Evening Star Newspaper, October 29, 1936, Page 10

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. D October 29, 1936 THEODORE W. NOYES...........Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company. Business Office: 11th 8, anc Pennsylvania Ave 7!' York Ofllll“:(::k 1 ‘)‘4“ Enl‘ it d‘r.smuglli‘ Office: chizan Bu Buropean Omee: 14 Hewent St London. Ensiand. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Edition. —-45¢ per month s) ----60c per month nday Star ea 5 8 5c per month ‘The Sunday Star.. ~-b¢ per copy Night ght Final and Sunday Star. ight Final Star. e, Collection made at the end of each month, ders mav be sent by mail or telephone Na- onal 5000 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, Euy and Sunday._.1 yr. iy only__ 1 yro nday only. yri, 70¢ per month All Other States and Canada. fly and Sunday__] yr.. 1 mo.. $1.00 tly only..... ...l ¥r. 1 mo, 75c Bunday only..a....l yr. $5.00; 1 mo. 50c Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches eredited to {t or not otherwise credited in this Ppaper and also the local news published herein, I rights of publication of special dispatches erein are also reserved —_— The District’s Population. The new estimate of Washington's population as of last July, just an- nounced, indicates the continued, re- markable growth of the city since the decennial census of 1930. The estimate of 619,000 indicates an increase of about 25,000 in a year, almost five times as great an increase as occurred in any year between 1920 and 1930. For Wash- ington the estimates are based on a new method of computing increase, adopted because of the very unusual conditions prevailing in the Capital. This method is based on such known quantities as school enrollment, the city directory, the number of Federal workers, etc, while the old method is followed for the States of computing estimates on the basis of trends established in past counts. Wash- ington, for census purposes, is included as a State, which explains why the esti- mated population of other cities of the country is not included in the count. The accuracy of the new estimate may be open to question, as all estimates are. It doubtless fails to take into account, for instance, the number of Federal em= ployes who work in Washington but live in the suburbs of the adjacent counties. It may err in other respects which will not be revealed until the next decennial enumeration. But the growth of popu-- lation indicated in the estimates merely reflects the known increase in the number of employes brought to Washing- ton to man the establishments of the New Deal. On June 30 of 1933, for in- stance, there were 65437 Government employes in the District. The number had increased on June 30, 1936, to 117,453 —a total increase of 52,016. In the same period the population of the city is esti- mated to have increased about 124,000. ‘The increase could be attributed almost entirely to Federal workers and their families. While population growth is a healthy sign and usually discussed with great enthusiasm in other cities, the very factors which account for the population growth here carry with them certain dis- advantages in respect to Washington. A great number of the emergency work- ers, for instance, do not become direct taxpayers—retaining legal residence in the States—with the result that the Dis- trict’s revenues show no increase com- parable with the increase in population, A great many of the Federal workers make their homes in the attractive sec- tions of nearby counties. While the Dis- trict's municipal functions, such as public schools, are crowded beyond capacity, there is no offsetting increase in the funds available for school maintenance and expansion. The police department and traffic department, in fact every mgency of the District government, is given a greater burden without compen- sating increase in personnel. And in statistical comparisons to show Wash- ington’s relative burden of taxation the per capita figures are reduced by a large population which is counted for the tensus estimates, but does not figure on the assessor’s or tax collector’s rolls, The population elemenf, therefore, be- tomes another one of the factors that must be weighed under conditions pe- culiar to Washington. In the fiscal rela- tions issue, for instance, the local tax burden cannot be judged by the same population standards that prevail in the bormal, self-sustaining community, —_— e Transacting business in a gold fish bowl is another idea that goes back of Alice in Wonderland and belongs to Mother Goose days. Although when Simple Bimon went a-fishing he at least insisted on enough water to fill a pail. —— Perilous Politics. Specific reference to foreign countries has been commendably conspicuous by its absence from the turmoil of the cam- paign now drawing to a close. Except for Incidental emphasis laid by Governor Landon on Canada in attacking the Roosevelt-Hull reciprocal trade program, and vague shafts at “Moscow” by various campaigners, allusions to other nations have been infrequent, purely general in character and wholly