Evening Star Newspaper, April 7, 1937, Page 10

A—10 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHI WEDNESDAY___ THEODORE W. NOYES The Evening Star Newspaper Company. 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Office: 110 East 42nd 8t. Chicago Office’ 435 North Michigan Ave. D. C. _.April 7, 1937 Rate by Carrier—City and Suburban. Regular Edition. Evening and Sunday Star The Evening and Qun Y menth or 15¢ per week The Evening Star 45c per month or 10« c The Sunday Star ___ _ 5S¢ Night Final Edition. Night F'nal and Sunday Star——70¢ per month Night Final Star__ ________ ¢ per month Collection made at the end of each month or Orcers may be sent by mail or tele- ral 5000 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily apd Sunday_. 1 yr. $10.00; 1 mo., 85¢ Daily only __ yri 86000 1 mo., b0c Bunday only $4.00; 1 mo. 40¢ per week per copy All Other States and Canada. unday. 1 yr. $12.00; - 1 yr., $8.00; $5.003 the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the jocal news published herein, il ot publication of special dispatches also reserve The Strike Settlement. As in the case of the General Motors strike which preceded it, the chief dem- onstration of the settlement of the Chrysler strike is the enormous and un- necessary cost of reaching agreements by this method. The question at issue when the nego- tiations between the United Automobile ‘Workers of America and the manage- ment of the Chrysler Corporation broke down and the sit-down commenced was whether the union should be recognized as the sole agency for collective bar- gaining for the employes in Chrysler plants. There was no fundamental dis- agreement over working hours, wages or even recognition of the union. The cor- poration had offered recognition on sub- stantially the same basis already granted in the General Motors agreement and in the agreement with the steel corpora= tion—recognition on the basis of mem=- bership only. : Now the strike is ended and some 67,000 workers, idle for a month, will go back to work through an agreement recognizing the union on the basis of its membership only, with guarantees by the unilon against further sit-downs matched by guarantees from the cor- poration for continued negotiations over other questions in connection with wages end working conditions. The union won, in addition, a point that amounts to preferential rights in collective bargaining, with the corpora- tion promising not to engage in ‘“‘compe- tition” through the use of company unions or from A. F. of L. or other or- ganizations. The agreement, in this re- spect, follows pretty closely the nature of the agreement reached with General Motors. Why was a thirty-day strike necessary to bring it about? The agreement is to cover labor rela- tions for about a year. An interesting point is raised in the fact that it seems plainly to controvert a fundamental principle of the Wagner labor relations act, if union claims of membership are true. For that act gives the union with & majority membership the right to act as the exclusive collective bargaining agency for the rest of the employes. The union claims a membership in the Chrysler plant of some 59,000 out of & total of about 67,000 emploves, a large majority. The explanation doubtless lies in the unwillingness by the corporation to grant the claims of union membership, and those claims will never be put to the test until an election is held. And no election is sought now by either side. The settlement of this strike has again brought great credit to Gov. Murphy for his patient forbearance in the face of grave threats to orderly government, although he has again played with fire in condoning the defiance of court orders which made the sit-down effective. But the real agency which brought about settlement of the strike was public opin- fon. Public opinion has gradually been molded in opposition to the sit-down and the forceful seizure of property which it symbolizes. As William Green said recently, the labor movement can hope for no great progress in defiance of public - opinion. And John L. Lewis and others working with him for expansion of the C. I. O. affiliates are astute enough to recognize the same thing. ———— e Greek was a language of art and philosophy, as the college professors in- form students inclined to neglect the foot ball field for the class room. Perhaps the Greek letter societies will yet break their seals of secrecy and reveal to the world treasures of wisdom of great help in this economic crisis. ———e— As an aggressive leader, John Lewis is & help to Franklin Roosevelt so long as they are in agreement. What would hap- pen if each decided to assert rugged individualism in control of the American masses is a question which no system of erudite calculation can now undertake to decide. N Dangers to Be Avoided. Representative Kennedy of Maryland agrees with the sentiments previously expressed by Senator Capper and Sena- tor King in regard to restricting new local taxation to minimum budget needs. Any taxes collected in excess of such needs represent excessive taxation, which, every one should agree, is to be avoided. The danger of excessive taxation in the District