Evening Star Newspaper, January 8, 1942, Page 14

The Ebening St With Sunday Morning Edition. THEODORE W. \OYES Editor. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY - .-.-January 8, 1942 The Evening Star Vewsuper Company. Main Cfice: um St. lnd Pflmxy!vlnin Ave. New York Of 10 East 42nd 8t Ciliéago’ Ofhee: 455 Nunh ‘Michigan Ave. Delivered by Carrier—City and Suburban. Regular Editi Fvening and Sunday ;5¢ per mo. or 18c per week e Evening S(nx 45¢ per mo. or 10c per week The Sunday Stai 10c per copy N (I\t Final Edition. Night Pinal and Sunday 8iar R5¢ per month Night Final Star 60c per month Rural Tube Delivery. The Fyening snd Sunday Sll! The Evening Star __55¢ per month Tue Ffunday Star 10c per copy Col.ections made at the end of each month or each week. Orders may be sent by mail or tele- phone National 5000. R3¢ per month Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Da y and Sundny 1 yr. $12.00: 1 mo.. $1 00 eily ‘only C1yrh $K000 Imo. . 7he Eux\uu only . l ¥ $5.00; 1mo., &0c Entered as second-class Washington. | Member of the Assnchted Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local news published herein. Al rights of publication of special dispatches herein also are reserve — The War Budget In submitting a budget calling for an expenditure of some $59,000,000,- 000 during this Nation's first fiscal year of total war, the President has given the American people a brief preview of what modern war really means in terms of economic sacrifice. For many people, however, the total of this budget figure will have | little meaning. The sum is too vast | for ready comprehension. It mayi mean something to say that this out- l lay for one year is ten billion dollars greater than the whole national | debt as of last June 30, or to pomt out that interest charges alone dur- | ing the coming fiscal year will be | considerably more than twice the total cost of running the Govern- ment twenty-five years ago. Yet even these comparisons are inade- quate. They do not fill out the picture, and it will not be filled out until we have begun to give up the luxuries, pay the taxes and make the other sacrifices essential to the winning of the war. Our ultimate | victory is going to exact a tremep- dous price. It is a reasonable price only when measured against the in- comparably greater cost of defeat. There is no need to say that the American people are determined to win the war and that they are pre- | pared to meet the necessary cost of | victory, whatever it may be. But there is a distinction to be drawn between the necessary cost and any cost. They are not one and the same, and the difference will be measured by the extent to which | the elements of waste and ineffi- | ciency are permitted to intrude them- | selves into the war effort. At the end of the next fiscal year, under favorable conditions, the na- tional debt is expected to stand at | about $110.400,000,000. During that period it is proposed to increase | taxes by $9,000,000,000, including $2,- 000,000,000 in new Social Security levies. Nor is there any assurance that the war will have been won by the end of the coming fiscal year. If it is prolonged for still another | year the debt will be higher and the taxes stiffer. Having these things in mind, and | looking forward to the problems of post-war readjustment, the people | have a clear right to expect that the | national indebtedness and the tax | burden will be held to minimums | consistent with the proper prosecu- tion of the war. This does not mean | that there should be any policing of this or.that expenditure, for it is obvious that the requirements of military secrecy will forbid any pub- licity as to the specific character of the great bulk of the outlays. But it does mean that the Government, and particularly those officials hav- ing direct charge of the disburse- ment of war funds, are invested with a great and unusual responsibility. Waste, generally speaking, is a product of inefficiency, and since there can be no such thing as pe:- fection in public officials, a certain i amount of waste must be expected. In his budget message, however, the | President gave assurance that waste would be held to a minimum, and it is to be hoped that this assurance will be followed by prompt action to the desired end. If the cost of the war program is to be held within indicated bounds, it is essential that an adequate price control bill be enacted without further delay and that it be ad- ministered firmly and impartially. The political maneuverings which have characterized the handling of | this legislation can no longer be tolerated. Higher prices will be | harmful to civilian buyers, but in | the case of the Government, which | is the principal purchaser of com- modities in wartime, every price ad- vance means a boost in the ultimate cost of the war and there can be no | doubt that the Nation is headed