Evening Star Newspaper, September 10, 1936, Page 10

THE EVE NG _STAR WASH. N, D. C, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1936. & o L B e SR S S S e = Dp B 0 S e PR L e B PR AR R L L e e L L e el Sl e L S O S s R SN SR o v A—10 . THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. September 10, 1936 THEODORE W. NOYES.......... Editor ! The Evening Star Newspaper Company. : tn 8¢ Snd Fenbipivinia Ave ol g ot 130 Bas 4200 B, BurSyecn Omoe 4 Hesent .. Loncon. Engiand. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Edition. —-45¢ per month -60c per month 65c_per month —===5C Der copy Night Final on, Night Pinal and Sunday Star___70c per mont) Night Pinal Star______ 55¢c per montl Collection made at the end of e month. Orders may be sent by mail or telephone Na- tional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland snd Virginia, fly and Sunday._.1 yr. $10.0 3 ggoni 1 yra $4.00; 1 a il i &Y ONlYeeeewal ¥T. §‘lfl un Member of the Associated Press. ‘The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches eredited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local news published herein 1l rights of publication of special dispatches erein are also reserved. One Thing at a Time. The attitude displayed at the District Building from time to time toward new or substitute forms of local taxation is {llogical, to say the least, and is highly confusing to the voteless taxpayer of ‘Washington. If the informal propositions made by municipal officials in the recent past were seriously advanced the people of the Dis- trict would be facing the prospect of: An increased gasoline tax. A weight or horsepower tax on auto- mobiles. A higher registration tax. An income tax. A bond issue to finance needed im- provements. An inheritance or estate tax. The personal predilections of some of our appointed officlals at the District Bullding toward sources of taxation may be interesting and informative, but just now they happen to be beside the point. It is possible, of course, that the people of the District might be plastered by every conceivable form of taxation under the sun. But just now the people of the District are paying a commission of experts appointed by the President to investigate the subject of fiscal rela- tions, take into consideration the facts as well as the equities, and recommend to the President the fair and equitable amount that the United States should pay toward the expenses of National Capital maintenance and development. All of the facts submitted so far by the people of the District, through their organizations, and all of the facts sub- mitted by the District Commissioners and other District officials to the com- mittees of Congress show that the District, in comparison with other municipalities, is bearing an adequate burden of taxation which, when some of the taxpaying disabilities of the com- munity are considered, is heavy. The question just now is not the form of additional or heavier substitute taxa- tion that might be imposed upon the unrepresented citizens of the District, but the amount of the Federal contribu- tion that will in truth represent the Federal obligation. As informed offi- cials at the District Building know, the fiscal difficulties under which they labor now are not attributable to any local taxpaying evasions but to the evasion by the exclusively-governing Congress of the obligations it voluntarily imposed upon the Natlonal Government, written Into law and never repealed. Should any increase in local taxation be justified and necessary—after decision relating to & fair and equitable Federal contribution—the role of the Commis- sioners would lie in championing the in- terests of the local taxpayer by seeking not merely the most equitable forms of taxation, but in drafting revenue legis- lation that does not go beyond the pro- visions of similar legislation in the States, where the people enjoy the priv~ 1lege of taxing themselves. In the meantime, while the fiscal rela- tions issue is being studied under condi- tions that indicate a determination to arrive at an equitable solution, the municipal officials are not serving the interests of the community by loose dis- cussion, as casual advocates, of the vari- ous forms of tax boosting that momen- ¥ tarily strike their fancy, and which, taken together, run the whole gamut, The discussions of the Third World Power Conference have included refer- ences to the New Deal which, of course, may be regarded as the greatest experi- ment ever attempted with reference to the adjustment and practical application of the enormous natural resources avail- able to mankind. These resources do not submit themselves easily to the in- tellectual authority available in a single generation. Political Speeches. ‘When is a speech political? President Roosevelt is going to Charlotte, N. C., to address a great rally of Democrats from the Southern States. The President said when the Charlotte speech was an- nounced that it would be “non-political.” Gov. Alfred M. Landon of Kansas, the Re- publican standard bearer, is going to Port- land, Maine, to close the Republican