Evening Star Newspaper, April 17, 1937, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Editien, WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY . _ April 17, 1937 THEODORE W. NOYES_ -Editer The Evening Star Newspaper Company. 11th 8t. and Pennsylvania Ave. New Tork Office: 110 East 42nd 8t. Chicago Office: 435 North Michigan Ave. Rate by Carrier—City and Suburban. Regular Edition. The Bvening Ay Bt ey month or 166 per week The Eventng 6tar 45¢ per month or 10c per week The Sunday Star __.__ ——————— B¢ per copy Night Fiual Edéitie Night Pinal and Sunday Star. Night Pinal Star. Collection ma each week. Orders may be sent by mail or tele- phone National 5000 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, Daily and Sunday.. 1 yr. $10.0 Daily only .. 1 yri $6.00i 1 Sunday only__.___ 1 yr. $4.00; 1 1 mo.. 88c mo., 50c mo.. 40c All Other States and C: mo.. 31 mo., i 1 mo. BOc Member of the Associated Press. The Assoclated Press i exclusively entitled to the s for republication of sl news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this Daper and also the local news published herein. All righis of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. Gesture of Condemnation. Much of the House debate which pre- ceded the vote on the lynching bill was typical of the emotion which the sub- Jject provokes and the vote itself was mostly sectional. Many things are tied in with the lynching bill which have nothing to do with lynching as the crime against civilization which every decent man should abhor. Because he is a Republican and because he comes from & State—New York—which does not have to include lynching in its calendar of evils, Representative Wadsworth made what was in many respects the most dis- passionate speech in opposition to the bill. He based this opposition mainly on the ground that the bill's provisions were unworkable. And being unworkable, en- tirely aside from the grave question as to its constitutionality, he doubted the wisdom of its passage. If, for instance, it is impossible to collect the damages which might be as- sessed against counties in which lynch- ing occurs; if it is highly debatable whether the juries in even the Federal courts would bring verdicts of guilty against public officers, and if the neces- sary intervention of the Federal Gov- ernment in the States would provoke the very antagonism and possibly the vio- lence against those whom the bill is designed to protect, then, as Mr. Wads- worth said, “we do irfinite harm when we legislate in that fashion.” Mr. Wads- worth opposed the bill as a “protest against its utter futility.” But, regardless of the bill's fate in the Senate and regardless of its futility as a legislative instrument against the evil of lynching, its passage on Thursday was probably a desirable and beneficial thing. It indicated once more the grow- ing sentiment against lynching. It con- veyed a warning that the sovereignty of the States will be respected, and can com- mand respect, only as long a&s that full sovereignty is maintained. When it abdicates to the rule of an insane mob, it is entitled to no respect and will not receive it. There is no debating the logic of the argument that the most effective method of fighting and eradicating the lynching evil is through an’ aroused public senti- ment within the States. Much progress has been made in this direction and lynching today is no longer condoned even as a necessary evil. Such condona- tion, in fact, is regarded as being about as barbarous as the act itself. But the American people are becoming impatient over the tedious progress in some of the Btates. A few more horrors, such as that at Winona, Mise, this week, and the most rational opposition %o the Gavagan bill and legislation of its type Wwill melt away. ——ee—s. Complications are almost sure to arise in the affairs of strong souls who, in addition to conducting dictatorships, undertake the task incidentally of glori- fying a talented actress. Every intelli~ gent ad man knows that glorification is & business unto itself, ———. The fable about George Washington ehopping down a cherry tree does not carry the fantastic excuse that little George, looking precociously into the future, desired to inaugurate a custom in case space was needed for a Grecian temple to Thomas Jefferson. oot Slow-Motion Striking. What is described in the dispatches from Detroit as a new maneuver of workers designed to replace the sit-down strike as a weapon in the fight for a betterment of conditions is, in fact, an old device. It is called the “slow-down,” & slackening that lessens production and thereby increases costs. It is stated that the chiefs of the labor movement are confident that they have found a weapon more effective even than the sit-down strike. Those who have read Charles Reade’s novel, “Put Yourself in His Place,” writ- ten in 1870, will recall that in this story, which deals with industrial conditions in England, a