Evening Star Newspaper, July 23, 1937, Page 8

A-—8 = THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Editien. WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY July 23, 1937 THEODORE W. NOYES_.__.....__Editer The Evening Star Newspaper Company. w Yor 5 2nd 8t Onicago Ofce: 435 North Michigan Ave, Rate by Carrier—City and Suburban. Reqular Edition. Per month or 150 per week 10¢ per week The Sunday Sta- Nigi ight Final and Sunday Sta: Fight Sinal apd Sus Z8! Collection at the end of each each week, Orders may be sent by mall or tele- Shone Natlonal 5000. Rate by Mafl—Payable in Advance, Maryland and Virglnia, {ly and Sunday. ily jonly - unday only_. ily anq Sunday. $12.00; EEuy Sy 1 $8.00; 1 mi o 5 $5.00; 1 m Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches tredited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local news published herein, {l rishts of publication of special dispatches erein are also reserved. —_——— The Victory. Just a fortnight less than six months 220 President Roosevelt sent to Congress & special message proposing legislation to effect the reorganization of the Su- preme Court by the process of enlarge- ment, to permit the naming of additional Justices in order to effect a more “lib- eral” dbalance in favor of New Deal measures, the constitutionality of which has been heretofore denied by the court. Yesterday, by an overwhelming vote, the Senate returned the bill to the Judiciary Committee, with instructions to report A measure dealing with procedural re- forms in the lower courts. Thus ends v struggle for the maintenance of the ‘ndependence of the judiclary, a decisive defeat for the President. In a legislative sense these six months have been wasted time. But there is wnother measure to be applied to the matter. The time has not been wasted i the result, the refusal of the Senate to yield to the demand of the Executive for dominance of the judiciary, is taken into account. Back of the Senate, in its refusal, have been the people of America. The President’s proposal was as stunning to millions of Americans as it was unex- pected. There had been no suggestion that the President would seek an in- erease in the membership of the Supreme Court. Indeed, Democratic leaders had denounced as mere propaganda predic- tions by Republicans that the President would, if re-elected, undertake to pack the court. To those Senators who declined to yield to political pressure in this fight for the preservation of the independence of the judiciary the thanks of the coun- try will go forth. They have been opposed by an organization of great strength. They have been threatened with reprisal, with the loss of their present places in Congress. They have been promised rewards if they would agree. The cloak for this move to dominate the judiciary was a plea for progress. But progress which places the courts of Justice under political dominance is progress in the wrong direction. As such the country has understood it. The administration also put forward its pro- posal as & program to speed up justice, to make an end of interminable litiga- tion. After it had been clearly dem- onstrated that the Supreme Court was fully abreast of its work and that the proposal to increase the membership of the court to fifteen would in reality put a halter upon the court, this argument was largely abandoned. The Senate has acted effectually. Its course would seem to lay the ghost of this court packing proposal. There is, however, always the chance that it may be revived in another form at a later date. This danger might well be elim- inated by the proposal of a constitutional amendment which would fix the size of the Supreme Court and perhaps fix the age of compulsory retirement. At least, the country would have an opportunity to express itself if an amendment were submitted to it. The opponents of the court bill have not opposed social progress. Included in their ranks are men who have fought year in and year out for such progress. ‘They have opposed a'step backward—a step toward centralizing all power of government in the hands of one man. They have won a victory that will go down in history. China and Japan are threatening each other so fercely that it may be necessary for this country to keep on its own side of the earth for a while and give atten- tion to providing suitable landing fields for alr commerce under conditions of reasonable safety, Paying Its Way. In this era of costly bureaucracies and mounting taxes, 1t is refreshing—indeed almost amazing—to find at least one Government bureau which is not only paying its way, but giving a substantial profit to the taxpayers. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, whose G-men at risk of life and limb have restored a sense of security to a Nation which not so long ago was ter- rorized by roving gangs of kidnapers and bandits, has just reported a return of $7 for every dollar expended during the pest fiscal year. More specifically, according to figures submitted to Attorney General Homer Cummings by J. Edgar Hoover, director of the F. B. I, the bureau spent $5,800,000 during the fiscal year which ended on June 30 last, and returned to the Amer- ican people in property recoveries, fines and savings a total of $41,438370. Included in the Teturn were ransom moneys taken from captured kidnapers, extortion payments thwarted by effective investigative action, loot recovered from bank robbers, jewel thieves and other criminals, and automobiles seized in the amashing of stolen car rings. That this was dangerous work for the apecial agents engaged in this phase of Government service to the citizenry is attested by the fact two names were added during the year to the ‘“roll of honor” of the F. B. I, listing agents ‘who have fallen in battle with the public enemy. That the criminal is getting the worst of it, however, is shown by the record of convictions in 94.67 per cent of cases brought to trial on G-man evidence, by the imposition of two death and thirteen life sentences on major offenders, and by the identification of 7,526 fugitives from Justice. It is worthwhile to note that these savings and these other accomplishments were the work of a bureau untouched by politics. The President of Eire. Although Eamon de Valera failed at the recent parliamentary election to win 8 majority in the Dail Eireann, that body by the substantial vote of 82 to 52 has re-elected him as President of the Irish Free State, to be known henceforth by its ancient Gaelic designation of Eire, The militant, American-born chief execu- tive was awarded a second term not only by the vote of his own sixty-nine Fianna Fail party supporters in the Dail, but with the backing of the Labor group and members of other factions nominally in opposition to the government. Mr. de Valera's rival, former President William T. Cosgrave, unsuccessfully sought to ally the Laborites with his own bloc, but he could not prevail against the phalanx which manifestly believes that the work- ing out of Eire's salvation can best be intrusted to the forthright personality whose gleaming objective is full and final separation from the British Empire. Bulwarked by the substantial vote of confidence which clothes him with presi- dential power for another five years, Mr. de Valera is expected to devote him- self intensively to carrying out the pro- visions of the constitution so substan- tially approved by popular vote a few weeks ago. The new charter does not contemplate immediate abandonment of the British link, but is described by Mr. de Valera as a far-reaching, progressive step in that direction. While there is absolute severance as far as internal affairs are concerned, Downing Street's authority temporarily continues in the realm of foreign relations. That com- plete independence at which President de Valera aims will eventually destroy this lingering tie, as well. Meantime the government's program aims at stimulating Irish industry and agriculture so as to make the Free State utterly self-sufficient. Achievement of that goal, Mr. de Valera believes, will symbolize unalloyed political, territorial and economic sovereignty for Eire. The President’s dream of a united Ireland, inclusive of Ulster, is an aspiration not likely to materialize as speedily as his other hopes. The northern Irish reveal little inclination to desert the British crown and place themselves under Dublin's yoke. Nor will the millennial future envisioned for his country by Mr. de Valera be definitely assured until the long pending economic and financial dispute with Great Britain is composed, and John Bull's rich and indispensable market is again thrown open for the produce of Irish farms and factories. “Partisan Body.” Senator Gerald T. Nye of North Da- kota spoke for a large section of the population of the United States when he declared: “The National Labor Re- lations Board seems to have gone out of its way to demonstrate to the public that it is a partisan body rather than a judicial institution.” The average man, it seems, shares the Senator’s conviction that the board “has such a pronounced C. I. O. bias” that “it has disqualified itself as a referee between management and workers.” Radicals have hailed its decisions with altogether too much joy to satisfy more thoughtful citizens. ‘What was wanted of the board was complete detachment from the “class war.” Instead, the effect of its activi- ties has been, as Mr. Nye insists, to “increase bitterness, promote discord, awaken cries of unfairness and destroy the great hope of economic advance- ment at a time when such destruction would certainly bring disaster.” The Senator, it should be remembered, is no “economic royalist.” His record proves him to be a courageous friend of the downtrodden and oppressed. Their battles have been his battles these many years. It happens, however, that he is a philosopher, a realist, a close and ex- céedingly intelligent student of social trends. He knows from experience as well as from observation that America is not predominantly “red,” but, rather, fundamentally