Evening Star Newspaper, October 4, 1937, Page 10

"A—10 = THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1937. " T HE EVENING ST AR he published was “caviar to the general plight of Ethiopia. Each is a story with BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL, With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D, C. MONDAY. .. __________ October 4, 1937 THEODORE W. NOYES The Evening Star Newspaper Company. New Bork Sfftel TIU East fond S 2 0 Ea 2] A Chichzo Ofce: 438 North Michizan Ave Rate by Carrier--City and Suburban, Regular Edition, day Star The Bvenin A g oAth or 15¢ per week The Evening Star 45c per month or 10c per week The Eunday Star _ -5¢c per copy The Sunday Star ___ -bc per copy Night Final Edition, Fieht Final and Sunday Star--. 706 per mony ight Final Star.. e _B5¢ Der mont Collcction made at the end of each month or each week, Orders may be sent by mali or tele- phone National 5000 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, Bunday only All Other States Daily a Sunda! 1 yr, $12.00: Dally "Tily2indeTs | 5 S4Z00 1 mo Sunday only__. - 1 yr. $5.00i 1 mo.. . Member of the Associated Press. 8 Associated Press iy exclusively entitied the use ‘for Tepublication of ali news diepatches gredited to it or not otherwise credited in this nd also the local news published Lerein. {i Tishts of publication of special dispatches erein are also reserved Do They Mean Business? Ever since Britannia essayed to “rule the waves” as mistress of the seas, the names of her men-of-war have breathed, if a bit flamboyantly, the power and de- termination of the sunsetless empire to impose its will, or at least to render a rival incapable of imposing his. Mighty battleships, swift cruisers and destroyer greyhounds have plowed the oceans under such inspiring titles as Lion, Glory, Implacable, Indomitable, Inflex- ible, TInvincible, Hercules, Colossus, Thunderer, Conqueror, Audacious, Reso- lutien, Revenge, Renown, Resistance, Dreadnaught, Formidable, Magnificent, ‘Terrible, Furious and Irresistible. Do such symbols of British do-and-dare persist in the present-hour policy of the empire, or would rather names like these be more emblematic of Downing #treet diplomacy—Dove, Fawn, Leopard, Timorous, Pliable, Irresolute, Com- placent, Invertebrate, Inglorious, Hesi- tant, Jellyfish, Bluff, Scuttle and Re- treat? We shall soon know—know whether the Union Jack still means Trafalgar or what the world has come to associate with Waterloo. The hour of test has | arrived with the delivery to Italy of | & joint Anglo-French note demanding that she withdraw her “volunteer” troops from Spain. The communication is couched in moderate but purposeful 1 terms. It discloses the readiness of the | Western powers to “alter their policy toward the civil war” unless the Fascists cease to fish in those troubled waters. Stripped of diplomatic camouflage, what London and Paris mean Rome to understand is that if Mussolini fails to bring home the Italian divisions, which for a year have been the back- bone of the insurgent rebellion, there will be no barriers to British and French war sinews, either by way of the Pyrenees or by sea, reaching the Loyal- ists without stint. Simultaneously, Boviet Russia calls upon that fatuous and moribund body known as the twen- ty-seven-nation Non-Intervention Com- mittee to permit arms to be shipped to the Valencia government, thus formally sbolishing the entire fiction of foreign | neutrality in the peninsular conflict. Do Great Britain and France mean | what they say? That is the question. Will they follow brave words, if neces- sary, with firm deeds? Or will they let Il Duce get away with it, as he did with the League sanctions affair of painful memory during his Ethiopian aggression, to the everlasting discredit of British prestige in particular? John Bull's answer to that humiliating experi- ence was the launching of his $7,500,- 000,000 rearmament program. But since then Japan has given the lion’s tail | & twisting as defiant and amour pro- | pre-damaging as Mussolini dared a | year ago, besides which Italian willing- ness to let Britain pipe the tune in the Mediterranean, incidental to the Spanish war, has been anything but marked. Doubtless, since his return from Ger- many, the autocrat of the Palazzo Venezia feels that truculence toward the Western democracies may be risked with more assurance than ever. But the preponderance of probability is that the Fascist dictatorships will think twice and thrice before pitting the Ber- lin-Rome axis against the London-Paris- Moscow axis. With Russia liberated for action in Europe by Japan's absorption in the Far East, Italo-German defiance of Anglo-Franco-Russian power is a horse of a very different color. But Western diplomacy has done so much side-stepping, stalling and back-water- ing whenever I Duce scowled or Der Fuehrer thundered that one would rather write history than prophecy of Just what the immediate future holds. ———— The most recent radio broadcast is held under consideration