Evening Star Newspaper, July 9, 1937, Page 8

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The Assoctated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local news pudlished herein, ALl rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. —_——— Hitler Protests Again. Chancellor Hitler's list of eminent American pet aversions grows apace. On it recently appeared the names of Mayor La Guardia of New York and Cardinal Mundelein of Chicago. Robert W. Bing- ham, United States Ambassador to Great Britain, is the latest addition to the roster of those who have given grave offense in exalted quarters at Berlin. In &n Independence day address before the American Society in London, the Ambas- sador observed that “despots have forced the United States and Great Britain to undertake rearmament, and, having undertaken it, we must necessarily win the rearmament race.” He added that “if dictatorships are better to prepare for wars, democracies are better to finish wars” The Nazi government-inspired press hastens to call Colonel Bingham to account. The Aligemeine Zeltung charge speech “incites the so-called democracies against the so-called dictatorships in almost unbe- lievable fashion,” and terms the address “an appeal for competitive armaments.” The Wilhelmstrasse organ, unhesitat- ingly fitting the shoe to the Fascist foot, considers the London speech “an unmis- takable reference to Germany and Italy.” While it {s always undesirable for American diplomats to speak out of turn on foreign especially amid the explosive conditions now 1 Europe, Ambas: little but to put in other words—though less happily chosen ones—some of the thoughts which have found expression in the mouth of President Roosevelt on various occasions. In one of his earliest, personally delivered annual messages to Congress, M Roosevelt, reaffirming American devotion to peace, hinted at certain conditions overseas. They not only represent conceptions antipathetic to our democratic ideals, it was sug- gested, but they should cause this coun- try to remember that ardently as we ourselves are dedicated to the arts of peace, influences and aspirations persist beyond our shores that do not run par- allel with American policies and hopes. Mr. Roosevelt consistently has conveyed the impression that he holds adequate national defense required today, among other reasons, for =afeguardmg of those governmental forms and traditions to ich this Nation is indissolubly wedded. It was in that spirit that both the President and Secretary Hull at Buenos Alres last Winter pleaded eloquently for maintenance of democracy throughout the western world. That their appeals and admonitions have borne fruit is indi- cated by the stirring address along the same lines just delivered by Argentine Foreign Minister Saavedra Lamas. He ecclaims the Monroe Doctrine as a “retaining dam” against un-American tendencies that threaten this hemi- gphere, “The republic,” he said, “is and atways will be the invariable form of all the governments of the Americas. It must not be upset by outside currents or by followers of the institutional regimes based on the new ideologies circulating in our atmosphere today.” o Boy Scouts are at the delightful age When they can enjoy what they see and exchange mementoes without a geo- graphical quarrel as to who may be getting the best of a bargain. Boys will be boys and demonstrate by clever but good-natured bargaining their right to claim eminence as traders. o ©One of the great questions which the world has taken up with seriousness is the attitude of Mr. “Dizzy” Dean toward the honored sport of base ball. His per- sonal display is interesting, even though his personal effort may not be always satisfactory. nt Rapid Transit Comfort. While the question of rapid transit fares and services is under discussion at the District Building, some attention should be paid to the matter of the care and keep of the vehicles now in use on the local lines. Much improvement might be made, at small expense and to the effect of a better disposition of the riding public toward the corporation. First of all is the matter of the win- dows, which especially at this season of the year should be so adjusted as to permit ready opening and closing by the passengers. In these days of stifling heat ventilation is required. It cannot be regulated by the drivers of busses and the conductors of cars—where there are conductors. Passengers must attend to that matter themselves and save in rare cases are they able to manipulate the windows. Only by titanic strength is it possible to raise or slide them, and many a wrench to sensitive muscles is caused by the contortions and exertions incident to this performance, with nu- merous broken finger nails resulting from struggles with balky catches. The seats of the vehicles, likewise, should be daily cleaned, to prevent the soiling of garments, which at this time a of year are apt to be white or of light shades of color easily marked by stains from smears left upon the upholstery by less tidy passengers. The