Evening Star Newspaper, September 28, 1936, Page 8

A—8 = THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition, WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY. 28, 1936 THEODORE W. NOYES...........Editor The Everting Star Newspaper Company. Business Office: 11th 8t. and Pennsylvs Ave. New York Office: 110 2nd :l 4 : ing. PSS T, e PR ene Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Edition. 45¢c per month (whe S The Eventng a (when 5 Su The Sunday St Nig and Sunday Star.. tal — 5¢ per mon! the end of each month. one Na= ght Pinal ight Final Sf Collection made at "Orders may be sent by mail or telel tional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. 5 .. 85 unday only_. 1. $400; 1 mo. ANl Other States and Ca ily and Sunday..1 yr. $12 o ily “only ¥ 8.00; 1 mo., inday”oniy. yr, $5.00; 1 mo. Member of the Assoclated Press. ‘The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches gredited to it or not otherwise credited in this aper and also the local news publis| % RIPTights of Coublication of special dispatches erein 150 reserved. -_——— Stabilization at Work. Stabilization marches on. The gold bloc totters to its fall. Before the ink was dry on the “gentlemen’s agree- -ment” pledging Great Britain, France and the United States to pool resources in supporting monetary equilibrium, two other hitherto redoubtable devotees of the gold standard—Switzerland and the Netherlands—followed France's deval- uation lead and declared their readiness to join the defenders of the pound, the franc and the dollar in the program that promises to afford world trade and finance relief from the uncertainties and anxieties which have so long oppressed them, Belgium also signaled her approval, Both the Swiss and the Dutch, who, like the French, had clung tenaciously to the gold standard after other major powers abandoned it, conceded that France's action makes continued adher- ence untenable. The Berne and Hague governments are proceeding forthwith with devaluation measures essentially like those for which Premier Blum is seeking parliamentary authority in Paris today. Thus Italy, Germany and Poland remain the only important European states which have not been impelled to resort to drastic currency reform in consequence of the epochal Anglo-Franco-American agreement and what led up to it. The Italians await the immediate results of the pact, amid widespread expectation at Rome that lira devaluation is inevitable. The Ger- mans, too, are adopting a watchful attitude. It seems improbable that the Reich, with devaluation on all sides, can long resist adjusting the mark to the franc and the pound. The Poles insist that the position of the zloty for the present renders devaluation unneces- sary, although Warsaw proclaims fealty to the stabilization accord in principle. While the gold standard was giving up the ghost in most of those quarters it has been fighting a precarious battle for its life, Washington was the scene of a dramatic exhibition of the potency of the stabilization alliance. Word having been flashed from Wall Street that the Soviet State Bank had dumped a million pounds of its sterling on the New York market for sale at the best price obtain- able, Secretary Morgenthau instantly drew upon his $2,000,000,000 stabilization fund to the extent of $5000,000 and bought Russia’s pounds, accompanied by announcement that there was more where that came from. Whether the Moscow maneuver was a deliberate effort to depress sterling or a routine operation to stave off anticipated loss from a fall in exchange, it gave the United States a welcome opportunity to demonstrate the defensive power of the monetary entente. The drop in pound value was immediately checked. Uncle Sam turned a tidy penny in profit, and all con- cerned were put on notice that they will monkey at their peril with the triple- toothed stabilization buzz-saw. e —— There has been so much desire to share the vending privilege near the White House, so generously accorded the now famous Greclan purveyor of luxuries for tourists, that facetious efforts may be made to assign Agricultural importance to the Lafayette Square area as “the pop- torn belt.” Virginia. Forty-two thousand square miles of the fairest land “that e'er the sun shone on”; a vast coastal domain slop- ing down from the beautiful Allegheny and Blue Ridge mountains of the West to the gleaming white sands, the quiet gray dunes and the marshes which bor- der Chesapeake Bay; & n:etwork of rivers including the Dan, the York, the James, the Rappahannock and the storied Poto- mac; the Shenandoah and five lovely smaller parks; Skyline Drive and Sky- land for a motoring multitude; the Natural Bridge that John Marshall called “God's miracle in stone”; Luray end the Endless caverns; the Pinnacle near Cumberland Gap, from which there may be seen no less than seven States; the Dismal Swamp, misnamed; Hampton Roads, grandest of ice-free harbors; the Piedmont and its big stock