Evening Star Newspaper, February 19, 1940, Page 8

The Eoening Star With Sunday Morning Edition. THEODORE W. NOYES, Editor. WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY.. February 19, 1940 The Evening Star Newspaper Company. Main Office: and Pe lvania Ave. o L R Prices Effective January 1, 1940, Delivered by Carrier—City and Suburban. Regular Edition. .75¢ per mo, or 18¢c per l::‘ 45¢ Der mo, or 10C per Wi s 10¢ per copy Nisht Final Edition. d Star___. 85¢ per mon! 13 ;Pfll:ll ;?ll’ sund.’., .. 60¢ per mon! Sc¢ per mon! BE ko o 2 the end of each month or L7 Coll mi ::u" g R R e jone National 5000. 5 per mon! 1eC0] tter post of Entered as 'wuf'h‘l master e, Member of the Associated Press, The Associated Press is etmumelv entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited 1o it or not o{h.rvlupgfldlfi; In this Daper and also the local news s erein. tights of publication of apesial aispatches St el — ———— Unrestricted Sea War The Reich’s warning that armed British merchant ships henceforth will be subject to sinking without notice is not the first German threat to resort to unrestricted submarine warfare against her enemy, but, coming as it does in the midst of an intensified conflict at sea, it has important implications. It was just such ruthless subma- rine warfare which immediately pre- ceded America’s severance of diplo- matic relations with Germany in 1917, and the same situation might be expected to recur now if the Neu- trality Act were not keeping Ameri- can vessels out of the war zone around Europe. The possibility of American ship losses is not excluded, however, if Great Britain persists in taking American vessels to contra- band control stations within the forbidden zone. Like many questions in interna- tional law, there is no absolute . standard against which to measure belligerents’ conduct in this respect. On the recognized ground of reprisal one or the other is able to meet every violation of law with equal viola- tions. The question of armed merchant- men is a highly controverted sub- ject. Belligerent respect for the rules of visit and search is predi- cated upon the enemy merchant ship refraining from any action which would endanger the searching warship or its crew, Thus, if the merchantman is provided with arms capable of destroying the submarine, the latter scarcely can be expected to perform its legal obligation of visit and search, and the belligerent using submarines is faced with the choice of abandoning the conduct of a lawful war on its enemy’s merchant commerce or of regarding merchant ships as warships and sinking them as they would destroyers, cruisers or battleships. Ample authority is found in law for regarding armed merchant ships as ships of war. Britain’s purpose in arming her merchantmen—an action which im- pels the Germans to warn of possible unrestricted submarine warfare—is not without justification. German submarine commanders have not been too scrupulous in giving warn- ing before torpedoing both British and neutral ships, although a num- ber of cases have come to light where German submarine chiefs, at great peril to themselves, havg taken pains to provide for the safety of crews. But the failure of some submarine commanders to observe rigidly re- quirements of international law has forced upon Britain a measure which is necessary for the preservation of her lines of supply. The growing frightfulness of the war at sea emphasizes the necessity of considering again, when the pres- ent conflict is ended, the outlawing of the submarine, whose vulnerabil- ity to attack by even small-caliber cannon is too great to permit it to operate with any degree of legality against merchant ships. Germany was forbidden in the treaty of Versailles to build subma- rines, and the movement to forbid use of the submarine in wartime took definite shape after the last war, but - falled against the objections of France. The submarine remains a problem which can only be solved when the governments can approach it with some degree of calm and detachment. The Business Outlook An optimistic preview of business prospects is presented by a survey Just made by the Chamber of Com- =erce of the United States, which indicates that all-time January- February production records will be ulsclosed when figures on industrial operations for those two months are available. Of nparticular importance, the chamber points out, is the fact that while the increase in consumer goods has been marked, the greatest ad- vance has been in materials and equipment that are essential for still further production, for it is in these that the lag has been most pro- nounced. The changed trend would seem to be evidence that business, taking fresh courage, is embarking on a program of plant rehabilitation