at this time is so obvious that it should be recognized. There is the threat not only of assumption of tax burdens in excess of budget needs, but in excess of the local community’s equitable financial responsibility to Capital City support and development. The $5,000,000 lump-sum payment is not representative of the national obliga- tion and for this year is nothing more than proposed compromise while the local tax system is being studied. The danger now is that once the tax-boosting process gets under way, the maximum limits will become more hazily defined. Each member of Congress is inclined to a v THE EVENING look with favor upon the methods of taxation that his constituents back home have efmployed, and if they are not all found hete, to suggest those that are lacking. The District might be plastered with every conceivable form of taxation in order to be placed on a tax method par with the various cities of the country. No more serious responsibility has faced the House District Committee in years than is now presented through the series of tax bills just intro- duced. That the members of the committee may, as Mr. Kennedy says, be busy with the affairs of their own districts is doubtless true. But their duty to the people of the District is clear and explicit. In the consideration of local measures, tax measures espe- cially, the members of Congress function as the members of a local Legislature for the District of Columbia and their atti- tude to the local community should be the attitude of representatives of a voting constituency, alive to their welfare and protective of their interests. That is -the attitude which Chairman Norton and many of her colleagues on the committee have sought to assume in the past, and it will be tested throughly in the forthcoming examination of the tax legislation. Peace Via Trade. In accepting the award of the Wood- row Wilson Foundation, bestowed in recognition of his service on behalf of international amity, Secretary Hull once again nails to the mast the colors under which, in his unflagging judgment, the world is most likely to progress toward the goal of lasting peace. Holding that an armament race can lead only to “a military explosion or economic collapse,” he affirms there is no benefit obtainable from an armed conflict which could not be. achieved in greater measure by pacific means and “fruitful exchange of goods and services.” The Hull doctrine, which the Secretary of State has not only preached but effectively practiced, through negotiation of reciprocal trade agreements, is epitomized afresh in his New York address. “I have never faltered,” he said, “and I never will falter in my belief that enduring peace and the welfare of the nations are indissolubly connected with friendliness, fairness, equality and the maximum practicable degree of freedom in interna- tional economic relations.” Secretary Hull does not confine him- self to mere restatement of his creed. In all but formal terms he calls upon peoples everywhere to avert “impending doom.” That can only be done, he urges, if countries which are today bend- ing their major efforts toward prepara- tions for war join with countries intent upon the works of peace in a concerted endeavor to rebuild international po- litical and economic relationships upon a basis of co-operative good will. Cir- cumstantial reports have recently been current that President Roosevelt con- templates the early summoning of a disarmament and economic conference. Arrival in London of Ambassador at Large Norman H. Davis as thief Amer- ican delegate to the International Sugar Conference is persistently associated with this reputed plan. Both White House and State Department firmly deny that the administration cherishes any such purpose. But it is altogether likely that Secretary Hull's late declara- tions will revive the belief that behind them lurks a Rooseveltian aspiration to lead the world out of the war-psychology morass in which it is floundering more perilously than at any time since 1914. ‘Washington's reluctance to sponsor & conference at this time is wholly com- prehensible. Such a project, amid the suspicions, rivalries and animosities rampant throughout Europe, would' be foredoomed to failure. Great Britain and France are on the threshold of vast rearmament programs undertaken to meet the chronic threat that emanates from the Fascist and Nazi dictatorships. From Europe’s standpoint, America’s in- vincible unwillingness to embark upon entangling international commitments is a factor that makes peace overtures from this side of the Atlantic less attractive. When Old World skies are sufficiently cleared to bring military disarmament within the realm of the debatable, the United States may conceivably deem it worth while to take the initiative in that direction. Meantime, Uncle 8am seems determined to confine his efforts to the practical idealism typified by the Hull program of promoting economic dis- armament as the surest guarantee of peace. ———rae. An afrship has only the brains it can carry behind the steering gear. It is & far more magnificent work of creation than a mule. Yet the mule may have sense enough to balk and refuse