description is given of a procedure known as “ca canny,” the meaning of which is to go slowly, to be erafty in lessening production while ap- pearing to conform to the requirements of employers. This practice was com- mon in England and Scotland long before the organization of labor unions as they are known today, and it resulted in a heavy increase in the cost of all forms of labor, particularly in construc- tion work, It has, in fact, been practiced in recent times in certain lines of labor, especially in masonry work, in which the unwritten laws of unions limited the operatives to certain maximum stints. This technique, it is stated, is believed to have had its inception many years 2go in China, where protesting laborers adopted the practice of slow motion. Their maneuver was known as the “walk- ing cow” strike, XT the fact that the THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, SATURDAY, APRIL 17 worker proceeded slowly at about the bovine gait. If “ca canny,” as:it was called in England sixty or seventy years ago, should be adopted in American industry as a weapon of protest and co- ercion, it will have a pronounced effect upon the rate of production, especially in the high-pressure industries such as the manufacture of motor cars, where the mechanism of assembly is geared to & certain rate below which effective serv- ice is not rendered. The task of the worker on the “assembly line” is one of the grievances against which the sit- down strikes recently in Michigan were aimed. It is hard to see how slow-motion strik- ing can, without precipitating a crisis, be conducted in a motor car plant, which 1s necessarily geared to established speed of action. The objective remains the same whatever the particular industrial practice may be, and that is to reduce the product deliberately as a penalty upon the employer until he yields to demands. If the employer has the right to dis- miss the individual worker for incom- petence, he assuredly has the right to dismiss any group of workers who by deliberate design adopt the policy of slowness. He cannot now keep his op- eratives at work beyond certain hours, as the union rules and in some cases the laws establish the working period at regular rates of pay. The slow-down cannot be recognized as a legitimate measure of coercion unless the entire management of industry is to be yielded to the workers’ organizations, Peace in Spain? Conditions in Spain, both respecting the war and its embittered international aspects, are so fluctuating that it would be oourting disappointment to place premature faith in the latest and less bellicose turn of the kaleidoscope. The scene of the new phase is the non-intervention committee, which has hitherto distinguished itself for succes- sive failures to prevent foreign armed interference. 8o anxious are all con- cerned to end the bloodshed which has drenched the peninsula and to remove the perpetual danger of a European war that they grasp eagerly even at the slender hope which events at London suddenly hold out. Rising dramatically at the recent meeting of the non-intervention com- mittee, Count Dino Grandi, Mussolini's representative, proclaimed Italy’s readi- ness once more to consider means of evacuating the thousands of foreign “volunteers” now fighting on both sides. To that end he proposed immediate ex- tension of the hands-off program so that it will forbid entry into Spain of all foreigners whose presence “migh{ prolong or embitter hostilities.” The Fascist spokesman’s declaration com- pletely reverses the deflant non-with- drawal attitude assumed by Italy only a couple of weeks ago. His statement galvanized the whole non-intervention Committee with conciliatory atmosphere, which was forthwith reflected by the Russian Ambassador's announcement that the Soviet Union is now willing to soft-pedal its recent charges of an Italian “invasion” of Spain. Thereupon it was agreed that the long-projected international control of Spanish fron- tiers, supplementing naval supervision on the coasts, should take effect next Mon- day. Speculation naturally arises as to what produced this sudden about-face by the nations whose clashing “ideologies” lie at the root of the Spenish tragedy. Mussolini may be in amicable mood be- cause of military events on the Madrid front and of a dawning realization that the cause of his protege, General Franco, is doomed. Possibly I Duce desires to make some reciprocal pacific gesture in reply to British unwillingness to permit the rebel blockade in the Bay of Blscay to create a casus belli. What- ever has happened to ease the situation, present indications all point to improved prospects of peace. There are even hopes that what Win- ston Churchill described in Parliament as his “day dream” may come true. He suggested a solution, under internatipnal auspices, to be achieved in three stages. The first would give Spain “time to cool down, with no vengeance and no execu- tions.” The