innocuous. Both the Republican and Democratic nominees have dedicated themselves to the cause of international peace in the political and economic realms, but no names were mentioned. According to Jay Franklin, whose sprightly column, “We, the People,” is reg- ularly published on the opposite page of ‘The Star, the Democratic National Com- mittee has not been able to practice.that self-restraint respecting Uncle Sam’s external relations, which Messrs. Roose- velt and Landon punctiliously imposed upon themselves. Mr. Franklin reveals that Chairman Farley, in his anxiety to garner for the New Deal even the baga- telle of 100,000 votes cast by American citizens of Chinese extraction, has issued an appeal which in effect defines the United States’ Par Eastern policy. Never / THE EVEN. at any time since developments on the other side of the globe threatened inter- mittently to plunge Occident and Orient into conflict has there emanated from any official or “semi-official” quarter so categorical an elucidation of America’s position. Mr, Franklin telis us that the “broad- side” to the “Chinese electorate” appeals for supporc of the Democratic national .ticket on the ground that the present administration espouses a program in- cluding among others the following items: (1) Greatly to extend the airlines between China and the United States; (2) To respect Chinese sovereignty as an independent territorial whole; (3) To maintain the “open door” policy; (4) Nop to recognize Manchukuo, and (5) To further friendly relations between China and the United States. It may be argued that this tabulation contains little beyond platitudinous principles to which this country has periodically given expression, also that the Democratic National Committee does not mold the Government's foreign policy. Yet it is to be wondered whether the approval of Secretary Hull or the State Department was sought before the New Deal electioneering machine cleared for action in a fashion bound to cause sensi- tive eyebrows to be raised in Japan. The “Chinese vote” cannot be so vital a factor in Democratic calculations that it is worth while thus unconventionally to butt into one of the most ticklish diplo- matic situations now existent anywhere in the world, with unnecessary risk of giving offense in a friendly quarter, The circumstance that Mr. Farley is angling for Chinese support with such bait at the very moment Tokio and Nanking are immersed in negotiations which may lead to war does not make his ballyhoo any the less reprehensible, o Nobody’s Business? ‘The effort of a group of New Jersey Republicans to compel Harry Hopkins, by writ of mandamus, to open to their inspection certain records of the Works Progress Administration depends for its success, of course, on the court’s decision. But in his answer to the petitioners Mr. Hopkins has formally gone on record as declaring that “it would be against public policy and at variance with his lawful duty as administrator” to give the names, addresses and salaries of W. P. A. em= ployes “to any person or agency other than one authorized by the Congress of the United States.” And to have Mr. Hopkins make that formal declaration may have been one of the purposes of the suit. For it unmistakably presents the issue. Are such names and salaries public property? Aside from the political con- siderations so predominant in this present case, does any taxpayer have the right to look over the names of Federal employes and their salaries, not to men- tion other records sought by the New Jersey Republicans, to acquaint himself with how the money is being spent? Denied that right, the taxpayer seemingly has a just cause for complaint. Such information in theory ought to'be avail- able to anybody. But as a matter of practice it is not. The Republican National Committee has pointed out that the Official Register, carrying the names and salaries of the executive and supervisory officials in the “regular” Government establishment, gives the taxpayer information to which he is entitled and emphasizes the incon- sistency of Mr. Hopkins’ refusal to make public similar information. The point is, however, that the Official Register of the United States is authorized and appropri- ated for by Congress. Congress has not directed Mr. Hopkins to make public comparable information as to W. P. A. Until about the time of the war the Official Register contained the names of all Government employes, with salaries, etc. The last issue, about 1921, was nearly the size of an unabridged dictionary, and an issue containing the same information today could not be got between the covers of a single volume, As an economy, the book was reduced in size and now con- tains only the names of supervisory officials. As far as lists, if not names, are con- cerned, Congress called for one of the most extensive ever compiled when it ordered, at the outset of the New Deal administration, the publication of “Posi- tions Not Under the Civil Service.” The 421 pages of this best seller contained every Government job, with term of office and salary, outside the civil service