for economic chaos unless the present upward price trend is checked. To keep the cost of the war within the presently defined limits, it is also essential that there be efficiency in the Government’s direction of the war effort. The management of this effort is too big a job for the Presi- | dent to assume, along with all of his other responsibilities. As yet, how- ever, he has not seen fit to delegate this job and the appropriate author- ity to one individual. The result has been a. division of authority and a mounting confusion which is little | short of incredible. Unless this snarl at the top is straightened out at the beginning of this new and larger military program, there can be no doubt that the day of victory is go- ing to be set back and its ultimate cost greatly increased. In his budget message, the Presi- er post office, THE EVENING STAR, dent properly said: “I cannot pre- dict ultimate costs because I can- not predict the changing fortunes of war. I can only say that we are de- termined to pay whatever price we must to preserve our way of life.” Those words reflect the temper of the American people, who are pre- pared to foot the bill for this war, and who ask only that their Gov- ernment make every effort to avoid the inclusion of unnecessary charges. District Estimates The $54,548,562 District budget sub- mitted to Congress yesterday is far from the well-rounded statement that ordinarily should reflect the anticipated fiscal needs of a large municipality like Washington. But these are not ordinary times and budgets-as-usual undoubtedly are passe for the duration of the war. In cutting the estimates so heavily in so many places the budget fram- ers evidently had in mind two para- mount objectives: First, that Dis- trict taxes should not be increased in this period of rapidly multiplying Federal taxes, and, second, that pref- erence should be given activities and projects related directly or indirectly to Washington's emergency needs, as distinguished from normal require- ments. Prominent on the list of items fa- vored with increased appropriations | are projects designed to satisfy emergency demands for amplifica- tion of such vital municipal services as water supply, sewerage, police and fire protection, traffic control and highway improvement. Most of the additional services are scheduled to go to sections of the city which have felt most keenly the effects of defense-connected expansion. For example, Anacostia, sharing in nearby military and naval growth, is to have a greatly augmented water supply, enlarged sewerage facilities and a reorganized police setup, the | latter to be achieved by splitting the Eleventh Precinct and erecting a new | police station in Benning, now pa- trolled by policemen from Anacostia. A welcome addition of 100 police- men to the metropolitan force was approved. Severely hit by the budget-cutting | operations was the school system, only one new school, a junior high building for colored pupils in North- east Washington, being provided for. Funds were approved, however, for completion of five schools already started, as well as for completion of the important Northwest Health | Center and continuance of work on the new public library at Pennsyl- vania avenue and Sixth street. Prog- ress on these buildings will hinge, of course, on priorities granted for their construction. A curious development in con- nection with the new budget is the finding of the Budget Bureau that | the District will have a $3333,516 | “surplus” in the next fiscal year, which, the bureau suggests, could be used for civilian defense purposes. Actually, however, no real surplus in revenues will exist. About one- third of the so-called excess consists of trust funds not available for | spending and $1,382,037 represents highway funds which can be used | only for highway and traffic pur- poses and then only to tHe extent that priorities permit. The remain- ing $820,595 is in the general fund and, technically, could be used for civilian defense—but, as a matter of fact, all of this money has been ear- marked for projects which are being delayed because of priority difficul- ties. To divert these reserve funds to other purposes is not sound practice by any standard of accounting and Congress should not force the Com- missioners to resort to such a move. And as for the highway fund, which is derived from gasoline taxes and registration fees, it should be re- membered that although a one-cent increase in the gasoline tax has been | authorized, the highway fund is al- ost certain to suffer acute shrink- age as a result of the automobile and tire rationing program. In short, leginmate emergency defense needs ol o Capital should be met not from so-calle? “surplus” funds re- served for other purposcs. but from Federal emergency grants authcrized by Congress for just such defense measures. Plenty of Heroes President