Evening Star Newspaper, January 24, 1942, Page 8

The Enening Star With Sunday Morning Edition. THEODORE W. NOYES, Editor. WASHINGTON, D. C. The Evening Star Newspaper Company. Main Office: '11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Office: 110 East 42nd Bt. Chicago Officg: 435 North Michigan Ave. Delivered by Carrier—City and Suburban. Resular Edition. Evening snd Sunday.75¢ per mo. or 18c per week The Evening Star. _45¢c per mo. or 10c per week The Sunday sgar 00 B °C10E Der Soby Night Final and Sunday Star 8se Night Final Star per montl Rural 60c per mon ‘85¢ per month per month y Star = T0¢ per copy Collections made at the end of each month or each week. Orders may be sent by mail or tele~ phone National 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Daily and Sunda! ¥r. $12.00; 1 mo.. §! Deily only _ ;r,, 00; 1mo.. ! $8.. i5e Bunday only _ 1 $5.00; 1mo., 80¢ 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 all news dispatches credited to :t or not otherwise credited in this Daper and also the local news published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein also are reserved. Compromise at Rio The hectic diplomatic struggle waged for a week within the com- mittee rooms of the Pan-American Conference at Rio de Janeiro has ended in a compromise. Argentina has receded from her uncompromis- ing position which twice threatened to shatter the united front so ardently desired not only by the United States but by the great ma- Jority of the Latin Amerigan repub- lics as well. The principle of Pan- American solidarity against external aggression, laid down a year and a half ago at the previous conference in Havana has been reaffirmed and somewhat amplified. But the man- datory resolution breaking relations with the Axis powers, ~originally introduced by Colombia, has not been adopted. Instead, a less forthright declaration has been accepted which, while unitary in form, permits of divergent interpretation and action. It should be recognized, however, that the accomplishment at Rio is a very substantial one. If it falls short of perfection, it nevertheless provides a foundation for hemi- spheric solidarity which is by no means insignificant and which is far more substantial than would have been believed possible only a few months ago. 35 The compromise note is struck in Article 3, which reads that the signa- tories, “following the procedure es- tablished by their own laws and within the position and circum- stances of each country in the actual international conflict, recommend rupture of their diplomatic relations with Japan, Germany and Italy.” Obviously, this “recommendation” would permit a reluctant government like that of Argentina to take ad- vantage of legal technicalities and constitutional provisions, to say nothing of alleging its special “posi- tion and circumstances” in the “ac- tual international conflict” to delay or possibly to dodge the complete breach with the Axis which United States diplomacy has had in mind. In short, Article 3 could serve as what is known as an “escape clause.” However, it is far from certain that the Argentine government actually will do this. Such action would affront the prevailing sentiment in Latin, America and would tend to isolate it both diplomatically and morally. This, in turn, would in- crease the already high degree of political tension within Argentina itself. The present regime in Argen- tina is distinctly a minority govern- ment which came to power through a political accident. The opposition party, which controls the Argentine Congress, favors Pan-American soli- darity against the Axis, and in this stand it seems to have the backing of a majority of the Argentine peo- ple. Acting President Ramon Cas- tillo has overridden this opposition to his “isolationist” foreign policy by almost dictatorial methods, but there is good reason to hope that the tide in Argentina may be turning. In all this, the compelling force of economic realities should not be forgotten. Itis generally agreed that a large degree of co-operation is necessary if the nations of the New World are to escape grave economic difficulties and dangers, and the United States has offered a broad- gauge program along these lines. It is not likely that Argentina will fail to realize that economics and politics are inseparable parts of hemispheric solidarity. New Housing Bill Having been excluded from hous- ing relief under the Lanham Act, Washington's increasingly serious emergency housing problem finally is to be given special consideration by Congress. Chairman Lanham of the House Public Buildings and Grounds Committee has announced that he is preparing a bill which would earmark Federal funds to pro- vide shelter for the thousands of war workers, particularly in the lower- salaried brackets, who are expected to invade the already overcrowded city in the months to come. Chair- man Randolph of the House District Committee says he is confident that Washington will receive an adequate allotment of housing funds. It is high time that Congress ful- filled its responsibilities toward the National Capital in this extremely important matter. Private industry has gone the limit of its resources and capacitles in endeavoring to meet the building crisis—which is the result jointly of war expansion and construction priorities and other restrictions. Federal Housing Administrator Palmer emphasizes that the only hope of solution now A THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, SATURDAY. rests