second would allow the formation of a compromise government “by elements not involved in the ferocity of the struggle.” The final stage would be “a revival of those parliamentary in- stitutions which in one form or another nineteen out of twenty Spaniards never meant to lose or see destroyed.” De- velopments should promptly demon- strate whether the Churchillian proposal has any practical substance or is a mirage doomed to vanish into thin air, ————. Friendly understanding with Japan was implied in the gift of cherry trees to this city. Thomas Jefferson would have been one of the first to deplore any action which could be construed as dis- courteous indifference, Quest for Beauty, It may be true, as James Abbott McNeil Whistler said, that “there never was an art-loving nation,” but it also is indi- cated that there never has been any place or any time in which people—at least & few persons—have not been en- gaged in the quest for beauty. Men naturally respond to that indefinable quality whose synonyms are grace and loveliness. Even the most primitive sav- ages are possessed of an esthetic instinct. A stroll through the halls of any ethno- graphic museum will suffice to prove the universality of the impulse to create at- tractive values. But an occasional pessimist has ven- tured to suppose that civilization con- notes ugliness. One who loves the Devon countryside, for example, will cite the dreary desolation of the “depressed areas” of England to illustrate his contention, while another, holding dear the pleasant grass-grown hills of Vermont, will point a critical finger at the smoke-stained environs of Pttsburgh or Chicago, Yet t none of those who are so bitter against the scars which the “machine age” has inflicted upon the earth need go unan- swered. At Essen, in Germany, there are gardens up to the very walls of the great steel mills. It all depends upon how much society cares. And millions incontrovertibly are in- terested in the pursuit of that dynamic variety of human happiness which con- gists in the music of color and form. S8hop girls dress. like princesses; carpenters and bricklayers cultivate their voices; stenographers read Shakespeare; bus drivers write novels. If theoretical “real- ists” appear to neglect such facts in their pretended devotion to horror, it probably does not matter. Visitors to the current Biennial Exhi- bition at the Corcoran Gallery have dis- covered encouraging evidence of progress. The walls, of course, show a considerable number—doubtless too many—examples of radical modernism. But not all the pictures are repellant. On the contrary, it seems that some of the revolutionaries are becoming more conservative and some of the conservatives more liberal. In other words, there is a discernible tend- ency toward a normal expression of the everlasting longing of the race for its cultural and spiritual fulfillment, e Never in the history of the world has there been so much sincere planning for peace in one hemisphere as compared with war preparations in the other. To seek mercenary advantage under such conditions may easily look like racketeer- ing. et Canada and the United States have been so close in friendship and intel- ligent understanding that an abrupt disagreement as to the methods of handling a strike orisis must be regarded as remote, D ——— Every home desires a balanced budget of its own and a system of taxation which will promote and not hinder such an ideal. Youth is appealed to for econ- omies without being provided with au- thoritative instruction in economics. ————— English ships have the right to go where they have business without as- suming responsibility for restoring nor- mal commerce where business is an- nounced as being abandoned. r————————__ Secretary Wallace declines to see the wisdom of plowing under some of the presidential plans for reorganization. Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Future Meeting. It's howdy do and fare you well And come again some day, We'll surely have some more to tell As time goes on its way. ‘We meet good friends with simple cheer, As good friends ought to do, And say, as parting time draws near, “We will be seeing you.” We don't know what the talk will be ‘When once again we meet, We'll simply have to wait and see How warmly we can greet Those whom we met in April cheer, ‘Where brightest blossoms grew. ‘When Junetime roses have drawn near, “We will be seeing you.” Perpetual Candor. “I suppose that when you make a speech you mean every word of it.” “Every word,” replied Senator Sor- ghum, “And I'm just as much in earnest when I discover that there are some parts of it that I had bettdr modify or retract.” Carefully Considered. “What,” inquired the psychological student, “do you regard as the chief end of man?” “Well,” answered Mr. Blykins, “it de- pends on what you want the man for. If you want him to do brain work it's his head, and if you want him to run errands it's his feet.” Just