Evening Star Newspaper, January 1, 1937, Page 10

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY __ ___ January 1, 1937 THEODORE W. NOYES Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company. i1tn 8t. and Pennsylvania Ave. New Yock Office: 110 East 42nd 8t. Chicago Office: 415 North Michigan Ave. Rate by Carrier—City and Suburban. Regular Edition, » Evening and Sunday Star The Evening Ang 8 month or 15¢ per week o 5c per month or 10c per week The Sudar Star e —==..DC DET COPY Night Final Editien. Night Final d Sunday Star ___70c per month Rispt Binat ghg sunaer Sier——-f4e o moniy at the end of each month or ar Collection made each week, Orders may be sent by mail or tele- whone National 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryiand and Virginia, Daily and Sun: 1 vr. $10.00: 1 Dailr only 1 yrl $8.00: 1 Sunday only__ 1 ye. $400; 1 mo.. 8¢ mo. 30c mo.. 40c All Other Staies and Canada, Daux and Sunday__1 yr. §1 1 mo. $1.00 aily only yr. 8 1 mo. " ihe v c Sunday only _Z r i 1 mo., Member of the Associated Press. ‘The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the uge for republication of all news dispatches eredited to it or not otherwise credited in this Taper and aiso ihe local news published herain: All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved New Year. Charles Lamb, whimsical literary saint, &t1]l dearly appreciated by thousands of readers though more than a century has elapsed since his graceful pen was stop- ped, once remarked that nobody regards the first of January with indifference. The oceasion, he rightly believed, is stimulating to the imagination in the highest degree. Properly appraised, it provides an opportunity for a covenant with the future; it dramatizes the worth ®nd the value of time and of the privi- “ lege of living. The sound of bells, ring- ing out the old and ringing in the new, is meaningless save as it symbolizes the ideal of rebirth which is fundamentally inherent in the customary celebration of the start of the year. But the lesson of New Year needs prac- tical application. There is no efficiency in an empty recognition of the chance to attempt a new beginning. What is wanted is an active faith in the feasibility of it. Humanity, for example, has de- sired peace for eons; it has been confi- dent. that international harmony event- ually might be realized and effected; all that has been lacking is a pragmatic methed. Yet the fact of that discrepancy between aspiration and attainment is no excuse for discouragement. Conditions can be changed, are being changed. In- deed, variation is a cosmic law univer- £ally conceded. And the same doctrine may be sug- gested to individuals. The whole theory of Christian civilization is predicated nupon the power of plain men and women to be spiritually born again. Despair it- self—the extreme contradiction of the Saviour’s philosophy of regeneration—is an asset to a struggling soul. “My deso- lation,” Shakespeare said, “does begin to make a better life.” Moreover, it is help- ful to remember how much progress to- ward the Kingdom of God on Earth al- | ready has been achieved. Consider the brave optimism of Robert Blatchford: “We have nearly lost the supernatural; but. we have found the children, and we are finding nature. No other age loved fields and flowers and clouds and chil- dren as this age loves them. No other age was so rich in love and mercy.” The salvation of the race, self-evi- dently, depends upon the vision of a world constantly, durably, everlastingly | new. Jesus stipulated that “except ve ® * * become as little children,” the pil- grims never could attain the Zion of their dreams. And nineteen centuries have but merved to confirm His injunction. vear now opening will be the creation of those who nobly strive to justify the days, the hours and the fleet moments of which it is composed. It will be dark and rorrowful or bright and glad according to their effort and their success. Mil- lions, for the sake of charity if for no other reason, will enter its portals with 2 praver for prosperity and happiness de- served because earned. For the ma- Jority. perhaps providentially for all who merit it, there must be commensurate ful- filment. d e Selling an airplane with a bad engine 1= said te be not against the law and yet authorities have to worry about such things as $2 mutuels and claw machines, e e £ shortf hours have sometimes provided more tite for discussion of strikes for higher wages which resulted in no wagee at all for a while, —r———— How to End a “Racket.” Representative Dies of Texas, con- cerned over “this racket” of Govern- ment administrative officials resigning to enter private industry, proposes an investigation. After the investigation has revealed the extent of this nefarious business, something, presumably, would be done to stop it. There are at least two remedies. One Is to establish an enlistment period in Government servige, longer but other- wise comparable with the enlistment period of the military servicés, and either £hoot the deserters at sunrise or im- prison them for twenty years, with ‘loss of citizenship. The other, however, may appeal to many as a better