Evening Star Newspaper, February 24, 1940, Page 8

The Foening Star With Sanday Morning Edition. THEODORE W. NOYES, Editor. WASHINGTON, D. C. BATURDAY.. February 24, 1940 The Evening Star Newspaper Company. Main Office: 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Office: 110 East 42nd 8t. Chicago Office: 435 North Michigan Ave. Prices Effective January 1, 1940, Delivered by Carrier—City and Suburban. Regulsr Edition. ening and Sunday.78¢ per mo. or 18c per w e Evening Star___45¢ per mo. or 10¢ per The Sunday Star _ —----10¢c Der copy Night Final Edition. m:gt Final and Sunday Sta Night Final Star oo = Rural Tube Delivers. e Evening and S8unday Star. 85c per mon! e Evening Stal 55¢ per monf e Sunday Star. 10¢ per copy Collection made at the end of each month or each week. Orders may be sent oy mail or tele- phone National 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Bally and Sunday_1 yr. 812.00: | mo. 81,00 it 1 yr. $8.00: 1 mo. ily only ___. - . 7L Bungly only__. -1 yr. $5.00; 1 mo. &0c 85¢ per mon! 60c per mon! Entered as second-class matter post office, Washington. D. C. Member of the Associated Press, The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of al) news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this Baper and also the local news publiehed hereln. Al tights of publication of special dispatches herein also are reserved. _— American Shipping Sale to Belgian interests of eight idle United States Lines passenger boats has served again to draw at- tention to the restrictions imposed on American shipping by the Neu- trality Act, although Maritime Com- mission officials are convinced that future developments will compensate for the present dislocation of Euro- pean trade. The eight ships are those over which a controversy arose some months ago when their transfer to Panamanian registry was proposed, and their sale now brings to one hun- dred and fourteen the number of American vessels which have changed flags since the war started. Approx- imately half of this total, however, are small-craft type, and nearly a third of the remainder is made up of tankers operated by the oil industry. Commission officials emphasize also that the transferred vessels are old, and were not considered essential in building up the merchant marine. In the meantime, the commission is going ahead with the accelerated construction program calling for a total of two hundred and three ships on the ways or in operation within the next sixteen months, as part of a ten-year five-hundred-ship plan. Testifying recently before the House Appropriations Committee, Rear Admiral Emory S. Land, chair- man of the commission, emphasized the importance of this program in view of the continuing losses of merchant tonnage by the warring nations, which will require years for replacement. Pointing out that as these ships now are delivered they enter service in the non-combat area, the chair- man explained that when “normal commerce” is resumed, they can be diverted immediately. Then, he said, “the United States, equipped with a fine fleet of new merchant vessels, will be able to assume a more effec- tive competitive position in foreign trade than it has held for many years in markets formerly dominated by European traders.” American-flag shipping already has gotten some of the business that formerly went to foreigners, as the result of the war, and according to the commission, idle tonnage no longer is a problem, although at the time the Neutrality Act was passed, eighty-six ships faced a lay-up. The unemployment situation among seamen has been correspondingly improved, but the commission’s own plan for dealing with this problem by enrolling the men for instruction courses at rates below their sea pay, failed, only a handful seeking to take advantage of the program which was opposed by their unions. Hiding the Truth? The German agreement to permit the American Red Cross to distribute some $400,000 worth of relief supplies in parts of conquered Poland pro- vides the opportunity to give badly- needed aid to the victims of Nazi aggression, but the exclusion of the Red Cross from Polish territory in- corporated into the Reich—Pom- erania, Poznan and Silesia—prevents relief from reaching those Poles who have suffered most from the Nazi conquest, and tends to support charges that the Germans have com- mitted shocking atrocities in those areas. Little more than three weeks ago appalling conditions in the annexed districts of Poland were described in a series of reports presented to the Vatican by authoritative Polish sources. The merciless uprooting of the Polish population for deportation to the government-general area— that portion not annexed to Ger- many—was revealed, together with the heartless separation of families and wanton