Evening Star Newspaper, September 30, 1936, Page 12

A—12 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Merning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C, WEDNESDAY. _September 30, 1936 THEODORE W. NOYES Editor fessstsstib ot M T The Evening Star Newspaper Company. Business Office: 11th 8¢ and Pennsylvania Ave e O SR Michitkn Buildtog AR : Leke Buronesn Omce: 14 Regent 8t.. London. Ensiand. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Editlon. Star -45¢ per month s“n)d" e -80¢ per month -65¢ per month B¢ per copy The Evening The Evening and Night Final and Sunday Sta Night F:nal Star Collection made at the 1 eac) g Orders may be sent by mail or telephone Na- tional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. v 1200 1 me. Daily only mo., Sunday only $5.00; 1 mo. Member of the Associated Press. ssociated Press is exclusively entitled to the e for republication of all news dispatches n Loss of the Silk Hat. One good parable deserves another. The President’s parable of the old gentie- man who fell off the end of the pier in 1933, was rescued but lost his silk hat, is accurate as far as it goes. Considering only the incidents of the rescue and the old gentleman'’s peevishness over loss of his hat, the parable conveys & sardonic lesson in gross ingratitude. But let us consider some of the relationships be- tween the old gentleman and his gallant rescuer intervening between the rescue and the complaint over loss of the silk hat. The old gentleman, it will be recalled, was pulled from the water partly through his own efforts and partly through the vigorous, splashing activities of his res- cuer, who gave him a lot of hope even while holding his head under water. The old gentleman was never inclined to split halirs over credit in rescue work, giving credit where credit was due. His real peevishness and anxiety, how- ever, began shortly after reaching shore, even before he remembered the loss of the silk hat. All he wanted then was to be let alone and allowed to catch his breath. But his rescuer had other ideas, chief among them being & con- suming passion that no old gentleman must ever, ever be allowed to fall off a pier again. Remarkable precautions were taken with that end in view. First, the pier was to be removed. A dike was then to be constructed, which would have the effect of moving the ocean far from the beach. Then the old gentleman was told that he must encumber his person . with & heavy life preserver and, although {t was patterned after & straitjacket, he must wear it all the time. But worst of all were the life guards. These were hired by the score, though many of them could not swim themselves and sgome had never even seen the ocean. These were to accompany him wherever he went and stand beside him as he glept at night. To the expense of re- moving both the ocean and the pier was added the cost of supplying bed and board to the host of life guards, their relatives and their friends—all of them with odd and most original ideas on what was necessary to keep an old gentleman from falling off a pier again. When the old gentleman bitterly com- plained over the loss of his silk hat he was not thinking of its intrinsic value— for that was small. He was thinking of the hat as an emblem of the time when ~—though struggling for his life—he was more or less a free man, not surrounded by life guards who were alternately bullying him and cajoling him and eternally reminding him, as he reached for another piece of pie, that he once fell off a pier. | That, it is understood, is the origin | ©of the complaint over loss of the silk hat. | — e Certain literary inclinations are defi- nitely hindered by assurances from high eritical authority, even the White House ftself, that there is nothing funny about radicalism, communism, bolshevism or even socialism. A true comedian realizes that some things were not intended to be laughed at. e Poison gas manufacture is suspected In connection with secret preparations for war. It is sorry business at a time when human energy is so much needed for the development of a normal food supply. By Regular Transport. Leo Kieran, a reporter. for the North American Newspaper Alliance, leaves tonight for a new variety of trip around the world. It is his purpose to test the regular and established systems of trans- port. No special arrangements have been made for his accommodation. He will use no facilities of travel save those which commonly are available to ordi- nary passengers. It follows that the record he aspires to win for rapid transit may be accepted as a standard of traffic over the globe. His schedule is Every- man’s, in practical effect. From Times Square, New York City, Mr. Kieran plans to proceed to Newark by automobile and thence to Lakehurst by American Airlines plane. The Graf von Hindenburg will convey him to Frankfort, Germany, from which ter- minus he will journey via Lufthansa and Italian Air Lines across Europe and via Imperial Airways eastward-to