system, more desirable from the point of view of the taxpayer who supports the Government as well as those who work for the Government. This plan would, first, eliminate the vicious political racket sometimes known as the spoils system, in which Govern- ment jobs are apportioned among de- serving politicians for distribution as reward to their political hangers-on. At the same time, Government service would be closed to all éxcept those able {o qualify for its responsibilities through competitive. examination, the excep- tions to this rule being strictly limited to a relatively few policy-making posi- tions to be filled by presidential appoint- ment. Those able to qualify for Gov- ernment service and, through meritori- ous performance of duty, able to retain their positions would be rewarded not only by remuneration commensurate The | THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. (. FRIDAY, . e L e e R S S A with the value of their sérvices, but by the guarantee that Government aervice would provide for them an honorable career, safe from the bulldozing and reprisals of politiclans, safe from the loss of their jobs to make room for po- litical replacements. . Mr. Dies and his colleagues would accomplish & great deal for increased governmental efficiency, loss of which he now deplores, by working to extend the merit system and to encourage young men and women of ability to seek honor- able careers in the Government service. The occasional desertions of adminis- trative officials now who seek to apply their skill and knowledge to the im- provement of the molasses and other industries are not, as a matter of fact, of far-reaching importance. e More Naval Competition. With expiration of the old year, naval limitation comes to an inglorious end. The Washington treaty of 1922 and the London pact of 1930 are no more. From today on the sea powers of the world are at liberty to construct as many war- ships as their needs require or their financial sinews allow. The outlook is not a heartening one for taxpavers any- where, because the stage is set for re- sumption of competitive building on the costly pre-war scale. In order to lose not an hour's time, Great Britain will signalize New Year day by laying down two 35,000-ton battleships—King George V and Prince of Wales. The first capital ships projected since 1922, they will be the last word in armament, speed and de- fensive equipment. Expected to cost at least $35,000,000 apiece, they are the fore- runners of even more powerful British vessels. Whereas their immediate prede- cessors, Nelson and Rodney, commis- sioned in 1927, were five years in build- ing, King George V and Prince of Wales, because of advance replacement arrange- ments permitted by the old treaties, will be completed in half that time. Not anly are the British proceeding post-haste to possess themselves of two super-modern battleships, but they will exhaust every energy to construct scores of auxiliary craft as part of the vast re- armament program deemed imperative because of new threats to European peace. British construction sets the pace for a naval race already world-wide. France enters the competition with a $572,000,000 program, comprehending five 35000-ton battleships and ten 10,000-ton cruisers. Germany, under her quota tonnage treaty with Great Britain, is proceeding rapidly {-to equip herself with 35,000-ton battle- ships, heavy cruisers, destroyers, sub- marines and aircraft carriers. Italy will utilize the freedom of action resultant from expiration of limitation by building 35.000-ton capital ships and a correspond- ing complement of auxiliary vessels. Parity with France is Italy’s irreducible lonial power. Russia is not lagging be- hind in the feverish contest, with one eve peeled on Germany in the Baltic and the other on Japan in the Far Bast. The Japanese formally demand parity, re- spectively, with the British and American navies, but Japan's economic straite ob- viously make if impossible for her ever to keep that pace. Meantime, programs already under way, provide for systematic development of the Japanese fieet, al- ready supreme in Asiatic waters. The United States is expected promptly | to match the battleship program upon which the British have embarked, in pur- suance of our fixed principle of main- taining equality with the other “English- shooting navy.” Congress has provided for completion of a full treaty fleet by 1942. The American people will not be content with any policy that abandons the program of a United States Navy second to none. Its creation and main- tenance will call for heavy expenditure in days to come, but it is & premium for national life insurance that must be paid. e Goering is said to be the wit and come- dian of the Hitler entourage. If Hauf- stangl could be persuaded to sét him to music & new era of comic opera states- manship might develop, which an emo- tional public might dispose of by the mere use of eggs or tomatoes as missles, —————— Madrid, as seen from a distance, has developed another of those fights in which evervbody gets the worst of it. s Preliminary Skirmish. An effective campaign of attrition is well under way, foreshadowing