Evening Star Newspaper, July 28, 1936, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Merning umo-. WASHINGTON, D, C. TUESDAY July 28, 1936 THEODORE W. NOYES....,..... Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company, B 0 11th 8t a insylvania Ave New York O Y Ehst c?n n ol 3 11di) Eurspenn ‘3é“’u'fu'n'c"sz. oiden Brvlane, Rate by Carrier Within the City. 4nc per month 0¢ per month .65¢_per month 5c Der cepy The Even) The Even (when el e The Sunday 8! Nisht Fina) Editios -70¢ per mant tional 50 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Mar; and Virsinia. Member of the Associated Press. The Associaied Press 1a exclusively entitled to lhedulst’ (‘or lrlwub"u““zlllz f all ne?l\!:;i}wl;u;l;’g eredited fo 1t or nof o se el el 150 the lec; d herein E?ln Tiehis %(‘th'lul’ ’u u"lv'!el’-’ dtoatcies erein are aisn eserved —— e Washington’s ‘Slush Fund.’ ‘While it is in no wise or degree the business of the people of Washington to concern themselves with the selection of members of the House of Represent- atives frem the States, and while in the past it has been dangerous for them to engage in observations regarding the personnel of selections for these posi- tions, it is nevertheless in order to ex- press gratification for the prospect that the post of Representative from the seventeenth district of Texas will be filled in the next Congress by another than the incumbent. He has just been defeated for renomination in a primary, not yet conclusively, but with a strong likelihood of ultimate defeat in the run- off occasioned by failure of a majority on the first test. Even immediate expression of such gratification over this prospective result is attendant with some peril, for there «» remains the chance that in the run-off primary the incumbent will secure a positive majority of votes and in conse- quence the nomination, which in that State is tantamount to election. This peril is already evidenced by the charge made by the partially defeated candi- date that his present discomfiture is due to the outpouring of “an enormous slush fund” sent into his district by “the Washington tax dodgers who have sworn to defeat” him. For in the event of his triumph over his admitted Texas and alleged Washington foes he would doubt- less wreak his vengeance mainly upon his easiest marks, the helpless Wash- ingtonians. Of course, no more preposterous accu- sation could be imagined than that the people of the District of Columbia have taken the slightest part in the political affairs of the seventeenth congressional district of Texas. For, again of course, not a dollar has been sent down there for the conduct of a campaign against the incumbent. In the first place, there are no District dollars to spare, and in the second place, it is not the business of the people of the District of Columbia to participate in the selection of the members of their legislature, those 96 Senators and 435 Representatives who levy their taxes, appropriate or allocate their money of maintenance and enact all their laws. The members of this disfranchised community may not with security indulge even in any expression of the feelings of resentment or grievance which nat- urally arise when they have been treated unjustly, unreasonably and tyrannically by the members of the Congress in the discharge of their constitutionally im- posed duties as District of Columbis legislators and almoners. The part of the District is that of suffering without hope of redress, without the opportunity to participate in the selection of their lawmakers and tax assessors, without the chance, short of insult and the menace of costly reprisals, to present its case even before those legislators. In the past capital has been made by District baiters in their home bailiwicks on the score of the normal, natural and righteous resentment expressed by Dis- trict of Columbia residents and tax- payers against the tyrannies suffered in the course of general and fiscal legis- lation. Let but a murmur of criticism arise, whatever the cause or provocation, and the object of it has paraded his own grievance before his home voters as a martyr to the cause of legislative jus- tice, as a guardian of the tax funds of the people at large against the rapacities ©of the tax-dodging District denizens, It is needless to present in any detail, even in this hour of prespective relief, the reason for District gratification that the tide of pelitics in the seventeenth congressional district of Texas appears to have removed from the legialative scene one who throughout his service in the lower house has speclalized in & systematic attack upon the formal and long standing contract made by Con- gress with the District of Columbia that a fixed proportion of the costs of Na- tional Capital maintenance and develop- ment should be borne by the Federal Government, originally one-half, later forty per cent and