by Mr. Ickes, who has not decided to apply the wis- dom of the Maryland farmer to what may be a weather demonstration. oo Ed Howe. Edgar Watson Howe preferred to be called Ed. That was symptomatic of his simplicity. He was deliberately plain, purposefully unexceptional in his atti- tude toward his world, his work and him- self. Yet not even his wish could alter the fact that he was different. To see him, to hear him speak, to read anything that he wrote was to be convinced that there was nothing common about him. He was, instead, unique. But his democracy was not a pretense. He really was a champion of the people, fighting their battles with a courage which won the commendation of the bitterest of enemies and the most pas- sionate of critics. That he was merely the voice of the masses, however, was not true. His twenty-eight books were as far over the average head as Aldebaran 15 above Main street. The weekly paper Il from first to last. Perhaps it is inevitable that philoso- phers should be isolated. The Sage of Potato Hill was an individualist exactly as Socrates was and might have shared the same fate had he been known to as large and well-organized a public. All that exempted him from suppression was the utter disregard, the profound neglect, of mill'ons, A small company of “white robins” reasonably like himself made him famous. The crowd “passed by on the other side.” Meanwhile, Ed Howe lived and labored not in vain. His provocative wisdom in- fluenced those who, indirectly, influenced the national thought. Thus, the people received at second-hand the doctrine they would not accept from its sponsor. The Kansas Diogenes was systematically re- written day by day through many years. He was imitated by scores of journalistic contemporaries who appreciated his genius, but understood better than he the limited capacity of readers for “raw meat.” So it was that the “gentle, kindly, grouchy old gentleman” justified the opinion of Willlam Allen White that “he has done more good * * * than any man in the country.” Far in the future there may be a re- discovery of Ed Howe's elemental worth. He probably was the keenest thinker of his generation in America, qualified to march with Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain. But he was too much in advance of the multitude to be properly cele- brated while he still could hear the applause. e “Gimmies™ at Kenfield. Report comes from Buffalo that Uncle Sam {s having his troubles as a landlord. A low-cost housing project near that city known as Kenfield, consisting of 658 apartments and row dwellings, built around landscaped courts, is sufficiently completed to be ready for occupancy. Now the Government agent in charge is placing tenants on the properties, and he is running up against the disposition to get the best for the least money which is prevalent throughout society. Most of them want more in the way of accom- modations than has been provided, without any increase in the established scale of rentals. One of them was great- ly disappointed when he found that lace curtains did not go with the house which he selected. Another was aggrieved when he was told that he could not get gar- dener and janitor service along with the house on which he had set his heart. Another demanded that tools be pro- | vided for garden work. Again, there was protest that the bath rooms did not in- clude showers along with tubs. In one case the prospective occupant found that the sun did not strike the kitchen at the right angle. Another objected that the house he wanted was too close to a play- ground. At one of the dwellings the driveway did not suit. This is old human nature at work. It manifests itself most decidedly when something is being offered at public ex- pense. It is not rapacity, precisely—just the disposition to make the most out of a benefaction. These tenants are not, of course, obliged to take whatever the Government agent offers, however better their prospective quarters may be than those they have been occupying hereto- fore. And probably there will be those who will be glad to take the Govern- ment’s gifts as they stand, at the estab- lished rates, without more than passing demur at the deficiencjes. It is quite possible that some of these housing projects have not been as well planned and constructed as they might have been. Complaints of faults of mass production have been heard in other cases than the Kenfield project. Some- thing of the sort has been heard, cer- tainly, at Greenbelt, in Maryland, and it is whispered that many misfits in con- struction have developed that make the dwellings, whatever the rate charged for purchase or rental, not altogether suit- able. Certainly there has been a vast outpouring of money upon these colonies and much has been said regarding the lack of strict cost keeping. Lace curtains, shower baths, free gar- dening and janitor service, if granted, would assuredly make for the more abundant life, and the taxpayers of the near future would foot the bills. And those enjoying