and expansion. Despite the upturn, prices are be- ing kept well in hand, and this un- doubtedly is contributing to heavier buying. In the current issue of the <~ American Federationist, organ of the American Federation of Labor, it " 15 pointed out that December wages were nearly a quarter of a billion L) THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1940, THIS AND THAT dollars above the level of 1038, but. that living costs were approximately the same as they were a year ago, and that the demand for consumers’ goods consequently was nearly six per cent higher. The uncertainties due to the war abroad inject an adverse factor into the situation, but the chamber sees no ground for fear that there will be another abrupt reversal of the recovery movement such as that which took place in 1937. When it is recalled that the present advance was well under way before it had the stimulus of war, actually dating to the rejection by Congress of another pump-priming program, the position of the chamber seems well taken, S Killing the Goose— In an opinion which should have an important bearing on the rates which public utilities may be per- mitted to charge in the future, the New York State Public Service Com- mission last week issued a timely warning against excessive taxation of that industry. . The essence of the rate-making body’s admonition was that taxation now has reached a point where fur- ther rate reductions are impossible, As a result any new taxes will have to be passed on to the public, and it is probable that some of the present tax burden will be shifted to con- sumers in the form of higher charges. After authorizing the Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation to raise some of its rates because it was not earning a fair return, the commis- sion discussed at length the problém of taxes and utility rates, and reached the following conclusion: “Practically every investigation by this commission into the accounts and practices of various operating utilities in the State of New York during recent years has disclosed that the predominant cause of in- creased costs of service is the enor- mous growth in the amount of taxes which these utilities must pay. Since these increased taxes are reflected in rates charged to consumers, the public must bear this increased expense.” A graphic picture of the share of the tax burden now being carried by the public utilities is given in a recent analysis by the Edison Electric Insti- tute, showing that electric power and light companies in this country alone paid taxes totaling $345,000,000 in 1939. That was an increase of $20,- 000,000 over 1938, and represented about 16 cents out of every dollar received from power consumers. A large portion of this increase was in the form of higher payments to the Federal Government. The advent of the New Deal was the signal for a double-barreled attack on the private utilities. On the one hand the private concerns were confronted with a serious threat of Government competition, which reached its peak with the setting up of the Tennessee Valley Authority and the lending of P. W. A. funds to municipalities for the acquisition of their own electric distributing sys- tems. The attack from the other di- rection came in the form of higher taxes, an example being the imposi- tion in 1933 of a 3 per cent levy on the gross revenues from retail sales by all operating utility properties. That tax was devised asan emergency measure, but it is still on the statute books in its original form. 1t is important to note that rates have been scaled down to the lowest level in the history of the industry, despite. the difficulties faced in recent years. But, judging from the find- ings of the New York Commission, this public benefit will be sacrificed unless the taxing authorities face the plain fact that the public utility industry has just about reached the limit of its tax-paying capacity. — No Poets The first World War, from its very start, brought forth a quantity of verse which, generally speaking, was of an order high enough to justify the commendation of a multitude of readers. Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy, Henry Newbolt, Rupert Brooke, Alan Seeger, Joyce Kilmer— these were but a few of the singers who put their patriotism into rhymic language with credit to themselves and to the cause in which they were engaged. A vast number of lesser bards joined in a chorus not alto- gether unworthy. It commonly was believed that poetry was destined to enjoy a renaissance. And this confidence was justified in large measure. Books of verse flowed in a steady stream from presses on both sides of the Atlantic, skilled editors compiled anthologies which were widely sold, periodicals exclusively devoted to verse were es- tablished and maintained. It seemed that the conflict had released the imaginative energies of an army of melodists. The paradox was ac- cepted by a public not unwilling to think that romance still persisted even in a time of carnage. Such efforts as W. N. Ewer’s “Five Souls,” it was supposed, foreshadowed a period of peace in which all the arts would prosper. A new vision ap- peared to have come to men. But such hopes were frail. Within a few brief years the dream expired. The democracy for which the war was fought never was realized. Gradually, it was made plain to poets as it was to other people that the struggle had been supported and endured in vain. History moved in & circle. The anclent quarrel was revived. Once again Europe was ready for a gamble with fate. The events of last summer inevitably led to renewal of the contest of 1814-1918. Conditions, however, had changed enough 80 -that thers has been no stimulation of the urge to sing. Armed strife is ugly in its modern aspects. The older bards are dead or silenced, and no successors have risen in thelr place. Cities bombed, ships sunk, ports blockaded, long lines of fortresses fruitlessly attacked—it is difficult to make music about such things. Up to the present moment, no one has had the heart to attempt it. —— Dirigible Program IIl luck has dogged America's dir- igible program, but naval airship experts have not lost their faith in the ultimate military and commer- cial possibilities of great non-rigid lighter-than-air craft of the general type represented by the unfortunate 8Shenandoah, Akron and Macon. The Shenandoah was wrecked in a wind- storm over Ohlo in 1925, the Akron was destroyed in a thunderstorm off the Jersey coast in 1933 and the Macon plunged into the sea and sank off California in 1935, Similar dis- asters have marked dirigible experi- ments by the Germans, English and French. One of the Navy's earliest Zep- pelins, thes German-built Los An- geles, succeeded in withstanding the ravages of time and the elements, however, only to be condemned for old age and sacrificed on the altar of scientific research. What the ex- perts have learned from study of the dismantled Los Angeles has helped to convince them that large dirigibles are practicable—if properly- con- structed and blessed with a reason- able amount of co-operation by ‘the elements. Nature so far has proved to be the chief conspirator against airship progress, but the Navy has learned something from each catas- trophe and it has high hopes of developing huge helium-filled ships capable of outriding the most severe weather and conquering other haz- ards which beset lighter-than-air craft. It is not easy to give up altogether a phase of aerial transportation which holds so much promise from commercial as well as military view= points. Substitution of hellum for the highly inflammable hydrogen originally used in dirigibles has re- moved one of the chief dangers in- herent in such sky cruisers, that of fire and explosion. Greater struc- tural safety has been attained with the building of each new ship. More light on stresses and strains has | come with each accident and with studies made of the metal framework of the dismantled Los Angeles. These and many other considerations have led a naval board to recommend a | $10,000,000 five-year dirigible pro- gram. The board urges immediate construction of a ship of 3,000,000 cubic feet capacity—sHghtly larger than the Los Angeles, but much smaller than the Akron and the Macon. A number of smaller ships for experimental purposes is proposed. The board points out that airships have extraordinary potential value as plane carriers and scouting cruis- ers in time of war and as long-range passenger and freight carriers in time of peace. Recommendations of the naval experts deserve the most careful consideration by those con- trolling policies and expenditures for the national defense. Shades of Capt. Kidd Privates Chipley and Hall of the United States Army, although sta- tioned in the garden spot of Hono- lulu, were unhappy. There was a great discrepancy between actuality and the ideal of Army existence as depicted on that triumph of fiction, the recruiting poster, which had played up heavily the beaches in the moonlight, the ukulele and the hula hula, and fraudulently omitted all references to close-order drill, hard- boiled sergeants, and staggering amounts of potatoes reluctant to part with their skins. To the east, a mere twenty-four hundred miles distant, lay California and freedom—and in the harbor were scores of vessels. Unfortunately the details of what occurred are meager and confused. All that is definitely known is that the amateur pirates tried in turn, all in one morning, a sixteen-foot sail- boat, a cruiser, a