Evening Star Newspaper, September 5, 1936, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Editien. WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY THEODORE W. NOYES.. The Evening Star Newspaper Company. 11tn 8t and Pennsyivania Av .. New York Office; 110 East 42nd 8t ago_Office jchigan Building. een e uunen’p‘sn.. ‘Fondon. Engiand. Rate by Carrier Within the City. 4 Regular Edition. Editor Night Pinal and Sun Night, Final Star Collection ma Orders may be sent tional 8000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virsinia. Daily and Sunday.__.. £10.00 Daily only__. 1 Sunday only__. —-__-55¢ per end of each month. by mail or telephone Na- Daily enly___. Sunday only_! ember of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to : lication of all news dispatches e o Tt not etherwise credited 1n this r not of d also the local news published herein. K?n"{.&‘h of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. Graceful Gesture. In at least one respect the President’s request that civil service standards be applied informally, or extra-legally, to the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation is interesting and perhaps important. This agency, established by Congress without regard to the civil service act, is now reducing its force of employes. The merit system, at this late date, is to be applied in principle in determining who shall be retained and who shall be dropped from the rolls. And if that may be considered as a precedent, the same principle would hereafter apply in the case of every non-civil service agency when its work is completed and the reduction of personnel has com- menced. In the case of the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation, the merit system is tardily to be applied through the back door and in a manner that is not made very clear in the President’s letter to President Mitchell of the Civil Service Commission. This was one of the agencies created under the specific direction of Congress that the employes should be selected without regard to the civil service act. The President explains this by the asser- tion that the H. O. L. C. had to be organized quickly to “render immediate assistance.” In other words, the Presi- dent implies that in an emergency the selection of employes under civil service fules and standards is impracticable. That should not be the case. Whether it is may be a matter of opinion, but it s to be recalled that during the emer- gency of the World War it was not necessary to make wholesale and spe- ¢ific exemptions to the civil service in hiring thousands of new employes. The concession to the emergency of the war was to lower, but not to do away with entirely, certain civil service standards. And the same thing could have been done effectively in organizing the new Government agencies to deal with the emergencies of the depression. The real reason the H. O. L. C. was specifically exempted from civil service ‘was to put the jobs there at the disposal of the patronage dispensers, and at one time in its short life the H. O. L. C. was regarded as a boon to political job dis- pensers as well as an instrument of aid to home owners. That conditions in selection of employes were later improved 15 rather generally agreed. Under the H. O. L. C. act the Civil Bervice Commission cannot formally apply its rules and regulations to that agency, nor can the employes be “blan- keted” in the civil service under executive order. It is apparently planned merely to adopt certain civil service standards voluntarily. And this is another indi- cation that the widespread criticism of the administration for its departures from the merit system is having its effect. It is leading to some remedial measures and to some noteworthy, if delayed, gestures. Resignations of 1,250,000 members of the A. F. of L. cause a slight interrup- tion of the amenities of correspondence. It will be impossible to take time for a letter to each resigner, telling him how much his services were valued, how deeply he will be missed and how warm are the hopes for his success in a new flield of endeavor. Mass transactions save time, but at much sacrifice of the polite platitudes that are dear to the popular heart, Erosion control calls for some method ®f anchoring top soil in case of a wind storm. There are so many angles to problems of agriculture that it may be hecessary to call the Bureau of Aero- aautics into conference as to atmos- Ppheric eccentricities. Clear as Mud. For a State where the political situa- tion is crystal clear and the issues sharp- ly defined take Nebraska. The junior Benator, Edward R. Burke, long since announced his allegiance to Senator Norris. The President, less directly, has