Evening Star Newspaper, August 21, 1936, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASBING'.I‘ON D. C. August 21, 1936 THEODORE W. NOYES..........IJ(IIMI = et e Nt e S The Evening Shr Nmuw Company. Pnnn ylv-mn Ave. n Buns«n‘m 'London Rate by Carrier ier Within the City. Regular Edition ---40¢ per month -60c per month -65¢_per month The Sunday Star__ -Bc per copy Night Fina) Edition fiaht Pnal and Sundsy Star-__70¢ per month Final 8t B5c per montn e ieerion mlde af the end of each month Qrders may be seut by mail o taitobone Na- Rate by Mail—Payable in Advauce. mo. €0c ki 1 mo. . S0 1 B Member of the Associated 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 loca) news pubiished hercin Tights of Dubiication of sbecial dispatches hereln are also reserve Business of Government. One of the striking showings of the Wational Industrial Conference Board's latest study of “National Income and Its Elements” is the marked increase, during the years of the depression, of the business of government. The sta- tistics reveal the extent of losses in wages and salaries, dividends and other forms of earnings by private citizens. But the business of government has enjayed a boom. In 1929, for instance, Federal and local government was contributing 85 per cent of the total realized income of the Nation. In 1934 the proportion of this contribution had doubled and accounted for 17.5 per cent. The show- ing is even more marked in totals. Wages and salaries derived from indus- tries and occupations amounted to about fifty-one billion dollars in 1929, declin- ing to the low point of twenty-eight billion in 1933 'and increasing tn thirty- one billion in 1934, a decrease between 1929 and 1933 of 39 per cent. In the same period income of independent entrepreneurs, those in business. for themselves, dropped from slightly over fourteen billion to slightly over eight billion, a decrease of about 37 per cent. Dividends, in the same period, fell off from more than five and a half billion in 1929 to slightly over two billion in 1934, a drop of more than 59 per cent. But in the same period government wages and salaries dropped from about $4,778,000,000 to $4,655,000,000, a decrease of only $123,000,000, or less than 3 per cent. The relatively slight decrease in total government wages and salaries, the re- port points out, is more than offset by an increase in pensions, an increase of more than $300,000,000 in interest pay- ments, an increase in rental payments, benefit payments and relief payments, which in 193¢ amounted to $2,300,000,000, or almost five per cent of the accountable realized income for that year. There was a slight reduction in average gov- ernment salaries—Federal and local— during the depression. But, whereas these were ninety-one per cent in 1934 of what they were in 1929, industrial wages and salaries were only seventy- two per cent of what they were in 1929. This study furnishes statistical evi- dence supporting the obvious fact that government is the last to feel the effects of depression, and in the current de- pression the business of government has increased, while practically everything else has shown drastic decreases. The increase in government during the de- pression has been supported by the theory , that increased government activity was essential to recovery and the extension of relief. But the in- crease is also supported by the dollars and cents drawn in taxation from those whose incomes, from every other form of activity, have shrunk. If the theory of governmental activity in times of depression were applied in times of prosperity, such activity would be diminished as recovery gained headway. But, unfortunately, the theory usually works in only one direction—toward more, instead of less, government. —_————— Japanese visitors went on a sightseeing tour of this city with guides to answer each and every proper question. Some of this espionage suspicion may be due to the assumption of a furtive manner Instead of making frank interrogations. ———— Colonel Knox got caught in a shower at Hagerstown. If he could repeat this experience at will he would be held in euperstitious regard in drought-stricken mreas. —_————— Ability and thrift hold their impor- tance in human affairs. Social security must always depend largely on getting a good job and being able to hold it. Harvard Stamp. Senator Marcus A. Coolidge of Massa- chusetts several months ago appealed to President Roosevelt to authorize a commemorative postage stamp to mark the tercentenary of the founding of Harvard University, first institution of higher learning in the United States. The petition later was indorsed by the entire membership of the upper branch of the Federal Legislature. It also has nad the