farms; Cape Henry and Old Point Com- fort. Norfolk and Portsmouth with their fleets; Richmond, risen from her ashes and with the Confederate White House, St. John'’s and the Poe “shrine” pre- served; Battle Abbey and the War Me- morial with its carillon of sweet-tuned bells; the Capitol, designed by Jefferson for “the oldest legislative body in Amer- ica”; Jamestown remembered and Wil- liamsburg restored; Yorktown, where the ghost of Cornwallis roams forever disconsolate but not ashamed; Mount ‘Vernon, Monticello, Ashlawn, Montpelier, Westover, Stratford and Kenmore, still wrapped in the romance of the age Wwhich saw them built as the fairest of b THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTO Colonial homes; William and Mary, the University at Charlottesville, Washing- ton and Lee, V. M. L and a hundred other famous schools; St. Luke's, near Smithfield, and Christ’s Church in Alex- andria; gardens uncounted; John Fox's Trail of the Lonesome Pine; the Folk Music Festival ai White Top; Hot Springs for the weary and quaint old taverns for the hungry and thirsty. Roads and fields vibrant with history; the scars, healed at last, at Manassas and Petersburg, Fredericksburg, Spotsyl- vania and Appomattox; ancient Indian encampments, Quantico and Langley Field; the “largest bright tobacco mar- ket” at Danville and the “peanut me- tropolis” at Suffolk; the first custom house and Fort Monroe; President Hoover’s camp on the Rapidan; riding and hunting at Warrenton; the golf and mariners’ museums; the Egyptian build- ing of the Medical College; the Blues on parade up Monument avenue; the birth- places of eight Chief Executives; the camps of Lafayette, George Rogers Clark and Daniel Boone; the graves of Lee and “Stonewall” Jackson. But, most important of all, an atmos- phere which cannot be analyzed—a feel- ing in the air that tells the casual stranger that here is a scene much loved, much respected. The feet of Washing- ton verhaps have hallowed the ground; the spirit of Patrick Henry possibly has flluminated the whole Commonwealth. In any case, there is unique distinction in these things which, together, consti- tute Virginia. Ethical Standards. W. J. Cameron, speaking over the radio from Detroit last evening, told a Nation-wide audience that, according to his observation, ethical standards still are dear to the American people. He explained that in the course of his Sum- mer travels in the Corn Belt he again and again had encountered farmers who, referring to certain agrarian policies of the Roosevelt administration, had used the expression: “’Tain't right!” Hope is not dead, he declared, so long as men, bribed to silence as they may be, still are possessed of a conscience about such matters. But Mr. Cameron, had he wished, might have discovered the same spiritual integrity in the big cities of the land. It is, indeed, a fact subject to abundant proof that the great majority of the population is honest. Granted that crime waves periodically sweep over the country and that altogether too many individuals come into conflict with the law for sins of which they ought to be ashamed, America yet has a better record for civilized behavior than some critics are prepared to acknowledge. The United States is the “melting pot” of all races; for years there migrated to the New World a large proportion of those who got into difficulties with the authori- ties in their original homes abroad— there was no effective immigration -bar- rier to keep them out and, once they, had been admitted, they raised havoc wherever they went, as might have been expected. The average person, however, does not wilfully offend. Two or three genera- tions of tradition have a .disciplinary effect upon most Americans. They gladly conform to a pattern of conduct which is rational, just and fair in char- acter. Perhaps it is not deliberately thought out as a program of life; per- haps it is merely instinctive. But the effect is the important thing. Social order depends upon it. And progress also is represented in the aspect of it to which Mr. Cameron called attention. The people can neither be bought nor sold so long as they have convictions about what is honest and what is not. A psychologist probably would decide that those who are capable of seeing one policy as “ Tain’t right!” would consider another as “'Tis right!”