the benefits would share in the ultimate expense in the form of higher costs of living. Sooner or later the bill must be paid. ] There is one question which will stand in the face of men and machinery and that is “What are you going to do about it?” It has been repeated several times in world affairs. - ———oe—s. Most Exciting? Sinclair Lewis, biographer of Babbitt and historian of Main Street, calls the United States “the most exciting coun- try in the world” Of course, he fis thinking of the New Deal and “the more abundant life,” kidnapings, gang- sters and G-men, Hollywood and Miami Beach, the K. K. K. and Justice Black, sudden death on the highways, baby brides, the numbers racket, floods and dust storms, Tobacco Road and Park Avenue, the Brown Bomber, Churchill Downs, Reno, May West and Clark Gable, Boulder Dam and Greenbelt, “Gone With the Wind,” potential tele- vision, moonshiners, candid camera pho- tography, Mayor La Guardia and Gover- nor Murphy, streamlined engines and painted finger nails, slot machines and hamburger stands, Miss America and Major Bowes, Walter Winchell, Al Ca- pone, Senator Borah, Boake Carter and Gracie Allen, the Ford Motor Works and Radio City, lynchings, lawful income- tax evasion, political clearance, ja: bands, Shirley Temele and Charlie Mc- Carthy. All of which, indubitably, is a ro- mantic melange, various enough in char- acter to satisfy the average skeptic. Yet the rest of the earth likewise has ate tractions. Consider: The undeclared war in China, the civil strife in Spain, the restlessness of Russia and the disillue sionment of Germany, the pathetic 'y ‘vast magnetic power. Similarly, the interest of millions is intrigued by per- sonalities: The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, Hitler and Mussolini, Stalin and General Franco, Georges Bonnet, Goering, Von Neurath, Trotzky and Haile Selassie, George Bernard Shaw, Albert FEinstein, King Carol of Ru- marila, Max Schmeling, Noel Cow- ard, Freddie Bartholomew, Sonja Henie, Professor Piccard, S8igmund Preud, Mme. Chiang Kai-Shek, Mahatma Gandhi, Koki Hirota, Anthony Eden, Jozef Beck, ‘Tommy Farr, Ramsay Macdonald, David Lloyd eorge, Maxim Litvinoff, John Masefield, Admiral Horthy, Pope Pius XTI and a leglon of other men and women of distinction who would be better known in the United States if they did not reside elsewhere. Much depends upon the point of view. A bicycle race in Paris is apt to have more fascination for Parisians than a rodeo in Wyoming. In the same way a regatta on the Potomac engages the notice of Washingtonians who are lit- tle concerned about the opening of a long bridge in Denmark. But perhaps Mr. Lewis' measuring stick is wrong. Excitement, psycholo- gists say, is not beneficial, People need rest from thrills. And the happiest nations, it once was declared, are those which have no annals, N An opinfon from Mr, Maury Maverick tells the world that his ideas remain unchanged regardless of numerous ex- pressions of opinion. Various forces have asserted themselves in public effect and that of genial obstinacy is considerable among them. One of the Hoyt charac- ters in the play house was Maverick Brander, who still exists among some old-timers in pleasant recollection. He establishes a point in the Nation's art worthy to be recalled even by those who cherish frivolous remembrances of the theater. —_—————. It may be that the head man of the Ku Klux Klan will feel that his organi- zation has missed the serious considera- tion to which it is entitled. Many per- sons remember when “The Birth of a Nation” was one of the sensational pub- licity productions. D The autumn hastens and the citizen who would like to be on congenial terms with a steady job is entitled to direct and earnest consideration. He has been too much “represented,” with perhaps too little consideraton in speaking his own views for himself. e Some of the members of the United States Supreme Court are old men. The view of an old man is worth having in a critical situation and it should not be interrupted too far by demonstrations of smart salesmanship. s The Mediterranean is a large body of water whose shores are crowded with works of art which tend to take people’s minds off the business of fighting; some- thing which, however, was never fully accomplished. — The amount of discussion caused by one new member of the United States Su- preme Court is a warning of what might happen if more changes had been sud- denly undertaken. R Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. . Arrived. He toiled for his country with patience . Obscure, And offered full many a thought; A lot that was humble he strove to endure, With various penalties fraught; He studied the numerous questions that came, Evcking a laugh or a sob; At last, he is welcomed, in comfort, to fame, He's got a political job! No longer he works through the long, weary night, To find what the public may need; His name is presented in letters of light, Which any one passing must heed; And every one lifts up a