rowboat, and an outrigger canoe, but abandoned them in favor of a seventy-five-thousand- dollar yacht, the Manuiwa, unde- terred by the fact that they had wrecked another yacht a few days before. With this nautical experi- ence behind them, they had no difi- culty in piling up the Manuiwa on & reef, where they were arrested by Detective Paul, pinch-hitting for Charlie Chan, who was away on the mainland with his seventeen chil- dren attending a rally of the “Con- fucius Say” Club. The Honolulu admiralty announces with pleasure that Hawail’s two-man shipping menace has been definitely removed, and will soon go on trial for at- tempted desertion, second-degree pi- racy, and first-degree optimism, e — In one German city, at least, the thoroughfare heretofore nameq “Hin- denburgerallee” is now known as “Horst Wesselerstrasse.” It is not unlikely that a good many million Germans. will live to see the name changed back again. e — It took just one year of reduced speed limit to cut Atlanta’s traffic death rate in half. This will be hard for any traffic “expert,” pald or amateur, to laugh off. SR ———— President Roosevelt has “invited the whole world to see America.” Fine and dandy, and please be care- ful with your cigarette butts and sum wrappes. B A Parleys With Japan Now Held Futile Nippon Must Outlaw Rule By Force First, 7 Weriter Says To the Bditor of The Star: It s not unnatural that an Ameri- can like Mr. David Lawrence, who is not intimately acquainted with the sit- uation in the Far East, should favor friendly negotiations with Japan to regu- late the matters now in controversy be- tween the two countries. That is the normal and proper method when both parties are acting in good faith, It is doubtful, however, whether Mr. Lawrence fully appreciates the causes of the friction between the two na- tions or the conditions which make successful negotiation practically im- possible at this time. Americans are irritated by the de- struction or seizure of their property in China, by the extortion of large sums of money from American merchants through exchange controls, by the clos- ing of routes of trade and by assaults on American citizens. They rightly condemn the brutal killing of unarmed Chinese men, women and children, and they are angered when inhuman meth- ods of warfare result in the wounding ,and death of American citizens. The Japanese minister for foreign af- fairs has admitted that there are some 600 cases of claims against Japan for injury done to American citizens and their property in China. It is not the speeches in the Japanese Diet that irrie tate us, but Japanese acts. And the Japanese are not so much disturbed by American criticism as by our unwijlling- ness to give up our rights or to ignore our obligations to China. Americans, as a peace-loving people, resent any unprovoked attack on another peace-loving state, not for sentimental reasons, but because the prevalence of such attacks postpones indefinitely the realization of their hopes for & rule of law and for relief from the rapidly in- creasing burden of armaments. The pres- ent condition, far from stirring merely altruistic emotions, is translated into a load of billions of dollars of additional debts and taxes that we Americans are being compelled to carry, thanks to the dlsturbiflg policies of nations like Japan and Germany. That the Japanese at- tack on China was contrary to reason and justice has been fully established, and has been recognized by most na- tions. Mr. Lawrence-does not understand the Japanese military mind as do some of us who have had contact with it for three or four decades. The Japanese Army does not tolerate any discussion on terms of equality. It despises most for- eigners and all civilians, including its own people. Except in the face of su- perior power, it is not disposed to com- promise. No economic concessions have much meaning for those who believe, like the Japanese Army officers, that they may be in a position soon to force acceptance of 100 per cent of all that they demand. Our people also do not understand how little influence Japanese civilians in general, and liberals in particular, have with their army? nor how insubordina- tion has crept into the officer grades, destroying the unity of the army. The war office has to bargain with the gen- erals in the field and rarely dares to issue unwelcome orders peremptorily to them. Even young officers not infre- quently take the law into their own hands against their superiors. It is not possible to conceive of any Japanese commission that could guarantee now to carry out any agreement to which it had consented, even if it included army representatives. An American who is friendly to Japan and understands the situation well, con- fesses that there is