Evening Star Newspaper, June 2, 1940, Page 34

o—2 The Sunday St With Daily_Eveninz Edition THEODORE W. NOYES, Editor. WASHINGTON, D. C. SUNDAY_ June 2, 1940 The Evening Star Newspaper Company. in Office: 11th St and Pennsylvania Ave. M ok Ose: 110 Faxr dova Bt Chicago Office: 435 North Michigan Ave. Delivered by Carrier—City and Suburban. Regular Edition. Evening and Sunday 75¢ per mo. or The Evening Star The Sunday Star Nigl't Final Edition Night Final and sunday Star Night Final Star ~ __ Roral Tube Delivery. Sunday Star Sc per week 85¢ per month 60¢ per month The Evenmx 85¢ per month The Evening -~ 55¢ per menth ‘The Sunday Star ity 10c per copy Collection made at the end of each menth or each week. Orders may be sent by mail or tele- phone National 5000, Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Daily ard Sunday 1 yr. $1200: 1 mo. $1.00 dly only ____"_'1 yr. "$800: 1 mo.. 78c unday only-_""""°1 yr. $500: 1 mo. 50c 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 oll news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in thi paper and also the local news published herein. All ights of oublication of rpecial dispatches herein also are reserved The Untold Story The Star has printed hundreds of thousands of words of news about the Second World War. From the outbreak of hostilities last September up to the current moment the strug- gle has been chronicled as it devel- oped. The conquest of Poland, the assault upon Finland, the attacks upon Norway, the Netherlands, Bel- gium and France, each of these dif- ferent yet related tragedies has been reported as fully and as accurately as possible. But the larger story— the story of the suffering of millions of civillans in the countries involved in the great conflict—has not been told. Perhaps there are no phrases ade- quate to the need. It may be that human genius never has devised | language poignant enough to stir the | heart as it should be stirred by such | a catastrophe. Only by appeal to the imagination can sympathy equal to the demand be aroused. Let the av- erage Washingtonian pretend that he is an eyewitness of the battle of Flanders. He sees the horror of it, the frightful cost of it in terms of injury and death, the heroism of it in terms of pain and sorrow borne without complaint. It might be for- given him if he were to suppose that civilization is coming to an end—and that God does not care. The fact, however, is otherwise. It may seem a paradox, yet it is true that never before has public senti- ment everywhere so much distrusted the arbitrament of arms. so much feared those barbarian powers that have had recourse to murder for the attainment of their selfish purposes, so much hated the dictators who have led whole nations into the pre- vailing holocaust. The reaction to the war is not a fruitless indignation. Rather it is a flaming denial of the | ascendancy of systems of tyranny over the integrity and the sanctity of the individual soul. Americans resent the present cataclysm because they know that it was umrnecessary. The helpless throngs of its victims are not to be forgotten. Neglect of their misery would be a shameful failure on the part of their neighbors on this side of the Atlantic. The Red Cross is asking the residents of the District of Columbia for $300,000 for their relief. Please give generously and quickly. — The Last of England? England within a few weeks may be invaded. During nearly a month “this blessed plot, ‘this earth, this realm” has been threatened by Nazi armies moving westward to the Channel. Now, with Holland and Belgium reduced and Northern France subjected, Adolf Hitler stands where Napoleon Bonaparte stood in 1804. Der Fuehrer's legions have oc- cupied Boulogne and invested Calais in anticipation of an assault upon “the real enemy” across the water. But the deed is not yet done, and it is possible that it never will be attempted. The Corsican in his time | was as anxious to humiliate Great | on all the benefits he could get from | England and might or might not Britain as the Austrian house painter can be today. At his command one hundred and eighty-one thousand troops assembled within sight of the white cliffs of Dover. To ferry them 1 45¢ per mo, or 10¢ per week | 10c ver copy | that on the Somme and elsewhere when the time comes, there will still be plenty of war,’ commented one German observer.” Let a further thought be added for the comfort of those friends of Eng- land who, reading of devastation in Poland and Norway, may be fearful of the wrecking of Britain’s monu- ments of civilization. The British race is not limited to “Albion sea- walled,” their spiritual kingdom is not restricted to “this precious stone set in the silver sea.” So much of what most notably is theirs already has been exported—to America, to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, yes, even to Germany—that though the heart of the empire were destroyed, utterly | and forever, the English ideal of life | Would survive unbroken. That value is not amenable to Hitler. On the contrary, it is a reality as free as freedom