floors of both busses and cars might likewise be kept cleaner than they are. In the ‘course of & day’s run, with brief stop-~ overs at terminals and no purging forces established at these points, the accumu- lation of trash becomes a veritable nuisance. The passenger’s comfort is as essen- tially a matter of good service as the maintenance of adequate schedules. The dissatisfied patron, whether his discom- fiture is due to bad service, long waits at terminals and junction points, con- gestion or uncleanliness and poor ven- tilation, is a liability. The expenditure of a comparatively trifling amount upon such matters as window adjustment and floor and seat cleaning—window cleaning as well, incidentally—would be a paying investment in good will. s Good Riddance. Section 213—the so-called marriage clause—of the old economy act contained a lot of the stuff of which romance is made. It suggested the tragedy of broken homes, the dissolution of mar- riage partnerships, the furtive efforts of young newly-weds to keep the news of their marriage from a heartless Uncle Sam. It was plainly discriminatory in its effect, for most of those released from the Government service under the act have been women. The discussion of the evils of the marriage clause have always been accompanied by a display of con- siderable emotion, which was not lack- ing in yesterday’s House debate. But the fundamental issue typified in the marriage clause was far from emo- tional. The real issue concerned the merit system, not the right of men and women in Government service to be married. Under a real merit system there never has been and never can be any room for such a law as the marriage clause. For the merit system concerns itself, or should, only with the efficiency and the well-being of the Federal service. When the time comes to enforce separations from Government service, for reasons of economy or for other reasons, the first chosen to go should be those most lacking in meritorious performance of duty and of least value to the Gov- ernment. Marriage status, veteran status, place-of-residence status—all these things represent extraneous issues which have no pertinent bearing on the efficient conduct of Government service. And when marriage status or veteran status or place-of-residence status is injected and made a qualification for holding of Government positions, the merit system is by so much damaged. The outright repeal of the marriage clause by the House yesterday was the best, in fact the only sensible way to get rid of an obnoxious and vicious law. Proposed amendments which would have coupled the question of salary with the question of marriage status suffered de- served defeat. The House has done well and has acted with great wisdom in throwing the whole business out, leck, stock and barrel. And it is to be hoped that the Senate will take the same view of the situation and follow suit. e The Greater Danger. ‘The prospect of considerable delay in the Senate before the District tax bill can be taken up is discomfiting from the point of view of the municipal govern- ment officials. Left hanging in the air, without enough money to operate before new local tax revenues become available and powerless to begin the important work of collecting new taxes, the Com- missioners are in a quandary over what to do and how to do it. But this question of delay, as serious as it may be from the standpoint of ef- ficient tax administration and of book- keeping, is not as serious as the dilemma faced by the local taxpayers. The danger to them is not the lack of revenue on which to operate the local government —for it is inconceivable that Congress will make no provisions for avoiding the discharge of municipal employes because there is no money to pay them. The danger to the local taxpayer lies in & hurriedly enacted tax bill, without the necessarily careful consideration which should be given to the subject of equitable tax legislation. Let Congress and the District Building find a way out of the dilemma created by lack of new tax legisltition and lack of sufficient operating revenues. But let the local taxpayers insist that when the tax legislation is taken up for considera- tion ample time is afforded for adequate debate and examination of the highly controversial tax proposals it contains. —————— In the course of time it may be possible to get people thoroughly interested in what Thomas Jefferson said and wrote without considering unfavorable views on his career as a business man, ————— Boy Scouts are invited to make & study of our taxpaying system at close range. The time is not far distant when they will be heard with respect on this serious question. Keeping Cool. It is possible to make a science of keeping cool. Long-time residents of Washington have developed a practical technique of living in Summer. They may not be able to put into effect the suggestion of the British humorist, Sydney Smith—“It i so warm that I venture to advocate that we take off our flesh and sit in our bones!"