done the same thing. Senator Norris, like Br'er Rabbit, ain’ say nothin’. Terry Carpenter, who has been making eyes at the Townsendites, the Lemkeites and other third party folk, won the Demo- cratic nomination for Senator, but the Democratic State Committee repudiated his candidacy by frankly indorsing Sen- ator Norris. Still Senator Norris ain’ say nothin’. He is vacationing in the woods and, so far, is not a candidate. A few days ago Senator Burke re- signed as Democratic national commit- teeman from Nebraska, saying that, while he was a Democrat, he could not support all Democratic candidates or all the New Deal theories. Immediately thereafter he left the State for Maine to campaign for the re-election of Pres- ident Roosevelt and other Democratic candidates in Maine, at the behest of the Democratic National Committee. And Chairman Farley. has let it be known to Democrats in Nebraska that Senator Norris will be entered in the race as an independent, and that his petltionwmbefllcdlnllmnmeby the Senator’s friends. All a loyal Democrat has to do in Nebraska is to make up his mind be- tween the Democretic nominee, Terry Carpenter, and Senator Norris, backed by Mr. Farley, Senator Burke and the President. All a loyal Republican has to do is to decide between the Repub- lican nominee, Robert Simmons, and the veteran Senator Norris, who put Nebraska on the map and never ran be- fore as anything but'a Republican. It is all very simple and one hopes it will work out without physical violence. The Jeflersonian Democrats The Jeffersonian Democrats are going into action. James A. Reed, former Senator from Missouri, and Joseph B. Ely, former Governor of Massachusetts, have invaded Maine to denounce Pres- ident Roosevelt and the New Deal. In little more than a week the Maine voters g0 to the polls to elect a Governor and other State officials, a United States Senator and three members of the House. The New Dealers are hopeful of making a good showing in the Maine election. They figure that the election of Gov- ernor Brann, the Democratic candidate for Senator, even if they lose other con- tests, would give cheer to the Roosevelt forces. Reed and Ely are not speaking under the auspices of the Republican National Committee or the Republican State Committee in Maine. They visited the Pine Tree State to make an appeal to all voters to turn Roosevelt and the New Dealers out of office, on the ground that they are not Democrats but are Socialists, Communists and what not. These Jeffersonian Democrats are not campaigning for the election of Repub- licans. They hold, however, that it is of vital importance to all Americans that the present regime be retired. As a practical matter, the only way that the Rooseveltians can be retired is through the election of some one else. In this case the “some one else” hap- pens to be the Republican candidate for President, Governor Alfred M. Landon of Kansas. i ‘The former Missouri Senator, speaking in Portland, Me., expressed the attitude of many anti-Roosevelt Democrats in this campaign. “I hold no brief for Governor Landon,” he said; “he is a Republican and I am a Democrat. But this much I say: He has never under- taken to repudiate the Constitution, to sneer at its precepts or to contemptu- ously refer to its authors. He has not assailed the Supreme Court. He has not proposed the confiscation cI property through taxation or by any other means.” Reed and Ely are lifelong Demo- crats. By no possible stretch of imagi- nation could they be considered any- thing other than Democrats. The very fact that they have taken the stump against the re-election of Franklin D. Roosevelt is a clear indication of the strength of their feeling. Reed, in his speech, charged that Roosevelt has been the “hired man” of the “economic royal- ists” whom the President is now attack- ing, and that the Roosevelt family is now receiving profits from the kind of corporations which the President has assailed; that when he has found it con- venient the President has been a guest aboard the yacht of Vincent Astor, who, Reed insisted, might be classed an “economic royalist.” To serve his own political ambitions, the President, ac- cording to the vitriolic Reed, has at- tempted to stir up class hatreds in this country, but at the same time lives like an “economic royalist” himself. The Jeffersonian Democrats have en- tered this fight to prevent the re-elec- tion of Roosevelt, organizing in thirty States. They offer a rallying post for the members of their party who cannot and will not stomach the New Deal. ————— ‘The drought may be regarded as a very slight blessing in a thick disguise of mis- fortune if it gives people something to talk about that permits no