the long anticipated battle over unionization of the automobile industry with the United Automobile Workers of America—affi- liated with Mr. Lewis’ Committee for In- dustrial Organization—leading the at- tack. Its success so far is probably due more to the closely integrated nature of the automobile industry than to any present strength, in power or numbers, of the organized automobile workers. Out from the actual assembly lines, where the automobile takes final form, extend many branches which touch the manufacture of parts az well as the prep- aration of materials. So closely related are all that a delay in one of them af- fects the others. A relatively few men “sitting down” in & wheel factory may cause the layoff of thousands of men supplying other parts. John L. Lewis and the subordinate generals directing the present campaign in the automobile industry have taken advantage of this fact in & manner that is accomplishing more, in the way of pun- ishment for the manufacturers, than any other meve possible at this time. It is a question whether Lewis and his staff are at this time able to call a strike that would affect even a majority of auto- mobile workers. But, as local strikes in glass-manufacturing plants have already demonstrated, a few men can affect the Jjobs of thousands of others. Fifty men “sitting down” in a body-manufacturing plant cause thousands of others to lose immediate employment. “Sit downs” in Michigan and Ohio spréad anxiety through Connecticut, for many manufac- turing plants and whole communities in Connecticut are dependent upon the sale of automobile parts, and once orders for minimum, in accordance with Fascism's | new status as a Megiterranean and co- | parts are curtailed shutdowns snd lay- offs follow. The New Year greeting of a tirée manufacturér to his employes in Ohio is the dismal news that production of tires must be curtailed and men laid off because the manufacture of auto- mobiles has been slowed down. Executives of Genéral Motors, largest manufacturer of automobiles yet affected by this preliminary eampaign, are pub- licly taking the position that each strike or “sit down” is & local matter, to be set- tled on the scene between the plant au- thorities and the plant employes. The United Automobile Workers' Union warns, on the other hand, that the strikes are not “local” in any sense of the word and local settlement will produce no lasting results. Settlement on & national basis will mean, however, not only the recog- nition of the “cqgllective bargaining” which the organizers state is their objec- tive, but recognition of the power of John L. Lewis and those associated with him in the present effort, a power that can be exercised, more potently through recognition than it is being exercised now. The nature of the issue and the ele- ments which compose it indicate that the coming year will witness, along with the return of the prosperity so long sought, 2 major engagement involving the closely linked bituminous coal, steel and auto- mobile industries. The outcome is still in doubt, as the New Year dawns, but the seriousness of preliminary skirmishes in- dicates the proportions of the coming battle. ———r————— Aviation itself is a success. Aviation pilots need more moral and medical su- pervision., Any kind of a flying machine is & sort of monster to which the allot- ment of brain space is proportionately very small. B — Americsn capitalists are always aware of oil discoveries and equipped with means of exploiting them. Gold and silver have their function, but oll is com- ing to be recognized as a basis of all values, There is always a movement on foot to give somebody a monument, If serious labor trouble should arise the stone cut- ters’ union will hardly venture to assert | 1tself as dissatisfied. s In contemplating the fact that he has not had his own way about everything, Senator Borah revealed the wise amile of the philosopher who never expects such a thing in this life, - B ‘The care of youth is an increasing re- sponsibility. Parents regard themselves as fortunate if they can keep a young- ster from being kidnaped. — et .Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. A Greeting. Oh, here's a little greeting from old Pohick on the Crick! We're countin’ up the blessin’s that have followed fast and thick. We've had our days of merriment as well as davs of toil, we've gathered in the richness of our broad and generous soil. old folks have grown older and we're smiling now to see ‘The youngsters getiin' frivolous, jes’ like we used to be. They're courtin’ an they're marryin' a goin’ on their ways An’ the mother songs are soundin’, same as in the other days. And The ‘We wish you all successes in that great big world outside. | We glory in your splendors of prosperity and pride. We hope for peace an’ plenty—but if strife is in the air, We'll line up with the rest of you an’ try to do our share, But it isn't egotism if we also hope you may Enjoyv the calm an’ the content so com- mon out our way. We will wish you Happy New Year—an’ you mustn't be too quick To forget this simple message from old Pohick on the Crick! 