China. The “link” between Hongkong and Manila must be negotiated by steamer, but the “jump” from the Philippines back to the United States will be achieved in the China Clipper of Pan-American Airways over the Pacific. Five minutes by motor from Alameda to Oskland will serve as & start for the last phase of the experiment on board the United Air Lines Limited to Chicago and home. Mr. Kieran anticipates being away just a few hours under three weeks. His feat mas_accomplished }: _the Magellan ex- s THE pedition of the sixteenth oentury . in three years and one month, by Sir Pran- cis Drake in.a litle more than & thou- sand days, by Thomas Cavendish in two years and fifty-one days, and by Phineas Fogg in the imagination of Jules Verne in eighty days. Nellie Bly of the New York World outdid the novelist in 1389 by circumnavigating the earth by.boat and rail in seventy-two days, six hours and eleven minutes, but she was »ro- vided with a special train between San Prancisco and Jersey City. John Henry Mears in 1913 gained the most recent laurels for the race in conveyances held to the surface of the planet—thirty-five days, twenty-one hours and thirty-six minutes. Then the United States Army fiyers pioneered an all-air route in four- teen days and fifteen hours of actual travel time; the Graf Zeppelin flew or sailed around via Lakehurst, Friedrichs- hafen, Tokio and Lgs Angeles in twenty- one days, seven hours and thirty-four minutes, and Wiley Post and Harold Gatty circled the Northern Hemisphere in eight days, fifteen hours and fifty-one minutes—a dash excelled by Post alone in seven days, eighteen hours and forty- nine minutes. But Mr. Kieran merely wants to show what anybody can do. A large public, therefore, will watch his progress with interest. R Japan’s Stern Warning. Although her recent military and naval moves leave little doubt of Japan's mood toward China, statements just made by Foreign Minister Arita clinch the certainty that Tokio is ready for stern measures. “Protection of Japanese nationals,” because of China's inability to suppress terrorism, is the euphonious and not quite novel pretext. Mr, Arita minces no words in asserting that “China is now at momentous crossroads and must decide whether she will shake hands.” Nanking is warned that pres- ent negotiations can end in only one of two ways—either relations will become very much better or very much worse. “They shall not be permitted to drift,” the Japanese foreign minister adds, in tones betokening an ultimatum. Mr, Arita smilingly assures foreign- corre- spondents that there is no such word as “war” in the Japanese diplomatic vocabulary, but in the same breath an- nounces that the army and navy are prepared for any eventualities. While Tokio refrains from specifying conditions under which Japan would “shake hands” with China, Far Eastern dispatches report that the “principles” upon which the Japanese are insisting exceed in severity the famous twenty- one demands of 1915. They contemplate nothing less than stripping China of her independence. The program, it is cir- cumstantially alleged, requires China (1) to brigade with Japanese troops all Chinese forces facing Communist armies, the same arrangement to apply wherever Chinese soldiers are stationed along the Outer Mongolian and Soviet frontiers; (2) to accept Japanese advisers in all branches of the Chinese government, both military and civilian, and (3) im- mediately to create an autonomous North China, including Hopei, Chahar, Suiyuan, Shansi and Shantung Provinces, the entire area to be divorced from Nanking's control except in the matter of flying China’s national flag. While these “gen- eral principles” comprehend the points enunciated by former Foreign Minister and now Premier Hirota a year 2go, they are couched in far more detailed and drastic form. They involve de- tachment of roundly 400,000 square miles of territory, with a population of nearly 90,000,000, Its domination by Japan, along with Manchukuo, would bring the Chinese mainland of Asia almost ir- resistibly under Tokio's control. If China repels this raid on her ter- ritorial and political integrity, Tokio will still be enabled to make extreme de- mands for settlement of recent murder incidents. If these, oo, are resisted, Japan might then resort to direct mili- tary and naval action, justifying it as 2 legitimate punitive measure. In the recent past, General Chiang Kai-Shek has maintained a more or less résolute front against Japan's requirements, but to what extent Nanking will now find it possible to defy Tokio is problematical. 