thought of controversy to intrude on a purpose of sincere benevolence, ———— Norway refuses to deliver Trotzky to Russia but agrees to keep him under strict surveillance, such as perhaps might have been desirable years ago when he was engaged in pounding an irrepres- sible typewriter in the Bronx. More Naval Tonnage. Failure of last year’s London confer- ence to provide for further naval limita- tion is now bearing anticipated fruit in the form of plans for more tonnage. An expected, first result is an increase in the submarine strength of the British, Japanese and American Navies to nearly one-third more than is permitted by existing treaties. The expansion in sight is the immediate consequence of action proposed to be taken by Japan under the escalator, or “escape,” clause of the 1930 treaty. The prospective submarine revision up- ward was indirectly precipitated by Great Britain's invocation of the escalator pro- vision, whereby any signatory nation, it it considers that its defensive require- ments necessitate it, may increase its strength in any category of ships by merely notifying other signatories. As- signing as their reason the new con- struction of submarines and destroyers by France and Italy, which did not ad- here to the 1930 treaty, the British announced they would retain 40,000 tons of over-age destroyers in addition to the 150,000 tons permitted by the treaty. Japan thereupon disclosed that she, too, would invoke the escalator clause. The treaty permits her 105,000 tons of de- stroyers, plus a quota of 28,000 tons allowable by reason of Great Britain’s action. The Japanese, however, reveal that they will substitute submarines for more than one-half of the additional destroyer tonnage to which they are entitled. ‘Whether this interpretation of Japan’s rights is legally justifiable is a matter over which both London and Washing- ton experts m‘! deliberating. There is & suggestion that Tokio is actusted primarily by the United States’ purpose, in line with its parity policy, to meet Britain’s proposal by retaining 40,000 tons of over-age American destroyers which would otherwise have been scrapped by the end of 1936. Great Britain has been formally notified that the Washington Government is ‘“re- Iuctantly” obliged to take advantage of its escalator privilege. The Japanese example may eventually impel both Britain and the United States to include submarines, instead of exclusively de- stroyers, in the excess tonnage now to be retained. Japan's plans coincide with the re- crudescence of strain in Soviet-Japanese relations to a point that causes Moscow sharply to warn Tokio of the “in- tolerable” situation on the Siberian- Manchukuan border and to describe it as dangerous to peace. Under the cir- cumstances, it is possible that Japan will allege the presence in the Pacific of a sizable fleet of Soviet submarines as concrete justification for a course that threatens to bring about another naval construction race. The United States’ policy is to maintain parity with Britain and the 5-3 ratio with respect to Japan. Such a program, never more than at this gravely troubled international junc- ture, East and West, heartily commends itself to the American people. e —— A brilliant mathematical demonstra- tion has been given at Harvard which presents a new set of logical rules for discovering all the numbers from zero to infinity which possess the same set of complicated attributes. There is no suggestion that the discovery will be useful in connection with budget bal- ancing or tax collection. If it can be applied it means heavy work for the vising generation. —_————— Candidates confer on the economic situation. 1. is encouraging to note that in spite of what is said about them by their respective campaign promoters they remain on speaking terms, ‘The Home Owners’ Loan Corporation is engaged in an effort to take proper care, through a merit system, of its em- ployes who may have mortgages of their own. ——— The New Deal is getting out a paper of its own which does not yet respect journalistic amenities to the extent of referring to Gov. Landon as “our esteemed contemporary.” —————————— Labor affiliation is engaged in a dem- onstration of how much easier it is to disorganize than to organize. R —— Trotzky goes so far as to give any assassin full permission to kill Stalin, provided Stalin does not see him first. Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Summer Prospectus. Iread about the fishing and I read about the trees. I read about the scenery all guaranteed to please. I read about wild nature with its glories and its grace And packed my grip, determined that I'd go and see the place. The fish were tired of biting and the trees were not as grand As those that flourished in our parks and roadways near at hand. And nature in its wildness seems to love a lot of things That it provides with various sorts of stickers and of stings. And yet those printed pages seemed like poetry so fine And a handsome illustration went with every other line, No longer will I seek the rolling wave or leafy nook. Il pack my grip again and go back home and read the book, Laughing It Off. “No matter how anxious about the future I may be,” said Senator Sorghum, “I keep a smiling face and give a gentle answer.” “Growing indifferent?” “No. I'm trying to be one of those happy worryers you read about.” Jud Tunkins says he likes to go fishin’, because he admires the fish who let him sit and think and seldom interrupt him by trying to start an argument, Telling Our Troubles. Our troubles long ago we told To a policeman, stout and bold. Today the proper thing, you know, Is to tell your troubles to the radio. If you have a tune you can’t repress; If a speech is bothering your conscious- ness, Or a great big ad that you'd like to show, You can tell your troubles to the radio. If you think you are the only one Who knows how this world should be run, ‘With the grand piano or the old banjo You can tell your troubles to the radio, . “One of your philosophers,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “advises me to let well enough alone. But who shall tell me where ‘well enough’ has even been discovered?” Pride of Possession. “Every man is entitled to his own opinion.” “Of course,” replied Miss Cayenne, “but opinions are sometimes like small children. The worse the impression they make the prouder their parents seem.” After Vacation. ‘When from the country he’s returned All stung and battared and sunburned He vows in tones gincere, w,hfl, The city’s good enough for him. . ~ ° ° “De man who always laughs at trouble,” said Uncle Eben, “may be a philosopher; an’ den ag'in he may have a powerful mwdh_." A D. C, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1936 THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES B. TRACEWELL. Constant Political Defeat Price of Bucking Nature To the Editor of The Star: Sitters on the sidelines see things that the engrossed players miss. This is so as to sports. It may be true as to the to vividly exemplified economics ailure fol- of human na- ture—that abortive experiment to regi-, ment, truss up and dam up the natural ability of American freemen to work out their own salvation better, wiser and more lasting than any repressive bu- reaucracy can ever do it for them. Such noxious plantings to buck na- ture’s good growths have not enriched the “forgotten man” nor raised him to exalted station, as promised. Their nat- ural products are the tares of sky- rocketing inflation on the gambling stock market and mounting profits for “eco- nomic royalists,” while nearly 12,000,000 “forgotten men” still wander up and down the land in unproductive idleness. Failure of bucking tactics is further em- phasized when the politician calls upon his adversaries to give these people the employment that all his artificial devices cannot supply. It is a retreat and an admission that the grip of business on the country is beyond power of the ex- perimenting politicians to break, direct or eflectively control. More bucking is the futile palliative of added spending, only to realize later that nature turns again on the politician and mocks his efforts toward the unat- tainable illusion that prosperity can be brought to all the people by plunging them further and further into useless debt, or that the money changers are driven from the temple by giving them a bigger mortgage on all the people of the United States. An ultimate Sahara of unproductive theories can hypnotize only so long as the people are beguiled by distorted political dreams of how not ever to reach the promised land of sanity, safety and toil-wrought security. And if a sane and sensible people will throw off the spell of unfulfillment by asserting their strength and common sense at the ballot box, the light of rea- son will dispel the delusions as soon as the result is announced, and the United States will at once resume the march of genuine progress that all politi- cal tinkers never have been able to halt very long. A nation is redeemed when a deluded people regain their wits and no longer permit blind boondoggling politicians to dig boondoggled ditches into which to thrust and confine them forever. 