a Habit. The busy bee again we see At toil among the flow'rs Because the old hive can't agree On shorter working hours. If too much honey drop by drop They bring, and bid us scoff, The only way to make 'em stop Will be to kill ’em off. “To become enraged with an enemy,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “is to do all in your power to deserve his ill will.” Non-Hoardable. The gold is in the sunset sky. To hoard it I shall never try. I very often wish that I Could leave it in the bank nearby. Sad Worldliness. “Honesty is the best policy,” remarked Meandering Mike. “It sure is fur folks like us,” answered Plodding Pete. “Our transactions ain't big enough to enable us to hire de best legal talent.” Awakenings. A man may sometimes change his mind, But when opinions we reverse, Unto our sorrow we may find That we have gone from bad to worse. “Many a gal,” said Uncle Eben, “has had trouble by not realizin’ dat bein’ & good dancer don’ necessarily guarantee a young man mo’ dan six or seven dollars a week down to de sto’. Hair and Health. From the Lowell Leader. 7 Somebody asserts that the hair reflects the general state of one’s health. But some other method of diagnosis is clearly indicated in the case of the bald-headed man, “Always Wrong.” Prom the Burlington Hawkeye Gazette. Contrary to the famed slogan, 2 maga- zine writer tells us “the customer is always wrong.” And how a lot of clerks lmnp tell her sol ~ ) i Nature Points to Folly Of Social Equalization To the Editor of The Star: In moments of gravity and danger such as we Americans are passing through at present, most of us are en- gaged with serious thoughts and some of us feel moved to give widespread expression to them since arguments both specfous and sound are being “afred.” Today labor, backed by the intelii- gensia, is striving more than ever be- fore to force equalization, collectivism— a unified plan for the perfect (?) whole. Each is to think, act, be and live alike. Equality for all! Yet nature does not distribute herself equally by any means. Could anything be more un- equal than Niagara Falls and the end- less, burning sands of the Sahara Desert? Nature is very capricious, lavish here, mean there. At once she beautifies and disfigures; she is kind and cruel in turn. Creating and destroying ruth- lessly, she turns deaf ears on herself, blind eyes and a stony heart. But we do not quarrel with nature; we worship her. Shall we try to improve nature’s plan, which so perfectly includes the contrasts of inequalities? It cannot be done! Yet man with a bulging ego is led into the folly of trying. Here is a wonderfully wise definition of the inhumanity of socialism, with which, vemy likely, many educated though unintelligent persons will dis- agree; nevertheless it is worthy of study, when the penetrating truth of its state- ments will dig deep into reasoning minds: “I am opposed to socialism because of its inhumanity; because it saps the vitality of the human race, which has no vitality to spare; because it lulls to indolence those who must struggle to survive; because the theories of good men who are enthralled by its delusions are made the excuse of the wicked who would rather plunder than work; be- cause it stops enterprise, promotes lazi- ness, exalts inefficiency, inspires hatred, checks production, assures waste and instills into the souls of the unfortunate and the weak hopes impossible of frui- tion, whose inevitable blasting will add to the bitterness of their lot.” And just a word more for each Amer- ican who loves humanity better than power; honesty more than gain: “¢ = * Finally let each of us according to his ability and opportunity practice and inculcate respect for the law, the maintenance of order, regard for the rights of others, admiration for the suc- cessful, sympathy with the unfortunate, charity for all, hope for humanity, joy in the simple life and contentment therewith.” GREGORY DEXTER. —————————— Tampering With Court Like Playing With Explosives To the Bditor of The Star: It stands to reason that those Demo- crats who will unwisely “goose-step” to the court plan of President Roosevelt are going to have something to answer for when they come up for re-election. It will be from those voters who now do not realize what his plan will de- velop, if it becomes effective. When they do come to their senses, they will be out “gunning” for those Congressmen who favored the plan when they are up for re-election in 1938 and 1940. Tampering with the judicial branch of the Government, which in turn bases its decisions upon the provisions of our Constitution, is like playing with ex- plosives—sure to prove disastrous in time. Politics never has been able to ehter the judiciary of our Government and to all law-abiding and self-respect- ing citizens let us now take steps to prevent its pressure and undesirable features. We observe politics influencing the legislative and executive branches and have been