to travel if it is overladen and misguided. Books at War. Voltaire once declared that “all the known world, excepting only savage nations, is governed by books.” By the same logic, it seems, it might be argued that much of the contention and strife which fills the earth is occasioned by writing men. Ideas, constructive or destructive as they may be, crystallize in literature. That is a natural process about which nobody can complain. But it is a circumstance which merits rather more thought than it customarily is accorded. At the moment, for example, it happens that the whole vast inter- national scene is ¢lamorous with a war between two philosophies of social reform each of which arises from an unreadable book—communism and fascism. The former traces back to “Das Kapital,” by Karl Marx; the latter to “Mein Kampf,” by Adolf Hitler. Neither volume can be comprehended by an average reader; each is a chaotic melange of half- developed ideas, an olio of immature notions. Yet each is a Bible for millions of people—accepted as the mystical edicts of modern equivalents of Moses. Quota- tions from them have the validity of law to the masses. They are, in effect, harness for the human mind. Correction, however, is inevitable. Just as Cervantes took degenerate chivalry to pieces in “Don Quixote,” some great satiric genius sooner or later will apply the solvent of ridicule to both the Marx- ian and the Nazi systems. They prosper only so long as people take them seri- ously; they will collapse when people begin to laugh at them. A history of human experience probably could be compiled from the things— especially the books—about which men first have wept and subsequently have sniggered. The trouble, obviously, is that when the race is desperate it does not exercise its sense of humor. Instead, it grasps at straws—even at printed inco- herencies. The African barbarian who begged the explorer Mungo Park for his autograph to serve as a charm to ward off evil spirits is symptomatic of the species. What, then, is wanted is a more powerful literary medicine. ——e— Awaiting the Answer. The fact that funds have been made available at the District Building for relief expenditure is encouraging and will go a very short way toward meeting immediate needs. But more interesting still is the fact that the Commissioners, after long delay, have formally for- warded to the Budget Bureau a request for a deficiency item for the remainder of the current fiscal year. Considerable importance, of course, will attach to the Budget Bureau's an- swer. If the funds are refused and the recommendation is not forwarded to the Capitol, an investigation should be undertaken to determine the real facts regarding relief and the public should be informed. For the past few months there has been an apparently hopeless division of opinion over relief needs and a constant shifting of official responsibility for meeting the issue squarely. Either the additional eelief allotment is necessary, as those most familiar with the actual conditions among the “un- employed employables” say is the case, or else the needs have been exaggerated and the recommended expenditure would be wasteful. The citizens who are de- manding the release of more funds are willing enough to state their case in open court and demonstrate the truth of their assertions. There should be an equal willingness on the part of officials responsible for denying the need of the funds to present their facts. Certainly the local relief muddle should not be permitted to continue. e The Department of Agriculture might interest itself in the assertion of Justice McReynolds, “We believe in the Con- stitution as written and not whittled away by tenuous reasoning.” The idea sounds as if it might be related to the depletion of a good soil foundation through a neglected tendency to erosion. —_——ee— Air disasters may cause the world to forget the helpful and benevolent genius after whom Burbank, Calif,, was named. Luther Burbank was so far from being “air-minded” that he would probably have shied at an escalator in a depart- ment store. ————— The immutable smile of the profes- sional politician may be a great help to many a humble citizen by reminding him that now is the time to brace him- self in the dentist's chair and get his teeth fixed. Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Lazy Life. Dreamt about a lazy life Beneath the sky so blue, ‘Where all the world was free from strife, With nothing much to do. But wheresoe'er I turned my quest Sweet peace was unrevealed; There was the spirit of unrest In forest, town and fileld. Dreamt about the pleasures rife With idleness supreme; Found at last the lazy life Was nothing but a dream. Footprints. “Do you expect to leave footprints in the sands of time?” “Yes” replied Senator Sorghum, “but the sands of time get so tracked over by folks running for office that I don’t suppose my footprints will get any special notice.” Tribute to a Genius. “How did you come to buy all those books?” “I was charmed into it by the sales- man’s talk. Sometimes I think the books would be more interesting if the book agent had written them himself.” Flaw in the Social System. Our