—a distinction of supreme value in a democracy in which everybody, except aliens, lunatics, convicted felons and residents of the District of Columbia, may vote. —_——— It has been asserted that one of the responsibilities of an aristocracy is to provide gossip for the entertainment of the hoi polloi. There should not be a situation, however, in which the supply exceeds the demand. ————————— It is hoped to end monetary wars by means of a gentlemen’s agreement.. In view of what some foreign diplomats call one another in private, it might be proper to start the recipe with the sentence, “Pirst, catch your gentlemen.” A true Communist usually esteems it & compliment to be mistaken for & mem- ber of some other political faith. Base Ball Honors. ‘Washington, having enjoyed sypreme American League base ball honors on three occasions in the past, must this year be satisfled with a “place” in the annual race. Its team, struggling against various adversities during the early part of the season, and with no particular hope of doing better than a bare first division finish, at no time was in shape to contend seriously for the leading posi- tion in the American League, but from the start of the race its partisans and supporters hoped for at least a “show.” There is more than mere mathematical advantage for the players in such an ouicome, for they participate in the divi- dlon of the gate receipts of the world series, which this year will begin next ‘Wednesday, with a prospect of a record breaking attendance and consequent financial winning. Bo outstanding was the day by day performance of the New York “Yankee” team from the beginning that it was fairly early in the race conceded the probable victory over its sevem rivals, The champions of last season were soon shown to be incapable of repetition. Acci- dents and illness took their toll of the strength of the combination that so gal- lantly won in the American League of 1935 and ultimately triumphed in the inter-league contests. Then began the race for “place,” which developed into & ' stirring struggle between five clubs, They shifted back and forth in the standings, Washington being now up in front of this grodp, then at the end, and finally, by & narrow margin computed at six one- hundredths of a per cent, taking the last of the “money places” instead of the next to last, with its larger reward. Next season may be another story. That is always the hope of the base ball performer and patron. Washington, for 50 many years a mere trailer in the fleld of league contestants, surprised the sporting world in 1924 by not only win- ning the league championship, but by taking the decision in the world series. ‘The next year it repeated by winning the league championship and disap- pointed the Capital by losing the series. In 1933 the Capital's team came back to glory by winning the league cham- plonship and then failed in the series. Surprises are always in order in base ball. Each game holds its potentialities for surprise; each season’s race may bring a dark horse to the front. There Wwas never a more unguessable sport. That is why it prospers as a form of entertainment. There was no particular surprise that New York should elbow Detroit out of the league leadership, but there has quite definitely been a surprise that Washington should have been a serious contender for “place” honors and that it ended the season with 0 high a score of games won. Chicago will hold a vote as to discon- tinuance of daylight saving time. A community closely habituated to finan- cial thinking may want to take into con- sideration the fact that earlier office hours make a promissory note come due just a little bit faster. ——————— When Vice President Garner goes motoring he smiles for the camera and proves confidence in the chauffeur be- fitting one who is not assuming the bur- densome worries of a back-seat driver. —————— It is announced by Mr. Hopkins that people on relief can vote as they see fit. Election calculators may consider the possibility that the relief vote will be large and influential. —————— A Susan B. Anthony postage stamp invests a letter with an expression of serene and lofty dignity. The artist has not gone so far as to develop the facial expression into a triumphant smile. Al Smith has a viewpoint of his own and will be expected to show how New York looks from the tall buildings as well as the sidewalks. Vocabularies are being simplified. Mr. Landon, in discussing certain pension plans, gets to a monosyllabic basis and substitutes “hoax” for “hokum.” — e A spirit of intensified literature pre- vails in current comment. Comparing communism to Milton’s “Paradise Lost” does not make it any easier’ to take. Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. How Much Is Anything? Sing a song of six pence! Pocket full o' rye! If the rye is liquid, Price is none too high, Black birds served for dinner Gayly we discern— They were just blue eagles Roasted to a turn! Sing a song of six pence. In the market place ‘Where the money changers © Set so hot a pace. Here's another question Bothering the earth; In prose or set to music, What's a six pence worth? Good Fish in the Sea. “Where have you been?” asked the constituent. “Fishing,” answered Senator Sorghum. “Catch anything?” “No. But I did a litile toward pros- perity. The fish got some healthful exercise and I increased the demand for expensive bait.” Over Trained. Peace is something to be prized . In all relations. Smiling patience is advised To men and nations. As you quaff a peaceful cup You may get through so, Till some one hollers “stick 'em up!”