no hope of a settle- ment until the Japanese Army is de- feated and thereby forfeits the confi- dence of its people. The concession that Japan now most wants from us is recognition of its claim to overlordship over China. We have no right to negotiate about that; nor is there any reason why we should give up our right to equal treatment with all other foreigners in China, of which the Japanese Army is determined to de- prive us. ! The United States stagds for the faithful observance of treaties. We are pledged to respect the integrity and in- dependence of China, and not to’counte- nance action inimical to its interests. In these days when it is clear that the raw materials of the munitions industry, and the equipment and fuels for trans- port are as essential parts of armament as guns and soldiers, it should be clear that by supplying such articles to Japan we are violating a solemn moral obliga- tion, and helping to strengthen a force that is menacing our own interests. If we cease thus to facilitate Japanese military operations, we may. contribute to hastening the time when useful nego- tiations such as Mr. Lawrence proposes can begin. ROGER 8. GREENE, February 9. — Home Rule Sought As Cure for Local Ills. To the Editor of The Star: I heartily agree with the letter of Mr. Talbot O. Pulizzi relative to the removal of snow. He certainly hits the nail on the head. In my opinion, the District authorities should wake up and make more of an effort toward bettering con- ditions in the District government serv- ice. Having occasion to visit various sec- tions of the city after the recent heavy snow, I was more than surprised to find most of the streets and pavements in very bad and dangerous condition due to failure of the owners of property and District heads to remove the snow and ice. Somebody is certainly responsi- ble and needs a rapping for not ridding the streets and crossings of the snow and ice and other trash accumulations. I candidly think the only solution to some of the problems, failures and mistakes that occur so frequently in the District service is for Congress to enact legisla- tion granting suffrage with recalls and representation in that body. I believe such action by Congress would result in noticeable improvements, I trust Congress will see the wisdom and justice of such & move and grant the legislation. Give us home rule. It will prove & cure for many of the -ills that exist in the Pebruary 18, HENRY P. ASH. By Charles E. Tracewell. “EUCLID STREET. “Dear Bir: As a more or less constant reader of your column in The Star I was rather surprised a few nights ago in your reference to the bluebird and the towhee. “I have found the bluebird a common winter visitor to Washington and it ap- pears constantly throughout my notes of the past 20 years as having been seen in various parts of the District in single Pairs to as many as 20 individual birds, seen at any time in West Potomac Park, Massachusetts avenue from Dupont Cir- cle to the Cathedral, Calvert street, Woodland drive and many other places Northwest, Northesst Rautheast and Southwest. “As to the towhee, it is a frequent visi- tor to the District during the winter and breeds throughout the District: Last spring I had under observation at least three pairs nesting on the grounds of the Bulgarian Legation, “The breeding range of the towhee is very large, from the lower Mississippl Valley and Georgia northward to Maine, Ontario and Manitoba. It winters from the District of Columbia to Florida. “The bluebird winters from Southern Illinois and Southern New York south- ward, but its breeding range is from the Gulf States through to Manitoba and Nova Scotia. “Yours cordially, C. 8. B LN Twenty years, of course, is a long time in any man’s life. While it is quite true, as stated here many times, that both bluebirds and towhees are seen here frequently in win- ter, neither can be said to be as common as our correspondent indicates. May Thatcher Cooke, in her “Birds of the Washington (D. C.) Region,” says of the towhee, or chewink: “This might be classed as a perma- nent resident for a few individuals nearly always winter, “It is & common summer resident and abundant migrant.” Of the famous bluebird, she states: . “Permanent resident, local in winter, and only fairly common in summer. It is common during migration in March and October. The breeding season is a long one, for two and sometimes three broods are raised. Yourg in the nest have been found from April 28 to Au- gust 10. 