system shows a little flaw ‘Which keeps this world from perfect charm; A farmer is not so good at law, A lawyer cannot run a farm. Jud Tunkins says that when a man asks your opinion about somethin’ he’s generally tryin’ either to flatter you or pick a quarrel. Peace With Safety. I would not shoot & fellow man Upon the land or sea, Excepting to forestall his plan For trying to shoot me. “War,” said Hi Ho, the sage of China- town, “is first meant to be only a threat. Disaster comes when it is flourished by some one who did not realize that it was loaded.” A Million. A million dollars once seemed great, But times are growing strange, A million dollars now we rate As nothing but small change. “A balky mule,” said Uncle Eben, “has one advantage over a flivver. When he picks & parkin’ place, de police ain’ gineter move him till he gits ready.” 3 STAR, WASHINGTON, 10y Bk NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM BY MARGARET GERMOND. SOUTH TO SAMARKAND. By Ethel Mannin. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co. Seven thousand miles of hard travel through territory which is not noted for its hospitality to visitors from alien lands—particularly if they happen to be women without the counsel and pro- tection of male pilotage * * * is a journey well worth making in the luxurious deepness of a fireside chair while leav- ing to Miss Mannin the discomforts, hardships and disagreeable experiences which such an excursion necessarily entails. For despite the thrill of ad- venture, the appeal of romance, the response to beauty and the sheer fasci- nation of going to forbidden places, only a hardened wayfarer in strange countries should contemplate so vast an undertak- ing in actuality. And Miss Mannin, as will be remembered by those who read “Forever Wandering,” is a seasoned nomad, the victim of an irrepressible desire to wander, and fortunately pos- sessed of the courage and the deter- mination to turn longing into reality. *x Xk Xk X The trip to Samarkand was in the nature of a pilgrimage, the carrying out of a promise to herself that she would some day stand before the tomb of Tamerlane. At the time Miss Mannin decided to begin her pilgrimage the required permission to traverse certain countries in some degree of comfort and security were denied by Moscow. Perhaps the high command at Moscow believed that denial of the requested papers put an end to the matter. But he is an unwise executive who assumes that his word is law to a woman who is bent upon carrying out any specific plan. Miss Mannin, of course, journeyed without the permits, and toék with her Miss Donia Nachshen, an artist whose sketches were intended in the original agreement to fllustrate the book. Un- fortunately the sketches and photo- graphs made on the trip are not in- cluded for the reason that Miss Nach- shen, as explained in a foreword, is a Communist and refused to permit the use of her pictures in a book which to her mind indulges in criticism of the Soviet government. In the same fore- ward the author declares her story to be an impartial observation of condi- tions as she saw and experienced them, and that she has no political ax to grind for or against the prevailing system in Russia. Be that as it may, American readers will be inclined to accept Miss Mannin's observations in accordance with their own prejudices or knowledge and devote themselves to enjovment of the book as an excellent combination of travel and comment that satisfies a desire to know more about the unfamiliar corners of the world and to acquire a more intelli- gent degree of understanding concern- ing the conditions in which the people who inhabit these strange lands live. In her treatment of both of these es- sentials in a good travel book the author is explicit and entertaining, even when describing the sordid, unwhole- some and, to the Western mind, de- generating influences and conditions which afflict poverty-ridden humanity in lands where life is not regarded as an individual right or protected and de- veloped as a national asset of social and economic importance. A large part of the book is devoted to the author’s observations in Soviet Russia. She had for a long time before the journey which made this observa- tion possible wanted to make a close-up study of the new order, and it is to be believed that when she set out on her pilgrimage to Samarkand she ap- proached the matter of dissecting the Russian system dispassionately and without bias. Such a task would be extremely difficult for any one to under- take, for the human race is not espe- cially adept at analyzing any sort of doctrine or ism with an entirely open mind. But in her former book Miss Mannin admitted that her first visit into Soviet Russia had produced no convic- tions concerning either the merits or demerits of the regimentation of human beings or whether communism might or might not be the ideal formula for pro- ducing national solidarity and social im- provement. It can, therefore, be assumed that her observations as now recorded are as nearly unbiased and dispassionate as could be achieved. * K K K From London the author reached Leningrad by way of the Kiel Canal and journeyed to Moscow. 