Roosevelt was abun- dantly justified when in his message to Congress on the state of the Union, he called attention to the fact that living generations of citi- zens of the United States are not lacking in the stamina which distin- guished their fathers. It is true, as he declared, that “our men on the fighting fronts have already proved that Americans today are just as rugged and just as tdugh as any of the heroes whose exploits we cele- brate on the Fourth of July.” Indeed, it has been shown again and again since December 7 that courage and hardihood are as conspicuous na- tional traits in the prevailing crisis as ever they were in the great emer- gencies of the past. ‘Those critics who supposed that the American people had “gone soft” were mistaken. So, too, the pessi- mists who complained that the last frontiers had been crossed were in error. The time for spiritual and intellectual strength is as ripe in this | vital ‘present hour as it was in any similar period in the history of the | Republic. No fundamental difference appears between what was demon- strated at the Alamo in 1836 and what was manifested at Wake Island in 1941. The power that prompts an ordinarily peaceable human being to fight like an inspired demon for an ideal is not limited to any single epoch in the experience of the race. e . Neither is opportunity circumscribed to any specific epoch in the history of the world. There always will be noble work to do and, providentially, brave men—and women—to do it. And it is well not to forget the day-to-day heroism of plain and unpublicized persons. Relatively few are those to whom fame will come in recognition of stalwart deeds. The poet Horace knew whereof he spoke when he referred to Agamemnon as being remembered because he had a bard to sing his praises. During the next few months, the next few years, the United States will require an entire population dedicated to the all-inclusive task of defending free- dom. Even.little children will be expected to display their fortitude in the vast ordeal which, as Mr. Roosevelt says, demands “our com- bined efforts, our combined strength, our combined determination.” The war can be and will be won, and it is a glorious privilege to know that every American can and will contribute toward victory to be achieved by heroic endeavor. Crimea the Touchstone The measure of German reverses can be best gauged by the Russian campaign for the recapture of the Crimea. This extensive peninsula is a natural fortress, surrounded on all sides by water with the exception of the narrow isthmus of Perekop. The storming of the heavily fortified Perekop lines and the subsequent conquest of the entire Crimea, save the isolated fortress of Sevastopol, was perhaps the proudest boast of the German high command. Berlin | announced exuberantly that the Crimea was both the springboard to the Caucasus and the key to naval mastery of the Black Sea. Its im- portance could not be overestimated. Once the Germans were well in- stalled, they needed only to occupy the Crimea in sufficient force to hold it against any Russian counterattack. They did not have to fear the fero- cious cold to the northward, because the climate is relatively mild—never cold enough to prevent the proper functioning of their tanks and planes. Given sufficient forces, all they had to do was to sit tight and | | besiege Sevastopol until this last Russian foothold had fallen into their hands. It is a revelation of Germany’s waning strength in man power and equipment on her Eastern front that she has had to deplete her Crimean garrison below the danger point. Russian pressure on the mainland in a sustained counter-offensive over a 1,000-mile front has clearly been so terrific that every available man, tank, gun and plane has been needed | to bolster the sagging German de- fense. Lynx-eyed Marshal Timo- shenko evidently gauged the degree of his adversary’s extremity and has dealt a series of blows at the Crimea which seem to have the Germans in a desperate plight. The first .blow was a crossing of the Strait; h, 1 208 ecrch.under) coveriof ! for the coming war and the establishment the guns of the Black Sea Fleet. This was a brilliant performance, but the Geérman positions on the Crimean side of the straits were so | strong by nature that it could hardly | have succeeded unless the Germans | had been much inferior in numbers. | The skeleton nature of the German ,defense in the Crimea becomes still more obvious by subsequent Russian landings from transports under naval | protection at two points on the | southern coast and one on the west- ern side. These respectively cut off the Germans retreating from Kerch and threatened the German lines | around Sevastopol with encircle- | ment. The Germans reportedly are in full retreat to the central plateau of the Crimea. But even here their retreat to the isthmus of Perekop is threatened