Evening Star Newspaper, November 29, 1935, Page 12

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition, WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY ............November 29, 1935 — e THEODORE W. NOYES...........Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company. Business Office: 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. ica - Lake Mi L Eurobéan Ofice: 14 Regent St.. London, Engiand, Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Edition. The Evening Star The Even.ng and Sunday Star (when 4 Sundays) 45c per month 60¢ per month 70c per month 55¢ per month each month. sent by mail or telephone Na- ight Final and Sunday Stal Final St tional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, {ly and Sunday. aily only__. Sunday only.. Member of the Assoclated 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 paper and also the local news published herein. 1 rights of publication of special dispatches erein are also reserved. = - - . Traly’s Oil. 0Oil, that proverbial emollient for trou- bled waters, seems doomed to enact & reverse role in the crisis now convulsing Europe. The project, sponsored by the “sanctionist” powers, primarily Great Britain, to deprive Italy of oil by in- cluding that vital commodity in a new category of war materials which may not be exported to her, has suddenly clothed Mussolini’s controversy with Geneva with augumented gravity. Rome reports, on obviously official in- spiration, that if an oil embargo is de- creed Italy will look upon it as a cause for war against her oppressors and op- pose it with armed force. Holding Great Britain to be the engineer in chief of the proposal, Il Duce presumably would forthwith move against the British fleet in the Mediterranean, which has been a thorn in his side for many weeks. The dictator’s reprisal plan is even reported complete to the point of how the attack will be launched. There is a melodra- matic tale of a Fascist “death squad” &ir force of 125 pilots who have volun- teered to annihilate the British armada. FEach would carry one huge bomb, pick out an enemy warship, dive upon the vessel and destroy it—and himself. The maneuver, it is explained, would be the first sudden, desperate blow by Italy in & war to smash the ring of fifty-two be- sieging nations. There are circumstan- tial statements that London and Paris have been officially warned of Il Duce’s purpose to resort to extremes against efforts to starve him of oil. Italian pub- lic cpinion is depicted as prepared to react no less resentfully against the United States if this country participates in the embargo. Making due allowance for a modicum of bluff in the Fascists’ attitude, it is unmistakable that the prospect.which confronts them fills the Roman war lords with terror. Italy's oil reserves are no- toriously limited. She lives entirely on foreign replenishments in uninterrupted flow. Mussolini’s navy, his troopships, the freighters carrying food and muni- tions for the army in Africa, the trucks which maintain long and difficult lines of communication, the motorized artil- lery, the tanks and the airplanes—all of these indispensable cogs in Italy’s war machine depend upon oil as for their life blood. With cessation of regular sup- plies from Anglo-Persian sources, from Soviet Russia, from Rumania and from the United States, Italy’s war-making power would sooner or later be paralyzed and her ordinary domestic existence perilously dislocated. The League Sanctions Committee is to meet next week to determine definitely whether the export, of oil to Italy, to- gether with two or three other key ma- terials, is to be embargoed. The con- tingency that such action may be immi- nent accounts for Italian alarm and bel- licose mien. Pending the critical de- cision the European situation becomes fraught with more real tensity than any which sanctions have so far provoked. One thing is certain—if the Geneva pow- ers back down before Mussolini’s threats League prestige will suffer a blow from which it could not easily recover. It is possibly embarrassing to Haile Belassie to find Abyssinia as prominent in modern politics as it was in ancient theology. China Clipper Clocks In. ‘While there has been no anxiety on the score of its safety, the arrival of the China Clipper at Manila, in com- pletion of its flight with mail from San Francisco, is to be hailed with gratifi- cation. The fourth and final leg of the great hop across the Pacific has been accomplished, practically according to schedule. China Clipper left Alameda, Calif,, Friday, November 22, at 6:47 p.m. East- ern standard time. She reached Hono- luly, 2,410 miles distant, in 21 hours and 4 minutes; Midway Islands, 1,380 miles farther on, in 8 hours and 34 minutes; ‘Wake Island, 1,260 miles away, in 8 hours and 28 minutes; Guam, 1,536 miles away, in 10 hours and 3 minutes, and Manila, 1,544 miles, in 11 hours and 55 minutes. The total distance covered was 8,130 miles and the total flying time was 60 hours and 4 minutes. The total elapsed time from Alameda to Manila was about six and a quarter days. An apparent anomaly occurs in the report of the landing of the Clipper in Manila Bay. She touched water there at three twenty-one o'clock this after- noon and the word was