—but they know from experience that it helps considerably to be philosophic in the cir- cumstances. As they see the problem, there is small advantage in getting heated about the heat. They try to remain calm of mind, however uncom- fortable of body. Also, they have learned that there is efficiency in the old policy of air-condi- tioning in homes and offices. Closed doors and windows and drawn blinds, they realize, serve to shut out the burn- ing daylight. A certain psychological principle is involved—a room that ap- pears reasonably cool actually is so0. The THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, FRIDAY, JULY 9, 1937. _— e THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. same generality may be applied to food. A table groaning with meats and vege- tables still smoking from the stove is attractive in December, but a discour- aging spectacle in July. Similarly, clothing appropriate for Midwinter may be positively firritating six or seven months later. The common reaction may be illustrated by the remark of a bus passenger: “That girl in the scarlet dress looks as though she were on fire!” A specific word may be added with regard to travel. Starting for business early rather than late is conducive to convenience in more ways than one, Trafic is less congested, public con- veyances less crowded at 7:30 than at 8 o'clock. Also, it should be mentioned that the mood for beginning the day is important. If people commence their routine of work in good spirits, there is an excellent chance that they will finish it undisturbed. ————————— Reasons for getting back to work are abundantly presented. Causes for a reluctance in the transaction are not always easy to analyze, but they should be considered in the light of the sincere interest of the man who has a job and is anxious to make it a part of a nation's business. —————— England and France have the mone- tary systems of a comparatively large section of the globe to look after and there may be question as to how far the real estate experiments of Mr. Wal- lace are to be regarded as rendering them any practical assistance. e Search for Amelia Earhart has cost a large sum of money and nobody will be- grudge a cent of it if the sound of her voice can be heard. This thing called money is peculiar material whose value must, after all, be acknowledged largely by the manner of its employment. ————— How the words of Mr. Joseph Robin- son will affect a decision as to Supreme Court organization remains in some degree a matter of conjecture. His beliefs are studied with care and as his reasoning is disclosed he cannot fail to show an interest in candid analysis of it. oot Never was the interest in flying more sincere. The interest in the airship simply as a war machine has been frankly discredited by the nations who have joined, regardless of monetary cost, in a determination to rescue the Amelia Earhart ship. e The prominent part taken by Josephus Daniels in world negotiations are ob- served with respectful interest even though there may arise odd moments of doubt as to whether he can assume an attitude of authority. e Eminent musicians are heard from in & study of modern taste without doing much after all to change the respect for “The Star Spangled Banner” or a John Philip Sousa march. Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Influence in July. Goin' fishin’! Fare you well! Where the waves are swishin’ For a little while we'll dwell In a calm condition. Goin’ fishin'! If you seek Favor or position You must wait another week; Boss has gone a-fishin', Substitutes Needed. “Do you approve of filibustering?” “Emphatically,” answered Senator Sor- ghum. “There are times when it be- comes necessary to halt proceedings in order to provide opportunity to think things over.” “Yet the speeches are dull and tire- some.” “That's the weak point of the system. We ought to amend the rules so as to permit us to hire.a jazz band or a monologist.” Jud Tunkins says sympathy is gen- erally a polite means of reminding a hard luck victim of how glad you are that you're not in his place. The Fleeting Show. This world is but a fleeting show That varies its condition, It now becomes, as all men know, A beauty competition. Lack of Influence. “I understand you are going to run for the Legislature.” “It seems so0,” answered Farmer Corn- tossel. “Of course, they had to pick on somebody, and it ’pears like I didn't have influence enough to keep my name off the ticket.” “Licked.” “I'm not afraid of any man, My head I lift anew ‘While I pursue an honest plan— And that's a bit untrue. I fear no knave, nor sordid slave Of Power all unfair— But, oh, how meekly I behave When in the dentist’s chair!” “A flivver would seem mo’ socfable and satisfactory,” said Uncle Eben, “if it had ears and could hear yoh heartfelt re- marks, same as & mule.” Handicapped. From the Macon Telegraph. In Singapore the traffic cop is seated in a chair, which must vex him no end, as he can’t begin to holler his best unless he’s standing up. Advice. Prom the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. Notice