sane and sensible in its attitude toward human problems. —_————— Some gratitude may be felt by Chief Justice Hughes for the discipline earlier life has given him in getting through one crisis after another without becom- ing in the least degree nervous. Tragic Gold. The discovery of three million dollars’ worth of gold ingots in a jungle recalls to mind the story of Sir Henry Morgan’s raid upon the Spanish city which pre- ceded the Panama of today. \ A native of Wales, the leader of the piratical invasion was a man schooled in violence. He once had been a chattel slave and later for a while a wice- admiral under the notorious buccaneer Mansvelt. Master of a dozen vessels and commander-in-chief over seven hundred lusty adventurers, he took Puerto del Principe in Cuba, but was disappointed in the quantity of loot obtained—a dis- illusionment which' furnished him with ample excuse to capture Porto Bello and pillage its inhabitants. Morgan next prepared to add Mara- caibo to his list of conquests. A biog- rapher says that when that settlement had been “sucked dry” by the usual process of torture and murder, the “bar- barians” assaulted Gibraltar and again “streams of blood-stained gold ecom- . L THE EVENING STAR, menced to trickle” into gory coffers. Back at Port Royal to re-fit, the cut- throat captain of the rascal crew was solemnly commissioned “to seize and déstroy all enemy ships, and to land and attack any place he deemed neces- sary.” Naturally, Morgan made the most of his opportunity. He proceeded against Panama at the head of twelve hundred greedy and desperate rogues recruited with promises of inordinate plunder. The expedition’s temper was sharpened by hunger in its crossing of the Isthmus of Darlen. It arrived before “the store- house of the Indies” passionately eager for battle. Two hours of fighting sealed the fate of the city. A chronicler of the result remarks: “On the 24th of Feb- ruary of the year 1671 Captain Morgan departed from the place where the said city of Panama did stand; of the spoils whereof he carried with him one hundred and seventy-five beasts of car- riage, laden with precious things.” The personal reward of the pirate chief, however, was a knighthood and appointment to be lieutenant governor of Jamaica. Charles II appreciated such a servant! Morgan died in 1690 “in an odor of sanctity.” But his ghost walks—or, possibly, sails—the tropic zone, still dreaded, still feared. Every ‘now and again it Is revived by some fortunate accident like that reported this week. Yet each recovery of tragic yellow metal represents yenewed mockery of his crimes. The gold invariably is a portion of the scattered hoard which panic-stricken communities hid from him successfully. N A landing in Russia was almost missed by Mr. Sirovich, who was abroad with Aviator Pangborn to study the drama as it develops in a new world. Interest in the theater is still great and sincere and if Mr. 8irovich would interest a Summer stock company he would satisfy a great and growing curiosity in what he has to say. After all, Mr, Sirovich may have a real message. Who knows? R A new idea might be introduced into public print by giving the actual words instead of a series of initials and hiring & man whose duties consist largely in their explanation. Of course, A. F. of L. is familiar, but it is necessary for a read- er to pick up some independent informa- tion before he is clear about C. I. O. ot One of the pronounced characteristics of John~ Nance Garner is his capacity for prolonged silences. Nobody can spend as much time as he sometimes devotes to contemplating conditions without coming through with some interesting ideas. o As human knowledge seeks to expand men cannot fail to be impressed by the amount of history that has been and continues to be written around the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. —————————_ August 18 a good month for a holiday provided that a statesman does not have to take too many world maps and manu- scripts along home to his desk. —— e At all events Japan has duly demon- strated that an Asiatic war zone is no place for a lady. ) Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Destination. The earth, the water and the sky Are ours; we delve or ride or fly, And swifter still the pace we make, Nor study well the course we take; And yonder in the twilight gleams A castle in the land of dreams. Each as he journeys hopes to find The spot where cares are left behind, And huwiries faster day by day, Until his strength fails by the way— And still before the ‘nightfall gleams The splendor of the land of dreams. Polite Prediction. “Didn’t you tell me I was going to get that appointment?” inquired the constituent. “I believe I did,” replied Senator 8or- ghum. “You haven't kept your promise.” “My friend, I didn't mean it as a prom- ise. 1t was only an optimistic prophecy.” Jud Tunkins says economy with him is like the violin. Every time he tries to practice it, the whole family gets un- comfortable, Agricultural Elegance. Beneath