and was a very popular reference book for Congressmen looking over the opportuni- ties for patronage. But without congres- sional authorization, the common, ordi- nary citizen—or Republican politician— would have a hard time today getting any such information on how public funds are being spent in the hiring of personnel or identity of the personnel. For one thing, the employes deserve some protec- tion against commercial enterprises in search of mailing lists. For another thing, the administration in office is apt to feel that such lists are nobody's busi- ness but its own, —————— The Landon campaigners do not hesi- tate to show figures to prove that the letters G. O. P. are holding their own in the race of initials. ——— College professors who advise in states- manship sometimes seem to favor the assumption that the letters A. B. stand for “a billion.” ——— “You’re Another!” Chairman James A, Farley is not aito- gether happy in his repartee. He has essayed on several occasions the role of the “end man” in the political minstrel show, and has seldom hit the funny bone of the audience with marked effect. His latest contribution fo the humor of the campaign is in truth a little worse than a mere “dud.” It has a curiously re- active result that may cause the middle man of the troupe to wish that his “Mr. Bones” had remained silent. Commenting in New York yesterday on Governor Landon’s charge that President Roosevelt has broken promises to extend the merit system in the civil service, the ¢ former Postmaster General, now the generalissimo of the administration’s field forces, said: “If Governor Landon is not more concerned about the civil service in the Nation than he has been in his own State of Kansas, we cannot hope for much improvement.” A better word than “hope” might have been found for such an expression. And a better word for “improvement” might have been discovered by a little dictionary research. Reduced to its fundaments, this comeback of Mr. Farley’s merely amounts to a “youre another” charge. And that means, if anything, that the basic civil service principle of merit has been wantonly violated in both the Fed- eral and the Kansas public fields, accord- ing to Mr. Farley. As far as the preservation of the merit system in the public service is concerned, the friends of that principle in the work of Government administration are more concerned with the actual demonstration on the large national scale that has marked the course of the last three and & half years than the reputed perform- ance in one of the States. The human element in aviation is re- garded by experts as responsible for many crashes. Nerves and muscles cannot be always in correct form. A medical ex- amination preceding each flight, student or professional, might easily be worth the expense, et A number of rugged mountaineers are probably wondering why several Senators are sending out postcards calling for gen- eral rejoicing because a few Wall Street- ers are making so much money in spite of retail prices. e —ee— American labor is divided in its theories of collective bargaining, but this fact does not prevent some of its members from taking time off from family quarrels to offer house-top chats on partisan na- tional politics. s Nations arming for defense need wise - statesmanship to prevent an impression that desire to convince the taxpayers that they are getting their money's worth requires a chip on the shoulder, AR A Japan may find it easy to take charge of China, but history may have a new story to tell when the Orient’s yellow giant, like Gulliver, wakes up to what has happened. e Hitler and Mussolini are said to be working together. There may be efforts to bargain, but it is a hard job of sales- manship either way. e Some semblance of the Blue Eagle may be revived, but it will never seem the near relation to a bird of paradise that fancy once portrayed. e If James A. Farley succeeds in putting the New Deal across, every hard-working mail employe will naturally hope for a raise in pay. Many distinguished explorers have visited Africa, Selassie is now exploring Burope to find the League of Nations. ———oe— A new airport is expected for this city, but the duty of building it will hardly be entrusted to W. P. A. Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Agri Culture. Professor, dear, I long to hear Your words of wisdom true; With problems on this earthly sphere I know not what to do. I know not why a butterfly Such beauty should display, Although he was in hours gone by A grub that brought dismay. Oh, please to show how food may grow To cheer these worldly scenes, And why a-hungering we must go If you should spill the beans. Social Success. “Was your political barbecue a suc- cess?” . b “A perfect success,” answered Senator Sorghum. “Everybody stood up, so that there could be no argument about who were to occupy the seats of honor.” - Finish of 2 B. L A bright idea once appeared, The world was filled with glee. ‘The poet cheered. The cynic sneered In conversation free. At last it faded quite away And ceased to strive for breath; The doctors