Evening Star Newspaper, March 26, 1937, Page 10

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THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. March 26, 1937 THEODORE W. NOYES.._.______ Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company. 1.tn 8t and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Office: 110 East 42nd 8t. Chicago Office: ¢35 North Michizan Ave. Rate by Carrier—City and Suburban. Regular Edition. ‘The Evenine and Sunda; 65¢ per month or 156 per week ‘The Evening Star® 54 1Qc per week The Sunday Star Der copy Nigh ig.t Fonal and Sunday Star-._.70c per month ight Final Star... o 58c ber month Collection made at the end of each month or each week. Orders may be sent by mail or tele phone Natlonal 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, Daily and Sunday.. 1 yr. . Daily ocly 1 yr. . 1 mo., 80c Sinday oniy 1 mo.. ¢0c Dally ang Sundas. Ruily only Junday onl: 1 mo.. Member of the Associated Press. The Assoclated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper ana al.o the local news published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved Triumph of Reason? Governor Murphy enthusiastically hailed the armistice between Mr. Chrysler and Mr. Lewis as a “triumph of reason.” No doubt the Governor was giving expression to the thought that has been uppermost in his mind for many weeks. Another barrel of gunpowder had been removed without an explosion. A bloody clash between strikers and the law, with death to men as well as to political careers, had been averted. The automobile plants were being peacefully evacuated by their captors, with bands playing and flags flying. Reason, in this respect, had tri- umphed and no one grudges the Gov- ernor the comforting relief of the moment. But in a deeper sense the temporary truce is more a triumph of lawlessness than of reason. It is hard to see much reason in the events of the past two weeks. The union and the corporation were in practical agreement, through negotiations, on everything except the point of recognition of the union as the exclusive bargaining unit for the Chrysler automobile industry. General Motors had refused to yield this point and the union had conceded, withdrawn that demand for the time being, and the strike in General Motors plants had ended. The highly significant agree- ment with the steel plants had been won, without benefit of sit-down or armed clashes, because the union was willing to accept recognition of its membership only. But in the case of Chrysler an un- qualified ultimatum for exclusive recog- nition had been followed by seizure of the company’s plants. They had been held in deflance of court orders that they be vacated. They had been held at the point of threats of wholesale demonstrations, general strikes. They had been held by threatening the gov- ernment of Detroit and of Michigan with reprisals if the orders of the court were carried out. And then, with a long-suffering public at last turning on the heat in Wash- ington and with members of Congress sympathetic to the administration be- giuning to squirm in discomfort and em- barrassment over this breakdown of law while the Nation's Chief Executive main- tained a smiling silence, Mr. Chrysler and Mr. Lewis met with the Governor. In & few hours a truce was reached. The American people were treated to the amazing spectacle of voting by the strikers on the question whether to obey the law or to continue to flout it. And the “triumph of reason” having been won, the plants were evacuated and the negotiations are being resumed with exactly the same issue in dispute that led originally to the sit-down. Not much reason there, but a dangerous and in- sidious break-down of law and respect for law and respect for government that may carry evil consequences unless & corrective is found. The corrective, it is believed, does not consist in hasty searching of the prece- dents and the statute books for author- ity of the United States to intervene to put down disorder in the States. Sane and intelligent people do not believe that Michigan is unable to maintain orderly government. The need is for & change of atmosphere -in Washington. The people of this country hold no brief for the stupid, selfish employers who exploit their workers and blindly fight their right to organize and bargain collectively. But the people of this country are becoming heartily sick of a new sort of partisanship in government which winks at defiance of the law by generous campaign contributors. They are becoming heartily sick of the spirit of compulsion that is being adopted as the rule for forcing the predilections and wishes of one group down the throats of another. They are becoming heartily sick of the efforts to gain immediate political ends by sneering attacks on the Supreme Court and the judiciary by every Tom, Dick and Harry who holds & political job. Governor Murphy has been premature in halling a “triumph of reason.” There 1s hope, however, that he may have spoken as a prophet. Signed! Not a few friends of art must have breathed a sigh of relief yesterday when they learned that President Roosevelt had signed the act of Congress