Evening Star Newspaper, July 6, 1936, Page 8

A THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MONDAY, JULY 6, 1936. - A8 , , THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY. . _______________July 6 1936 THEODORE W. NOYES..........Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company. Business Office: 1 St _and Pennsylvania Ave. chlcase Oice: Lake Michigan Bungih ago Office: Lake Michigan : Wurcpesn Omoe: 14 Rewent ¢ London Ensiand. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Editior Ro Evening Star . e Erening and suri (when 4 Sundays) : The Evening and Sunday 8iar when 6 Sundays) The Sunday Star._ 8 Night Final Edition. ight Pinal and Sunday Star.._70c per month ight Pinal Star _ __ ~_85c per month Collection made af the end of each month. Orders may be sent by mail or telephone Na- tional 5000 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, ily and Sunday___] yr. $10.00: 1 sy only_. 1 Junday only._. . g0 1 yr. $4.00i 1 All Other States and Can: E E:n.v and Sunday aily only__ inday only. 45c per month 60c per month mo.. mo.. B0c mo.. 40¢ 1 yr. 1 yr. g800: yr. $5.00: Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press 15 exclusively entitled to the use for republicagion of all news dispatches eredited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local news published herein. 1l rights of of special dispatches erein are als _—— No Real Deficit. In his financial report to the Commis- sioners the District'’s” efficient auditor, Mr. Donovan, does not recommend any increase in the tax rate—despite the showing of a paper deficit for the fiscal year 1937 of $960,355—because there is really no justification for any increase in the tax rate. The deficit exists, it is true, on paper. As far as current revenue is concerned, the District is called on to discharge appropriative demands exceeding rev- enue by about $4,000,000. The District, in other words, is being called upon to publication [ d. put out in the fiscal year 1937 about | $4,000,000 more than it takes in. Its ability to do this is explained, first, by a | general revenue surplus existing from the past fiscal year and, second, by the ex- Istence of a fund in the Treasury which the District accumulated in accordance with the provisions of the otherwise | abandoned sixty-forty law of 1922. For that reason the deficit of $960.355 | exists only on paper. As a matter of fact, the District will still have a surplus at the end of the current fiscal year instead of a deficit. Under the amended fixed ratio law of 1922 the District was ordered to ac- cumulate within five years a sufficient cash fund in the Treasury to enable it to meet all appropriative demands at the beginning of a fiscal year—before its own tax revenues became available. This was in theory to enable the District to be placed on a “pay-as-you-go” basis. But the requirement was nonsensical. | For the District usually has available the cash, in the form of the Federal lump sum, to meet its bills at the beginning of the fiscal year. In accordance with the demands of the law, however, and despite the fact that Congress has ignored the other provisions of the law, the District has accumulated a fund of about $3,000,000 in excess of its needs—a fund which lies idle in the Treasury, without in- terest, and which only once before has threatened deficit. Part of it is once again to be called into use in avoidance of a threatened deficit. Outside of such demands, the fund serves no useful purpose. Mr. Donovan's report, however, em- phasizes, and correctly, the fact that the District is apending about $4,000,000 more than it is taking in, although these expenditures—even under the liberalized Senate amendments of the current year—will not meet existing local needs. He points to a threatened revenue short- age in the next fiscal year. In this con- nection he approves the study of local tax resources already ordered by Com- missioner Hazen. But it is to be remembered that while there is a demonstrable shortage of local revenues, the shortage is due to no con- dition of under-taxation in the District. It is due to the steadily diminishing national contribution. The District ap- propriations act for the current fiscal year correctly places emphasis on the President’s forthcoming inquiry to de- termire the “fair and equitable” amount of the Federal contribution. The local tax burden is now adequate, even burden- some in consideration of the District's unique revenue-producing disabilities. The advice suggested already in these columns is, therefore, repeated. The important thing for the Commissioners now to undertake is the preparation of their case, which the facts make strong enough, in behalf of a liberal Federal contribution, really representative of the Nation's just obligation in support and development of the National Capital. The title “public enemy number 1" suggests a form of competition that has never put in a claim to any kind of a Pulitzer prize. —_—e——————— Campaign Expenditures. Political campaigns in this country cost money. A national campaign costs a good deal of