eventually, largely, if not chiefly, through the persistent machinations of the incumbent from that district, whittled down to a small and steadily diminishing modicum alto- gether out of proportion to the Capital's necessities and to the resources of its taxpayers. And it is further needless to go into any particulars of the intrusions of the incumbent from the seventeenth con- gressional Texas district into the details of District municipal administration, in the assumption of a power not granted to any member of the House of Repre- sentatives er of the Senate, whatever his committee status, responsibilities and authority, The full record of such en- croachments may never be written. It is sufficient now to note that if the first primary vote of the seventeenth Texas district is eonfirmed 3 the run-of next month the District of Columbia will be freed from a petty dictatorship which for nearly thirty long years has been guf- fered without any effective means of redress or remedy. Other enemies of the incumbent from the seventeenth Texas district than the Washington tax dodgers with their “enermeus slush funds” are charged with his present defeat. Disgruntled and un- succassful postmaster applicants and eld politieal enemies are bracketed with these wieked Washingtenlans in this debacle, According to the ingumbent, he has been ganged. But it will take seme &uper sleuthing te uncover the corruptionista from the banks of the Potemae, whe may quite confidently be regarded as snarks—and it is nowadays fairly definitely established that “there ain't no such critters.” The Mussolini Empire. Germany's action in beeaming the first major pewer te recegnize the Italian eonquest of Ethiopia is designed sooner or later te place ether impertant gove ernments, including that of the United States, on the horns ef a diplomatie dilemma. There are uneficial sugges- tions that Washington may be forced into the position either of acknowledg- ing the existence af 3ussclini's Italos | Ethiopian “empire” or withdrawing the American Legation from Addis Ababa, The reasons that impel Berlin officially te admit the subjugation of Haile Selas- sig's sovereignty de net, ef course, apply in the case of any ether country, with the possible exception of Austria. Ber- lin's action is an early result of the accord with Vienna, eencluded with Italy’s eordial assent, if not active ce- operation, The Reich's transparent pur- pose is not only to solidify the entente between the Nazi and Fascist dictator- ships, but to assure future Italian ape< proval of any territorial “adjustments” in Europe or elsewhere that Hitler may create, by either force or diplomacy. There is no indication that American recognition of the new deal in Ethiopia is in prospect. Existing precedent is all against such action, President Roose- velt in effect acknowledged the fact of conquest when he abolished the embargo on shipments eof abnormal quantities of arms to either of the late belliger- ents and declared that a state of war no longer existed. But this is a long | way from formal recognition that the Italians are now the legal masters of the | late African realm. The delicate situa- tion which the State Department ap- parently faces lies in withholding recog- nition indefinitely without offending Italy. Matters may shortly be hastened to a decision when former Undersecre- tary of State William Phillips presents his credentials as the United States’ Ambassador at Rome and when former Italian Undersecretary of State Fulvio S8uvich arrives to succeed Signor Rosso as “Emperor” Victor Emmanuel’s envoy at Washington. While Manchukuo, having been set up by Japan as a so-called sovereign state, does not afford quite a parallel to Ethiopia, there is every reason to expect that the United States will main- tain an attitude consistent with the “Stimson doctrine” proclaimed at the time of the Manchurian occupation. It was then set forth that this country does not intend to recognize any situa- tion, treaty or agreement which may be brought about by means contrary to the terms of the Kellogg pact. Since then the United States has adhered to the inter-American agreement sponsored by Argentina, which also prohibits the recognition eof territorial conquests by force. Diplomatic boycott of Il Duce's “em- pire” will not, of course, result in any relaxation of Italy’s hold upon Ethiopia, but, as in the case of the world’s re- fusal to accept the fiction of Manchu- kuo’s independence, non-recognition ef the Pascist status at Addis Ababa will stand as international cendemnation of the lawless means by which it was brought about. ——on—s Cleveland has foynd the Townsend- Smith-Coughlan-Smith-Lemke conglom- erate, while not so profitable, more en- tertaining than the Republican econven- tion, which met and adjourned on schedule time without any shindies to knock the time table inte a cocked hat. It is distinctly to be