and the nurses say That it was talked to death. Cynical Biology. “Do you like dogs?” asked the man endeavoring to make conversation. “Very much,” said Miss Cayenne. “Cats?” “Yes. When I see what some of our gentle four-footed friends can do for birth rate statistics I really don’t see why we should make so much over the Dionne Quins.” “We cannot fathom the future,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “except to know tHat no mortal is permitted life long enough to see its eventual relation- ship to present occurrences.” Ending the Argument. A college boy Expresses joy And so does a co-ed. With wisdom great They’ll guide the state ‘When all is done and said. A foot ball game Brings more acclaim ‘Than medicine or law. A student wise Will compromise And just say, “Rah! rah! rah!” *“Mind yoh teacher, son,” said Uncle Eben, “and don’t git discouraged be- cause some teachers pretends to know more than others and starts arguments.” A ) D. C, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1836. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. THE POLITICAL MILL BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. NEW HAVEN, Conn, October 29— When Maine in September led off with a Republican victory the Pine Tree State set the pace for New England—what- ever it did or did not do for the rest of the country—and particularly North- ern New England. Nothing has hap- pened since election day, September 14, in Maine to give the Democrats any hope of carrying the State for Roosevelt. In fact, it is extremely probable that Maine’s plurality for Landon will greatly exceed the lead given the Republican candidate for Governor in the September State election, which ran around 40,000. The Democratic leaders in the State have no hope whatever of carrying Maine for Roosevelt. A great deal will depend upon the force in which the Republicans turn out, and whether many believe that the State is in the bag, and do not go to the polls. The Republican organiza- tion is doing all it can to keep the G. O. P. on its toes there. * K ok % Vermont will do its traditional best for the Republican party, and that is pretty good. The Green Mountain State has never wavered in its support of the G. O. P. since the Civil War days. It has never given its electoral votes to any but a Republican presidential candidate in all that time. It has never elected & Demo- cratic Senator nor member of the House, nor Governor. It is as stanchly Repub- lican as Mississippi is Democratic, In New Hampshire the edge is dis- tinctly with Landon and against Roose- velt. The State, however, has a senatorial race that is creating a good deal of interest. Gov. H. Styles Bridges, having defeated the veteran former Senator, George H. Moses for the Republican sen- alorial nomination, is opposed to Repre- sentative Willlam Nathaniel Rogers, Democrat. Rogers has represented the first congressional district—New Hamp- shire has two—since January, 1932, when he was elected to fill & vacancy caused by the death of the late Representative Fletcher Hale, His election was merely an indication at that time of the coming sweep against the G. O. P. He carried his district again in November, 1932, but with a lead of only little more than 2,500, with the State going for Hoover. Two years later he was re-elected with a lead of 7.000. Rogers is a young man, 44 years of age, and a good campaigner. Gov. Bridges is still younger by three or four years. He has a wide popularity and he, too, is an excellent campaigner. There is some talk of Republican opposition grow- ing out of his defeat of Moses in the primary, but this is not expected to be material and the chances seem to be with Bridges to win the senatorial race, * ox ox % ‘The Democrats are seeking in some way to overthrow the election of Senator Wal- lace White in Maine. White beat Gov. Brann, Democrat, with a lead of about 5,000 votes. Efforts are being made to persuade Brann not to sign a certificate of election for White when the time comes, and to throw the contest, if there is one, into the strongly Democratic Senate. It does not appear that there is any reasonable doubt of the election of White, or that any irregularities could be found that would upset the result. Doubt is expressed that Brann will lend himself to any high-handed attempt on the part of the Democrats outside of Maine to obtain this senatorial seat. Massachusetts and Rhode Island, which four years ago and in 1928 voted Democratic, are likely to be back in the Republican fold this year, and Connecti- cut, despite Democratic hopes, will prob- ably be Republican. This would mean a solid New England bloc for Gov. Lan- don in the presidential election. And such a Republican victory would doubt- less be reflected in the vote in other States, * %k x ¥ Today is Landon day in New York. Conferences with Republican leaders, and with his Democratic supporters, Al Smith and John W. Davis, and a speech in Madi- son Square Garden tonight climax the Republican candidate's final drive for the electoral votes of the East.. President Roosevelt is to make his bow to the New