money as a review of past records clearly show. Probably a great deal of the money expended is wasted. Bome of it has gone in the pest into pockets of political bosses. Some of it Ras been used to corrupt the electorate by actual vote buying. But these cases have been the exception, not the rule. As a check upon the improper use of money in political campaigns, the Senate has for years been in the habit of setting up special committees to look into campaign expenditures. It has a committee now, under the leadership of Senator Augustine Lonergan of Connec- ticut. This kind of inquiry, if it is properly conducted, is entirely right and proper, and of value. Senator Lonergan has promised a fair and impartial in- vestigation of charges that are brought to the committee, where the facts war- rant. The resolution under which the Sena- torial Campaign Committee is operating is very broad. It gives the committee authority to inquire In? the use of Gov- | was her anguished inquiry. ernment funds—as, for example, in the case of the Works Progress Administra- tion—as well as into the use of funds contributed privately for political pur- poses. So far the committee is com- mitted only to an inquiry into the use of the regularly contributed campaign funds. That means the funds raised by the finance Committees of the political parties—their source, their size and the uses to which they are put. This is all right as far as it goes. If, however, charges are made that the vast sums expended by the Federal Government for relief of all kinds— which includes the granting of jobs— are being used for political purposes, certainly the Senate committee should weigh these charges carefully. If the facts warrant, there should be a search- ing investigation. Anything less would defeat the very purpose of the Sensfte resolution. There are many ways of corrupting the electorate beside the direct purchase of votes on election day. If the voters working on relief projects are regimented in support of certain candidates, the corruption is the more insidious. There is no more reason why the funds contributed by private persons should be investigated than the funds used by a governmental agency, if the latter are used so as to influence votes directly, or even indirectly. The country has heard a lot about the use of relief works funds | and their influence on the political situa- tion. There has been no open investiga- tion of such charges. A thorough ven- tilation would be a salutary thing. ——e—s The League’s Downfall. In the avalanche of lip service to peace and collective security which found ut- terance at Geneva last week, no observa- tions were more poignantly pertinent than the remarks of Miss Kirstin Hessel- gren of Sweden, first woman to ad- dress the League Assembly in the capa- city of a delegate. “Why bear children into a world so hopeless and insecure?” Thrusting at the orators of many countries, who thundered platitudes for three days on | various phases of the Italo-Ethiopian conflict, Miss Hesselgren declared there was no solitary ray of encouragement in anything she had heard. The unfortunate reality that has to be faced, she con- cluded, is that “fifty nations are letting one small country fail; how can any small nation henceforth have any hope?” It was precisely in that atmosphere of humiliating futility that the League on Saturday night wound up both its As- sembly and Council sessions, specially convened to deal with Fascist aggression in Africa. Ethiopia’s doom, already cer- tified by the Italian conquest, was sealed by final confession of League impotency. Despite his impassioned personal appeal for “justice” at Geneva, Haile Selassie became the pathetic eye-witness of action that callously abandons Ethiopia to its fate. The Assembly lifted the abortive sanctions imposed upon Italy, declined the ex-Emperor’s plaintive plea for a $50,000.000 loan to continue “defense” operations, and side-stepped proposals | to declare nory-recognition of the terri- torial and political situation represented by Mussolini’s military victory. Thus |ends for all practical purposes the been called into use in avoidance of a | League’s inglorious grapple with the su- preme test of its efficacy as a collective peace-preserving and security-guarantee- ing institution. Finis is written in terms | of abject and unmitigated failure. Having thus proclaimed the death war- rant of both Ethiopia and its own efforts to check aggression, the Assembly recom- mended that the Council between now and September 1 should take up with League members ways and means of “improving in spirit,” as well as in form, the covenant under which it was found impgssible to achieve effective results in the African controversy. This concerns the much-discussed scheme for “reform- ing” the international organization. As recent developments produced much evi- dence that the League, if it continues to exist at all, is destined to shrink into a purely European body, the Geneva politicians were mainly constrained to avoid anything designed still further to alienate Italy. Hence the abolition of