1t remains equally to be seen how long the Western powers, even with the supposedly inhibitive preoccupations in which Japan finds them engrossed, will tolerate, without protest, the progressive dismemberment and subjection of China. ———————— An intelligent and fair-minded public is of great assistance as a party to any gentlemen’s agreement in world finance. In public affairs it is conceded that a statesman, after all, must be known by his constituency. Charges that W. P. A. expenditures are allowed to figure in Pennsylvania politics cause regret. Such things have been rumored before, but in the old “hoss and buggy” days. “Be Glad.” An old soldier, visiting Washington for the seventieth national encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic, was asked to explain how he had managed to survive ninety years of active and often dangerous experience in a mnot over-friendly world. His answer was: “By being glad to be alive!” 4 The point is obvious enough. The veteran happens to be one of those rare souls who have discovered the major key to the riddle of the universe. Of course, he has had his share of trouble and sorrow. No human creature ever escapes acquaintance with what Shakes- peare prompts Hamlet to call “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” Everybody feels “the whips and scorns of time.” It is impossible to breathe with- out suffering. The whole story of the race might be written in terms of pain. But the meaning of the narrative is not tragedy. Instead, its significance is that of victory and joy. And the triumph is won by processes of hope applied to circumstance. Michelangelo mixed his optimism with his paints, Beethoven EVENING STAR., WASHINGTON, manuscripts of his immortal composi- tions, Fulton and Edison dreamed the steamboat - and the incandescent lamp to success long. before they ‘saw .their visions realized in fulfilled achievement. ‘The species would perish from the earth in a single generation if it were not for an enthusiastic anticipation of sur- vival Also, it is worthy ¢f note that ra- tional individuals declne to fight against themselves. It is patently fool- ish to add to one’s handicaps by giving fear lodgment in the mind. A “defeat- ist attitude” toward the natural prob- lems of life is a pathologic hindrance whose cause and effect is that of a dis- ease. The nonagenarian, then, merely testified to a condition of physical and spiritual health when he told his friends to “be glad.” A wise doctor once advised to much the same effect in the words: “If you are depressed, take a tonic and watch some children at play.” A Welcome Test. Without knowing the details under which admittance to the District public schools was denied to a W. P. A. official living in Clarendon, the hope may be expressed that his suit, to test his rights under the various statutes, will result in clarification of the existing situation. In the case just filed in District Court, the plaintiff quotes the law of 1915, providing that “all pupils whose parents are employed officially or otherwise in the District of Columbia shall be ad- mitted and taught free of charge in the schools of said District.” Since 1915 there have been numerous amendments to the statutes providing for admittance, with and without the payment of tuition, to the sons and daughters of Federal and other employes living outside the District. The public school officials have apparently been guided in recent years by a ruling by the late William Bride, former corporation counsel, which did not construe the law to be mandatory, but gave the school authorities discre- tion, holding that they “may” admit such pupils. The result has been that when a school is crowded with the children of parents who live in the vicinity, children from outside the District must go to some other school. In the case at issue, | the question apparently relates to the authority of school officials to deny the child’s admittance to any school. The school authorities, it goes without say- ing. will welcome the test. The question of tuition, although it does not seem to figure in the case, leads to confusion, with the result that, while the children of several hundreds of Fed- eral emploves and others who live out- side the District are admitted as pupils | in the local schools, the number paying tuition is relatively small. Attempts in the past to tighten the law have been opposed by members of Congress living in the adjacent States, whose con- stituencies would, naturally, be opposed to any such step. This is one of the considerations that will be given to the school situation by the President’s com- mittee now investigating the subject of | fiscal relations and the obligation of the Federal Government in support of the National Capital's public school system. — eate————— ‘The courteous disposition of commerce is shown by the extreme graciousness with which distinguished manufacturers relinquish radio time in favor of leaders in the Nation’s thought. B ] Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Warrior. Primeval man was all untaught And crude of manners as of speech. He made himself a club and fought The foe that strayed within his reach. He fought for shelter or for food, He fought to conquer or to die. He loved his own, though fierce his mood, And when he fought he well knew why. As time has marched, the bugle note Resounds instead of