the touch of wealth appears A landscape very charming. The farmers now are financiers. The financiers try farming. A Natural Cave Man. “Why don’t you be a cave man?” “I wish I could,” replied Mr. Meekton. “If 1 had & cool cave somewhere I'd hide in it.” “He who listens to all things,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, "y/m have opportunity to select the truth, which, were he wise, he would have known with far less listening.” % As Sentiment Ceases. To roses we must say farewell, With us they cannot always dwell, And so when Autumn comes along We'll cease the sentimental song. Though problems may surround the wheat, We know well still have things to eat; ‘There are some crops that never fail. Hurrah for spinach and for kale! “You gotta face what comes,” said Uncle Eben. “If you spends all yoh time bein’ afraid of gettin’ into trouble, you's in it already.” New Use for Chocolate. Prom the Worcester Gazette. A feminine disciple of Izaak Walton landed s large bass the other day with & chocolate drop on her hook. This is the first time candy has been for balt—in fishing. N A ¢ ! WASHINGTON, D. C., THE POLITICAL MILL BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. Vice President Garner came back to Washington in time to avert a deadly civil war among the Democrats of the Senate. It remains to be seen whether the new majority leader, Senator Bark- ley of Kentucky, and the Vice President can heal the wounds already made dur- ing the contest over the President’s plan to increase the membership of the Su- preme Court. The battle \had already been exceedingly brisk, not to say bitter. The end of the battle came yesterday, # few days earlier than had been ex- pected. But there seemed no good rea- son for delay in the final settlement, once the administration forces decided to capitulate. Se the oppesition took charge and wrote the agreement, which was ac- cepted by the administration leaders. * ok K X The victory of the opposition was com- plete. It was complete because the agreement now entered into eliminates entirely from any judicial reform bill which the committee on judiciary may bring forth any mention of the Supreme Court. The heart of the President’s pro- gram and the bill which he hoped to put through was that provision enabling him to appoint additional justices to the Su- preme Court. This was the heart of the President’s bill, just as Article 10 of the League of Nations Covenant was the heart of that document. It was that article in the League Covenant—which in effect would have required the United States to go to war to preserve peace, with nations with which it had no quar- rel—to which Woodrow Wilson clung so tenaciously. K The presumption now is that the Sen- ate Judiciary Committee, to which the President’s court bill and all amend- ments were recommitted yesterday by a vote of 70 to 20, will bring out & bill mak- ing some reforms in judicial procedure designed to speed up justice. However, not only will the new bill make no pro- vision for increasing the membership of the highest court, but it will omit another provision of the original, that which called for the appointment of a “proctor” for the Federal courts. It will eliminate, too, that provision under which Federal judges could have been shifted from one district and one circuit to an- other. This is &ye provision which Sen- ator George of Georgia denounced so heatedly, calling it a “carpet bagging” scheme, which would send Vermont Judges to try cases in Georgia, and Georgia judges to try cases in Vermont. EREE The new bill will be but a shell, a few of the trimmings of the original meas- ure. The opponents of the President's program have an iron-clad agreement with the administration forces that there is to be no attempt to amend the new bill on the Senate floor or in the House so as to revive the Supreme Court and other features to which they objected. One thing may be said. All the Sen- ators—both the opponents and the pro- ponents of the court bill—heaved a sigh of relief when the bill was recommitted. They have become heartily sick of the measure and of the struggle which seemed destined to go on for many more weeks. x x % % Binding up the wounds in the Demo- cratic party growing out of this six months’ contest over the court bill is going to be a real job. It will be all the more difficult if Gov. Earle of Pennsylvania and other fire-eaters con- tinue to demand punishment of those Democratic Senators who opposed the court bill. Already the schism in the Democratic ranks is marked. The contest over the Democratic lead- ership of the Senate, won by Senator Barkley of Kentucky—by one vote—over Senator Pat Harrison of Mississippi, ended apparently in harmony. But some of the supporters of Harrison continue to resent the attitude of the administra- tion. Notwithstanding the protests by the President that he was entirely neutral in the leadership fight, some of them maintain that the administration and particularly Chairman James A. Farley of the Democratic National