campaign in the Pine Tree State with & speech on Saturday, Gov. Landon would be surprised if any one suggested to him that his speech was not to be political. The Roosevelt New Dealers, from the President down, have adopted & new at- titude; more properly a new pose. It is that they are non-political and non- partisan. Roosevelt’s recent trips into the flood and drought areas were “non- political.” His travels and his speeches today and tomorrow and up to election day are also to be non-political. Spesk- ing facetiously, the President at a press conference said that he would make no political speeches until January 4, when Tongress opens and he appears before Jhat body to deliver an address on the *state of the Union.” ' + It may be that mx kind of pose is 3 necessary to turn the spotlight away from the very practical politics which the Roosevelt New Dealers are playing with the W. P. A. and other agencies of the Government which are dispensing “re;/ lief” of one kind or another. However, poses on the part of the New Dealers are not something new. It was a pose on their part that they were seeking “recovery” when as a matter of fact they were seeking “reform,” seeking to put into effect new and socialistic ideals of government in place of the tradition- ally American. The campaign, outwardly, rests lightly on the President’s shoulders. It is noth- ing to worry about. His aides take the same line, That attitude is not new. ‘Why should it be with those who have considered half a billion dollars of the taxpayers’ money mere “chicken feed,” as one of the most important New Deal- ers once characterized $500,000,000? There are evidences, however, among the voters of the Nation that the cam- paign to them has ceased long ago to be a joke. New Menace to Peace. Within a few hours after Becretary Hull addressed to the Third World Power Conference at Washington his uncom- monly earnest plea for banishment of war psychology and assailed the “sel- fish ambitions of unscrupulous persons,” inspired by “hope of national aggrandize- ment,” fresh European developments threw lurid light upon theé chronic dangers to peace. At Nuremberg the annual congress of the German National Socialist party publicly pilloried bolshe- vism as “World Enemy No. 1,” indicating that rigorous opposition to the Soviet Union is one of the new keynotes of German policy. The Moscow govern- ment took prompt cognizance of the trend of events in the Reich by inaugurating elaborate military ma- neuvers of three army corps on Russia’s western border contiguous to Germany. The operations embrace the Ukraine, the great Soviet agricultural province on which Nazi expansionist eyes are covetously riveted. Coincident with the maneuvers, the Soviet government- controlled press issues ominous warnings that the “specter of war is approach- ing nearer and nearer.” Chancellor Hitler lost no time at Nuremberg in breathing the martial spirit inseparable from these annual occasions. In his first remarks to the myriads of his adherents, the Fuehrer recalled that since they were last assembled he had weathered the most difficult period of his life by “restoring full arms sovereignty to the nation.” On Wednesday Hitler seized the opportu- nity of a formal address to proclaim his next objective. It is & four-year pro- gram, which embraces as its outstanding feature aggressive colonial demands. They are motivated, the dictator set forth, by the necessity to make the Reich independent in respect of indis- pensable raw materials and to fortify her in the battle for world trade. Inci- dentally, Hitler announced that he has signed economic decrees providing for planned production of all industrial and agricultural commodities. Contending that realization of these purposes is “only & question of our energy and de- termination,” he explained that the colonial demands are “part and parcel of the program.” By exactly what methods and at whose cost Hitler purposes to re-establish the Reich as & colonial power he failed to elucidate. The revelation of his scheme is voiced in tones that foreshadow strenuous prosecution of it. England, France and Japan, among which the former German overseas domain was principally divided, as well as other nations with land worth grabbing, will learn of Nazi ambitions with mixed emotions. None of them hitherto has evinced the slightest readiness either to consider relinquishment of territory now administered by them under mandate, or otherwise to appease German terri- torial hunger. Having pitchforked the colonial empire issue into the arena of international discussion, the Germans may be depended upon to foment it with no less insistence and diplomatic cun- ning than characterized their successive and triumphant demands for abolition of reparations and for remilitarization. World sueeunnnh!p in consequence is face to face with yet another situation that does not augur promisingly for peace, as Hitlerism, militant and for- midably armed, clears for action to re- gain Germany’s place in the sun, Some educational theories are to the effect that you cannot teach commu- nism. You just find it