— Then you just do so! Not Interested. “What is the opera tonight?” sald Mr. Dustin Stax. “‘Faust,’” answered his daughter. “Ill stay home. I don't admire the hero of the show. Faust was the emi- nent student who couldn’t solve the old- age pension problem to his satisfaction, even with supernatural assistance.” “Honesty is always depended upon,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “Even he who prepares to cheaj must pretend to possess it.” Smile Conservation. Election day is nearing And to the polls we trudge. Some of us will be cheering, ‘While others say, “Oh, fudge!” And if perchance you can't agree, And therefore feel aggrieved, Let smiles stay where they used to be— There’s no use getting peeved. “One good baptizin’ deserves another,” said Uncle Eben. “A sinner needs washin’ frequent, same as an ordinary human bein’” Scented Lawns. From the Kansas City Star, This is the season, or one of them, when ambitious home owners fertilize their lawns with various high-priced and high-scented substances, leaving the rest of the neighborhood to wonder why the city ordinances are so specifically down D. C, THE POLITICAL MILL BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. COLUMBUS, Ohio, September 28— ‘The Middle West is beginning to look into presidential campaign in the hope that a defeat for Landon and a victory for the New Deal President will forward their own plans in the future. If the matter becomes a live issue in this sec- tion of the country, it may have a very marked influence on the vote in Novem- ber. The farm vote in the great agri- cultural States of the Middle West is a potent factor. -The farmers have never been radicals in the past, they live too close to the ground. * X X X% The New Dealers immediately made & strong bid for farm support. In the A. A. A} with its Government checks for the curtailment of crops, they swung & potent weapon. There is no slightest doubt that the farm benefits have been highly instrumental in keeping many of the farmers in line for the New Deal. Along with the Government checks, however, went control of the farms from far off Washington. And now the farmers of the Middle West are trying to figure out what it all means. The Republicans are telling them one thing—that it means regimentation of the farmers under Gov- ernmest control; that it means a lessen- ing of the markets for American farm produce both at home and abroad. The New Dealers on the other hand are de- claring that the administration’s farm program has been the salvation of the farmers; that the farm planning as di- rected from Washington must continue, * X K % Whatever the administration’s farm program will bring eventually if it is con- tinued, it certainly means a strongly centralized Government in Washington. And gradually liberals in this part of the country as well as in others are moving away from that idea. Take the case of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. That newspaper, which was founded by Joseph Pulitzer, has been independent and lib- eral. In the last five presidential elec- tions the Post-Dispatch supported the Democratic candidates for President— from Woodrow Wilson to Franklin D. Roosevelt. It has just announced that it cannot support President Roosevelt for re-election. It does not charge the President with being a “red.” It does attack him, however, because he threat- ens to set up in Washington “a Govern- ment with vast and centralized authority over the economic life of the Nation.” The Post-Dispatch asserts that it stands for “an economy of free enterprise.” It attacks a “Federal bureaucracy with un- restrained power to impose its fiats upon the daily affairs of the citizens.” Such a power, the newspaper holds, will in the end destroy political freedom. In an- nouncing its opposition to the re-election of President Roosevelt, the Post-Dispatch sounds very like the Baltimore Sun, which recently made a similar declara- tion in opposition to the re-election of Roosevelt, * ok ox % The Chicago Tribune, which has been anti-Roosevelt from the inception of the New Deal, might be expected to go for- ward with the charge that Roosevelt is the pet of the Communists and that he is playing into their hands. It is doing so. Yesterday it published a front page editorial in which it called Roosevelt the Kerensky of America, reviving a charge made a couple of years ago by Dr. Wirt, of Gary, Ind. “As such,” the Tribune says, “the Communists today welcome him (Roosevelt) and throw their influence to him,” and it makes reference also to the charges that Roosevelt is seeking to build up a more and more powerful and centralized government. At the same time, the Tribune publishes a long article quoting from the writings and speeches of Tugwell, Wallace, Frank, Ezekiel and others in the administration to prove its point that the Roosevelt administration is moving toward a collectivist state. * X x % ‘The appointment of Assistant Secre- tary of War Harry Woodring to