to politicians: There’s no need to cry over spilled milk, but you needn't giggle and go on spilling some more. Amateurs. Prom the Owsnsboro (Ky.) Messenger. Head hunters are on a rampage in the Philippines, but they are relatively,| harmless in comparison with the Ameri- can variety of sutomoblie speeder. THE POLITICAL MILL BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. Three days of Senate debate on the bill to increase the membership of the Supreme Court are enough to convince any one of one thing. There is more bitterness and more dynamite wrapped up in this prize package than any other measure the President has sought to have Congress enact. The charge, made by Senator Logan of Kentucky and others against Democrats who are opposing the court bill, that these Demo- cratic Senators are ungrateful to Roose- velt, and unfaithful to the party, got under the skins of these Democrats without delay. The immediate response was made by Senator Wheeler of Montana, leader of the- opposition, who said in effect that if there was any ingratitude going around it was on the part of the admin- istration. He pointed out that had it not been for some of the Democrats who are now assailed by the President’s lieu- tenants, the President never would have been nominated in 1932, There is a lot more truth than jest in that statement. Mr. Wheeler might have commented upon the services he himself rendered the President during the early stages of the fight for the Democratic presidential nomination, even before 1932—but he did not. * % kX Senator Wheeler also brought up the case of the late Senator Cutting of New Mexico. Cutting was not a Democrat. He was a progressive Republicah who broke with his party to support Roose- velt in 1932. But because Cutting op- posed the President and voted to over- ride his veto of the veterans’ bonus bill, the President cut Cutting off the list. One break with the President, and it was enough. The administration sought to defeat Cutting in his fight for re-elec- tion in 1934, The Montana Senator, with consider- able reason, told Senator Logan and the Senate that there is no such thing as gratitude in politics. The only satisfac- tion, he said, comes to & man in political office from doing what he thinks is right. Whether the President is going gun- ning for the Democratic Senators now opposed to his court bill, who come up for re-election next year, has not been disclosed. But certainly speeches like Logan’s would seem to lay the ground- work for such action. Wheeler himself does not come up for re-election until 1940. At that time President Roosevelt will either be running for re-election himself—as some of his friends are already urging him to do—or will be seeking to name his successor. * ok ox X Joseph Lieb, who was president and organizer of the 1st Roosevelt for Presi- dent Club but who has more recently become a sharp critic of the Roosevelt administration, recently addressed a let- ter to Senator Logan asking whether Logan, who is favoring the court bill, had been promised a place on the Supreme Court. Senator Logan replied, under date of July 6, with considerable resentment that no one connected with the administration had ever suggested to him such a thing as appointment to the Supreme Bench. Logan also an- swered another question propounded by Lieb: “Would you favor or support President Roosevelt for a third term if he desires to run?” Logan's answer was: “I am not for the President for a third term.” This statement of the Kentucky Sena- tor is quite clear as to his position on a third term. He differs in this from the position taken by Gov. Earle of Penn- sylvania, who insists that the President should be renominated and re-elected. Both Logan and Earle are supporting the President’s court bill. Three years hence the Democrats will have nom- inated their candidate for President. It remains to be seen which is the better guesser, Earle or Logan, on this impor- tant question. * ok ox % The administration leaders have aban- doned the President’s original court bill and have taken up with the Logan- Hatch compromise. It has already been demonstrated from the debate, however, that the administration leaders expect to obtain the same ends from the com- promise as they did from the original bill. Senator Minton of Indiana, while admitting as much, added that the com- promise would be “slow motion.” That is the only regret of the admin- istration leaders. The President will not be able to appoint six new justices of the Supreme Court forthwith. He will, under the compromise, be able to appoint only one new additional justice each calendar year, if any justices 75 years of age or more remain upon the bench. This admission that the administration ex- pects to obtain its ends from the com- promise bill may be something of a blow to the “mild reservationists” like Senator Hatch of New Mexico, who could not stomach the original bill but who are shouting for the compromise. With the thermometer on the up and up in Washington, the debate