4 “Bluebirds are much less common than formerly; several times, notably in the winters .of 1895 and 1912, many have been killed by storms, and, at least in the latter case, they have recovered their numbers very slowly. “It s a question whether they have ever been as abundant since.” = x %% A “few” individuals, our authority says of the towhee, and questions if the bluebird has ever been abundant since the great storm of 1912. Letters to Suggestions Made for Budget Reductions. To the Editor of The Star: I notice in The Star this evening that & prominent lady is quoted as stating that the District budget is insufficient to care for the needs of the District in cer- tain respects. I beg to submit, for those who may be interested, the following: Is it not reasonable to assume that the bona fide residents of the District have an interest in the determination of the amount of the budget? Why not leave the amount of the budget to the District authorities, just as any normal municipal budget is left to the municipal- ity? Perhaps the crux of the matter is not so much an increase in the budget— of course, with an increase of taxes to pay for it—as it is a reduction in the number of “handouts” the budget pro- vides for. Might it not be wise to look carefully into the so-called “relief” situation in the District before increasing our taxes and budget in this regard? It appears to be a little known fact that the resi- dence in the District necessary to obtain relief of any kind—including free treat- ment at hospitals, by the Board of Pub- lic Welfare and so0.on—is only one year. Many States require two, three or even five years' residence for this same 1 submit for consideration that such a change in the District's requirements would reduce the present expenditures for public health by approximately $1,000 a day, if we can believe the figures of congressional hearings. The same re- duction in public welfare would be nearer $2,000 per day, a total of over $1,000,000 & year at once. A great deal is printed about the bet- terment of conditions in the District in the last four or five years in health and | welfare. I have never seen printed, how- ever, any reduction in the general mor- tality rate of the District in that time. Is it possible that it has risen somewhat, perhaps? Has any one seen any reduc- tion in the expenses of welfare? Or is it possible, perhaps, that the influx of non- residents into the District for the pur- pose of obtaining relief is on the steady increase? Is it just possible that those non- resident people who come into the Dis- trict and get jobs with the relief agencies of one sort or another, do so in order to raise monuments to themselves, irre- spective of the expense entailed? Might it not be a good idea to look carefully into this before we raise our taxes in order t0 provide more and more for the thousands who come to Washington and fill our relief agencles with clamor for money and what it buys, instead of get- ting it in their own home communities? It’s just a thought, but why not take & look at it? DISTRICT TAXPAYER, February 12, Voteless Family Resents District Disfranchisement, To the Editor of The Star: I am sorry that our Commissioners do not see the light in granting Chairman Randolph permission to revise their plan for reorganisation of the municipal gov- ernment so that we can have an elected council rather than an appointed council. I think if the Commissioners had been living in Washington all of their lves, without & vote like my family and thou- sands of other good citisens have, they would see conditions a little differently. My father, Clarendon Smith, lived here <1 ‘These observatiops coincide with those of the writer here. We have no doubt at all that our cor- respondent has seen bluebirds as stated, but. we remark again that 20 years is & long time, and to sum up 20 years’ ob- servations in a few paragraphs really gives a wrong impression. Articles about birds in this column have been written solely from the stand- point of the average observer. Our idea has been to be true to our own observations, no matter how much they differ from those of others. Purposely we refrain from reading the authorities until afterwards—and have been pleased to find our thoroughly amateur observations, and those of our readers, quite in line with the authorita- tive dictums. We believe that bird observation can teach most of us one very fine thing, that is, to try to observe fairly, and without holding back anything. Then more often than not we will have the satisfaction of being correct. LY Correct observation, as to birds, is not theoretical, but solely personal and in- dividual. Bluebirds are not common birds to be seen in every winter garden hereabouts. Those who have them as permanent residents are supremely fortunate. Out of the many thousands of letters received by this column on the subject of birds during the past four years, not more than three writers have ever claimed to have them in winter. Most of us, alas, do not even have them in