whereby Andrew W. Mellon was permitted to give his country his magnificent collection of great pictures, a monumental gallery in which they will be sheltered indefinitely | and an endowment fund for their main- tenance in that noble environment and for the purchase of such accessions as may seem desirable to the trustees. Hitherto only whispered, it now can be told that there was a time when it was indicated that Mr. Mellon’s philan- thropy might be exercised elsewhere. In- deed, as late as only a few days ago danger still threatenéd the project. Certain groups presumed to “cor- rect” the plan wholesale. One actu- ally wanted the paintings sent on tour of a coast-to-coast circuit of railroad stations! Another desired them interlarded with modernistic productions a la Van Gogh and Gauguin! But the President wisely protected the integrity of the gift, lent the prestige of his in- fluence for its acceptance and finally, with & happy stroke of his pen, gave it the substance of irrevocable official ap- proval, The significance of all of which is this: ‘Washington Will be the richest art cen- ter of the Western World; here, in the city where every American citizen is “at home,” the Nation will possess an un- paralleled treasury of the most beautiful and precious esthetic works ever con- ceived by human genius. Soon the gal- lery will be built, furnished and dedi- cated; its hundred rooms will attract thousands of visitors each year—among whom will be many young students who will be inspired to similar achievement and providentially not fall altogether short of their ideal goal. Power will flow from the structure into the mind and heart of an America already entering upon a renaissance of creative enterprise in every department of life. Each sepa- rate canvas will live and stimulate living. Such is the business of art; such the pur- pose of Mr. Mellon’s benefaction. March 25, 1937, is a date which is destined to be written large in the history of civilization in the United States. It marks the beginning of a new chapter in the progress of American culture. ——oe—s. The German Embassy. For reasons not fully disclosed, Dr. Hans Luther, German Ambassador to the United States since 1933, is to retire from the diplomatic service. His place here will be taken by Dr. Hans Heinrich Dieckhoff, undersecretary of the Berlin foreign office. Dr. Dieckhoff is favorably known in Washington, having served be- tween 1922 and 1927 as counselor of the Embassy during the strained period when the Reich was re-establishing post-war relations with this country. Afterward he was counselor of the German Embassy in London, and later chief of the Anglo- American section in the Wilhelmstrasse. A sympathetic and informed student of American conditions, Dr. Dieckhoff will assume his duties unusually well equipped for a mission which, for many reasons, bristles with extraordinary difficulties. Ambassador Luther's career in Wash- ington has not lain along pleasant paths. It was his ill fortune to be assigned to this Capital soon after the advent of the Nazi regime, which, because of its denial of all those political ideals dear to the hearts of the American people, has never had their confidence or approval. Under such circumstances, Dr. Luther's efforts to negotiate a trade agreement with the United States and generally to improve relations between the two countries were almost foredoomed to failure. To aggra- vate his task, he was intermittently called upon to protest in his government’s name against anti-Nazi developments and demonstrations, which frequently were external expressions of the bitter hostility of wide sections of American public opin- ion to the things which Hitlerism typifies. Dr. Luther himself has never been for- mally identified with the Nazi movement. 1t would be easy to understand that he gradually tired of acting periodically as its complainant messenger boy at the State Department, as he had to do again only the other day, in connection with the La Guardia episode. Nor can the departing Ambassador have felt anything except deep personal resentment of the coarse aspersions recently cast upon Americans and American life in the Nazi- controlled press, for Dr. Luther, like all intelligent Germans not slavishly yoked to the totalitarian chariot, knows how grotesquely unfounded those slanders are. Dr. Dieckhoff, like Dr. Luther, is said not to be an official Nazi partisan. As a seasoned career diplomat, as an exponent of the German people and their legiti- mate rights and interests in the world, and as an advocate of their desire for mutually agreeable relations with the United States—rather than as spokes- man or apologist for the Nazi cult—he may rely upon a cordial welcome back to the scene with which he is already familiar. ———e—s. Former Supreme Court Justice John Hessin Clarke resigned in order to give undivided attention to world peace, but found President Roosevelt’s fight on the Supreme Court too interesting to keep out of. —————— The cherry blossoms are welcome in the midst of serious questions of right and authority, as reminders that flowers that bloom in the Spring have nothing to do with