3 A Willing Mandshaker, “Don't you grow tired of having to shake hands with so many people?” “No, sir,” answered Senator S8orghum. “When a man gets to where he can't line up a list for him to shake hands with, no intellectual greatness is going to save him. From that moment on he'’s out of politics.” Jud Tunkins says & man who never owns up to a mistake it lkely to find his luck getting harder and harder as he goes on making it. 1937, Nineteen Thirty-seven, we exiend Anew The welcome of a trusting friend To you. The year just gone has not done all It should. 80 unto you we lift this call: Be good! Each year our hearts to song have moved At first. But some that sang the loudest proved The worst. It 18 not wondrous might or skill We crave. ‘We simply say we hope you will Behave. “It 'is easy to speak wisely,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “but oftén difficult to act in accordance with your own words.” Suecess. ‘We always énvy, more or less, The thing that peoplé call success; And that is why, it may be stated, It always gets investigated. “I never shoots crap oh Néw Yéar” said Uncle Eben. “I can't see de sénse of wishin’ & friend ‘Happy New Year' an' den tryin’ to take his wigés Awiy fum ‘im” L Abolition of Dollar Pass Is Not Good Business ‘To the Bditor of The Star: In connection with Capital Transit Co. affairs the following will be of in- terest: About 1908 theé late Lincoin Steffens wrote & book about the State of Rhode Island, in his so-called “muck-raking” way. At the time Senator Aldrich was & power, not only in Rhode Island but 4is0 in the Nation. In commenting on the book the Senator asked Mr, Steffens, “What did you mean by saying that we business men don't understand busi- ness, even our own business?” “Well,” answered StefTens, “when you consolidated all the trolleys in Provi- dence you promised to give universal transfers and you didn't. For years you fought those who tried to force you to. * * * And then at last, when you were beaten. and you had to give the trans- fers, what happened?” “It was funny, what happened,” said Mr. Aldrich. “Our earnings increased.” “I knew what would happen,” said Mr. Steffens. “I had seen it happen in other cities. and so, though I am not & street railway business man, 1 knew that much about your business. And you didn't. You business men don’t know your own business.” Does the Transit Co. show a knowledge of its own business in cutting off the dol- lar pass? Let's check up on its earnings in 1937, Again, does it understand its own best interest in continuing the enormous ex- pense of the underground system—which has run into hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past year, much of which mignt be saved with the bus sysiem? One wonders if the operating control of the company is in the hands of those who profit from electric car construction and underground power transmission. MAURY H. BROWN, B Hotel Workers Have Not Benefited From Recovery Te the Eaitor of Th r: A writer to The 8tar is in favor of some “fiexible” law concerning working hours— in short. an N. R. A. in a different form. Most laboring men want it. But “busi- ness” does not. Now, here we have the administration and the Uniied States Chamber of Com- merce trying to locate jobs. In the mean- time some of these jobs are right here in ‘Washington—under their very noses. There are the hotels, for insiance, due to | their desperate financial condition in 1932 the N. R. A, dealt very kindly with them as to wages and hours. Business, for one reason or other, picked up “wonderfullv” (as some of the hotel men expressed it), and it is still said to be “tops.” Did the help benefit any? Not at all. After the N.R. A s discontinued these places still main ed their very modest minimum wages, but they slapped on about 30 hours a month—free, gratis, lunch rooms also. Now if the same ap- plies all over the country and. mayvbe, 1o other lines of business, why, then we need not wonder about the large number still unemployed. All this, of course, is strict- ly according to human nature. none), where six men at such wages as I saw fit Lo pay were doing the work to my satisfaction. why, I would never think of hiring a seventh son. Let some one else give him a job. And this is where “the law” comes in. The law is supposed to control selfish human nature. And therefore the law should once more take note of the unem- | ployment problems. The Chamber of Commerce of the United States has no disciplinary powers. The Government has. Congress Should Decide Control of Public Domain Prom the Minnespolis Tribune, Congress has been asked by two Fed- eral departments to consolidate control over the public domain under their ad- ministration. In his annual report Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior, sug- gested that the administration of these lands be concentrated in his department. Almost a year ago Secretary Wallace | | pression that no issues in the whole Fed- made a similar proposal, differing only in that he felt the control should be lodged in the hands of the Department of Agriculture. Secretary Ickes argues in his report that further grants of public lands unger existing legislation are virtually at an | end, although there