spring! No, this beautiful bird, regarded by many as the most beautiful, is all too rare in any individual garden at any time of year. *xww A keen observer, such as our corre- spondent, no doubt has seen many tow- hees in winter hereabouts, but this does not mean that every home owner who takes up the fascinating sport of feed- ing and watching the birds is going to have a towhee. BY no means. A towhee, too, is & rare bird in many & garden, at any time. Wherefore, we are all the more glad when one does arrive. Perhaps it is just a little better, after all, to believe that birds are on the rare side, for then when they do come, one gets all the more thrill out of the sight. An excited reader near Forty-first and Ingraham streets called up the other day to say that she had a snow bunting in her yard. Now, we have never seen a snow bunt- ing in our yard, and never expect to. But we are glad when some one else has a snow bunting. An accidental visitor from the north, he, and although recorded many times, | will never be seen by most of us in the District of Columbia, nearby Maryland or Virginia. the Editor Letters to the Editor must bear the name and address of the writer. although the use of a pseudonym for publication is permissible. Please be brief! for 75 years and never had a vote. I have lived here 57 years and have never had the privilege of the franchise and my daughter and son have been living here 25 and 21 y:ars, respectively, and they have never had the privilege of a vote. My wife has also lived here all of her Iife and has never had a vote. We that have been denied the priv- ilege of voting are resentful of that fact. Keep up the fine work and it will not be very long before we win our goal. ARTHUR CLARENDON SMITH. February 14. Comments on Meetings of Youth Congress. To the Editor of The Star: In The Star of last evening events of the day's proceedings of the American Youth Congress were reported. Mr. Howard Ennes, chairman of the Wash- ington Youth Council, made a “dra- matic” plea to the Youth Congress As- sembly for “suffrage” for the District of Columbia. The article states: “If the District had had a vote, he predicted, this city would have had a muncipal stadium or some kind of municipal hall big enough for the meeting. He asked the question what will happen next year when the A. Y. C. comes back with 10,000 delegates.” Am I to assume from that statement, attributed to Mr. Ennes, that the dele~ gates are merely interested in Washing- ton getting the vote so that the A. Y. C. may have an auditorium for themselves next year, and ad infinitum? And will the residents of the District of Columbia then have to house and possibly - feed an increasingly large number of dele- gates also? MRS. PEARSON C. CONLYN. February 13. Asks for Leadership From Congress and President. To the Editor of The Star: Various motives have been ascribed for the failure of this Government to go to the aid of Finland promptly with money for planes and munitions of war. These guesses have included the fear of a charge of unneutral behavior, fear of embrollment in a general war, fear of the loss of investment funds, fear of the isolationist sentiment, fear of the loss of political power in a presidential year, fear of Russia. In other words, the editors and columnists’ are umanimous in picturing our rip-roaring Democratic New Deal Government s frozen in its fracks with fear. What a picture to admire! With what pride do we boast of it! What & page to hand to posterity. However, other motives may be sug- gested. These may stir feelings of dis- trust. It is well known, for example, that the Government is in debt to the limit. Perhaps the reason we are holding out on Pinland is that our financial struc- ture is “tottery” and that the proposed loan would cripple us. A word from headquarters on this point would be heartening. Again, it may be that the members of House and Senate have received infor- mation that we are likely to be attacked soon by the Aztecs or the Zulus, and therefore we need all our planes at home. RICHARD L. FELDMAN, February 7. Haskin's Answers To Readers’ Questions By Frederic J. Haskin. A reader can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Eve= ning Star Information Bureau, Fred eric J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. Please give the origin and meaning of the word allergy.—M. T. A. In 1907 Von Parquet, an Austrian, devised the word “allergy.” The term was designed to explain peculiar and un- expected phenomens in animals which had been injected and reinjected with foreign proteins—such as egg albumen or milk, Allergy is of Greek derivation and means “altered reactivity.” It is now used snynonymously with “hyper- sensitiveness” and “idiosyncrasy.” These terms are applied to humans to denote an altered capacity in certain indi- viduals to react to environmental agents. Q. How many times has President Roosevelt gone to the theater since he has been in office? What were the plays?