support of leaders in philatelic circles, representing that portion of the public which normally would pay all the costs of the manufacture and dis- tribution of the proposed issue. But the President, himself both a Harvard alumnus and a philatelist, has declined to order the stamp printed. His attitude in the matter is that he does not wish to set a precedent whereby other educational institutions might be encouraged to solicit similar favors. The Post Office Department, as he knows, lent its facilities freely to advertise tions in various parts of the coun- t5y, celebrations of different sorts, an aeronautic conference, the incandescent lamp, the Ohio canal system, the Red b Cross, the Olympic Games, Arbor day and Mother's day, the National Parks, the N. R. A, the American tours of the Graf Zeppelin and the Byrd Expe- dition to the Antarctic. But he hesitates to add & cultural interest to the list because he fears that Yale and Princeton, not to mention smaller colleges, some time may ask the same recognition now requested for Harvard. Other nations, of course, have honored the arts and the sciences in their stamp designs. Even little Guatemala has told the world about her educational equip- ment through the medium of attractive postal labels. Indeed, America is prac- tically alone in its neglect of its cultural background. Efforts to persuade the Government to grant philatelic recogni- tion to writers and artists, philosophers and teachers—the acknowledged builders of civilization—have failed. And Mr. Roosevelt, in his refusal to consider the Harvard commemorative, makes it clear that he is opposed to any change. Ap- parently it is his belief that a stamp for higher learning might commit the Post Office Department to further devia- tion from the old rule that portraits of politicians and military heroes are to be preferred as subject themes. Some of the President's successors, however, may be less stubborn. Harvard will be four hundred years old in 2036, and by that date a more charitable conception of the part which education plays in the Na- tion’s life may have developed. S Golden Rule. Current controversy concerning the Golden Rule, launched by Father Charles E. Coughlin, may serve at least one useful purpose. It will remind the public that the principle still exists and still is valid. Thus those who may have thought that it had passed forever from human consciousness will be encouraged by the debate about it. Historians, it seems, never have been able to trace the rule back to its primi- tive origin, Without question, it is ages old. The Americana says that it already had been “examined and adopted as a standard of ethics by westerns like Socrates and easterns like Thengtsen some centuries before the birth of Christ.” Surely, it is foreshadowed in the injunction of the ancient Egyptians: “If thou be among people, make for thyself love the beginning and end of the heart”; but even more definite is the phrase in the “Book of the Dead” which reads: “He sought for others the good he desired for himself.” At approximately the same period, circa 1500 B.C., the Hindu sages were teach- ing: “The true rule of business is to guard and do by the things of others as they do by their own.” Also when Father Coughlin prods the Jews he forgets that it was one of the laws of Moses that: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Four hundred years later, the Greeks had the identic thought in the form: “Do not that to thy neighbor which thou would take ill from him,” and Zoroaster instructed the Per- sians: “Do as you would be done by.” Then came Confucius with the warning: “What you would not wish done to yourself do not unto others,” and the Buddhist fathers with the command: “One should seek for others the hap- piness one desires for oneself.” And in- scribed in the Roman code of 150 B.C. there was the sentiment: “The law im- printed on the hearts of all men is to love the members of society as them- selves.” The Savior, apparently, summe@ up the conviction of generations when, in His Sermon on the Mount, He de- clared: “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even 50 to them.” In acknowledgment of His forerunners, He added the meaningful words: “For this is the law and the prophets.” By inference, therefore, any man who is uncharitable, intolerant and self- righteous breaks the universal law, com- mits treason against the conscience of the race. Possibly, Father Coughlin could do worse than employ his present vacation from the hustings to examine his own position. The Jews comprise only one class of his fellow creatures toward which his attitude has been any- thing but charitable. —_———— A glass woman has been manufac- tured to facilitate the study of