Evening Star Newspaper, March 12, 1937, Page 10

A—10 e THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D, C. FRIDAY -.March 12, 1937 THEODORE W. NOYES _ _ Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company. 1.tn St and Pennsylvania Ave New York Office: 110 East 42nd 8t. Chicago Office: 435 North Michigan Ave. Rate by Carrier—City and Suburban. Regular Editton. The Evenine and Sunday Star 65¢c per month or 15¢ per week ,The Evenine Star 45c per month or 10c per week The Sunday Star ___ _______"__Bc per coby Night Final Edition. Nig.t Pnal and Surday Star-. 70¢ per month Night Final Star_. __.___ _ 55¢ per month Collection made at the end of each month or each week. Orders may be sent by mall or tele- Phone Natlonal 5060 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Dally and Sunday yr. $10.00; 1 Daily orly yr. S0.00% 1 Sinday $4.00: 1 tes and Canada . $1200: 1 mo. §1.00 $5.00: 1 mo..~ Tac $5.00: 1 mo.. blc mo.. 88¢c mo., 50c 40c only, All Other §i Dally ang Sunday Daily only Sunday onl; yr.. mo.. Member of the Associated Press. ‘The Associated Press :s exclusively entitled to fe use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this Paper ana also the local news published herain ALl rigbts of publication of speclal dispatches herein are also reserved e Reckless Sowing, One of the more obvious dangers in carelessly sowing seeds of distrust and ridicule of the courts is the rapidity With which they sprout and the nature of the harvest they may produce. The situation in Detroit is a possible example. A few days ago the President, ad- dressing his $100-a-plate partisans at the victory dinner, referred generally to court injunctions which, he said, “have paralyzed the machinery which we created by the national labor relations act to settle great disputes raging in the industrial field, and, indeed, to prevent them from ever arising.” Within a week the Attorney General, appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke in condemnation of the “impossible situa- tion created by the reckless use of in- Junctions in restraining the operation of Federal laws.” There was little attempt to particu- larize, no attempt to weigh the merits of injunctions granted by the courts, merely an attack on the use of injunc- tions as a whole and their classification as one of the alleged evils which would be remedied by the President's plan. Promptly taking his cue, Homer Martin, president of the United Automobile Workers' Union, commented as follows on the attempt by the Chrysler Corpora- tion to obtain an injunction against occu- pancy of its plants by the sit-downers: Again we see the corporation making the same mistake that other corpora- tions have made, that of endeavoring to institute law by injunction. ‘These methods do not settle any labor dispute &nd will not settle this strike. What, in Mr. Martin’s opinion, will settle “this strike”? Not recognition of his union. That has already been granted. Not agreements on wages and hours. There is no impasse there. Not refusal to negotiate. The corporation has shown its willingness to negotiate even while its plants are paralyzed by illegal trespass. The “ultimatum” de- livered to the corporation is in the form of a demand for recognition of the union as the sole bargaining unit for all Chrysler employes—the same demand that was waived in the case of General Motors and was waived in the case of the steel industry. Where is the President's machinery for settling such disputes, or preventing them? Paralyzed, it is true, not by the courts and their injunctions, but by in- ability or unwillingness or both to move in such a situation. Where can the automobile manufacturer turn but to the courts? What machinery exists out- side of the courts for determining the legality of the seizure of his property, with its attendant losses to employer and employe alike? But the seed has been sown. An injunction from the courts in Detroit has been la- beled in advance by the President of the United States and his Attorney General as an instrument causing “paralysis” of other machinery, the “reckless” use of which restrains the operation of Federal law. Can any one blame the striker in the ranks who views the granting of an injunction as an Invasion of his rights, who looks upon | the courts as an alien enemy? Can any one truly blame him if the disrespect he has learned for the courts and their opinions under the careful tutelage of his Government suggests that he must take the law in his own hands; shed his blood, if necessary, to protect what he has been led to believe are his rights? The use of the injunction by the courts has not been nearly so reckless as the condemnation of the courts by those in high places, nor so capable of evil consequences. s Some of the W. P. A. projects are facing Vague threats of retirement to the boon- doggle house. —ee—s. Repeal Comes First. At the close of the first conference on the red rider the House managers were represented as having argued the case for the “pink rider” compromise while the Senate conferees were adamant in their twice-voted demand for uncondi- tional repeal. Further conferences are thus required. But endless conferences will leave unchanged the fact that un- conditional repeal of the red rider is the only sensible method of bringing an end to