Evening Star Newspaper, September 14, 1936, Page 10

"A-10 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, -D. C. MONDAY. September 14, 1936 THEODORE W. NOYES.. oo Editor —— e The Evening Star Newspaper Company. Business Office: Pennsylvania Ave. s E ey, Bureea B nen e Ko M Eondon. Ensiand. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Edition. R ehing and Buridey StaF e a h" n 14 lunm‘l --60¢ per month ening_an th by X e o 2emd Night Final Edition. 700 ont] %{gi‘:fi‘ dh Sundey Spar-- 388 B m lection ms the end of onth. ers may be sent by mail or al’ 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press 15 exclusively entitled to the use for repul lluno& of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this ‘and also the local news nublished herein. hts of publication of special dispatches are also reserved. Hitler’s Russian Threat. If Americans can conceive the un- {maginable and think of a prime min- ister of Japan publicly proclaiming: *Japan would be rich beyond the dreams of avarice if she only possessed the Pa- cific Coast of the United States, the silver, copper and gold mines of Colo- rado, Montana and South Dakota, the oil lands of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas and the wheat and corn fields of Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and North Dakota.” If so astounding an affirma- tion were ever to emanate from a re- sponsible quarter in Tokio, it is not hard to visualize the reaction in this country. It would be one of universal and justi- flable resentment. It might be difficult for even the most pacific-minded ad- ministration in Washington to restrain popular demand for stern rebuke of Japanese pretensions. Yet, at a moment of profound peace in Europe and on the heels of his claim that Germany is firmly devoted to its maintenance, Chancellor Hitler has seen fit to utter no less inflammatory a provo- eation of the Soviet Union. With hun- dreds of Nazi battle planes roaring a warlike symphony overhead as he spoke, the Fuehrer thundered to his great party congress at Nuremberg on Saturday that *4f T had the Urals, if we possessed Si- beria, if we had the Ukraine, National Socialist Germany would be swimming in .lurplus prosperity.” In the same breath he declared that the “Reich would -tri- umph if the hour comes when the two nations should meet in battle.” He de- scribed Russia as “our old adversary” and voiced the defiant assurance that German youth would be before and be- hind him if it ever became necessary to defend the country against the Bolshe- vist foe truculently advertised at Nurem- berg as “world public enemy No. 1.” Hitler did not go the length of threat- ening war to acquire the several million square miles of Russian territory to which he made covetous allusion. But the sinister implication in his statement {s undeniable. Russia and the world in general will weigh his words in the light of the expansionist creed so candidly avowed in Hitler's book, “My Struggle,” wherein the German “push toward the eest” is advocated as a cardinal point of Nazi policy. There is, of course, a wide gulf be- tween the mere disclosure of German longings for Russian lands, with their tabulous agricultural and mineral wealth, and the materialization of so tall an erder. Meantime the brutal frankness of the Fuehrer's language and the in- evitably bellicose effect it will produce in Moscow do a grave dis-service to the cause of peace, to which Hitler pretends 8o indissolubly to be wedded. Even if his purpose is simply to paint a picture of the promised land for “impoverished” Germans, and thus induce them to goose-step with a lighter heart, while bearing the crushing burden of colossal srmaments, the Nuremberg fulmination is & wanton menace to international tranquillity and a challenge to a world writhing with anxiety to rid itself of war peychology. Labor day was commemorated with outbursts of eloquence with which actual work was not permitted to interfere. A certain amount of holiday exercise is beneficial but should not be permitted to interfere with the purposes of a man who likes his job and prefers to hold it without interference. ——————— Hitler is looking with en¥ious eyes on Boviet wealth. He may find a way to organize a brain trust with a dash of politics in it to promote foreign con- servation. Spain has at last succeeded in mak- ing a bull fight seem by comparison a gentle and uplifting form of social en- tertainment. Rather Pointless. Mr. “A” is impressed with the need of school facilities and asks the Commis- sloners to remember the request of his citizens’ association for an adequate building. Mr. “B” has observed the lack of playgrounds and is concerned over the inadequacy of current appropriations, respectfully demanding that they be in- creased next year. Mr. “C” is a member of & W. P. A. union and is naturally anxious to see that everything possible 1s done in behalf of relief. Mr. “D” has been delegated by the business men of his neighborhood to appear before the Commissioners and present the need for 8 street improvement or a new bridge. So it goes, and each of them is asked the categorical question: “Have you stopped beating your wife?” The phrase- ology, however, being: “Do you favor increasing taxes to pay for the improve- ments that you demand?” It is & fair and logical question up to & certain point. Most of these improve- ments require a considerable outlay of eash, and the cash is pald in the form THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1936. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES B. TRACEWELL. of taxes by somebody. It is unreasonable to demand extensive improvements with- out admitting a willingness to pay fer them. But, under the present circum- stances, the repetition of this question at the Commissioners’ budget hearing is not as pointed as it might seem to be, and for two reasons:. . First, the citizens petitioning for neighborhood improvements are not in & position to judge whether the specific improvements requested would mean in- creased taxes, or whether the money for such improvements would be forth- coming through elimination of something else. They do not have the power to express their opinions of wise budgeting as other Americans do—through the bal- lot. And they do not know what amount of money the Budget Bureau or Congress will permit to be requested or appro- priated for the District. Neither do the Commissioners, for that matter. Second, the question now is not how or how much to soak the people of the District with new taxes, but how much money Congress will appropriate in recognition of the national obligation to its Capital City. Let that question be decided, then give the people of the District the right to express themselves on whether they wish to be taxed and how they wish to be taxed to finance specific improvements, and the oft- repeated question will assume significant meaning. Right now it is rather pointless. ————————— Free Competition. Governor Landon's analysis of the New Deal and what it has done and is doing to free competition in the United States, delivered in Maine Saturday night, was both searching and logical. Under the New Deal and its now de- funct N. R. A. a system of free com- petition could not exist. And further, under the N. R. A. monopolies were fostered and prices could be fixed in a manner that gave the great units of industry all the advantage. Once the industry of the country had developed to the point of a comparatively few great monopolies, controlling food, clothing and other essentials, the next step would be Government ownership of these monopolies. That, indeed, is the milk in the coconut of planned economy, as advocated by the Tugwells and other prime movers in the New Deal. The supporters of the New Deal plan- ned economy have a term which they apply to free competition. It is laissez faire, which means “let the people do or make what they wish.” The pur- pose of the New Dealers is to have the people do and make what the Govern- ment decrees is for their good. That s not freedom, in the American sense. It is not a new system. It has been tried in many countries in the past and at present is having its day in Russia under one form of government and in Ger- many and in Italy under another. Governor Landon is alive to the fact that the same power of fixing prices and production, left in the hands of private monopolies, is an evil compar- able to and possibly even greater than the evil of government-owned monop- olies, though there is little to choose between the two. He gave in his Maine address a complete and earnest promise to make war on monopoly if he becomes President of the United States. Private monopoly has gone too far in this coun- try, both before the New Deal and since. Although the N. R. A. has been killed, by unanimous decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, the spirit back of the N. R. A. is still alive. Presi- dent Roosevelt has declared that, de- spite the set backs which have been given his New Deal by the courts, there will be no retreat. The American people should fully understand in this eam- paign that a victory for the New Dealers means a continuation of Government domination of their activities and even- tual Government ownership of {ndustry. Certainly Governor Landon made it very clear, A custom of changing his dialect to suit his audiences is attributed to Gov- ernor Talmadge of Georgia, who has ex- perienced an apparent loss of prestige. Brain trusts have had their influence and the Governor may have made the mistake of “talking Cracker” when he should have been “speaking Harvard.” A courageous stand against the na- tional administration is taken by the potent, grave and reverend Baltimore Sun, in defiance of the subsidiary brain trust that might presumably be organ- ized in Johns