abuse of the church people. Germany has gone to great pains to suppress any accurate account of conditions in the now German ter- ritory. Newspaper correspondents have been barred, and now the pro- hibition against Red Cross operations there heightens anxiety for the Poles who remain in that territory. What conditions may be like in Russian Poland can only be the sub- ject of conjecture, for no arrange- ment has been made for the dis- tribution of American supplies there. The chaos resulting from the Finnish war aggravates the difficulty of the Soviet supplying even the most fun- damental necessities for its people. What it is able to "provide for the stricken Poles must be tragically in- adequate. Many are seeking to re- turn to the Polish government- THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, SATfiRDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1940. THIS AND THAT By Charles E. Tracewell. % general under German rule as the lesser of two evils. Germany and Russia may be able for a time to prevent the outside world from ascertaining the true fate of the conquered Poles, but the tactics now being employed only strengthen the suspicion that they are victims of a policy which is an affront to ecivilization. Allied War on Russia? Coincident with Scandinavian reports that an Anglo-French naval squadron is blockading the northern Russian coast, comes a significant hint from England that such action may foreshadow actual hostilities between the western powers, now at war only with Germany, and the latter’s all but officially acknowledged ally, the Soviet Union. Speaking last night for the first time since his retirement from the Chamberlain cabinet, former Secretary of State for War Leslie Hore-Belisha, before an audience of his parliamentary constituents at Devonport, openly advocated that the allies make war on Russia. He urged that recourse “both to aid Finland and to hasten the end of the conflict with Ger- many.” “The risk of helping Finland,” the deposed head of the British Army establishment said, “may be great, but,the risk of not helping her might be greater. For that gallant country is fighting not for herself alone. She is holding the pass for civilization.” In no terser words since a sympathiz- ing but inhibited outside world first voiced its compassion for the Finnish cause has the case for the little re- public farthest north been more tellingly stated. Finland is fighting for more than her own independence. She is fighting for democracy every- where. “Freedom will shriek” as surely when the light of liberty goes out in Finland as it “shrieked when Kosciuszko fell.” It may shriek the louder if the blight of Stalinism falls across a nation which might have been saved had democracy in a spirit of enlightened self-interest, if for no nobler motive, ventured sooner to make the Finns’ struggle that of civi- lization, as the former British war secretary, perhaps not even yet too late, now urges Britain and France to do. An allied blockade of Russian Arc- tic -waters, of course, would have more than sentimental inspiration. Its avowed purpose would be to pre- vent shipment of Russian supplies to Germany via that region and the Baltic, as well as to frustrate possible attempts to deliver Soviet subma- rines to the German Navy. Apart from blocking traffic between the Reich and the Soviet via Norwegian coastal waters, the British and French aim to stop any more German ships from taking refuge in Russia’s northernmost harbor, as did the elusive queen of the Nazi merchant marine, the Bremen, earlier in the war. To Murmansk it was that our own City of Flint was taken by the Germans as a supposed war | prize—an episode of painful memory in our most recent relations with the Soviet Union. German merchantmen reportedly have maintained steady connections with Murmagsk, which is an ice-free port despite its Arctic environment. Norway’s coastline, broken by its famous fjords and screened by numerous offshore islands, offers a comparatively safe highway for German ships from Murmansk and one which has been used effectively to evade the allied blockade in the North Sea. Anglo- French naval authorities would put an end to such facilities. The Russian Navy hardly would be in position, without substantial Ger- man support, which the Nazis are in o position to lend, to checkmate an Arctic blockade. The Soviet fleet is strong only in modern submarines, said to number between 170 and 192, with some seventy based on Vladi- vostok, in addition to fifty motor tor- pedo boats and an unknown number of patrol vessels, a mobile fleet held in readiness for an eventual clash with Japan. Apart from submarines, the Union of Soviet Socialist Re- publics is credited with possessing thirty-eight under-age destroyers and fifteen