borne in mind that if Mr. Parley has to use the “rubber stamp” alibi in explanation of indiscreet letters of fund solicitation it will have no reference to postal matters, phila- telic or otherwise. The Non-Shavers’ Vote. When & candidate goes fishing on his vacation, he makes a bid for the fisher- man vote, provided he conducts himself in accordance with sound fishing eti- quette. When he goes sailing, the heart of every yachtsman sails with him, with an eye to the trim of his sails and his manner of coming up to & buoy. Presi- dent Roosevelt has executed & politically astute maneuver in combining, in one vacation, & bid for the fisherman vote, a bid for the yachtaman's vote and—above everything elie—a bid for the vote of the non-shavers, John Hamilton, chairman of the Re- publican National Committee, must have been forewarned that semething of the sort was going to take place. For even as early as the conventjon he appeared on the platform with a strip of sticking plaster acroas his chin, obviously a solemn tribute to shavers the world over, and he continued to wear that emblem of the down-trodden even after the convention. That was clever. But Mr. Roosevelt has given the Landon management something to think about. Breathes there a man with soul s0 dead who never has screwed up his courage to go on a non-shaving debauch? The hectic life of an industrial age, which judges masculine beauty by the absence of whiskers, has prevented many otherwise courageous males from flout- ing the ragor for any length of time. But occasionally there comes, to every map, the eppertunity not te shave. And the average revels in it, glories In it, 1s drawn by it to » noble past THE EVENING S8TAR, when men were men and whiskers were whiskers. Man never feels quite so independent, so sublimely the captain of his soul, as when he goes in for a peried of non-shaving. To these the President has held out the hand of comradeship and there is something undoubtedly appealing about it. Mr, Hamilton and Governoer Landen will be wise to consider the subject se- riously. The would-be non-shavers' vote of this country is a potent force, A remarkable number of bonus re- cipients are saving their money to pro- vide against a rainy day. No amount of authoritative persuasion will serve to eliminate all traces of human caution to preserve the hoarding habit. —_————————— A great artistic responsibility rests on General Jim Farley. The smile which photographers prise is easily managed by the administration, but it remains for the general to provide a logical and enduring reason for it, e Every time Carter Glass speaks there is always loya] response from his con- stituency. By way of intreducing a pun into serious business, it may be said that aristocratic Virginia is always “Glass conseious.” ——— e Extraordinary ideas have been ad- vanced, but noe one has yet suggested requiring an applicant fer Supreme Ceourt responsibilities to pass a civil service examination. An easy system of politics has been devised by a campaign classification as Demeocrats of all voters whe are in an unsettled state of mind. s It is now easy to interview G. Bernard 8haw. Time was when no one belleved he would ever accept assistance in doing | his talking. — .. In campaign discussion the assurance of a full dinner pail has been largely superseded by acientific explanations of a depleted market basket. .- for “the postman's knock” as a cam- paign argument. e A motion picture academy of arts and | sciences is expected soon to turn popu- lar attention more to art galleries and less to shooting galleries. — e “Communism” is a loosely defined word that broke out of the dictionary | into politics. Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. A Summer Day. { In de mornin’, when de sun was jest a-peekin’ crost de edge Of de cabin window ledge, Like a little golden wedge A-pryin’ loose de daytime fum de night, I says, “Dis is de day I's g'ineter do some work fo' sho’ An’ I'll let de people know Whut dey never knowed befo’, Dat to slam aroun’ an’ toil is my de- light. T'll agitate de soil where corn is standin’ in a row An’ git it interested in de way it ought to grow, Oh, de mornin’-glories blossomed an’ de birds was singin’' gay— If I plowed de groun’ dat day I might skeer ’em all away An' dat ain’ no way foh any one to do! An' purty seon de moonbeam come a-slidin’ th'oo de tree ‘White an’ shiny as could be, Like a little silver key Foh to lock de daytime treasures far fum view. Tomorrow, mebbe, I'll git up an’ make another start. My only botheration is, I's got a tender heart. His Mission. “Have you ever tried to convince your constituents that yeu were another Daniel Webster?” “No,” answered 8enator Sorghum; “what my censtituents want is appro- priations, not literature.” Question. There will often ecome a query To the conscientious mind That is not so very cheery, For the answer’s hard to