over the court bill in the Senate is not likely to become more and more mild. The admin- istration leaders are frankly laying plans to check a prolonged filibuster if they can by interpretations of the Senate rules. One plan is to have the chair rule that a Senator may speak only twice in one day on a given subject, and that a “legislative day” in the Senate is “one day,” although it may run over a long list of calendar days. Then by not per- mitting the Senate to adjourn, but to have it recess from calendar day to cal- endar day, the same legislative day is to be kept going. y * K ok K Senator Pittman, the President pro tempore, has indicated that he will hold that the rule applies to the “legislative day.” If he does an appeal will be taken from his ruling and that question will be debatable and will be debated, probably at length. If his ruling is upheld, the opponents of the bill will still be able to offer innumerable amendments, upon which they may speak twice, no matter how long the “legislative day” is contin- ued. Several amendments are already being suggested. One, that the bill shall not apply to any of the sitting justices of the Supreme Court; another, that the word “calendar” be stricken from the compromise bill, so that the President may name one additional justice only once every twelve months. A motion to strike out the enacting clause of the bill is another maneuver which may be undertaken by the opposition. Until today, the debate has been car- ried by the supporters of the bill— Robinson, Guffey, Logan and Minton. Unless there is & change in the program, the opposition will have its first pre- sentation by Senator Wheeler in the Senate today. The debate has aroused tremendous interest and the galleries are constantly crowded, and even the mem- bers of the Senate remain in considerable numbers on the floor. The opponents of the measure are resourceful. It seems extremely doubtful that the administra- tion will be able to force a vote on the measure until the opposition is ready to permit & vote. The prospect is that many of the Senators who are counted upon to vote for the bill 'fl: become “ANNAPOLIS, Md. “Dear Sir: Thanks for your salutation to the Japanese privet, that loves to toss with feathery grace its fragrant flowers in the Summer sun against the azure sky. “Alas! that it can be a source of dis- sention, on one side liberty and grace are desired; on the other, regulation and the death of freedom. “But to gardeners there is another problem: What to do about the wistaria vine that desires to ravage the hemlock tree? “Shall its effulgent beauty and heavy perfume in the Springtime, as it reaches high among tree branches for its place in the sun, be unrestricted? . “Or shall one ‘protect, by ruthless pruning of the vine, the grave beauty of the hemlock? “These are ever fascinating problems to those who own a paradise on earth, however small, maybe only a bit of grass and ferns. “But how best to decide—for freedom, or for regulation? Sincerely, L. T. A.” * Kk k X ‘To prune, or not to prune—that is the garden question. Whether to let things alone, and have tangled shrubs and vires which the birds love best, or neatly trimmed things which somehow appeal most to a certain type of human mind. Those who have a genuine interest in bird life will let the songsters decide for them. To all such people, this is no longer much of a problem, this old torturing issue of whether to cut back or not to cut back, whether to prune or not to prune, whether to lop off or not to lop. The birds say, in chorus, “Let well enough alone. We like tangled shrub- bery!” As far as we can determine, they have no particular objection to the proper pruning of great climbing vines, be they wistaria or bittersweet. The tree must decide, in this case. Birds like best the very overgrown shrubs, which is because that is the way Nature grows them, if let alone. They prefer their trees as Nature grows them, too, which generally is without a vine. Comparatively few trees, in the wild, are borne down by great overhanging vines, which in time come to hide the outlines of trunk and major branches and boughs. Yet many such trees are to be found in small gardens, where gardeners have placed some climber at the base, not realizing how it will grow in five to ten years. Lattices, or old tree stumps left tall, are the best places for these great grow- ing vines. It seems that vine roots rob growing trees of much nutriment and some moist- ure, in time harming the tree roots, and making the entire great structure a prey to the elements. x Kk Kk Trees are so beautiful in themselves that they need no additions. The beauty and grace of a tree in Winter is commonly overlooked. It looks bare, but is truly beautiful against the skies, In Summer, no poet is needed to point out the glory of trees, great or small. They command their own homage. A little vine on a tree is not bad, from any standpoint, or viewpoint. The trouble is that most vines refuse to stay small; they want to stretch up, and out; in time they smother