nature’s growl. Resplendent banners proudly float, Where wild men once were wont to prowl. The battle is a fearful show. Primeval man was rude and grim, But when he met and slew a foe He knew just why he hated him. The Rigors of Campaigning. “We need a brave man for the presi- dency of the United States—" “You needn’t be worried about that,” interrupted Senator Sorghum. “Any man who undertakes to run for the office these days has got to be a brave man to start with.” Jud Tunkins says aristocracy is going out of fashion so completely that anybody who wants a real elegant high-sounding title will have to join & secret society. Statistical Elasticity. Statistics are a comfort great. ‘We twist them with sincere delight. No matter what the figures state, Each makes them show that he is right. ‘Wonders of Nature. “Charley, dear,” said young Mrs. Tor- kins, “you have no ides how instructive and interesting it is to go to market!” “What's interesting you now?” “The provisions that nature makes for our comfort. It occurred to.me this morning that we should be so thankful that removing the shéll from an egg is 50 much easier than removing the shell from an oyster.” Valer and Prude; The bravest man is one who goes To run when you are scared.” “De trouble about de man who sings at his work,” said Uncle Eben, “is dat D. C. WEDN Colombian Minister Denies Interview ‘To the Editor of The Btar: - I was astonished to read in your edition of the 22d instant an apocryphal inter- view captioned: “Colombia Favors Neu- trality Policy.” ‘When Mr. Allinson sent me the proofs of an interview which he had prepared on his own initiative, I returned them with the following remark: “I am grateful to yqu for your intention of including an interview with me in one of your serial articles, but, much to my regret, I cannot authorize the proofs that you sent and that I am returning herewith because I bave never contended or thought that the neutrality issue is the keystone of the consolidation of American peace.” 1 would appreciate your publishing this letter as a rectification. MIGUEL LOPEZ-PUMAREJO, Colombian Minister. Through a misunderstanding between Mr. Allinson and The Star, the remarks attributed to the Colombian Minister in a series of articles discussing the forth- coming Pan-American Conference were given publication prematugely and with- out the Minister’s authorization. Al- though prepared and published in good faith, the interview did not represent the Minister's views nor receive his approval. B Why “Jeffersonians”” Are Opposing New Deal To the Editor of The Btar: Jeffersonian Democrats are opposing President Roosevelt at this time: 1. Be- cause he has repudiated the platform upon which he was elected. 2. Because he has substituted soclalistic experiments for democratic principles. 3. Because he has substituted a loose construction of the Constitution in place of the party’s strict construction. 4. Because he has done nothing to abolish the protective tariff in place of the Democratic plan of a tariff for revenue only. 5. Because he has paid enormous subsidies to agricul- ture at the expense of all other industries. 6. Because he arrogated to himself the legislative function of government, 7. Because although a lawyer he enacted the N. R. A, the A. A. A, and similar measures which were palpably uncon- stitutional. 8. Because he has abused the taxing power by soaking the rich in his “Robin Hood" style for the supposed benefit of the poor. 9. Although a col- lege graduate he has violated the rule in political economy that governmental regulation of production and prices and the fixing of wages and hours of labor are illegitimate. 10. He has favored labor unions with special legislation, and this is in a measure responsible for the prevalence of violent strikes throughout the country at this time. It is under- stood that strikers would be supported on relief. An active Democrat for 52 years. HENRY WARE ALLEN. ‘Wichita, Kans. e Correction of Proctor. Story on Gen. Wirz To the Editor of The Btar: I read with interest Mr. Clagett Proc- tor's article which appeared in your paper Sunday, September 13, 1936, about historical places dealing with the War Between the States. One of these places mentioned was old Capitol Prison, where, he said, “Capt. Wirz was hung for his part in starving to death Union pris- oners.” I feel out of respect for my be- loved Southland and the memory of Capt. Wirz to correct this gross error. Capt. Wirz was in charge of Anderson- ville Prison in Georgia. Noting the de- plorable condition of his prisoners and the rapidly increasing deaths among them, he advised his superior officer, Gen. Winder (who died before the war was over) and asked for his help in ameliorating these conditions. The South was blockaded by the Union Army and Navy who had declared food, clothing and medicine as contraband; therefore | the prisoners were supplied with the same poor clothing and rations as used by the Confederate soldiers. Gen. Winder, seeing