find. As we look into the distance ©Of the future, oft we say, “When we think were of assistance, Are we only in the way?” Men are ofien made to wonder When their well meant words go wrong That some slight impetuous blunder In result should be so strong. Often one who bravely chatters Brings but little, day by day, To the world that really matters, But is only in the way. Jud Tunkins says politics is the only game he knows that lets a man make the public pay when he guesses wrong, = Laooking to the Future? “I guess Il make a lawyer of Josh,” said Farmer Corntossel, “But your wife wants ‘him to be a physician.” “Yes. He's got to be a professional man and we'd want to show our con- fidence in him. And I think it would be & heap safer to take Josh's law than his medicine.” Joys of Procrastination. An argument prolonged doth bring A peaceable delight. 8o long as folks keep arguing ‘They must postpone a fight. “De man dat keeps wirepullin’ in politics,” said Uncle Eben, “is g'ineter grab a piece o' barbed wire sooner Iates” Mr. Farley is on vacation without pay. | Mr. Landon may still expect to listen | WASHINGTON, D. €, TUESDAY, JULY Police Scout Car Job Is An Important One To the Editor of The Star: Often when a Dolice car spproaches, it is not uncommon to hear this re- mark: “What & soft job those cops have riding around in a nice new car and making their rounds by aute in- stead of by foet,” Bince it seems to be the consensus of opinion that the scout car patrolman’s job is an easy one it appears only fair that the policeman should have a chance to present his side of the picture. Is the task actually easy? And is it such a sinecure as it seems? A police force member offers seme interesting and enlightening informa- tion. “Of course,” says he, “patrolling the beat by car i1s easler than doing it by foot. But for every advantage now there are 10 disadvantages. In the old days your feet got sore; but you never had the endless, nerve-racking and energy-depleting jobs you have now. Before, your duties were few; scarcely four calls a week went to the pelice- man on the beat; now—with a scout car—eofficers are called upon to engage in every task frem running down the mest hardened criminal te acting as nursemaid for children who never in their life have known the bounds ef parental restraint. “Too many of the calls made are trivial and unnecessary. Worst in this class is the request that police come and hreak up & crowd of bays that have congregated or are playing in the street. Of course, we answer such calls, but it does little good. Usually when we get there the boys have disappeared; some intuitive sense seems to tell them w are coming and the result is a g loss of valuable time; our mission has been but a wild goose chase. The lam- entable thing about this situation is that frequently. when en such a trivial errand, a call will come in that is really urgent, Then a car from another dis- trict must be dispatched. This entails more loss of time, and this is not to be minimized, for many is the occasion when the saving of a few minutes meany the saving of a life. I am sure if the average citizen were aware of this sit- uation he would be just a wee bit more hesitant when making calls of this na- ture. “Another large number of needless calls are made by women who engage in marital squabbles. They get excited, hurry to the phone and ask us to rush on over. When we arrive both husband and Wife run out to tell their side of the story and the officer has the added job of acting as both judge and arbiter. In such cases nothing usually happens; the husband is let off with a warning and that ends the affalr. When an erring mate is locked up nothing usually happens then, either, for, as a rule, when the case comes up the wife's anger has cooled and she is no longer willing to prefer charges. “Those are but a few of the things police have to contend with. There are others. To begin with, when the men g0 on duty they must cruise contin- uously, which is enough to wear down the mind and muscle of the best of them. Then they must, while so doing, also keep an eye peeled for possible law violations that come across their path. They must look for traffic signs that are down or in need of painting or repair. For every call sent to them over the police radio a record must be made; notations must be made of the time it was answered and what was done there. It is not unusual for such a report to the officer will have to spend several hours of his own time completing the record, especially If the night or shift has been a busy one. “Is that all, you say? No, indeed. not! How about when arrest is made? Then the policeman has the added joy of going to court and preferring his charges—also on his own time. If the case is lengthy or delayed and the offi- cer has to go on duty with little or no sleep the next day, why—that doesn't matter—it's all part of the “soft job he has riding around in the nice new car” which he enjoys. “Yes, the policeman in a scout car certainly has a snap of it. But I'd hate to have any superior offer me a job pounding the sldewalks again. I'd take it tomorrow!” JOSEPH AMOROSE. | Motor Car Reversible Headlights Proposed ‘To the Editor of The Star: The writer, like most every one else, has had occasion to note from time to time the menace from automobile head- lights, but I particularly was impressed over this about a year ago, while riding on a highway bus. Having nothing else to do, I gave the matter some thought, and devised a simple system of autome- bile highway lighting, which no doubt could easily be put into effect. I suggest that automobiles be equipped with additional “headlight” in back, and additional “tail light” in front. It is patent that the reason two autoists approaching each other at night are blinded is the glare of each other's lights. Why is it necessary to shine your lights in the other fellow’s place? When I was a boy and my father had to nail up the cow barn door at night he used to take me with him to hold the lantern or candle, and he would say, “Son, hold the light so you see the nail (not me), and if you see the nail head, then you know I am seeing it.” I held the light en the object—not on him. Now, the man approaching you is trying to see up the road beyond you, he is not trying to see you. Therefore, if you will shine a light from the back of your car and cut out your front lights, he will be able to see up the road in the direction he is geing; and if he shines a light from the back ef his car up the road in the opposite direction, you will be able to see where you are going. I have suggested the “tail lights” as a marker for the front ef the cars, so as to outline the small distance between the two cars. I have studied this matter very care- fully, going out on the highway at night and imagining every sort ef conditian, and this seems the one way to make night driving as safe as daytime driving so far as lights are concerned. Now, you might say, “Well, how about the man behind me when I put on my back ‘headlight,’” and the answer is, as soon as the man behind you sees this light go on, he knows the thing for him to do is stay behind you, becsuse this is proof positive he can’t pass you until the other fellow has passed you both. Of course, if this man is, say, within 50 feet of you it would blind him tem- slow down; there is no danger, you are going away from him, not in his direc- tion. 1In fact, this is his cue to “reverse” involve four pages of writing, and often | 28, 19386. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. A hearty, well-spoken “hello” or “good morning” is an old-faghioned greeting young people ought to learn. A distinguishing feature of the day seems to be a weasel-worded greeting, a8 if the giver is somewhat ashamed of being polite. This indifference not only is 1l bred, it is silly and deprives life as it goes along of something very fine, A hearty greeting without sincerity is better than one of these low-mouthed, indifferent greetings one hears so ofien. Surely there ean be no fear in such supine methods of speech as are heard everywhere, especially in the daily greet- ix}n which help make up the everyday ife. No, the reason is just plain indiffer- ence, based on the secretly held belief that to be eminently natural is to be unsophisticated. | To be unsophisticated, one gathers, | is to be worse than nothing at all, | ok ¥ % ‘We like a hearty greeting, man to man, | straight from the shoulder and right out in the open. | There is & world ef cheer in it, real help in the everyday. It need net be loud. The indifference, seemingly, 0 often met nowadays, has one good peint, that it is just the oppesiteness ef unnecessary loudness. Loudness is out. The loudest people are the oldsters. ‘The young folks speak quietly. That, too, is sephistication, one of its better sides. Burely there is good to mest things, if one tries to see it. The loud greeting, therefore, is not necessary, but the hearty one, the well spoken one, is necessary, if we are all | to get the help from each ether which we ought to get, just as we go aleng. Life as it goes along—we put it in that form to distinguish it from life in the abstract. Life as we go along— All persons ought to be interested in that because it means the vital contacts, | so many of which are unsatisfactory, | and so many of them totally unneces- sary! | Every one remembers the old motto, | *“I am an old man, and have had many | troubles, most of which never happened.” | Worry can be trouble, t00,-but what is meant is the worrying over things ‘ that really never happened, and actually | had no chance of happening. * x ok % One of the worst of these troubles is the fancied hurt, or slight. Surely civilization is a veneer (al- though in the main a good one) and | every