with the Federal Government, which must supply not only funds for low-cost housing but release the materials needed to carry out the program. The full extent of that program can only be 'estimated—and just now all earlier approximations are being revised drastically upward in accord with the'latest Budget Bu- reau estimate of a quarter million increase in population in the near future. It is imperative that these revised estimates be completed as soon as possible, so that Congress may have the required information on which to base the legislation contemplated by Mr. Lanham. If, as the Budget Bureau predicts, the war emergency is to superimpose a new “city” on congested Washington within the next few months, the Government can {ll afford to lose any time in preparing the city to absorb the huge increment. Legislative Fiasco The compromise version of the so- called price-control bill adheres closely to a pattern which has be- come all too familiar in this country. It began as a measure to hold prices down in the face of mounting purchasing powe®and a diminish- ing supply of consumer goods. Ob- viously, unless this could be done, the buying public was certain to be caught and badly mangled between the jaws of an economic pincer movement that would increase in severity as the war effort progressed. Then there was the Government's interest to be considered. As the principal buyer of many goods, it was faced with the prospect of pay- ing an unconscionable price for its military program unless costs were held down. In these circumstances, it was to have been expected that Congress would approach the problem with a view to enacting the best bill that could be devised. Instead, it has patched together in conference a bill that could hardly be worse. Any hope of securing satisfactory legislation began to fade when the pressure groups in Congress took over the job of writing the bill. As a first move, wages, a principal factor in costs, were eliminated from the scope of the bill. Then the farm bloc began to carve out a specially privileged status for agricultural products. This effort went to the extreme of tying farm prices to in- dustrial wages so that no farm ceil- ing could be imposed under 120 per cent of parity. This was knocked out in conference, but the bill still forbids any effective control of farm prices, and specifically provides that the Secretary of Agriculture may veto any price ceiling imposed on agricultural products by the price administrator. In other words, the farmers are given a congressional guarantee of immunity from the hardships that other elements of the population will be required to endure. At best, the bill is a compromise of pressure-group demands which should never have been entertained in the first place. It is hardly ap- propriate to say that the conference version is better than the Senate measure, but rather thaf it is not quite so bad. It is still so bad, how- ever, that it is absurd to speak of it as a price-control bill, and, assuming that the House accepts the measure in its present form, it may well be wondered whether the President would not do the country a service by refusing to sign it. Royal Residence Reports to the effect that King George VI and Queen Elizabeth are removing from Buckingham Palace to “a modest London flat” may be indicative of social changes which admittedly are occurring in England today. But the business of being sovereigns cannot conveniently be carried on from an ordinary apart- ment building. The residence of their majesties at the western end of St. James’ Park is something more than a private home. Appraised in terms of the purposes it serves, it is rather a royal institution as neces- sary in Britain as the White House is in the United States. The palace occupies the site of a mansion erected by John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, in 1703. The first owner died in 1721, and the property was acquired by George III, whose son and successor, George IV, commissioned Sir John Nash, a skilled and discriminating architect, to remodel the premises,in 1825. Queen Victoria chose the huge struc- ture as her town dwelling in 1837 and the comprehensive practical use she made of it is demonstrated by the fact that an entire wing had to be added in 1847, The east front, re- faced with Portland stone in 1913, is 360 feet in length and the rest of the quadrangle is of proportionate dimensions. Only on exceptional occasions has Buckingham Palace been exhibited to the public, yet, because it is the center of all enterprises involving the King and his gracious consort, thousands of people are familiar with its interior appearance. The throne room, magnificently decorated in red and gold, is in a certain sense the focal point of the empire. Adja- cent to it are the green drawing room, thirty-three feet high; the state ballroom, 110 feet long; the picture gallery, with masterworks by Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Frans Hals and other Dutch painters; a dining room with portraits by Gainsbor- ough; a library, a grand salon and a smaller room made famous by the display in it of Lord Leighton’s marvelous representation of the Madonna of Cimabue earried in pro- cession through the streets of Flor- ence—a composition executed in 1855 and perhaps never since excelled for noble beauty. The King’s offices, the Queen'’s re- ception rooms, the rooms set apart for the royal princesses and their attendants, the quarters of the mem- bers of the household