michigan, Col. Frank Knox of Illinois, former President Hoover, Senator Dickinson of Iowa and Representative Hamilion Pish of New York. After taking a fling at the costly administrations of President Roosevelt and of Gov. McNutt of Indiana, Flanagan said that Fort Wayne’s budget had been cut $512,000 since the beginning of the depression. What is needed, he con- tended, is to put business into politics, start early and organize from the ground roots up, so as to have the most repre- sentative and the molt able organization. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. “Oh, boy, look at all these seeds, and I don’t have to fly all over Montgomery County to find them.” So said the song sparrow, as he alighted on the new feeder on the south side of & locust tree. If he didn't say exactly those words we feel sure he should, and would, if he could have talked. Being a true sparrow, he rhanaged to get the lion’s share that first day, in com- petition with juncos, nuthatches, cardi- nals and bluejays. It was an interesting experiment for the householder, as well as for his feathered wild friends. He had never put up a bird feeder be- fore. No doubt there are vastly more garden- ers who have not done this than have. Many take the attitude that the starlings ‘will get all the food anyway, in the long run, so why feed them? * X * % For the present there are no starlings, S0 the smaller birds are getting the full use of the new feeder. It was interesting to watch their ten- tative approaches to the device, which was placed about six feet high on the south side of the trunk, or rather to one side, so that the guests would be protect- ed both from north winds and most of the west wind. Those who put it up were rather skep- tical. Surely the birds would not visit it. The mixed seeds, however, had a very tempting, nut-like smell. There were sunflower seeds and many another which the bird lovers could not identify, but which the birds could. The birds knew. * ¥ ¥ ¥ The feeder was put up about 4 o'clock Saturday afternoon. Not a bird showed up. It was late and cold and there were no birds. Although this was the territory which a famous bird census showed has more songsters than any other place in the country, there was none at all in evidence that day. “Just as I thought,” said the pessimistic householder to himself. Of course, he told himself, he had not expected the thing to work. So he was not disappointed. On being reminded that birds had mys- teriougly disappeared from the entire neighborhood for the day, he admitted that tomorrow might show results. * x * x It was a bright, though cold, Sunday. The temperature in the suburbs regis- tered a low of 20 degrees. The leaves of the rhododendrons were curled up tight, in order to conserve their warmth. Usually they tighten up at about 25 | degrees, and lower, extending themselves again at 30 degrees and higher. No thermometer can do much better than the rhodies on these particular temperatures. ‘Those unacquainted with the rhodo- forever, but it is just a way they have. Let the day get a little warmer, as it usually does, they uncurl promptly and raise themselves to the near horizontal again. * * % % ‘The first bird to “spot” the feeder was a junco, or snowbird. It was exactly 11:10 am. that he flew onto the rim of the feeding platform, STARS, MEN where a neat mound of mixed seeds had flown down from the interior of the con- traption. Half a dozen of his fellows winged up quickly, seized a bite, and flew away. The first bird to stay on the rim for any perticular time was a Song sparrow, sometimes called the white-taroated SDAITOW. This is a larger, and more vigorous bird than the junco, or perhaps we should say more bellicose. Like all sparrows, it is of a pestifer- ous, fighting nature. Once one of these birds spied the food, and tasted it, nothing could drive him away. Nm' was he willing to share. Though the platform, with its rim, was easily large enough for three birds, it was meant for only one sparrow, he evi- dently had determined. Even when one of his own companions came up it was driven away promptly. * K * x The nuthatches, with their queer way of walking upside down on a tree, were not so easily ousted. Although they never disputed the pos- session of the rim, they invariably man- aged to get something to eat. Here is the way they do it: The nuthatch flies to the tree and alights on the opposite side, some two or three feet above the feeder. ‘Then he proceeds to walk, head-down, to the side of the feeder platform away from the bird that may be feeding. (In almost every case that first day it was & SONg Sparrow.) The nuthatch waits his chance, and when the other birds peck forward at the seeds it dips in, too, on its side. Before the other bird can spy it, the nuthatch has seized all it wants, and starts down the tree again. 8o busily engaged is the bird in walk- | ing up and down, in its peculiar way. by folding one foot up under its head, that the more greedy and quarrelsome bird cannot keep up with him. In the end the nuthatch manages to get all he wants. * % * % Although a female cardinal came down to investigate, she did so but once, and evidently ate nothing. Perhaps there are too many berries on shrubs for her to patronize a feeding station so early. She probably was looking for suet, of which this particuler feeder supplies none. That will have to be put up sep- arately, in a wire cage. All Sunday afternoon there was a pro- cession of songsters. ‘The onlooker could not help wonder- ing what the birds thought of finding so many sorts of seeds gushing out of the side of a tree, as it must have seemed | to them. The next morning the first arrival, a nuthatch, began feeding at 7:10 am. A bluejay, almost filling the platform, added a fine dash of color a few minutes | later. dendron might think their leaves ruined | The use of bird feeders is an interesting and good way to help the birds which Winter here. Many persons have hesitated to get them, in the belief that no birds will * patronize them. Let this real story of tke great out- doors in one’s own backvard set that fear at rest. ‘The birds will do their part if you will do yours. AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. Some of the world's richest deposits of pitchblend, the uranium ore from which radium is extracted, have been located in the Canadian Northwest—by smell. The story is told by Dr. H. 8. Spence in the annual report of the Dominion Department of Mines. The first uranium veins were located about three vears ago on the eastern shore of Great Slave Lake. A wandering band of Cree Indians camp- ing near the site noted a peculiar odor, undetectable to anybody else, permeating the neighborhood. They had always known of it, but had made no effort to explain it. The Indians were surprised by the ex- | citement of the white men over the pitch- blend. Last Winter they sent runners into the mining camp from a spot nearly 100 miles away where, they claimed, they had picked up a faint trace of the same odor. It seemed almost unbelievable that they actually could smell radium, even with noses trained from childhood to detect the faintest aromas of the wilderness. When the prospectors arrived on the shore of Beaverlodge Lake they found the ground covered with 2 feet of snow. The Indians pointed to the spot from which the aroma seemed to be strongest. The snow was cleared away—and there was a large pitchblend vein. From the three pitchblend deposits now being worked an average of- about six grams of radium per 60 tons of the ore is being obtained. * ¥ % *x The black locust—a tree which shows a fondness for poor soil and waste places like abandoned dumps—may be an im- portant factor in reforestation with the discovery by Department of Agriculture workers of a new variety whose growth is straight and whose wood is very durable. Hitherto this tree, which is found in New England, New Jersey and in parts of Long Island, has not been distin- guished from the ordinary black locust. But it has been subjected to an intensive study, reports B. Y. Morrisson of the Agriculture Department’s Bureau of Horticulture, with the result that its good qualities have been found to be inherent in the species. Thus, with the fast-growing property of the black locust family, it becomes a highly desirable tree for planting on lands which have been wasted by erosion. *x % X x For centuries travelers have bcen amazed by the art of “fire-walking.” practised by the magicians of many primitive peoples. They- walk barefoot over live coals. apparently without discomfort and the slogan that was used to elect & Republican ticket in Fort Wayne. * % % % Kansas .is going into the election campaign next year in a big way. Not only does the Sunflower State choose all of its House delegation, but also & Senator and a Governor. Senator Capper is up for renomination and re-election. Capper has been the greatest vote-getter the State has produced. His presence on the Republican ticket next year makes it increasingly difficult for the Democratic without the slightest injury to the soles of the feet. Seldom has any trickery been detected. The shamans themselves, of course, claim that the feat is an evi- dence of their supernatural power. The trick has been witnessed too often for the slightest doubt that it actually can be done. A few weeks ago a Hindoo performer in London named Kuda Box. who claimed that his immunity to burns was due to the peculiar mental gymnastics he practised, offered to make a scientific demonstration and performed the trick in the presence of several members of the Royal Society and some eminent physicians. He walked down a trench of live coals 11 feet long with four light and apparently unharried steps. The temperature of the coals was 800 degrees centigrade. His feet were not burned and he repeated the performance three times. But measurements with that super- delicate heat measuring instrument, the thermocouple, throw considerable light on the trick. When the thermocouple was applied to the coals three times in fairly rapid succession the heat it reg- istered was not 800 C., but only that of fairly hot water. Thus, it was demon- strated, the heat of the contact points between the and the coals was not sufficient to cause any very bad burns: But when two Englishmen tried it their feet were quite badly blistered. The only detectable difference between the soles of the Hindu and those of his imi- tators was that, both at the beginning and end of the ordeal, those of the former were exceptiQnally dry. There was not the slightest indication of sweating. It is very likely, according to the report of the experiment in the British medical journal, Lancet, that thin films of mois- ture on the soles of the Englishmen caused the live charcoal to adhere to them the fraction of a second longer required for burning. The Hindu's feet didn’t stick. When the performer saw measure- ments being taken with a thermocouple he objected strenuously. This amounted, he claimed, to a polution of the fire, or a questioning of the good faith of the flame. He would not repeat the per- formance in the same trench. o A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamiiton Chain-Charity. The boy said he was hungry. The jurist took time To point out an eating place where for a dime He couldmm a beef stew; then gave him a bill 5 And watched him go on with a hearty good will. Cap s;-;:k, the lad swaggered by the The Mn nunwred watchful, along Ehould access ot Hchu induce youth downhill He'd relieve the young fist of charity bill. The youth, in a park where benches were cold, !elw'ed the greenback on a man grown -llvln;" ’:ym And the Turned back—for the lad had a wet, hungry eye. | gusts at the rate | were recorded by a wind instrument at | the weather station maintained on the 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. How many millionaires were made by the World War?