—L. T. E. A. The four theatrical performances the President attended since 1933 are “Dodsworth,” “Knickerbocker Holiday,” “Outward Bound” and “Life With Father.” Q. What road is called the Broadway of America?—W. R. D. A. The highway from New York to San Diego, Calif., is known by this name, Q. Who built the castle in Richmond, Va., which overlooks Gamble’s Hill Park? —W. C. F. A. Pratt's Castle, which is located on South Fourth street, was built by Wile liam A. Pratt, an English architect and engineer, about the middle of the 19th century. Q. When was the Boston police strike? -J.T. A. The strike occurred on September 9, 1819, Q. What philanthropist left money to found a college from which all ministers would be barred?—H. M. A. Stephen Girard died in Philadel- phia, Pa., December 26, 1831, leaving an estate valued at over $7,000,000. Of this amount $2,000,000 was bequeathed to found a college bearing his name for the benefit of orphans and to which no min= ister or cleric should ever be admitted. This was to preserve entire religious freedom and independence. Q. Who takes the part of Ellery Queen and Nikki Porter on the Ellery Queen mystery program?—M. Y. A. Hugh Marlowe plays the part ©of Ellery Queen and Marion Shockley plays the part of Nikki Porter in the radio drama. Q. What is the salary of the head of the Veterans' Administration?>—E. L. 8. A. Brig. Gen. Frank T. Hines, adminis= trator, receives $12,000 a year. Q. Who was the first regent of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association?— L. B L. A. The first woman to bear this title was Miss Ann Pamela Cunningham, who served as regen: from 1853 to 1874. Q. What is the name of the organiza- tion'in Massachusetts that has a camp for newsboys?—E. T. H. A. The Borroughs Newsboys' Founda- tion at Boston conducts a summer camp for newsboys from all sections of the country at a small charge. Q. Does Vermont have blue laws?— A. Vermont repealed its blue laws on February 14, 1939. Under the new law, cities and towns may decide by ballot whether they want #novies, lectures, con- certs and baseball on the Sabbath. Q. What is the largest bill in circula- tion?>—D. B. W. A. The largest bill in general circula- tion is the $10,000 bill. Bills of larger denominations are for transactions be- tween the Federal Reserve Banks. Q. Who was the first aviator to at- tempt a flight across the north polar regions>—R. P. B. A. Solomon August Andree was the pioneer in this field. Failing in a first attempt in 1896 because of air condi- tions, he set out in a balloon from Spits~ bergen in 1897. On reaching 82 degrees 56 minutes N. latitude, his men fitted out three sledges, one with a boat, and after great effort arrived at White Is- land, where they perished of exposure, Expeditions sent in search received no clues until, in 1930, the Bratvaag ex- pedition discovered the remains and equipment, which contained, among other things, the diaries of Andree. Q. What is the significance of the fig- ure over the entrance to the R. C. A. Building in New York City?—A. H. L. A. The sculpture by Lee Lawrie, which is placed over the main entrance to the R. C. A. Building, strikes the keynote of man’s development in mind and spirit. The central figure of this sculpture rep- resents the genius which interprets to the human race the laws and cycles of the cosmic forces of the universe and thus rules over all of man’s activities. On the right of this central panel is represented Light, and on the left Sound —two of these cosmic forces. The com- pass of the genius marks, on the glass screen below, the cycles of light and sound. The inscription reads: “Wisdom and Knowledge Shall Be the Stability of Thy Time.” Q. How old is the children’s book ;Hhm Brinker or the Silver Skates”?— 1 A. This book, by Mary Mapes Dodge, was published in 1865, attaining in stant success. It has run through many editions, received a prize from the French Academy and has remained s Juvenile classic. Q. What is a stock post?—L. T. R. A. This is the name by whicn each of the many-sided structures on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange is known. Each listed stock is assigned to one of these posts and its name appears on one of the faces. There is a cush- foned seat at its base. Here gather the brokers, specialists, floor traders and others who are interested in transace tions in the stocks assigned to a post. These posts- have distinctive names, as, for example, the “Steel Post.” Q. How may I obtain an Uncle Sam’s ;-lm:nnmhndyrdmbwfl— A. Bee page A-2 of today’s Star, A