controversy that has lasted too long, and that if there is to be any sort of compromise, outright repeal is the only condition on which such compro- mise should be based. The so-called “pink rider” is in reality no compromise. It would perpetuate, not remove, the evils assosiated with the red rider. At its latest meeting the Federation of Citizens' Associations took action that carried a double significance. It voted for outright repeal of the red rider, al- though genealogy of the red rider has been associated with the federation, and Joined the imposing list of individuals and organizations in Washington that have taken the same stand in the best interests of the community. It coupled with its clear-cut, fofjhright resolution | | | | for repeal an equally firm declaration against communism and the advocacy of communism or other subversive doc- trines. It thus removed the contention that a vote for repeal of the rider can correctly be interpreted as favoring or condoning communism and its advocacy. That is the contention which now seems to stand between repeal of the rider and a continuation of its mis- chievous nuisance in another form. Member after member of the House has deplored the original enactment of the red rider, but has expressed the fear that outright repeal would be analogous to condoning that which it now prohibits. Such a stand indicates an undeserved lack of respect and confidence for the Board of Education and the loyal Ameri- cans who teach in the public schools. It has no tangible basis. Nor does it have any legitimate connection with the ques- tion of repeal of the red rider. The rider should be repealed. If there is a predominant fear that such repeal would in effect condone the future ad- vocacy of communism or other such doctrines in the schools, the statutory ban against such advocacy should be written into substantive law, made to apply generally to the Government serv- ice. But that ban should be severed permanently from its unnatural union with an appropriation bill and its op- probrious discrimination against teachers should be removed. In other words, re- peal is the first step. Compromise, if demanded as necessary, can follow re- peal. ———— Unofficial Spokesmen. This country has had enough experi- ence with self-appanted American “am- bassadors of good will” abroad t6 under- stand the emotions of the British gov- ernment respecting a delegation of un- official pilgrims who have just left Eng- land for the United States. London dis- patches indicate that the group, which consists of four or five younger mem- bers of Parliament, including a peer, are looked upon in Downing Street as a band of meddlesome hands-across-the- sea missionaries. Their intervention in Anglo-American affairs, however private and well intentioned, is considered ill- timed and injudicious, and, because of the possibility that it may create wrong impressions, is apparently regarded as altogether undesirable. The Britons in question claim to repre- sent the so-called Imperial Policy group, which consists of some thirty Conserva- tive members of Parliament. Last year, when a committee flying similar colors essayed a bit of unauthorized diplomacy in Central Europe, the Conservative party organization deemed it useful vigorously to disavow the travelers. The visitors about to reach those shores, though men of impeccable personal standing, are de- scribed as having no importance in Brit- ish political life and, of course, possess no mandate to speak for the government. It appears that the British authorities are irked over the expedition because of fears that its members may comport themselves over here in a manner sug- gesting that they are British propagan- dists with axes to grind on neutrality, American-European political co-opera- tion, war debts or other currently ticklish subjects. John Bull, from disagreeable experience, has discovered that deep- dyed sensitiveness on many of these mat- ters prevails among Uncle Sam'’s people, especiaily some who inhabit the United States Senate. Anglo-American relations happily are on a normal and amicable basis. Within the past month President Roosevelt has had opportunity to discuss them with two eminent empire representatives, Mr. Walter Runciman, president of the British Board of Trade, and Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King. The wires between the State Department and his majesty’s foreign office are in per- fect working order. In the realm of cur- rency stabilization London and Wash- ington are in close accord. They see eye to eye on the naval issue, as a conse- quence of mutual parity policy. The great $7,500,000,000 rearmament, program upon which Britain is embarking arouses no scintilla of American resentment or anxiety. There is no divergence of view between the English-speaking peoples on Far Eastern questions. Viewed from almost any angle, con- ditions are such that all concerned un- doubtedly think it advisable to let well enough alone. No risk is involved in the maintenance of that attitude, while there is all too much chance that inter- lopers, either British or American, may do more harm than good. —————_ No best-seller publisher can hope to carry sensationalism to a point where popular imagination will regard a justice as public enemy No. 1 or even No. 9, Fading Themes. Social