the case. ——————— Teachers in Eastern Texas are not requesting the right to “teach com- munism” so long as so much instruction is needed in the management of hot oil and explosive natural gas. John Drinkwater. John Drinkwater loved life so ardent- ly that it is particularly sad that he was fated to die at only fifty-four years of age. Certainly, his spirit still was young; his art as vigorous as ever. Nothing in- dicated any decline in his powers. Rather it seemed that he was on the threshold of a larger achievement than those which had distinguished his earlier career. He was winning a place for himself in a field in which he might have made his most cherished dreams come true. Always a venturesome soul, Mr. Drinkwater had attempted many dif- ferent conquests. HMe was a poet and a playwright, a critic and a promoter of literature and the stage, an organizer and manager, a propagandist in the best meaning of the phrase, an evangelist for the democratization of the arts, a popular lecturer on all manner of themes, a successful business man. Nature gave him intelligence of & high but intensely practical order and en- dowed him also with personal charm - THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, which contributed immensely to his progress upward from the obscurity of a desk in an insurance company office. He could do things, and he did do them. In America, it was for his dramatic interpretation of Abraham Lincoln that he was most widely famous. Mr. Drink- water designed it to be the first of a long series of biographical plays. The others were to present Oliver Cromwell, Mary Stuart, Robert Burns, Robert E. Lee, William the Silent and Garibaldi. And the plan was carried out almost as it had been projected. If the Emanci- pator engaged greater public attention than the other figures the author re- created, the explanation probably lay in the fact that his story is supremely magnetic. The piece was no better example of its sponsor's genius than the rest. It was a British concept, but pos- sibly it should have been so—it might have been less interesting to the people of the United States if it had been a native production; just because it was an “alien approach” it was applauded on this side of the Atlantic. Mr. Drinkwater, however, would pre- fer to be remembered for his verse. If he could choose, he might ask for im- mortality only for the lines: My garden-wind had driven and havened again All ships that ever had gone to sea, And I saw the glory of all dead men In thershsdow that went by the side of me. ——————— When a man suddenly attains ex- traordinary prominence some enthusi- astic admirer is sure to mention him as a possible President of the United States. It happened even to Lindbergh. John Lewis is already being suggested as one whose hat may in the course of time be “in the ring.” What may be intended as a compliment in many cases proves a disadvantage. Many members of Mr. Lewis’ following would be at a loss to depict him juggling a cup of afternoon tea and a thin sandwich. oot A shift of geographical position is re- quired of Postmaster General Farley whenever the popular objection to the presidential judiciary plan is voiced from a new locality. His undeniable talent for practical politics causes him to show al- most the alert skill of a chess player who chnllgnges dozens of players at a time and is remarkable almost as much for his agility as for his technical proficiency. ————_ It has been clearly demonstrated that Secretary Wallace is not personally re- sponsible for duststorms, drouths, fresh- ets and sit-down strikers. It is equally clear that remedies for these things can- not be developed in a program for reor- ganizing the Nation's judiciary system. —— e It would be unreasonable to require all teachers in the East Texas oil region to accept preliminary employment in the Bureau of Standards for the study of products related to petroleum as possi- ble high explosives. ——— There are moments when practical politicians seem inclined to revert to the old days when a New York Congressman persuasively inquired “What's the Con- stitution between friends?” ———— Stamps are so much in demand by col- lectors that the Post Office Department may be justified in demanding a room in the Mellon gallery for a Government display of high art engravings. —_— e Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. As the Days Lengthen. The days keep growin’ longer An’ the sunshine’s gettin’ stronger. Pretty soon old Winter will be left behind. An’ the robin will be singin’ On the blossom bush an’ bringin’ Us a smile while he is singin’ “Never mind.” For a moment, all forgetful Of experience regretful, The world will loiter in its busy grind. With the warm wind blowin’ o'er us An’ the open sky before us We'll jine in an’ make & chorus: “Never mind.” Candid Statesmen. “Can you tell me anything about international finance?” “A lot,” answered Senator Sorghum. “But you wouldn't understand my theories and explanations any better than I do.” Quest. The dreams we dreamed, the schemes we schemed, At last are a misfit. We get what once so splendid seemed And find that isn't IT. Jud Tunkins