sanctions and the dodging of the issue involving non-recognition of the Ethio- pian conquest. The League in attenuated shape or otherwise may survive the debacle it has just suffered. But it has undergone a loss of prestige and authority which cannot be repaired by any amount of tinkering with its discredited “covenant.” That it will act as a curb to future ag- gression is more than doubtful. Statesmanship at present consists largely in reminding the public of prob- lems that proceed into lengthier calcu- lations without showing any answers. oo At Monticello. It there are those who are struck by a seeming incongruity, if not boldness, in the President’s choice of the heights of Monticello as the rostrum from which to address the people on Independence day, the same thought must move them to agree that his appearance in Trinity Churchyard, New York, at the grave of Alexander Hamilton, would be appro- priate. It is true that some of Thomas Jeffer- son’s contributions to the theories of government have apparently lost caste with the party which continues to regard him in the light of a patron saint. His advocacy of economy in government and a small public debt; his strict construe~ tionism of the Constitution; his belief in a State sovereignty, on the ground that the broader the base of government the less the chance of its being toppled over; his firm belief in a judiciary beyond control of the legislative and executive branches of the government—these are some of the Jeffersonian ideals that live to mock, rather than support, certain of the present-day tendencies of American Democracy. But it is also true that some—not all— of the theories of Jefferson, a great American, were opposed violently by an- other great American, Alexander Ham- {iton. It s an anomaly of politics and & eommentary .' Abe -shifting tides of political opinion that some of the latter- day Hamiltonians have become the dis- ciples of Jefferson, and some of the latter-day Jeffersonians would be more appropriately classed as the followers of Hamilton. Such considerations should tend to remove all significance from partisan gibes at an occasion which finds the President a worshiper at the shrine of Monticello. The President appeared at Monticello as an American come to pay tribute to another American. He ap- propriately kept politics out of his short address. He invoked the memory of Jefferson as one of those who typified the spirit of youth and daring in the early American battles for freedom and the worship not of “the gods of things as they were, but the gods of things as they ought to be.” The death of Jefferson did not end the pursuit of those “gods of things as they ought to be.” Nor did it end the struggle among men to determine which, in truth, are the “gods of things as they ought to be.” There are many things which have changed since Jefferson looked for the last time on the world he knew at Monticello. But the false gods remain to obscure, as they sought to obscure then, the search for “gods of things as they ought to be” and it re- quires a brightly burning torch of love of liberty to seek them out. ———— Climatic eccentricities may threaten something like a hot Summer and a cold Winter all in the same day. Some scien- tists suspect that radio is at fault. A jazz and oratory vacation for test pur- poses would be too much for practical experiment to ask. r————— The scenes from which “Lucky Luciano” has been removed is, of course, being studied both by the upper and the underworld to ascertain any advan- tage his removal may bring to his rivals in commercialized degradation. e Craft unions and industrial unions can hardly hope to make their debates a source of mental relief to the man or woman whose chief wish in life is a steady job. Modern mythology is trying to show that the old Blue Eagle wore a disguise and was the goose that expired in an effort to lay .too many golden eggs at a time. = ———— Even archeology brings little real relief, as it discloses only duplication of imme- diately evident quarreling and fighting over matters of economic opinion. — According to Al Smith’s friends, Life, ing out without being pushed. —_————— There are people who still refuse to | believe that Joe Louis was defeated unless they see the motion pictures of the knock-out. —r. Many Americans are going to Europe hoping perhaps that hold-ups will be easier to bear in a foreign language. o Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Strife. My library’s a spot where books Stand grinning on the shelves; Some that have most impressive looks Will not behave themselves. Philosophers will oft contrive An erudite debate That keeps ill-nature still alive On topics out of date. Some show an intellectual feast By men of high renown; When one speaks gravely, as ¢ priest, Another plays the clown. As wit and wisdom I observe, New and from days gone by, I know not, as I lose my nerve, Whether to laugh or cry! Modernist. “I'm glad you never use profanity!” “Profanity has become obsolete,” said Senator Sorghum. “It has been over- worked until it sounds merely like an out-of-date