older boats. In commis- sioned capital ships Soviet strength is negligible. It consists of three ves- sels, completed about 1914, of twenty- three knots speed, mountipg twelve- inch guns and aggregating perhaps seventy thousand tons. Russia is reputed to have two modern 35,000- ton capital ships under construction. Her present cruiser force is not im- pressive, embracing nine fairly old ships and five building. The personnel of the Red Navy, according to latest reports, totals 23,600 officers and men, 10,000 of whom are on sea-going duty. They are not famed for efficiency. The fleet is distributed between the Black Sea, the Baltic, the Casplan Sea and the Far East. Of the three capital ships afloat, one is in the Black Sea, two in the Baltic. British discussion of a naval “di- version” in the Arctic directed against Russia coincides with signs of a pro- jected Anglo-Franco-Turkish land campaign in the Near East aimed either at Germany’s eastern flank or at the Soviet’s southerly flank, or both, via the Ukraine or Rumania. Hitler’s “total war” thus may soon become an actuality on a Europe- wide scale, though not quite as the Nazi general staff planned it. S The Picket’s Demonstration The C. L O. is to be commended for its exercise of good sense in with- drawing the C. I O. picket from an F street store employing A. F. of L. labor on a construction job. The C. 1. O, with little logic, explains that the picketing was not against the store, but in retaliation against / the A. F. of L. for picketing a C. I. O. Job next door. The A. F. of L., however, continues to picket the other F Street store which employed C. I. O. labor on a painting job. To the A. F. of L., the remaining picket undoubtedly parades as a pro- test against the employment of C. L O. labor instead of A. F. of L. labor on the painting job, and the master minds of the A. F. of L. undoubtedly regard this exhibition as sound union strategy. To the public at large, however, the A. F. of L. picket parades as a demonstration of the incredible lack of judgment manifested at times by organized labor in the conduct of its highly organized business. The long- er this A. F. of L. picket parades up and down on F street, the more deep- ly will the public be impressed with the truth of what he is demonstrat- ing, and the more indignant will the public become at the irresponsibility of labor leadership which sanctions such exhibitions. Youth Enthroned Lin-gerh, the Divine Child so- called, has ascended the throne of Tibet. Solemn ceremonies in for- bidden Lhasa Thursday made him supreme lord spiritual and temporal of a mystic realm ten times the size of New York State. He was by birth a Chinese peasant boy, but he came into the world, it is alleged, at the exact moment when the thirteenth Delai Lama died and therefore, logically enough to those who now are his subjects, inherited the soul of his predecessor. Hence his claim to be a god-king at five years of age. But there is nothing altogether new in such a story. Alfred the Great, it may be remembered, was sent from England to Rome at five to be anointed King of the West Saxons. Louis XV of France suc- ceeded his great-grandfather at the same half-decade of his life. Peter the Great was proclaimed Emperor of Russia at ten. St. Louis, ninth of the French monarchs to bear that name, was only eleven when he at- tained the crown. Timour or Tamerlane of Samarkand, the chron- icles say, “from his twelfth year * * * had entered the field of action.” Jenghiz Khan was lord of the Mon- gol domain at thirteen. Alexander the Great became regent of Mace- aon when but sixteen and was king at twenty, already a veteran as a soldier and a statesman. Even girls have been enthroned in infancy. Christina of Sweden was queen at five, asswmned complete con- trol of the government at eighteen. Still mere remarkable was the case of Joan of Arc, who had saved France at eighteen and was burned, a martyr, at twenty. The new Dalai Lama, perhaps, should be compared with Louis, the baby son of Charlemagne, declared King of Aquitaine when only three and crowned before he was four. “His counsellors,” the record tells, “mainly conducted his royal affairs” until he had reached his maturity. | So will it be with Lin-gerh. The re- incarnated master of Tibet is a sym- bol personified, not really a sover- eign. No average American boy, it may be supposed, would care to change places with him. There will be few of his contemporaries in the United States who will envy his posi- tion or the tasks which eventually it will involve. Rather, he will have the sympathy of democratic young- sters who prefer baseball bats to scepters and an adventurous movie to all the pomp and circumstance on earth. It's Not New The bookie race wire service, re- cently knocked flat by the