one knows it, when he stops to watch two persons “get mad” at each | other over nothing much. | The veneer, built up through the years, | vanishes at a few words, leaves abruptly, takes months to build itself up again. Thereafter the greeting is likely to be extra hearty, as the thin places in the covering peek through. Any way you look at it, this thin veneer of civilization is a good thing, a thing to value, to take care of, to repair the slightest break. One of the best ways is to greet the people you know as if you meant it! One has but to think of all the half- way greeters, the semi-speakers, the on- ate-to-speak-to-you-but-I-must fel- TRACEWELL. Jows, to reslize that ene of the true salvations of the everyday life is the honest greeting. It is one of the big little things of the world. Let us not be like the man whe, when spoken to a second time during the morning, replied angrily, “I said ‘hello’ to you once.” ¥ %W Once is not enough! Learn to speak every time you meet some one you know. It may be an overdoing, but it is & good superfluity. The superfluous, in this world, often is the good. Consider the woman who smiles often. Some people are inclined to call this affected, but who is there who can esti- mate the happiness and encouragement | which such a person brings to those she knows? The honest smile is never wasted. No one dares analyse humanity too deeply. He who searches for motives often wastes his time, and is all wrong, any- way. If some one greets us heartily, or smiles | pleasantly, we accept the greeting or the smile for what it is worth and leave m$u’y to a future time, if ever. arching for motives, ene often loses the geed that comes with ready accept- ance. What if a certain fellow is a profes- sional greeter? Is his smile not as goed as if he really meant it? Perhaps he does, in the bettom of his own heart and mind. It may be that his typical smile is really more sincere than the smile of the person who har- bors a grudge. * ¥ ¥ ¥ ‘Those who believe this should make a practice of the well-intentioned “hello™ or “good morning,” or even “hi,” in the early morning hours. Many persons seem fo require o be | Jioy “Gescendant of an ancestor who wound up, in the morning, before smil- ing, or even being polite to associates. Surely this is all wrong. Others feel much the same way they do, and therefore demand the help of good cheer before noon, not after it. Yet it is common knowledge that many persons do not “thaw out” before 10 am. or, in extreme cases, until lunch time. These are mental cases, in most in- stances, aided by physical ailments, such | 1-11( headaches, oncoming colds and the | e. Often a hearty “hello” will do as much to break up these ailments as medicine. Think, teo, of the cheer it brings the other fellow! This is a helpful prescription in a busy day, one which may be recom- mended to all those, in particular, who do not want to do it! A hearty “hello” will do them good. | It will straighten out the kinks. It will do the other fellow good. It is making two blades of fine grass grow where none grew before. Keep silent, however, rather than say “good morning” in such a way as to give another the impression that you find it hard to speak to him. Between the fellow who does not speak at all, and he whe speaks in the half-hearted manner outlined, we will take the former any time, At least we know where he stands. STARS, MEN AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS The Arctic Ocean, refrigerator for half the earth, is warming up. l 8ince 1900 its zero line has risen ap- proximately 100 yards, according to re- ports made to the International Polar | Year Commission. The Norwegian ex- plorer Nansen first discovered, in 1896, that this shallow, land-locked sea around the North Pole consisted in Summer of two distinct layers. At the surface and extending to a depth of about 200 yards the temperatures were below the tem- peratures of fresh water—ranging from —1 to —2 centigrade. Beneath this, reaching to depths of from 600 to 700 yards, was a practically independent layer of much saltier water with an aver- age temperature of slightly more than 1 degree centigrade. This observation was confirmed two years later by inde- pendent measurements. It was not until 1927 that there came the first indications that a change was in progress. The Russian explorer Mak- azoff, cruising between Franz Josef Land and Nova Zembla, found temperatures of approximately half a degree centigrade at a depth of 100 yards. In 1931, at the same place, oceanographers employed on the Russian polar year program found repeatedly a temperature of zero at 75 meters. In 1934 zero temperatures were | reported between 70 and 80 meters. Analysis of random measurements taken since the beginning of the cen- tury indicates that there has been a progressive warming movement upward, | greatly complicated by recessions, none | of