form of dialect.” Ancient Enthusiasms. As years go on we are perplexed By monuments so great And many a long and learned text Their purpose seeks to state. Great’ pyramids and temples show On some deserted scene. We guess again, but never know Precisely what they mean. Some may be platforms written bold Or keynotes on display; The most of them, we're gravely told, Mean only just “Hooray!” Efficiency Expert. “Why can't we have another Jeffer- son?” - ‘'We couldn’t afford him,” answered Mr. Dustin Stax. “Think of the size of the salary & man of his brains and initiative would demand!” “Our ancient idols,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “were visited by vast throngs and gained reputation for wisdom by remaining mute and expres- sionless while others did the talking.” Awe-Inspiring Immunity. The traffic cop out in the street, With great respect I'm viewing. He holds serenity complete ‘Whatever folks are doing. I ride where traffic thickest grows A helpless, timid rover. He stands in stateliest repose And never gets run over! “When I sees some 0’ de big buildings,” | matter, th Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness | e e e imply the privilege at any time of walk- | THE POLITICAL MILL BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. Virginia Democrats had an opportunity Saturday to see and hear President Roosevelt. He spoke at the home of ‘Thomas Jefferson, so long listed as the patron saint of the Democratic perty. It is the contention of the President and his followers that had Jefferson lived today instead of 150 years ago, he would advocate the same things that Roosevelt is advocating. Although the President did pot say as much directly, it was inferred in his address at Monticello. The Democrats who have been brought up in the school of Jeffersonian democ- racy still find themselves amazed, how- ever, at the proposals and actions of the New Deal President. It is to these Jeffersonian Democrats that the Roose- velt Democrats wish earnestly to make a strong appeal before and on election day, November 3, next. A strong defection on their part might make it extremely awkward for the Roosevelt-Garner ticket in several States. * o X Jeffersonian Democrats like Senators Glass and Byrd of Virginia are going right along with the President, although they do not believe in many of the New Deal measures he has put through, They were both in attendance at the Monti- cello meeting and Senator Glass intro- duced the President. He expressed his pleasure “personally” at being able to present to the audience President Roose- velt. He has a “personal” liking for the President—but not for the measures which he advocates. The truth of the matter is that both Glass and Byrd feel that by remaining regular they can be more effective in curing the Democratic party of New Dealisms than by bolting. Bolting the Democratic national ticket in Virginia just isn't done, if a leader wishes to retain his influence in the State. Furthermore, if Roosevelt is re- elected, but with a very much narrower margin of control in Congress, these Vir- ginia Senators may be in a position to do their part in steering the party back toward Jeffersonian democracy. Senator Glass himself comes up for re-election next November, * k% % ‘There are other Jeffersonian Demo- crats who feel differently. There are, for example, the five who sent a message to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia urging the delegates to dis- card Roosevelt and nominate a “genuine” Democrat as their candidate for Presi- dent. Few would deny that former Senator “Jim” Reed of Missouri is a Jeffersonian Democrat, or Al Smith and former Gov. Ely of Massachusetts. Yet these gentlemen have made their opposi- tion, not only to the renomination, but also to the re-election of President Roosevelt, very clear. The argument of the President is that if these Democrats of a by-gone genera- tion, like Jefferson, were here now they would be New Dealers. No one can prove that they would—or for that one of those things that Democrats born and trained in the theories of Jeffer- sonian democracy will have to decide for themselves. * ok k% While President Roosevelt was cele- brating in honor of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello, Tammany was celebrating the 150th anniversary of its founding in Tammany Hall in New York. There, too, a Democratic Senator, Royal S. Copeland, spoke up for Roosevelt. Cope- land has been opposed to many of the New Deal measures. In his address he hit at the centralization of power in ‘Washington, which is one of the tenets of the New Deal. But he, too, is going along with Roosevelt in the coming elec- tion. The other Democratic Senator, Robert Wagner, is heart and soul a New Dealer. Al Smith, who was once one of the proudest products of Tammany, was not present. The support of Tammany Hall in New York City is an essential to Democratic victory in New York this year. Par- ticularly so, since Roosevelt strength in up-State New York has waned greatly in the last year or two. The Tammany leaders were vigorous in