York voters later. Not only does Landon speak in New York City tonight, but also Father Coughlin is there to address his followers at the Hippodrome. The Coughlinites are bitterly aroused over the exclusion of their candidate for President, Representative William Lemke of North Dakota, from the ballot in New York State. What Father Coughlin will advise his followers to do under the cir- cumstances may be divulged tonight. If the Union party supporters insist upon voting for Lemke they will be faced with the task of writing in the names of the 47 presidential electors in New York selected by the Union party. Voters are allowed only three minutes in the voting machine booths under the law here. To write in 47 names, therefore, becomes an almost insurmountable task. Coughlin might propose that his followers throw their support to Landon—for he is bit- terly opposed to the re-eiection of Presi- dent Roosevelt. But whether he will go to that length, or whether his followers would accept such a recommendation, is decidedly questionable, If Coughlin goes to that length in New York he probably would make a similar recommendation to his supporters in other States where Lemke is not on the ballot. It is rather a queer quirk of political fortune that the Coughlinites and the Townsendites should be arrayed against Roosevelt, the New Dealer, in this elec~ tion. But there they are, with Dr. Town- send and Father Coughlin bitterly de- nouncing the President and saying that he must not be re-elected. They may hold the balance of power in some of the States. * X % % It has been finally announced that the Senatorial Campaign Committee headed by Senator Lonergan of Connecticut, Democrat, will not hold any public hear- ings on charges of political corruption through the W. P. A. until after the election. Despite the countless charges that have gone up from several States for weeks and months, it was a foregone conclusion that no public hearings in the activities of W. P. A. would be permitted by this Democratic-controlled Senate In- vestigating Committee. Indeed, it is re- ported that Senator Lonergan was told that there must be no such public in- vestigation before he was ever named chairman of the committee. That the sit- uation is extremely distasteful to the Con- necticut Senator no one who knows him has the slightest deubt. The powers that be in the New Deal party, however, are taking no chances on what might be shown, for example, in Pennsylvania, if a public hearing was given at this time, The end justifies the means, in the minds of New Dealers conducting this campaign. The reports of many of their activities are to be credited. In earlier days there were machine bosses in a number of the big cities of the country -who worked in the same principal in elections. But this ideas is being tried out on a national scale this time. Trailer Troubles. Union Station types—in the waiting room, the concourse, under the umbrella sheds—are always a source of interest to the student of humanity. A trip to the depot is worth while at any time, but is especially enjoyable if the party with which one happens to be is ahead of schedule. - This gives more opportunity to watch the people. Getting to the station well ahead of train time is the mark of a nervous per- son, of course, but it is becoming to be recognized rather broadly that such people are the salt of the earth, after all. These stoical folk who manage to get to the station just a minute before their train pulls out—they are so terribly normal that it may turn out they are the most abnormal of all! Fortunately there are all types on hand, just as there are all degrees of rank and wealth. * ok k% A rallroad station waiting room is the most democratic place on earth. From the little pickaninny, proud of his too-wide and too-long trousers, to the staid gentleman who sits watching him, there is every sort of human being repre= sented here. There is the red-faced man who just can't keep his eyes from the ladies’ legs, although legs have been well known for many years now. h ‘There is the bored gentleman who posi- tively doesn’t see anything or any one, he is so intent on his own business. He is very normal, evidently. It is not two minutes before he leaps up, straight for the train, and the last one sees of him is a wild figure beating it along the train side. No doubt he swings aboard just as the conductor calls, “All aboard!” * * % % How the heart responds to the cry. “All aboard!” Melodious, loud, clear, it is the con- ductor’s solo, his part in this symphony of the railroad. Most of the time he is a very busy man, but now, with watch in hand, one foot on the steps, the other down on the plat- form, he sings. In his neat blue suit and his trim blue hat, with® just a suspicion of gray hair showing beneath it, he bids us come. “All aboard!"” As long as there are railroads hisgong will do something to us. will stir the blood, will give the most sedentary, if only for a moment, a taste of journeying afar, | Above these trains are queer electric wires and great insulators. but steam seems to be coming out