says there's one relief from cares he can always rely on, and it’s not a long time to wait for the base ball season to start. Simple Appeal. “Do you enjoy orators who seek to appeal to the simple tastes of the plain people?” “Not as much as I formerly did,” said Miss Cayenne. “They used to tell amus- ing anecdotes, but now all they do is to introduce imitation swear words.” “Modern warfare would be more intel- ligible,” said Hi Ho, the sage of China- town, “if you could equip a rifle with radio apparatus to explain to your vic- t$im your precise reasons for shooting at him.” Regular Program. Old World, since first you started To spin along through space Some one would rise faint-hearted To quarrel with your pace. And if no words were rising, To blame your stress and storm, We’d sadly be surmising You'd gone clear off your form. “A sensible man,” said Uncle Eben, “don’t want his own way if he can find an honest friend whose way is better.” A THE POLITICAL MILL BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. Members of Congress, and of the Presi- dent’s own party, finally reached a point of restiveness over the situation created by the multiplicity of sit-down strikes which led them to communicate directly with the President and ask for a con- ference and that something be done. The conference will be held this week end when the President returns from Georgia. Administration leaders have been silent about the sit-down strike until very recently. And when they spoke, their effort was to place the blame on the Su- preme Court, because the court had not passed upon the constitutionality of the ‘Wagner labor relations act. Members of Congress, however, have been under heavy pressure from their constituents to do something about the sit-down strike and the clear refusal of the strikers to pay any attention to court orders. The time, many of them believe, has come to do something. What will be the attituce of the President remains to be seen. He has refrained for several months from commenting upon the sit- down strike as a weapon, and as to its legality. Attorney General Cummings, the chief legal officer of the United States, likewise has made no comment. He would not say at a press conference two days ago whether he considered the sit- down strike illegal or no. * X X x The argument that the blame for the sit-down strikes rests upon the Supreme Court is a bit far fetched, to say the least. There are State laws against the seizure of property and against trespass. There is no good reason to believe that if the Wagner labor relations act was held to be constitutional the sit-down strike would be eliminated. And if the court should hold, as many believe it will hold, that the act is not constitutional, there is every reason to believe that there would be no abandonment of this kind of strike. The argument, therefore, seems to be merely in line with other arguments ad- vanced by the administration to beat down the Supreme Court as it is now con- stituted and to force the passage of the President’s bill to enable him to add a maximum of six new justices to the court. : * X X X There are few who defend the sit-down strike as a legal measure, outside of the strikers. But there are many who wonder today what will be the outcome if the sit- down strikes are permitted to continue, particularly if the administration should condone this seizure of property. It is argued that the men and women who en- gage in these strikes have an interest in their jobs, even a property right, by those who support the sit-down strike. They may have overlooked the fact that their jobs were not taken away from them when they quit work. They had their jobs. They quit them voluntarily and then took over property which did not belong to them. Handling trespass cases comes as- suredly under the State and local govern- ments. Certainly in the first instance. However, the State governments have come in recent years to look to the Fed- eral Government to do their jobs for them. They have been and are being en- couraged to do so. In this case, how- ever, the Federal Government has backed away—other than to use its good offices through officials of the Department of Labor to seek a settlement of some of these strikes. Much might be accom- plished if the administration would take a forthright stand on the issue of the legality of the sit-down strike. And that is what many members of Congress are urging the administration to do. * X Xk % Young B. Smith, dean of Columbia University Law School, one of the largest schools in the country, does not believe in the President’s bill to put half a dozen new justices on the Supreme Court. He advanced, however, a novel proposition— as he explained it—which might well ac- complish the results desired by the Presi- dent. He proposed to the Senate Judiciary Committee an amendment to the Con- stitution which would compel justices of the Supreme Court to retire when they reached the age of 70 or 75 years. It happens that six of the present judges are over 70, four of them are 75 years old, and within a short time, the Chief Justice is to attain that age. Whichever year is picked for the age