problems always have been use- ful to novelists. Most of the great ro- mances of modern times have centered about one or another of the sins of a system of life admittedly fer from per- fect. Victor Hugo indicted the wicked police; Charles Dickens the boarding schools, imprisonment for debt and “the law’s delay”; Tolstoy militarism; Harriet Beecher Stowe chattel slavery; Frank Norris the stock market; Upton Sinclair the meat packing industry; Sinclair Lewis the faults of small-town hy- pocrisy, and Theodore Dreiser the smug- ness of big-city respectability. But some of these problems have been solved. For example, Margaret De- land’s story “John Ward, Preacher,” could not be written today. Its theme has been outmoded by the development of a negative kind of tolerance which has retired Calvinism to oblivion. Again, George Eliot’s “Daniel Deronda” is tedi- ous reading in a period when institutions founded on tradition and individualism have been rejected by electorates turned frankly opportunistic. The same ob- servation may be suggested with regard to Henry James’ once theoretically scan- dalous “Daisy Miller"—it would not shock any reader of the present season of moral con.fiuion. Similarly, the fa- vorite issues of Ibsen, Hardy, Shaw and Wells have declined. Written to revolu- tionize, their works already are out of date. Perhaps they served thelr pur- pose and to that degree destroyed them- selves. The question now is: What next? The reformers have had their innings. It would seem natural for the so-called reactionaries to demand their chance. A turn in the tide, then, may be ex- pected. How soon it will come, of course, cannot be specified. The principle in- volved is that of attraction. Men and women of thoughtful and sympathetic intelligence are drawn to the drama of human existence, feel an irresistible urge to employ its materials creatively. The result is art, first radical in effect and later conservative. Logically enough, the impact upon the public conscience follows tardily. The policies of nations and of parties usually are a full genera- tion behind the prophets. Allowing for the time element accordingly, the cur- rent era of experimentation will begin to terminate when literature reflects fictional criticism of it. .ot Garnett vs. Big Fellows. A few days after Justice Proctor de- plored, from the bench, the number of small fry brought into court on gambling charges and asked why the police did not catch the big fellows behind the racket, United States Attorney Garnett has launched a series of raids designed to catch the big fellows. If convictions are as successful as the raids and more master minds are sent to join Sam Beard and others in Leavenworth, Mr. Garnett can cut some more notches in his gun, He has been an unusually effective oppo- nent of the gambling racket. The connection between the remarks of Justice Proctor and the raids was purely coincidental. The raids were carefully planned over a long period of time. The instructions were detailed, the evidence sought was minutely described, extraordinary precautions were taken against a leak. The success of the raids in spite of the leak was fortunate, but that should not prevent thorough inves- tigation to determine source of the leak and proper reprimand of the talkative offender. r———— Scientists have attributed earthquakes to various causes. Physical research is more satisfactory than psychological in- quiry. Earthquakes may be accurately studied in origins and results, but no- body can say with certainty what starts an election landslide nor what its pre- cise consequences will be. ————————— It has been made known that a re- modeling of the United States Supreme Court has long been contemplated. A list of the men who would be considered eligible for appointment should in simple candor be made available. —_— e Pecuniary inducements for retiring are generous enough and there is not a chance that the judiciary will imperil dignified tradition to the extent of de- manding the privilege of collective bar- gaining. ——— e “There is a tavern in the town, and there my true love sits him down,” s a good old song, but the coffee shoppe waitresses did nnt let the sit-down strike go far enough to make it appropriate. ——— e Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. A Very Old Ambition. Always back yonder, in the mist, We started far down in the list Of animals that grew immense— They were too big to have much sense, But they began in days agone To run to brains instead of brawn. And still we sometimes stage a fight. ‘We say that might is what makes right. Yet we will pause from day to day To hear what men of wisdom say. In patience still we wait its dawn— The day of brains instead of brawn. Classic. “That speech you made was a classic,” exclaimed the admiring acquaintance. “You are kinder in your manner of expression,” commented Senator Sor- ghum, “than another friend. He sald it was mostly old stuff that everybody had heard before.” Jud Tunkins says a good dog will fol- low & man, but a great deal depends on how fast the man decides it's decent to travel. Science and Frivolity. My Radio! My Radio! You tell us things we ought to know. And yet the chaps who can be funny Are those who take the real money. Oh, how could science let’you grow So frivolous, my Radio! “Averages