8he and her companion then proceeded southward to Kiev, Kharkhov and Rostov on an arm of the Sea of Azov, through Armavir and then touching the Black Sea at Sotchie. Back on the main trail, the travelers continued south- ward to Tiflis, going by plane to Baku and by steamer across the Caspian Sea to Krasnovodsk, from which the journey across Turkestan to Bokhara and Samarkand began. Adventurous, daring, uncomfortable and often dis- tressing were the experiences en- countered by Miss Mannin and Miss Nachshen in reaching their goal, but the point is that they reached it in spite of Moscow’s refusal to extend the courtesy of safe transport and contrary to the unanimous opinion of all and sundry that they could not possibly succeed in their venture. Taking a route considerably east of the outward trail, the two travelers worked northward and westward through Tashkent and along the syr Dar to Kazil Ord and Kazalinsk, skirting the northern flange of the Aral Sea, cross- ing the Ural Mountain and then follow- ing the main route through Samara and Riashk back to Moscow. From Moscow across Europe by way of Danzig, Berlin and Amsterdam, the last homeward lap was made by plane to London. ERE Miss Mannin is an unconventional traveler, and she naturally attracts and collects experiences and adventures which the usual tourist or student would not encounter. Her story is, therefore, as unconventional as her vagabond life— filled to overflowing with interesting events that to the more timid soul seem far removed from the normal concept of what a pilgrimage should be. But it must be remembered that this author, traveler and observer would find little of interest in the conventional and ap- proved method of seeing the world and uncovering the mechanism which con- trols the visible actions but which fre- quently fails to alter the unspoken and closely guarded inner convictions of its peoples. While it is to be regretted that the sketches and photographs of Miss Nach- shen have been omitted, the twoscore or so of photographs used in illustration quite adequately embellish the book and add to its attractiveness as the perma- nent record of a pilgrimage that, in spite of its trials and unpleasant experiences, is in reality a genuinely sincere account of Miss Mannin’s observations and im- pressions in the course of the seven thousand miles of & very much worth while pilgrimage through largely forbid- den territory. L\ ) WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7, 1937. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Some of the maple trees at this time are in “flower.” Bright red, these inconspicuous flowers yet loom large, owing to the amount of them. A book has been published recently on the unusual flowers of this time, blossoms as well as any, but which most people tend to overlook. Linden trees will be in bloom not so long from now, along with various other trees. We do not mean the flowering crabs, plums and the like. Their flowers are evident everywhere. The Japanese cherries are world famous. All trees, however, have their flowers, usually small and not overattractive, unless one happens to be interested in them. Flower lovers will do well to look for the unusual along these lines, for they are flowers as well as any. * X %X X Unfolding leaves of shrubs and vines offer a wealth of observation. One does not necessarily have to be a gardener, or even have a garden, to find amusement in this sport. While going around town there is always opportunity to look at budding leaves as they come out. First one shrub and then another. It is mostly a matter of really seeing what one looks at. The determination to see what is before one does not come natural to every one. Some persons find it necessary to remind themselves every now and then that the world is a world of wonders, many of them no less won- derful because common and familiar. We speak not of the many scientific inven- tions, the manufactured wonders of man- kind, which we all use without thinking about them. To have a river at our command in a bath room is a wonder as well as any. * X Kk ¥ Mostly we refer to the wonders of plant and animal life all around us, wherever we live and wherever we go. Especially in Springtime thoughts go out to meet the new leaves. Each leaf is a plant adventure. we have “glamour” at its best. The stunted tree in the downtown box in the general concrete tries its best to emulate its more happy cousins in the suburban districts. Each section has its particular prob- lems, not only for householders, but also for grass and trees and flowers and shrubs and vines. Many a suburban community is so shady that grass does not do well. The passer-by forgets this, in view of the great trees and the general luxurious- ness of all vegetation, but the house- holder, viewing the scanty growth at his doorstep, determines to do better this year. You will see now, in every such com- munity, much raking and digging. Men dig up entire yards and mix in new soil, sow plenty of seed and hopefully wait for good rains. * ok ok ok Freshening of the grass, as shown by the greener look, is something worth watching for, keeping in mind that