welcoming voice, As hearts are so wildly a-throb; His labor sincere made nobody rejoice— But he’s got a political job! Revenges. w “Do you seek revenges?” “Never,” answered Senator Sorghum. “In politics you can usually let nature take its course in handing out hard luck to those who happen to deserve it.” Jud Tunkins says musicians should learn to say “No.” It's kind-heartedness and willingness to oblige that make so many men try to sing tenor. Modern Influence. My radio! My radio! You tell me what to eat and drink; And, as the evenings come and go, You tell me what to say and think. A Dog Lover. “Why don’t you write something about your dogs?” “They are faithful friends. Why should I submit them to vulgar gossip about their personal peculiarities?” “Never rail at any enemy,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown. “Why should you attempt the inestimable favor of correcting his faults?” Modern Improvements. A lovely land we’ll call our own, All free from sorrowing and pain, ‘When the mosquitoes all have flown Ard only hummingbirds remain. “A man dat loves de sound of his own voice,” said Uncle Eben, “is mighty liable to find hisself wif an audience of one." { “ Taxpayers Want to Know ‘What Became of Millions To the Editor of The Star: In the first days of the depression, American short-time, listed and un- listed, and other listed American securi- ties were at acceptable, favorable figures on the New York Stock Exchange. Then without hint or notification to the United States Government, or the New York Stock Exchange, London, through New York dual international bankers, dumped $6,000,000,000 of these American securities upon the New York Stock Exchange for sale through the inter- national bankers. This secret action caused panic on the stock exchange. Payment for these London-dumped American securities was in gold at its then American price per ounce. The United States Treasury, then and now, holding England’s promise to pay notes of $4,000,000 each upon demand by the United States, could and should have paid England for her dumped American securities in her (England’s) $4,000,000 promise to pay upon demand by the United States notes and not in American gold. England did not have shipped to London the paid United States gold, but reinvested it in falling prices of same American securities, and today owns, with her affiliated Europeans, about $7,000,000,000 of American securi- ties; the same $7,000,000.000 investment in amount as she dumped without notice upon the stock exchange. Now with England selling again $1,000,000,000 of American securities, let Uncle Sam pay the $1,000,000,000 in England’'s promise- to-pay paper on demand. Why should Uncle Sam pav England $1,000,000,000 now for her “this and that” reason? England owes the United States $5,000,- 000,000, plus principal and defaulted interest thereon. Why should we Ameri- can taxpayers hand over a $1,000,000,- 000 in gold to $5,000.000,000, plus princi- pal and defaulting interest-paying Britain? Now let the United States Treasury pay England $1,000,000,000, or any part of it, in her renewed American securities, dumped with notice this time, on our stock exchange, in her promise- to-pay-on-demand in the “strong-box” of the United States Treasury. The Treasury invested $5.000,000 of American taxpayers’ money in English pounds! Upon what, whose authorization? Not a dollar or cent of United States money can be invested or paid out except by act of Congress. Then on what money- flesh did the Treasury feed to pay out $5,000,000 for English pounds without act of Congress? What has become of that $5,000,000 Treasury transaction of the taxpayers’ money without act of the Congress? It is time the Treasury let the taxpayers know the status of that transaction. W. E. RYAN, ————— Seeks Information on Death of Von Richthofen To the Editor of The Star: While reading recent accounts of the death of the famous German airman, Baron Manfred von Richthofen, I have been struck by the diversity of the views as to the precise cause of his death which exist even among eyewitnesses. The medical evidence available shows that the path of the fatal bullet was such that it could not have been fired from the ground; other sources of in- formation state emphatically that this could not possibly be. since there was no other airplane behind that of Riche thofen which could have fired &* him. On these grounds, it is said that Rich- thofen was killed by a burst of bullets fired by an Australian machine-gun bat- tery in the vicinity. With this latter view I am inclined to agree, for I appre- ciate that it is possible for a bullet, fired from the ground, to take a similar course to one fired from above and behind in the air. At the time the shots were fired, Richthofen’s red triplane was banking, and the cockpit was exposed to the direct fire from the ground. As I am trving to obtain as many opinions as possible on the subject, prior to drafting a report which will, I hope, effect a definite solution to this long- standing