itself, as eternal as eternity. Efforts of the Senate and House and of their conferees to keep the District of Columbia budget in bal- ance and at the same time to meet as many of the urgent needs of the community as possible are deserving of commendation. The District ap- propriation bill as approved by the conferees provides for an outlay of approximately $49,000,000, which is about $680,000 less than the Senate agreed to, about $720,000 more than the House voted and $1,900,000 more than was appropriated for the cur- | rent year. The proposed expendi- tures will closely approximate reve- nues. Thus, the necessity of increas- ing realty and personal property taxes will be averted. The Star regards it as most un- fortunate, however, that, in en- deavoring to keep the bill within the bounds of anticipated revenues, the House and the conferees wielded | their economy knives on an item vitally affecting law and order—the provision Metropolitan Police Department. Maj. Ernest W. Brown, superin- tendent of police, had appealed for a hundred patrolmen to augment his “ inadequate force, but budget officials over the tide no less than twenty- | four hundred and thirteen vessels “of various dimensions” were summoned. | The objective of the campaign, the historians say, was that of “establish- ing a republic’ in London. It is recorded that “the troops were admirably drilled, and only awaited the arrival of the fleets from Ant- werp, Brest, Cadiz and the harbors of the Mediterranean, which had been in the course of formation for several years for this express purpose.” The design failed because of the interfer- ence of a man now forgotten. His name was Sir Robert Calder, and his heroic challenge to the navies of France and Spain was so misunder- stood that he was obliged to demand a8 court-martial to clear his repu- tation. Meanwhile, the Emperor acknowledged his frustration of the scheme to emulate Julius Caesar and | William of Normandy. England, it is true, “no longer is an island,” but any attempt to conquer | her people might be costly beyond all German expectation. Shakespeare was not dreaming when he declared: “Come the three corners of the world in arms, and we shall shock them.” George Axelsson, writing from Berlin to the New York Times, says: “The highest German military circles are * * * impressed by ‘the quality of | British resistance. * * * That is one | thing that Germans understand and fully respect. ‘If they can fight like | agreement with the Soviet. slashed the estimate to twenty-five men — without explanation. The House wiped even this small item from the list, but the Senate, prop- erly concerned over crime condi- tions in Washington, voted in favor of twenty-five additional policemen. The conferees finally compromised on fifteen. Maj. Brown will be glad to get even these fifteen new officers, of course, but he will have to curtail drastically his plans more patrolmen on the streets to cope with the increase in robberies which has occurred in recent months. Economies at the expense of law en- forcement might prove to be very costly to the people of the District in | the long run. What About Russia? Great Britain's efforts to woo effec- tive war aid from Russia apparently have no more solid basis than con- tinued wishful thinking of the type that collapsed with announcement of the Soviet-Nazi friendship pact last summer. Stalin probably is happy at the growing possibility of Hitler domination of Western Eu- rope, with its concomitant threat to his own rich preserves. But it would not be in character for Russia's coldly realistic and opportunistic dictator to take any action helpful to the British Empire that was not definitely to his own interest. And it would be worth while to risk his ill-prepared nation in war against Germany at the moment. Pre- sumably, it was fear of a German attack on the Russian Ukraine that prompted Stalin to make his deal with Hitler in the first place. He undoubtedly will live up to that agreement as long as it is convenient i for him to do so. About all the British may expect from their contemplated appoint- ment of Sir Stafford Cripps as a friendly Ambassador to the Soviet Union is a commercial arrangement, under which Stalin would capitalize keep his promises to give relatively unimportant benefits in return. Ger- many has not benefited as much as may be popularly supposed from her Russia has kept her trade bargain, but the nearly 1,000,000 tons of oil and vary- | ing amounts of other products it | mnch | provided annually for Germany rep- resent only a fraction of Soviet pro- duction or Nazi war needs. No active participation in the war by Russia may be expected unless Germany or Italy moves into the Balkans, when she likely would move in also to protect her interests. She probably could raise an army of 17,000,000 men, but could not arm nor equip anywhere near that num- ber. Her air force is numerically tremendous, but mostly obsolete and growing more out of date daily. She still is suffering from the loss of valuable equipment in the Finnish war, which cost her an