their applause of the mention of Roosevelt'’s name, which would seem to indicate they, too, are going along with the New Deal President in November. They have had very little fondness for the President or for his right-hand man, James A. Farley. ‘What Tammany wishes most is to be given a free hand in New York City affairs. If it can be assured such a free hand, it may get back of the President and do a lot for him next Fail. x X k% Gov. Eugene Talmadge of Georgia, who has been one of the President’s severest critics, has announced his candidacy for the United States Senate, to run against Senator Russell, who is an ardent sup- porter of the President. There was a time when Talmadge proposed to buck the renomination of Roosevelt. But he gave that up when he became convinced he could get nowhere if he attempted to take an anti-Roosevelt delegation to the Democratic National Convention. Now he has announced his candidacy for the Senate on a platform that is entirely anti-New Deal. Talmadge has had a strong following in his own State when he has ran for Governor as an opponent of the New Deal. Whether this following will stick-to him in his race for the nomination against Russell remains to be seen. Russell was Governor of Georgia before Talmadge was elected. 3 * X ¥ % ‘The Roosevelt Democrats have counted strongly on a united support of organized labor. John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers of America, and alsd head of the movement for industrial unions in opposition to the old craft unions of the American Federation of Labor, is a New Dealer himself—he self, apparently, very solid with Presi- dent Roosevelt. How this is going affect the political situation is still something ‘of a conundrum. William gasgggi e g g § files It is just | “Dear Sir: I am sending to you a poem that one of your articles inspired. It ‘was the article about sitting in the dark. I remember as a child we would sit out- doors in the dark on Summer evenings. “Bats would dart by, adding mystery to the night. I always had a feeling of fear. Perhaps a tramp had come to our house that day. How times have changed. ‘We do not call them tramps today. “I was too young to appreciate the beauty of the night, but I did sense its mystery. Now I am not afraid of the dark, but find it a source of inspiration. “We have another thimg in common. The birds. I wrote a poem about th€ wood thrush. That was inspired, too, by one of your articles. I believe you said the wood thrush arrived the 27th of April. “I heard the first Bob White's call the 17th of May. I fed the birds all last Winter. Pigeons, bluejays, cowbirds, cardinals. I am just an elementary stu- dent in bird lore, but I enjoy watching them and have become quite conscious of their different calls. “Can you tell me the name of the bird that is red like a cardinal and says ‘Ermie, come here, come here, come here'? Is it & Summer redbird, or tanager? I have seen the wood thrush, but have never heard it sing. For the first time in years my next door neighbor’s cherry tree yielded enough fruit for several pies. The birds were feasting on cicadas. “I enjoy your articles so very much, and hope you will like my poems. If you have any criticism to make I shall be grate- ful, for you are a poet even though you do not write in rhyme. Sincerely, “P.H.D” * k X *x That flying mammal, the bat, is one of the true mysteries of the night. Many years ago women were uni- versally afraid of bats “getting in their hair” if they sat out at night. Bobbed hair seems to have removed much of that fear. They were fearful, too, in the old days of bats getting into sleeping quarters shrough open windows without screens. Younger people of this era do not know that thirty years ago window screens were luxuries. Many of the finest homes had few of them, just as fifty years before that no homes had them at all. . Who has not seen old engravings of famous hotel scenes wherein small black boys with large fans spent their time shooing away the flies that buzzed around the heads of the guests? “8hoo, Fly, Don't Bother Me” was the name of a popular song of that distant era, a title indicative of the hygienic measures of the day. As 3 matter of fact, the iniquitous house fly was not generally recognized as a pest, but was treated with a fine tolerance as just another of the things which must be put up with since they could not be cured. Going back a little farther, William Blake, the poet, actually wrote a fine poem inviting the “little fly” to sup from | the same dish with himself. It made pretty verse, but poor hygiene, as viewed by modern eyes. Now we “swat” the fly with vigor and abandon, and the world is a better place for mankind as a result. * ¥x ¥ ¥ ‘There are scores of kinds of bats. rang- ing all the way from tiny ones that re- semble birds to giant creatures that look for all the world as if sprung straight from some horrible dream. There are bats which resemble foxes. There are bats which eat fruit, others which live on insects and some which drink the blood of their victims. Fortunately the specimens which live and