Govern- ment, has quite an ancient history. It has just come to light, in a speech made in Baltimore by Dr. Frederick C. Lincoln of the Bureau of Biological Survey, that it began some two thou- sand years ago in ancient Rome. At the end of each day’s racing foot messengers would start out on weary hikes to various parts of the empire, and race players out in the sticks would frequently have tc wait a week before learning that Publius Ver- gilius had won the VIth spasm, paying XVI sesterces and X% denarii for the usual investment. ,There would seem to be little doubt that as a consequence of this delay book- makers would often accept bets as late as five days after post time. Then some genius conceived the notion of catching country swallows and taking them to Rome in a cage. The racing chariots were all painted different colors, and if the blue one won, the swallows would be daubed with blue paint and released. It is easy to picture the immense advan- tage enjoyed by the subscriber to this racing news service. All he had to do was to go out on a leisurely stroll to observe the beauties of nature, and upon seeing the first blue bird of the season he wasted no time writing about it to the editor of the Rome Gazette. Instead, he hastened to Honest Caius Vespucius’ joint out on the Appian Way and bet his toga on the blue. No doubt this crude but effective get-rich-quick device con- tributed to the downfzll of many a bookmaker long before the decline and fall of Rome. R Hundreds of Russian technical ex- perts heretofore employed in Turkey have received orders from*Moscow to return promptly to Soviet territory. This might be described as a combi- nation of “beating some one to the punch” and “saving the face.” An old phrase was “as certain as for a dappled gray horse to join a circus.” This could be. revised to, “as certain as for Admiral Byrd to dis- cover some new mountain peaks on a pleasant day.” 2 Of Stars, Men And Atoms Notebook of Science Progress * In Field, Laboratory And Study By Thomas R. Henry. Emile Mzerl Kusaks Kisoms Msulws Nyange Sanekondo Kilangilo Mwevuti Mwempanga Mzimba Zsamaris Zaan- dangwa. ‘This is & poo'r fellow’s name. When anybody asks him his name that is what he tells them and when he is through he has told much of the story of his life. Among the Wanguru of the British Tan- ganyika protectorate of East Africa he has a fairly shert, simple, plebian name. Some of the customs of the people with the longest names on earth have Just been reported to the Catholic An- thropological Conference by Rev. Thomas McVicar, formerly a missionary among them. Emile, by the way, has a few other names which he doesn’t tell to strangers, lest they work some direful magic upon him. The boy's family, says Father McVicar, happen to be good Christians. “Emile” is a Christian name. The next two names in the list are the first names of his paternal and maternal grandfathers. If the baby had been a girl she would have been burdened with the names of both her grandmothers. “Msulwa” was the family name of his mother. He got it from the midwife in attendance at his birth. According to the custom of the tribe, she might just as well have be- stowed her own name upon him. “Nyange” is the name of an important chief of his clan. It fixes his position in tribal society. It means a special kind of frog that shoots water behind it every time it jumps. He cannot be addressed by that name directly. When a fellow tribesman meets him he says “Sevijula,” meaning, “There are many frogs in the river.” The boy, will reply that there is one special kind of frog whose name he bears. “Sanekondo” is the name of his pater- nal grandfather's sister'’s husband. The fact that one has a name of this sort is explained by Father McVicar as follows: “The day on which a girl is to marry the sisters of the bridegroom come to her house. The bride's female relatives are present and the bride herself is hidden away in a corner. The groom's sisters search for her and when they find her place a necklace of white beads around her neck and at the same time give her the name of their father's sister. Later the bride's first born, if a girl, receives this same name and if a boy the name of the woman's husband.” The rest of the names refer to his maternal and paternal relatives, the place where he lives, the work he does, and so.on. The name, of course, be- comes rather cumbersome at times anc the fellow has a shorter name which can be used by folks who are realiy familiar with him, Zaamwanamzimba, which means “lion cub,” since he hap- pens to belong to the clan of the lion. He would be very angry, however, if a mere acquaintance addressed him so in- formally. This particular chap, Father McVicar says, got off lucky because he was a very good baby. He accepted