by still another Rus- sian descent on the northeastern shore, quite near Perekop. This has been made péssible by the entry of Russian transports and warships into the Sea of Azov, opened to them once more by the recapture of the Kerch Straits which separate the Sea of Azov from the Black Sea. Indeed, Russian mastery of the Sea of Azov exposes the flank of the Germans on the mainland, where they are striving to hold up the main Russian drive from recaptured Ros- tov-on-Don. It is hard to underestimate the strategic consequences which a Rus- sian reconquest of the whole Crimea might entail. This was the sheet- anchor of the entire German front in Southern Russia. Once it goes, there is no natural defense lines short of the River Dnieper, and in mid- winter even wide rivers can be read- ily crossed on thick ice. Fighting in the Crimea under the most favorable conditions, the Germans do not appear able to stem the Russian of- fensive. This does not seem due to broken morale or bad generalship, because even the Russians admit that the Germans continue to fight stoutly and well. It must, there- fore, be as Hitler himself confesses, that the Russians now outweigh the Germans in equipment as well as in man power. This bodes no good for Hitler’s already harassed high com- mand. More than twelve million tons of naval and merchant vessels are un- der contract in shipyards of the United States. When the Axis can do as well in the matter of marine construction, Americans may -begin to worry about the ultimate result of the present conflict. Sold for a fraction of its appraised value, the old New York World Build- ing, once Manhattan’s first sky- scraper, is to be wrecked by the speculative purchaser. It will be a long time, however, before anybody can read a parking lot. WASHINGTON, D. C, Of Stars,, Men And Atoms Notebook of Science Progress In Laboratory, Field And Study By Thomas R. Henry. A silvery white metal, which weighs a third less than aluminum and, pound for pound, is stronger, has become a vital war and defense material. This year the Government will need 400,000,000 pounds of it, approximately 60 times the national production two years ago. The metal, or rather the minerals from which it is made, are “common as dirt,” but few other substances does the earth feem to give up with more reluctance. Only about 25 years ago the first stores were produced in the United States, which is one of the world's most abun- dant sources of the raw material. This metal is magnesium, which, be- cause of its lightness and strength, is invaluable for wings, engine castings and landing gear for airplanes and, because of the intense heat with which it burns, forms the basis of the incendiary bombs which have been showered on London. Hitherto it has had a limited use—in the flash powders used by photographers up to a few years ago, in medicine, in Kkitchen’ utensils, and in some parts of automobiles. Metallurgists have found how to make very tough alloys with the more easily obtainable aluminum. But early in 1940 the huge Army, Navy and British aircraft-construction pro- gram was set in motion and demand soon overtook all available supplies of the metal. It was essential not only for the Government to impose rigid priorities but to find ways to increase its supplies. By last fall the aircraft industry was demanding every ounce produced, leaving none for other vital needs, and since then | this demand has increased enormously. Even with the most efficient processes, Bureau of Mines experts explain, a great deal of magnesium necessarily is wasted. From more than 7,000,000 pounds used in production of structural materials in 1940 only a little more than 5,000,000 pounds emerged in finished products. Magnesium combines easily with oxygen at temperatures above its melting point, 80 it is assumed that the missing 2,000~ 000 pounds, mostly were burned in the manufacturing process, while molten. In few other fields of emergency pro- duction has there been more whole- hearted co-operation with the Govern- | ment, with one large company, practically the sole producer up to the present, set- ting up a special plant to extract it from sea water, and chemists and engineers | all over the Nation working on new processes of extraction and new alloys. Still, in the face of the probability that the demand will be greatly increased with newer airplane designs, the shortage is acute. The increase in demand is shown by the fact that America’s defense needs alone in 1942 call for about five times the total world production in 1940. Last vear Germany was by far the largest pro- ducer with a total of about 19,000 tons. The United Kingdom came next with & production of 6,500 tons and the United States third with 5680 tons. Germany formerly was an exporter of magnesium to the United States. In 1938 and 1939 she started hoarding a reserve and expansion of all plants has