esti- mated 300,000 men in dead, wounded and frostbite victims. Russian in- dustry is not organized for war pro- duction needs and foodstuffs are scarce. Prices for everything except bread have been increased from 30 to 35 per cent twice recently, with no corresponding increase in wages. Paradoxically, this did not add the hardship one would expect because most Russians have more money than they could use anyway—there being little to buy at any price. Still, Stalin appears firmly in the saddle, with no evidences of unrest serious enough even remotely to threaten his regime. Prompt execution of » for putting | not | THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JUNE 2, 1940— PART TWO. I IN TIME OF NEED By the Right Rev. James E. Freeman, D. D. LL. D., D. C. L., Bishop of Washington. any one giving signs of opposition makes sure of that. Despite her obvious unprepared- ness for modern warfare, Russia’s enormous reserve of man power makes her a potentially tough enemy for any nation that might tangle with her. This may be one of the reasons for Italy’s delay in entering the war as an active ally of Germany, because the Soviet could be expected to resist any attempt by Italy to become all-powerful in the Mediter- ranean area. The National Guard President Roosevelt’s request that Congress, before it adjourns, grant him authority to call into active service such portions of the National Guard and Reserve personnel as “may be deemed necessary to main- tain our position of neutrality and to safeguard the national defense” has encountered not altogether un- expected opposition from some members of the Senate. Senator Vandenberg, who has been in the vanguard of the critics of the administration’s foreign policy, was “shocked” by the proposal, which sounded to him as though the President wanted to be able to or- der a partial mobilization by Execu- tive authority alone. Senators Wheel- er, Nye and Bridges are reported to have seconded this view. With respect to this criticism, it will be recalled that Senator Van- denberg and his isolationist sup- porters have dissented vigorously in the past from other proposals ad- vanced by the President in matters of foreign policy affecting our own national welfare. And many of these proposals, notably the request for repeal of the arms embargo, have indicated to the isolationists that the President was seeking congres- sional action which might endanger the peace of the Nation. Fortu- nately, the record speaks for itself. Subsequent events have demon- strated that the President, on the for enlargement of the | whole, has been consistently right; his isolationist ecritics consistently wrong. There is no reason to sup- pose at this time that the tables have been turned. The proposal with respect to the National Guard, however, also has encountered opposition from Sena- tor Austin, Republican, of Vermont, | who has been a strong supporter of | the President on most issues relating to our external relations. “What,” Senator Austin asks, “does he know that we don't know that would justify him in implying that it would be necessary to call out the National Guard to enforce neutrality?” That, certainly, is a question which The Star cannot answer. It may be, as Secretary of War Woodring has suggested, that the President has | nothing more in mind at this time than the possible calling out of the Guard for training and seasoning purposes. But it is also possible, even probable, that Mr. Roosevelt is thinking along far more significant lines. This particular request obviously is | based on the assumption that Con- gress is going to adjourn in the near future. But the adjournment of | Congress is not going to halt the swift march of events throughout the world. Neither the President, nor any member of the Senate can say with the slightest certainty that we will not suddenly be confronted with a critical national emergency six weeks or three months in the future. In such an eventuality, particulatly | if Congress should be in adjourn- ment, the President, in The Star's opinion, ought to have full authority | to call the Natiortal Guard into active | there is no indication that he believes | service and to take any other steps calculated to protect the security of the Nation. The suggestion that he cannot be trusted to exercise such powers with appropriate discretion not only is refuted by all that has gone into the record since the war started in Europe, but it has, in ad- dition, a tendency to impair public confidence in the President, and in that respect it renders a distinct dis- service to our national safety. —_— Hatch Act Offshoot Residents of nearby Maryland and Virginia can be expected to line up squarely behind the move of Repre- sentative Sasscer, Democrat, of Mary- land to permit Government em- ployes to hold local municipal posi- tions in the towns near Washington. For one of the unfortunate effects of the Hatch Act has been to deprive many nearby towns of the services of experienced and able officials. An amendment already has been attached to the pending bill to ex- tend the