remain for settle- ment outstanding grants and unper- fected public land entries aggregating be- tween 15 and 20 million acres. The final disposition of these lands will remain a problem for a good many years, and ad- ministration of the remaining national estate, according to Secretary Ickes, “constitutes the principle public land ac- tivity now in prospect.” Since the only major land administration activity that Is not now, although 1t was once, under the jurisdiction of the Department of In- terior covers certain lands within national forest boundaries, the Secretary feels that control should be vested in his depart- ment. Secretary Ickes cites the forest service to prove that more than half of the land in question is not available as a source of merchantable timber and is considered chiefly valuable for grazing and the main- tenance of useful forage cover. Under the circumstances, he feels that the admin- istration and use of these lands “should be co-ordinated or combined with those of the far greatér area of lands of similar general character in grazing districts un- der the jurisdiction of the Department of Interior.” Secretary Wallace, on the other hand, makes what appears to be an equally strong case for placing public land control under his department be- cause of the land conservation program which it is applying to other lands. Where the authorit? to administer these lands should be vested is a matter for Congress and the administration to de- cide. Tt would appear entirely logical to the average citizen, however, to bring about a greater degreé of unity in control by reducing the number of authorities having charge of regulating common in- terests. Jobless Pay. Prom the Marshalltown (Iowa) Fimes-Republiean. Towa's subcommittee, writing a social security compliance bill, has decided upon a maximum of $15 per week during periods of unemployment. Some prob- ably will bé¢ hoping they lose their )ohl. e Republican Subsidy. Prom the Philadeiphia EBvening Bulletin. Chairman Hamilton is to get $25,000 & yvear to rehabilitate the Republican party. Theré should also be a contingent bonus. R The Town Clock. Prom the Grand Rapids Press About all the average town clock doés is to remind us, to look at cur watth and $66 what time it 18, A Warning. Prom the Kalamazoo Ghnette. Now that & Swedish gland éxpert be- Heves he can give children the strength of grown men, father will pondér A bit Wefére usurping junior's toy rallroad. 1t this | writer had a business (thank God. I have JANUARY 1, 1937 THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL, Ate too much during the Christmas holidays? Well, & good New Year resolution is not to do it again this week! Eating, of course, has for centuries been associated with these holidays. Eating and drinking, stuffing one’s self to the extreme limit, have been part of the holidays, mostly to every particie pant’s regret, large or small. We know this, yet every year act in much the same insane way. ‘The culprit may be candy, or cake, or it may be too much meat, or too much liquor, or too much of a combination, or simply too much good food in too short & space of time. Anyway, we eat too much and know it, yet go right ahead doing it. It is one of the bad features of the holidays, and is particularly so because it has tradition on its side. and we think that just another little party won't do us any harm. No doubt stuffing during the holidays i more responsible than anything else for the many logy minds and jll-at-ease stomachs which follow. R It was noticeable, the look of “lliness which appeared on many faces that Monday after Christmas, The day after was not time enough. People had to eat just a little more, so0 that by Monday almost every one you meL wore a very worn expression. Some such faces might have been due to genuine cares. or the multitudes of small cares incident to the day. but in the main they probably were due to that very human action, over-eating. * kK This is a subject that comes home to the minds and bosoms—as the philos- opher put it—and the stomachs—as we put it—of all of us. For who of us is there who doesn't eat more food than he needs. if he can get it? The great excuse is, of course, that no one knows exactly how much any one needs. Many attempts have been made to set this a1l down in scientific form, but no sooner is the thing done than some start to shoot the performance full of holes. and generally succeed in doing so very nicely. Take calories. for instance. Twenty vears or s0 ago the calory theory burst upon the astonished world with all the vigor of anyihing new. Diet was to be put in its place, at last. So many calories for a workingman, s0 many for a sedentary worker, so many for & child, so many for ar. aduit, so many to put on flesh, and so many less to take it off. A neat theory, one which documented and seemed almost to prove a very diffi- cult subject. Indeed, the calory theorv was one to delight the mind of man, ever searching for air-tight, fool-proof reauctions of the irreducible. The theory had a place. but it was misplaced by most persons, especially the layman. Even the man-in-the-sireet came to see that something s amiss in