the name given him at birth without crying. If he had been a bad baby he would have been taken to the tribal medicine man, who would have concluded that he was grieved because some dead ancestor’s name was not added to the list. The medicine man would have repeated the names of all the ancestors until the child stopped crying. The name which sup- posedly had quieted him would be added to the list. If he had another bad crying spell the same formality would have been gone through with once more and still another name added. Emile can't escape the weight of this name, Father McVicar says, until he himself becomes the father of a family and some son or daughter exceeds him in eminence. Then he will be referred to by the name of his own offspring and in his ripe old age may generally be known by the name of a favorite daughter. It may sound funny, says Father Mc- Vicar in his report, but not when you have to keep parish records, make out birth certificates, keep marriage records straight and render proper homage to the deceased at funerals. Then mis- sionaries to the Wangurus sometimes talk to themselves. When Father McVicar first went among these Negroes and learned a little of the language he thought some of the children should be taught better man- ners when he heard them addressing white-haired old grandfathers as “son.” Then he found it was perfectly respect- ful. Ordinary relationships are only on the side of the mother. All the father's relatives are “children,” regardless of their age. So, Father McVicar found, it is perfectly proper for any youngster to call his great-great-grandfather on his father's side ‘“child” He would be soundly spanked if he used the same term for his mother’s grandfather. Writes in Defense Of Elderly Pedestrians. To the Editor of The Star: A Nation-wide association of motor- ists reported some time ago that most pedestrians involved in fatal accidents are 60 years of age or older. Such prop- aganda leads the public to believe elder- ly pedestrians are a menace to safe driving since they may not be suffi- ciently alert and agile to dodge vehicular traffic successfully. Are reports, creat- ing the impression that the majority of pedestrians are negligent and therefore responsible for the injuries they receive, made to minimize the faults of careless drivers? It would seem so. An accurate analysis of accidents would 'probably disclose that in many instances the pedestrian was alone when injured, and because of lack of evidence the driver was freed of any charge of negligence. Lack of evidence does not imply the pedestrian was negligent. In view of the flagrant disregard some motorists have for the rules of the road, it is not surprising that more elderly people are injured by vehicles than pe- destrians of other ages, nor would it be surprising if motorist organizations were to sponsor a new regulation for the “pro- tection” of elderly pedestrians. It is hoped the city fathers will not yield to any pressure that may be brought to debar elderly pedestrians from the streets. JAMES HARLAND. February 12. ' A “EAST FALLS CHURCH, Va. “Dear Bir: “Please appeal to bird lovers to put out sand for the birds. I've been reading your column each day ard haven't seen It mentioned. “Sand can be purchased at 10-cent stores and many places where building supplies are sold. “I've been interested and also amused over the mockingbird controversies. “I have had both kinds of mockers, scrappers and peace lovers. When I had the scrappers I just put out another tray and placed the things he liked on it and never placed suet or raisins, etc., on the seed tray, after I learned my les- son. Mockers do not eat seed. “On the opposite side of my house from the seed tray I have a finishing nail in the windowsill and push a half an apple down on it, cut side up, for the mocker. They need help this win- ter. One dead one was found in another locality and another was seen trying to get into the garbage can. . * x 8 “I've had as many as 50 purple finches and 3 gold finches in their winter colors. The head and back of neck of gold finch is a greenish brown and tail and wing feathers black and white striped. “I seldom have an English sparrow on my tray as I feed plenty of intermediate size chicken feed on the ground under my feeder and only sunflower seed on the tray, which is on my windowsill. “I leave the tray on my dining room window and keep a thin curtain there 50 they can be seen from the inside and yet cannot see inside so well themselves. “You may be interested in learning that my tray is not more than 50 feet from the highway and is next to a two- family driveway. “Yours truly, E. V. L.” * = 5% What saves the birds in their need for sand is the fact that it can be found at almost any time of the year. ‘This comes about