of them, too, down below, just above the tracks. That clear hiss of steam is part of the music. It has a fragrance all its own. this steam, so much part and parcel of rail- roading. The train may be electric, but evidently it still needs steam, and we are glad. * ¥ % % ‘The people surge up the steps and into the chair car, where neat little tables and equally neat lamps upon them give a feeling of being at home. STARS, MEN A little party has gathered out onf the patform, the father, mother and little Barbara, or whatever her name is. The spectator thinks it should be Jumping Jack. She is not still a minute. One of the thousands of children who had taken dancing lessons, she did not miss an opportunity to show her little learning. When she wasn't tap-dancing she was doing fancy steps. When she wasn't doing either she was preparing to do one or thg other. It was fascinating to watch her, to attempt to decide, from the preliminary twitches and shimmies, into which dance she would go. * K kK ‘The father was a man who would have stood out in any company. Here on the platform he was a firm, at- tractive figure of a man, with a fine face, especially a good jaw. There was firmness there and yet the smile was pleasant and even gay. His eyes were alight with life. He was the sort of fellow who could use the tone of command with effect, if there was any necessity for it. BSeveral people called him “Judge,” probably he was a member of Congress. It was easy to see him making a speech and probably saying something, too. In the bustle of his departure—he was the one leaving—amid the talk of many people, and the melodious train noises— he invariably attracted all eyes. * ¥ ¥ *x What an advantage in life, one thought, such a man has! Did he make himself “that way,” or was it a gift? He waited until the very last second before he swung aboard. He did not do this with any ostentation, however, but simply because he was so positively normal, in every way, that he had no fear at all of missing his train, He miss a train he set out to take? How could he? No doubt he never had, and probably never would. He was as casual about it as most of us would be in walking through a store door to purchase something we desired. * ¥ % % His intellectual, well bred, kindly-stern face looked down through the windows at the little girl. She shouted and went into her dance. She ran along the platform, touched the side of the car, danced back a few steps. No one seemed to have the slightest fear that she might slip or fall beneath the moving wheels. Least of all, Daddy. * He never looked for trouble until it came. So it never came. Trouble is afraid of such a man and stays away. Maybe there is a lesson in this for | many a nervous wight, but, if so, it is just one of the many lessons which may be found in a railroad station. It is not for nothing that candidates take to the railroads. for on them and along them they meet all types. The people, one and indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. Earth wears a 2,000-mile-thick under- shirt of a rare mineral. Dr. L. H. Adams, physical chemist of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, | last night described experiments at the Geophysical Laboratory here which indi- cate that between the thin crust and heavy core of the planet there is an enormous intermediate zone of rock known as dunite. It is a very heavy greenish-yellow stone—a compound of magnesium silicate and iron silicate— which is known only from very rare deposits on the earth’s surface. It has been known for some time that there is a remarkable change in the speed of earthquake waves, from about 31, to 5 miles a second, at about 30 miles below the surface. Tests at the zeophysical laboratory indicate that there are only two kinds of rocks known which could support so high a velocity at th_e moderate pressures prevailing at this depth. One is dunite and the other a very similar mineral known as eclogite. Other evidence, however, makes dunite the most probable. The earthquake waves continue at these tremendous speeds to a depth of gbout 2,000 miles. Above the dunite sub-stratum, Dr. Adams pointed out in a lecture at the Carnegie Institution, is the relatively very thin crust, from 25 miles to 31 miles in depth, which might be compared to the earth’s outer garment. It is in two layers, granite above and basalt below. From geological studies, Dr. Adams said, it long has been known that the accessible part of the crust consists largely of granite. These, however, ex- tended to only very superficial depths. Experiments at the geophysical labora- tory show that the velocity of longi- tudinal vibrations in granite is about 312 miles a second, almost exactly that found by seismologists for earthquake waves running through the superficial layer of the planet. This confirms the findings of the geologists for much greater depths than it is possible to go with shovel or drill. This granite layer, Dr. Adams said, varies greatly in thickness from place to place. In continental areas it ranges from 6 miles to almost 20 miles in depth, while in the