fly around Washington at dusk are little fellows, whose erratic flight in the dusk possesses a strange fascination for those who view them fairly. It is not always kept in mind that the bats, as & class, are among the most per- fectly serial of all animals. That is, locomotion is very difficult for them; practically all their life they either hang head down or are on the wing. The average view is that they are filthy, covered with lice, etc. This is per- hape true, although only scientists have investigated them to that extent. “Let the nasty bat alone, Jimmy,” somebody hollers at the small boy, be- lieving that he will become covered with vermin from head to foot if he fools around the creature. ‘Yet apparently nobody ever got harmed in the old days when it was common occurrence for a bat to come swooping into an open bed room window. * % % X Then what an outery went up. “A bat! A bat!” ‘What screams resounded as feminine footsteps pattered into the hall. To slay the invader was & specialty re- served for the male members of the household. And what a time they mostly had of it, for of all things difficult to dislodge few exceed the erratic bat. It seems perfectly determined on not going out the window. Time and time again in those old days the bat would swoop toward the opening, only to make a sudden turn just as it seemed on the point of going out. There were vicious whacks with brooms, stumbles, yells, even curses, as the male members of the family tried at one and the same time to demonstrate both bravery and agility, when all the time they secretly were very much afraid. Perhaps it is not exactly fair to those old-time heroes to attribute cowardice to them. Surely they drove the bats out at last, or managed to “settie their hash,” popular phrase of the time had it, via the broomstick route. Still there was an undeniable horror of the creatures, induced by their erratic habits of flight, the legend of their vermin and the general atmosphere which always surrounds the creature on the borderline between twq worlds. A flying squirrel loose in a house, for instance, is much worse, if one may judge from screams, than a plain ordinary form of gray or brown squirrel. If there are bats in the neighborhood take advantage of their presence to study their habits. As crazily as they dip, they | will take good care not to get too close to you. Study them with the understanding that they are very fine aviators after all and capable forms of life from other standpoints. Although completely noc- turnal, the time they seem to like best is just at dusk, as twilight arrives. Then the bats come out to frolic and frisk in | the air. It seems frolicking and frisking to human observers, but really it is very | serious business for the bats. They are catching insects. Dinner time in batland is just as in- teresting a period to them as dinner time for us at the most splendily equipped place. Food is one thing the living world agrees is very much worth while, although | ideas as to what constitutes food differ widely. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. With transfer of Undersecretary of State William Phillips to the Rome am- bassadorship, no fewer than four major Federal posts mow await new appoint- ments by President Roosevelt. The others are the assistant secretaryship of the Navy, left open since the death of Col. Henry L. Roosevelt; the undersecretary- ship of the Treasury, vacated last Winter by the resignation of T. Jefferson Cool- idge, jr., and the controller generalship, from which John R. McCarl has just retired. Ambassador at Large Norman H. Davis and Assistant Secretary of State Sumner Welles continue to rate as out- tanding possibilities for the job of Secre- | tary Hu : | enormous value, should he himself be put | forward four years hence for higher tary Hull's right-kand man at the State Department. The names of many can- didates for the important junior posts in the Navy and the Treasury have been under consideration at the White House, but there’s no indication that F. D. R. has made up his mind about either position. The same thing apparently applies to the controller general's office. In a prestdential campaign year there’s likely to be strong pressure from the politicians to hand over these various desirable plums to deserving Democrats, but the technical nature of each of the places in question probably will re- sult in preserving them from the spoils- men, Xk Ex Friends of Representative William Lemke, Union party candidate for Presi- dent, depict him as radiating confidence that his organization is going to make a real dent in November. The Unionists profess to be certain of carrying North Dakota, hopeful about Minnesota and encouraged about Montana. Politicians of all hues seem agreed that the Lemke- O'Brien ticket is going to cut more deeply into Roosevelt ranks than into Landon strength. The commonest figures are that for every Republican vote it gets, the third party will take three or four Democratic votes. On this numerical theory rests the possibility that Lemke may split the Democratic poll