been placed under state control until the end of 1945. A great deal of the production is belleved to have gone into fire bombs and much experimental work has been carried on by German metallurgists which has been kept secret. Quantities of magnesium are known to be lying about in the form of scrap, now carefully hoarded wherever it is found. It is estimated that in 1940 about half a million pounds of this scrap were consumed by defense industries. ‘Wider uses are planned as the sup- | ply increases to the proportions of the demand. The service record and weight saving of magnesium-alloy wheels on large land planes has been so satisfac- tory that over 75 per cent of the commer= cial and military planes now under con- struction are so equipped. The very low weight of American aircraft engines per horsepower is attributed to the use of 4s in progress on a fuselage using plas- 10§ moulded over magnesium-alioy rein- forcements, and full wing size panels of the metal are being tested. L The Eskimo arrived in North America in two great migrations from their home- land in Siberia. ‘These migrations perhaps were sepa- rated by an interval of several centuries. This is the thesis advanced by Dr. Dia- mond Jenness, curator of anthropology of the National Museum of Canada, in a report just published by the Smithsonian Institution. There are, he points out, three ancient Eskimo cultures recognized by archeolo- gists. One is the so-called “Old Bering Sea,™ restricted to Alaska and the Ber- ing Sea islands. Second is the Thule, which originated in the west and spread eastward. Third is the Dorset which is 1estricted to the east. The latter is very similar to the Old Bering Sea. It wasa culture of chipped, rather than polished, stone implements. It has various ele- ments suggestive of Indian rather than Eskimo. 1t is significant, Dr. Jenness point out, that in both the Old Bering Sea and the Dorset culture remains there are no sledge dog bones. Numerous remains are fcund of a smaller dog kept for slaughter and eating. Sledge dog bones are com- mon in Thule sites. The Old Bering Sea and Dorset people had no pottéry while the Thule Eskimos did. Bow and arrow and snow shoes also were unknown to the Old Bering Sea and Dorset people, while they were familiar to the Thule. . This can be explained, Dr. Jenness holds, if the Old Bering Sea people are assumed to be relatively early migrants from Siberia. The Dorset Eskimo can be considered as a branch pushed eastward by the invasion of the ancestors of the | present Athapascan Indians, Much later, Dr. Jenness holds, the men represented by the Thule culture, who may already have been subject to various Chinese influences, made their way out of Siberia along the Arctic coast and pro- ceeded as far as Greenland. Although of the same general stock they had a little contact with those who had come before. They had learned to use the dog for traction and the bow and arrow for hunt- ing. They had acquired the art of mold- ing pottery. They either had invented or borrowed the snow shoes. | the more faintly marked white-throats, | staff of the Patent Office in order to de- | | rect as indicated by my survey. With | | deeply concerned about the remaoval of | the Patent Office to Richmond. - Several THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 1942. THIS AND THAT By Charles E. Tracewell. “Dear Sir: “Yesterday in a dense marshland some 60 miles to the south of Washington, I ran across & bird that must not have gone to school. He just probably couldn’t read that he is ‘south of the United States’ at this season of the year. He was a blue grosbeak. I was impressed with the light color of the beak, and the size of the bill was such as to dwarf the rest of the head. My first glance in his direction had suggested a cowbird—but what a reward the second look gave! In the same marshy stretch there are towhees by the dozens. Towhees seem to be anything but shy when they are col- lected in such numbers. I couldn't help feeling that birds in general grow less timid when they occur in large numbers. A case in point is probably our winter Jjunco, said to be timid in the extreme at nesting time. The towhees would work their way bit by bit to the top of the bare bushes to get a look good and long. Let it be sald that female towhees are there in about equal numbers with the males. It was quite a show to see a dozen towhees, males and females mixed, all at once peering at us intruders from a bush 8o small that it was bending under their weight. Truly the bareness seemed to have taken bloom. When a dozen or so towhees do take off, they give a whir not much less in volume than that made by a covey of quail. The comparison was brought home to us when at times we would flush the latter at spots about the marsh. % xx “Hermit thrushes are there also, and | they, too, work their way to the bush tops for & look at the