its ap- plication. For didn't the humble doughnut have a most astounding calorifie content, yet wouldn't a diet of doughnuts and nothing but doughnuts put a rhinoceros in the hospital? - | common-sense one. It would, and it did, for those who tried it along that basis, more or less, found that they became very ill, as many a small boy had discovered long before. * x ox Among the many factors which the calory enthusiasts had left out of con- sideration were the vitamins. | This was not to be wondered at, of course, since no one knew anything about vitamins. They hadn't been discovered. Only surmises about Lhem were in existence. When this fleld of scientific approach to & rational diet was explored, with many gems of fact discovered as a result, almost. It still exists, and has its uses, but no one attempts to live according to it any more, except in certain cases where deemed necessary by the physician. We know now that a diet might con- tain enough “calories” yet might be so lacking in minerals and vitamins that it would approach the “vitamin-free” diei on which white rats are made il as the first step in testing for the recuperative power of fish olls and other substances containing vitamins in concentrated quantities. Nevertheless, the calorv theory still is worth keeping in mind. with reservations, for it will bring home to any one who considers it the chance of over-eating which besets most persons who have free access to food. There seems to be little doubt that most such persons over-eat most of the time, and especially do so during holiday sea- sSons. weather, is at the basis of the lugubriois sayings to the effect that a “green | Christmas” is sure to be very much the worse for many persons. * o x It probably isn't so much the unsea- sonable warmness which induces many | to go withcut sufficient wraps, as the extra amount of food eaten at this time, which results in illness later. The entire good functioning of the digestive tract, and es- pecially of the various mucous membranes | of the body, is overturned for the time being. ted that vitamin-free diets tend to dis- turb the proper functioning of all these | membranes; that is why vitamin A, so- ! called, helps build up the health, even of the eye, by way of its membranes, keeping these at the proper fluidity to do their best work. Over-eating evidently tends to concen- trate the fluids of the body and to dry out certain membranes which ought to have them. This may not be a scien- tific explanation, but it probably is a It has the merit of being understandable. which is all any theory ought to aim at. It may be wrong, in a sense, and yet right in another. Especially after middle age, the average man and woman ought to eat more cau- | tiously. One eminent scientist has a the- ory to the effect that Nature induces heartv eating in youth and that after a certain age she is through with one, and so continues to induce a hearty appetite it may give a few pointers as to the wisdom of not letting the appetite for food and drink run awav with one. espe- l cially at Christmas and New Year. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. From President Roosevelt's most recent utterances, on the threshold of the third New Deal Congress, there's no shadow of doubt about the things he will Joud- | pedal in next week's report on the state of the Union and in his inaugural ad- dress. Not since the famous “horse and buggy” piess conference after the Su- preme Court's N, R. A, decision has F.D. R. talked to newspaper men in the emphatic terms he employed the other day while discussing labor relations and neutrality. He conveyed the distinct im- eral domain at present lie closer to his heart ihan regulation of child labor, minimum wages and maximum hours, ness. The President 1sn' likely to keep the country wondering very long wheth- er or not he believes a constitutional amendiment necessary to restore N. R. A, work conditions. That's a secret he’s momentarily keeping up his sleeve. But that “something must be done” and done by Federal power, rather than by the States, is plainly Mr. Roosevelt's firm conviction. The President’s tone and manaer, when talking about neu- trality and the $2.777.000 aircraft deal with the Spanish government, eloguently revealed the depth of his feeling that such transactions are unpatriotic and unethical and should be outlawed. * % % % When the alleged projéct to éstablish a “central press bureau” was brought | up by his newspaper callers Mr. Roose- velt again turned on the heat, beceme #imost as vehement as when he lambasted chiseling industrial employers | and neutrality breakers. Mr. Roosevelt not only came down on the thing like & ton of brick, but indicated in so many words that he never wanted to hear any- thing more about an ides which hé con- siders fantastic. The President has an exceptionally keen sense of the rights, duties and difficulties of the press. It's dollars to doughnuts that brain trusters | who put before him schemes that even remotely savor of supervising opinion or hampering the quest for public informa- tion promptly discover his uncompromis- ing hostility to notions so foreign to the American way. The