out when it happens. Private Airport Plans. Under legislation enacted by the last Congress a commission is now engaged in examining locations best suited for development as a National Capital air- port. But decision of the owners of Washington Airport to spend about $100,000 on extensive improvements to that airport, designed to make it more safe and more convenient for the large patronage it now enjoys, naturally raises the question whether development of a publicly owned and operated airport in the immediate future will be necessary or practical. & The chief urge for development of & publicly owned and operated National Capital airport has been the admittedly poor condition of Washington Airport, privately owned and operated. But dur- ing the long years of agitating for this intends to stay where it is and it has proved enough of a financial success to Justify expenditure by the owners of & Weather Bureau facilities, despite the uncertainty of future airport legislation. ‘This being the case, the question presents itself whether the United States Govern- ment and the District of Columbia will find it desirable or necessary tp sink & million or two dollars in another airport. Certainly the commission now investi- gating airport sites should not permit the Washington Airport improvements to influence their best judgment or necessarily lead them to the decision that the simple thing to do is to pur- chase Washington Airport—which is what the present owners, in the past at least, have wanted them to do. Dredging of the Potomac, now under way, is gradually filling in the Gravelly Point site, at no extra expense to the Government. Within & few years, by killing two birds with one stone—dredg- ing the river and filling in the Gravelly Point site—a large area would be created at little extra expense which would be suitable for airport development. An- other question before the airport com- mission, therefore, is whether, if a public- owned National Capital airport must eventually be built, would it not be as well to await the gradual development of Gravelly Point, meanwhile permitting the efficient managers of the Washington Airport to continue their profitable busi- ness under the improvements now about to be made. ——— Maine is again in the political spot- light with a situation which affords renewed interest to those who regard an election as a game which calls for a dope sheet and a betting system. A birthday party has no charm for Gov. Landon. After this long experience in public life he may be content with the natural assumption that, regardless of his age, he has wisdom beyond his years. Back at his desk Secretary Swanson is entitled to feel like a man who has been through a storm at ses and is de- serving of all the congratulations he will receive on escaping shipwreck. Invention has made many conveni- ences available to humanity, but some of the warlike citizens insist on shooting up the electric lights and crashing the motor cars. Communism cannot be considered profitable by Spain when it resuits in chasing Americans out of the country instead of collecting tips from them. Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Relief in Irrelevancy. Though talk of war is in the air To threaten every nation, ‘We hope that we can keep it there By cheerful conversation. For dogs, as pets, I do not care, Nor for a parrot's chatter. My eloquence I never spare On things that do not matter. I don't like bridge that’s hard to score, I'm not inclined for poker With deuces wild; and I deplore Employment of the joker. I don't like salads served with cheese Upon a social platter; My views are strong on things like these ‘Which really do not matter. The problems rising far and wide Cause moments of depressfn; And yet we must not be deniéd The joy of self-expression When temple pillars are pulled out To cause a wondrous clatter. I lift & shout and talk about The things that do not matter! Documents. “Do you expect to relieve all human discomfort?” “No,” said Senator Sorghum. “There is & streak of rugged individualism that you always have to consider. You can't frame up an oration or even an act of Congress that will seem as important to any man as the mortgage on his own little house and lot.” Jud Tunkins says many & young man with a fine future has used most of it up admirin’ its possibilities. “Wealth,” sald Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “is desirable because it may enable us to conceal behind a gilded screen the sorrow which Poverty would pitilessly compel us to reveal.” Grotesque Monotony. Dictators fill us with dismay When they are out upon display In their appearance we confess, Their whiskers vary more or less. But their attire we can’t admire; It sometimes moves us to inquire ‘While out as learned disputants, Why must they all wear funny pants? Straw. “What are you raising this year?” asked the tourist. “Straw,” answered Farmer Corntossel. “You can'’t eat straw.” “No. But if the politicians keep on takin’ straw votes, the demand is goin’ to be something tremendous!” “My sncestors wrote wise rules for posterity,” said Hi Ho the sage