—G. 8. A. It is impracticable to make a posi- tive statement because the statistics do not in all cases reveal the source of wealth, but it is regarded as significant that before the World War there were only 2348 persons returning incomes of $100.000 a year or more, while in 1919, when the war was over, there were 5526 in that class. However, more millionaires were made by the Coolidge-Hoover boom, because in 1929 there were 14,816. Q. What are the names of some breeds of Swiss milk goats?—H. W. A. The leading Swiss breeds of goats are the Toggenburg and the Saanen. Q. How many divorces are granted every year in the United States?— P W A. More than 160000 divorces are granted annually in this country. Q. Please give a biography of Cathe erine Parr—J. 8. A. Catherine Parr (1512-1548), Queen of England, sixth wife of Henry VIII, was the daughter of Sir Thomas Parr, an officeholder at the court of Henry VII. She had been twice widowed before Henry made her his wife, in 1543. She exerted a beneficent influence over the | aging King, interceding in behalf of his | daughters, whom she helped educate. At one time she barely escaped the fate of her queenly predecessors, but lived to become Queen dowager and to wield con- siderable power at the start of the reign of Henry's son, Edward VI. She later married Baron Seymour of Sudeley, but died of puerperal fever shortly after the birth of a daughter. Q. How high a wind has been re- corded in the United States?—E. S. A. The greatest velocity of the wind measured in the United States and prob- ably in the world was on Mount Wash- ington, N. H, on April 12, 1934, when 231 miles an hour summit of the mountain by the Blue Hill Observatory of Harvard University. Q. Is there a tunnel Blanc?—E. M. A. Plans for the construction of such under Mont | a tunnel are now under consideration by | the French government. A Franco- | Italian syndicate has been formed to push the scheme to completion. It is estimated that the work could be com- pleted in three or four years and that receipts from the traffic through the | tunnel would be as great. in proportion | | | | | | press. | 74 of the 109 routes, passengers over 106 to outlay, as those from the Suez Canal. Q. How many companies in the United ! States are engaged in the transportation of passengers and mail by air>—A. B. A. On July 1, 1935, there were 26 com- panies engaged in the transportation of mail, passengers and express in the United States, and to foreign countries in the Western Hemisphere. These com- panies were operating 109 services, most of them with mail, passengers and ex- Mail was being transported over and express over 109. Q. When was the Washington Monu= ment in Washington, D. C,, finished?— T. €. A. The capstone was set December 6, 1884; it was dedicated February 21, 1885, and opened to the public October 9, 1888, The total cost was $1,300,000. Q. Are riding boots and polo boots alike>—G. G. A. Riding boots have a softness around the ankle, while polo boots are stiff all the way up. Q. Is coal ever made into gasoline? —R. W. J. A. Imperial Chemical Industries, Lt, of Great Britain has opened a large plant at Billingham which is to make gaso- line and other petroleum derivatives out of coal, air and water. Hydrogenation is the technical name for the process, which was developed in Germany by Prof. Friedrich Bergius, a Nobel prize winner. Briefly, the process is powdering coal which is then mixed with synthetic oil to form a paste. The paste is then made to combine with hydrogen under pressure. The result is a synthetic crude oil which is then refined to make gaso- line. Q. Where is the Grdin Coast?—B. J. A. It is a part of Guinea, West Africa, west of the Ivory Coast, including most of Liberia, and named for the export thence of grains of paradise (Guinea grains or melegueta pepper). Q. What is meant by the “Dead Man's Chest” in Stevenson's famous pirate song?—F. E. D. A. The “Dead Man's Chest” referred to in the pirate’s chantey in “Treasure Island” is an island in the West Indies. It is one of the Virgin Island group. Q. How many yards of thread are used in stitching an average size pair of men's overalls?—C. D. T. A. A pair of men’'s overalls contains on verage about 80 yards of thread. Q. What penitentiary is asking for gifts of books of especial interest to Jews for its library?—M. T. A. The United States Northeasiern Penitentiary, at Lewisburg, Pa,, is inter- ested in securing books of Jewish interest printed in English, Yiddish, Hebrew and Russian. Q. Who was Angerona?—E. H. A. She was a Roman goddess of silence and of grief. 3. ’L; Will Rogers’ elder son an actor? A. Will Rogers, jr., has recently bought the Beverly Hills Citizen and will publish the paper, for which he paid $100,000. Q. What percentage of petroleum {s gasoline, kerosene, etc.?—C. W. G. A. The percentage of the chief refined products obtained from petroleum is as follows: Gasoline, 25.6 per cent; kero- sene, 9.7 per cent; fuel and gas oil, 479 per cent; lubricating oil, 43 per cent; wax, coke and asphalt, 2.4 per cent; mis- cellaneous, 6.1 per cent; loss, 4 per cent. Q. What does the Salvation Army's motto mean?—S. D. A. The motto is “Blood and Fire.” It refers to the blood of Jesus Christ and the fire of the Holy Spirit. Q. How long have bells “rung out the old year and rung in the new”?—M. M. S. A. From at New Year eve symbolizes the death of the old year. In England it was formerly cust to ring muffied bells just bes fore 12, and st 12 to remove the wrape e