Hatch ban to State em- ployes, which would give the Civil Service Commission authority “in special and unusual circumstances” to permit Federal employes in Mary- land and Virginia to enter local poli- tics and hold office. Mr. Sasscer, however, has present- ed another amendment which spe- cifically would permit Federal work- ers in towns within 50 miles of Wash- ington to campaign for and hold of- fices paying less than $600 a year. He believes that such legislation would be more satisfactory than the former amendment because the Civil Service Commission might set too strict limits on the circumstances un- der which the nearby Government workers could participate in town administrations. Furthermore, he believes that his proposal has a chance of passage if the rest of the pending Hatch bill is defeated. Because of those fac- tors the Sasscer proposal merits support. The newest type of gas mask is equipped with both microphone and loud-speaker. Perhaps European man will some day move like a snail, with his house with him, wherever he goes. ‘ b Discusses Reasons for Poor Defenses By Owen L. Scott. Effort now required to arm the United States so that it can face a changed world is to be immense. President Roose- velt's $4,000,000,000 program for the year that begins in July is only the start. There already are suggestions that this total will reach six billions in the new fiscal year and that its peacetime pro- portions may rise to ten billions before there is a leveling off. War, of course, would involve much greater totals. Blame for the sad state of America’s present defenses—suddenly discovered in the midst of national danger—appears likely to go unplaced. The reason is that any scratching of the surface shows that blame divided between Republicans and Democrats, between the President and Congress, between the generals and the admirals. Yet, in the light of what is going on in the world, it is an amazing story of de- fenselessness in modern weapons that confronts this Nation. The sudden ef- fort to make it appear that vast num- bers of airplanes will be turned out over- night, with pilots to operate them and ground crews to service them; the sud- den talk of billions for modern arms and other billions for mechanized equipment does not gloss over the fact that today and for months and even years to come this Nation will be unprepared to en- force the commitments it has made. There is the prospect that the United States, like England, may be unable to stand effectively behind its pledges to defend outlying interests. The reason for this is found in some interesting and officially provided figures. For example: There is not, in the Army today, a sin- gle airplane that could stand on an equal footing with the planes of Germany. Total combat planes in the Army are barely 800. In spite of all of the talk in big figures about airplanes to be ground out wholesale, the Army is going to get only 40 modern warplanes a month in the period just ahead. The Navy hopes that it can get 800 planes in the next year. Germany today is grinding out nearly 4,000 modern planes each month and expects soon tc have that figure up to 6,000. The German planes carry armor that renders useless the guns that American planes have been equipped to carry. The Germans mount cannon, whereas this country’s fighting planes have been mounting machine guns. The story of airplanes is typical of the story of other branches of the Army. It is only in the Navy that this country is | thoroughly equipped and prepared. Yet, even in the Navy, there has been failure to learn defense lessons that really were taught 20 years ago and could have been heeded. The reason for this state of affairs? In important part it is found in Congress. The present Congress, just before Ger- many started to overrun Holland and Belgium, turned down funds for purchase of airplanes for the Navy and refused the Army funds for an air base in Alaska. Congress earlier had voted to prohibit use of any relief labor for any national defense project. slashed funds that could be used to equip Industry to produce armament and cut deeply into funds for the Army Air Corps. All of these things were done in order that Congressmen could find $225,000.000 with which to continue subsidy payments to farmers without increasing taxes or raising the national debt limit. The record likewise shows that President Roosevelt had to use the greatest care | in recommending national defense ex- get into war, * ok ox X But that isn't the whole story. other part of it is found in the Presi- dent's dependence for advice upon the | 2 | ing to the Government and accom- top-ranking generals and admirals in the | inee 5 Army and Navy, without going down the line to discover what somewhat junior officers might have to say. This, of course, is the way a military machine works, but that working under modern | garden is to be permitted to remain a conditions can be hazardous. In Germany there was a revolution in military command under Hitler. Old ideas were thrown out and new ones sub- stituted. Old commanders gave way to