received in Washington at about two twenty-ore this morning. Thus does the “time dif- ference” work out in the case of an ob- Jective to the east of Washington but on this side of the international date merid- fan. To carry the mails from SBan Fran- cisco to Manila is a triumph of plane, of personnel and of preparatory planning. ‘The several landing points, at Midway, Wake Island and Guam, hsd to be sur- \ THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. €, FRIDAY NOWMBEB 29, 1935, THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL, veyed and tested. Honolulu was as- sured. The three others had to be tried out and proved efficient. The courses had to be established. These things done in preliminary survey flights, the way was open and it was up to the plane and the crew, and they have proved themselves. ‘This has not been merely another fly- ing “stunt,” but a practical move of development. It is now demonstrated that aerial mail service can be main- tained across the Pacific on the basis of approximately one week from San Francisco to Manila, an astonishing- ly brief time. The real importance of this accomplishment is not quite fully appreciated because of the fact that the cables have during many years permitted practically immediate com=- munication with points in the Anti- podes. Memories of. the surprise at Guam when an American ship of war pre- sented itself there in 1898 and demanded surrender of the Spanish forces, to the great surprise of those in command, who did not know that the United States and Spain were in conflict, are revived by this achievement. Such isolation has now become virtually impossible, with radio and with planes. The establish- ment of a regular postal station at Guam, linked with both the mainland and the Philippines by aerial postal service, is especially fitting in view of that incident of more than thirty-seven years ago. ] Budget and Bonus. ‘The country sometimes despairs of congressional consistency. Among mem- bers of Congress today there is an in- creasing determination to cut appropria- tions and to bring the Government bud- get more nearly into balance. And yet almost in the same breath Congress threatens to pass a bill for the immedi- ate cash payment of the soldiers' bonus, a little item of $2,200,000,000. The budget or the bonus is the choice presented. It is perfectly clear that if the Government goes ahead and pays more than two billions of dollars in cash to the veterans at this time all chance of a balanced budget, slim enough at best in the light of the New Deal, goes glimmering. President Roosevelt, it is indicated by gentlemen who have recently returned from Warm Springs, is still opposed to the cash payment of the bonus at this time. He vetoed the Patman bill at the last session of Congress. Some of the veterans see less consistency on the part of the President than on the part of Congress. For the Chief Executive, they say, is perfectly willing to spend millions and billions of dollars for “resettlement,” for the W. P. A. and for innumerable ex- periments while withholding his approval of the immediate payment of the vet- erans, & payment that ultimately must be made by the Government. They might be reminded, however, that two wrongs rarely make a right. What the country needs—and what it should get—is a lessening of Government expenditures until the tremendous bor- rowings to meet these expenditures:can be halted. These borrowings will lead in the end only to excessive taxation, to repudiation or to inflation. The agree- ment, the promise of the Government, was to pay the soldiers’ bonus in 1945. The effort now made to collect the bonus at a time when the country is in finan- cial straits is unfortunate. That the vet= erans have been encouraged to press the demand through the reckless spending of the administration makes it no less disheartening. It should be clear to all that the pay- ment of the bonus and the balancing of the budget cannot mix any more than oil and water. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. If the President stands by his guns and vetoes a bonus bill calling for immediate cash payment the country will applaud him. The Con- gress could win the same applause if it withheld its approval of the proposal. The urge to vote for the bonus bill, on the eve of a congressional election, may be too much to resist. It may be re- called that the late President Coolidge on the eve of a presidential election and when he was a candidate to succeed himself vetoed the soldiers’ bonus bill which ultimately became a law. It was passed by Congress over his veto. It was said at the time by the Republican mem- bers of Congress that they had “saved” Mr. Coolidge in spite of himself. If the proposed bonus bill should be passed over the veto of President Roosevelt, Demo- cratic members of the present Congress probably will claim that they have acted in the best interests of President Roose- velt’s re-election. Hitler with comprehensive diplomacy does not omit communism and bolshe- vism from the long list of things to which he is irrevocably opposed. Homicide should not be allowed to progress until it links up with dope as an unfortunate and incurable habit. Crime Centers. Chicago is no longer the crime center of the