growth, dulling the clean cut outlines of majestic limbs, sapping the structure at the very roots. The tree with huge vines on it is much more likely to blow down in S8um- mer thunderstorms than the same tree would be without any such encum- brances. * X K % Since proper pruningsof a wistaria on a tree is very difficult, after the vine has developed thick stalks, and gone to a good height, there can be little doubt that the best way to handle them is never to permit them to grow tall. The real best way, however, is not to plant them at trees. Even the birds do not like trees too heavily shrouded in vines. A certain amount of vine growth they tolerate, but after it reaches higher and becomes thicker, they tend to shun the entire affair, seldom nesting in the vine, although offhand one might think it would appeal to them. We believe that the birds, with the wisdom of the centuries, know before- hand that such cluttered trees are more likely to crack up in a storm, and there- fore shun them for the sturdier speci- mens which can sway and bend without hindrance. * ¥ X ¥ The belief that great tough vines “help hold the tree up” is sheer hokum. Those tough wistaria canes may look strong, and be rather hard to prune, but rest assured that they will not be the slightest aid to a tree if the wind blows it down. Wistarias, particularly, are gross feed- ers, and take away from the tree roots some of the plant food which they other- wise would get all to themselves. The battle for food is not dramatized in the plant kingdom, but it goes on ruthless, just as in the animal world. Here, too, the fittest survive. Usually that means the strongest, the tree or shrub or plant with the largest root sys- tems, the best leaves, especially those untouched by insect or fungus. Such specimens, whether large or small, are able to reach out their roots the farthest, and draw in the most food. Whatever they get something else does not get. It is all a matter of comparative values, there as here. * ok X K The tree with too big a vine growth on it suffers much as it would from a parasite. A vine is not a parasite, ex- actly, but in some instances a great wis- taria or bittersweet probably has an even worse effect on a tree. ‘We spoke here the other day of a monstrous bittersweet vine which has so covered a locust that it presents the appearance of a mass of greener about 10 to 12 feet in diameter, all semblance of trunk and branches having been lost. Last year, when this vine was not so rampant, bluebirds came to a house fixed to the trunk. After the leaves came out there still was plenty of room for birds to get in and out. This year the vine has leafed out so amazingly that there is no room for even | a bird to fly in and out that house. There can be little question that vinés | of any type which grow to this propor- ! tion had better be pruned. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. Senate debate on the Supreme Court bill set in with return of tropical tem- perature to Washington and otherwise amid conditions conducive to thunder and lightning. Early battling leaves lit- tle doubt that the contest is going to be waged in the no-quarter spirit. One of the surprises of the opening rounds is the belligerency of administration forces. Nothing in the conduct of either Senator Robinson, their commander in chief, or of Senator Logan, nominal proponent of the substitute measure, indicates that they're fighting an uphill battle. Most significant revelation of White House war plans is Robinson’s intimation that an opposition filibuster will be eombat- ted tooth and nail. The Arkansan has not specifically said so, but strongly leaves it to be inferred that the Roose- veltians will not shrink from seeking to apply cloture if the Wheelerites resort to vote-blocking maneuvers. * K Kk X Exchanges between the friendly ene- mies have to date kept within the bounds of parliamentary niceties, but the atmos- phere is heavily charged with explosive- ness, for all that. Hot words are bound to be bandied before the fracas is much older. Senator McNary's slender band of 16 Republican brethren is plainly enjoying the spectacle of the Democratic family feud. Big G. O. P. guns, of course, will bark as it proceeds, but minority strategy for the moment is to give the majority ample opportunity to advertise and aggravate party friction. Enough has already happened to foreshadow a Democratic split that by 1938 and 1940 may rival the Bull Moose mutiny precipi- tated by another Roosevelt exactly 25 years ago this Summer. The President’s court opponents vehemently repudiate the idea that they are out to wreck either him or the New Deal, but the conflict has already seared the donkey with scars that will not easily heal. * K Kk K Senator Guffey, Democrat, of Penn- sylvania, who introduced the first parti- san note by assailing Chief Justice Hughes as a “supremely clever politi- cian,” who carried his “political wiles” onto the high bench, invited a devastat- ing retort by enabling Senator Burke to point out that Joe