may be asserted in strange ways,” said Hi Ho, the sage of China- town. “One who raises his voice often lowers his dignity.” Real Driving. “Can your wife drive the car?” “Splendidly,” answered Mr. Chuggins. “But I saw you ai the steering wheel.” “I occupy that position for the sake of appearances and to assume the re- sponsibility in case of arrest or acci- dent. But the real driving is done from the back seat across my right shoulder.” Training the Flivver. The parking regulations teil Of changes near at hand, TUnto the curbstone parallel ‘We next may have to stand. To make the flivver understand, We'll toil from dawn till dark, Until it will roll over, and For food sit up and bark. “Folks is slow to learn,” said Uncle Eben. “A good name is better dan riches, but de men dat holds up gas stations and grocery stores ain’ found dat outfler all dese years!” Py THE POLITICAL MILL BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. The controversy over President Roose- velt's court bill has tied up temporarily the administration’s legislative program. Labor legislation, farm legislation and other measures are waiting the outcome of this struggle over the proposal to in- crease the membership of the Supreme Court. How long this legislative log jam will continue remains to be seen. In the meantime, the Supreme Court is con- sidering the Wagner labor relations act, and this fact may have something to do also with delay on labor and other leg- islation. No one knows how long the court bill will remain the key to the jam of legisla- tion. The Senate Judiciary Committee has opened its hearings on the measure. It has heard two witnesses, the Attorney General and Assistant Attorney General Jackson, and today it will have before it a third, Judge John Devenay of Minne- sota, the first president of the new National Lawyers’ Guild. Presumably there is a long list of witnesses yet to be heard, and the hearings may run into weeks. So far none of the opponents of the bill has had an opportunity to voice his disapproval before the Senate com- mittee. * K K % The demand for a constitutional amendment to solve the trouble over the Supreme Court is raising its head more and more. This is the course which the President has turned against, feeling that it would take too much time. Yet Senator O'Mahoney of Wyoming, a stanch Roosevelt supporter, is insistent that only by a constituticnal amend- ment will it be possible permanently to get away from hair-line decisions of the court on the constitutionality of laws enacted by Congress and by State Legis- latures. He has proposed an amendment, which would require a two-thirds deci- sion of the highest court, or of any of the inferior courts, to invalidate a law. It is his contention that even if six new Justices were added to the Supreme Court in accordance with the President’s plan, there would be no real assurance that the court would not hand down 8-to-7 decisions. * oK ok * O’Mahoney’s demand for a constitu- tional amendment may not mean that he will oppose the President's bill for an increase in the court. On the other hand, it leaves a strong suspicion that the Wyoming Senator is by no means enamored of the court bill. There is reason to believe that many of the administration Senators down in their hearts do not like the plan to increase the court as presented by the President, and if it were not for a strong feeling that they must go along with the Presi- dent, they would be opposed to the meas- ure openly. O'Mahoney has frankly warned the administration leaders that some compromise measure, such as his amendment, should be adopted unless there is to be a wide division in the ranks of the men and women who voted for the President in the last election. Attorney General Cummings and other supporters of the President’s court bill have called attention to the fact that in 1869 the House passed a bill providing for the appointment of additional judges to the Supreme Court and other courts where men who had reached the retirement age failed to get off the bench, There is, it seems. nothing new under the sun. The plan failed in 1869, some 68 years ago. * X k X% If the President had contented him- self with asking for a law to increase the membership of the Supreme Court to 11, with two new places on the bench, his proposal would have had far easier going. When he asked the right to ap- point a maximum of six new justices the request seemed to many merely a demand to “pack” the court with jus- tices who would do what he wanted done in the matter of interpreting the Con- stitution. Looking into the future, if the President’s plan goes through, how are the men selected for the new places on the Supreme Court going to feel about it? There will be the suspicion that they have been picked because the President has assurance they will vote his way as members of the court. Such a suspicion may well be irksome to men who stand high in the ranks of the legal profession, or who already are on the bench in the inferior courts. It is one thing to appoint a judge and another to obtain from him a decision which the Executive or Congress or any one else may desire. And yet the Attor- ney General, appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, did not seem to have any doubt that the required de- cisions would be forthcoming if