free to condemn its hazard- ous results where unduly exercised. Certainly we cannot tolerate its prac= tice when our liberties are likely to be jeopardized. The Constitution was set up and its provisions interpreted by a Supreme Court. No one can deny that often times politics has crept into some of our lower courts and how quickly we con- demn anything of this sort when dis- covered. The legal profession throughout the country is inalterably opposed to the President’s plan. These men are weil qualified to pass intelligently upon this question. However, we do find a very limited number of the legal profession favoring the plan. If the basis for their approval is closely checked it will be found there is a very selfish motive involved. Here politics comes to the surface in the form of a possible ap- pointment to a judgeship on a Federal bench. We now observe the Chief Ex- ecutive “jockeying” for votes for his plan with some patronage appointment involved. The thinking people view with sus= picion and alarm the President's de= termination to place six additional judges upon the Supreme Court bench. Most of his claims for such action have been carefully analyzed and found to be unfounded. ROBT. N. CARSON. Davenport, Iowa. [ Open North and South Road Through Zoo to the Public To the Editor of The Star. In connection with the excellent edi- torial regarding fills and bridges across Rock Creek Park, I should like to sug- gest that steps be taken to open to general use the mnorth and south road through the Zoo, which as now operated is of little or no use. ‘With the increasing congestion of all streets it seems desirable to make maxi- mum use of existing arteries and I, therefore, suggest the authorities bridge the two fords and do away with the practice of shutting off travel through the lower part of the Zoo at or about sundown. Under the present practice the public is prohibited the use of the road through the park most of the time and in ad- dition loses a great deal of the benefit from the recently constructed link join- ing Rock Creek and Potomac Park. L. C. CRAWFORD. ———— Stone Memorial Should Not Replace Cherry Trees To the Editor of The Star: Thank you for your photo in today’s issue of banpers carried by architects protesting choice of location for Jeffer- son Memorial. To what authority can one protest the barbarous idea of re- moving beauty to make another stone memorial? We need the money for the living—not the dead. Let us save the cherry trees and prove we are civilized. OLIVE P. WILLIAMS, Juvenile Cases. Prom the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Children have responsibilities thrust upon them at an early age. Always there is the danger of spolling their parents. Generosity. From the Sacramento Bee, Nowadays a good husband is the kind who gives his bride that credit can buy. 1937. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. Quiet disappearance of the old- fashioned “stickpin” from the ties of the Nation deserves more attention than it has received. A man who wears a scarfpin & con- spicuous thereby. In the old days nothing delighted the average male more than a gorgeous, resplendent pin, with a big diamond in it. The bigger the gem the better he liked the pin. It was, of course, the custom. Today it is not. There lies the difference. Men are no less slaves to fashion than women; the big difference is they pretend to ignore it. * koK The last stand of the scarfpin was in the college fraternities. Coats-of-arms of these organizations made excellent pins, indeed. Not long ago a local member of the Phi Delta Theta, Justice McReynolds’ fraternity, brought out his stickpin, bearing the Greek letter fraternity's coat-of-arms. He had not worn it for many years, but found it just as acceptable as ever. The coat-of-arms is mounted on a plain background, and helps to make a very nice pin. It looked well in the cravat. The wearer wondered why he had not worn it oftener. It is a modest way of sig- nifying one's membership in a far-flung organization, extending back for many years, looking forward many more. * o x % Well, everybody spotted the scarfpin. “Haven't seen one of those for years,” sald one. “See you sporting s pin” another. Maybe the gentleman was rather con- scious of his tie adornment, but he fancied many persons took a second look at it. After a week’s persistence, he gave over the effort. The tiepin now les in the drawer from whence it came. “Stickpins,” as they were called in the vernacular, strike the modern man as something of a nuisance. They demand a nice adjustment of the amount of cravat between knot and vest for one thing. Nothing strikes the fastidious person worse than a scarfpin which is not al- most precisely in the one spot it should be. This depends mostly upon the size, shape and pattern. Those who recall the old days know how many-sided, how long, how fat, how short, how different one of these pins was from another. The only