problem, I shall be very glad if anybody with any information at all on the matter will write direct to me, setting forth in detail all the sequence of events, and the conclusions as to the cause of death at which they have arrived. Iam anxlous that the views expressed shall be as diverse as possible, and therefore, no account should be ignored on the ground of its grotesqueness or incon- gruity. JOHN COLTMAN. Burleigh Hall. Loughborough, Leices- tershire, England. — e President Green Should Have Invited Miss Perkins To the Editor of The Star: It is regrettable that President Green did not invite Miss Perkins, Secretary of Labor, to the A. F. of L. convention. It is an injustice to the rank and file who appreciate the fairness of the Pres- ident and Miss Perkins in their dealings with labor laws, especially the prevailing wage requirement on all Government projects. Miss Perkins has the most unthankful position in the Cabinet, one that no man could handle as gracefully as she, with the A. F. of L, the C. I. O, man- ufacturers and other interests hiring thousands or workers and each wanting the opposite in hours and working con- ditions. Government projects are curtailing, bumper crops will bring a reduction of buying power, the tide of prosperity is going out, difficult problems face all of us, and labor, like all, will need friends. President Green should overlook his grievance and invite Miss Perkins to the A F. of L. convention. an honor Jjustly due her. JOHN RIGGLES. ————s Suffrage in Mexico. Prom the Boise Idaho Statesman, A Mexican dispatch says that Presi- dent Lazaro Cardenas has promised to send a bill to the next Congress grant- ing equal suffrage to women and it re- calls the days when woman suffrage was a bitter issue in the politics of the United States. There were radicals on both sides. Enemies of suffrage claimed the aver- age woman was not well informed enough intelligently to vote and charged that she would be influenced principally by sentiment and the beliefs of hus- bands and relatives. Radical supporters held up woman suffrage as a panacea for most of our political ills and predicted the time when the crooked bosses would be no more because outraged womanhood would not stand for them. Looking backward, both camps seem to have been largely wrong. It probably is safe to say that American politics is neither cleaner nor dirtier as result of giving women the franchise. That women have a moral right to the ballot by now is a well-established principle in this country. That they have brought better (or worse) Gov- ernment is extremely doubtful. Keeping the Record Straight. From the Indlanapolis News. Or it may be that China's appeal to the League of Nations to intervene to halt Japanese aggression was made just to keep the record straight. A black-throated green warbler sat in the tree. He was one of the thousands of migrating birds to be seen by watch- ful eyes. Behind the eyes, however, must be an interest in bird life. For most of the warblers, of whom scores of species pass through Wash- ington these days on their way to the South, are hard to see, even if one likes birds. ‘They are impossible to spot, unless the observer has a genuine interest in such things. ‘They are small, for one thing, and usually marked so that they blend well with branches and leaves. Whether this is a provision of Nature to conceal them we do not know. * K X ¥ A casual observer would lump them off as sparrows, and let them go. No doubt every small garden holds from day to day, and especially at this time in the Fall, far more species of birds than the owner ever imagines. There are always little gray birds to be seen in the grass, or flying among the branches of the trei Since most of these birds will at least sample seed in a feeder, this is as good a time as any to put out a box or table filled with food. It is not too early to begin feeding. Not only will many migrants benefit, but tkose birds which Winterhere- abouts will begin to make headquarters out of any yard where food is to be found. - * ¥ ¥ % Especially those persons who have fed the birds regularly in the past will want to begin early, in order not to miss attracting many of the migrating birds. They will find a feeding station, especially if provided with water, a real life-saver. It is easy for humans, with running water on tap, to forget how dry the great outdoors can get at times. Until the recent rain, Washington and vicinity had been exceptionally dry during September. Birds and other wild creatures could find water only in creeks and the like. They must have missed it in many gardens, where no pools exist, or where bird baths had been permitted to re- main empty. * % ¥ & Bird baths, so-called, are not worthy of the name unless they are kept filled. Some little trouble attaches to keep- ing them filled, especially in the Autumn, when leaves blow in them and winds tend to dry them up rapidly. Yet there are few times of the year when birds need water more. It is always possible to incorporate | a