of China- town, “but could not provide a posterity pernicious because it's misleadin’. A little stresk o' luck is enough to con- BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. Landon’s .rush to Maine to make an :mmulmm mmch d.wlndlnz up the W] ends at the polls on Monday, makes the result in Maine all the more a test of strengta that may have national implications. The per- sonal entry of the G. O. P. presidential candidate into the Maine campaign, also, is likely to impress the voters with the idea that the Maine election is not a local affair—although they vote on Monday for Governor, Senator and three members of the House, and not for President. The Democratic candidate for Senator, Gov. Louis J. Brann, has been running along on his personal pop- ularity and edging as far away from the Roosevelt New Deal as possible. He does not wish to be known as a New Dealer among the Republicans in Maine, whose support he must have if he is to beat Senator Wallace White. Well, the visit of Landon to Maine, plus a declara- tion by him that a vote for White is & vote for Landon and a vote against Roosevelt, may have considerable effect in that senatorial contest. s * x % x Maine goes strongly Republican on Monday Landon will get the praise. It looks as though his determination to get into Maine was wise, anyway it is re- garded. For if the Democrats should ac- complish the impobssible and carry the State for Governor and for Senator, it would be a black eye for Landon, whether he was in the State or not. Reports from Maine indicate that the Democrats are moving heaven and earth there to elect Brann. He is their chief hope in an election which seems to be pretty well sewed up for the Repub- licans. If Brann is elected Chairman Farley of the Democratic National Com- mittee will proclaim it a great Roosevelt victory, although he has acquiesced in the plan to have Brann shy away from the New Deal in his msincy campaigning in * X ok % Senator Joseph F. Guffey of Pennsyl- vania, Democratic boss of that State, in a Labor day address, said that the Con- stitution had been used as “an instru- ment to destroy rather than to protect human rights,” by the Supreme Court of the United States. He was referring to the manner in which the court had knocked down certain New Deal legis- lation, among them the Guffey coal bill. If Mr. Guffey believes what he says, and undoubtedly he must, then under bis plea one of two things, or both, should be done. Either the Constitution should be drastically amended, or the Supreme Court should be denied the power to pass on the constitutionality of laws of Congress. A lot of New Dealers believe that both these things should be done. But they have not, as a party, come forward with any such definite and spe- cific proposals. There is an alternative. If President Roosevelt is re-elected, in all human probability he will have seve eral places to fill on the Supreme bench. Those judges selected to fill the vacan- cies may be thoroughly catachised and their views on New Deal theories ascer- tained before they are appointed. * * * % Benator George W. Norris, 75-year-old veteran and ardent supporter of Presi- dent Roosevelt, has been drafted to run for re-election by 40,504 voters in Ne- braska. His name will be on the ballot as an independent candidate for the Senate unless he refuses to remain drafted and orders his name taken off. The petition, signed by his supporters, Republican and Democratic, has been filed with the Secretary of State. Under the State law he does not have to give assent. Presumably, however, if he is to be a candidate, he will get actively into the campaign. He has already promised to do all he can to aid in re-electing President Roosevelt. Obtaining 40,504 signatures is quite a feat. Every effort was made by Norris’ friends and the New Dealers to swell the number of signers. Norris will be opposed by former Representative “Bob” Simmons, Repub- lican, and former Representative Terry Carpenter, Democrat, in the senatorial election. The Republicans hope to be able to put Simmons across, with the New Deal and Democratic opposition divided between Norris and Carpenter. Strenuous efforts have been made by the New Dealers and by many of the Democrats to get Carpenter to withdraw from the race. He has hung on. If Carpenter should withdraw now and take an important Federal office either before or after the election it would look pretty raw. Simmons, Norris’ Republican opponent, is an active and able campaigner. He made a good record for himself during his service in the House, and two years ago was the Republican senatorial nomi- nee against Senator Burke, Democrat. That was a strongly New Deal year, and Simmons lost. **x The New Dealers sent Senator Schwel- lenbach of Washington out to Columbus, Nebr,, a few days ago to make a cam- paign speech. He started it off with a eulogy of Norris. In fact, the New Deal- ers are hoping for help from Norris’ candidacy for the Senate, just as they are hoping for help from the candidacy of several other senatorial and guber- natorial candidates whose nominations have been dictated from