younger men with newer ideas. In Eng- land and France and the United States the old guard stayed in command with results that now are apparent, The story is told by younger American officers of recent ranking officers in the American Army who abhored machinery and everything about mechanization of an army, and of admirals who continued to scoff at airplanes and what they could do to the modern warship. The result | is an American Army far behind in mechanization and an American Navy that—like the British Navy—is an easy target for an enemy with an effective air fleet. Older heads of American armed serv- ices scoffed when Gen. William Mitchell, back in the 1920s tried to tell what the airplane would do to old methods of war- fare and to the older designs of battle- ships. The Germans took Gen. Mitchell's ideas to heart and are demonstrating what it was that this American officer had in mind when he argued that the airplane would revolutionize fighting on land and on sea. * ok kX Y As things now stand this country has an investment of four or five billion dol- lars in warships that are not designed to meet modern air attack, but that could have been so designed if the American Navy had been willing to learn the lesson that Gen. Mitchell taught. The country today is building about $1,500,000,000 worth of new warships which still have not been designed in the light of poten- tialities of air attack. There still is the question whether the billions that are to be poured out at this time for new equipment will be spent in a way best to meet American needs. The money is to be divided up and spent by the same high officers who refused in the past to take an interest in modern weapons and who misinterpreted the meaning of what Germany was doing. Younger officers who know what it is all about, continue to find their viewpoint and their ideas rejected by the high command. This situation is giving rise to a de- mand in some quarters of Congress for a real glimpse beneath the surface of American defense planning to discover whether the American armed services have caught up with the trends in ma- chinery. The trouble happens to be that both Congress and the President went along with the old ideas and neither now likes to admit a mistake. Congress | In a remarkable book that came from the pen of the great scientist, Sir Oliver Lodge, entitled, “Raymond,” he tells in its early chapters of the life of his son. Sir Oliver was a profound believer in the reality of things spiritual. His son Ray- mond entered the World War fresh from college and after a brief service was killed. Sir Oliver in writing of his son said: “The religions side of Raymond was hardly known to the family, but among his possessions was found a small pocket Bible, and on the flyleaf penciled in his writing, is an index to the passages that I copy here.” He then proceeds to indicate by the passages quoted the evi- dent spiritual growth of Raymond, as under the stress of conflict he sought those texts that would serve him in the hour of his greatest need. The selection he made indicates the wide extent of his reading and the inner workings of his mind, as well as his deep desire to find those passages that would sustain and support him in the time of doubt and un- certainty. He begins with the words in Exodus: “If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.” Here he was evidently anticipating his first baptism of fire. Again at a critical time he selects the words: “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” On another critical occasion he turns to the words in Isaiah: “I am He hat comforteth you; who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man?” By these selections one can readily follow the development of this young man's spiritual desires, the gradual growth of his soul. He was reaching out for assur- ance and comfort at a time when all oth- er support was denied him. In the words of Christ he finds supreme satisfaction: “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” and again: “In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” The selection of passages covers a wide range and indicates the extent of his reading and the satisfaction he found in the lonely hours of his sorest need. The experience of Raymond is one that is not uncommon. Man must have something more dependable than human speculation and assurance when the strain of life is on. He may in the fullness of health and vigor display self-reliance and rest upon his capacity to meet emergencies as they arise, but once he is faced with a grave crisis, where all that he has of knowl- edge and experience fails him, he in- evitably turns to the only source that can sustain and support him. Said one of old: “In the time of my trouble I sought the Lord.” The Bible as a book has no substitute. However men may ignore it at times, however indifferent they may be to its mighty truths, sooner or later like Col- eridge they are compelled to say: “The Bible finds me.” A distinguished Eng- lish scholar facing the crises that of late have threatened his country, writes: “The greatest need of mankind today, socfally and individually, is a true sense of direction. Does that depend solely on the accident of circumstance and the ever-changing balance of canflicting in- terests? Or is there available for man, if he so will, guidance on his dark and dangerous course from some wisdom higher than his own?” One of the tragic circumstances of life is that too fre- quently it takes a critical situation to awaken a generation to the need of di- vine guidance and strength. At best it is difficult if not impossible to compre- hend the purpose and meaning of life’s l misfortunes and tragedies. Here reason fails and furnishes no solution to the riddle of life itself. “Lord, to whom shall we go?” This was the cry of confused disciples and it repeats itself again and again. The greatest minds the world has known have sought to interpret the | meaning of life, its purpose and its ulti- mate destiny, but they have all signally failed. Christ, and Christ alone, has given life an interpretation of its real meaning. | He alone has penetrated its darkened corridors and flooded them with light. He alone has given meaning to life’s deeper mysteries and an answer to its ever present problems. The experience of young Raymond is the normal exper- ience of men the world over. Troubled, confused, uncertain, they turn to God and His Word. Never have they needed this word of comfort and assurance as they need it today. Fifty Years Ago In The Star In its issue of May 30, 1890, The Star in the following editorial takes up the defense of its position concerning the estab- lishment in this city of a national zoological Zoo Park Arguments garden: “The superintendent of the Central | Park Zoological Garden states that there are only two free menageries in the | country, one at New York and the other at Chicago, and only four in the world, the third being at Paris and the fourth at Vienna, supported by the Emperor. Washington has not the means to go into | partnership with the United States to | conduct free zoological gardens, which | are to be national in title, and will doubt- | less be maintained on a scale creditable to the Nation. Only the richest cities have, it appears, been able to support such establishments. Members of Con- gress confuse the zoological garden with | Rock Creek Park when they intimate penditures because of the tendency in | | that .the people of the city have been Congress to attribute to him a desire to | clamoring for the establishment of the former, partly at thejr expense. The | movement for the garden was a project AN- | of the Smithsonian Institution, which already had a collection of animals, be- modated on Government property, and | desired more suitable quarters for these animals. Congress ought to correct at once the mistake of making a partner of the District in this affair. If the semi-national, semi-local property, will Congress permit Washington to charge for admission to its half of the exhibit in accordance with the precedent in the case of similar local exhibits of even wealthier cities? Either the project should be solely national, or Washing- ton as a part owner should have the | right to raise the money to pay its share of the expense by turning to profitable account in the usual manner the prop- erty in which it has an interest. Wash- ington seriously needs the zoological garden money for other purposes. As a hint of the cost to the compulsory in- vestors in wild animals an alarming re- port comes from the Central Park me- nagerie. Its superintendent states that the war between the English and the Mahdi has not only driven North African animals further into the interior, but has destroyed the posts where those who captured the animals bought and sold them to the agents and the price of such animals has gone up with suburban real estate rapidity. A good specimen of the giraffe would cost $10,000 where 10 years ago one could have been bought for $300 or $400. Zebras which 10 years ago could be bought for $300 now cost $1,000. One could hardly give away a lion 10 years ago, but today males are scarce at $1,000 each. Evidently the bulls have entirely subjugated the bears in the animal market, and Uncle Sam will bankrupt his little partner by ruinous investments in lions, zebras and giraffes.” * ok ok X% Final action to provide for & city post office was taken by Congress on May 24 and a site selected City Post comprising the square Office Site facing Pennsylvania avenue and bounded by Eleventh, Twelfth, C and D streets. No sooner had plans been announced for construction of the building than proposals were made to enlarge the structure to accommodate other public offices. The Star in its issue of May 31, 1890, makes the following editorial comment: “If an $800,000 building, spread over more than 50,000 square feet of surface and occupying a whole square, can be well built for the money to a greater height than the one or two stories which the local post office will need, and a co-tenant with the local office becomes & necessity, the important duty will arise of determining