that he was unable to better conditions, communicated with the Fed- eral Government, stating the conditions suffered at Andersonville. First, he of- fered to exchange prisoners. This was refused. Secondly, he offered to buy supplies and pay with either gold or cotton at the North's own price, promis- ing to use them only on Federal prisoners. | This also was refused. Again he offered to let the Federal Government send doc- tors and supplies to the prison and treat their own men. This likewise was re- fused. Finally, rather than have need- less deaths, he offered to surrender to the North the prisoners who were the most ll if a boat. were sent for them. After several months, during which time thousands died through the apparent in- difference of the North to their own men, the boat arrived and carried some of the prisoners North. After the war ended, Capt. Wirz was paroled. Months later he was arrested and carried North and locked in Capitol Prison, charged with murdering prisoners of war, Denied & writ of habeas corpus, he was brought to trial before a military court. In the charges of the United States Government, the supposed ‘“‘vic- tims” murdered by Capt. Wirz were called “pames unknown” because there were no victims. Furthermore, he was denied the testimony of competent witnesses who could affirm his statements. E. DUVALL HARLLEE. Air Mail Service Is: Not Fully Developed Prom the Chicago Tribune. 1t is a singular coingidence that sched- uled flying, first conceived as sn aid te mail service, has become & far greater convenience to the busineéss man him- welf than to his correspondents. Only where great distances are invoived, such as on transcontinental flights, has air- mail offered = spectacular advantage, While it is not only possible, but fre- quently occurs, that a biisiness man may leave Chicag) in the to attend a meeting in New York and re- turn the same day, mail deliveries even to nearby points on the date of writing are practically non-existent. True, the same ship that handles the passengers will also handle the mail, but the Post Office Department has produced nothing to continue the expedited service beyond the airport unless a special delivery stamp is affixed in addition to the air- mail postage. The previous adminis- tration gave the country air service, fThis one does not take advantage of it. The General rested on his dustry thinks in terms of utility, not in- novation for its own sake. The benefits of speedy transit should extend from sender to receiver, which can be accom- pwmmmhmmmmmn: SDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, . 1936. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. ‘Walking, as & fine art, has almost died out in the city. And no wonder. People are riding now, even for a few hlocks. It's safer. More and more are riding and fewer walking all the time, with only the hiking clubs left to do honor to pedestri- anism. Traffic regulations are becoming so complicated that the walker is shy of trying out his legs in the city. Who can remember the days when walking in Washington was a pleasure? Now it is start, stop, until all the pedestrian needs is a horn. One has to look so many ways at once, and leap so swiftly, if need be, that walking in the downtown area is no pleasure at all any more. * x * ¥ Yet not so many years ago—between ¢ and-10, it memory serves—walking to and from work was fun, if one felt half- way in good spirits. Walking then was something to be done for the pleasure of it. Like fishing and hunting, natural ex- pressions of the race, walking gave sheer satisfaction in thé doing, all the more so to sensitive persons who for one reason or other preferred their sports to have no killing in them. Now the pedestrian is likely to become game. Walking, above all, was slow, so that even the most impetuous were forced | to take their time, and thus see a great deal as they went along. ‘The pedestrian is the observer. This always has been true, and it is true today. One has time, literally, in walking, to see everything along the road. * ® X % There is still room for walking, of course, and many persons still indulge in this century-old sport, despite the plain modern dangers. For the person interested in birds, trees, flowers, shrubs, geological forma- tions, contours of hill and valley, in streams and strange formations along the banks, in clouds and landscapes and the ever-moving pictures of the seasons— Well, for these walking remains a travel many miles before starting to Walk. That is one way of getting away from it all, of course. S8till, the pre- liminaries are not relished by some tem- yeraments, and it is precisely these latter persons who need walking the After all, walking is an art and one which satisfies the mind and the spirit as'well as the muscles. All real arts do please the mind and spirit of man. That is why art in all its forms offers so much. Pedestrianism, although taken as the type of the humble and lowly, really is