world, announces Frank J. Loesch, president of the Crime Commission of that city, which was organized by the citizens in 1919 after a series of hold-up murders. This distinction now belongs to New York, he declared. Civic pride will doubtless compel New York to resist this accusation, and statistics may be expected to come in abundance to prove that the Eastern metropolis is not as wicked as the Midwestern. That is an old contention between the two centers of population. Mention of it always raises & row. Yet the average citizen of either town is not especially con- cerned over the relative virtues or vices of the two so long as he escapes atten- tion from the slayers, assailants and thieves. Coincident with Mr. Loesch’s state- ment, made in the course of a talk be- an the Union League Club of Ghicago, come some figures about crime from Director Hoover of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in this city. They are somewhat reassuring. They do not in- valve ‘any geographical factors and do not affect the question of which is the wickedest city. They consist of three A columns, giving the totals of seven cate- gories of crime in 1933, 1934 and 1935. Those seven crimes were murder, man- slaughter, rape, robbery, assault, bur- glary, larceny and auto theft. The total of all crimes against the person in 1934 was 7,184, and in 1935, to date, 6947, a “gain” toward greater safety of 227. That difference may be mopped up before the end of the year, just as the “gain” of 6,083 less crimes against property this year over 1933 may be either lessened or increased by Janu- ary 1. It is assuredly some comfort to know that 1935 is not headed for a shocking record of criminality, even if it does not show an actual gain in favor of peace and security of both person and property. One of the chief factors of gain in the category of crimes against property is the showing in Mr. Hoover's statement of about 5,500 fewer automobile thefts this year thus far over 1933. Mr. Loesch, in Chicago, in the course of his talk touched upon this point, noting a de- crease in these cases as one of the recent effects of the concerted drive against crime in Chicago. Thefts of motor cars are especially important factors in the crime equation, for they are committed in many cases as adjunct to other and greater crimes. The racketeer, kid- naper, burglar and hold-up gangster frequently operates with a stolen car for the sake of concealment of identity and facility of escape. If motor stealing is on the wane it means more than a lessening of the direct losses of prop- erty involved. The citizens of a crime-infested com- munity can do much by constant agita- tion and stimulation of public agencies of protection and punishment toward the cleaning up of their areas. They can and must demand speedier and surer punishments for those caught in.crime, with less politics in police activities and more expedition and certainty of result in the courts. Such spectacles as that just presented in this neighborhood of a veritable public enemy with a hideous record covering many years escaping all penalties at the hands of the law, only to meet his death in consequence of a perscnal combat, do not greatly en- courage those who believe that the law is the ultimately sure reliance for the maintenance of peace and security of person and property. S The royal household of Japan has a new baby, who is the recipient of un- limited admiration, although arriving at a time when the problems of youth are most acute. Whether he will be happier than babies who arrive in humbler cir- cumstances will be a question of favor- able or unfavorable fortune. ——— e Decision is awaited as to whether a world organization will secure peace or peace is necessary to secure a world or- ganization. Science has not yet decided which came first, the chicken or the egg. e S Japan never admits that she is in- vading China. She claims only to use force if it ic necessary in order to be a good neighbor, Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. What! No Nobel Prize? A higher plane we hoped to gain And great rewards we would prepare For some one able to explain A way to ease man’s weight of care. The big idea we await And offer gold to make men wise, This year, in sorrow we must state, ‘There isn't any Nobel Prizel To each emotion we appeal, Both love and honor we include As motives for our peaceful zeal And even avarice include; ‘We fill a purse to speed the game. Although we bravely advertise Wealth as superior to fame, There isn’t any Nobel Prize, Candid Terminology. “Eminent minds are thinking of ways to avert the madness of war,” said the worried citizen. “I'm 'thinking myself,” said Senator Sorghum. “Since war is generally re- ferred to as madness, I favor calling into our conferences a few reputable psychia- trists.” Jud Tunkins says qne way to make a small beginning toward human cordiality might bg to stop financing big purses for prize fights. Peace. Everybody yearns for peace, All free from envious looting. Yet oft our honest toil we cease And holler, “Where's the shooting?” Yet peace is what we’re asking for; Yet, much as we regret it, ‘We'll, maybe, start another war Inquiring how to get it. Monetary Systems. “Some people once used oyster shells for