of compulsory retirement, provided such an amendment was adopted, would bring an early change in the make up of the court. * ok ok X The Columbia Law School dean com- mented at some length on the argument used by the President and other adminis- tration supporters that the general wel- fare clause of the Constitution could readily be construed to give the Federal Government powers to do what the New Dealers want done. Mr. Smith denied that this was the case, and his statement to the committee was about as clear as anything that has been advanced. He said, in this connection: “As quoted by the President, the power to levy taxes and the power to provide for the general welfare appear to be separate and independent powers. If the exact and full text of the clause, as it is written, be examined, the power to lay and collect taxes and the power to pro- vide for the general welfare do not appear to be separate anc independent powers. The exact language of the clause is as follows: “‘The Congress shall have power fo lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, im- posts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.” “This clause is followed by seventeen other paragraphs enumerating specific powers conferred upon Congress. Fur- thermore, it must be remembered that among the first amendments to the Con- stitution were the provisions of Article X, which provides: ‘The powers not dele- gated to the United States by the Con- stitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respec- tively, or to the people.” “The interpretation of the general wel- fare clause by the President is not new. It has been repeatedly advanced and tenaciously held by some. But it has never received approval by the court, and in the opinion of most statesmen, lawyers, and legal scholars who have written upon the subject, it is untenable since it would destroy the doctrine of enumerated powers, declared by John Marshall to be ‘acknowledged by all,’ and would render useless the specification thereof in the succeeding clauses of Sec- tion 8 of Article I.” If Dean Smith is correct, the reliance which is placed upon the welfare clause of the Constitution by the President and others amounts to nothing. It seems clear that the Constitution did not pro- pose to give to the Federal Government additional powers, outside of those enu- merated in the Constitution; that it was not intended to give the Government a roving commission to do what it thought best. Statue Sound at Least. From the Toledo Blade. At fifty, the Statue of Liberty is well- preserved, if the ides isn't. FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 1931. "THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. Spring is more than a time or a tem- perature. 1t is, above all, bird song. We seldom stop to realize how much nose and ears play in qQur enjoyment of this season. Strange, balmy scents in the warmed air—familiar, beloved bird songs in our ears— It is only when we hear the robin that we know Spring is really at hand, only when his elastic measures enter our ears that we realize how much the season depertds upon him, after all. Those far-flung, excited measures— Loud, clear, not the most beautiful bird song by any means, but one of the very best— The robin's song is the very voice of Spring. x X Xk % We know it all along, but it is not until that first early morning concert in one's own yard, that we realize it fully. Take all the other songs away, but leave this, and Spring would be the same as of old. Leave out the song of the robin and put in all the rest, from the sweewest to the hardest, something would be mdssing from the real Spring song. Smoothly the composer, in his great melody, portrayed that song, but¢ the real thing is not quite so flowing, in a sense. If there is any one bird song which typifies this true melody, it is thut of the robin red breast (he really should be called robin orange breast), and his song is not smooth at all. *x X X % No, his song is a thing of “pep,” punch and virility, thrown out of a full heart and mind in the exuberance of the season. Who dares deny the robin—or any other bird—a certain amount of true intelligence? Watch him there, moving around keenly, bright eyes down, intent on sens= ing the first wiggle of his morning worm. Whether he sees it, or hears it, we are not sure, but every move shows in- telligence, mind working well as far as the necessities of mind are called for in the case. His bold, handsome form is known to all persons, city, suburban, farm. Wherever there is a plot of grass as large as a few feet square, there he will g0, to try his fortunes. x ok % * He is at home in the ‘small city back yard as in the larger suburban garden. This at-homeness in his environment, wherever he may be, is one of his most distinguishing marks. He is not afraid, we say, but it is not altogether that; immediately he seems to “belong.” Seeing him for the first time, in Spring, somehow he gives the feeling to the spectator that he has never been away at all. Yet he is a far traveler, having come hundreds of miles to our yard, for which we can all be very thankful, and give him his full