Robinson, Senate nominee for the Supreme Court, is no slouch of a “clever politician” himself. The Keystone Democratic boss might also appropriately be reminded that the Chief Justices who in turn preceded Hughes both had political backgrounds. Edward Douglass White, who was ap- pointed an associate justice by Cleve- land in 1894 and Chief Justice by Taft in 1910, was in Louisiana politics prac- tically all his life. He was serving his first term in the United States Senate when elevated to the Supreme Court. William Howard Taft from earliest man- heartily sick of the whole business long before a vote is reached. * ok X K Senator Black, chairman of the Com- mittee on Education and Labor, did not cheer up many of the Senators when he announced yesterday that he believed that Congress should put through the ‘wages and hours bill, the proposed farm bili and the housing bill before it adjourns. He submitted from his com- mittee a report on the wages and hours bill, considerably lessening the powers of the proposed Federal Labor Standards Board, and fixing 40 cents an hour as the highest minimum wage and 40 hours a week as the lowest maximum hours a week the board could establish. If that bill is brought up, Senator Vandenberg of Michigan may offer as amendments to it his proposals to make labor unions more hood was also in the hurly burly of poli- tics, including two campaigns for the presidency, preceding appointment to the Supteme Court by Harding in 1921. * K % x Germany and other “have-not” nations may find a glimmer of hope in the hint dropped at the University of Virginia's Institute of Public Affairs this week by Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles. Discussing the basis for peace, Secretary Hull's understudy seemed to hint directly at the need of appeasing countries clam- oring for raw materials and colonies. Mr. Welles said: “Surely we must have learned that permanent peace cannot be founded on revenge; that millions of human beings cannot be forced to face a future without hope, cannot be ex- pected to dedicate the toil of their whole lives in order that they may thus offer reparation for the crimes and mistakes, real or alleged, of the leaders of an ear- lier generation in their fatherland. I think the causes of the ills from which the world suffers today revolve primar- ily about the fundamental fact that the injustices and maladjustments resulting from the great war—political, economic and financial—have never yet been rectified.” * k% % Former Senator William Cabell Bruce of Maryland is doing his bit to explode the New Deal theory that men in their 70s are ready for the shelf. At 77, Mr. Bruce is about to begin writing a monumental life of Thomas Jefferson. The veteran Baltimore Democrat, who specialized during his Senate term, 1923 to 1929, in hammering at the eighteenth amendment, already has several histor- ical biographies to his credit. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1918 with his “Ben- jamin Franklin Self-Revealed.” Bruce’s claims to fame include defeat of Wood- row Wilson in debating contests when they were classmates at the University of Virginia. * ¥k k ok Sighs of relief are breathed at the White House over the gpparent determi- nation of Senator Wagner to remain in Congress and not tempt fate in a race with Fiorello La Guardia for the New York mayoralty. A Wagner-La Guardia contest would have provided the Presi- dent with a real headache, because of his fondness for both men and their devotion to the New Deal. It would have been embarrassing in the extreme for him to favor Wagner against La Guar- dia, who, despite his Republican back- ground, has been an ardent Rooseveltian. No matter who the Democratic nominee is, F. D. R.'s troubles will not be over, because he will be reluctant, even in the name of party regularity, to take up arms against Manhattan’s pugnacious “little flower.” * ¥ %k % Ray Atherton, long-time counselor of the American Embassy in London, who has just been appointed Minister to Bul- garia, is famed in the foreign service as a breaker-in of new Yankee Ambassa- dors to the Court of St. James. For the past 13 years he has been showing green- horns the ropes. Among his “pupils” were Frank B. Kellogg, Alanson B. Houghton, Charles G. Dawes, Andrew W. Mellon and the incumbent, Robert ‘W. Bingham. Atherton, who was at Harvard with President Roosevelt, is completing his twentieth year in diplo- macy. He was a banker and an architect before he started on his international career at Toklo in 1917. % k% Senator Robinson, during the court debate, observed that “men are not always conscious of the time when they have passed the climax of their useful- ness.” This is well {llustrated in politics, he said, adding: “One who has secved ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. A readsr can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C. FPlease inclose stamp for reply. Q. What newspaper was the first to use the Teletypesetter?