Committee, brought a good deal of pressure here and there to assure the election of Sen- ator Barkley. * % X X It looks as though from this point on there would be & struggle between the more radical group in the New Deal party with the more conservative Democrats. The prize will be control of the Demo- cratic party—and the nomination of a presidential candidate in 1940. It looks, too, as though the Congress, strongly dominated in both houses by the Demo- crats, would from now on show a greater spirit of independence. The White House may find it increasingly difficult to get Congress to sign on the dotted line. Some of the Democrats are openly pre- dicting that hereafter Congress will write its own laws, and not accept bills handed to it by the White House. * K X K ‘The program for the rest of the present session of Congress has still to be agreed upon. For six months the legislators have done little more than the routine and the annual appropriation bills. No effort has been made by the administra- tion to get through its recommendations for labor and farm legislation. It would have been possible to obtain action on a labor bill and farm bill—and a housing bill—long ago, if the administration had been willing to let up in its demand for the court bill. Now, in the middle of Summer, members rather resent the idea they should be held here to consider these controversial measures. With the dropping by the administra- tion of its court bill, immediately there cropped up in Washington today rumors that some of the justices of the Supreme Court now 75 years of age or more, would retire—as Justice Van Devanter did last June. It was understood that as long as this court bill, with its provision relating to the Supreme Court, was before Con- gress, there would be no further retire- ments. This situation has now changed abruptly. The court is in recess until October, and it may be that no further retirements will come until that time, * K ok ok Also there was an increase in specula- tion as to whom the President will ap- point to the Supreme Court to fill the Van Devanter vacancy. It was under- stood he would make no appointment until after the struggle over the court bill had been ended. It is now ended, and there seems no good reason for fur- ther delay on the President’s part. The Supreme Court will reassemble with énl; eight members in the Fall, if the Presi- dent fails to act. The sudden death of Senator “Joe” Robinson of Arkansas has eliminated him as a probable suc- cessor to Van Devanter. The President’s first appointment to the highest tribunal will be watched eagerly. The battle over - the court, and the President’s own stric- tures against the tribunal, have turned the spot light on the court as rarely be- fore. The question asked on every side is, which new dealer will the President now put on the bench? ) FRIDAY, JULY 23, 1937. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL, Bird watching has many perplexities. Consider the man with a family of chimney swifts. In his chimney, of course. And that is where the perplexity comes in, for birds, soot and living room walls do not make a very good combination. At first the fact that a pair of these little birds has chosen one’s own home for refuge is pretty much of a lark. Buch twittering aloft, there! It re- Sembles a multitude of crickets, or some- thing. The damper of the chimney is open— it is possible but highly uncomfortable to lie on one's back and peer up the shaft. * % X % Sure enough, there is the nest, a sort of pocket of sticks, securely glued to the bricks. This gluey material is made from the saliva of the swift. It is another of Nature's marvelous adaptations, brought home to one to see, at no more cost to the observer than a lame back and a sooty face. Soot on one's face, however, is as nothing to the amount which one of the frightened birds deposits on the wall paper when it happens to fly clear down the shaft and out into the room in the owner’s absence. The perplexed creature, unable to get out, strikes all walls in turn, not once, evidently, but repeatedly. The wild pattern which it leaves is striking, but scarcely desirable. Curiously enough, one never thought of that! * ok ok k It would have been easy enough to have closed the mechanical damper, thus blocking out such unwanted though in- teresting guests. Well, one always learns something. The damper is duly closed, and the sounds of the swift family are lessened but still quite audible. How interesting it is, to have a bird family in the chimney! One carefully goes out into the yard, and gazes intently upward, in order to see the far-famed flying prowess of these sooty little birds. (This color, of course, is natural, and not the result of their chosen nesting place.) Not a swift issues forth. The muscles of the back of the neck grow tired as the head is held in an unaccustomed position. Finally one gives up and retires to the house. % X % In the evening, when flying insects are supposed to be plentiful, the home- owner issues forth