because often piles of it have been left under porches, and in other protected places. If you see birds in winter hopping be- neath porches, you may feel pretty sure that it is sand they are going after. This does not mean, however, that it is not a very good suggestion to put it out for them. It is, and they appreci- ate it. Often when the ground is covered with snow, the addition of a little sand to the feeding mixture is a very good thing. This is a good way to use it, for the placement of a pile of sand, unless cov- ered, is not so good when snow falls. *xxz 1f sand is put out, it should be placed | in a covered spot accessible to birds. In a bad winter, such as this one has been, sand is more or less wasted if it is not available to the songsters at all times. Hence beneath a porch is a very good place. Do not fear that the birds will not find it. Just as they are always on the lookout for something to drink, so they watch for supplies of sand. No personal directions are necessary to enable the birds to find what they want. We sometimes think some of us worry too much over the birds in winter. They can find what they need, provided it is available. This is very easily proved at any sta- tion where food has been put out every day for months and years. Just try leaving the feeder completely empty for one whole day. The birds will convince you quickly enough that they are not just there for your amusement. What will happen? Why, they will fly away to some place where there 15 food. ‘What is more, most of them may not come back. That is how earnest they are in seeking something to eat. This desertion may seem rather over- done to the person, who, by reason of absence from town, or iliness, has missed giving his old friends their daily food for so little as one day. Surely, he thinks, they might over- look it! But not they. The birds come to the feeding stations to eat, and when there is nothing to eat, it is no longer a feed- ing station is 1t? It is just as simple as that. Many persons who feed the birds do not put out sand, and yet the scores of songsters there will be happy and healthy. The answer is that they find grit suf- ficient for their purposes. Maybe they fly many blocks, or even miles, to get it. * % x5 There can be little question that traffic ordinarily does not keep the birds which winter hereabouts from coming to a feeding station. The main thing with them, as stated, is the presence of something to eat, and also something to drink. A.cut apple, as suggested, is both food and drink to the mockingbird and others. ‘We know one feeding station not 10 feet from one of the busiest roads in nearby Maryland, yet we have seen tufted titmice there when not a one graced our own stations in a quiet back yard. Fortunately, this lack has been recti- fied. During the incipient blizzard, one of these finest of feathered creatures came to the small feeder on the stake by the dining room window. It was the first time we had seen a titmouse since last spring. How much longer he looked than we had remembered him. This is one of the pleasures of feeding the birds, that they come and go, and thus never lose for the observer that charm of novel- ty which God so deftly placed in all His pure creatures. Letters to Criticizes Secrecy In Juvenile Case. To the Editor of The Star: The term of the judge of the Juvenile Court expires this month. I, a Wash- ingtonian, seriously object to Judge Bent- ley being reappointed for the following | reasons: I am the youngest of 6 living members of a family of 11 children of poor parents. All of my brothers and sisters, five, are in hospitals. My oldest sister, a T8-year-old woman has had a major operation for cancer and a 63- year-old brother was run over by a truck and his pelvis crushed, making him an invalid for life. While my brothers and sisters were ill in hospitals, their 50-year- old home, a large detached frame house, was destroyed by vandals. Every win- dow in the house was broken, every lock removed, furniture stolen and then the house destroyed by fire. The names and addresses of the vandals were sent to the Juvenile Court by the police of the 12th precinct. For over a year I have tried to get the names and addresses of these vandals from the police and the Juvenile Court, without success. I do not know whether the case ever came up in court. To have a large, 50-year-old home of poor, old, ill people destroyed by vandals whose names and addresses are known by the judge and not to get any redress is not my idea of justice. BLANCHE C. HOWLETT. February 17. Two Critics Denounce Census Questions. To the Editor of The Star: Senator Tobey has introduced in the Senate a resolution requiring to be stricken from the census questionnaire questions relating to one’s income and its