great ocean basins it appears to be missing entirely. Underneath the granite layer the crust, as indicated by the velocity of earthquake waves passing through the region, is basaltic in compo- sition. There is some evidence for a transition layer of both granite and basalt, but it has been impossible to de- termine the existence of this. By a series of deductions from earth- quake wave speeds and other evidence, Dr. Adams said, the conclusion has been reached that the earth’s core, having & diameter somewhat more than half that of the planet as a whole, consists of a very heavy substance—probably metallic iron or nichel iron. This is quite different from iron known as the surface. At its center it is under a pressure of about 47,000,000 pounds to the square inch, a condition rendering it non-magnetic, so that it has no appreciable effect on the earth’s tism., Although it is certain that the core is very hot, according to Dr. Adams, it has not been possible to arrive at a ‘very satisfactory estimate of its temperature. It gw«rkw be well over 5,000 degrees PFrom observations on the tidal defor- mations of the surface, he said, the earth long Ias been known to be as rigid as steel and from earthquake data it is found that from crust to core the rigidity increases steadily with increasing depth. 1t is clear, lore, that the earth as a whole is solid. It is much harder to decide, however, whether its substance, particularly that of the intermediate Zone, is crystalline or glassy. “But,” Dr. Adams said, “from what information we have it does not seem possible that any permanent silicate L7 glass can support the requisite wave velocities. There probably are shallow zones or limited regions of glassy ma- terial, but the weight of evidence seems to favor crystallinity for practically the entire silicate part of the earth. “Many circumstances indicate that the early history of the earth was as follows: The primitive molten magma consisting mainly of magnesium iron silicates, with | smaller amounts of other oxides, includ- ing water and considerable amounts of metallic iron, first separated into two layers—molten iron below and silicate magma above. The silicate layer than began to crystallize at the bottom. As the solid layer increased in thickness the minor constituents, including water, were concentrated to a greater and greater extent in the remaining liquid. Finally, when the liquid layer had been reduced to a thickness of a few tens of kilometers and was much richer in the originally minor constituents, the crust of the earth ‘was formed. “One of the most cogent reasons for believing that the earth is crystalline is that in no other way can we easily account for the fact that the crust differs so markedly from the interior. Granting that the earth once was molten and well-stirred, we apparently must admit that the separation into zones on so large a scale took place either by the falling of a heavy insoluble liquid to the bottom, thus producing the iron ore, or by the residium of a process of crystallization, this residium becoming the crust.” ——— Employment Puzzle. Prom the Bangor Daily News, Last October President Roosevelt un- dertook whas was described as a “per sonal survey” to determine why employ=- ment and pay rolls had not kept pace with the upward trend of industrial pro- duction since 1933. The President admit- ted that figures on unemployment were Incomplete. He cited a chart which showed how production in industry had recovered to 90 per cent of the base average, while the number of persons employed had risen only to 82 per cent. The President decided to ask industry for the reason. Ten mowths after that “survey” was begun the administration is no closer to & correct analysis of present unemploy- ment. Harry Hopkins last Fall esti- mated that private enterprise would have to hire 10,000 persons every day for a year before all the unemployed were abSorbed. Then the movement was well begun to convince people that with machines business had raised its output without hiring a proportionate number of workers. Only last May Assistant W. P. A. Administrator Corrington Gill an~ nounced that figures were being collected on displaced workers; that the mechani- zation of industry was under scrutiny, and that maybe by the end eof this year the findings would be issued. in relation to production. The August survey of Current Business shows com- parative figures on jobs and production for the month of June for the last eight years. The figures are adjusted for sea- sonal variation. If last June be com- pared with June, 1935, manufacturing production rose more than 23 per cent, while employment went up only 16 per cent. b A much greater variation is found when last June's figures from Washington are with those for June, 1932. The shows 4 gain of 70 per cent in , and & gain of 40 factory employes. until 1929 figures are June manufacturing a 1 -ser ol g b 8 18 per cent under that - 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. Can a man serving a jail or peni- tentiary sentence vote?