8incerely—in the public interest. JOSEPH W. CHEYNEY. R Coolidges Were Friendly With Empleyes of Hotel To the Editor of The Star: Calvin Coolidge, thrifty man, lived in the Adams House in Boston for several years. So I note. The hotel was quite high-class but low-priced—right up Mr. Coolidge’s alley. He took a $1-a-day room until they made him Governor. Then, “on the advice of friends,” he blew him- self to one that set him back 2 every 24 hours. It is quite possible that he occu- pied the room and bed formerly tenanted by John L. Sullivan. That “great I am"” also used to stop in that hostelry when he felt like “acting” respectable. In Washington, while Vice President, he and his family resided at the Willard. They gave the help no trouble at all— easily pleased. Mr. Coolidge took quite a shine to a certain hearty and husky elevator man, one “Mac.” “Mac” was & peculiar mixture—one-quarter German, one-quarter Polish and one-half Irish. And yet he made a hit with that tart and testy Yankee, Coolidge. John and Calvin, “the Coolidge boys,” were very fond of “Mac.” In fact, he broke them into the art and mystery of elevator “jockeying.” Little Calvin, in his travels through the hotel, also noticed one of the colored lobby cleaners, one “George,” a man of about 50. “George” surely didn't break his neck at his labors, Even so, he was forever groaning about his rheumatism and about less work and more money. Says Calvin to “Mac”: “I certainly would like to do something for old George.” He was a good kid. Once ne footed it (after Mr. Coolidge became President) all the way from the White House to near the Government Printing Office, where “Mac” lived. He sat down to a pot-luck dinner with his friend and wife. And when the poor little shaver died the “elevator jock,” in a White House car, followed the hearse as an invited guest, a faithful retainer and a true mourner. Mrs. Coolidge was very popular with the hotel employes. And so was Mrs. Thomas Riley Marshall, who, with her husband, also stopped at the Willard while Mr. Marshall was Vice President. These ladies thought nothing of coming in carrying bundles and going up in a car that was half loaded with furniture. They considered it a lark. FRED VETTER. Proposal for Air-Cooled Small Police Stations To the Editor of The Star: ; I noticed in your newspaper that the police have much difficulty in keeping cool in a small pp:fixce !stz‘uon:’ May I suggest “air cool ce station™ People are fined as high as $25, and they have 200 or moré at one time. Why don't the police department air cool the small police station with the low ceiling and give some comfort to those that pay the fine and also to the suffering judge. The same time it will help prosperity to continue. MISS D. MEDOW, Not a Partisan Issue. From the Iilinols State Journal. Two years ago, when President Roose- velt toured the drought ares, rain, like, a miracle, followed him wherever he went. This year, with both Mr. Roose- velt and Gov. Landon, his.opponent for the presidency, traveling through the Middle West, cooler weather has come ‘A good argument could be made for crediting either man with this natural phenomenon. The Kansan, for example, brought rain with him from Chicago as far south as Pontiac. But we won't | quibble about it. The blessed relief fromy the heat should remain on a strictly non~. partisan basis as long as the rain falls on both Democrats and Republicans alike, Old Stuff. Prom the Indianapolis News. of at all. Then it must just be books. * x ¥ ¥ “But people ought to be proud of be- ing seen with books,” some one says, and There is nothing greater than a book. Big book, or little book, each may be great, in its way. It is the easiest way in the world to hold greatness in your hand. There is something comfortable in the thought of just ordinary folk carrying greatness in the hand, so casually. Little book, or big book, the length really has nothing to do with it, although the trend in the last year or two has been along the lines of the fat, portly and ample volume. Yet only the other day we “hefted” two books, both of them eminently suc- cessful, and would rather have been the writer of the '*tle one than the big one. Little books, too, are easier to carry aboard pubMc vehicles, and are books as well as any. It is amazing, also, what long works can be compressed into small books, when the job is done correctly, without strain on the eyes, either. * * % *x Carrying- beloved books on busses and street cars would be easier if it were not for the wanderlust of the average eyes. No sooner does a booklover get aboard, with his precious volume in hand. than everybody on the vehicle wants to see what the title is. Many stare openly. Others steal covert glances. It always strikes one as if they, too, were in love with books, but hadn’t got up enough courage to take their favorites with them. It is interesting to take a new book out of the envelope in which the store wrapped it. You