watering station along with any type feeding device. Small pans are made to attach to regular feeders, or bowls or even old-fashioned pie pans may be | sunk in the ground, or merely placed in the surface. The former is best usage, since it makes it for the bird to reach the water. Water should not be over two inches deep. Garden pools which have no easier ledge of stallow water around the rim | are almost useless to the birds. * o* % x Some amateur bird observers may feel this is too early to start feeding, but ' | local gardens the | there is no law about it—one may begin &ny time. The main concern is whether one has the money to spare. It does take a little money to run a feeder regularly, but those who do it usually find that the pleasure they derive from it more than repays them, to say nothing of the good it does the birds. No excuse is needed for bird feeding, but if any one feels that such is neces- sary it may be found in the great work done by the songsters in destroying in- sects. It has been estimated that birds, by and large, kill fully 75 per cent of the insects which come into being annually. They do this, not because they are altruists, or desirous of aiding America's farmers, but solely because they are hungry. On this basis, some might say, every bird which is fed “by hand” would be prevented from killing its due share of insects, but happily it does not work out that way, for the birds are fed only at the time the “bugs” become dormant. It is the same with cats. Well-fed cats are popularly supposed to be poor mousers, but commonly the thing does not work out that way. A mouse is too much for any cat to resist, whether it is hungry or surfeited with food. A mouse is sport, to a cat. It is “game” Birds which are fed at feeding sta- tions may be prevented from searching for insects, from time to time, espe- cially if fed in Summer, but in the main, they cannot be made to relinquish their century-old quest. It must be remembered that all of our popular songsters are wild birds, in the true sense; man cannot spoil them in any way, because they will not let him. It is as easy and sure as that. * % % % Those who gave up feeding during ummer will find it a real pleasure to begin again. Just when to begin must vary with conditions. Some will feel that it is too early, others will find that their pocket book must be consuited. The moment food is put out, how- ever, the birds will begin to gather. It is always interesting to see just how long it will be for birds to find fresh food. Sometimes the English sparrow will find it within a few minutes, although not a bird had been seen in the neigh- borhood for several weeks. Again it may take the birds a day or longer. Sometimes the cardinals are the first to arrive. * ok % Birds have been very scarce in most for several weeks, with the exception of some migrating robins. It is extremely interesting to watch the bird population pick up the mo- ment feeding on a regular scale is begun again. This is a transformation one must see to appreciate. Even in the suburbs few birds are to be seen at this time. One must look carefully for them; green-throated black warblers and others do not call attention to themselves casually. They are to be seen by looking care- | fullv—and by putting out food for them. Both methods are to be commended. They go hand in hand in the pleasant sport of bird watching. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. Mr. Justice Black may ascend the Supreme Court bench today, hugging to his newly robed bosom the delusion, as he put it in his alibi broadcast. that “my discussion of the question is closed.” He's the most naive jurist that ever donned the ermine if he imagines that | the case is “closed,” as far as the rest of the country is concerned. way or another the “stubborn, ghost” is doomed to bestride the na- tional scene and haunt the New Deal for many a politically sleepless night to come. The Alabaman’s admission of guilt and plea for mercy on pledge of reform are no more capable of remov- ing the “question” from the public mind than were “all the perfumes of Arabia” of “sweetening the little hand” of Lady Macbeth. Only the first act of the Black and Klan tragi-comedy is over. The final curtain is yet to come. How | or when finis will be written no man can foresee. But to believe that the Nation. in the words of a popular song, is already prepared to chant: “Let’s call the whole thing off,” re- quires a degree of optimism which is at least premature. * kK K Some of Justice Black's defenders and apologists extenuate his action in becoming a Kluxer in 1922 on the ground that he had not yet reached political maturity. That, of course, is an absurd argument. The Birmingham lawyer was 36, a year over the age when a citizen constitutionally becomes eligi- ble to the presidency of the United States. Black had been out of the University of Alabama law school 16 years, a member of the bar 15 years, served two years as police judge, 11 years previous, and two years as county