the President were given the power to ap- point the new justices. * % ok %k Robert H. Jackson, Assistant Attorney General, in his appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, presented the most convincing statement that has yet been advanced in any quarter in support of the President’s court bill. It is his contention that the Supreme Court as now constituted is no more nor less than a super government, exercising super legislative powers. It is so, he con- tends, because it imposes upon the coun- try its own notions regarding economic questions and the Constitution. These notions, he contends, are opposed to the ideas of the great majority of American voters today, and to the ideas of the President and the Congress. The Con- stitution, however, is a written document, the fundamental law. The interpreta- tion of the fundamental law must rest somewhere. The danger to the whole American {ramework is to place the final interpretation in the hands of a politi- cally minded legislature or a politically minded executive. xR Ok % Two years ago it would have been a bold man who predicted that organized labor in the United States would in the early part of 1937 be split into two great warring camps. Yet such is the case, with the American Federation of Labor on one side and the Committee for In- dustrial Organization on the other. The C. I. O. has made great strides in the last few months under the leadership of John L. Lewis. The roots of the A. F. of L. go deep, however, and the end is not yet in sight. The men at the head and forefront of the C. I. O. have toyed more and more with the idea of form- ing a labor political party. If such a party does develop in the next three or four years, America will have its first taste, in recent years at least, of the kind of political alignment which has come to the fore in a number of the countries of the Old World. The Roosevelt administration seems clearly bent upon giving greater power in industry to organized labor. If the unions are to have that power there is every reason that laws should be en- acted which will make the unions them- selves more responsible. There should be some law which will make it neces- sary for labor as well as for employers to live up to contracts entered into. The British have a law which makes labor unions fully responsible, and which com- pels them to make annual reports. There has been some indication that such a law will be sought as part of the labor legislation program in this . TiHE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. (., FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 1937. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Peopie want to knew at this time of year when you should prune the bush roses, whether you should prune the climbing roses, if you should taks off the mulch which has been heaped around plants all Winter, when you should rake the grass, plant grass seed, spray plants, plant shrubs. “Right now” is the answer to most of these questions, except that as to climb- ing roses, which should not be cut back until after blooming in June. The middle of March is a good time for beginning most gardening operations, although due attention must be paid to the state of the weather, naturally enough. In the main, however, the sooner the better now. This applies especially to the putting into the ground of all new plant material. Shrubs in particular must go in quickly, so that the specimens will get the benefit of as much time as possible before real Spring arrives. Time lost now in the shrub world is time which is difficult for even the hardlest specimen to make up. Digging up, balling and burlapping, storing in hot place, are operations which take toll of plant stamina. The longer the new shrub has to get over these effects of transplanting the sooner it will begin to grow in a normal fashion at the first touch of real Spring. Under the term “shrub” we include all hedging material, especially the favorite privet and barberry. If the time of planting of these coin- cides too closely with real Spring, by which we mean a certain continued warmth and moisture, there will be no interval of overcoming the effects of transplanting. The thing to do is to get your shrubby material into the ground as soon as you can. In such a season as this February was the best month, but it is gone, and thousands of amateur gardeners have yet to put in their hedges and specimen shrubs. What to do? Put them in as soon as possible now. Soak the roots in a pail of water over- night and let them remain in until planting time the next day. This pre- liminary soaking of the roots is good procedure, since it helps overcome the afore-mentioned drying out which many such plants receive as the result of being on sale. If the day is windy, as a day is likely to be in Spring, or pre-Spring, do not remove the plants from the bucket, but take bucket and all into the yard. If plants of any type are permitted to remain exposed for many minutes in a wind they will suffer severely as a result of the excessive drying out to which the roots are subjected. Then the planter a month or two later will think he did not receive good plants for his money, when all the time the fault will be his own carelessness in handling living material as if it were dead. *x X X % The only garden