again. He is no more successful this time than before. Some days later, however, when he is thinking about something else entirely, he happens to see a swift fly out. Flyer it is, indeed. ‘While it is not supposed to be as swift While the political coroner, undertaker and pallbearers concern themselves with the remains of the Supreme Court bill, post-mortem attention is riveted on the eventual consequences of one of the most crushing reverses sustained by any na- tional leadership in American history. To heal party wounds now becomes the paramount Democratic need and pur- pose. After all, 1938 is just around the corner, and 1940 not far away. All con- cerned, inclusive 6f Mr. Roosevelt, un- questionably realize that no time is to be lost in closing the ranks if control at Washington is to be maintained at the next congressional and presidential elec- tions. To that end it may be expected that Senator Barkley and Vice President Garner will immediately bend their ener- gies. Revamping the legislative pro- gram, so long log-jammed by the late unpleasantness, will ostensibly monopo- lize the efforts of administration leaders. Beneath the surface, their most earnest endeavors will be devoted to mending broken heads and hearts in the donkey's disastrously disarrayed domain. Court bill opponents persistently denied any in- tention of party wrecking. In the hour of victory they have a magnanimous op- portunity to beat those professions into deeds. On both sides there's a disposi- tion to regard the outlook for accord as bright, though in either camp there's more inclination to forgive than to for- get. *x X X X ‘Whether the dove of peace will hover o'er the Democratic ramparts depends primarily on abandonment of New Deal plans for reprisals against members of Congress who had the intestinal fortitude to fight for an independent judiciary. As long as there is no recall of such threats as Jim Farley more than once hinted at and as Gov. Townsend of In- diana brutally emitted on the White House steps only a few days ago, when he forecast Senator Van Nuys' defeat for renomination, hope of real harmony is slender. An amnesty pledge, of course, cannot be written into the “procedural” court legislation which Senator Wheeler and his happy warriors are ready to ac- cept, but theyll insist upon some bind- ing assurance that New Deal vengeance will not be visited upon Senators and Representatives who stood four-square to the wind against tampering with the Supreme Court. * Xk X X Just who or what killed Cock Robin? Was it Chief Justice Hughes' letter to Senator Wheeler, exploding the theory that the Supreme Court, ag at present constituted, is inadequate? Was it the fear of dictatorship on which the op- position so persuasively hammered? Was it Farley’s boast that the administration had things “in the bag” and would merely have to “call the »oll’? Was it C. I. O. support of court-packing? Was it the President’s “Dear Alben” letter, demand- ing tirat Congress do its “duty” and enact the bill at this session? Did the passing of Senator Robinson deliver the death blow? Was Representative Sumners’ disclosure of House hostility the straw that broke the camel’s back? Did the eleventh-hour defection of eight hitherto non-committal Senators do the trick? Or was it the Lehman-Wagner letter that administered the one punch neces- sary to knock out a proposition already hopelessly groggy? On all and sundry of these questions there are many views. Probably only the calm perspective of time will develop the actual cause of the bill's doom. On one point there’s no difference of opinion—that it will go into the history books as an epochal tribute to congressional courage and the power of aroused public sentiment. * x % % Senator Burton K. Wheeler is almost exactly President Roosevelt’s age—55— the Montanan being about a month younger. All of which is by way of sug- gesting that no Democmat emerges from the court combat with more flying colors and enhanced political prestige than the leader of the opposition. In the not im- as its relative, the barn swallow, it seems that it never alights any place. Sure enough, one finds out later, this is the truth. The chimney, once adopted, is its alighting place. For minutes at a time it sweeps through the air, eating all the flying “bugs” it can find, escept those which it may take back to the young, now hatched out. At times the pair of them engage in & game of “tag,” at least so it appears to the watcher. Back and forth they fly, one after the other, with all the appearance of flying and chasing “just for the fun of it.” * % kX * Let us recall that the chimney damper has been closed for several days. One morning the tap, tap, tap of small claws is heard on the inner side. A baby bird has fallen or flown down! One starts to open the damper, to release it, then suddenly thinks that the opening iron lids may catch and crush the baby. Here is a pretty how-dee-do! If it remains there, can the parents fly down to feed it? Or will they? The books are silent on this