which, however, quite reach the previ- | ous low. This is probably due, accord- ing to an analysis by Jules Schokalsky, president of the Sqviet Geographic So- ciety, to which the reports of the Rus- sian explorers engaged on the polar year work were made, te an increase in the amount of water being peured into the Arctic basin by the North Atlantic current. The crack in the Arctic's cold de- fenses, he helieves, is the Barenz Sea, Inte this relatively shallow arm of the polar ocean the North Atlantic current penetrates by four routes running east of Spitsbergen and between Franz Josel Land and Nova Zembla. The warmer water from the North Atlantic is pushed under the colder Arctic water and re- sults in the zero line being pushed slowly upward, unless there is an equiv- alent outflow. Apparently this, nor- mally to be expected from the Labrador current, is not taking place, with the result that the Arctic is storing a sur- plus of heat, It is not known whether the effeet is one of long duration. If this is the case, meteorologists point out, the warming of the Aretic may be of far-reaching sig- nificance. The land-locked basin around the pole is the Northern Hemisphere’s cold-weather factory. Cold waves, pushed | primary warmer seasons. The nearer the surface | is approached, the slower—it is expected | | —will be the rise of the zero level, but if | out of the Arctic along the paths of least resistance over the continents of North America, Europe and Asia, are primarily responsible for cold weather at all sea- R. HENRY. sian oceanographers may have been a factor responsible for the surplus of warmer water continues to be stored up the eventual result might | be a temperate Arctic with a gradual melting of the ice. If this continued to any great extent it would result in a raising of the sea levels and, in the long run, the flooding of much of the Atlantic seaboard. It is well known that the Arctic basin has not always been a frigid place. Dur- ing the miocene geological era, about 40,000,000 years ago, temperate zone fauna and flora extended over Ellesmere Land and Northern Greenland, and at a much earlier period these lands must have been covered by the dense forests which were transformed into their coal beds. These periods have been suc- ceeded by great ice ages, when polar conditions extended far to the southward and the present continents extended for many miles seaward. The causes of the changes are unknown and it is by no means impossible that the warming of the Arctic discovered by the Russians may be the beginning of just such a change. In any event, metearalpgists paint out, any noteworthy change in Arctic tem- peratures, profoundly affected by the underlying water, is bound to be at- tended by puzzling meteorological phe- nomena all over the earth. Is There Anything Immoral . . About Being a Communist? To the Editor of The Star: Why do we have all this hysterical fear and indignation about communism? Suppose any one really is a Communist. What of {t? Why should net any one be a Communist? The general atti- tude seems to be: “Oh, why, of course— a Communist—that is awful.” But again I ask why? The Com- munists may be fools. But it is hard to see how there is anything more immoral about being & Communist than about being a Selid South Democrat. By that I mean holding political opin- ions or mental habits that seem to be wholly unjustified by logic or by ethics— mere personal habits. The Communists are just like the Republicans. I mean the Republican party. Wherein are they like the Re- publicans? In this, that they held ideas which seem to other people to be er- roneous and even silly. But the Repub- licans claim they have a right to be that way, and so they have. It is equally true that the Com- munists have a right to be that way. They have just as good a right to ex- press their foolish notions as the Daughters of the American Revalution have to express Mr. It is unpatriotic. It is un-American, The Communists are sald te be op- posed to American principles. But yet Representative Blanton, Mr. Hearst, the e et Departoent wio sigt down, oa the War Department wi ul on anti-war agitation by methods that smell like persecution—all these are principles, and wdmmmn selves. the | { led by John Cotton, ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. A reader can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Evening Ster Information Burequ, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. Have the postal receipts for the past year been larger than for the pree vious year?