the “leaves” of the grass are marvelous labo- ratories, more than rivaling in their func- tions the most complex chemical opera- tions in our greatest of laboratories. One is reminded, at this season, of Walt Whitman's famous book, “Leaves of Grass.” What a name that volume had! What a name it has made for itself, since 1855, and yet how compara- tively few persons have read it, after all! Here Heard two men on the street the other day discussing Whitman and the days when he lived here, those momentous, stirring days of the great Civil War. They talked of the different places in the city he had roomed, no doubt stirred to recol- lection by a letter which previously had appeared on this page. Whitman was a born “loafer,” as he liked to think of himself. By that, un- doubtedly, he meant observer. It is almost impossible to see things if you are always in a hurry. Many fine people go through life so hurried and worried that they never have time to see one-ienth they look at. It must be true that many persons are so chained down to the routine of life that they actually have little if any opportunity for observation as they go along. A certain amount of education, so-called, may be essential for the best sort of observation of the type we have in mind. But this may be said of all looking. The inventive mind will “see” something where the non-inventive type will see nothing. * Xk kX Only. a general acquaintance with Nature, as taught in the schools, is neces- sary for any one to be a good observer of leaf and flower. The main difficulty lies in failure to note the little manifestations. Any one can see a peony bloom, but not 50 many the red tips as they first come through the earth. Yet these peony tips are marvelous things, fragile, yet able to poke their way through the toughest of red clays. How do they do, it, exactly? Not even a scientist could tell you, else he could explain life and all its manifestations, the swelling force which impells the tender first leaves through the hardest soil. A perfectly human tendency is to minimize what is not fairly thrown at us. No other age, perhaps, succumbed so completely to this as our own. We are in the hands of master psychologists who use our emotion to blind our reason. This applies in all walks and departments of life and living. It is essential for the person who de- sires to make even an attempt to lead a complete life to recognize such an effort, and to take intellectual steps to mini- mize it. R One of these steps is to become inter- ested in small beginnings. Refuse to be diverted from an honest belief that the budding of vegetation at this time of year, for instance, is some- thing more than just a thing for poets to sing about It is a great deal more. It is life in one of its major departments, life on the move. It is life manifesting itself again, right before our eyes, if we have mind enough behind the eyes to realize it and really look. Eyes, after all, are only mind. Do you think you see the “flowers” of maples with your eyes? Eyes are but cameras. They can see no more of themselves than the latest candid camera sees the pic- tures it takes. The mind does the seeing. It is particularly important in Spring to see everything, A good begining at seeing is to de- termine to see something interesting where before you never bothered to look. Cherry blossoms—heavens, ves! But | also shrubs, trees, grass, flowers, vege- tables, old vines and old posts. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE, Although the Supreme Court contro- versy has stirred the country like no other issue since the Civil War, it has had to take a back seat for the agita- tion churned up by the sit-down strike. Unless labor's strong-arm “technique” either is abandoned in consequence of public protest or receives some form of legalization, it is likely to dominate the political scene until further notice. Sud- den action against the sit-down either by President Roosevelt or Congress wouid probably soft-pedal the proposi- tion, as far as popular uproar is con- cerned. Pending such steps at the White House or the Capitol, or both, there is ample indication that the Nation will continue to demand drastic steps to suppress or outlaw sit-downers. Members of Congress have seldom heard from back home in more impressive tone than the clamor for vindication of official authority and property rights against the new methods of gaining workers’ objectives in industrial strife. * ok Kk Unless Congress takes a firm stand against the sit-down, House and Senate are bound to create a widespread popu- lar impression that they lack the in- testinal fortitude to defy the massed power of John L. Lewis and his C. I. O, cohorts. As the Senate's refusal to pass the Byrnes amendment condemning sit-down strikes was admittedly an ad- ministration victory, denunciation of any congressional kow-tow to the Lewisites would, of course, also be visited upon the White House, provided the President maintains silence on the subject. Labor’s influence seems to have proved once again to be a potent political factor. Leaders of the organized workers always keep & close tab on the votes of national legislators, for the