sources, together with other questions of the most offensive, personal and pri- vate nature, that not only violate the constitutional rights of the citizen, but which are not even authorized by the census law. These questions proposed by Secretary of Commerce Hopkins should arouse the indignation and re- sentment of the people and they should lose no time in urging their Senators to support this resolution. In the first place there is no justifiable reason for such impertinent questions, nor is there any worthwhile purpose to be served by them, but on the contrary such information can be and probably will be used, if judged by the past, for improper political purposes by the ad- ministration. Secrecy is promised re- garding the answers to these questions, but we know from past experience that little confidence can be placed in prom- ises of New Dealers. The general under- standing was that the income tax returns would be inviolate, and yet they have not only been broadcast to the world, but have been made the basis by this admin- istration to persecute, discredit and to punish critics of the New Deal. The trouble with us today under the “new dispensation” i3 that there is too much law making by executive authority, and usurpation by bureaucrats of the constitutional functions of the Congress. ‘While Congress must necessarily in some cases authorize promulgation of regula- tions by executives to put into effect some laws, such regulations must never contra- vene the law or be in conflict with it, for otherwise the exclusive power of the Con- gress to legislate is usurped, and we have a government of men and not of laws. If this executive law making is not #topped the country will ultimately be governed by executive decrees, and the Congress will cease to-exist as & legisla- 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! tive body, and the Bill of Rights will become a dead letter. As a matter of fact we have had for the past seven years a Government largely of men and not of law, and if this tendency is not stopped it will eventually wind up in dictatorship and tyranny, and the loss of our liberties. The newspapers could render no great- er public service than by bringing this matter to the attention of the people and combatting this tendency in our Gov- ernment. ALEXANDER S. LANIER. February 19. To the Editor of The Star: May I suggest that you could write a very timely editorial, or at least a news item, based on the remarks of Senator Tobey beginning on page 1793 of the Congressional Record and pertaining to the Census inquisition. Further, on the same subject, you have probably noted the remarks of Repre- sentative Reed of New York beginning on page 1844 of the same Record. When the Census Bureau released their questionnaire for publication, it occurred to me that many of the ques- tions were arbitrary and of the nature of an inquisition. Before deciding to refuse to answer the questions which de- parted from the constitutional require- ment, I made some inquiry and have concluded that the questionnaire is justi- flable to the extent that it falls within the constitutional provision, the act of 1929 (with restrictions provided by that act) and the act of 1939. I cannot, how- ever, justify any questions pertaining to income and it is my intention to refuse to answer these questions on inceme if they are demanded by the enumerator. The current address of Senator Tobey and a recent address by Representative Reed seem to be sufficient authority for my conclusion. WAGER S. BROWN. February 9. Stresses Importance of Prompt Ald to Finland. To the Editor of The Star: - Much has been written in our papers recently urging help for Finland, and yet many Americans, including Con- gressmen, seem to be indifferent or in a state of apathy to the tragic struggle of Finland. The heroic, highly civilized and Christian people of Finland are being beaten to death by Soviet hcrdes. A spirit of God and anti-God is loose in the world as never before. So far Finland has kept the northern gateway shut again Communism, but woe betide Europe and America also if Scandinavia should go down before the forces of Communism, and all de- cent people with a Christian spirit of liberty and humanity are crushed under the hates and greeds of Stalin and Hitler. Hitler will grab Sweden to get possession of the iron ore Germany has long coveted. I plead with every American citizen to quickly take up their responsibilities and deluge their respective Congress- men, especially the faint-heéarted ones, with demands that America give imme- diste help to Finland of planes, ammuni- tions and afti-airtraft, so that they may defend themselves against the bru- talities of the Soviets. Also, the State Department, must make it possible for Americans to volunteer to fight for Fin- A0 Answers To 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. What is the narn:e of the organiza- tion which is interested in s new na- tional anthem?