share of credit for bringing Spring with him. A few of his brothers and sisters— and very few—have been here all Win- ter, but they probably can be counted on the fingers of two hands. These were specimens which, somehow, forgot their ancestral wisdom. Maybe they were the “dumbbunnies” of the robin race. Or perhaps they were sports, TRACEWELL. really trying to see what Winter in the North means. Well, at any rate, there is no telling them apart any more. The few which stayed blend in with those which have just returned. The robins are with us in force once more. * x k * The robin’s song is more melodious than many listeners at first will give it credit for being; it swells and rings out wildly, especially several hours before & rain. This is the famous “calling for rain” which country folklore has long asso- ciated with the robin song. It is en- tirely in a different measure than its usual song. It may be stated that in this attempt at prophecy the bird is no more in- variably correct than is man when he tries to forecast what is coming in the weather. Those who have studied the song of this bird closely and scientifically feel that it often is overpraised, owing to its relation to the season we all love. Be that as it may, let it break in places as much as it will, nevertheless it is a mighty swell song, seeming to fit exactly into the mood of the great outdoors. * x Xk X The speckled breasts of the young robins show their relation to the thrush family. Only in its loudness is there any re- semblance between the robin song and that of the wood thrush, the one best known in this locality. It will be only about a month, now, before the loud, clear, flutelike notes of the thrush resound above suburban com- murrities. The thrush is one of the v best reasons for living in the outskirts of great cities. Seldom does this beau- tiful singer come to the heart of the city, but despite his name nothing de- lights him more than the society of man. In this he shares something with his cousin, the robin. We should not compare their songs, however, for the wood thrush is a real musician, and the robin only wants to be. Let us honor him for his attempt and find gladness in his wild strains. Especially in the early morning, there are few songs more delightful than that of the robin, whether his normal cries, or his “calling for rain.” * oK ok x Although the robin on our lawn seems to eat worms alone, he really consumes many types of insect life, including ob- noxious larvae. The other half of his diet is composed of fruit, practically all of the wild sort, so that no one, accord- ing to the ornithologists, can quarrel with this bird over his diet. It is amazing to think that until the year before the World War, this won- derful bird was classified, in some States, as a ‘“game bird,” and permitted to be shot on sight. Fortunately, enacted laws put it in its rightful classification, that of migratory song bird, and gave it the protection of Uncle Sam. Let all right thinking people rejoice and be glad that bird protection, through the tireless efforts of a few devoted persons, has become commonplace throughout our country. Those who wish to know more about this work are referred to a book just published, “Adventures in Bird Pro- tection,” the autobiography of Thomas Gilbert Pearson, president emeritus of the National Association of Audubon Societies. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. President Roosevelt's belated decision to move in the sit-down strike crisis is a notable demonstration of the power of public opinion on critical occasions to make even the White House sit up and take notice. At no time during the New Deal has popular feeling boiled up so promptly or vociferously. Congress, re- acting to pressure from back home, was ready to explode and undoubtedly was in mood to force the President’s hand if the Administration had not itself finally taken cognizance of the situation created by labor lawlessness. When word reached ‘Warm Springs early this week from Sena- tor Robinson and other responsible Democratic leaders, remonstrating against the peril of inaction, it’s now apparent that the President decided to abandon the do-nothing attitude. His impending conferences with senators and represen- tatives, even if the C. I. O.-Chrysler con- troversy pipes down, are expected to pave the way to steps, by act of Congress or otherwise, that will effectually prevent recurrence of the most sinister industrial development in our time. Politicians be- lieve one of the things that spurred the Administration was the unsavory em- phasis beginning to be laid on the $500,000 contribution to the 1936 Democratic war chest by John L. Lewis' associates, and cynical deductions which anti-Roosevelt- ians were making from it. * Xk X ¥ Twenty-seven Democratic senators will be up for re-election in 1938. Eighteen rank as supporters of the Roosevelt Jjudiciary reform plan. Seven are against it, and two—Bone of Washington and Lonergan of Connecticut—appear still to be among the uncommitted. National Chairman Jim Farley's repeated ap- peals for party loyalty to the Presi- dent, irrespective of senatorial