an art of singular value, if it is so intended, and not just taken as a means of getting somewhere. * X ok % ‘The difference, then, lies, as with all arts, in the mind. The mind, interested in something to be seen along the way, will find even a short.walk, so long as it is taken with purpote, admirably fulfilling the same need which painting brings to some. “The reed we have,” as the book says. Nature, after all, is the great artist. Her hndscapes, even close to the city, are not seen at their best through glass. She affers the beholder fresh views every instant, but demands that he come close ani see them for what they are. The inpressionable will reply, “Yes, but winds are cold and ants have a silly way of gtting into the sandwiches, and all in al I had rather stay at home where it s nice and warm.” Such is the lament of those who value their ease. It is for them, in particular, that taking thought as to the value of walking is in order. They must spur | themselveson to walk. They need some one to breeze in, grab them by the collar, | and say, “I#t's go take a walk.” * x X *x Lacking ‘his persuasion, the one in | need of pelestrianism, personally con- ducted, will have to grab himself by the collar and drag himself out into the open. No need t sit by the fire, especially | before the Autumn days grow really | cold. necessary part of life, although theré | are many such persons who, feeling this | way, still never walk. Now why is this? 1t is the strain of the age, which. espe- cially in its traffic dangers, results even | in hubbub on Sundays. This hurly-burly of the age so dis- comfits them that their tendency is to retire into themselves, which most often | means into their own homes, where, their leisure hours. * X ¥ ¥ which is necessary. Let them make a humble beginning, | trying a few blocks to get into the mood. After this they may stretch the walk out to suit themselves. They will find in the end that it is There are jome of the most beautiful pictures in fae whole world to be seen right around Washington, and if you don't believe 1, walk down to the Hahne- mann statue, on Massachusetts avenue, just off Sixteenth street, and watch the setting sun. We select tais statue because it is a work of art in its way and in its setting in the very heir{ of the city. It is a | its figure of theman who took the heavy with friends, books and music they pass | " @osing out of medicine. One may sit'here in the twilight and ‘ | feel rejoiced agin at the surging spirit It is walking for these, in particular, | ging spiri of man, which ¥ willing to erect a statue to & man and hs idea. War and conlision, noise and turm il surge around he world. Statues of soldiers far outiumber all others. Man and hisideas—still he deseives a statue, and ocasionally gets one. But not necessary to join a hiking club and | you will have tcgo afoot to see it right. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. President Roosevelt's decision to open his “real” campaign for re-election at Syracuse denotes the paramount stress he lays not only upon carrying New York. but upon amassing & whale of an | upstate vote. Upon keeping the Re- publican total there within reasonable bounds depends the Democrats’ chance of bagging the Empire Commonwealth’'s | bumper electoral vote. Disturbingly tm- pressive reports reach ‘Washington re- garding Republican prospects of smash- ing Democratic hopes. Landon's arriving at the Bronx with & plurality of anywhere from 500,000 up. Any such figures would represent an enormous advance over the vote which | gave Hoover an upstate margin of 275.- 000 in 1932. Roosevelt won New York City by roundly 870,000, which gave him { the State by nearly 800,000. The New Dealers apparently this year may have considerably to outstrip their big city vote of four years ago prospective Landon landslide so con- fidently reported to be piling up in the | provinces. The tale will be told, as usual, by the enthusiasm with which Tammany goes to bat for the ticket. The tiger may have to roll up & Demo- cratic plurality of close to 1.000.000 to keep the State absolutely safe for F.D.R. * x ¥ X Just the night before Gov. Landon assailed the social security law in Mil waukee last week, A. J. Altmeyer, & member of the board, was detailing its progress before the Biennial Conference of Social Welfare in the same city. He reported that Wisconsin is one of the States whose citizens are eligible to all 10 of the benefits and services created by the act. As a result, it has already received approximately $3,500,000 of Fed- eral aid. The La Follette principality qualifies for social security honors and largess because it has always been a pioneer in social legislation, having been first in the Union to enact both old-age assistance and unemployment compen- sation laws. It was a special pleasure to Mr. Alumeyer to compliment Wis- consin, because he is not only a native Badger, but before coming into the New Deal was chief statistician and