prosecutor seven years previous. He had also been a captain of Field Artil- lery in 1917-18, so it can hardly be claimed that he took the oath of a knight of the invisible empire guilelessly green in the ways of a wicked world. Nor, now that he has ’fessed up, has the Supreme Court’s latest acquisition or anybody else explained why he sat mute, inglorious and secluded in the office of the secretary of Senate on August 17 while, fewer than 20 feet away, the chamber rang with categorical references to his Klan affiliations. * X kX Circumstantial reports are current that the same sort of investigation which led to the exposure of Justice Black’s Klan membership is now under way in connection with a number of United States Senators who figured more or less “prominently in the fight over the President’s Supreme Court bill and in the confirmation of his first nominee for the high bench. * x kX His sins of commission and omis- sion entirely apart, Justice Black's broadcast avowal of his racial and re- ligious liberalism was a forthright and heartening performance. It not only does him credit, but is probably the most impressive blow struck in high places for many a day on behalf of tolerance. Black’s post-Klan conversion to the bill of rights would be even more convincing if the Congressional Recora did not contain the following bit of introspection which he delivered on the floor of the Senate February 19, 1930: “I do not mean that, as an invariable rule, a man is so bent or has such a trend that he cannot change his method of thought, but I do mean to say that as a general rule a man follows in the future the course he has followed in the past. Show me the kind of steps & man made in the sand five years ago,,and I will show In one | uniaid | | the Montgomery Advertiser, you the kind of steps he is likely to make in the same sand five vears hence. Show me the course he was pursuing then, and, unless there has been a cataclvsm, which has absolutely changed his character, I will show you the course he is going to follow in the future. It | is merely law of human tablets govern- according to the nature. It is written on the heart. It is inscribed on the of the external government—the ment of nature.” 4§ 2.9 . » It was intimated, though not stated, in his historic fireside chat that Black supported Al Smith for President in 1928. Evidence to the contrary is at- tributed to Grover C. Hall, vho hurled himself into the breach wholeheartedly for the Democratic ticket in that year of party heartbreaks in Dixie. Re- ferring recently to the Klux charges against Black, Editor Hall said: “Some of us throwbacks of civilization much annoyed at him in 1928 * * * when he refused to support Al Smith, while avoiding the alternative of de- claring against him.” Incidentally, apropos Secretary Ickes’ reference to Klan support of Hoover, the former President in public statements on Sep- tember 28 and 29, 1928, “resented and repudiated” the backing of the forces of intolerance and intimated he wanted none of it. Votes for Hoover on the religious issue would, of course, without solicitation have gone to any Republican opponent of Smith, not only in the four Southern States which the Californian carried, but all over the country wherever men and women let bigotry be their guide. Hoover remarked to a Washington friend, shortly after elec- tion, that the intolerance factor, which had advantaged him in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Texas, had ap- parently worked in Smith's favor in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. * % X X Whatever betides, chalk up three posi- tive results of the Black episode—(1) that Roosevelt will be circumspection itself in other court appointments; (2) that the knell of “senatorial courtesy,” whereby members of the world’'s most exclusive club are automatically con- firmed for appointive offices, has rung; (3) that future nominees will have to be like Caesar’s wife, plus, to get by, and the only after investigation and hearings conspicuous by their absence in Black’s case. * k X *x President Roosevelt is due to hand Chancellor Hitler a jolt in Der Fuehrer's solar plexus tomorrow, when F. D. R. has luncheon “under four eyes,” as the Germans say, while the private guest of Cardinal Mundelein in Chicago. It is his grace whose description of the Berlin dictator as “a paper hanger— and not a very good one” burned up the Nazis last Spring. The presidential presence at the cardinal’s table at this time is, of course, not disconnected with the ugly issue raised by an ex-Klans- man's accession to the Supreme Court. * ok ok K Having concentrated for four years on redistribution of wealth, President Roosevelt is now credited with a far- flung plan to redistribute America’s radio wattage. He has let it be known that he will ask the next session of Congress—special or regular—as a major program, for authority to reallocate the existing set-up on the wave lengths, whereby the power of certain larger stations would be cut down in favor of some of the smaller ones. The over- whelmingly most powerful broadcasting station in ‘the United States of America were | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. A reader can get the answer to any question of jact by writing The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederie J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. Are any radio stations in the United States licensed to transmit television? -W. H. A. Eighteen stations are now licensed to transmit television images experi- mentally. Q. Please give a list of some well- known authors who are lecturing this season.