squire of the New Deal has had a pretty good press during his strenuous sojourn in the White House. He seems to believe in letting well enough alone, b * * o x Vice President Garner will enact & role altogether unusual for him when he opens the National Press Club's 1937 weekly luncheon forum on January 4 with an off-the-record speech. During his long car#er in Congréss the Texan has always prided himself on his record for verbal res#Nint. He has conspicu- ously lived up to that reputation during his vice presidency. Even in the heat of & political campaign, party mana- gers find it practically impossible to cajole Mr, Garner onto the stump. He mace just one electioneering address last year—by radio from Uvalde, Despité his spellbinding inhibitions, Washington scribes look forward to some colorful heart-to-héart confidencés from the V. P. on Monday. - x ok % Senator McNary of Oregon is sure to be reinstated as Republican minority 1éader of the Upper House by the slim and slender band of 16 faithful who inhabit the émaciated G. O. P. side of thé cham- bér. But it looks more than ever as if the hard-hitting Senator Vandenberg would be the minority battle ax, as he was in the préceding session. The Mich- igan solon's fight on presidential discre- tion in the field of neutrality and his declaration of war on the revived Florida ship canal projeet, of which he was the lord high executioner, promptly indi- | oppositionist. berg “anvthing you want” in 1937—and | | Russia. and putting war profiteers out of busi- | American capital into King Mohammed | | in 1925, and | cate that the Wolverine editor-statesman | is prepared again to step out as a ruggec Somebody wished Vanden- after. “I don't want a thing,” said the man who might have been Landon. *x oo Probably the State Department reacts with mixed emotions to that 270.000- square-mile Afghanistan oil concession just awarded to a New York corpora- tion in which former Secretary of the Treasurv Ogden L. Mills is a principal. Vast Afghanistan is an ancient bone of centention between Great Britain and The intrusion of large-scale Zahir's sprawling domain conjures up ! the possibility of complications for Uncie Sam in that remote corner of the Asiatic earth. Charles C. Hart, former Ameri- | ean Minister to Albania, who helped to negotiate the deal with the Afghan gov- ernment, was a Washingion newspaper correspondent when appointed to the diplomatic service by President Coolidge Afterward President Hoover promoted Hart to be our Minister to Persia. * x ok Carroll Miller, who has just been elected chairman of the Interstate Com- merce Commission for the year 1937, 13 a brother-in-law of Senator Joseph F. Gufiey, Democrat., of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Miller, the Senator's sister, is Demo- cratic national committeewoman for the Keystone State. One of her four gons is named Joseph F. Guffey Miller. “The w I. C. C. chief is an engineer by pro- fession and was appointed to the comm- mission by President Rosevelt in 1933. He has been ssociated at different times with the steel, gas, oil and electricity | industries. A Virginian by origin, he | once upon & time was on professionai duty in England. * * * % When the Securities and Exchange Commission was first projected more than one chill ran down the sensitive spine of Wall Street. Bulls and bears alikz feared, among other things, that | the new law might sound the death knell of security flotations. The year 1926 ended, according to S. E. C. figures, with a gross issue of more than $5,000.000.000 of new stocks and bonds, or almost dou- ble the $2.677,000.000 approved in 1935. That the brokerage business in Lower Maphattan is still a lucrative game ic further indicated by this week's sale of & Stock Exchange seat at one of the highest prices on recent record. * ¥ * * Representative Emanuel Celler, Demo- crat, of New York wants to raise the pay of United States district judges. Their salary 18 now $10,000 a year, which the Brooklyn representative considers nig- gardly in comparison with what jurists receive in many American State and municipal courts, and abroad. England, hé says, pays a justice of the King's bench division $25,000 per annum, while judges corrésponding to our Federal dis- trict judges receive $13,000 in Australia and $11,230 in South Africa. Mr. Celler is introducing a bill in Congress to thorize a permanent increase in sa! for judges of the circuit and district courts, based on certain recommenda- tions of Bupreme Court justices, to each of whom is allotted a judicial circuit, respecting cost of living and the size of dockets in given jurisdictions, (Copyright, 1937.) e American Dictators, Prom the Winston-Salem Journal. In this land of the brave and the home of the free there is no greater dictator then style nor a firmer slave-drivér than custom. the calory theory quietly died | No doubt this fact. and not the | It is being more widely appreci- | | His right are St. John. St | Peter and St ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. A reader can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Wash- ington Evening Star Information Burean, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washing- ton, D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. How much money dia Ettore get for his fight with Louis?