money.” “Socially,” said Miss Cayenne, “I can't approve of the idea. I have the highest regard for the usefulness of an oyster shucker. But I can't esteem him as an original custodian of wealth.” Merciful Modern Genius. Nero gave a party, 3 Unmindful of expense; His wish to pose as “arty” Was splendid and intense. Without electric lighting, ‘Which might have met his heed, When his poetic writing More clearly he would read Some captives he'd gssemble And soak them through with oil, And laugh to see them tremble Because they had to broil. ‘When charges I'm discerning I'm very glad to.see “ My check book they are burning Instead of burning me. TR “A crap game,” said Uncle Eben; “wouldn't be so wicked if dar wasn't . danger of a fight because some one uses loaded dice.” N NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM Margaret Germond. DOCTOR IBRAHIM. By John Knittel. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co. Tbrahim, a poor boy of Assiut, in Upper Egypt, is the medium through which John Knittel brings to an unbelieving world a powerful indictment against the unintelligent exertion of dominion over a hapless people. Egypt, shorn these many centuries of her glory and might, passes in review over a twenty-year period in modern history, her people degraded, her treasures exploited and her nationality suppressed. But no matter how tragic the fate of a nation may be, there will always be a few patriots whose faith and pride in their race is supreme, and in Upper Egypt young Ibrahim was one of these. There was not much of an opportunity for a lad of poor family in the Egypt of twenty to thirty years ago to rise above his lowly station. Education was at a premium, and the lowly born should not be allowed to read and write anyway. But Ibrahim was an ambitious young- ster bent upon learning the art of heal- ing. Illness and suffering distressed him. He became obsessed with a passion to relieve the victims of disease and pain. Familiarity with the prevailing custom of brutality to man and beast had fired an intense love in the heart of the young man for animals and for his race before his medical school days were over. It was & love that filled him with another ambition. In addition to he..ing the sick he was prompted to strive for more humane methods in dealing with both animals and men and to seek for his people & restoration of their prideful heri- tage of self-esteem and national honor. A thorny, rocky road lay ahead, for Thrahim soon learned that to be a patriot in his native land was a punishable crime, He learned also, just as .nany other races have learned, that the white man is appallingly ignorant in matters of vital concern to the people over whom he as- sumes control, and that he lacks the capacity to judge the intelligence of a race except by the color of its skin. But Tbrahim pushed onward despite hardship, cruelty and discouragement, and though his ideal of “Egypt for Egyptians” was doomed to failure in his own lifetime, he did attain success as a great surgeon. It was in his capacity as assistant sur- geon in the hospital at Damnoorah that he stirred up a hornet’s nest over the filth, graft, malpractice and cruelty that prevailed, and eventually brought about the purging of the institution from the dishonorable conditions that were filling the pockets of the higher-ups with wealth. And throughout this compelling story of Doctor Ibrahim’s struggle against disease and alien oppression runs the tender romance of two souls bound by a great love. Englishmen will not particularly enjoy this_exposition of a shameful period in Egyptian medical affairs any more than justice-loving Americans enjoy reflecting upon the sorry story of the fate of the native red man who roamed the forests and the rivers of this country before the white man usurped dominion. But there can be no doubt that Mr. Knittel knows the Egypt whereof he writes just as he knew the people of the Via Mala region. He is a deep student of conditions as well as of individuals and of national char- acteristics. His work rings with truth and knowledge, and he presents his nar- rative on a large scale, endowing it with firmness, clarity and a satisfying quality of endurance, %o do' MRS. ASTOR'S HORSE. By Stanley Walker. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co. ‘Whether those who find pleasure in gazing into their mirrors at reflections which they believe to be themselves will or will not like having a public mirror show them as they really are, here is a merciless behind-the-quicksilver reflector catching them as nature made them, and there is nothing to do about it but thoroughly enjoy it. This time Mr. Walker has made a collection of curiosa from America’s overstuffed element, ranging from the ultra-rich to the extra- common, and without malice or resort to vulgarity told some astonishing truths about the individuals and some of the outstanding events that have in recent months attracted the attention of the public. Americans as a race are most peculiar. Fundamentally the race abhors the mob, yet style, sentiment, curiosity, good taste and bad taste swing, like the pendulum of a great clock, to the rhythm of mob emotion, If “Mrs. Astor” appears in a fur coat in the dead of Summer time, fur coats in July