who that co-tenant shall be. Washington will hope that if any other branch of the Government must be housed with the post office it [ \ Capital Sidelights ByTV-ill P. Kennedy. In these heydays of honorary degrees from universities Capitol folk are not being overlooked—either veteran em- | an entrance through the back door of ployes or younger legislators. Charles E. Fairman, in this his 85th year, the | first and only curator of art works in the Capitol for the past 32 years, is to have the degree of doctor of letters conferred upon him on June 10 by the University of Norwich, at Northfield, Vt, and a week from tonight he will be the honor guest at a reception in the Pavillion Hotel, in Montpelier, the State capital. Representative Charles A. Plum- ley was president of Norwich University twenty years ago. Senator D. Worth Clark of Idaho is to receive on Tuesday the honorary degree of doctor of laws from his Alma Mater, Notre Dame Uni- versity, Indiana, from which institution he was graduated 18 years ago. He will make the principal commencement speech, L 2 Congress is heing made Lincoln-con- scious these days by Representative Chauncey W. Reed of Illinois, the State that gave the Great Emancipator to the Nation. He has inserted in the Con- gressional Record a study of the Lin- colniana now in the Library of Congress | by David C. Mearns, superintendent of the congressional reading room in the Library. He has supplemented this by a description of the famous Herndon collection of Lincolniana which is now under examination by the chief of the manuscript division of the Library—with a plea to his fellow members to support & bill now pending which proposes to purchase this collection. As an illustra- tion of the merit of this collection Mr. Reed describes a copy by Lincoln, in his own handwriting, of a borrowed Pike's | arithmetic, the pages sewed together | salem. In this is the | earliest autograph of Lincoln as a boy, ' | Pilate marched will become an actual into a homemade book. with the doggerel lines: Arbaham Lincoln, his hand and pen; He will be good, but God knows when. This autograph book was given to Wil- liam H. Herndon, Lincoln’s law partner, by Lincoln's stepmother. * X ok % Romance lives on Capitol Hill, as 1s attested by a pile of more than 1000 telegrams, letters and greeting ocords— with a few more substantial packages, which are being opened today by Mr. and Mrs. W. M. Miller. Mr. Miller is doorman on, the east entrance to the Speaker’s lobby—a native of Mississippi. He has been counting the days to his wedding anniversary, today, and mem- bers of the House and his fellow workers have been asking him daily for the score. He figures that he has been 1,025 days married and this is his 33d month— 50 his colleagues have given him a “shower” of best wishes. He is one ot the most popular House employes and is tireless in helping everybody. * x x X Congress has its “Buddha,” who is growing more popular than “Confucius say.” Nowadays his colleagues say: “Let’s ask Buddha.” A squat member, quite well informed on most subjects and a recognized authority on many, Repre- sentative Melvin Maas of Minnesota won the nickname of “Buddha” by his fa- vorite pose when being interviewed or discussing a subject in which he is espe- cially interested—sitting cross-legged. - e may be the local District government, which now occupies unsuitable rented quarters. In the event of this occupa- tion neither of the co-tenants would have the decisive superiority which tends to a struggle for exclusive possession, and they might live peaceably and hap- pily togeiher. Experience has taught that this harmonious relation between the joint occupants is almost impossible where national and local bureaus are accommodated together in a building controlled by the National Government, and that the local office in such occu- pation goes first to the wall and then to the street.” | is to be found in the East. | Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Palestine and Egypt ‘Hitler's “Mein Kampf.” War Threat Touches Famous Battleground By Frederic J. Haskin. As no one can clearly foresee where the next blow in the second World War will fall, it should be of interest to spare a glance at regions which, so far, have remained quiet. One of the more inter- esting of these is the Middle East, notably Palestine. The broad general territery which most Occidentals think of as the Holy Land is one of the oldest battle- grounds in the world. There were fought the mighty struggles told of in the Old Testament, struggles between the ancient Hebrew kings, such as Joshua whom Sir Thomas Malory listed as one of the “nine worthies.” The English-speaking people are more familiar with the Bible than any others because the English Bible is a great literary work in addition to being in- spired Scripture. The British troops, largely Australians, are the most numer- ous military body in the region and, be- cause there is no important activity now save intensive training, many short leaves are granted and not a day passes that groups of Aussies, as the