Washington, among them Brann in Maine, Frank Murphy in Michigan, Lehman in New York. They are hoping, too, for the nom- ination of Senator James Couzens in the Republican primary in Michigan on Sep- tember 15, and today the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Investigating Com- mittee is conducting an inquiry in that Schwellenbach said everything for Norris in his Nebraska Couzens. he could peech: “I have come to regard Senator Norris,” vince a-man dat he has found & way | 1o live withous workin'.” BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Berries hang high on the high-bush berries. cranl Let them alone, the birds will enjoy them this Winter. ‘They have about cleaned up the white berries of these bushes, but are not so keen on the coral ones. Berries of the great bittersweet vine, which climbs 20 feet into the locust tree, are beginning to turn to the beau- tiful orange of their Autumn dress. These are favorites of most birds, as well as of the careful housewife, who gathers them from her own garden, or buys them at the florist, for use in vases during the Winter. R There are few more luxuriant vines than the bittersweet, of beautiful, poignant name. It loves a tree, no place better; over its trunk, and into its branches it climbs, through the years, until at last it be- comes a veritable fountain of green. Some such climbers injure trees, but it is believed that this is not the case with the bittersweet; that the tree thrives just as well with it as without it. In time the-end branches, being able to go no higher, simply shoot forth into the air, and then bend downward over the rest. Beneath this green cascade the birds of Summer love to perch, chattering away to one another, sometimes to their broods on the ground. * k% % The bittersweet berries will complete their seasonal change of color after the first frost. Then, almost suddenly, they will be- come the fine orange color of their Winter dress. There, all the cold sea- son through, they will hang a perpetual invitation to the birds, who, no other food offering, will sample them with ever increasing taste as the season grows colder. ‘These berries are the particular favor- ites of the mockingbirds, which are the peculiar favorites of many bird lovers. The mockers also like the berries of the common barberry, which is just one more good reason for planting this as a hedge. ‘The property which has the strong, prickly Japanese barberry in profusion will find itself the host of many other species of birds, all of which can get sustenance from its berries. Wild cherries, really small trees, are beloved of brown thrasher. * % % x ‘There are few shrubs which have ber- ries which are not liked by some bird or other. ‘The person who wants birds in Winter will find it to his advantage to put a border of all sorts of berried shrubs around his yard. This great ruff of material not only will provide the birds with something to eat, at the season they need it most, but will do a great deal toward giving them a sort of sanctuary. Never fear about the cats. Cats will get a bird, now and then, shrubs or no shrubs. Birds that feed on berries are usually up in the bush, so that they can see the approaching cat, no matter how stealthy he comes. Birds are a great deal warier than some of their friends give them credit for being. We know a small feeder on the ground beneath a maple tree. It is within 4 feet of a heavy planting of lilac bushes. The corner of a garage is within 5 or 6 feet. The situation would seem to be a splendid hiding place for roaming cats, easily within a spring of the birds. Yet STARS, MEN scores of birds, mostly English sparrows, have fed there for two months, with only one loss of life. Gray feathers on the ground testified to the tragedy. But the other birds wire back again the next morning as if nothing had “ap- pened. Some loss, in nature, seems inevitable, Nature guarantees nothing. * % %% Red-caned dogwood is another shrub the birds love. This is the one which is a shrub, not a tree. It has a rather sprawly habit of growth, with red branches beautiful at all seasons. One or two of these look well in any border. ‘The larger such shrubs are permitted to grow, the better the birds like them. During the feeding in the Winter, espe- cially when food is put out for them, they love to perch in the shrubs, after all alarms. Usually there will be a certain pro- portion of English sparrows at all feed- ing stations, even in the suburbs. These are canny birds, never eating for more than a minute at a time. Then they fly, with one will, into the air, to alight & short distance away. This action, endlessly repeated all day long, must be a saving instinct of theirs, since often not a sound or shape dis- turbs. Yet time after time they fly up and away. Usually they alight in a chirping community in some nearby shrub, where they perch for a minute, then, one by one, fly back to the feeder, * % %k x If there are plenty of large shrubs in the yard, the birds will seek these as refuge, instead of flying to somebody else’s yard. This congregation of chirpers is one of the most