sufficiently in certain farm States to throw them into the Republican electoral column. Chalrman Hamilton is bglieved largely to be basing his claims of & Landon victory on this prospect. A Lemke- Coughlin-Townsend hope, of which not 30 much has been said, Is the reputed eagerness of tne combination to win enough seats to hold the balance of power in the next House of Representa- tives, so as to permit passage of mone- tary legislation in which the third party backers are primarily interested. That is believed in many quarters to be the Unionists’ real objective. LR ‘While Democratic leaders, taking their cue from Chairman Farley’s sunny super- optimism, continue publicly to claim that “all 48 States” are in the bag for Roose- velt and Garner, they're reported to be in much more conservative mood when talking off the record. In such confi- dential moments, for instance, New Deal- ers are said to admit that they haven't much chance of carrying Maine, Vermont or Delaware. Mr., Roosevelt lost all three of those States in 1932. Democrats, t0o, are beginning to wonder whether it's true what they say about Dixie—namely, publican and Democratic platforms. He has to make up his mind, however, as to which candidaie for President— Roosevelt u!‘ndon—mllgflu farthest to stamp out monopoly. has not be- that the New Deal was accom- much along n!um. | in several States, that there are mounting signs of revolt including Virginia, North Caroling and Texas. R Already you can hear it being predicted in some Republican circles that if Gov. Landon is defeated for election to the presidency, the most promising timber in sight for the G. O. P. nomination in 1940 would be no other than John D. M. Hamilton, the Kansan's 1936 campaign generalissimo. The intensive pro-Landon canvass upon which Hamilton has just | embarked is certain to build up for him | throughout the country an extensive per- sonal acquaintance, which would be of honors. The red-headed G. O. P. fleld marshal is making a steadily growing impression as a practical politician. For the present Hamilton is concentrating 100 per cent on the job of electing Lan- don and Knox. By general consent, he's going about it in uncommonly efficient fashion, * x % % Congress stacked arms more than two weeks ago. but the Congressional Record 1s still doing business at the old stand, appearing periodically as an “appendix.” The final issue in that guise is scheduled for July 9. The latest number ran to the fat length of 111 pages, crammed with House and Senate speeches that had been “withheld for revision” or “ex- tension of remarks,” as authorized by either branch of the late Congress. Many of these post-adjournment editions of the Record are destined to serve as cam- re-election. * * % x School Life, official organ of the office of education in the Interior Department, gives honorable editorial mention to the safety feat standing to the credit of the | motor transportation system of the public schools of Sioux City, Iowa. The State Department of Public Instruction at Des Moines reports that 17 busses for 17 years have transported 1,000 Sioux City school children a day without an accident or injury of any kind whatso- ever. These figures are believed to con- stitute & national record and are held up as a model for the rest of the country. *x X X X Foreign envoys on duty at Washington, inspired by the 1936 platforms of the two American political parties, are under- stood to be rej to their respective governments that “nationalism” and “iso- lation” must now be regarded as defi- nitely preponderant in the United States. Governments abroad are therefore cau- tioned to build no air casties about more active participation by Uncle Sam in matters beyond his shores. Proposals like those just put forth at the Assembly in Geneva, projecting American entry into a League stripped of war commit- ments and sanctions, fall on deaf ears in Washington. Development of the Roosevelt-Hull reciprocal trade agree- ment policy and any overtures from overseas looking to adjustment of war debts are about the only foreign affairs which would excite any interest here- abouts at this time. * X % % Barring informal utterances by the presidential candidates themselves, or on their behalf, and occasional speeches or statements by subordinate party leaders, the country seems headed for a period of .at least three weeks of relative | the hands are overemphasized. | tribes. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN., A reader can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. What is the long-distance reccrd for a hole in one in golf?—D. L. L. A. The United States Golf Association says: “Frank Mellus, a crack rifle shot and a mediocre golfer, in 1932 did the second hole at the south course of the Los Angeles Country Club, California, in a single shot. It measured at the time 374 yards in length and he was assisted by a powerful wind. This is the iongest hole ever done in one shot.” Q. How many independent countries are there in Africa?—P. D. A. The Negro republic of Liberia is the only remaining independent country in Africa. —— Q. How many miles of bridle paths are there in Washington, D. C.?