and August become the rage. A dirty-skinned sharper in need of a haircut can win thousands of con- verts to any sort of quack “ism” and leave, after filling his pockets with good American cash, a throng of adorers to mourn his departure. Out of the scum and backwash of humanity a worthless moroen, cleaned up and cast as a lover in a mediocre screen play, becomes the idol of a maudlin, sentimental mob, while a worthy genius starves to death in a slum cellar. The whole Nation pays honor to a young man whose courage and skill made possible an heroic achieve- ment. It bows its head in sorrow and demands punishment when tragedy en- velops him, and then when the criminal is brought to trial the mob proceeds to 'make a Roman holiday of the occasion, while State and community prepare for a profit-making enterprise. News of a horrible disaster shocks the coun- try, and two hours later the peanut, popcorn and hot dog venders are on the spot, ready for the thousands lured to the scene by morbid curiosity. Mrs, Astor’s horse must be served! Social leaders, millionaires with and without social status, stage and screen stars, theatrical managers, stylists, beau- ticians, gangsters, statesmen, decorators and so-called culturists of one sort or another are among the individuals Stripped of their veneer by Mr. Walker, and the events include a number of the major happenings in recent months upon which the mob has fed its insatiable greed for thrill. From the point of view of the modern, native New Yorker or any other strictly big city individual this lively exposition of the kinks and quirks of the uphol- stered species of mankind in this country is representative of the race as a whole. If it were there would be little hope for the survival of the Nation. But outside of the densely populated districts, out where true vision and a sense of pro- portion is less limited, real representative Americanism still claims an overwhelm- ing majority. The genuine well-born American will never be found slathering a beautiful piece of wood with violent colored paints, succumbing to the artistic fancy of a crack-brained decorator to cover the old family sofa with white satin, paying a fabulous price for the privilege of reclining on a glorified throne in a foun- tain-studded salon for an eyebrow ruling force in American life, but there of mobs, and, after all, 8] classed as Mrs. “Why hadn’t I thought of a bird feeding station before?” Every one who constructs or purchases one of these devices will make this re- fnark to himself after he sees how well 1t works, It works, of course, on the divine prin- ciple of hunger. It is perfectly possible to place food on the ground for the birds, but the small feeder attached to & tree or placed in some other position has its advantages. ‘There are many types of feeders, the individual selection being left to the per- son interested. There are very elaborate ones, built to swing with the wind and keep the birds dry while feeding. ‘There are feeders to be placed on trees, others in windows, so that the songsters which Winter with us will fly right up where we can watch them easily and with no more trouble than taking a seat in an easy chair. * x ok % It we believe our own eyes, however, very few persons seem to know much about the use of feeders. Since putting one up and seeing it patronized immediately by a large variety of birds, even though cold weather is scarcely with us, we have kept a weather eye open for devices of this type. ‘We have scanned trees, garages, fences and other places where such feeders might be placed, to the benefit of birds and humans alike, without seeing one of them anywhere, No doubt we have not looked in the right yards, but still the informal survey shows one thing plainly: There are not enough of these feeders in operation for the pleasure of birds or garden lovers. If the average home owner who has not placed one out could see one in operation for a little while there can be little ques- tion that he would sense the immediate advantage of it for all concerned. * X X X A handy man could construct one of these feeders very easily, and with a little brown stain or dark green paint could make it a neat article to adorn a tree or post. Whether white is a good color for one we do not know from personal experience. Probably the birds would not take to it quite so readily at first, but would in the end find it no different from any ofher. Certainly there would be certain situa- tions, such as a white-painted garage, where the white feeder would be the most appropriate. The most simple type undoubtedly is a combination of feeder and robin shelf. The robin prefers for nesting a flat, pro- tected shelf, with at least two possible exits. Such a shelf makes an excellent feeder in Winter and a good robin home in Spring and Summer. At the same time it is very easy to make, consisting simply of a bottom shelf, a back and a roof, really constituting an elemental sort of “lean-to.” If the sides are blocked in a hole should be cut in at least one side, since the robin likes his two exits, in case of need. This feeder, as most of them attached to a tree (a very good place), is best faced South, to guard it from prevailing north winds. If it can be placed slightly to the southeast, in order to give some protection from western winds, so much the better. If faced south the second exit, if a hole cut in a side, should be toward the east. * X X % It is possible to combine both suet feeder and seed feeder in one, but since suet is somewhat messy, it is perhapg best placed in a separate wire container of & type which will allow the birds to peck at it through the meshes. Excellent and simple suet containers are to be had at little expense. Hung on a nail or twig or even on & wire fence, they provide birds which must have this type of food with a very good substitute for the grubs and worms they dig for themselves in the ‘warmer seasons. 