Hopkins University. —————— Mr. Landon says flatly that Mr. Roose- velt would like to be a dictator. This sounds like an effort to ignore the sus- picion that General Farley feels equal to being the kind of autocrat who could boss even a President. Informal King. King Edward VIII hates pomp and circumstance. Everybody knows that. But recently it has pleased His Majesty to prove it. And the world has enjoyed the spectacle, not resented it extrava- gantly. For example, the former Prince of Wales chose Balkan waters for his vaca- tion cruise and took with him in his yacht a group of friends who are de- scribed in London as “amusing com- moners.” He also practiced a democracy of bearing in the presence of curious alien multitudes—vastly disconcerting to the punditorial aristocracy of England, which believes that a sovereign should “look the part.” But even more im- portant, he openly “talked politics” with strangers, declaring among other opin- fons: “There will be no war. The British people do not want one and the world generally had enough unpleasant- ness during the last war.” But the King's selection of a Dal- matian shirt was just as truly news- worthy in the estimation of the interna- tional press as were his views on peace. Perhaps the story which created. the most impressive sensation was that which dealt with his invention of “the Pal or less definitely guaranteed to kill at a thousand yards. And it may be that the King himself would “explode” if he could not on oc- casion escape from the regimen of his position. Not any less human than other men, he needs relaxation now and again. So long as he does not neglect impera- tive business, it may be supposed that no serious consequences will accrue from his infrequent retreats from the deadly dull monotony of reigning, not ruling, over his empire. His penchant for harm- less iriformalities probably is his safety valve—a gadget which every human creature requires when the pressure of environment and the weight of duties are heavy. Disaster in Norway. The sympathy of America goes out to Norway today following receipt of news of the greatest disaster in the recent history of the Scandinavian peninsula. Seventy-four persons, it is reported, perished when a million tons of rock fell from Ravnefjeld Mountain into Lake Loen and a resultant tidal wave rushed through Boedal Valley. Two villages and numerous Iisolated farms were swept by the flood—a wall of water three hundred feet high roaring toward the sea. But the cataclysm cannot be said to have been unexpected. Indeed, strangers visiting the scene in years gone by re- peatedly testified to their wonderment that the high overhanging ledges should have remained in place so long and that people should have the courage and hardihood to be willing to dwell in the shadow of an inevitable avalanche. Their amazement, it may be remarked, was justified by their knowledge that a landslide in 1905 had served tragic warning of the danger. Yet it might have been answered that no spot on earth is safe. There is some risk everywhere. If it is not the uni- versal law of gravitation that threatens, it is earthquakes, cyclones, drought er some other natural equivalent of the Sword of Damocles that constitutes the hazard. The particular jeopardy of the average citizen of the United States Is that of motor traffic. Probably yester- day's death toll from automobile acci- dents in America was close to seventy- four. There were six casualties in a single Michigan grade-crossing ecrash. For the philosopher the whole world- wide spectacle is saddening. Everywhere, he knows, the Relentless Reaper is at work. But everywhere also, as he like- wise understands, life, too, is striving to survive and prosper. The advantage, providentially, is with the latter always. — e The invention of a “mechanical heart” might be of greater service to humanity if it could be accompanied by a reliable design for a gas mask to protect the available supply of oxygen. ———————— Women who are participants in the fight in Spain are made aware that when woman'’s rights are asserted cer- tain responsibilities that go with them are inevitably assumed. —_———————— A phase of boondoggling that might be useful would be a discriminating sys- tem of destruction of most of the paint- ings developed in Summer art camps. Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Contident Prophecy, ‘The campaign will be ended In a very little while. Remarks may be extended, But we don't forget to smile. Election day is nearing With its figures that surprise, We will listen to the cheering And to explanations wise. We've got to have Thanksgiving ‘That enables us to say We're glad that we are living And awaiting Christmas day. If some thipgs can't be mended ‘We will face them as before. The smiling has been splendid— And we're going to smile some more. Finality. “Do you expect to have the last word in this argument?” “Language doesn't matter so much,” said Senator Sorghum. “There are taxes to be collected. What weTe after now is not the last word, but the last dollar.” Habit. We can't explain the things we do In spite of moral lesson. A threat of war resounds anew And keeps the whole world guessin’. ‘We're told a fight is never right ° For people honest hearted. And yet ere one is out of sight We have another started. Home, Sweet Home, “Do you think a woman’s place is in the home?” “Certainly,” said Miss Cayenne. “There are always plenty of homes with a pleas- ant party in one or two of them.” “It is not always true that we learn by experience,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown. “My neighbor, Hi Hat, is a disagreeable experience that never teaches anybody anything.” The Serious Farmer. The farmer used to be esteemed A person rather comic. At morn he toiled while others dreamed of problems economic. But now with confidence complete The farmer says, “Dear brother, Unless I have enough to eat, You won't be eatin’ nuther!” “A man who don’t know his duty wifout bein’ told,” said Uncle Eben, “ain’t likely to find anybody to give him infor- mation dat he kin understand.” Kilkenny Cats. Prom the Battle Creek Enquirer-News. conflicts Both sides are fighting over the distribution of wealth, while busily en-- R THE POLITICAL MILL BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. ‘This is the day that politicians all wver the country have been awaiting. “Down East” the voters are going to the polls to elect a Governor, United States Senator, members of the House and a host of State officials. Maine's election will be the first real test of strength between the New Deal and anti-New Deal forces. It will be a test because in September, 1932, the Democrats carried Maine and in 1934 they repeated. It will be a test because it is no “straw vote,” but an election in which all registered voters are taking part—unless they de- cide to go fishing or just stay away from the polls. Gov. Landon, the Republican presi- dential candidate, made an eleventh- hour invasion of Maine, speaking in Portland Saturday night, The Repub- licans in Maine had been pleading for a visit from the party’s standard-bearer for a long time. However, Landon might not have gone to Maine at all had it not been brought home to the campaign managers and to the Governor himself that the Republican campaign was lag- ging a bit all over the country because Landon was marking time in Topeka for four weeks before his next scheduled campaign tour, in the Middle West. Chairman John Hamilton of the Re- publican National Committee took the bull by the horns. He went to the mat and insisted that Landon get on the road again, Maine was the logical place to go. * % % X It looks as though the original idea of many of the Landon advisers was being permanently abandoned. That idea had been to keep the Governor in Kansas, except for a very few speeches to be made elsewhere. A back porch campaign was in order. The fact that Landon makes friends for himself wherever he goes, and the additional fact that the country has been anxious to see him in the flesh for months, made this plan of campaign appear rather dumb. It was the kind of campaign that worked successfully to win the Governor the presidential nomination. But he would have won the nomination of his party more impressively if he had gone into most of the presidential pri- mary States and made a campaign. Furthermore, he would have already made ground which he now has to cover, * ® X X The Baltimore Sun, traditionally Democratic, has come out editorially against the re-election of President Roosevelt. At the same time it is con- ducting a poll of the registered voters of Maryland. Up to yesterday 28,704 ballots had been cast, with Roosevelt well in the lead. The total vote cast in the presidential election in 1932 in Maryland was 511,054 and in 1928, 528,- 248. Not all of the registered voters took part in either election. The Sun can scarcely expect to have all the voters take part in its present poll. Neverthe- less, if all the voters have an opportunity —as they will have—the results of the poll should be illuminating. Maryland is one of the States which the Repub- licans are hoping to carry this year, partly because of a big defection among Democrats who do not like the New Deal. * k% % The Springfield Republican, published in Springfield, Mass., and long noted for its independence in politics, editorially is urging all liberals to get behind Presi- dent Roosevelt. It says: “The more moderate liberal and pro- gressive elements of “the left,” on this side of the “lunatic fringe,” could not hope in half a century to develop a more sympathetic, more understanding and more competent leader than President Roosevelt, now thoroughly seasoned by experience—and this can be said after allowing a broad margin for deprecia- tion, because of his faults and errors, in