interesting sights in bird feeding during the cold, especially in snow. There is no more satisfying sight in this sport. * * ¥ X It is well, therefore, to leave all shrubs, especially those with berries, totaly un- pruned. Such pruning as they demand will be best next February or early March, In the meantime leave the shrubs, with their leaves and berries, to the birds. Even the chafly seed cases, which cling {0 such things as the common althea, after the seeds have fallen to the ground, are liked by such birds as the goldfinch and others. Seeds of lilacs, peonies and most shrubs, even roses, while totaly disre- garded by most gardeners, no doubt are relished by the birds which Winter with us. Too much tidiness, therefore, at leaf raking time, will deprive birds of much good food, natural food which is par- ticularly relished by them. * % ® x Do not be too scrupulous in cleaning up leaves, litter and other trash, so- called, around fences and hedges. Let some of it remain. Not only will it be a good mulch, but it will contain some food for the birds. There is little doubt that too much lawn cleanliness is inimical to wild bftd life. ‘There can be little deubt, as suggested here last Winter by several correspond- ents, that most of the birds which Winter in this vicinity sleep in ever- greens. They love the outspreading branches and their comparative protec- tion. Owners of all types of evergreens are urged to keep them in good condi- tion for the birds. Beveral of these, in strategic positions in the garden, not only give accent to the whole, but furnish sleeping quarters for the songsters, and that is a pleasant thought. AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. When Rome's legions first marched into the dark, swampy wildernesses of Central Europe they encountered great herds of wisents. ‘These were animals superficially al- most indistinguishable from the bison which Spanish explorers found swarm- ing~ over the Great Plains of North America 1,500 years later. The creatures were hunted by the nomad tribes, to whom they afforded one of the essential sources of livelihood. The Romans brought some of them back and pitted them against men in the arenas—en- counters which usually ended fatally for the wisents. Through the succeeding centuries, as Northern Europe became civilized, the wisents were hunted ruthlessly. Their forest habitats gave way to cultivated fields. Through the centuries they were pushed eastward into Poland, Lithuania and the Ukraine. Nobody worried over their fate—just as nobody worried over the fate of the bison a few centuries later. ‘The beginning of the nineteenth cen+ tury found the wisents restricted to the vast hunting preserves of a few rich nobles. They were rapidly on the way to become extinct animals. The World War dealt them an almost fatal blow. Some of the larger herds were slaugh- tered for meat. The nobles fell from power and their hunting preserves were broken up into farms. Consequently after the armistice there were only a very few wisents left. These few, it was found, were undernourished and unable to survive in the depleted forests. The result was the formation of an international society, which received generous American support, for the pres- ervation of the animals. Rigid laws were enacted for their protection and, so far as possible, the scattered speci- mens of the species were gathered to- gether and placed in suitable environ- ments. But hqpes for saving the wisent remained rather slim. The creatures of the largest groups left was wiped out m!emlyma{wmhbynnepl— ic. ment in’ genetics—breeding backward from the now abundant bison to the rapidly disappearing wisent. The two animals without doubt are closely re- lated, yet their differences are great enough to make them different animals. ‘The first step in the experiment is breeding a pure-blood wisent bull to a bison cow. The offspring, of course, is a half-breed. All the males are killed. The half-breed cows are again mated to wisent bulls. The offspring are three- quarters wisent. Again the male calves are slaughtered and the daughters mated to pure-bred wisents. With every cross the amount of bison strain left in the offispring” will be reduced until, the experimenters expect, it will reach the vanishing point. ‘The progress of the experiment is re- ported in the current journal of the American Society of Mammalogists, which has taken an active interest in the work. The transition animals are known as verdrangungs. It is not ex- pected that they ever will become ab- solutely pure wisents, but eventually, it is hoped, a stage will be reached where no biologists could tell the difference. The small amounts of bison blood ap- parently give the animals a vitality and hardiness which the pure wisents lack, and they can be produced in sufficient numbers to risk experimenting with them. At present nobody would dare turn the pure wisents loose in a new range. They :re extremely sensitive to environmental hanges, especially where some food difference is necessary. 'fl:e'!l.