thing they resembled each other in was in the pin part, itself, that shining length of metal which could in- flict a neat finger wound if carelessly handled. Hence, the name “stickpin.” * ¥ ¥ % Sportsmen, in particular, liked to wear an emblem of their hobby, whether it was hunting fishing, tennis or whatnot. Some of the effects secured were mar- velous, and often only beautiful in the STARS, MEN Notebook of Science voiced . TRACEWELL. masculine eye, which is an eye rather difficult to understand at times. Precious stones, of course, the more precious the Letter, formed the chief adornmen’ of many scarfpins of tha old school. The opal was a favorite of those will- ing to defy the old superstition. The diamond, of course, ranked high with those able to afford it. Those who couldn't pretended that it was a stone too conspicuous for such usage. No doubt they were right. The trend, at any rate, went to plainer pins, just before the great decline. Just as cuff buttons, responding to the times, became plainer and plainer, until finally they got around to plain gold discs, so the scarfpins of the latter days turned to geometrical designs, triangles, with circles and so on. The coats-of-arms of fraternal organizations become fa- vorites, not only because they were rich looking, but particularly because they made no ostentatious display; the mem- ber of a fraternity, who modestly hid his fraternity “pin” itself on his vest, could wear its coat-of-arms right out in the open without impressing himself with his own importance. Most of these seals are affairs with the traditional shield, bearing certain emblems, headed with some such device as a helmet with visor, spear, boar's head, etc. These made tasteful, rich ornaments, and their decline in the general dress scheme of the modern male is to be lamented. * oK kX Some place, in many a bureau drawer, is to be found a little gadget which once was used to place on the ends of the sharp pins. This served the double purpose of keeping the pin in place after it had been placed in the tie, and of preventing the sharp point from sticking an in- nocent finger. One of the drawbacks of the pins was the tendency of the “stick” part to pro- trude, during the day, through the top working up and permitting the pin end to come free. Happening to look into a mirror, one had the displeasume of seeing an inch or so of gold pin showing above the cravat. Often this would stick the finger, drawing blood. if the wearer happened to make a hasty move. The little gadget for the end was help- ful in preventing both these catastrophes. It, too, had its drawbacks. It seems as if almost everything about the masculine dress has drawbacks. * %X k x The modern idea of the pinless tie is a good one. Accent now is placed on the face, rather than what is under the face. The idea of the modern cravat, necktie or four-in-hand, not synonomous by any means, but loosely so used, is to offer an effective foll for the face. “Hardware” of any sort is “out.” Since all things go in waves, there is every reason to expect the triymphant return of the old stickpin some day. It has its good points! AND ATOMS Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS One of the most remarkable episodes ih the history of American agriculture is the tomato. The Cinderellalike story of this vege- table is stressed by the Department of Agriculture with the introduction this Fall of three new varieties developed by the Bureau of Plant Industry, which are described as constituting a notable advance over any hitherto known. A century ago the tomato was one of the least valued plants in the kitchen gar- den. Today it covers 500,000 acres an- nually, produces a crop of 18,000,000 bushels of fresh tomatoes and more than 300,000 tons of canned fruit and provides farmers with an annual income esti- mated at close to $40,000,000. This success story—the Department of Agriculture calls the tomato “the prodigy of the vegetable world"—is due in large part to the discovery of vitamins. It contains vitamins A, B and C in a palat- able form. It also owes something to the increasing popularity of that typical American dish, the salad. Used as a food for little more than a century, it now is almost as widely distributed as wheat, a food plant, which has been cultivated for at least 5,000 years. There are now more than 150 known varieties, adapted to all sorts of purposes. The development, although it got its start abroad, has been largely American. Americans were the first to develop a real taste for tomatoes and to recognize the possibilities of the crop to agricul- ture. The story represents a triumph not only for American plant breeders, but for American industrial methods, which have turned a highly perishable product into one of the staples of the grocery store, available in limitless quantities at all seasons. The tomato is a native of Western South America, but it appears first to have been used as a food by the