anatomy. The story of Pygmalion and Galatea will not be repeated. Even if she should come to life, she will never be loved for her beauty. Dynamics of Pain. Suffering is not useless. On the con- trary, it often, if not invariably, is a sign of growth—a symptom of progress to- ward health of spirit, mind or body. The problem has attracted unnumbered gen- erations of philosophers. Its seeming contradictions have engaged the atten- tion of some of the noblest thinkers who ever have lived. For example, Shakespeare wrote: “Pain pays the income of each precious thing.” To illustrate the point, he might have cited the Saviour of Mankind, crucified on Calvary. Redemption of the world, the cnurch has taught, was purchased by the Son of God with the coin of His agony. And the same claim may be made for every lesser martyr who in time past or present has paid out his life for his fellows. Joan of Arc, dying at the stake in defense of her visions, and Dr. Jesse William Lazear, immolating all that he was and all that he had to prove his theory of yellow fever, stand at oppo- site poles of human idealism, but serve an identic purpose in history. Like Socrates, Demosthenes and Seneca, St. Alban, Thomas a Becket, Savonarola, John Huss, Zwingli, Servetus and Sir ‘Thomas More, Arnold von Winkelried, Gustavus Adolphus, Robert Emmet, Nathan Hale, Alexander Hamilton, John Brown, Abraham Lincoln and John Reed, they “gave the last full measure of devotion” for faith or hope dearer than any words can tell. 4 And such sacrifice never goes unap- preciated. There is an instinct in the humbiest heart which prompts universal gratitude for those who, self-forgetting, f THE EVENING STAR, testify for the spiritual character of the race. Nor does humanity fail to re- member its debt to the second circle of its heroes—such men as Galileo and Spinoza, John Bunyan and William Harvey, Heine and Schopenhauer, Bee- thoven and Neitzsche, Simon Bolivar and Robert E. Lee, David Livingstone and Sir Henry Morton Stanley, all of whom risked everything for what they loved, dedicated themselves to suffering to “awaken us to convictions which are necessary to our moral condition.” But the unknown victims of misery and affliction perhaps are even more important in the scale of human experi- ence. The tomb of the unidentified sol- dier at Arlington indicates the instinc- tive popular comprehension of nameless valor—a power deeply felt, but not fre- quently enough frankly expressed. Thomas Gray grasped the truth when, in his “Elegy,” he hinted at: “Some village Hampden, dauntless breast, The little tyrant of his fields with- stood, Some mute inglorious Milton here may rest, Some Cromwell guiltless of his coun- try’s blood.” Mere chance provides celebrity; mean- while, every human creature who breathes belongs to the genus of the sentient. That is part of their claim to fellowship. Moreover, it goes far to explain their victories over circum- stance. It is logical, then, that the most unhappy times should produce the most notable triumphs. The Koran declares that Allah is “with those who persevere,” and a wisdom greater than Mahomet's is contained in that observation. that, with —_—r————— “Scare propaganda” is referred to by Chairman Farley. There are many kinds of fright. There are few people worse scared than the salaried man who fears he may blunder in marking his ballot and get discharged for not voting right. —————————— A large number of demands for funds are reported by Mr. Hopkins from worthy citizens who carnot be expected to wait until they are old enough to benefit by the Townsend pension plan even if it ever materializes. —_—————— Russia, while claiming a desire to im- prove industry, goes on making life con- stantly more difficult for anybody who tries to make a living selling life insur- ance. ————— Each day’s news brings a reminder of what a grand idea the League of Nations would have been if it could have worked out. e Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Lazy Day Dream. I dreamts about a lazy day Quite free from disputation, ‘When all the world would seem at play Upon a vast vacation. I dreamt about a shady spot ‘Where waves were softly swishin’, While all my cares could be forgot And so I went a-fishin’. A sympathetic spirit proved ‘The best of my enjoyment. It seemed my friends had met and moved To cease from all employment. No fish I caught, but one leaped out In generous elation And whispered, “Don't you know, Old Scout, ‘We, too, are on vacation.” Leader. “Have you a record as a leader?” “I have,” answered Senator Sorghum. “I haven't been doing so much leading lately, but when I was younger, I was accounted about the best leader the town band ever had.” Old World! It's “the Old