‘d!m range of the also is the ideal range of the wisents. They can be turned loose in a new territory to test its suitability. They are not so subject to disease. The possibility of every wisent in Europe being swept away suddenly is by no means far- fetched. If this ha the verdran- glu;gs will remain, to perpetuate the How discouraging is the work with T L 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. ©. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. Who took the part of Gabriel in ~ the motion picture version of “The Green Pastures”?—L. H. A. Oscar Polk. Q. How many ounces are there in a jigger and in a pony?—W. C. A. Both are measures used for liquor. A jigger is one and one-half ounces, while a pony is an ounce. Q. What percentage of the eligible » voters went to the polls in 1928 and 1932?—J. H. A, A.In 1928 the percentage was 623. In 1932 it was 59.14. Q. What kind of trees outline the re- flecting pool near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington?—C. E. C. A. They are beeches. Q. What is the salary of England's poet laureate?—H. L. A. It is 97 pounds a year, or about™ Q. Why was Trotzky exiled from Rus- §ia?—T. M. A. Leon Trotzky was exiled from Rus- sia because of his opposition to the Russian government. After Lenin's death in 1924 it became apparent to the Communist leaders that theoretical Marxian socialism was at least in cer- tain regards inapplicable to the Russian situation. As a result a schism broke out in the Bolshevist ranks, with Trotzky at the head of the “die-hard” group. His outspoken opposition to the government,|» particularly during the Chinese erisis of 1927, led first to his “censure” by the| government and then to his expulsion from office. Q. In what country was John L. Lewis, the labor leader, born?—L. V. A. He was born in the United States, in Pennsylvania, of Welsh ancestry, and is a lifelong citizen of the United States. Q. How much did the newest of the United States battleships cost?—H. M. A. The total cost of the U. S. 8. West Virginia, the newest battleship in the United States Navy, was $27,103,951.78, including the furnishings and stores. . Q. How old is Father Divine and what is his real name?—L. W. A. The Negro evangelist'’s baptismal name was George Baker, He is 58 years old. Q. How many stocks, bonds and mortgages are owned by insurance com= panies?—H. G. A. The insurance companies of Amer- ica own $7,117,000,000 worth of bonds, « $44,000,000 worth of stocks and $6,681,~ 000,000 worth of mortgages. Q. What percentage of the wild fowl of the United States breeds in this country?—A. D. A. Only about 15 per cent. The great breeding grounds of the wild continental duck crop are in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Q. When was the great London fire? —J. W. A. In 1666. It was after this fire that « London became a city of brick and mor- tar, replacing a city of wood. Q. At the outbreak of the Civil War what was the height and weight of Gen. Robert E. Lee?—A. F. A. Five feet eleven inches. One hun- dred and seventy-five pounds. Q. Has William C. Bullitt, the new Ambassador to France, written any books?—W. R. G. A. He is the author of a novel en- titled “It's Not Done.” Q. Why is peat used in Ireland for fuel instead of coal?—F. W. A. Very little coal is found in Ire- land. In Kilkenny County and adja- cent counties coal of an anthracite va- riety is found, but not in large quanti- ties. There are huge bags in Ireland which furnish peat for fuel, the Bog of Allen being the largest. » Q. Who was Countess Potocka and wrg) %flnud the famous portrait of her? A. Sophie de Witt, Countess Potocka, was a famous beauty, known chiefly from Anton Graff's pastel portrait of her made in Berlin, where she lived for some time and where she died. She was the daughter of a Greek shoemaker of Constantinople. She married a Russian general and, after her divorce from him, married Count Stanislas Felix Potockl. Q. Who was-the first modern English novelist?—K. G. A. Samuel Richardson (1689-1761), author of “Pamela,” which was the first _, modern novel. Q. How many trees have been planted in the Government's shelter-belt proj- ect?—J. R. A. Over 23,000,000 trees have been planted in the project. In addition there are 50,000,000 seedlings in nurseries ready for transplanting in the Spring. units would be “a step in the expansion of the militarist war machine.” Even if that statement were true, which it is not, should the giving of a little rudimentary military training in a high school be condemned? The United States may never have another major war, and let us hope she will not. But the odds are strongly the other way. And if or when war comes the country will need all the trained and partially trained young men it can get right then, not in six months or a year. Besides, what is so wrong about mili- tary training? Several million young men got a dose of it in 1917-18. Did it hurt any of them? Nor is it true that when a boy is taught to handle a gun, wear a uniform and do sqiads east and west he invari- ably becomes a bloody-minded militarist. And any one who talks that way is a vléumnlhbovndelummmj- udices. A Rhyme at Twilight By = " Gertrude Brooke Hamilton