which interests any one is the living garden, and that word 't'_living" is good to keep in mind all the ime. Seeds, plants, bulbs, shrubs, trees— these are all living things, und while they have wonderful powers of resistance and do not curl up as quickly as cold or warm blooded animals, nevertheless they are living things and must be handled as such. They are not minerals. They are not even earth. They are living tissue Hence in every garden task one of the main things to keep well in mind is that the plants are alive, breathing, eating, growing. These functions only can be achieved at maximum if maximum conditions are provided for them. Since few amateur gardeners understand these matters it is not to be wondered at that most small gardens seldom show maximum results. Most of us are satisfled with far less and it is well for us that this is so. Often we have very fiue plants without giving them the least bit of fertilizer. We were reminded of this the other day in reading over an advertise- ment of a fertilizer. Many different chemical substances, it said, must be in fertilizer before the plants do well. Photographs of different specimens were shown, each with jusc one chemical re- moved from the earth in which it grew. Every plant was puny except the one which received all the elements. Probably true enough—but we thought back to some beautiful asters grown years ago without any fertilizer whatso- ever. The answer: The soil in which they were grown, of course; it must have held all the elements necessary. The wholesome fact is that most garden soils still contain enough of the various elements to permit most sturdy plants to do very well, thank you. Many persons who have gone to the trouble to dig up new gardens dig down two feet and mix in fertilizer, all according to the best advice of the experts, have had the little humiliation of seeing some neigh- bor, without thought, or labor, or ex- pense, grow even better flowers, espe- cially if the soil in which they were planted was fresh soil. Most of the small gardens which people buy as part of their home purchase are land which never grew flowers before and thus the plants find all of the elements they need without too much worry on the part of their anxious grower. * 5 ok X Take off some of the mulch around plants, but not all of it. Rake the grass any time now and plant grass seed as soon as possible. But be sure to do one thing after you put in fresh grass seed: Water it. Keep on watering it. If Spring is a normal Spring, with plenty of rain, this injunction is still necessary, for watering plots with new grass seed in them is to be done with the fine spray, so that the seed will not be washed away. Between the birds and heavy rains, new grass seed has quite a time of it. The birds probably get as much as one-fourth of all grass seed ‘planted; often the rains wash away another fourth. So that only one-haif of all planted has any chance to germi- nate. Since not every seed will germi- nate at the best in any mixture, it may be realized that it is well to sow about two or four times as much seed as one thinks necessary. In other words, grass seed should be sown four ways, completely down, back, across and across the other way. *x oxx So-called dormant sprays should be used at this time on evergreens which seem too brown, and on lilacs which show small white spots along the trunks and branches. The latter are scale Insects and must be cleared out with an oil spray. otherwise at this time. It is still too early for most of the insects to get into operation. We noticed starlings turning up the sail in borders. The result was exactly as if some one had done it with a rake. What were the birds after? Undoubt- edly grubs of some sort. We wondered if it could be the larvae of the seventeen-year-locusts. Their progress down to their ultimate depth of about two feet is very slow, only a few inches for a year or two. In that time many millions of them must be dug up, both by man in planting and by the birds in search of food. Do not ruthlessly destroy the locust larvae; they are among the harmless wonders of Nature. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC On the basis of a confidential check-up attributed to the highest administration quarter on Capitol Hill, 56 Senate votes, or 7 more than a majority, are now claimed for the President's judiciary program. The tabulation is supposed to embrace 52 out of 76 Democrats, Norris, Independent; La Follette, Progressive, and Lundeen and Shipstead, Farmer- Labor. Roosevelt leaders are credited with the ambition to roll up an eventual total vote of 60. They radiate faith that at least two Democrats now aligned with the opposition, and possibly three or four, will return to the White House fold on the final vote, if not before. Ad- ministrationists believe the President is steadily gaining ground in the country. They say that Senators will presently feel the effects of changing sentiment and be governed accordingly as the con- test swings into the decisive stage. Con- fidence on this score seems to spring from the more conciliatory tone of F. D. R.s fireside chat, compared to his two- fisted victory dinner broadcast. Cap- tains of the anti-Roosevelt forces con- tend that both the vote figures and rosy hopes of the President’s adherents are