Aztecs. It was introduced into Spain early in the sixteenth century and a hundred years later was widely grown in England as an ornamental plant. Not until the next century, however, did it have any stand- ing as a food plant. It was known as the “love apple” and the popular idea was that it was mildly poisonous. Folks ate one now and then on “dares.” Then it caught on as a food in Italy and by the start of the eighteenth century was being grown on a field scale. So far as known it was absent from the gardens of Colonial America, unless as a rare ornamental plant. Not until the beginning of the nineteenth century was it reintroduced to its native Western Hemisphere as a food crop. For a long time it acquired no great popularity. A few vines in the family garden were con- sidered enough, since there was no to- mato market. Shortly after the Civil War a few private plant breeders became interested in it and gradually introduced better and better varieties. These led to an increased demand and brought about so many new problems that the breeding work was taken over largely by the De- partment of Agriculture. Especially im- portant was increased disease resistance. With tomatoes grown on a large scale, the booming agricultural industry was threatened by susceptibility of the plants to various fungi ant to the attacks of in- sects. In the past the objective had been the production of large, smooth fruit of high quality. Now the breeders were confronted with such factors as resistance to heat and cold and adapt- ability to distance shipping. The work was taken up in 1915 by the late J. F. Pritchard, plant breeder of the Bureau of Plant Industry. He kept at it continuously for 16 years until his death in 1931, largely in co-operation with the University of Maryland experi- ment station. To Pritchard the great tomato industry of today owes more than to any other single man. It 1925 he introduced the -Marglobe tomato, ‘ R. HENRY. which is now the dominant variety on the American market and which is spreading rapidly throughout the world. The Marglobe virtually saved the Florida tomato industry from extinction as the result of the ravages of various fungus diseases to which the new variety was immune, At the same time other Department of Agriculture specialists were engaged in popularizing the tomato as a food This brought about the necessity of shipping for long distances. As a result of the investigations it now is possible for the consumer anywhere in the United States to obtain fresh tomatoes from the neighborhood market any month of the year. When frost kills the plants in the North, carload shipments are ready to leave Florida and Southern Texas. Suc- cessive shipments from California and intermediate States fill the gap until local fresh tomatoes come on the market again in late Summer. The off-season tomatoes are harvested green, wrapped, packed and allowed to ripen in transit or in storage after arrival. ] What the Senate Judiciary Committee Has Made Clear To the Editor of The Star: As the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing drags its slow length along, it becomes increasingly clear: 1. That its austerely genial chairman is having a wonderful time. 2. That said chairman is developing a technique long used by the religious and called by them “the power of the word.” By constantly and earnestly repeating the statement that the President’s bill does not on its face restrict the judicial powers of the court, he induces the be- lief that it would not in fact do so—a palpable non sequitur. 3. That time is on the side of those who propose what is strange or ab- horrent. As a once-famous poet ex- pressed it, “Vice is a monster of so frightful a mien As, to be hated, needs but to be seen, But seen too oft, familiar with his face, We first endure, then pity, then em- brace.” 4. That Americans no longer abhor the doctrine that the end justifies the means. For this deplorable state of mind we must thank the model T Ford, which made us a Nation of opportunists. 5. That the real issue, discreetly camouflaged by both sides, is whether Mr. Roosevelt is a demagogue or a demi- god; and 6. That only a free, uncensored dis- cussion of the whole sorry business can now hope to save the Republic, R. D. MILLER. Metal Scrap. From the Port Wayne News-Sentinel. Nothing short of a prolonged war, with relatively indiscriminate demand for scrap metal, seems likely to solve the problem of what to do with used raszor blades. Pre-Emption. From the Winston-Salem Journal. Henry Ford says all wealth comes from the land. But trouble is nowadays some fellow claps a filling station on it be- fore a one-gallus guy gets a chance to dig. A Song for Strikers. From the Worcester Gazette, C.1I. O. sit-down strikers out West have been singing to pass away the time. We expect one of the favorite songs is “Old Idleberg."q 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. Where will the dream game of base ball be played this year?