be Secre- tary of War by President Roosevelt brings up an interesting family tangle in poli- tics. The new Secretary of War is a son-in-law of Senator Marcus A. Cool- idge of Massachusetts. Senator Coolidge is the Democratic Senator whom Gov. James M. Curley, ardent Roosevelt sup- porter in the Bay State, has pushed aside so that he, Curley, may aspire to the Senate seat now held by Coolidge; Sen- ator Coolidge has another son-in-law, Robert Greenwood, mayor of Fitchburg, Mass, Greenwood took up the cudgels for Senator Coolidge in the Massachu- setts Democratic senatorial primary and offered himself as an opponent to Curley. Curley won by a big vote, but Greenwood rolled up more than 100,000 anti-Curley Democratic votes. Greenwood has also sought to go on the ballot in the Novem- ber election as an independent candidate for the Senate. If he goes into the race and draws & hundred thousand Demo- cratic votes, it is quite clear what is likely to happen to Gov. Curley. And what happens to Curley may have its effect on the Roosevelt chances in Mas- sachusetts, A story was published in Boston to the effect that Curley had sought the aid of Woodring, to call Greenwood off, with & promise that he would try to help have Woodring ap- pointed Secretary of War. It was re- ported, on good authority, however, that Curley had not called on Woodring, and that Woodring was keeping entirely out of Massachusetts politics. * x X ¥ A good many eyes are turned in this final month of the campaign to Boise, Idaho, and Senator William E. Borah. The Republicans have hoped ardently that Borah will take the stump for Lan- don. They see in such & course victory in Idaho and some of the other Mountain States which look now as though they probably will go for Roosevelt. So far, however, Borah has kept his own coun- sel. The Democrats are hoping he will continue to remain aloof from the na- tional campaign. His re-election to the Senate, which Borah is now seeking in a vigorous campaign, would not disturb them particularly, although it would mean the defeat of Gov. Ben Ross, Democrat, who is Borah's opponent. It would be too much for the New Dealers to expect Borah to come out for Roose- velt. But they believe firmly that if the veteran Senator will just keep silent and not support Landon, they will have gained a great deal. * X % % The of Michigan meet to- morrow in Grand Rapids to hold their State convention, which is to select a candidate for State treasurer and other offices. Senator Arthur Vandenberg, s potent voice in the Republican cam- paign, is to be the principal speaker at a pre-convention banquet in Grand Rapids tonight. And the keynote speech of the convention will be delivered by the Republican vice presidential candi- date, Col. Frank Knox. Knox is no :’:“wnrked ona Ra) years ago— stafl’ was A stranger to newspaper in Grand the same newspaper on whose Senator Vandenburg. i MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1936. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Be sure to use the nozzle turned to the fine spray, as this enables even the smallest birds to go completely under the shower. This show, at this time of year, is more fun than the famous barrel of monkeys. Two brown thrashes did most of the monkey-shines in one yard. They spent almost an hour, that dry day just be- fore the rain, bathing and preening. One of the best ways to bring a rain, of course, is to run a garden hose all day. This is & fact known to most house- holders. Though there may not be a cloud in the sky in the morning, after the hose has been running for several hours & haze will come over the sun. By afternoon the sun will be com- pletely under the clouds. It may not rain, but it will appear definitely cloudy. And if the operation is repeated the next morning, rain almost always comes by evening. Thus the householder, whoever he may be, is a rainmaker of the very first order, although the Weather Bureau sniffs at his abilities. * % ko x Those brown thrashers, almost as large as pigeons, lost no time in getting under the hose, that first morning. They fairly pranced in, much as youngsters run into the surf. Flapping their wings and twisting their necks, the thrashers walked around in the grass, finally coming to a little low spot, where about a balf- inch of water had collected. This made an ideal bird bath. Squatting down, in that peculiar way of birds, the thrashers spread out their wings on the grass, craning their necks and flirting their tails. One saw what large, powerful birds they were. They are the “merry brown thrush” of legend, but no thrushes at all, in reality—but a first cousin to the tiny wrens! * k% % And, of course, he gets that name, “thrasher,” from his habit of threshing with his tail up apd down and around. No bird has more expressive tail than this one. It is going all the time, reminding the imaginative of a pendulum. Many will remember the childhood song: “There's a merry brown thrush sitting up a