exaggerated and merely the product of wishful thinking. Opposition lines are said to be holding fast. * Kk ok ok May 15 is now generally set as the earliest date by which final action in the judiciary controversy can be ex- pected. Everything depends on the plans of the President’s antagonists, not yet definitely formulated, to prolong Senate debate and to resist cloture, if necessary. If later check-ups develop that the President’s cause is progress- ing {irresistibly and that he has enough votes to win, the probable effect will be to shorten discussion and permit a rela- tively early showdown. House leaders have let the President know that they are determined to have the Senate act first. The lower branch naturally has no desire to go hell-bent for Supreme Court reform, possibly only to find later that it has been left out on a limb by Senate rejection of the proposition. In the House, of course, it is purely a ques= tion of the size of the Roosevelt vote, though this will by no means consist of the 300-odd Democrats who comprise the nominal majority following of Speak- er Bankhead and Floor Leader Rayburn, * o oK ok More than ordinary interest attaches at this cantankerous hour to the word- ing of the oath which a justice of the United States Supreme Court takes upon assuming office. It reads as follows: “I do solemnly swear that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich; and that I will faithfully discharge all the duties incumbent on me as judge, according to the best of my abilities and understanding, agreeably to the Consti- tution and laws of the United States.” New Dealers point to those words “and laws.” L Mr. Roosevelt's trip to Warm Springs was planned long before the - judiciary volcano erupted. The President is never- theless credited with rejoicing that his fortnight’s absence from the White House falls in the midst of hostilities at the Capitol. It will heighten the im- pression (1) that he wants to keep hands off the legislative scrap, leaving it ex- clusively to Congress, and (2) that the situation, as far as both-iWashington and WILLIAM WILE. the country are concerned, is, from his standpoint, taking an entirely satisfac- tory course. Needless to say, Mr. Roose- velt will remain in intimate touch with every phase of the fray. Should devel- opments make it necessary, Warm Springs conferences with his field mar- shals can be held on a few hours’ notice. [ Senate hearings should be over by the time the President is back, and the con- gressional picture considerably, if not decisively, clarified. He has indicated his intention to do more fireside chatting later on, if and whenever required. * K % X Joseph P. Kennedy, just appointed chairman of the Maritime Commission, is one of the original angels of the Roosevelt-for-President movement, ram- ifying back to 1931-2. Then a Boston capitalist and motion picture magnate, he was among the earliest of the New York Governor's admirers to come for- ward with offers of financial aid in his pre-convention campaign. As first chair- man of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Kennedy became one of the outstanding successes of the New Deal, winning his spurs promptly in the world of high finance, which was filled with grave mistrust as to what the reform laws for securitles and markets would do to the bulls and bears. Shortly after retirement from the commission in Sep- tember, 1935, Kennedy was drafted by the Radio Corp. of America, at a $150,000 fee, to reorganize its far-flung financial set-up. Agreement is general that the President couldn't have made a happler selection than Kennedy for the job of directing the rehabilitation of America’s merchant marine. Senator Wheeler broadcast a gentle crack at Mr. Roosevelt from Chicago the other night for naming a 70-year-old retired ad- miral (Henry A. Wiley) as a member of the Maritime Board. * x % % Next Thursday, March 18, will mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Grover Cleveland, twenty-second Presi- dent of the United States, who was born at Caldwell, N. J. At the centenary commemoration in New York City an address will be delivered over a Nation- wide radio hook-up by Robert Lincoln C’Brien, chairman of the United States Tariff Commission. Mr. O'Brien was personal secretary to Mr. Cleveland from the former President’s second nomina- tion in 1892 until November, 1895, in- cluding nearly three years of White House service. Though Republican in politics, O'Brien is one of the foremost authori- ties on the life and times of the great New York Democrat who cccupied the presidency for two terms. * ok ox % ‘Whether by coincidence or design, the new epidemic of labor troubles through- out the country is considered by politi- clans to be useful water on the Presi- dent's judiciary mill. Strikes for better wage, hour and bargaining conditions are timely, from the standpoint of his supporters, because they exemplify the demand of workers for that squarer deal which, according to Rooseveltians, is de- nied them through illiberal interpreta- tion of the Constitution and annulment of acts of Congress by a superannuated Supreme Court majority. * k% % Latest united opposition to Mr. Roose- velt’s judiciary reform comes from the American ition, the national asso- clation of gytriotic, fraternal and clvic | quired three days, 21 hours | Kamel, a There is not much need to spray | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. A reader can get the answer to eny question of fact by writing The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederie J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D, C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. When will the skating carnival bs held in New York City?