—E. H, W, A. A complete lecture schedule of authors is given the the Publishers' Weekly of September 18, 1937. A few of the names taken from this list are: Lewis Browne, Carl Carmer, Susan Ertz, Ludwig Lewisohn, Fulton Oursler, Dr, Albert Edward Wiggam, Sinclair Lewis, John T. Flynn, Stanley High, Dorothy Thompson, Padraic Colum, Henry Seidel Canby, Maxine Davis, Dr. William Lyon Phelps and Romola Nijinsky. Q. How many flags has Texas had? —A. K, A. Six: Bpain, France, Mexico, Texas, the Confederacy and the United States. Q. Please give a biography of the late Osgood Perkins—E. H. A. Osgood Perkins was born at West Newton, Mass, May 16, 1892. He was graduated from Harvard and during the World War served in France. In 1920 he began his theatrical career, entering mo- tion pictures with the Film Guild. In 1924 he made his stage debut as Homer Cady in “Beggar on Horseback.” After that he rose rapidly to stardom, appear- ing in a succession of 17 Broadway play: among wh were “The Front Page, “On_Stage,” “Loose Ankles” and “Ceil- ing Zero.” He was married to the former Janet Rane of Boston and they have a 5-year-old son. - Q. Is baboo a title?—L. W. K, A. It is a Hindu title of respect equal to Mr. or master in English, given in India to educated and wealthy na- tives or persons of distinction, but used nowadayvs by Anglo-Indians in a slightly disparaging sense implying superficial cultivation. Q. When did the Ark of the Covenant disappear?—J. H. T. A. The Ark of the Covenant, contain- ing the tablets on which were inscribed the Ten Commandments, with certain other sacred relics, was destroyed, hid- den or stolen during the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and has never been seen since. This occurred about 586 B. C. Q. What is ratafia?—E. J. A. It is a flavoring essence usually made with the essential oil of almonds It is also a generic name for several fruit liqueurs. Q. Will the United States Naval Acad- emy confer a B. S. degree on former graduates?—J. L. A. Congress recently authorized the Naval Academy to award the degree bachelor of science to all who were | graduated from the academy before 1931. Q. Are more Negroes on farms or in cities?—V. T. A. Almost two-thirds of the Negroes in this country are in cities and towns. Q. Did John Howard Payne, author of “Home, Sweet Home,” write any success- ful plays?—E. J. A. Among hi were “Brutus the Second.” most successful plays “Virginius” and “Charles Q. How many miles are there in a de- gree of latitude and of longitude?—P. L. A. A degree of latitude is about 69 mIN. A degree of longitude is about 69 miles at the Equator, but becomes | less going north or south until it is no distance as the parallels meet at the poles. Q. How long has circumcision been practiced?—E. J. A. The circumcision of males was com- i | mon in Egypt before it was introduced editor of | among the Hebrews by Abraham. Among Mohammedans the rite is older than Mohammedanism. Q. Please describe Elysium—T. G. A. This was the paradise of the Greeks, and was also called the Isles of the Blest. This home after death was sup- posed to abound in beautiful gardens, meadows and groves. where birds sing, rivers wind between banks fringed with laurel and the air is always pure and the day serene. ———— There Is Good Fun In Telling Fortunes Here is a booklet showing how to read fortunes in a variety of ways. It tells what the stars predict, what the lines of your hand foretell and what your dreams mean. In addition to all this, Fortune Telling shows how to read cards, how to interpret tea leaves and coffee grounds, and adds a wealth of interesting facts on signs, omens and superstitions. This booklet will provide endless amusement at any party. Even the ' most serious-minded must relax occasionally, and telling fortunes is good fun. Order your copy today. Enclose 10 cents to cover cost and handling. Use This Order Blank. The Washington Evening Star Information Buredu, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C.: I enclose herewith TEN CENTS in coin (carefully wrapped) for a copy of the FORTUNE TELLING BOOK- (Please Order by Mail Only.) is WLW at Cincinnati, with 500,000 watts. This is the Crosley concern with which Charles Michelson, publicity director of the Democratic National Committee, recently became affiliated as public relations counsel. Practically all the other big stations in the country are 50,000-watters. Copyrisht, 1037.