tree; He is singing to me! me! And wbt‘;nt; does he say, little girl, little He is singing to ‘Oh, the.world‘l running over with Joy!"” Larger than a robin, with short white bands on wings, white underneath, rusty above, and yellow eyes, the brown thrasher has been called, at various times and places, the ground thrush (he once built nests there), the red thrush, the brown mocking bird, the mavis. He is a dependable fellow, mistaken by many for the wood thrush, but he has no such song, although he has some a bit, then fly right down to the little pool again. When they weren't in the pool, they ,were in the spray, heh, heh, as the young folks say. * kX % Many other birds were there, too, in- cluding robins, sparrows and cardinals. A real thrush, on his way South, sat in a tree, but did not join the bathing party. None of the birds, however, put as much zip and pep into the activity as the thrasher. It was his day, and he made the most of it. Surely this was a grand day for the birds. . Any one with a fairly secluded yard and a hose can attract them this way, even in the heart of the city, if the weather has been extra dry. It must be that Rock Creek keeps many of them from expiring from thirst. Probably it serves the birds for miles. They have a keen sense for the location of water, built up over thousands of years. If this were not true, they would die by the millions in time of drought, for comparatively few persons think of putting out water for them. Even the owners of bird baths seldom see to it that the bowls are kept filled. If these baths are shallow, as they should be, they dry out in a few days. Eternal vigilance is the price of a full bird bath, which is the only sort worth a bird’s second notice. * % ¥ x See to it, then, if Autumn continues dry, that pans of water are put out for the songsters. Some of them, attracted by such attention, may decide to Winter here. But whether they do or not, they will welcome the water, and give the spec- tator many minutes of amusement. Bird feeding, including watering, must be regarded as amusement. It is definitely that to the observer. It is amusement in the best sense, without the idea of laughter. When laughter is evoked, as by the antics of the thrashers, it is laughing with, rather than at, the songsters. The idea of the picturesque is what makes watching the birds a real amuse- ment. This is a pageant of nature, one of the very finest, because it sums up in a backyard, or on a window sill, all of the huge great world beyond. Remember, these feathered fellows and their mates are travelers in a big way. They were roaming the world long before the civilized world ever knew that Florida existed. ‘Their journeys are %hot for a day or a night, or & hundred miles or so, but for weeks, and for thousands of miles. ‘The bird in your garden this evening may have flown down from Maine, and be on his way to Yucatan, land of chicle and macaws. Then, again, he may have come from Brookland. After all, it makes little difference, perhaps; the bird is the thing, and he is always a picture, always a little actor on the stage of the backyard, that universal theater. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. At a time like this, with party passions rising and a presidential election just around the corner, a campaign motive is discerned in nearly every major move on the national chessboard. Thus, the United States’ sudden decision to join Great Britain and France in a currency stabilization pact, besides its other pur- poses, strikes politically-minded souls as being another stroke of New Deal strategy. It was only two weeks ago, at Portland, that Gov. Landon assailed Mr. Roosevelt for torpedcing “this Nation’s one great opportunity to lead the way toward world peace and eco- nomic security”—a reference to collapse of stabilization efforts at the 1933 London conference. “The President of the United States,” Landon charged, “turned his back upon that international co-opera- tive effort.” Now comes F. D. R. and, with one of the dramatic blows of which he is so fond, knocks the pins from under the most damning personal accusation yet leveled at him by his opponent. Belated as American participation in stabilization is, the Democrats are now expected to exploint it as a timely Rooseveltian contribution to world peace and international recovery. Secre- tary Morgenthau’s prompt action in re- pelling the Russian. $5,000,000 attack on British sterling is not devoid of political value either. It serves to explode the insinuation that there is some sort of link between Soviet communism and the New Deal. * Xk x X ‘Temporary appointment of Harry H. Woodring as Secretary of War also smacks of political expediency. While the young Kansan's promotion to top place in the War Department is logical, the circumstance that he hails from Gov. Landon’s State clothes Woodring's selection with more than ordinary signi- ficance. The Sunflower electoral vote, because of State pride, has