—T. B, A. The preliminary report of postal re- ceipts for the entire country for the fiscal year just closed shows an increase of 6.080 per cent over the previous fiscal vear. Q. I have before me a newspaper article which states that the Democrats will likely carry New York State in the presidential election because the Jews will all vote for Lehman, the Negroes for Roosevelt on account of the reliet and the Italians because Mayor La Guardia will support the New Deal, What percentage of the total number of voters in New York State would these three groups be—W. H. A. The total of all three groups named is only about one-third of the total voters in the Empire State. Q. How much meat of various kinds has been consumed by the United States since 1900?—H. R. G. A. Bince 1900 the people of the United States have eaten about 520,000,000,000 pounds of meat (about 139 pounds per person per year, on an average), of which 46 per cent was pork, 44': per cent beef, 413 per cent lamb and mutton and 5 per cent veal. Q. What are the qualifications for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution?—K. B, A. Any man shall be eligible to mem- bership in the society who, being of the age of 18 years or over and a citizen of good repute in the community, is the was at all times unfailing in loyalty to, and rendered active service in, the cause of American independence, either as an officer, soldier, seaman, marine, militia- man or minuteman, in the armed forces of the Continental Congress or of any one of the several Colonies or States, or as a signer of the Declaration of Inde- pendence, or as a member of a Com- mittee of Safety or Correspondence, or | as a member of any Continental, Pro- vincial or Colonial Congress or Legisla« ture, or as a recognized patriot who per- formed actual service by overt acts of resistance to the authority of Great Britain. Q. What boundary between countries is the most traversed?—M. J. C. A. The international boundary between the United States and Canada is the most traveled over in the world. Q. How are alginates made?—M. H. L. A. Alginates are produced from a spe- cies of single-celled brown algae or kelp which grows profusely as a seaweed off the shores of San Diego, Calif. By re- fining the kelp, alginic acid of relatively high purity is secured, and from this the various alginic compounds are de- rived. Q. Where is the oldest marionette the- ater?—A. F. A. The doll theater in Osaka, Japan, is the oldest in the world. Q. Is Robert Loraine, the British actor, living?—A. T. A, He died December 24, 1835, shortly before his 60th birthday. Over a period | of 40 years, he starred in nearly 50 plays. Q. How many books are published yearly in the United States?’—E. L. R. A, According to Bureau of the Census figures for 1933, 120,789,903 books were published in that year. Q. Who was the first high school teacher in the United States?—J. K. R. A, On February 13, 1635 when the | Publick Latin School at Boston was or- ganized, the people of the community, voted that “our brother Philemon Pormont, shalbe in- treated to become scholemaster for the teaching and nourtering of children | with us.” Q. How many counties are there in Illinois?—E. R. A. There are 102 counties in the State. Q. In “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” what was the name of Eliza’s husband?—N. D. A. She was married to George Harris, They were both slaves. Q. What minerals are produced in Africa?—L. H. B. A. Afri produces nearly all of the world's supply of diamonds and more than one-third of the world's yearly output of gold. Some of the richest copper deposits in the world exist west of the great interior lakes, and iron has from the earliest times been obtained and worked by the natives. Salt is abundant. Q. What is meant by the Harvard Workshop?—O. C. A. It is a nickname for the course in drama construction given at Harvard, It is also called English 47, Harvard 47 and 47 Workshop. Among the suc- cessful playwrights who studied there are Edward Sheldon, Josephine Preston Peabody, Percy Mackaye, Winthrop Ames and Eugene O'Neill, Q. Please give same information ahout the dogfish—H. L. A. The dogfish is a small, slate-col- ored shark, 3 feet leng, with a strong spine in the dersal fin. It inhabits both shores of the North Atlantic, southward to Cuba. The flesh is used for food and the liver yields ojl, The very rough skin is dried and used, like sandpaper, for lishing wood. Sometimes as many as g:,ooo dogfish have been taken in a single haul of the net. Q. How long has Louis Fischer, who writes about Russia, lived in that coun~ try?—F. C. A. The correspondent has lived in the Soviet Union for 12 years. v Henry’s Mechanical Hens. Prom the Philadelnhia Evening Bullejin. Henry Ford, who believes farm animals are doomed to extinction, has probably planned a flivver that will yleld milk and lay eggs. A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton Little Fellow. He climbed on my knee at eventide. I asked, “Fairy tale before bed?” He cuddled his head on my shoulder. “No. The tale of my life instead.” I laughed. “Your life has been short, dear boy; v But you've long, full years ahead And in them you may achieve greatness.® "wt::;‘m big and all finished,” he o