secretary of the Wisconsin Industrial Commission. Incidentally, it's understood that the President assured life insurance execu- tives the other day that his social se- ! eurity program isn't going to compete with private insurance. * ok Xk Throughout the United States Navy for the better part of 35 years there always have been strong pro-Sims and anti-Sims men, who achieved those designations because they either ardently espoused or vehemently opposed the late admiral during the controversies he periodically provoked during his stormy career. Admiral Sims generally had more supporters than antagonists, be- cause the reforms he proposed invariably had the single-minded purpose of pro- moting efficiency. Any officers who ever served under him proverbially became his devoted followers, especially his war- time subordinates at London and Queenstown, who revered “the old man,” as they fondly called him, with admira- tion and affection. Insistence that only Naval War College graduates should be eligible to key positions in the fleet or Navy Department was one of the prop- ositions earnestly advocated by Sims in his later life. ® X ¥ ¥ ‘Washington is mum as an oyster about European reports that somewhere in the Anglo-Franco-American stabilization agreement there's tucked away a war debts understanding. - Premier Blum's political opponents at Paris assert he had to promise resumed payments as the price of American- for the franc. Whether or not there’s any truth in that, it's an open secret that the administration—to say nothing of the There's talk of | | Kansan, Horner okerved: to meet the | the circumstance, would strike our Government as emmon gratitude, but | nor Secretary | neither Secretary Hull Morgenthau is bulding any air castles. *ox % Clever political wisecracks are con- spicuous by their absence in 1936. A blue ribbon is coning to Gov. Henry Horner, Democrat of Illinois for his recent contributior toward relief of the wit and humor dought. Commenting on Gov. Landon’s avasion of the agri- cultural Middle Wst and Republican claims that the frmers are for the “Everybody who knows anythag about before November.” * xwox It's long been a ppular theory that one of the reasons wly the United States is normally, a Repblican country is that the press is overvhelmingly G. O. P. in complexion. Writng in Editor and Publisher, Marlen Pw, its long-time editor, prints a tabulitisn, described as about 91 per cent eonplete, showing that there are 328 Democratic news- | papers, 316 Republican A1 Independent Republican, 153 Indipindent Demo- cratic and 792 indepemiént newspapers. In point of circulation, acording to Mr. | | Pew’s figures, it seems taat press sup- | port of the 1936 Repubican ticket is more than 3 to 1. “Some yery big circu- lations are lined up,” h¢ &ys, “with the President’s New Deal case, but the same may be said of tle opposition. Rank and file of the pressof the whole country, except in the scid South, is heavily on the Republican iide in actual practice.” Mr. Pew hazafls the guess that out of 1,850 daily newsapers fewer than 700 are supporting Nr. Roosevelt. * k kX One of the most interesing congres- sional contests is raging n the first Massachusetts district, whre veteran Representative Allen T. Tregiway, rank- ing Republican member of tle Ways and Means Committee, is opj by Owen Johnson, well-known noveiist the Demo- cratic nominee. The latter s a son of former Ambassador-poet Rolert Under- wood Johnson, is a formeer Republican and old-time supporter of Theodore Roosevelt and Leonard Wod. The thing that droye him out of theG. O. P. was prohibition and the recordof the Hard- ing administration. Johnsn has never before run for office, but as now laid aside his literary activitiesin the Berk- shires to make a whirlwid campaign for Congress. He surprisd one of his meetings the other nightby bursting forth fluently in French, he language of the community. *x X X X With the Woodring Secrtaryship of ‘War, the little cabinet becoms still more of a yawning vacuum of vacticies. Now unoccupied are the Undersecetaryships of State and the Treasury ad the As- sistant Secretaryships of Warmnd Navy. The controller generalship md budget directorship complete a sextetf luscious plums sooner or later to be drpped into the laps of yearning Demcrats—or others, (Copyright, 1936.) Knowing and Using Prom the Duluth News-Tribune. Many a man who boasts thathe isn’t afraid to call a spade a spade hs never been known to take one in hi hands and use it. Already Old. From Barron's Weekly. In the hard philosophy of th: muto- motive trade we suppose the Queé, Mary :u old enough now to be definitely { used p. : ‘Waitin From the South Bend Tribune. . Now that a British astronome: told us what is going on inside the sun, we eagerly await a report on whither planting | knows that the surfower goes to seed | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. A recder can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Heskin, Director, Washingion, D, C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. When will Congress convene?