1t is possible, but not at all necessary, to chart the feeding habits of all hirds likely to come to this territory, for wild bird seed mixtures are to be bought very reasonably and will last a long time and will take care of practically all the birds that feed here during late Fall and Winter. If suet and some bread crumbs are added, all that the ordinary house- holder can do will have been done to feed and thus attract the lovely untamed creatures we call the songbirds. We were interested in noting after several days of feeder operation that the seed had gone down very little, though the birds had been at the food constantly since the first day it was set up. Of course, the ground is not hard yet, and many seeds and berries yet remain to be gathered. Continued frozen ground, and especially snow, brings the birds in large numbers, when no doubt the stock in feeders declines more rapidly. ‘Nor have we experienced the starlings this season so far; no doubt they add to the burdens of those who would feed the smaller and more interesting creatures, It is because of the starlings, as well as because of lack of personal experience in bird feeding, that we hesitate to recommend the window feeder. We do not fancy a flock of these large fellows bouncing around the window. They are best kept as far away from houses as possible. Feeders attached to trees at some distance will do if the starlings are to dominate the scene. * ok ok ok Whether one feeder or several is best for the average small place we do not know from personal experience, but rather guess that one is enough, espe- cially if placed near enough to the house to be watched easily, for then®the one feeder would be the magnet for all the birds, whereas if there were two or more the bird visitors would scatter between them. ‘We hope no ene who erects a feeder will pay too much attention to the sub- ject of “bird enemies.” These usually include cats and squirrels. Human na- ture is such that if one puts up a feeder for birds, one tends to want the birds only to have it and to resent much more than the birds themselves the intrusion of another creature. Let us not forget that Nature is large, that the great outdoors is still peculiarly hers and that there she erects no single preserves for any one animal, fencing out all others. They all belong to her and must get along together, which in the main they do, with no more loss to each other, perhaps, than man inflicts on man through wars. In Nature all things must take their chances and if we do not like that law let us take it up at once with Nature and not place the blame on those of her creatures who from time to time do not do exactly as we would have them do. If this large view toward Nature and her children is held the human bird feeder has a great deal better chance to enjoy his birds, and his little device, plentifully filled with wholesome seeds, will do its bit of goodness in a world which sometimes seems unduly filled with pain and sorrow, sickness and death, which no amount of fencing will keep out. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. ‘There are indications that Congress will be the scene of red-hot discussion bf the administration’s war trade policy with respect to Italy and Ethiopia. Dyed-in-the-wool irreconcilables and iso- lationists, with unquenchable League and World Court animosities, are expected promptly to clear for action against a program which they will assail as align- ing the United States with Geneva eco- nomic sanctions. Father Coughlin’s re- cent assertions on this score suggest that the Detroit radio priest may give the anti-administration drive the same lead- ership he supplied on the occasion of the anti-World Court fight. President Roosevelt and Secretary Hull would be delighted if African hostilities were to be terminated before Congress reas- sembles, but if it’s necessary to defend the measures taken to preserve American neutrality and restrain war profiteering they are prepared to meet the challenge. ‘Whether the President intends to ask for an extension of the congressional “implements of war” embargo so as to include oil, copper, cotton and iron has not yet been disclosed. If such author- ity is sought, Mr. Roosevelt and his ad- visers are confident that peace-minded public opinion will overwhelmingly sup- port them. They are no less certain of their ability to ward off attacks on the Canadian tariff treaty. * ok ok ok Heated discussion of international re- lations and controversy over she bonus foreshadows a far livelier session of House and Senate than was at one time contemplated. Democratic