the balance sheet of his personal record. One can waste a lifetime waiting for a leader who is ideal. Leaders are made by circumstances and matured by serv- ice. They must be accepted in order to be utilized, or we can have no leaders. If progressives are at all keen for keep- ing their only possible leader at this time in power, they must rally to Roose- velt's support.” * k% % The campaign in Pennsylvania is warming up. Registration figures, it is expected, will set a new high record. The Democrats have a greater registration in Pittsburgh for the first time—although the city has gone Democratic consist- ently since 1932, Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, however, shows the Republicans 10,000 ahead of the Democrats. In Philadelphia, with two more days remaining for registra- tion, the Republicans have 230,000 to 160,000 for the Democrats. In all the great central part of the State, the party workers are extremely busy. Some of the counties are showing considerable gains for the Republicans. Despite the claims of Democratic leaders that Penn- sylvania this year will be carried by Roosevelt, the early indications do not foretell any such result, * * X X Mayor La Guardia of New York, who was elected mayor in 1933 on Republican- Fusion ticket, is out in the open working for the re-election of President Roosevelt, In 1933 the Tammany apple cart was upset when the Roosevelt administra- tion, through Chairman James A. Far- ley of the Democratic National Commit- tee and also chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, got behind McKee, another Democratic candidate for mayor, and the Tammany choice was snowed under. Tammany will sooner or later have to make up its mind whether it is going down the line for Roosevelt this year. While many of the Tammany people have no love for either Roosevelt or Farley, if they think that Roosevelt is likely to be re-elected President they may decide it is better policy to stick with him, in the hope that he will let Tammany alone when 8 mayor is elected next year. If the belief was widespread that Roosevelt might support La Guardia in 1937, how- ever, it might have a different effect. * K kX ‘The Bureau of Agricultural Economics of the Department of Agriculture has Just come forward with a statement that the gross farm income for 1935 from -farm production and the Government checks sent to farmers for compliance with the A. A. A. program was $8,508,~ 000,000. This is the highest gross income for the farmers since 1930, and is 59 per cent higher than the gross for 1932. That is the kind of thing that is ex- pected to give the Roosevelt administra~ tion a big advantage in the farm sections throughout the country. Probably the checks that will go to the farmers this year for compliance in the new A. A, A. ‘The desire to say caustic things is & game with some people, not meanness at all, although at times it may sound 80, and so impress others, Those given to such reraarks are as unable to refrain from uttering them as the rooster from his crow, or the turkey gobbler from his gobble. They serve a useful purpose in soclety, these people. After all, what they say is not really mean, but just unusual, in most cases. 1t is the unusual, in this world, which is resented, even more than the caustic, the mean, the sharp and stinging. ‘The world has a mode of dealing in talk, as well as in other things. One of these lies along the avenue of formal politeness. It is not good form to say something unexpected, something which seems to require a remark in kind, although silence would be better. Average conversation is built up on another plan. It is just as well that it is, too, else the world would be more filled with bickering than it is now. * ok ok X Humans are such touchy things, so willing to “get mad” at each other, that it is an unwritten law with many to refrain from saying anything which would stir up another. The peak of this is the famous “yes man,” well known to all, who simply agrees in word or smile, rather than run the risk of stirring up the animals, as the saying is. At the other end of the scale is the chronic disagreer, the fellow who in- variably !)nds you wrong in your opine ions, even at the risk of saying some- thing he does not agree with himself! In between come all the millions of persons of culture, semi-culture, demi- culture, however one chooses to put it, who are willing to talk in the mode, in order to ease the path of the every-day. They, too, at times, might wish to “hit the nail on the head,” but refrain from doing it, mostly. F * k% % ‘This leaves our friend, the caustic- tongued man or woman, who not only wants to say something “snappy,” but often does so. Sometimes these remarks strike others, including the victim, as harsh beyond need. That is because, one may believe, such remarks are unusual, outside the mode, against the code. If we stop to examine the code, we