new question. They tell the color, the gen- eral habits, and other details, but evi- dently never heard of the problems of the bird watcher. * & % ok The harassed keeper of swifts decides to take a chance on it. If the bird is crushed, well, such is life. If it is not, maybe it can be put in the cage with the family canary and fed on meal worms. Where can these be purchased? And how many thou- sand per day will the young swift de- mand? Above all, what will Dickey, the canary, think of it? * x * & With real trepidation, the handle of the damper is turned, very slowly, very carefully. Down falls the swift. And now what? The vision of the baby bird in the canary cage fades. Surely, that is no life for a young swift fresh from the chimney. Bird watching is just one perplexity after another, ho hum. Here is the bird in the hand, but surely it is not worth two in the bush! That idea of a bird in the bush lingers. Maybe if the swift is put in that tall althea shrub, maybe it will be able to fly back to its parents, or perhaps its parents can come to it. The cage or the bush—which shall it be? Nature wins. The young swift goes into the bush, from which it shortly issues on its own power, high into the air. and straight down home. ‘Whew! WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. the presidential nomination if the issue is sharply drawn between New Dealers who favored the late and little lamented legislation and Democrats who opposed it. All depends, of course, on the sort of peace now patched up. Should con- servative Democrats be dominantly ranged against Rooseveltians three years hence, Wheeler's chances would be less- ened, for he is too far to the left to ap- peal to the groups antagonistic to the New Deal on general grounds. As Jack the Giant Killer, it would be unwise in any event to leave Butte's favorite son out of account if there’s to be a sweeping realignment of Democratic forces. * X X X Although Pat Harrison didn't quite make the grade in the razor-edged con- test for the majority leadership, he al- ready adorns an honored place at the Capitol in the form of an oil portrait of himself hung in the offices of the Sec- retary of the Senate, Col. Edwin A. Hal- sey. It is the work of Mrs. Hunter Kim- brough of Cleveland Park, Washington, wife of an official of the Bituminous Coal Commission and whose professional name is Sara Pryor Dodge. A former resident of New York and Mississippi, Mrs. Kimbrough painted the Senator as an act of friendship and high regard. He posed for her in his Senate office. A characteristic three-quarter likeness of the colorful chairman of the Finance Committee, the canvas is placed on the walls of Col. Halsey's sanactum directly opposite an equally striking portrait of Senator Joe Robinson, which was done by other hands. Mrs. Kimbrough is of distinguished artistic and political stock. She studied painting under her late father, William de Leftwich Dodge, a noted American portraitist, and assisted him in doing mural decorations for the State Capitol at Albany. Her maternal grandfather was Roger A. Pryor of Vir- ginia, a @onfederate general and later a member of Congress and justice of the New York Supreme Court. Though pre- occupied as housewife and mother, Mrs. Kimbrough remains active with her brush. L ‘Whether those two other highly con- troversial proposals—the wages-and- hours act and the Roosevelt reorganiza- tion plan—will come up for action now or later, there is already foreshadowed for each of them a species of opposition little less bitter than the drive against the court bill. Certainty on this score makes it improbable that there will be any attempt to seek final action on them, or even protracted debate, until Con- gress is back on the job next Fall or Win- ter. Having tasted blood in the court set-to, Democrats who dislike certain features of both measures are expected to be less timid in opposing them. * K ok X It's being recalled that Senator Bark- ley was one of those who in 1928, with a draft-Coolidge movement in sight, sup- ported a Senate resolution frowning on the third-term idea. It was the identical resolution passed by the House in 1875 to stop a Grant third-term boom, and deplores “any departure from time-hon- ored custom as unwise, unpatriotic and fraught with peril to our free institu- tions.” Other New Dealers of today who supported the resolution were Senators La Follette, Norris, Pittman, Neely, Hay- den, Harrison, Black, McKellar, Shep- pard and Wagner. (Copyrisht, 1937.) —————— Powders. Prom the Grand Island Independent. The chairman of the Women'’s Society for Outlawing War had asked for a slogan, whereupon one member arose and suggested: “Millions for face pow- der, but not one cent for gunpowder.” A P:W. A, Lapse. Prom the Macon Telegraph. Architects and builders forgot to equip P. W. A. houses in Cambridge, Mass., with door bells, but they are undecided whether to claim credit for it or take the blame, 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. Is it true that birthmarks are more often on the face than on the body? —L. M. A. More than 75 per cent of the more common types of birthmarks occur the head. " Q. What are the names of the Negroes who play in Benny Goodman's Orches- tra?