intruders. About a dozen | hermit thrushes in all were counted. “For the past two months hundreds and hundreds of myrtle warblers have | at all times been about this stretch. They seem to be the least timid of any of the birds when they take over possession, often coming within inches of the ob- server. I was particularly impressed with the prominent yellow side-patches. The books had given a contrary impression that both the yellow crown and the yellow side-patches fade away in winter, but a third of the number still retain their prominent yellow sides. Daisies on wings are these myrtle warblers when they spread their tails—the white tail feathers radiating from the yellow rumps. | “The purple finches of this marsh seem | to occur only in pairs—and at the very tops of what trees there are. There might well be, however, flocks of these purple finches hidden among the brush. “The cedar waxwings are seen only on occasion. As a general thing, a group of | a dozen will appear of a sudden headed | in quick flight for a tree top—for a pause—and then they're gone as quickly as they came. LI “The marsh's white-throats are given to singing about midday, which I take to be, all in all, the warmest part of the day. “The swamp sparrows there resemble not alone in appearance, but as well in the sound of their calls. “Sadly enough, the fox sparrows are few and far between, only six having been observed in the better part of a month. “Only one red-winged blackbird was seen yesterday—yet red-wings, together with bobolinks, had flooded the spot ear- lier in the season. “Two bald eagles are generally perched a good city block off the marsh. “What price of admission to this ex- travaganza? The answer is briar scratches from head to foot, and wet feet in the bargain, with clothing affording little protection. “Sincerely, A. O.” * % x % Females and changing males of the | blue grossbeak are not very blue, and you will have to look closely to see it. Lateral yellow breast patches of myrtle warblers are less distinct than in sum- mer, usually tinged with brownish and flecked with dusky, but they do not alto- gether disappear. The yellow crown patches are concealed by the brown tips of feathers in autumn and winter. We are glad that white-throated spar- rows hereabouts sing all day long, from early morning until late afternoon. They do not wait until the warmest part of the day. Maybe it is so cold in swamps that these fine birds cannot get warm enough to sing until midday. * ¥ x % Song sparrows and white-throated sparrows are two of the best. The former live with us the year around, but the white-throats just win- ter with us. That is, they leave toward the last of May and go North, not re- turning until fall. ‘The song sparrow is the smaller of the | two, and its chest and head (as well as its back) are striped. The white-throated sparrow is larger, without so much striping. Its throat is, as its name implies, white, or grayish white. Migrating birds arrive from the South about the middle of April, and until the second week in May, are very abundant. You may hear them thereafter, but there will not be many. The white-throated sparrows have a broad stripe of bright vellow over the eyes, deeper vellow towards the bill, espe- cially in the springtime. Their breasts are just plain gray below the white throat, whereas the song sparrow’s breast is -white. In the cold the white-throated spar- | rows swell up their feathers until they | almost look furry. They then are very round and “cuddly” looking. These are the sparrows which do so much scratch- ing in leaves. They scratch almost as vigorously as do the fox sparrows and | towhees, two of the greatest scratchers in the business. The fox sparrow, we believe, is the “scratchingest” of all the song- birds. These fine sparrows may be looked for almost any time in late January or early February. They are very large, for sparrows, with cinnafon brown backs. Some people mistake them for wood | thrushes. - Letters to Tells of Survey of Employes Of Patent Office. To the Editor of The Star: I have made a partial survey of the termine approximately the average | length of service of the employes. One of the Patent Office officials gave me an estimate that the average length of service of the members of the examin- ing corps is about 15 years, and this figure appears to be approximately cor- | respect to the clerical sections the aver- age time of service appears to be even longer. For example, in one of these sections, out of a personnel of eight, six have been in the Patent Office for over 25 years, one having a record of 41 years and another 38 years. In a second clerical section, out of a personnel of | 60, 45 have been in the Patent Office | over 25 years. In a third clerical section, out of a personnel of 11, nine have been in the Patent Office over 25 years and | of this number, three have a record of magnesium-alloy products. Work now | over 35 years and one over 43 years. In | a fourth clerical section, out of a per- sonnel of 16, eight have been in the | Patent Office over 23 years. In a fifth | clerical section, out of a personnel of 68, one-half have been in the Patent Office | over 23 years (estimated). One employe in this division has a record of 48 years with the Patent Office. 