find it simply a matter of expediency. Common sense is the basis of all courtesy. If all persons were given to such remarks, what a world this would be! The point is that such a person, now and then, is a wholesome corrective to the “yes men,” and the yes women, and the millions of good, kind persons who are really “yessers” themselves, although they might be the last to suspect it. Let us say again that it is good for the world that they constitute the greater portion of it, with the exception of Spain, evidently, and a few other places. * ok ok K But the caustic speaker is a good anti- dote, and blessings upon him or her. He wouldn't hurt a fly, but he might hurt another human being, when he is talking. It we look over his remarks, remarks (for there is really no this), we find that nothing said drastic. Usually it is just & quick catching uj of a point which the rest convenient overlook. Analysis of the point shows, in most cases, we believe, that actually there is nothing in it to hurt any one. What causes the friction resulting is simply that a polite subterfuge, whatever it may be, has been unmasked. The mask is pulled down, just for a second, and in the resulting scramble to get it back, somebody’s toes may be stepped on. or h sex is v * k % % Usually are, as a matter of fact, and that is where the trouble comes in. If people would only stop being sur- prised at the unusual remark, there would never be any trouble over them. Usually every one looks amazed, there is consternation in at least one face, there is a general look of “What's now?” To live up to this look, the easiest thing to do is to say something equally un- usual, The victim chosen for this sacrifice is the usual one, too, the one whose remark has brought out the unusual vein of honest ore. His ore must be shoved back at once. This whole thing is a word game, re- member, as much as “knock, knock” and the like. If any one doubts the old saying, that words are things, let him engage in this game, and he will find out that words can be like physical blows, when used by the masters. * X % % But where the original words might be left unassailed, the addition of more words in opposition brings about a new deal, a conflict. Conflict, even in words, is battle. How word conflict leads on to physical battle is extremely well known. What commonly is overlooked is that it is the counter-attack which makes the battle, whether martial or marital. Our entire screed today, then, 1s a plea to people everywhere not to “talk back” so much. Let the caustic sayer have his say, and resent him not. Maybe he is having a lot of fun out of it, clicking his mind against an idea. Try to see his idea, and if he is making it come off well, join with him in the un. Keep those old emotions well in hand. They are necessary in running life, but ought not to be evoked unnecessarily. Do not believe that disagreement with you is some sort of sin, and that the only expiation is instant violent dis- agreement, The caustic speaker, so-called, who likes to dig some one in the mental ribs now and then, ought to be a subject for admiration. If silence is golden, this is the one great place to prove it. Let the fellow have his fling, and be- grudge him not, for there may be a laugh and a chuckle in his worst wit, if you could see it the way he sees it. Try to see it his way, before springing to the reproof unnecessary. For “back talk” is unnecessary, in most cases, and only results in warfare, of which there is already too much. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. Gov. Landon’s conferences with two former Undersecretaries of State, J. Reuben Clark, jr, and William R. Castle—who served, respectively, during the Coolidge and Hoover administrations —suggest that the Republican presi- dential nominee will shortly come forth with some brass tack statements of foreign policy. To date, the G. O. P. standard-bearer has expressed himself on that score in only general and in- formal terms. Mr. Clark is a former Ambassador to Mexico and a student of Latin American questions. Mr. Castle, a one-time special Ambassador to Japan, rates as an expert on the Far East. So Landon is getting authoritative counsel on the two outstanding branches of the United States’ external relations— brotherhood with the other American republics and the ticklish Pacific prob- lem. As the Republican leadership is aware of President Roosevelt’s strong appeal to the peace vote, there’s much curiosity about the tactics Gov. Landon will employ to counter the Democratic bid. His Portland speech, assailing New Deal centralized government as a war menace, indicates one of his approaches to the problem. Thus far, rugged isola- tion, including opposition to reciprocal trade agreements and advocacy of war debt collection, are about all there's been to the Landon international program. Some of our peace adbocates find Mr. Roosevelt’s good neighbor ideals