Australian troops are nicknamed, cannot be seen, usually with local guides, seeking out the places of especial note in biblical his- tory. Further, many of them carry Bibles as their principal guide books and it is said these troops after the war will be among the best-read Bible scholars in their language. The sight-seeing is done only partly in a religious mood. Much of it smacks of the military and the scenes of great bat- tles are eagerly sought out. Instead of far-off things, the events of the Bible have come alive for these men. For ex- ample, one newcomer who had not yet fully caught the spirit, remarked that the Bible was all very well as a guide book for the student. but would it tell a man where he could get a drink. One of his fellows pointed him the way to Cana and said that was the most famous spot in all Christendom where people had been served. But it is not only biblical warfare which fascinates these troops. Sen- nacherib and his like attract some, but others are interested in the campaigns of the Persians, of Alexander the Great and other great captains of classic his- tory. Coming farther down, this very terrain was fought over by the Crusaders and one of the British camps, whence one looks over Jordan, is adjacent to a | camp of Richard Coeur de Lion. | A tremendous military force of Allies Men of are all here to protect the Suez Canal | and all Allied interests in the East. It is expected that they, before long, will make Europe through some Balkan country, depending on the developments of the war in Western Europe. The region has many special advan- tages for the training of large bodies of men. Food supplies are abundant. The immediate territory is capable of fur- nishing everything required without drawing on Europe's stock of foodstuffs at all. Moreover, the mild weather makes continuous training possible. As usual, where there are British soldiers, there is a great deal of sport and many games are played, but football has be- come the most popular. It seems some- what incongruous to see Occidental foot- ball played where David and Goliath held their great contest so long ago! * * % X Palestine likes the occupation not only because of the obvious protection afford- ed. but because of the revival of trade. The long difficulties. chiefly within the British mandate, between the Jews and the Arabs have reached a truce because even a child of either of these trading peoples is glad to sell a native orange to a soldier for a half penny when he has bought them at a penny a dozen or less. Shops long closed because of the Jewish- Arab riots before the war have reopened and do a thriving trade. Jerusalem itself closely resembles an armed camp as. to a certain degree, does the whole Middle East, and discipline is strict, but there is the new Jewish city of Tel Aviv which offers all kinds of entertainment and there is that hustling suburb Jerusalem - Without - the - Walls which is full of movies, cafes and cab- arets and is called by many New Jeru- Whether this region where once the Roman legions of Tiberius and Pontius field of battle once more as it was in the first World War when Gen. Lord Allenby took the Holy City, cannot be stated to- day with certainty, a statement true of almost everything in this war, but there are enough troops there for any even- tuality. Another region little thought of today because there has been such tremendous concentration of activity in Western Eu- rope that news scarcely comes through, is Africa. All over the Dark Continent there is mobilization, although no clashes have occurred. Nazi Germany no longer has any colonies in Africa as she had in 1914. * % % x By a series of coincidents the first shot by a British soldier in the first World War came from the rifle of a Gold Coast tribesman of British West Africa. News of the war reached even the heart of Africa with astonishing celerity and a British force moved immediately against Togoland, then a German dependency. Some Germans near Lome, who were ensconced in a German factory, opened fire on a British frontier patrol. The fire was returned and the bullet of one Alhaji Grunshi took deadly effect. As he served throughout the war and be- came a regimental sergeant major, he became quite a tribal hero and was deco- rated. A curiously interesting fact concerning African natives and the present war is their enmity to Hitler. Since the first World War there has been a remarkable spread of literacy among tribes once wholly savage and the chieftains espe- cially often are closely cognizant of much that goes on in the outside world. The old saying that a shot fired in Europe is not heard in,Africa no longer holds good. Now one of the strangest boomerangs of modern propaganda, so far as Africa Is concerned, has turned out to be Herr Readers will remember that, in his discussions of oth- er races, in contract with his type of Aryan, he referred specially to the Af- rican Negro as “a semi-ape” and ex= pressed his opinion that it was “a sin against reason” to extend any degree of enlightenment to & man who is & natural slave,