1t is believed that few, even of the old- line Government bureaus, have employes with comparable lengths of service. Every one to whom I talked was spoke of retiring or resigning ¢:: account of the hardshios involved ir aoving and the difficulties of finding -.ccusn.odations in Richmond. Nb less inar rane of uhe woman employes to whom I spoke were married, their husbands being employed in Washington. If the Patent Office is removed, these employes have the choice of leaving their husbands to go to Rich- mond or of commuting with a waste of! about six hours a day. Most of the men, who are married and who own their homes in Washington. are intending either to commute or to occupy rooms in Richmond, spending the week ends with their families in Washington. I did not find any having families who intend to move their families to Richmond. ‘The above survey indicates clearly the tremendous hardships which will be im- posed upon the personnel of the Patent Office in the contemplated removal to Richmond. It appears to me that, if Leon Henderson’s Price Control Bureau can build a large temporary structure | on the Mall, it also would be possible to | build temporary structures to house all of the Government bureaus whose re- moval from Washington has been or- dered. There is plenty of space for the required buildings on the Mall, extend- ing from Eleventh street to the Capitol, and the space between buildings could be used for parking. This might not be beautiful but war is not beautiful either. A PATENT ATTORNEY'S WIFE. Questions Availiability ef Homes In Richmond for “Many Persons.” To the Editor of The Star: Doesn't it seem strange and also un- warranted that before any Government organization—particularly one with the prestige and standing of the Patent Of- fice—would be told it has to “get out” to make room for & defense agency and the Editor Letters to the Editor must name and address of r, although the use of a pseudonym for publication is | l permissible. The Star reserves | the right to edit all letters with | | a view to condensation. i then “weeks afterwards"—after the new quarters are selected—the housing situa- | saying is much older than his day. tion is looked into? I am referring to the new temporarv home of the Patent Office in Richmond. Your Sunday article mentioning 781 living units in Richmond—figures sub- mitted by Richmond’s Chamber of Com- merce—includes 144 new homes for sale. Isn’t it rather a “tall order” expecting any one assigned to Richmond tempo- rarily to even consider buying a home? Perhaps some of the executives may— surely not the average patent examiner. That leaves 637 houses, apartments and flats. Of these, no reports thus far have been turned in as to their desir- ability, rent, number of rooms, method of heating, etc. A later report will be turned in. How much later? Later may be too late. Meanwhile, the new quarters in Rich- mond are undergoing repairs and changes to house the Patent Office. By the time the Patent Office will be | on its way or even out—will it then be realized there may not be adequate housing? If so, then many persons may have to leave their families here—room and board in Richmond and come home week ends. That would involve an addi- tional expense of about $15 per week— figuring modestly. That money ordi- narily might be used to purchase De- fense stamps and bonds. A READER. Recalls Protest Against Occupation Of Philippines More Than 40 Years Ago. To the Editor of The Star: During the Spanish-American War, many voices were raised in our country in protest against the United States taking over the Philippine Islands. To do so would amount to “imperialism,” was the basis of the protest. The protest failed; we took over the islands, and in the light of present- day happenings it might have been the part of wisdom to have heeded the protest of the minority group. What have been some of the results? Our Pacific fleet at least crippled; thou- sands of American soldiers, sailors, ma- rines killed or wounded; and, with Japan supreme, our far-away friendly neighbor, Australia, menaced. ‘We bought land from ecclesiastics and gave it to the people; we built school- houses to educate the natives; we built roads—how lamentable that Japan should reap the benefits accruing from American occupation of the Philippine Islands! OLD-TIMER. Objecis to Publication Of Mr. McLemore's Criticism. To the Editor of The Star: Our country has asked for unity, there- fore Henry McLemore's column concern- ing Charles A. Lindbergh should not have been accepted by your paper. Mr. Lindbergh wishes to give to his country his aeronautical knowledge, not to write provocative cplumns concerning those who have sincerely offered their Haskin's 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. Can a draftee who is deferred for six months go to another State and visit a relative during the time that he can spare from urgent farm work?