—G. G. A. Generally speaking, a penitentiary sentence lasting more than one year deprives a citizen of his franchise priv- ilege. Whether or not an individual can vote is entirely a matter of State law. 'The voting regulations are in most cases more or less complicated so that even if a person in jail were qualified to vote the practical result would probably be that he would be unable to do so. Q. Please suggest a method for teach- ing children traffic safety while they are very young—G. T. A. The National Congress of Parents and Teachers suggests a game played by parents and children. Toy automobiles are used, and street intersections are marked on the floor. Traffic rules can thus be impressed on very young minds. Q. Why was Judge Archibald im- peached?—W. J. H. A. Robert W. Archibald, associate judge of the United States Commerce Court, was impeached July 11, 1912, on 13 articles charging him with corrupt col- lusion with coal mine owners and rail- road officials while in office. Q. How early was Indiana's steriliza- tion law passed?—G. R. M. A. Indiana in 1907 legalized operations on any inmates of institutions, insane, idiotic, imbecile, feeble-minded, or epi- leptic, who by the laws of heredity are potential parents of socially inadequate offspring. Q. Please give a list of well-known per- sons who have died this year—K. B. A. A partial list includes: King George V, Rudyard Kipling, Gilbert K. Chester- ton, Percy Hammond, Finley Peter Dunne, Lauis Bleriot, Howard Thurston, Mary Johnston, Henry B. Walthall, Dr. William Holland Wilmer, Maxim Gorki, A. E. Housman, John Hays Hammond, Col. E. H. R. Green, Oswald Spengler, James M. Beck, Samuel Parkes Cadman, Marilyn Miller, Thomas Meighan, Ed- ward E. Gann, Jesse Isidor Straus. A. Mitchell Palmer, Ossip Gabrilowitsch, Julius Gombos, Winifred Black, William Horlick and Marlen Pew, Q. Who executed the murals in the Lincoln Memorial at Washington, D. C.? —E.. G. A. They are the work of Jules Guerin. Q. Has the population of Tahiti de- creased markedly since the island was visited by Cook?—M. D. A. In 1774 Cook estimated the popula- tion of the island at 204.000. The latest census return for Tahiti and Moorea is 9,072, Q. Have aviators succeeded in flying over Mount Everest>—H. B. B. A. Aviators have succeeded in flying over the top of Mount Everest, the high- est mountain in the world. Rear Ad- miral P. F. M. Fellowes, D. S. O,, rose to 2 height of 34000 feet in a temperature { ranging down to —76 degrees Fahrenheit in 1934. In his flight over the mountain he cleared the peak by & bare 100 feet. The Houston Mount Everest flight cleared the peak on April 3 and 19, 1933, Q. Are there bamboo trees in the United States?—T. E. A. Bamboos are mild-climate plants. None is found native in the colder tem- perate regions. The United States has only two native species. These accur in the Southern States south of Virginia and westward to Southern Missouri. They constitute our so-called cane brakes, once more or less common, but now becoming rare. Central America and South America are much richer in these beautiful plants, of which nearly 150 native species have been reported, mostly from the tropical regions. Asia, and especially China, is the richest of all regions in bamboo species. In fact, Asia may be regarded as the home of most of the valuable economic species now scat= tered over the earth. Nearly 500 species of bamboos have been described, and more than two-thirds of these are from Asia and adjacent islands. Q. When originally published, was “Robinson _Crusoe” divided into chap- ters?—D. D. A. In its original form there was no chapter division. Q. How many hairs are there on a man’s head?—K. M. L. A. The average man has about 100,000 hairs. Q. How is the surname of the premier of France pronounced?—N. H. A. The name, Blum, is pronounced with the final “m” sounded. The “u” has the sound of “00” in the English word, rook. Q. When did North Carolina adopt the budget system?—H. G. A. The State adopted the budget sys- tem in 1925, effective July 1, making the Governor its real financial head. Q. How much is expended for perfume in the United States?>—M. R. L. A. In 1935 it is estimated that $20,600,- 000 was spent for perfume, Q. How does the food value of Amer- ican cheese compare with that of milk?— N.R.S. A. Five ounces of American cheese is about equivalent to one quart of whole milk in calcium, phosphorus and protein content, Q. How long is China’s coast line?— E. M. A. China's coast line is 2,150 miles long, or with indentations about 5,000 miles. A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton Summer’s Driftage. The river, by the Autumn sunset kissed, Became a stream of gold and amethyst. Adown it sailed, by gay winds set afloat, A cluster of red leaves—a fairy boat. And to the boat, prismatic wings low- hung, A dragonfly from Sumiher vainly clung. I watched the frail leaf-raft drift ‘round a bend Half-envious of the fly’s sun-submerged end. of 1929, and the number of factory em- ployes was also 18 per cent below that of 1929, Thus, at last, equality s reached, and the student of New Deal statistics remains baffied, «