World” that's found over there, A world made of pleasure and sorrow. With yesterdays worthy of care While we're hoping to learn of the mMOrTow. It’s “the Old World” that ran into debt. Dependence on youth ne'er relaxes. By this New World the cost may be met Of warfare and consequent taxes. Cultivating Inftuence. “Are you going to attend the political rally?” asked the neighbor. “Yes, sir,” answered the young lawyer. “Going to make a speech?” “¥ hope to.” “Think you can make l hit with the audience?” “I don't care so much about the audience. The party’s candidate will be there. He may be successful and I desire to attract his attention as early as possible.” “Our mistakes,” uumno,thenze of Chinatown, “are not necessarily mis- fortunes. A mild blunder may have diverted us from & course that would lead to serious calamity.” Peace Warriors. Who does not hate the thought of war, Despite the inclination To use the bands and trappings for And the music’s rather awful! “When de mockin® bilrd sings,” said Uncle Eben, “he like as not imitates de bluejay, thereby showin’ de effects of bad oty A Speechle’n Candidate. rrmmwmm::m : S Mm a lesson for candi mwamnanm;::- atorial primary in Tennessee, pres- ent Senator, Nathan L. Bachman, an ew'mnu,mldemmdunnz his campaign. . Too Well. Prom the Sacramento Bee. A national health authority advocates WASHINGTON, D. C, Settlement Houses Give Girls Many Advantages To the Editor of The Star: I would appreciate the opportunity of replying to an article signed by Cecelia Silver, which appeared in the July 31 edition of The Evening Star, entitled: “Girls Need an Organization Similar to Boys’ Club.” I have a sense of gratitude to Miss Silver for the interest which she ex- pressed in girls and their needs. I quite agree with her that the girls have far too.few opportunities for wholesome recreation. Our girls often cry out, “The boys get more chances at things than we do!” However, I feel that I must call Miss Silver’s attention to the fact that the following social settlements carry on a girls’ as well as a boys’ program: For the white—Christ Child Society, 608 Massachusetts avenue northeast; Friendship House, 324-326 Virginia ave- nue southeast; Georgetown Children’s House, 3238 N street northwest; Juanita K. Nye Council House, 609 Sixth street southwest; Neighborhood House, 470 N street southwest. For the colored—The Northwest House, 515 M street north- west; the Southwest House, 501 Second street southwest; the Southeast House, 301 G street southeast. The work done in these houses for girls is somewhat similar to the work done at the boys’ clubs for boys. It is true that we work under a handicap, due to inadequate buildings and equip- ment; but I believe better service could be given to the girls of our city, with a smaller outlay of money, by more adequately supporting these agencies than by starting a new one. Hundreds of girls and young people are enrolled In the various social and educational clubs and classes conducted by these eight Community Chest agencies. The Y. W. C. A, at its E Street Community House, also conducts a program for girls in that section of the city. The dues at all of the above-men- tioned places are such that it brings the work within the reach of all who care to participate. A very cordial invitation is extended to Miss Silver to visit our settlement houses. LYDIA A. H. BURKLIN, Farmer Says Milk Price in District Not Too High To the Editor of The Star: In a recent editorial you stated the price of milk is too high in Washing- ton. Do you suggest that the price of milk be reduced? With the smallest crop yields in this Nation in years and feed costs increasing rapidly, a reduction of the present “low price” of milk would possibly be the “death blow” to some dairy farmers in this section. We farm- ers have produced milk for the past few years at less than “cost of produc- tion” prices and we can't do it much longer. As an independent shipper to a dairy that sells milk over the coun- ter for 10 cents a quart, we receive about 21 cents a gallon net for all we produce. Even that price is about 10 cents a gallon below the average cost of production in average years. This isn't an average year. We made only 12 tons of hay off of 25 acres, whereas normally it would have yielded 50 to 60 tons, and the lack of rainfall will ‘un- doubtedly reduce the yield of corn and fodder. So when you say the price of milk is too high, you propose, in the face of the shortest food and feed supplies in years, that the price be reduced? Of course, you realize if your retail price of milk was reduced 1 cent a quart, our price would, naturally, be reduced 4 cents a gallon. So I suggest you make yourself clear on that point. I don't be- lieve in Government