staff, guest chambers, kitchens, storage space for records, furniture, clothing and miscellaneous supplies are included in the functional floor plan of the palace. From dawn until midnight the entire scene is alive with activity, quiet and dignified but nevertheless intense. That any very considerable part of the vast regal enterprise could be transferred to a “flat” is difficult to believe. Perhaps their majesties are merely trying to escape | momentarily from the exhausting demands of their exalted position. New Traffic Problems. If the Budget Bureau’s prediction of a quarter million increase in Dis- trict population in the near future comes true, Washington’s already serious traffic problem will be aggra- vated almost beyond present com- prehension. How many of these newcomers will bring automobiles cannot now be determined, but any considerable increase in vehicular traffic in this crowded city is bound to cause additional trouble. Some relief eventually may result from the expected gradual decline in use of private automobiles, due to war- time restrictions, but as private pas- senger cars are laid up, the load on public transportation facilities will grow heavier. Looking into the future, witnesses before the House District Committee' have concurred in the view of the group’s traffic subcommittee that eventually Washington may have to take some of the mass transporta- tion facilities off the congested streets and place them underground. Subways undoubtedly afford relief to surface traffic and speed transporta- tion, but they obviously are not the answer to the city’s pressing problems of the immediate present and the near future. Not only are subways costly, but they require a long time to build. Moreover, they use large quantities of steel, concrete and other materials needed for war projects. Traffic Director Van Duzer and Highway Director Whitehurst stressed before the committee the desirabil- ity of staggering further the hours of governmental and private employ- ment, as one practicable means of reducing street, congestion imme- diately. In line with this sensible plan, Federal authorities are pre- paring to put into effect a revised schedule of staggered hours coinci- dent with establishment of the forty-four-hour week in most Gov- ernment departments on Monday. The Washington Board of Trade has acted wisely in seeking the co-oper- ation of private employers in spread- ing the traffic load through a stag- gered business schedule. Meanwhile, the Whitehurst fringe- parking plan is a step nearer realiza- tion, thanks to Senate passage of the | bill which would create a municipal perking agency, with authority to |- set up and operate public parking areas on the outskirts of the con- gested district. A companion bill, which was approved—mildly—by the Schulte Traffic Subcommittee, still awaits action by the House District Committee. It is to be hoped that the committee will delay no longer in reporting this legislation to the House, for its enactment will pave | the way for relief of downtown traf- fic congestion within a reasonable time limit. It is unfortunate that there seems to be no co-ordinated, concentrated effort to deal with Washington’s mul- tiplying traffic and transportation problems. Many proposals which were deemed adequate a few months 2go have become outmoded since the outbreak of war and the stepping up of governmental activity in Wash- ington. An entirely unforeseen new situation has arisen, requiring a comprehensive reappraisal by traffic and public utility experts. The enormity of this problem is such that Washington cannot be expected : to solve it without Federal assistance, Since the problem bears directly on the efficiency of America’s war effort, Congress should take time to give the matter its earnest attention, with a view to working out a broad, overall program to meet the urgent needs of this unprecedented emergency. ——— Exit Fido Life in Europe under the Nazi heel is grim, and anything that will lighten the gloom is welcome. Anj- mal pets do this, and a dispatch from Vichy tells of their growing popu- larity. Not, however, such old-time fa- vorites as Fido and Tabby. Instead, Peter Rabbit, Henrietta Hen and Porky Pig have taken the spotlight. Day after day, as it becomes increas- ingly evident that the New Order does not mean an order for ham and eggs, & new quality in pets becomes of prime importance— edibility. From time to time the nearest Ger- man, fatigued by his strenuous task of liberating Europe from Anglo- American imperialism, gets hungry, meaning less food for every one else. ‘The dog and cat may be man’s best friends, but in such an emergency they do not fricassee readily. The squeak, the cluck &nd the grunt form a more practical Euro- pean symphony than the bark and the meow, and constitute ah ace in #$he hole which makes a lot df differ- ence when the showdown comes. e Research is developing new foods for our Army, says a headline. But it is thought to be beyond the power of science to develop one at which the American private will not grumble. ) r Of Stars, Men And Atoms Notebook of Science Progress In Laboratory, Field And Study By Thomas R. Henry. Two Columbia University chemists have developed a method by which com- mon salt can be split in halves, releasing without the use of electricity a greenish- yellow, suffocating gas which is one of the most essential of all war chemicals. ‘The gas is chlorine. Shortages of this vital element during the past few months have threatened