are aboard the bus, and home- ward bound. You inspected the volume carefuly in the store, but the urge comes over you to look into it again. You cannot wait until you get home. Gingerly—because you know the public reaction—you try to slip the volume out of the envelope without any one seeing. * % % ¥ It is hopeless. At the first rattle of paper the old lady by your side looks down sharply. The young man across the aisle is curious, too. Young people are always interested in books. Books are part of STARS, MEN their stock in trade. One wonders if, in the name of heaven, some older people have that idea too firmly planted in their minds, that there is something eternally juvenile about books, and that, therefore, if they are seen with them in public places they will be mistaken for scholars.? Never fear, dear lady. No one will mistake you for a scholar, or a student, or the like. But the old lady looks down sharply. One is glad the title is harmless. The dear old lady might not understand. * *x x % As for actually reading aboard bus, this is a feat, mostly because of the psychological hazards. Reading with some one looking over your shoulder is really a most unpleasant experience. Only a dearly beloved soul ought to have that right. All others, please stay out! Those strange eyes, fixed on the same page, make the owner uneasy. It is almost as if some person were openly and rudely, than which there are few public happenings more disagreeable. If there is a person who does not mind being stared at he is a dull-witted person, indeed. Perhaps it would be better to say he has a tough, impervious mental hide. * ¥ ¥ % Most persons heartily dislike being stared at and, for much the same reason, equally dislike to have a stranger look over their shouider, or down, at the book or paper they are reading. Then, too, there are other hazards, such as rough starts and stops, with always the possibility of the vehicle smashing into something or other. No doubt the home or library reading room is best. No doubt of it. Still there is something fine about carrying books around, let them think what they will. Probably it is only the sensitivity of the average book lover which makes him think other people may be laughing at him, or his choice of books. He loves plays and likes to have them with him, let us say. Yonder moon-faced fellow never saw a real play in his life—how can he be ex- pected to agree with one’s choice? * % x * What part titles play, too! ‘When the stranger across the aisle, or in the next seat, happens to look fixedly at a title in one’s hand, one is glad when it is a good, open title, in the vogue of the moment. What fools mortals be, indeed, and how silly, but how human, for the wandering book lover to hope others will agree with his likes, and not be too put out when they disagree! Such feelings and such matters go to- gether to make the carrying of books in public places a not altogether pleasurable thing. But as long as there are books and those who love them, those who love them best will insist on taking them with them, wherever they g0, as the sign manual of a free and easy spirit, one which quests time and tide, and finds hope in all things, especially in books, which hold time, tide, hope and life in the hollow of their covers. AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. Curious customs of the Isneg, primi- tive Malayan “head hunters” of the Philippines, are recounted in a report just made to the Catholic Anthropologi- cal Conference here by Rev. Morice Vanoverbergh, a missionary, who has been stationed among them for the past ten years. Extreme significance is attached to an individual's name. To the Isneg, name and personality are inextricable, and probably identical. This is illus- trated by Dr. Vanoverbergh by the cus- tom of changing a child’s name when- ever it is sick. Illness means only one thing—that the child is being attacked by malevolent spirits. The best cure is to replace the name, thus giving the victim a new personality and identity. Then the spirits will amuse themselves with the old name—the child as it was formerly—and leave the new personality in peace. They will pester an old per- sonality. The new child—that is. the child with the new name—will escape unscathed. An important reason for changing & child’s name, Father Vanoverbergh says, is the death of one of its parents. The Isneg are afraid of the dead. They want them to stay where they are and not interfere with the affairs of the living. They think it probable that the dead parent will continue to be fond of his child and perhaps try to approach and fondle it, as he was accustomed to do before death. This is considered always to be exceedingly detrimental