—R. 8. P. A.It is the new National Anthem Club, Steinway Hall, New York City. Q. Do members of Congress supply their own stationery?—R. D. D. A. Each member of Congress is al- lowed about $100 a year for office sta- tionery. - Q. Was Grey Owl, the protector of the beavers, a full-blooded Indian?— F. A A. His mother was a full-blooded Apache and his father was a Scotsman. Q. What is the origin of the term, “Perfidious Albion”"?—R. W. G. A. The expression was used by Na- poleon on leaving for St. Helena. It is believed that he quoted from Bossuet, who, in his sermon on the circumcision, preached at Metz, exclaimed, “Ah! Per- fidious England.” Q. How is the porcelain applied to the tops of kitchen tables?—J. G. A. The National Bureau of Standards says that in the manufacture of porce- lain-enameled table tops the enamel is fired on the metal base at approximately 1,400 degrees to 1500 degrees F. The enamel is first ground with water, and is held in suspension by clay and elec- trolytes. This suspension, of creamlike consistency, is sprayed on the previously cleaned metal base, the water evaporated, and the remaining layer of powdered enamel fused. B Q. What amount has been expended for farm relief in the Roosevelt admin- istration?—J. M. T. . A. The total amount expended in con= nection with the Agricultural “Adjuste ment Administration through June, 30, 1939, was $3.189349.542. The total amount of loans to farmers by the Farm Security Administration through De- cember, 1939, was $361,321320. The total amount of grants amounted to $103,- 157,059 Q. How long has it beeh customary for monks to shave their hair?>—T. 8. A. The shaving of the head was a dis- tinguishing mark of monks as early the 4th century. It became common ir the 6th century and was made a rit: the church in the 7th century as dis- tinguishing the entire clerical member- ship. Q. Who designed the new make-up of the New York Post?—L. §. H. A. It was designed by Norman Bel Geddes. Q. What is secular music?’—H. P. 8. A. It is music intended for a theater or concert hall, as opposed to.sacred music. d. Where is Watts’ famous painting of 8ir Galahad?—W. 8. H. A. It is at Eton College in England. Q. Please give the origin of the Pink- erton Detective Agency.—J. H. 8. A. Allan Pinkerton, a native of Glas- gow, Scotland, came to the United States in 1842, settling in Chicago. While en- gaged in business at Dundee, Il he cap= tured a gang of counterfeiters, and in 1850 organized the active Pinkerton's Na- tional Detective Agency. His reputation was made with the recovery of a large sum for the Adams Express Co. (1859-60), and the discovery of a plot to murder President Lincoln in 1861. Q. How many letters does Mrs. Roose= velt receive?—R. T. M. A. In 1939 Mrs. Roosevelt received 150,000 letters. Q. When did Ethiopia become a part of Italy?—R. T. M. A. On May 9, 1936, Premier Mussolini in Rome proclaimed the country as an- nexed to Italy and added the title of Emperor of Ethiopia to King Eman- uel IIL Q. Who built the Stoneleigh Court apartment house in Washington, D. C.? —G. G. C. a A. The Stoneleigh Court apartment building was erected in 1902 by John Hay, Secretary of State under McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Q. How many slaves did George Wash- ington have?—R. L. W. A. Washington owned, soon after his marriage, 317 slaves, some of whom be- longed to his wife. Q. Has Lily Pons been married twice? —V. M. A. Miss Pons married August Mesrits from whom she was divorced in 1933. Her marriage to Andre Kostelanetz took place on June 2, 1938. Q. How is St. Leger pronounced in England?—R. R. B. A. It is pronounced as though spelled Silenjur. Q. What was the first city in the United States to adopt a Finnish town in the defense against Soviet aggres- sion?—M. B. A. It was announced by President Kyosti Kallio of Finland that Doyles- town, Pa., was the first in adopting the city of Turku (Abo). Q. What is the most densely populated cowntry in Europe?—L. P. R. A. Belgium is the most densely popue lated European country, with s populae tion of 710 to the square mile. Q. Are Eddy Duchin’s hands insured? —H. B. A. The musician’s hands are insured for $100,000. Q. What States have a basic science law?—E. R. A. ‘The following States have a basic sclence law: Arizona, Arkansas, Colo- rado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, land if they want to. As it stands now, without passports, it is almost impossible for an American to get over there. I cannot condone the lack of cour- ageous spirit the United States shows in dealing with international gangsters. Pebruary 19, R W.8. 3 >