leaders were inclined to hope that with the New Deal seeking no far-reaching additional rev- enue, recovery or reform legislation Con- gress would confine itself practically to routine affairs concerned mainly with departmental eppropriations and corre- lated matters. The outlook now is for a protracted period of stormy weather, especially should the administration be encourgged by favorable Supreme Court decisions to proceed in the direction of further governmental experiments af- fecting finance, industry and agriculture. With presidential and congressional pri- maries setting in and the national con- ventions only a few months ahead, mem- bers of Congress, as usual in a presidential year, will be anxious to wind up their business and get back to their more or less loving constituents with a minimum of delay. At present mid-May rates as the earliest likely date for adjourn- ment, ok ok % No fewer than seven presidential aspirants, confessed or camouflaged, which is more than-25 per cent of the party strength in the chamber, will sit on the Republican side of the Senate in January. In alphabetical order they in- clude Borah of Idaho, Dickinson of Towa, Johnson of California, McNary of Ore- gon, Nye of North Dakota, Steiwer of Oregon and Vandenberg of Michigan. Messrs. Johnson and Nye are listed as newcomers in the G. O. P. free-for-all, not on account of any activities of their own, but because their names are being honorobly mentioned in various quarters which insist that the only hope for the elephant next year is an out-and-eut ‘Western Progressive. * k X X% If by any remote chance the Repub- licans decide after all to pick an East- erner for their presidential nominee, some observers still assert that Supreme Court Assoctate Justices Harlan F. Stone of New York and Owen J. Roberts of Pennsylvania cannot be left out of ac- count., There are even wiseacres wWho A think that Chief Justice Hughes ought to be drafted by the Republicans. Inti- mate friends of the three judges are per- suaded that none of them at this time could be tempted to step down from the bench into the hurly-burly of national politics, * ok kX New Jersey Democrats who should be | in position to know doubt whether there is anything to current gossip that Mayor Frank Hague of Jersey City is to succeed Jim Farley as Postmaster General when the Democratic National Committee chairman retires to concentrate his ener- gies on the presidential campaign. The Hudson County boss, who rolled up a big Democratic majority in his princi- pality on November 5 while the rest of Jersey was going Republican, is now an ardent New Dealer, but “before Chicago” in 1932 he was an aggressive Al Smith man, and remained so out of favor with the Roosevelt regime at Washington that until Senator A. Harry Moore arrived on the scene this year Jersey Democrats were getting slim patronage pickings. Frank C. Walker and Joseph P. Kennedy remain out in the front of speculation ever the Post Office portfolio when it re- quires to be filled. * ok ok % Described as a “friendly critic” of President Roosevelt, a Hudson River neighbor named Howland Spencer has bought a country weekly newspaper, the Highland Post, for the purpose, as he announces, of “permitting myself a free expression of my ideas.” Mr. Spencer owns a 1000-acre estate on the west shore of the Hudson, opposite Hyde Park. Last year he and F. D. R. were engaged in a good-natured controversy as to which estate is entitled to be known as Krum Elbow, the Spencer property or the President’s ancestral place on the east- ern side of the river. * ok K % Former Senator Smith W. Brookhart, Republican Progressive of Iowa, is en- titled to the distinction of opening the 1936 mud-slinging campaign with his gibe at Gov. Landon of Kansas as “the Stand- ard Oil candidate for President.” The “Topeka Coolidge” catalogues himself as “gn oil producer since 1912 He has amassed a moderate fortune in the in- dustry, but has always been regarded as an independent operator, without en- tangling alliances with the “interests.” A hint that New Dealers sooner or later may pour heavy political fire into the “interests,” oil and otherwise, is seen in the attack on Republican National Chair- man Fletcher's gold diggers just launched by Assistant Secretary of Labor Edward F. McGrady. Mr. McGrady, accusing certain big industrial elements of “self~ ish” opposition to the social security program, points out that both the earn- ings and security prices of many of the big corporations represented on the new G. O. P. Finance Committee have risen steadily and heavily under the New Deal recovery program. * % % ¥ Recurring rumors- of cabinet changes occasionally concern the Department of Labor. If, for any reason, Secretary Frances Perkins should retire from the executive household speculation now re- volves around the possibility that John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine ‘Workers of America, might be offered her place. Though once upon a time ticketed as a Republican, the sturdy leader of the miners has been a strong supporter of the New Deal. Because of Lewis’ hostili- ties with President Green, it would seem highly improbable that the administra- tion at this witching hour would risk 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. What present-day Governor has had the longest service in office?