regulation, but if that is the only course we can follow to reach a fair cost of preduction price, I want to say that the A. A. A. market- mg agreement should be enacted at CHAS. T. MURRAY. Predeflck Md. Memorial Parkway Needed On Maryland Side of River To the Editor of The Star: I read with much interest your edi- torial in The Star concerning the pro- posed development of the George Wash- ington Memorial Parkway on the Vir- ginia side of the Potomac River. When the Capper-Cramton act was passed several years ago, it was expected the boulevard on the Maryland side would develop along with the other projects. For some reason there seems to be no intention to proceed with this part of the parkway. Of course, Mary- land was to bear her share of the ex- pense. Virginia has gone steadily ahead building roads, developing great nation- al parks, seemingly with the greatest of ease. The road down the Po- tomac on the Maryland shore has great- er possibilities than the Virginia road. The senior Senator from Maryland has been greatly interested in a new highway from Washington to Gettys- burg, introducing bills in Congress for this purpose. Why not endeavor to carry out the memorial project, which will be of great advantage to the State in many ways and would most certainly be of more benefit than a highway for which there does not seem to be any great necessity? The cost might at first appear large, but the benefits ensuing would counterbalance later in increased travel into the State, as well as opening to markets an isolated section of the State. MRS. J. A. DORSEY. How the Merger Affects The Street Car Rider To the Editor of The Star: The street railway merger is a won- derful combination. Every seven days it gets a dollar out of a fellow’s pocket. Oh, yes, it is so convenient to thrust out your hand with a piece of card- board, get on their cars, ride a few blocks, then stop and wait for one or the other of the little tin chicken coops mounted on four rubber wheels with one human in it to get out of the way so that a street car full of humans can move on to their destingtion. But will that be all? No, no! The humans on the street car will probably have to change cars, walk across the street a block or two before they get a car going in the direction they aim for. One can get in conversation with the operators of the street cars of the District. They FRIDAY. AUGUST 21, 1936. THIS AND- THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Difference between standard plants and all other kinds should be kept in mind. Plants which may be called standard are those which all amateur gardeners grow at home. The reason that they are grown, in the main, is that they are easy to grow, which means sure-fire. Also, they are beautiful. These are the satisfying plants, whether flowers, shrubs, trees or what- not. The same applies, in the main, to vegetables. Corn and beets and carrcts and the like are standard everywhere because they are good growers and good to eat. * ok k% In the ornamental flower garden there are many of these standard things—in the annuals, the perennials, the bulbs and the shrubs, including the ever- greens. These are the flowers and shrubs everybody grows, to the point where, in time, they tend to become common. It is at this point many persons feel inclined to look down on the good old standard things. They grow sour, once they see others planting and enjoying the same things they have planted and enjoyed. In this they make a big mistake, one which the passage of time and greater experience tends to correct. * ¥ % X After all, there are no more satis- factory growing things, in the main, than those found in everybody's garden. ‘They are there because they are good, because they have proved themselves, because they are both easy to grow and “sure-fire,” in the best sense of ease of growth and surety of production. All other plants, in the main, are experimental. As long as this is recog- nized, the amateur gardener can plant as many of them as he wishes. This will mean that his garden will be composed of the standard sorts be- fore anything else. Once he has achieved this typical background garden (as it might be called), or groundwork garden (perhaps that would be better), he is free to try as many of the others as he chooses. * * % * Just how highly desirable the ground- work garden, the garden of everybody, few people will know until they make it. Then they will see easily enough its value, especially in regard to judgments on all future plantings. It is impossible, unless one is a genius, and few are, to say what should be planted and what should not be planted unless one has had this experience. ‘Then it is easy, or at least compara- tively easy. In plant