—M. B. A. There are more than 50 miles of bridle paths. Q. Please giye the date of Lady Astor's first marriage.—J. H. A. In 1897 she married Robert Gould Shaw, obtaining a divorce from him in 1903, Q. Is there belief that Paul Redfern is still alive in South America?—D.E.A. A. The searching party which recently made a trip to South America in order to locate Paul Redfern established the | fact that he is not being held captive by natives of the jungles of South Amer- ica. It has been assumed that he is dead. Q. May jellies be stored in tin cans? —O0. W. 8. A. Jellies which are stored in tin cans will not become contaminated because of the cans, so there should be no danger from their use. However, there will prob- ably be greater loss of color, flavor and desirable consistency from the use of tin cans for jelly. This applies to both the plain tin and enamel cans. For best storage jellies should be placed in glass and preferably in rather small contain- ers. Q. How many radio receiving sets are in use in Germany?—F. H. R. A. Latest available figures estimate the number at 6,142,921, Q. Where was New York City's first city hall located?—C. L. A. The first city hall was the Stadt Huys, at No. 73 Pearl street, a stone building erected by Gov. Kieft at the | West India Co.’s expense, used first as a warehouse and tavern. In 1653, when the Burgher government was established, the tavern was converted into the Stadt Huys, or city hall. Q. How old is Outer Mongolia, the Soviet protectorate?—E. M. A. The so-called People’s Republic of Outer Mongolia came into existence in 1921, when Russian red army troops en- tered this vast, sparsely populated terri- tory in pursuit of the forces of the white leader, Gen. Ungern von Sternberg. Its international status has been highly anomalous. Theoretically it is still part of China, but no Chinese official may set foot there. The country in the last few | years has been barred against all for- | eigners except Russians. Q. How long has horehound been known as a medicinal plant?—F. R. L. A. Pliny and Columella recognized its | medicinal qualities. Q. Please describe what is known as the dance of Salome.—B. J. A. A. No one is in a position to give defi- nite information concerning the steps danced by Salome nor the tempo of the music. In ancient Hebrew times the tambourine and the cymbal and the harp accompanied the dancer. This type of dance is always sensuous. The entire body is brought into play. The hips ;_x}:d e dancer who takes this role should dance in bare feet. It is customary for her to wear a scarf tightly folded about her head, ornamental breast ornaments, a skirt which is ankle length or a little longer. slashed up one side. Many scarfs of various colors form an important de- tall of the costume of Salome. Q. How many years has linen been known to last>—C. K. C. A. Well-preserved linen cloths have been found in Egyptian mummy cases which were more than 4,000 years old. Q. What is meant by Arachne’s labors? —A. L. A. Arachne was a Lydian maiden who challenged Minerva to compete with her in needle tapestry. Minerva changed her into a spider. Spinning and weaving are, therefore, Arachne’s labors. Q. Does Canada make any provision for Indians?—E. M. L. A.In Canada the government each year pays a certain amount of money known as treaty money and distributes a certair amount of provisions to every | Indian on a reservation. in accordance paign literature in members’ contests for | with treaties made with the various Industrial schools, also, are pro- vided by the government and are main- tained by religious organizations. These schools may be attended without charge by Indian children, who receive a train- ing there which enables them to earn a living and so attain to privileges of citi- zenship. 4 ¢ Q. Please give some information about blindfish—M. H. K. A. The blindfish (Amblyopsis spelaeus) is related to the mud minnow and killi- fish and is found in underground streams in Mammoth Cave and other caves in Kentucky and Indiana. It is from 2 to 5 inches long, entirely white, and has no trace of external eyes. Q. Please name some Mexican vol- canoes—A. H. L. A. On the Mexican plateau are situ- ated some of the world’s most gigantic volcanic mountains—Orizaba, altitude, 18250 feet, and Popocatepetl, with an elevation of 17,876 feet. A short distance west of the plateau is Colima, a very active volcano, which rises to a height of about 13,000 feet. Another noted Mexican volcano is Jorullo, Let the Sirens Shriek, Prom the Elkhart Truth. The New York Central. locomotive which insisted in blowing its whistle for an hour the other morning, thus arouse ing many Elkhart people, might be use= ful for political campaign purposes, winding up in the Fall in the hottest finish of our time. The most dramatic developments during the Summer may be announcements of “walks” by anti- New Deal Democrats of prominence. These are signaled with assurance by Republican *spokesmen, who pretend to know what's in the wind. 2 (Copyright, 1938.) ‘