—J. H. A. On August 7, 1929, the first Tele~ typesetter used commercially went into action in the composing room of the Evanston, Ill., News-Index. Q. What is the fastest freight train? —H. L. ‘ A. The world's fastest long-distance freight train is the MS-1 on the Illinois Central. It is made up of forty cars and runs the 528 miles between Chicago and Memphis in twelve hours. Q. When did Billie Burke first appear on the stage?—C. G. A. In London she appeared in a per= formance in 1902. Her New York debut was in 1907 when she played the role of Beatrice Dupre in “My Wife.” Q. Are Boy Scout organizations banned in any country?—K. L. A. Scouting is banned in Russia, Ger= many and Italy. Q. Please give some information about, the late Paul Chabas who painted “Sep- tember Morn."—M. G. A. Paul Chabas was born at Nantes, France, in 1869. He was the pupil of Bouguereau and of Robert Fleury. In 1899 he won the Prix National du Salon, and in 1900 a gold medal. He was a member of the Comite des Artistes Francais. Chabas was specially gifted in painting the female nude. Q. What is the passenger capacity of the Queen Mary?—G. M. L. A. The Queen Mary can carry 2,075 passengers in addition to a crew of approximately 1,200. Q. What children’s book won the late est Newbery Medal?>—H. J A. “Roller Skates,” by Ruth Sawyer, was awarded the sixteenth annual John Newbery Medal. Q. What was the color of Gen. Robert, E. Lee’s eyes?>—N. L. R. A. Gen. Robert E. Lee had dark brown eyes, which sometimes appeared black. Q. How many persons visit the White House at the height of the Spring tour= ist season?—T. W. » A. In the month of April, 31401 per- sons were admitted by card to the White House, while 150,000 others made the tour which is permitted to any visitor. Q. What celebrity receives the most mail?—J. R. A. Robert Ripley, the believe-it-or-not cartoonist, is said to receive more mail consistently than any other person in the world. Q. How many copies of pulp magazines are sold?—E. W. A. Harold Hersey in his book, “Pulp- wood Editor,” estimates that 10,000,000 persons purchase pulp magazines each month, Q. What are homing pigeons worth? —R.F. 8 A. Pedigreed birds bring from $25 to $50 each, but the record price of $6,000 is said to have been paid. Q. What was the name of the base ball player who died of a fractured skull about fifteen years ago or longer?— E W. A. Raymond Chapman, shortstop of the Cleveland Indians, died of a frac- tured skull on August 17, 1920, the night after he was hit by a ball pitched by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees. Q. Has aluminum ever been colored? —W. R. A. The process of coloring aluminum is not new. A recently developed process, however, that marks an improvement in the art is being used in a plant in Bir- mingham, England. Electricity is used to make the coloring an integral part of the metal. Aluminum so treated will not corrode and is insulated against current up to 500 volts. Q. Please give a biography of Hart Crane, the poet—J. W. A. Hart Crane was born at Garretts- ville, Ohio, in 1899. He moved to New York, where he worked as an advertising copy writer, and produced a volume of poems, “White Buildings,” inspired by the New York scene. A self-acknowl- edged disciple of Whitman, Crane, in “The Bridge,” a long epic poem in which Brooklyn Bridge is the symbol of the development of the United States, made a distinct contribution to American lit- erature. He died tragically in 1932, Q. What is the record time for chang- ing a tire at the Indianapalis race track?>—E. H. B. A. The American Automobile Asso- ciation says that the record time for changing a tire at the Indianapolis race track is nine seconds. Q. Who invented the metronome? —K. H. A. The instrument was invented by Maelzel in 1816. Q. What is the name of the river in Colorado that is so famous for its trout? —W. R. A. The Gunnison River in Colorado has been called the best trout stream in the country. » Q. Are dry and liquid measures used in China?—M. B. A. Almost everything is sold by weight, so that dry and liquid measures are little used. Q. Please give a list of some of the pictures in which Pearl White played —H. M. Miss White played in “The White Moll,” “Tiger's Cub,” “The Thief,” “Mountain Woman,” “Know Your Men,” “Beyond Price,” “A Virgin Papadise, ‘Without Fear,” “Broadway Peacock,” “Any Wise,” and in numerous serials including the “Episodes of Pauline,” “The Exploits of Elaine,” “Plunder” and “The Black Secret.” Q. Whose voices are used in transcrib- ing the talking book records for the blind?—E. M. A. Sometimes an author will record his own book. Many of the records are made using the voices of radio announcers and actors and stage and screen actors. long and well is seldom, if ever, aware of his failing power. He keeps on running for office, running and running and run- ning, until every one gets tired of him and until he is defeated by some man whom he considers his inferior. I've often thought that politics is not an occupation, but a disease, and, by the Eternal, when it gets in the blood and brain there’s no cure for {t1* (Coprrisht, 1937.) A /