—A. E. B. A. A registrant is at liberty to leave the jurisdiction of his local draft board. He should keep in touch with the board and provide it with his forwarding ad- dress. Q. Can you tell me if a sunken battle- ship ever was refloated and later put into service?—M. J. M. A. The task of raising a crippled war- ship weighted down with tons of water in | her compartments has been accomplished any number of times. One such reclaim- ing operation was the feat of retrieving many units of the German fleet which were scuttled in Scapa Flow in 1919, Q. What is the maximum weight for parachute troops?—W. F. A. A paratrooper must not weigh more than 185 pounds. As a rule he carries a total weight in uniform and equipment of 40 to 50 pounds down to earth with him and a very heavy man might drop too quickly. UNCLE SAM'S ALMANAC, 1942—Its 48 pages present a store- house of practical, everyday knowledge; a complete calendar page for every month, hints for homemakers, game law authori- ties, taxes, religion, aviation, sports and many new features. Every member of the household will find some use for this booklet every day of the year. To secure your copy inclose 10 cents in coin, wrapped in this clipping, and mail to The Star Information Bureau. Address Q. Please tell me the origin of the word “strafe”?—C. P. L. A. It is German and ,means “to pun- ish.” In a military sense, to strafe is to punish severely with gunfire. The word was adopted by the British fighting forces during the first World War. Q. How many radios are there in the United States?—V. P. A. The number of receiving sets is esti- mated to be in excess of 50,000,000, Q. When did “America” cease to be our national anthem?—F. T. L. A. “America” has never been the na- tional anthem of the United States, but it is one of the best loved of our patri- | otic songs. Q. How long does a cow give milk?— O.M. B. A. Cows have been known to give milk, with the usual freshening. from the age of 2 to 15. The average time for a cow to be in a dairy heid, however, is from 4 to 6 years. Q. Has an estimate ever been made of the amount of salt in the ocean?—R. c.o. % A. About 5.000.000 cubic miles of salt are dissolved in the oceans. Q. Who said that God fights on the side of the heaviest battalions?—N. M. A. Napoleon I said: “God is always on the side of the big battalions,” but the Q. How far is Manila from Singapore? —M. M. A. It is about 1500 miles northeast of Singapore. Q. What was the first well-organized political machine in the United States?— H. M. A. The Albany Regency organized in 1820 under Martin Van Buren. It was composed of Democrats who, from 1820 to 1854 exercised great influence in New | York politics and, therefore, in national politics. Q. How does a satellite differ from & planet? Is it a matter of size?—R. T. L. A. A satellite is distinguished from a planet by its motion rather than by its size. A planet goes directly around the | sun, a satellite goes around the planet, Q. Has Mayor La Guardia any chile dren?—H. W. 8. A. He has adopted two children, a boy and a girl. Q. For whom was the destroyer Shaw, lost at Pearl Harbor, named?—J. F. O'G. A. The United States destroyer Shaw was named in memory of Capt. John Shaw, United States Navy, who was born in Ireland in 1773 and died in Philadelphia, Pa., September 17, 1823. Q. When did the Philippine Insurrec~ tion begin and end?—E. M. A. The conflict started February 4, 1899. Aguinaldo was captured in March, 1901, breaking the back of the insurrec- tion, but the formal surrender of Gen, Miguel Malvar did not occur until April 16, 1902. Q. What are epiphytes?—H. L. M. A. They are plants which grow on the surface of other plants for support but which do not obtain nutriment from their sap or tissues as do parasitic plants. The so-called Spanish moss which hangs in festoons from live oaks in the South 1s a good example of an epiphyte. Q. Was Sarah Bernhardt & Jewess?— O. V. R. A. She was of mixed French and Dutch parentage and of Jewish descent. SEEa R Scene in Silver Strange are the fields on which they graze The deer, these silver winter days. Their favorite strips of marshland grass Are changed to glittering, brittle glass. The limbs of shrubbery in the dells Are thickly hung with tinkling bells, Alabaster lichens grow Beneath a tinseled crust of snow. Pools, where they were wont to drink, Are chromium plated, brink to brink, Silver pastures—grazing here On moonlit nights are silver deer! SUDIE STUART HAGER.