to the welfare of the child. The best way to prevent all such dangerous trifiing is to change the name of the infant in question, in order to force the soul of the dead parent to forget all about his offspring. He will be looking for the babe under its old name. He will not be able to recognize the new personality created by the re-naming. Says Father Vanoverbergh: “The names of the father-in-law and the mother-in-law may never be pronounced under any pretext. Very few Isneg, even among those who have been in contact with civilization for a long time, are bold enough to discard all fear on this subject and pronounce them. This is especially apparent at the baptism of a child, when we have to record the names of its parents and grandparents. “The Isneg do not know, nor pretend to know, the reason. Sometimes they say that if they pronounce either of these names their children will die. The whole question is probably shrouded in mystery, even to the Isneg themselves. An almost unsurmountable fear must have been instilled into them from time immemorial, while the real reason, the death penalty inflicted on the offspring of the offender, may have been forgot- ten entirely.” A child is given its name immediately plain, upon itself to give a name. were given its name by a spirit it would be given its personality at the same time. In such a case the spirit would have all power over such an individual, and all spirits are looked upon as evil. * % % % Mexico is face to face with & new: | 1 crisis, but, of course, that’s old gtuff for: Mexico. [ is conferring an inestimable benefit on the whole community and is honored above all others. During the past few years, Father Vanoverbergh explains, the Isneg have had a hard life. There have been plagues of locusts and droughts, with the result that they sometimes have been on the verge of famine. They can attribute these misfortunes only to the fact that there have been few heads to offer the malevolent spirits. These are punishing the people for their negli- gence. There is no way to let the spirits know that this is not the fault of the pious Isneg, but of the wicked white men, who cannot comprehend the philos- ophy of head hunting. Says Father Vanoverbergh: *“The whole life of the Isneg, from the cradle to the grave, is dominated by the fear of the spirits. Superstition, magic and spirit worship are inextricably inter- woven with their whole life. The Isneg always are on the lookout for disagree- able interventions from above. If a Caucasian, or even a Negrito, had to live under such a continual fear of the supernatural and to compiy with such a large number of practices in order to propitiate higher beings or to elude their malevolent intentions, his life would be simply miserable.” Approves Comment on Heedless Horn Blowing To the Editor of The Star: I wish to add my commendation to the many that you will receive for the excellent editorial “It Can Be Done” in The Evening Star of September 2. I sincerely hope that you will keep up the anti-noise crusade. Having recently moved to Washington, I am surprised at the boorish manners of many drivers—deliberate violations of traffic regulations, and particularly the incessant and totally unnecessary blow- ing of horns. n the interest of safety and quiet, I believe that the attention of the drivers should be called to the fact that blowing their horn does not give them the right of way. There is an unpleasant habit a few drivers have of repeatedly blowing their horns when they are slowed down or stopped by heavy traffic. It seems to me that any person who gives the mat- ter a thought will know that the uoise merely increases the confusion and does not clear the situation in any manner; but, then, may be I am overestimating the intelligence o that type of driver. There is no excuse for the exceedingly annoying practice of blowing horns at traffic lights when the lights start to change. Again, a little thought should indicate that the few seconds they hope to gain are not worth the disturbance to other motorists and, particularly, the residents in the vicinity. If these noisy drivers do not have the required common sense and considera- tion, I fully agree with your editorial in that they should be arrested under the provisions of the anti-noise ordinance. If all drivers would display the cour- tesy exhibited by many and would use their horns only in an emergency, Wash- ington would be a much more pleasant city in which to live and drive. ¥ D. E. NEBOLA. Prom the Grand Island independent. Herr Hitler says that unless our states- men develop common sense war is in- evitable. '?u ‘situation indeed seems hopeless! 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 extensive a political poll will the Literary Digest make this Fall?