—F. B. A. They are Teddy Wilson who plays the piano, and Lionel Hampton who plays the vibraphone. Q. How many Reserve officers have received their commissions through the Citizens’ Military Training Camps?— W.C.B. A. Records compiled as of February 12, 1937, show the following: Number appointed in the Officers’ Reserve Corps, through C. M. T. C., 5985; number ac- cepting such appointments, 5938. All original appointments through the C. M. T. C. are made in the grade of second lieutenant, Q. How big is the spinnaker on one of the racing yachts?—U. T. 8. A. A parachute spinnaker recently tried on one of the American contenders for the America’s Cup race measured 18,000 square feet in area. It is said to be the largest sail of its kind ever made, Q. Has Queen Elizabeth of England any brothers and sisters?—G. B. A. She has two sisters and three brothers, Q. About how many high school and college boys are seriously injured playe ing foot ball?>—S. W. A. Each year 9,000 college students and 55,000 high school boys suffer serious injury from foot ball accidents, Q. What are the leading industries of Ogden, Utah?—S. E. A. Ogden is a very important railroad center. It has two large flour mills and a beet sugar'mill. Within a radius of ten miles there are about a dozen cane neries that operate from May until Oc= tober. The season begins by putting up peas, and ends with tomatoes. It is sald that there is some quality in the salt air of the region which causes the tomatoes grown here to be superior in color and substance to any of the va- rieties grown anywhere in the United States. Q. What religious denomination in California has the largest membership? —E. R. A. The Roman Catholic Church leads all religious bodies in membership, Q. Please give a list of the winners of the Atlantic Novel Prize—J. H. A. The winners are as follows: Mazo de la Roche, for “Jalna,” 1927; Ann Bridge, for “Peking Picnic,” 1832; Samuel Rogers, for “Dusk at the Grove,” 1934, and Winifred Mayne van Etten, for “I Am the Fox,” 1936. Q. What was the first highway bridge built across the Hudson River south of Albany?—R. J. L. A. The Bear Mountain Bridge. Work on it and its scenic approach highway commenced in April, 1923. The bridge was opened in November, 1924. Its length is 2257 feet. The central span is 1,632 feet. The cables are eighteen inches in diameter. Each contains over 3,500 miles of wire, farther than from New York to San Prancisco. The bridge contains 12,552 tons of steel. Q. Was the late Justice Holmes at one time a member of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts? Which President ap- pointed him to the United States Su- preme Court?—H. J. D. A. Oliver Wendell Holmes was a jus- tice of the Supreme Court of Massa- chusetts for seventeen years and chief justice of that court for three years. President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him to the Federal court December 2, 1902. Q. How long have patty shells, or other food containers that may be eaten, been in use?—W. H. A. Bread baked in round, hard cakes and used as plates was served at dinners and banquets in 1500 A.D, Q. Why was the Society of the ine cinnati formed?—W. H. R A. It was organized by George Wash- ington and his officers, May 10, 1783, at the cantonment of the American Army on the Hudson River, N. Y. American and French officers formed the society to keep alive the memory of their com- radeship in arms and to perpetuate re- membrance of their turning, like Cin- cinnatus of old, from war to peace when their task was dong. Q. Who invented cut-throat contract bridge?—J. L. A. Cut-throat was invented by S. B. Fishburne, director of the Cavendish Club of Tulsa, Okla. Q. What was the last play in which Eleanora Duse appeared?—W. R. A. Her final performance was at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York in Ibsen’s “Lady From the Sea.” Q. What is the name of the teacher in Virginia who has a famous collection of dolls?>—E. W. A. Mrs. MacDonald Douglass of Alex- andria, Va., has a collection of over three hundred dolls from all over the world. Q. What became of the Thomas Lin- coln log cabin which was taken to the Chicago World's Fair?—M. B. A. His last homestead in East Central Illinois was taken apart and stored after the Columbian Exposition. Shortly afterward it was completely destroyed by fire. Q. Who wrote the words to * Boy” which is set to the tune of “The Londonderry Air”?—J. M. A. They are by Fred E. Weatherly. A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton, Humming-Bird. Slender of bill and swift of wing, From bloom to blessom frolicking, Never the time to stop and sing. A ruby flash, in Summer's hour Sipping and flitting; bush nor flower The tireless dancer can embower. On wings that whir incessantly, The merry, jeweled coryphee Is sunbeam’s gay affinity, <