—E. H. A. The International Skating Carnival will take place on March 27, 29 and 31 at Madison Square Garden. Q. What color is the Rock of Gibraltar? —R. M. A. Tt is of a pale gray limestone forma- tion. Q. What is the meaning of “Tovarich,” the name of the play which is a current success on Broadway?—H. K. A. The title of the play means comrade, Q. Has Germany the largest brewing industry in the world?—H. M. A. In 1935 the United States sur= passed Germany and became the center of the world’s largest brewing industry. Q. How much sleep do children from 6 to 11 years old need?—M. S. A. From 6 to 8, they should have 12 hours; 8-year-olds, 114 hours; 9 to 11 need 11 hours. Q. Which won the race between the Robert E. Lee and the Natchez?—H. G. A. The race between the Robert E. Lee and the Natchez in 1870 was won by the Lee, whose time was three days, 18 hours, 14 minutes. The Natchez re- 58 minutes for the run of 1,200 miles from New Orleans to St. Louis. Q. Has Australia a northern territory and a central territory?—M. S. A. From 1927 to 1931 the northern territory of Australia was divided for | administrative purposes into two divi- sions, North Australia and Central Aus- tralia. The northern territory is now only one political division. The capital is Darwin. Q. Why was the camellia so named? —C. T. A. It was named for George Joseph seventeenth century Jesuit priest and traveler, who first described the flower. Q. How many sovereigns have been crowned in Westminster Abbey?—R. N. A. Thirty-seven sovereigns have been crowned in the abbey, and 25 queens consort—all of the Kings and Queens since William the Conqueror. Eighteen sovereigns and 14 Queens are buried there. Q. How many people have insured ac- counts in savings and loan institutions in the United States?>—N. T. A. As of February 15, 1937, the number insured up to $5,000 was 1,357,373, and the insured assets amounted to $1,217,760,429 Q. Which of the Warner Brothers re- cently received a degree at some South- ern college?—H. K. G. A. Harry M. Warner, president of | Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., was awarded the honorary degree of doctor of hu- manities by Rollins College in Florida. Q. Has Yehudi Menuhin any brothers | or sisters besides his sister Hephzibah, the pianist?>—E. F. A. The violinist has a 14-year-old sister, Yaltah, who is a splendid pianist, but has not yet appeared professionally. Q. What is the origin of the expres- sion, A-1?—G. C. A. It means first-rate, and is used by Lloyd's. The character of a ship’s hull is designated by a letter and of the anchors, cables and stores by figures. A-1 means hull first-rate, also anchors, cables and stores. Q. What was the name of the character in “Trilby” who was called Little Billee? —G. T. A. His name was William Bagot. Q. What is a Dutch auction?—B. E. A. It is an auction at which bids are decreased instead of increased until a minimum price is reached. Q. Has the Department of Agriculture a motion picture called “Apple Time on the Yakima’?—P. L. J. A. The film, “Apple Time on the Ya- kima Project” was produced by the Bu- reau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior. Q. Is there a convent in Shanghai which trains Chinese orphan girls as domestic servants?—J. H. A. It is possible to leave a girl baby at the gate of the Ziccawei Convent in the suburbs of Shanghai, receive 20 cents Mexican—equal to 7 cents in gold—and feel assured that the child will be reared and trained as a domestic servant, Q. What became of the valuable papers and letters owned by Robert Lincoln? —E. G. A. He turned over to the Government more than 10,000 letters to and from Abraham Lincoln, also drafts of siate papers, pamphlets and clippings to be kept sealed at the Library of Congress until 21 years after his death. Mr. Lincoln died on July 26, 1926. Q. What is the title of the ranking stu- dent officer at the United States Naval Academy?—W. W. B. A. He is midshipman commander, and is in command of the regiment of mid- shipmen. A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton, Beyond the City. Troublesome news had made my sky look gray; I left the town and spent the sunny day Where I might work things out for good or ill Near a green hill. Green against blue, and, in the sunset, gold. A mystic message the hill seemed to hold, Its upward slope pointing far ways to go ‘To me below. And before dark had closed down on the day I carried with me, as I drove away, A knowledge that the sun was shining still On that green hill. organizations founded in 1929 and with headquarters in Washington. In full- page newspaper advertisements, the Coalition, adopting as its slogan a bibli- cal passage, describes the Supreme Court as the “city of refuge” of the American people. It asks members to remonstrate with their Representatives and Senators against legislation aimed at creation of “poljgical courts.” a vt (Coprright, 19370 ’