con- victions on the Court proposition, lend special interest to the identities and fates of the septet which now risks reprisals at the hands of the New Deal machine. The unterrified seven are Adams of Colo- rado, Clark of Missouri, George of Georgia, Gillette of Iowa, Smith of South Carolina, Tydings of Maryland and Van Nuys of Indiana. The commanders-in- chief of the court opposition—Wheeler of Montana, Connally of Texas and Burke of Nebraska—will not have re-election contests until 1940. Those two other leading antis, Glass of Virginia and Bailey of North Carolina, don't face the guns until 1942. * ok ok Xk Dr. Hans Luther, who is about to be displaced as German Ambassador to the United States, will retire from public life at the relatively early age of 58 years. A native Berliner, he celebrated that birthday anniversary on March 10. Few Germans have had a more distinguished and varied public career. Beginning as a municipal councillor at Magdeburg in 1907, he became chief burgomaster of Essen in 1918. Four years later he was appointed German minister of food and agriculture, then minister of finance in 1923, and in 1925 was elevated to the im- perial chancellorship. A couple of years’ service as president of the Reichsbank preceded assignment to Washington in 1933. His friends think Dr. Luther’s in- ability to popularize Nazi “ideology” in the United States, and, in particular, his failure to checkmate tize anti-German trade boycott may be the things that paved the way to the somewhat abrupt termination of his ambassadorial career. * ok ok ok When Dorothy Thompson takes the stand before the Senate judiciary com- mittee, to oppose the Roosevelt’ Court- packing scheme, she will appear—though, Salvador. of course, unofficially—as the representa- tive of millions of American women be- lieved to be hostile to the plan. There's no way of tabulating just how many of the sex disapprove the proposal, but members of Congress are tremendously impressed by the evidence of women's sentiments reaching them from all quar- ters. From virtualiy every organized form of feminist activity—notably the D. A. R, women’s clubs, teachers’ fed- erations, and the like—protest messages have arrived in avalanche dimensions. Letters from women in the humblest walks of life, in both town and country, are conspicuous. Sinclair Lewis’ brilliant wife will be followed by other outstand- ing women witnesses before the opposi- tion’s case is closed. * ok %k x One of Japan’'s best known diplomats, C. Ohashi, now vice minister of foreign affairs of Manchukuo, plans soon to visit Washington, en route back to the Far East from a comprehensive tour of European capitals, including Moscow, Berlin, Rome, Paris and London. Mr. Ohashi is a former secretary of the Japa- nese embassy here. At the time of the | Mukden incident in 1931 he was a Japa- nese consul in Manchuria, but identified himself with the militarists as against the Tokio foreign office. When Nippon's pippet state was set up, he became at- tached to its government and is now virtually director of foreign affairs under a nominal Chinese superior. It's said ¢hat Ohashi will make no formal efforts in the United States to secure diplomatic recognition for Manchukuo, which so far has been granted by only one country, the Central American republic of EI * ok ok % Senator Royal S. Copeland, Democrat of New York, one of the archfoes of the Jjudiciary bill, was discussing it before the Boston Chamber of Commerce the other day. He recounted with pride that one of his ancestors, Lawrence Copeland, born in 1652, lies buried in a colonial cemetery at Braintree, Mass. “The old fellow lived to be 110,” said Copeland. “What a hell of a time he must have had, hanging around 40 years after reaching the retirement age!” * X X % Current financial columns reproduce the most graphic evidence of happy days trotted out in many a moon. Sears-Roe- buck disclosed that their mail-order busi- ness for 1936, with net profits of $30,660,~ 198, was the biggest in the firm’s history, topping the previous peak of $30,057,652 in 1929. This year is expected to be an- other record-breaker. On the same day, steel reported production and business levels comparing with the best records of 1929. In the Pittsburgh district the volume has risen to 93 per cent, highest since the World War, while for the coun- try at large output is hovering around 90 per cenf of capacity. R Possibility of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor becoming residents of near-by Maryland is understood to cause certain frowns in high official quarters at Wash- ington. Reported lack of enthusiasm over the idea is supposed to spring from the fear that. monarchial restoration complications may one day ensue, in which event Uncle Sam would much pre- fer that Europe should be the scene of them. Canada, it's thought, isn’t much enamored of the notion of Edward and Wallis building a nest so close to the Dominion border. (Copyright, 1937.) 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. What is the name of the combina- tion airplane and automobile?