purpose of rewarding friends and punishing foes on election day. With a full House of Representa- tives and one-third of the Senate facing a re-election campaign in 1938, and with primaries in many cases just around the corner, the reluctance of members of either branch to court labor’s disfavor on the sit-down is comprehensible, the game of politics being what it is. * % Kk Undoubtedly the political sensation of the sit-down storm is Senator James F. Byrnes’ captaincy of the movement op- posed by the New Deal. The South Carolinian, from the outset of the Roose- velt administration, has rated as the President’s personal Senate lieutenant, ranking in authority not far behind that of Joe Robinson’s officlal leadership, There’s no question of Byrnes’ enduring devotion to F. D. R. and his program. What is believed to have inspired the Senator’s zeal against the sit-down is Dixie’s growing fear that the labor methods typified by it threaten dire re- sults for such basic Southern industries as textiles, oil, tobacco and timber. Many Southern Senators were lined up in strong support of the Byrnes amend- ment. Apart from the South’s anxiety as to the industrial effects of the sit- down, old-line Democratic leaders are not enthusiastic over the idea of too close a political alliance with John L. Lewis and the C. I. O. * K x X Senator Ashurst, stage manager of the Supreme Court drama now being en- acted on the boards of the Senate Judiciary Committee, believes it will con- tinue to play to more or less capacity audiences for at least the better part of the next 60 days. When public hearings are ended, the Arizonan predicts that the committee will go into executive session for not less than a morgh. Thus it rhight be around June 1, he indicates, before the committee would be ready to report the bill out. surprised if it's August 1 before a Senate vote is reached. Summer session of Congress thus grow apace. The chairman describes himself as firm as Gibraltar against any and all efforts from either side prematurely to wind up hearings. “The show must go on,” he declares, A K Col. Charles Burnett, just promoted to be chief of the Bureau of Insular Affairs in the War Department, with the rank of brigadier general, is one of the United States’ real authorities on Japan. Having served 12 years at ‘Tokio as American military attache, he has anextraordinarily wide acquaintance amorng Japanese leaders, including warm friendships with members of the im- perial house and influential figures in the political, naval and military worlds. Both Col. and Mrs. Burnett speak Japa- nese fluently, the latter having written poetry in that language. Because of his unusual status in the highest circles of the island empire, Col. Burnett was specially attached to the American dele- gation to the London Naval Conference of 1930, at which he rendered notable service as a liaison officer between our representatives and the Japanese. Dur- ing his most recent Washington tour of duty Col. Burnett was the general staff officer in charge of foreign military attaches accredited to the United States and of our own attaches abroad. * X kX Apropos this week’s World War anni- versary, a new book left the press en- titled “Claude Kitchin and the Wilson War Policies.” In the guise of a biog- raphy of the late Democratic Represent- ative from North Carolina, the author, Alex Mathews Arnett, deals graphically with the opposition to the Wilson pro- gram which eventually took the United States into the fray and with Kitchin's famous part in Washington events which had their climax in April, 1917. * K Kk Kk Those 16 lone Republicans who inhabit the more emaciated side of the Senate chamber cut nowadays somewhat the figures of cats which have just swallowed canaries. At any rate, their joint and several countenances are wreathed in sardonic contentment as they survey recurring snarls among the Democratic majority over the court-packing plan, the sit-down strike and other issues on which the New Dealers nominally under Joe Robinson’s leadership behave like anything but a band of united brethren. The smiles of satisfaction %ith which Senator McNary and his minority crew view cantankerous proceedings across the aisle are likely to widen into even broader grins once the Roosevelt Gov- ernment reorganization plan is before the Senate and further splits the Demo- crats’ strife-torn ranks. ok ok ok X China is about to put Uncle Sam’s de- linquent European war debtors to shame by resuming payments on the Chinese loan floated in the United States in 1911 and in default since 1930. Arrangements have just been completed whereby in- terest will be paid at the rate of 2}2 per cent in 1937 and 1938 and at the full contractual rate of 5 per cent in and after 1939. The loan was originally marketed as a $30,000,000 British issue, an American section of $7.500,000 later having been approved by the Washing- ton Government. After downfall of the old Chinese imperial regime, the loan, [} because everything | | is so delightfully fresh and new. 2 Prognosticating | further, Ashurst says he wouldn't be | Prospects of an all- | BY FREDERIC J."gASKIN. A reader can get the question of fact by writi Star Information Burea] Haskin, Director, Washy Please inclose stamp for: er to any The Evening Frederic J. gton, D. C. ply. Q. Is Queen Flizabefld’s coronation wardrobe designed by Fréhch or English dressmakers?