work everything is comparative. There is no need to sneer at the humble petunia. Some of the greatest plantsmen have worked with it and given it hours and days of their devo- tion. “Oh, everybody has petunias” is true enough. Everybody has them, and every- body who plants them is right enough. He or she could do no better. How silly to plant mecanopsis, that most difficult thing, before trying one’s hand with petunias and marigolds and zinnias. * X * Equally nutty, as the squirrels would say, is the planting of roses before the simpler and easier things have been put in the ground. Yet the rose, in any of its many species, is such an intriguing shrub that no one can be blamed for trying it, even out of order. It is com- mon observation that roses are the first plants to be put in the new garden. ‘This will have one advantage—it will give the garden a few good plants, in all probability, by the time the gardener comes to his senses. For the 10 he will lose out of every dozen over a period of five years, he will have at least 2 good plants in the long run. Let us make plain that by “loss” in this connection we do not mean dead bushes. Most of the rose loss will coffsist of varieties which do not do good in the garden. ‘They will have leaves, they will bloom, but both character, as a shrub, and flowers will be a disappointment. Just how many millions of these rose losses there are in the world there is no earthly way of estimating. The observ- er sees them everywhere, not only in private gardens, but in public parks. Occasionally the proud owner refuses to admit his failure. Listen to him, you must believe that all his roses are win- ners. Secretly he would be glad to be rid of them. Rose failure or success does not lie wholly in the plant itself. Some of it is due to the planter, who simply will not fertilize or spray properly or con- sistently. The latter seems even more essential, since it is continuous care which makes roses, both bush and climber, come up to expectations, if ever. * % ¥ ¥ When we contrast this continuous spraying and fertilizing with the lack of these chores in the groundwork gar- den we see at once why the plants of the latter are the plants for everyone, not because they relieve one of work, that is not it at all, but simply because they are such good plants, plants which will give the beginner especially the glow of satisfaction and urge to go on. The standard plants, the things every- body has, constitute the real A B C of the garden, and happy is he who learns them first, along with the multiplication table. In this way he puts first things first and is not tempted to call for dessert before he has eaten what is bet- ter for him. Let us be careful to say that there should be exceptions. While building the small garden of the elementary things, the blocks out of which true en- joyment is made, one should experiment now and then with flowers or other plants few of one’s friends have. This keeps alive garden imagination, without which gardening is not much fun. Just a few of these, however, will be enough. Probably not more than one or two a season, if so few can be called a few. The number of plants in the world is almost as astonishing as the number of insects. Often the gardener seems to meet them both at one time, much to his chagrin. It is possible to select a new plant, now and then, from the huge list. The only thing to keep in mind is not to expect something as fine as the common things. The common things are common because they are fine. Have you ever stopped to think of that? Few of the less-common plants measure up, in beauty, in sureness, to | the old-time, tried and tested plants familiar in millions of gardens. Some of the less-known ones, however, have good points of their own, as well as novelty, which sometimes makes up for lack elsewhere. Stick to the standard things, in the main, if you want garden satisfaction. Time and the universal gardener have placed the seal of their inestimable approval upon them. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS Strong indorsement will he given by business, men, large and small, through- out the United States, as well as by many persons in other walks of life, to the assertion of Col. Frank Knox, Republican vice presidential candidate, in his Hagerstown speech Wednesday night that “we want fewer laws and better laws.” This is the opinion of many well-seasoned political observers here who point out that while “mass produc- tion” may be desirable in industry it is a mistake to attempt to apply it to legis- lation. Many administrations doubtless have been guilty of putting more laws on the statute books than were neces- sary, but no previous administration, it is freely admitted, has gone