— J. H. A. The Literary Digest says that it is mailing about 10,000,000 questionnaires. Q. In the survey made by the Gov- ernment, what cities have the highest and lowest rents?>—W. R. A. There does not seem to be any intelligible pattern to the American liv- ing costs. Rent that costs $100 a month in Washington, D. C., can be had in Portland, Oreg., for $46.30. Food that costs $10230 in Bridgeport, Conn. can be purchased in Cedar Rapids, Towa, for $87.70. Clothing that costs $119.70 in Butte, Mont., can be obtained for $30.40 in Dallas, Tex. Electric current that costs $136.50 in Sioux Falls, 8. Dak., can be purchased in Houston, Tex., for $77. Q. What is the price of gasoline in Paris?—K. G. A. It is 70 cents a gallon. Q. How many American soldiers are buried in Europe?—L. P. A. As of June 30, 1935, interments in permanent American cemeteries in Europe numbered 30,895, including 1,639 unknown. Q. Did “The House That Jack Built” originate in “Mother Goose” or is it older>—F. H. R. i A. The Kafirs of South Africa have a story very much like it in form and substance. Its parallel is also found in an ancient Hebrew parable called “The Two Zuzim.” Q. Do many girls play basket ball? —R. L. A. Prank G. Menke, sports expert, es- timates that there are approximately 1,000,000 girl basket ball players. Q. Who said “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow?"—J. W. A. These are the words of Helen Keller. Q. What name does King Edward VIII of England use when he travels in- cognito?—J. T. A. He is traveling this Summer as the Duke of Lancaster. Q. What is the origin of the word “caucus”?—V. L. A. The word is said to be derived from the Indian, kaw-kaw-was, meaning to counsel or confer. Q. What is the American Institute for the Deaf-Blind and where is it lo- cated?>—E. W. A. The purpose of the organization is to provide training and education for a small number of deaf-blind children; to conduct psycho-educational research with reference to the specified group, and with further reference to the edu- cation of the deaf and blind, and to conduct research relating to the pro- tection of vision and hearing in the schools generally. The address is 2332 Bryant avenue, Evanston, IlL Q. How many drivers have bad eye- sight?—J. H. A. About 60 per cent of all automo- bile drivers have defective vision. Q. Were the parents of Edgar Allen Poe actors?—J. G. A. The poet’s father, David Poe, while a law student in Baltimore, married Elizabeth Arnold, a beautiful English actress, and went on the stage himself. Q. Please quote Webster's famous tribute to Alexander Hamilton—C. G. A. In a speech on Hamilton made on March 10, 1831, Daniel Webster said: “He smote the rock of the national resources, and abundant streams of revenue gushed forth. He touched the dead corpse of pub- lic credit, and it sprung upon its feet.” Q. How many White House confer- ences on children have been called by Presidents?—W. H. A. There have been three White House conferences called by Presidents of the United States in the interest of children. These convened in 1909, in 1919 and in 1930, Q. How many States have regulations governing public dance halls?—L. F. R. A. Thirty-one States now have rege ulatory laws, and according to a study of the United States Children’s Bureau, ordinances for the same purpose had been enacted in 240 out of 492 cities studied in 1929. Q. For whom is Greensboro, N. C, named?—L. R. W. A. The city is named for Gen. Na- thaneal Green, the hero of the battle of Guilford Court House. Q. Why is the eustachian tube so- called?>—W. P. A. It was discovered by Bartolommeo Eustachio, an Italian anatomist, who is regarded as one of the founders of modern anatomy. Q. In what country is Haile Selassie living?—W. T. A. He lives quietly in England near London. ——— Hoppers Missed the Cows. From the Sioux City Tribune, ‘The Banner Township farmer says he thinks he might have been better off if the grasshoppers had eaten his cows, too. Colored News. Prom the San Antonio Evening News. These days the news is colorful enough —what with the Spanish Reds, the White Russians and the Michigan Blacks, Not Any for Uncle. From the Roanoke Times. London suggests that the United States should act as peacemaker in the Spanish civil war. Thanks, we’ll take vanilla. - A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton Destiny. A woody, cloistered nook Wherein the only sound In quietude profound Is a low-chanting brook. In ceaseless monotone It chants of a far sea Whose song is loud and free, Whose depths are oft unknown. But the smmll rivulet E In cloistered banks well knows ‘That toward the sea it flows : chansonette, Bilging its