been more confidently claimed for Landon than any other in the Union, particularly because of his feat in winning the gov- ernorship in the 1832 Roosevelt land- slide and holding it during the Demo- cratic congressional avalanche of 1934. By bestowing a cabinet portfolio on a Kansan, the Democrats acquire a talking point of their own in appealing to State pride, even if Woodring’s tenure turns out to be only a stop gap. The appoint- ment preserves Western representation in the Roosevelt official household, as typified by the Dern war stcretaryship. It also puts a World War veteran and American Legionnaire in the New Deal cabinet for the first time. * kX X Secretary of Agriculture Wallace, scholar-philosopher of the cabinet, donned unaccustomed war paint the other night in his broadcast assault on Gov. Landon’s farm program. He sounded as if he were using both fists' while charging that Landon promises no better & farm record than those of Harding, Coolidge or Hoover, and later, when pillorying “the big bankers and corpora=- tion executives who are for Landon,” and the “munition makers, oil men, power magnates, big packers and grain gamblers who are now fighting Roose- velt.” Then he followed with the subtle thrust that “no man big enough to run for President can be a complete ingrate.” Wallace was also in bellicose mood when he quoted Gov. Landon as having told & fellow-Kansan a year ago that “the agricultural vote could not be gained save by tossing to the farmer a ‘golden apple program’ on a platform of plati- tudes—a policy which he frankly advo- cated.” *x %% Current college enroliments testify to tmgwoved economie eonditions. Nearly A all institutions report increased appli- cations. In some cases where there are no numerical restrictions the largest freshman classes on record have entered. Fewer withdrawals by upper classmen are also reported. New York University has an all-time high freshman roster of 5200. College and university registrars find another trend of the times reflected by growing interest im social science studies. Engineering and business courses are attracting increased proportions of students, too, while practical subjects for women, like nursing and home eco- nomics, show rising popularity. From many campuses comes word of declining interest in the liberal arts, * % Xk X Among Washingtonians observing with interest the political fortunes of Henry Cabot Lodge, jr., Republican nominee for the Senate from Massachusetts, is Robert Lincoln O'Brien, chairman of the United States Tariff Commission. While editing the Boston Herald some 15 or 18 years ago, O'Brien published what he thinks was Lodge’s maiden literary effort, written as a prep school boy. It was a learned treatise on how to fight mos- quitoes. Apropos attempts of political foes to prove that young Lodge is not entitled to attach “jr.” to his name, Mr, O'Brien recalls that, like his grand- father, the present bearer of the name has always been known as Cabot Lodge, not Henry Cabot Lodge, and among his cronies, he usually is plain “Cab.” * X X X Anti-New Dealers are fond of charg- ing that Mr. Roosevelt, if re-elected, will revive N. R. A. Now and then it's cate- gorically alleged that a new Blue Eagle scheme, bearing Donald R. Richberg'’s hallmark, 1s already fully hatched. Be this as it may, Dr. Francis E. Townsend seems to have stolen a march on the administration by rechristening his Old- Age Revolving Pensions movement. It is now officially called the Townsend National Recovery plan, incorporation papers under that title having just been filed at Wilmington, Del. * X % X Revelations before Senator La Fol- lettes committee about strike-breaking methods employed in some branches of American industry are not designed to do the New Deal any political harm at this witching hour. It will not be sur- prising if, between now and election day, campaign onslaughts on “economic royalists” and other minions of “en- trenched greed” take the form of cita- tions from these recent disclosures at the Capitol. Maj. Berry's “Non-Par- tisan” Roosevelt-for-President Labor League probably sees some useful am- munition in the facts the Senate probers have dragged to light. * x ¥* % State and Treasury Department offi- cials are waiting to see whether Fulvio Suvich, Mussolini’'s new Ambassador to the United States, who is about to take up his duties in Washington, is bring- ing, as reported, an Italian proposal for reopening the war debt question. Il Duce’s motive would be to circumvent the Johnson law, in order to regain access to the American money market for development capital in Ethiopia. The general expectation here is that Great Britain will eventually set the pace in resumed war debt negotiations, if any, and that Italy and other de- linquents are waiting for her to do so. (Copyright. 1936.) Solo Bridge. Prom the Indianapolis Star, Bridge has reached the point where an dndividual may play his own system and not be socially, 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 many contests did Babe Dide rikson win as an amateur?