to the extent of the present one in this respect. The result has been that today thousands of lawyers and business men in all parts of the country are studying the complexities of some recent legislation, hurriedly passed, including the amended revenue law and the so-called “anti-chain store act,” in an effort to untangle some of the problems which have been created for them thereby and to resolve the con- fusion and uncertainty in their minds as to the effect of these laws on the conduct of their daily affairs. * ¥ x * Reports received here from various fronts regarding the civil conflict now raging in Spain fail to reveal in full the intensity, the bitterness, the cruelty of that contest. Furthermore, officials point out, these reports do not portray, nor could they portray in their terrible reality, the horror and the suffering caused by numerous acts of atrocity. which doubtless are taking place in many parts of the Iberian peninsula in con- nection with the sanguinary progress of the strife. When President Roosevelt in his Chautauqua speech pictured the horrors of war as he had seen them with his own eyes at the battlefront during the World War, it was to serve as a warning to the people of the United States not to permit themselves in any manner to become embroiled in such conflict. This Government has been watching the Spanish situation closely both as to its wider implications and with an eye to the protection of its own citizens who had been caught in the maelstrom, in order that no untoward happening to any of them might jeop- ardize the neutral position of this coun- Back to the days of Davig is the carried by the report that ots are being used by shepherds in the province a considerable amount of his time to study of the drought situation and to conferences with Government officials who are seeking means to alleviate it, the attention of the country is directed to the trip on which he is prepanng to start next week to make a “first-hand inspection” of the stricken territory. His conferences with Governors in the States that have been most seriously affected by the drought will largely de- termine the manner, it is believed by officials here, in which the needed relief measures will be applied. The opinions expressed to him by the Governors, sup- plemented by the detailed information now being gathered by a special drought commission, which is making a tour of the parched territory, will form the basis, it is believed, of the Government’s | future action on relief for the farmers. * k X ¥ Visn.ors to the hotel where Vice Ad- miral Zengo Yoshida, commander of the imperial Japanese training squadron, and members of his party have been entertained during their two-day stay in ‘Washington were interested not only in the nattily-dressed Nipponese officers and midshipmen, but also in many fea- tures connected with their tour. One of these was a large blackboard in the lobby of the hotel, filled with Japanese characters giving information to the members of the squadron as to where and at what hour various affairs— luncheons, receptions, tours to points of interest and other events connected with their trip—would take place. Some of the passersby looked at the blackboard so intently that they gave the impres- sion they could read what was written on it. * ok ok * Among a large number of awards made by foreign governments to American naval officers “in the promotion of friendly international relations,” which are now being forwarded by the Navy Department to their recipients, is the “Order of the Striped Tiger” to Rear Admirai «George T. Pettengill, com- mandant of the Washington Navy Yard. Admiral Pettengill saw duty in China during the Boxer rebellion and it was in recognition of meritorious service per- formed there at that time that the Chi- nese government thus honored him. These various awards to United States naval officers, 117 in all, have been in the custody of the State Department since their presentation, as no officer of this Government had been permitted personally to accept such an award until Congress last May passed a law per- mitting them to go to the persons for whom they were intended. * Kk * Strenuous objection raised by Clifford Davis, acting mayor of Memphis, to the reference by Col. Knox in his speech Wednesday night to the sumptuous dog pound erected in the Tennessee city declaring that it “did not have showers of any kind.” (Copyright. 1936.) Purse Styles. PFrom the Lowell Leader. 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. How old is-the running of the Hambletonjan?—T. W. A. The Hambletonian Society started the race in 1926 at Syracuse, N. Y. Q. Are there any counties in the United States which have not received Federal relief?