—J. W, . Alb;l_"he opening date will be January Q. How long before should the invitations —W. H. B. A. Wedding invitations are sent not later than 15 days and not earlier than four weeks before the date set for the wedding. the wedding be sent 'out? Q. Please give a biography of Gott- schalk, who composed “The Last Hope.” —J. W. A. Louis Moreau in New Orleans in Gottschalk was born 1829. He studied in Europe and, from 1845 to 1852, made successful tours of the continent. Re- turning to America in 1853, he toured the country with notable success, play- ing and conducting his own composi- tions. Among his compositions are “Bam- boula,” “Bananier,” “Savane,” “Ojos Creolas” and “Ossian.” He died at Rio de Janeiro in 1869. Q. Is there a standard for correct physical measurements of a young man in his 20s?—W. F. S. A. The Society of Directors of Physical Education has set the following standard of measurements of the physically ideal American student of 22: With a height of 5 feet 9 inches he carries a weight of 159 pounds. The girth of his neck, knee and calf are the same, with the upper arm 1': inches less. The girth of his thigh is : inch less than that of his head. His expanded chest is 40 inches, the girth of his waist 10 inche less, his hip girth almost the same as his unexpanded chest, while the breadth of his waist barely exceeds the length of his foot, and the stretch of his arms measures two inches more than hi | height. Q. What caused the sinking of the Titanic?>—W. G. A. The steamship Titanic sank as a result of a collision with an iceberg. The | vessel ran on a submerged shelf of ice and in shdm&ofl ripped away a portion of her bottorh. iffeent sort of statue, with | Q. What is a good top dressing for lawns to be used in Winter?—E. H. A. A compost mixture of three parts | of good garden loam, one part of sand and one part of well-rotted manure should be applied before heavy frosts begin. Q. How many were in the first gradu- ating class at Harvard University?—F. C A. The first graduating class in 1642 consisted of nine men ! Q. Was Hugh Walpole in service durinz the World War?—G. 8. | A. The English novelist served with the Russian Red Cross during the war. Q. Is a large percentage of unemplov- ment due to the encroachment of ma- chine labor-saving devices?>—C. H. M. A. A census study of two and a half million persons cut of work showed that only 4 per cent of them had been dis- placed by machinery. Q. What percentage of automobiles are purchased on the instaliment plan? —W.A. W, A. Conservative estimates show that since 1925 70 per cent of all automobiles sold in the United States are purchased on the installment plan, Q. Who used the expression, “Gone where the woodbine twineth"?—A. D. A. “Gone where the woodbine twineth” is & phrase used by James Fisk during the Congressional investigation of Black Friday 'September, 1869). Mr. Fisk re- ferred to the money he had lost in the attempt to corner gold. Q. How many illiterates are there in | the United States?>—F. E. A. There are nearly four million. Q. Has the Lincoln Village at New Salem, Ill, been completed?—H. J. A. Twelve buildings have been con- structed around the only original cabin remaining from the original settlement Three more are planned and seven others will be reconstructed. The buildings are being furnished with implements, uten- sils and articles, either original or au- thentic copies donated to the State and handled under the direction of the Salem Lincoln League. The Rutledge Tavern will be rebuilt for exhibition pur- poses only. Q. Where was Rabbi Wise born?—H. J. A. Rabbi Stephen S. Wise was born at Budapest, Hungary Q. Is there a plant that acts as a compass?—E. G. A. The compass plant (Silphium la- ciniatum) is native to the prairie re- gions_and is also called resinweed. It has a tall, resinous stem and nearly vertical root leaves. When growing in open situations, exposed alike on all sides to the sunlight, the edges of most of the leaves point approximately north and south. Q. How large is the W. P. A. Encyclo- pedia of New York City to be?>—R. P, A. The encyclopedia will contain an estimated five million words. Q. How long does it take to produce oysters of marketable age?—T. 8, A. From four to six years. Asiatic Women, Prom the Scranton Times. In a remote Asiatic country women are the heads of their respective households. In fact, they wield almost as much power as American wives, ——————— Precarious. Prom the San Prancisco Chronicle, Those Americans who persist in stay- ing on in Spain had better hurry home, as the season is about over for changing seats in a canoe. A Rhyme at Twilight B Gertrude Bro:ka Hamilton ; Sorrow’s Toll Some bereavements pass away, Other griefs are all-abiding.s As if heart and soul dividing, Stern, inflexible they stay; And no man remains whole-hearted Emh his finer senses parted. Doujt creeps to rend his soul ~