incon- sistent with big naval armaments. His Republican foe may make a point of this in appealing for anti-war support. * kX x Some of Chairman Hamilton's National Press Club audience the other day rather got the impression from his unexpectedly restrained remarks that the G. O. P. broth is in danger of being spoiled by too many cooks. There were other allu- sions plainly meant to indicate that the chairman and Gov. Landon, despite spo- radic hints to the contrary, are teaming up harmoniously and will continue to do 50. On one point Hamilton radiates un- reserved confidence—that Kansas is in the bag for her favorite son. He ven- tured that prediction in conspicuously more positive tone than his claim of 225 electoral votes east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio. The elephant’s red- headed, aggressive young. leader drew the biggest crowd in the history of Press Club meetings, but it was disap- pointed not to find him in the dynamic oratorical form he displayed at Cleve- land. * X X % One of Washington's seasoned presi- dential year statistical wizards, after microscopic analysis of straw polls of every hue, has reached the conclusion —_— the administration, either through Presi- dent Roosevelt or through some other spokesmen, has issued statements de- claring there would be no increase in taxes at the next Congress, for none would be necessary; that the Civil Serv- ice is to be given a hand up, that there is to be more economy in Government and finally that there is to be a reorgan- ization of executive agencies otwt.:e Gov- that Pennsylvania and Michigan will decide the 1936 election. Whichever can- didate captures their respective 36 and 19 electoral votes will, he has it all doped out, be victorious. His calculations are based on Landon’s carrying New York and the bulk of the East. and on the theory that whoever wins will do so by about as slim a margin as Wilson’s vic- tory over Hughes in 1916—277 to 254—or less. Philadelphia’s old-time Republican presidential registration last week has considerably raised Keystone G. O. P. hopes. * k ok % Along with the Omaha-Herald, the Baltimore Sun becomes the second great Democratic newspaper to desert the New Deal. Defection of the widely circulated Maryland journal, the influence of which extends far beyond its own State, is un- questionably one of the severest jolts the Rooseveltian cause has suffered. Al- though the Sun’s own poll thus far has registered a Roosevelt trend in Maryland, the big primary vote rolled up there last Spring by Col. Breckinridge reveals a strong undercurrent of hostility to the President among Free State Democrats. Together with Republicans who sup- ported Roosevelt in 1932, but will not do so in 1936, they inject into the situa- tion an element that decidedly puts Maryland in the doubtful column. * % ok % Women momentarily seem to be tak- ing the lead in notable switches of party allegiance. Emulating Dr. Mary E. Woolley of Mount Holyoke College, in leaving Republican moorings to support Mr. Roosevelt, Mrs, Charles S. Whitman, wife of the former Republican Governor of New York, is about to take the stump for the Democrats. Mrs. Dwight F. Davis, formerly Mrs. Pauline Sabin, one- time Republican national committee- woman from New York, who was for Roosevelt in 1932, announces she is for Landon this time and will campaign for his election. Mrs. Davis was the leader of the national women’s organization which crusaded for prohibition repeal. * kX x Arrangements for Gen. Hugh Johnson, Blue Eagle boss in N. R. A. days, to go on the hustings for the Democratic tic- ket, suggest that he may be cast for the role of trailing Father Coughlin and Rev. Gerald Smith and replying in kind to the colorful attacks they're expected to launch against F. D. R. It would be a job, his friends think, to which Johnson would leap with joy and one in which he would prove himself fully equal to the rough and tumble stuff in which the Detroit radio priest and Huey Long's political heir specialize. Johnson has frequently matched invective with Coughlin, but has never taken on Smith, who is & combination of Bryan and Billy Sunday at their rabble-rousing zenith. * X X ¥ Former Republican Representative Philip Pitt Campbell of Kansas is back in Washington from a speech delivered before the Boston Republican women’s organization, He took occasion to put in a word for young Henry Cabot Lodge, Republican nominee for the United States Senate, pleading that the voters of Massachusetts owe it to the memory of the candidate’s famous grandfather, whose name he bears, to send Lodge to the scene which his kinsman so long adorned. Campbell gathered the im- ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN, A reader can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. What is the average price of ad- mission to motion pictures in the United States?