>—H. F. B. A. The Works Progress Administration says that Kenedy County in Texas s the only county in the United States not receiving Federal relief in some amount. ‘The reason for this is that the county is entirely privately owned. Q. Has the Russian government at any time exercised sovereignty over any part of California?—C. H. V. A. In 1812 the Russians founded a post on Bodega Bay in California which they held until 1841. They traded and hunted for furs from this post. Q. How old is the Epworth League? —J. B. A. This society of young people was founded May 15, 1889. Q. Could the balloon Explorer II ascend higher into the stratosphere than its last year’s record of 72,395 feet?—O. G. A. Capt. Stevens, who made the flight, believes with slight changes in apparatus carried and using hydrogen as a lifting gas the same balloon and gondola could ascend to 78,000 feet. He also believes that 95,000 feet could be reached with a larger balloon with the envelope made of rubberized silk instead of rubberized cotton. Q. How many books are read yearly by the average person?—C. M. A. In the United States as a whole it is found that each person reads less than four books a year. Q. How much money is unclaimed in banks in the United States?—I. L. M. A. The aggregate of unclaimed deposits in the United States amounts to about five million dollars. Q. Why is Bright's disease so called? —L. S. A. Dr. Richard Bright of England first investigated its character about 1825. Q. What is buff leather?—J. R. A. It is oil-dressed leather usually made from the best parts of South American light ox and cow hides. A special process makes the leather pliable and not liable to crack or rot. It is used extensively for Army equipment. Q. What does it mean when an Army officer is given a brevet rank?—S. L. N, A. It is an honorary promotion be- stowed by the Senate upon recommen- dation of the President which does hot carry with it a change in duty or in- crease in pay. It entitles the holder to wear the uniform and to take the title proper to his brevet rank. Q. What are georgics?>—H. K. D. A. They are poems pertaining to hus- bandry or farming. The most famous examples of the kind are those by Virgil, 31 B.C, in four books. Q. What are coal apples?’—H. K. H. A. They are specimens of spheroidal anthracite coal found in the Mammoth seam of Pennsylvania, varying from one- fourth of an inch to 10 inches in diam- eter. They are usually about the size of a hen's egg and are thought to be due to jointing. Q Does the Federal Bureau of Inves- tigation recover many stolen cars? —H. L. A. Since the enforcement of the na- tional motor vehicle act in 1919 the bureau has recovered 42,121 stolen motor cars valued at more than $26,000,000. Q. Where was Arthur Brisbane born? —L. T. A. In Buffalo, N. Y., in 1864. Q. When was the Bridge of Sighs built? —W. B. C. A. About 1600. It spans Rio della Paglia in Venice and leads to the prisons. Q. Please give a biography of Gertrude Lane, editor of the Woman's Home Com- panion.—C. R. A. Gertrude Battles Lane was born at Saco, Me., daughter of Eustace and Ella Battles Lane. She was educated at Thornton Academy and in 1929 received an L. H. D. from Colby College. From 1903-1911 she was assistant editor of the Woman's Home Companion. 8he was a member of the United States Food Administration from June, 1917, to December, 1918; member White House Conference on Child Health and Pro- tection, 1930-31; President’s Conference on Home Building and Home Owner- ship, 1931. She is vice president of the Crowell Publishing Co. and a member of many clubs and civic organizations. Q. What was the battle of Flodden Field>—M. L. A. This was fought near the hamlet of Flodden in Northumberland, Septem- ber 9, 1513, between the Scots and the English. The Scottish King, James IV, was defeated and slain by the Earl of Surrey. Q. How long has the dumb waiter been used?—C. J. A. It came into use in England to- ward the end of the eighteenth century. Underground Castle. From the Toledo Blade. Until further announcement our castle in Spain is going to be a cyclone cellar. Crime Prevention. Prom the Charlotte Observer. Fewer crimes would be committed if more criminals stayed committed. Non-Forgetters. From the Paducah (Ky.) Sun-Democrat. The ability to forget things is as important as the ability to remember, says a doctor. Yet bill collectors will not permit you to forget. A Rhyme at Twilight : 4 Gertrude Brooke Hamilton At Eventide My thoughts, so busy all the day, Come home at eve to rest; ‘They come along a shining way Thru sunset in the West; And some are sad, and some are gay. After the hours of quest. I do not ponder where they went, Nor what their daylight scheme: Whatever hours have bten misspent