—J. L. A. Menke's All Sports Magazine says that she entered 634 athletic contests and won 632, being second in the other two events. This is a record which has never been approached by another woman or by a man. Q. How many automobile accidents are caused by drivers falling asleep?— A 8. A. The National Safety Council esti- mates that there are more than 70,000 driver-asleep accidents in this country every year. Q. In what year did Father Cox lead an army of unemployed to Washington? —M. R. A. In January, 1932, Father James R. Cox of Pittsburgh led a march of seve eral thousand workers to Washington demanding relief of Congress. Q. Are women allowed to vote in Spain?—A. R. A. All man and woman citizens over 23 may vote. Q. Please name the Presidents who have been members of college fraterni- ties?—J. W. A. They are as follows: Franklin D. Roosevelt, William Taft, Woodrow Wil- son, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, ‘Theodore Roosevelt, William McKinley, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, Chester Arthur and James Garfield. Q. Is December 25 a holiday in Japan?—W. M. A. In Japan December 25 is observed as the anniversary of the death of Taisho, the last Emperor. Cards are exchanged and festivities are observed much in the Occidental manner. Q. Where is the largest deposit of molybdenum in the country?—E. H. K. A. The largest known deposit is at Climax, Colo. Q. How are the names chosen for the Hall of Fame at New York University? —W. H. B. A. The names to be inscribed in the Hall of Fame are chosen every five years by a college of electors, consisting of approximately 100 American men and women of distinction, representing every State of the Union and several profes- sions. Q. How many people are employed by railroads?—E. F. A. More than 1,000,000 persons work directly for the railroads in the United States. Q. Are there many farms around - Washington, D. C.?>—E. H. W. A. The census of 1930 returned 106 farms, with a total of 3,071 acres in the District of Columbia. Q. What is meant by Rhodesian man? —L. W. A. This name is applied to men whose existence is inferred from a skeleton unearthed at Broken Hill Mine, North- ern Rhodesia, in 1921. These men are believed to have been contemporary with Neanderthal man, but with some= what smaller brain capacity. The in- dividual found was 5 feet 10 inches in height. Many of its facial features were gorilla-like, but its teeth were distinc- tivly human. Q. Is it true that the sun is always shining on some part of United States territory?—A. W. A. This is true in the Summer—about the Summer solstice. In March or Sep- tember some portion will be in dark- ness, as it will also be during the Winter, Q. How much is collected in State and local taxes?—J. H. A. State and local tax collections for the fiscal year 1934, the latest year for which data are available, are estimated at $5,875,000,000. Q. Where is the National Occupational Conference, an organization that pub- lishes booklets on vocational guidance?— K. L. A. The organization has offices at 551 Fifth avenue, New York City. Q. Was Omar Khayyam unknown as a poet before FPitzgerald translated his “Rubaiyat”?—M. F. A. Until the translation was published in 1859 Omar was know to the Western world only as a mathematician. Q. When were carrier pigeons first used?—M. L. W. A. They were first brought to the attention of Europeans during the First Crusade when the Saracens were found to employ them regularly for conveying information to their armies. During the siege of Paris in 1870 communication with the outside world was regularly maintained by carrier pigeons. Q. Is the Order of the Cincinnati still in existence?—L. V. A. This society still exists. It was founded by American and French officers May 10, 1783. .Q. What is the correct skirt length this Fall?—F. G. A. About 11 or 12 inches from the floor. It is wise to use the length skirt most becoming to the individual so long as it does not appear Q. How old is St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City?—M. H. B. A. The corner stone was laid August 15, 1858, and the building was dedicated on May 25, 1879. —_————— Have a Heart. Prom the Worcester Gaszette. An inventor now claims to have a lie detector that works perfectly. Can't he let the country have its fun until the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November? A Rhyme-at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton A Dreamer T hailed a cab with its radio on. The driver, his eyes afar, Passed by, unheeding my beckoning hand That meant a fare for his car. Obeying by instinct the traffic light, He followed the song in a spirit flight. Dnydmmxulwoodlmdawlmwuu Wind swishing thru tall brown reeds, The tinkle of water from hidden springs Up-bursting in grassy meads, He stooped as if a cold drink to quaft.,. I whistled. He came awake with & laugh. | 1