—H, P, pr?ce?:nk: high-priced movies and low- , &n average of 20% cents struck, ¢ Q. What is the liquor consumptis the United States?—R. W. H. ey A. In 1935, total liquor consumption (wines and spirits) was 135,859,467 gallons, Q. Does the United States Bureau of Miznesc give first-aid training to miners? A. More than 963,000 persons have been trained in first-aid and mine-rescue methods under the supervision of the safety division of the Bureau of Mines. Since the establishment of this service such training is estimated to have saved 665 lives, Q. What is a pleached walk?—D. E. A. It is a walk over which interwined branches form an arbor. Q What is the oldest home in the United States?—C. R. L. A. The Fairbanks homestead, built in 1?36,;! Dedham, Mass,, is said to be the oldest, Q. How many polo clubs are there in the United States?—C. J. A. It has been estimated that there are now 500 formal and informal polo clubs throughout the country and ap- proximately 5,000 players. Q. How many people have attended W. P. A. concerts?—T. D. A. Concerts and performances by un- employed musicians on the rolls of the Works Progress Administration were at- tended by 20,000,000 persons throughout the Nation in the first six months of the year, Q. How many Indians are there in Canada?—J. W. A. According to the last census, there were in Canada 122911 Indians, 112,500 of whom live on reservations. Q. How large is the National Zoological Park and how many animals are there? —W. H. s A. The National Zoological Park at Washington, D. C., has an area of 175 acres. Its collection comprises about 2,400 animals, Q. How many crabs in Chesapeake Bay have been tagged?—E. W. A. The Chesapeake Biological Labora- tory already has tagged 7,000 crabs and will continue until 12,000 have been tagged. The tagging is to determine coastwise migration, to gather basic bio- logical information and to determine whether the Chesapeake Bay supply is derived in part from other water areas. Q. What were Patrick Henry's last words?—M. R. A. They were as follows: “Here is a book (the Bible) worth more than all others ever printed; yet it is my mis- fortune never to have found time to read it. It is now too late. I trust in the mercy of God.” Q. Please give information about Asylum, an old French settlement along the Susquehanna River between To- wanda and Wyalusing, in Northern Pennsylvania.—J. H. C. A. The town of Asylum, in Bradford County, Pa. is 10 miles southeast of Towanda. In 1793, when the revolution in France was raging, Col. Hollenbach was employed by the Governor of Penn- svlvania to procure a place of retreat for the royal family at some secluded spot on the Susquehanna, and he pur- chased Asylum township, to which place came the French colony, ‘a few of whose descendants are with us yet. The royal family never came for the good reason that they lost their heads. So wrote H. C. Bradford in 1891, Q. Please give a list of men in history who achieved success before the age of 40—J. W. L. A. A partial list includeés Alexander the Great, Napoleon, William Pitt, Patrick Henry, Shakespeare, Sir Isaac Newton, Robert Louis Stevenson, Charles Dickens, George Washington, Thomas JefTerson, John Hancock, James Madison, Alex- ander Hamilton, Abraham Lincoln, George B. McClellan, John C. Brecken- ridge, Eli Whitney, Thomas Edison, Mc- Cormick, Westinghouse and the Wrigit brothers. Q. At what time of the year are hur- ricanes the most prevalent and severe in the vicinity of the West Indies?— A M. a. A. During the latter part of August and during September. o Q. How are women dressed who are in shops to detect shoplifting?—W. E. N. A. They wear their hats and coats and give the impression that they, too, are shoppers. Q. When was the act passed giving the Government control of all water power in navigable rivers?>—H. D. A. The Federal water power act was passed in 1920. Q. What stimulant does chocolate contain?—E. W. A. It contains theobromine, which is closely related to caffeine. A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton Call of the Wind. A wild West wind, oh, it beckons me To follow, follow, alone and free, Leaving kinsfolk and home behind, Faring away from the daily grind, Daring the untrodden path of the wind. Reckless all day I'd blow along, Humming, whistling the windy song. Highway and byway and East and West, Thru valley and over mountain crest . . . Till night winds blew me home to rest. Lodge and Gov. Curley will prospectively battle, * % % % From the standpoint of the Democratic high command, the chief importance of the Progressive pro-Roosevelt movement launched at Chicago last week is the hope that it will put the brakes on Rep- resentative Lemke’s candidacy, especially Iy the West. The Unionist party is not setting the prairies afire, but New Deal- ers respect the rather persistent indica- tion in straw polls and gtherwise that Lemke is sapping far more strength from Roosevelt than from Landon, (Copyright. 1936.) £\