—T. R. A. Norman Hartnell of London was chosen by the Queen to dasign her ward- robe for the coronation and subsequent court functions. Q. How long will the ‘“Passion Play” be presented at Zion City, I11.2—W. H. A. The “Passion Play” @pened at the Shiloh Tabernacle there on Palm Sunday and will be given every Bunday until the end of June. Q. How does the rainbow fountain near the Lincoln Memorial work?—8. W. A. The fountain consists of 138 small fets which throw water in sheets, on which the sunlight gives spectacular rain- bow effects, Q. How many copies of Erich Remarque’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” have been sold?>—W. R. A. The book had a world sale of 3,500.- 000 copies and has been translated into more than 25 languages. Q. How long have Amos and Andy been broadcasting?—G. H. A. Amos and Andy first broadcast under the names of Sam arid Henry over Sta- tion WGN from 1925 to 1927. In 1927 they began broadcasting over Station WMARQ, under the names of Amos and Andy. Q. Has business gone on in Madrid dur- ing the siege?—H. C. A. Business has gone on with quite a degree of normality most of the time. Q. What kind of a ship was Amelia Earhart’s flying laboratory? Who ac- companied her when she started her flight?>—C. A A. The ship was a Lockheed Electra. Miss Earhart was accompanied by Paul Mantz, co-pilot; Capt. Harry Manning and Fred Noonan, in charge of radio and navigation. Q. Please give some information about James Hilton, author of “Good-by, Mr. Chips” and “We Are Not Alone.'— W. H. J. A. Born in 1900 in Lancashire, James Hilton was educated in various schools | in London. He was too young for service in the war, but was in the Officers’ Train- ing Corps at Cambridge. His first article was published by the Manchester Guard- ian when he was seventeen years old. Commissioned by the editor of the British Weekly to write a long short story for a special supplement, Mr. Hilton com- pleted “Good-by, Mr. Chips” in four days. Q. Where is —S. W. A. His remains now repose in St. Ambroise Chapel, at the right of Na- poleon’s Tomb under the Dome of the Invalides, Paris, France. Q. How tall must a man be to be con- sidered a giant?—S. H. A. No definite height is set. Barnum, at one time, specified that no one less than 7 feet 2 inches tall should be en- gaged for exhibition as a giant. Marshal Foch buried? Q. What kind of bees are Hybla bees found in poetry?—P. N. A. This reference is to super-bees. Hybla honey was considered the most delicious. Q. Please give the English translation of the Chinese names of the months —B. M. A. Holiday Moon, Budding Moon, Sleepy Moon, Peony Moon, Dragon Moon, Lotus Moon, Moon of Hungry Ghi , Harvest Moon, Chrysanthemum Moon, Kindly Moon, White Moon and Bitter Moon Q. What colleges are known as the Southern Resident Labor Colleges?—H. J A. The Highlander Folk School at Monteagle, Tenn, and Commonwealth College at Mena, Ark., are the Southern Resident Labor Colleges. Q. Please give the dimensions of Big Ben on the House of Parliament—W. J. A. The dials are 22'; feet in diameter; hour figures, 2 feet; minute spaces, 1 foot square; pendulum, 13 feet; weight, 700 pounds. Q. What is the date of the eclipse of the sun this Summer?—G. T. A. It will begin out over the Pacific Ocean on June 9. It will travel 5000 miles, cross the international date line and end in Peru about sunset on June 8. It will be the longest eclipse of the sun in 1,200 years. At one point over the ocean it will last seven minutes four seconds. The average eclipse lasts only three minutes. Q. What effort is made to check Mor- mon crickets before they begin to eat crops?—G. R. A. This year $300,000 has been allo- cated from W, P. A. funds to lay down a poison barrage before the crickets reach their feeding grounds. Q. What is the most popular of all the Government publications?—E. W. A. Children’s Bureau publication No. 8, “Infant Care,” is rated by the Govern- ment Printing Office as the most popular Ppublication. More than 10,000,000 copies of the booklet have been sold to date. A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton. On a Country Road. In a wayside garage we left our esr To tramp the open roads In the dusk sky shone a luminous star We called our guide, our lode; For no setting sun made golden the way; It had been soft twilight all of the day. Along the wide road, mysterious, dark, Stretched birches tall and slim; Though white as our lode-star gleamed their bark ‘Their depth was dusky, dim; And a cottontail in the path ahead Whe; dwe neared it into their shelter ed. As the night fell came a mackeral sky, Patches of grayish white That hid and disclosed a moon on high, Obscuring our star's faint light; We tramped on, half awed by the weird roadway, Now silver, now dark, in the moon's shy play. made for railway building purposes, was recognized as an obligation of the re- public, but for the past seven years interest coupons have remained unpaid. (Copyright, 1037.)