—E. G. A. It is the Waldo Waterman aero- autoplane. It was recently developed in Santa Monica and can be driven through the streets an an automobile, or, with wings attached, can be flown by its auto- mobile engine at a top speed of 120 miles per hour. Q. Can a lie detector be operated by an unskilled person?—E. F. G. A. Prof. Leonarde Keeler, who de- veloped the polygraph, a lie detector, in- sists that any one conducting tests on this machine have at least eight months’ training before operating it. This is the only condition under which he will sell his device. Q. How long have synthetic perfumes been made?—L. J. A. The possibility of their manufac= ture was discovered in 1851 by Cahours, Grimaux and Lauth. The industry hardly developed until 1868 and went slowly until 1885. Q. How long is the race course at Aintree where the Grand National is held? How many jumps has it>—W. H A. It is four and a half miles long and has thirty jumps. The jump known as the Chair is considered one of the most difficult in the world Q. For whom was Pembroke College, Cambridge, England. named?—N. W. A. It was named for the Earl of Pem- broke, who was killed on his wedding day in a tilting match in honor of his bride. Q. Please give some information about the young Irish singer who is a protege of John McCormack's—E. W. A. Robert Irwin, baritone, of Dublin is 28 years old. He has been singing on the radio in Ireland for nine years. Born in Dublin, his musical career began as a singer in St. Patrick’s Cathedral there. He was twice winner of the Plunket Green Cup in the annual music festival at Dublin, as well as the Gervase Elwes Cup and the Baritone Gold Medal. Mr. MeCormack first heard him sing over the radio in Ireland about a year ago and encouraged him to come to this country under his sponsorship. Q. Please give the date of the famous Borden murders and the year of the trial of Lizzie Borden—H. L. A. The murders of Andrew J. Borden and his wife occurred on August 4, 1892, The trial of Lizzie Borden took place in June, 1893, and lasted thirteen days. Q. What languages are taken by high school students in this country and which are the most popular?—H. M. B. A. A survey by a committee appointed to study the place of foreign languages 1n the high school curriculum shows that French classes are far in the lead with 76,000 pupils. Spanish is second with 37,000 pupils; then follows Latin with 21,000; German, with 16,000, Italian, 8,000; Hebrew, 1500; Greek, 121, Q. How many checks are issued by the Government?—J. G. A. In 1936 the United States Treasury Department issued 35,735,746 checks. Q. Is Peoria an Indian name?—E. G. A. It is the name of an Indian tribe of the Illinois Confederacy. It was orig- inally a personal name meaning “he comes carrying a pack on his back.” Q. Was Mignon originally intended to be sung by a soprano?—E. W. A. Although it is often sung by so- pranos, the role of Mignon originally was intended for a dramatic mezzo-so- prano voice. Celestine Galli-Marie, who created the role at the Opera Comique in Paris, possessed a voice belonging in that category, as does Gladys Swarthout, who recently was heard in the role. Q. Is Ernest Hemingway, the author, in this country now?—E. W. A. Mr. Hemingway has gone to Spain. where he will report the civil war for a newspaper syndicate. Q. When was the first St. Patrick's day parade held in the United States? A. The first recorded parade of the kind was held in Boston, Mass., under the auspices of the Irish Charitable So- ciety, in 1737 Q. Are geisha girls in Japan trained for their work? What salaries do they make?—C. F. G. A At the ages of nine to eleven the girls are taken into schools, where they are trained in singing. dancing and so- cial graces. such as walking gracefully and conversing intelligently. The most famous school of the kind is at Kyoto. An accomplished geisha earns as much as $150 an hour. The majority. however, earn about $50 an evening, while those without much training make orily a few dollars an hour. Q. Why are Booth's belongings kept in the basement of the War Department instead of the Lincoln Museum?—W McC. A. Tt is believed that the display of these articles would have a morbid effect on visitors to the mesuem. Q. Who wrote the sonnet beginning, Mysterious night?—E. H. J. A. Joseph Blanco White wrote the sonnet to night, which was spoken of by Coleridge as the finest and most grandly conceived sonnet in our language. Q. Who owns Rainbow, the yacht that won America’s Cup in 1934?—E. M. A. It has been purchased from Har- old S. Vanderbilt by Chandler Hovey. An Alarmist. From the Davenport (Towa) Times. A scientist has just warned that tn 1,900,000,000 years there will be no atmosphere on the earth. He's only try- ing to scare us. e A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton. Divine Afflatus, Deep in the solitudes ‘Where inspiration broods The poet rhymes. A sunny pool at noon Becomes a blue lagoon, And vesper chimes Sound in the twilight breeze, As, at his will, the trees Bear fruity limes, And over a black log Half buried in a bog A wild rose climbs: While all things heard and seen, As from the Hippocrene, Flow into rhymes.

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