—G. H. A. The so-called dream game 1is the all-star contest played annually between picked players from the American and Natonal Leagues. It will be played on July 7 this year in Griffith Stadium, ‘Washington, D. C. Q. What company led in output of passenger automobiles last year?—R. B. A. General Motors. Chrysler Corpora- tion was second and Ford Motor Com- . pany third. Q. How long have we had our naturali- zation laws?—C. K. A. Although the present basic naturali= zation law was not passed until June 29, 1906, the only way that an alien could become a citizen of the United States at any time since the organization of this country was through naturalization. Pre- « vious to June 29, 1906, the various States had laws of their own (at least since April 14, 1802), Q. It has been reported that railroad rails are made one mile long. How are they transported and put in place?—Q R. A. Rails are usually standard length when shipped from the mills. After they are laid they are welded into positio thus eliminating the necessity for join and making long continuous rails, Q. Why is goat’s milk better than cow's milk for some invalids?—M. K. A. The curd formed in the stomach is very much finer and flakier than that of . cow’s milk. Q. How do aviators inflate collapsible lifeboats in midocean?—P. J. R. A. It is done by means of carbon dioxide which is carried in bottles in ths planes, ¢ Q. How tall is the Great Wall of China? . R. A. The average height is about 22 feet, Q. What is columbium?—W. R A. It is a rare metal, also called nio- bium, which occurs in the minerals co- lumbite, found in Connecticut, and tan- talite, found in Sweden. It is a steel- gray powder, slightly lighter than iron, which forms salts called columbates or . niobates. Q. What is the name of the Jewess in the French cabinet?—E. W. A. Mme. Cecile Leon Brunschvicg is the undersecretary of national education. She was appointed to this office by M. Leon Blum, premier of France. Q. Who is in charge of publicity for the * Distilled Spirits Institute?—E. M. J. A. Norman W. Baxter has been ap- pointed public relations director of the organization. Q. How many crowns has the King of England?—J. L. A. The King has three crowns—the imperial state crown, the coronation crown and the crown of India. The crown of India is the newest. Made in 1912, it was first used when King George V was crowned Emperor of India. Q. Has Kirsten Flagstad, the opera singer, ever appeared in the movies?— J. M A. She has been engaged by Paramount to sing in the 1938 version of the “Big Broadcast” series. Q. Do more city or intercity busses have accidents?—M. A A. More accidents occur within cities in proportion to mileage. Q. Where is the world's largest man- * made lake?—W. B. A. Lake Mead, the reservoir above Boulder Dam, is the largest. It lies in the desert land in Arizona and Nevada. Q. Are the commercial dyes for Easter eggs harmless? May the colored eggs be eaten without risk?>—C. G. A. Almost all Easter egg dyes om the market are harmless Q. How much salt would there be if all the water in thesocean was evapo= rated?—E. J A. If all the waters of the seas wera to be evaporated, about 4,500,000 cubic miles of salt would remain. Q. What is meant by the musical term mutation?—C. H. A. The change in the male voice oc- curring at the beginning of adolescence is called mutation. Shifting the position of the left hand in violin playing is also known as mutation. Q. When was the “Miracle” play in= troduced in England?—L. L. L. A. The first “Miracle” play in England was acted probably not far from 1100. In the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries these plays had become so popu= lar that they were produced in nearly every part of England. Shakespeare felt their influence. He must have had fre- quent opportunities in his boyhood to wit=- ness their production. They were seldom performed in England after 1600. Q. How many young people belong to 4-H clubs?—N. O. A. Last year the membership wass 1,130,000, from early reports. Q. Who invented the memnoscope or memory machine?—J. W. H. A. It is the invention of B. E. Marshall and W. E. Pakala of the Westinghouse Research Laboratories. Q. Do many people try to beat their way from place to place on trains?—T. R. A. In the last six months of 1936 about 1,820,000 fllegal train riders and tres= passers were either removed from trains, prevented from getting on trains or ejected from railroad property. The number who actually stole rides cannot be told. A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton. "Meadow Grass With tiny blades up-reaching to the sun The grass is born. On eager baby feet it strives to run Further each morn. It taller grows, until it learns to dance, Gay, unconfined: Each fragile tendril graceful as a lance In the Spring wind. Then it draws closer, forming a green‘ house Better to shield ‘The love-full nest of a wee mother mouse ‘{d in a fleld. »