—A. B A. Al Ettore's share of money in his fight with Joe Louis was $35,265.26, and Louis' share was $57,897.89. Q. How fast is a ski jumper traveling when he comes to the jump?—F. S, A. A ski jumper at the moment of take- off into space travels at between 60 and 110 miles an hour, depending upon steep- ness of the hill. Q. What does belles lettres mean? — A. The phrase literally means fine or beautiful letters—the finer or higher types of literature, or literature as a fine art, are referred to in this expression. Q. Would painting the case of a piano injure its tone?—A. C A. It probably would. A wood is care- fully selected for use in these circum- stances, and the tone quality of an instrument can be changea by mistreat- ment. Q. How many cubic feet of the lighter gas is necessary to support a pound?— B A. Hydrogen is the lightest known gas. It. will require about 14 2-7 cubic feet of hydrogen to lift one pound. Q. What is the food value of Brussels sprouts?>—C. W. A. They rank as good for vitamin A, excellent for vitamin C and contain some | other vitamins as well as iron and phos- phorus. Q. Did Shakespeare own any theaters? —F. H. L. A. At the time of his death Shakes- peare owned a one-seventh interest in the Blackfriars Theater and a onee fourteenth interest in the Globe. Q. Please describe the altar in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City.—A. J. A. The high altar is of white Vermont marble. In the center is the figure of Christ and on His left hand the fizures | of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Moses, representing the Old Testament. On James. St. John the Baptist, repre- senting the New Testament. At either side of the altar are the menorah lights, two massive seven-branched candle- sticks of bronze overlaid with gold. 12 feet in height. These were designed after the one used in Solomon'z Temple and were the gift of the late Adolph S. Ochs. Q. How many inspectors are there in the posal service?—S. W. B A. The Post Office Department has & | force of 540 inspectors. in order to get rid of one all the quicker. | Whatever one may think of this theory, Q. Was the name of Heriry M. Stanley an adopted name?—A. T. A. Stanley was John Rowliands and took | the name of his foster father and bene- factor. Henry Stanley, a New Orleans business man. Q. Did the same Maxim that invented | the machine gun invent the silencer?— PR H A. Hiram Stevens Maxim invented the gun and his son, Hiram Percy Maxim, the firearms silencer. Q. How does the English unemployment insurance plan work?—V. C. 8 A. The English worker is given an un- emplovment insurance book in which each week the employer puts stamps which represent 20 cents deducted from the worker's pav, 20 cents (10 pence) contributed by the emplover and 20 cents contributed by the governument. Out of a job the worker draws 17 shillings a week for 26 weeks, if ne is idle that long. with 9 shillines additional if he is married and 3 shillings additional for each child, if any, in his family. Q. How old is Varietv. the theatrical newspaper?—A. R. A It was founded by the late Sime Silverman in 1905. Q. What is There’s rosemary, the source of the line: that’s for remem- | brance?—J. W. A. Tt is from “Hamlet.” Q. How many species of oak trees ara there in the Northern Hemisphere?— M. B. A. There are about 300. scattered over the whole hemisphere. except in the extreme north and in tropical Africa | and South America. Q. What are the finest fur-bearers In New York State?—J. H A. They are the fisher. marten and otter. These are fast disappearing. Q. Please give some information about the new $750.000 trolley car.—E. H. B, A. The vehicle is called the Electric Railway Presidents’ Conference Car, having been sponsored by ieading railwayv executives throughout the country. It is generally called the P. C. C streamliner, or 1001. The streamlines of the vehicle extend from the rounded front and converge at the almost pointed rear. ‘The weight is only 32,000 gounds and the | whole structure is weided together as a single unit. It has hydraulic shock absorbers, rubber springs and resilient wheels and glides along at & maximum speed of 50 miles an hour There are seats for 54 passengers. Q. What does ciribiribin mean?— J E. H. A It is a term of endearment in the Milanese dialect, connectea etymologis cally with the Italian caro. meaning dear. The ending is simply used for the sake of the rhyme. A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton By the Sea. I'm wondering, dear heart, if you re- member ‘The hours we spent together by the sea. Here in the twilight of a town December The beauty of that dusk comes back to me. The sweep of the flood tide that filled the shallows, The golden sparkle of the sunset waves, A rush of water like the flight of swal- lows, Strong, salty winds blowing o'er rocky caves. A blue, blue dusk along the shoreline coming, One brilliant star, sharp-pointed as & spear . . . ‘Then, overhead, a carrier pigeon home ing— ‘You whispering, “Home's best of all, my dear.” 4