>—G. H. A. Gov. C. Douglass Buck of Delaware is dean of the present Governors in point of service. He has completed seven years as chief executive of the State, Q. Why was Sir Philip Gibbs knight« ed?—M. R. A. He was knighted, in 1920, for his distinguished service as war correspond- ent in the World War. Q. How many writers are employed b the W. P. A. in compiling the America: Guidebook and what are their salaries? —F.L. M. A. ’_I‘o date the Works Progress Admin- istration has announced that 2900 jobs have been given to unemployed writers. It is expected to engage 1,600 more. The men receive in most instances the top figure of $94 a month, Q. Who invented the non-sinkable life- boat?—P. J. H. A. Joseph Francis, American invenior and boat builder, patented in 1837 a non- sinkable lifeboat which was widely used for several decades after 1 He was the founder of the American Shipwrsck and Humane Society, developed a comu- gated metal lifeboat and used his same invention in the construction of steame: He received the Congressional Medal Franklin Institute Medal and internas tional recognition for his work. Q. Does the new Government farm ‘or treating drug addicts receive any one who is willing to take the cure?—J. H. C. A. At present it does not. Its capacity is not great enough to take Federal pris« oners and offenders. It is hoped that facilities will ultimately be provided ‘or persons who voluntarily submit then- selves to the Public Health Service Jor treatment, . Q. When did Mark Twain's famous Jjumping frog story appear?—L. B. A. This story by Mark Twain (1865), known as “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” appeared firg in the New York Saturday Press as “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog.” Q. What became of Boston Corbett? —J.C.S. A. Boston Corbett was born in London in 1832, came to America as a boy aind lived in Boston some time before the Civil War. In 1887, after having been through a difficult period, he was eletted to be an assistant doorkeeper at the House of Representatives in Topeka. Some years later he was declared insne and admitted to the State hospita. in that city. On May 26, 1888, he left the hospital grounds for a walk, in cherge of an attendant, suddenly leaped upm a pony which had been tied nearby and disappeared. What became of him has been a mystery from that day to this. Q. Who started the development of the atomic theory?—R. E. A. The beginning of the asemic theory may be traced to the speculations of the ancients. Democritus, a Greek phios- opher of the fifth century, was probbly the earliest to consider the construcion of matter. The foundation of the mod« ern atomic theory is attributed to John Dalton, a schoolmaster of Manchesder, England, whose theory was develoed between 1803 and 1806. Before his ti however, a number of philosophers scientists, notably Boyle, Newton, Bamn, Descartes, Hooke and Locke, were infer- ested in this problem. Q. Where T.W.H A. This is a London street which 1as given its name to the financial section of the city. From the thirteenth cenfury until they were banished by Queen Elzae beth foreign merchants, many of wiom were from Lombardy, were established there as merchants, money lenders and bankers. is Lombard street?’— Q. What does it cost to send a newse paper correspondent to Ethiopia?—E Ra. A. Exclusive of equipment, it costs ap= proximately $700 to transport a person comfortably from New York to Acdis Ababa. Q. What caused the crash of the Foe= ing bomber at Wright Field on Octooer 30?—A. N. A. The findings of the board of inves= tigation were to the effect that the aci~ dent was caused by a locked conditon of the rudder and elevator surface cen- trols, which made it impossible for the pilot to control the airplane. The rea- son for this condition has not been ce« termined. Q. How many millionaires were there in the United States shortly before the Civil War?—W. A. G. A. In #855 one of the most complte and interesting efforts to compile a cor= rect list of wealthy citizens was made. William Astor headed the list with a for- tune of $6,000,000. Then followed Stepken ‘Whitney, $5,000,000; William H. Aspn- ‘wall, $4,000,000, and Joseph Lennox. $3 000,000. In all, 27 millionaires are lis A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton The Three Graces. “Coffee?”—A pot in manicured finger- A tips That put the bright cranberries into eclipse; Her voice was 50 soft and her smile was so sweet She transformed the cafe where he hcd to eat. A man unwed, his grace was said To the service maid with neat blond he “Turkey?”—A carving knife in a hand as warm As her wide mother-eyes and her ample form; Warm as the mouths of the clamorous home brood luppll;:od by his hand with the holiday A man of care, o'er hard-earned fare, He said his grace to the mother there, "lhorr;t?;—A decanter of rare amber e In mn‘)lx k3ewelefi fingers reflecting the e Of his tapers and fruits. Her exquisite smile Ever lightening his mood with delicate guile. ! A man with goal of heavy tdl, His grace was said to an oréhid soul. such intervention in A. F. o! L. politics as a Lewis Secretaryship of Iabor would 3 tomriens. 1005)