to delay some of Amer- ica’s most important defense efforts. The supply is almost unlimited. Extraction has required electric power and ma- terials for machinery badly needed in other lines. They have found, Drs. Arthur W, Hix- son and Alvan H. Tenney report to the American Chemical Society, a way of producing chlorine by infiltrating salt with a sulphur gas which splits the mole- cule without any use of power. Ordinary table salt or rock salt is half chlorine. The new method makes it possible to extract the gas in the neigh- borhood of great salt deposits without the necessity of transporting it to a source of electric energy. A plant capable of turning out 100 tons of chlorine a day, they estimate, can be set up by the Government at a cost of about $2,500,000. The total productive capacity of the Nation now is about 2,200 tons a day. The significance of the element is seen from the fact that approximately two tons of chlorine goes into the manufac- ture ‘of an airplane and a ton into every tank that comes off the assembly line. Neoprene, chief ingredient of synthetic rubber, contains large amounts of the chemical. Ethylene glycol, used to cool the Army’s high-speed airplane engines, requires chlorine in its manufacture, and it is one of the chief ingredients of am- monium pictrate, the Navy's main source of explosives. It also is used to make the lucite windows of modern long-range bombers and in the waterproof plastic insulations of anti-magnetic cables now used to protect ships against magnetic mines. Huge amounts of chlorine; the two chemists point out, are used to purify water supplies of armies in the field. It is one of the chief ingredients of vari- ous deadly gasses. But even more significant is the neces- sity of chlorine in daily life. Large amounts are required for fumi- gating grain placed in elevators. Last fall the situation became so acute that for a time the Government faced a loss of about $1,000,000 a day through deteriora- tion of " stored grain. Priorities were secured in time to save the situation. About a third of the available supply in the past has been used for bleaching paper. Quite dirty-looking newspapers would result from a shortage of it. Another common use is in clothes- cleaning establishments. The long stretch of hot weather last fall, requiring constant cleaning of suits, threatened a real crisis for a time. In the new process, Drs. Hixson and Tenney explain, sulfur is burned in air to produce dry sulfur trioxide gas. This gas is infiltrated through salt, producing a material which, when heated, creates salt cake and chlorine simultaneously. The chlorine is separated and the gas reduced to a liquid. The heat generated by the burning sul- fur is greater than the amount needed to bring about the separation, thus elim- inating need for the huge amounts of power now required. There are great deposits of salt in Michigan, Texas, New York, Kansas and Louisiana, it is pointed out. millions of tons of sulfur from the Gulf States now are on hand. The salt cake, a by-product of the process, also is significant for war uses, Drs. Hixson and Tenney explain. It is an important raw material in the glass, paper and rayon industries. Before the war about 40 per cent of the Nation's supply came from Germany. L Trained scientists should be at the front as liaison officers between armed forces and university and industrial lab- oratories. There also should be scientific at- taches at all embassies. Such are the recommendations of a conference of British scientists and tech- nicians, which included some of the Nation's foremost specialists. The gist of their discussions has been given out by the British Press Associa- tion here. Delegations were named to place the program before the appropri- ate Government departments. The presence of trained scientists in the armeg forces is vital, declared Prof. Levy of the Imperial College of Science. “They could bring back from the battlefields,” he said, “technical infor- mation necessary to the conduct of the war. This must not be left to backstage men not actually at the front conducting warfare. “What Germany and Russia have done has filled us with amazement, but both countries possessed planned econo- mies whereas we have been behind in every application of science in warfare. Users of tanks and planes must be scientifically trained and those higher in command must include scientists.” The present liaison, it was stressed by Dr. D. P. Riley, foreign relations officer of the Association of Sclentific Workers, “is too much at the top and does not penetrate the rank and file. Scientific officers should be appointed immediately to our embassies, Anglo-American con- tact is close but technical collaboration compared to that in Russia is still the sketchiest.” For such purposes, it was said, use could be made of refugee foreign scientists, many of whom are now in England without employment or means of sup- port. These include some of the fore- most scientific workers in the world. “The problem we scientists face,” de- clared Prof. J. D. Bernal in summing up the conference, “is the time factor. Schemes suggested and formulated here must be operated at the earliest. “Complacency must be destroyed, and pre-war competitive mentality must give place to a demand for action now that we have a clear idea of what is needed to expedite science’s contribution to the war effort. ' “Scientific, technical man power and woman power must be used properly and the utmost use made of local, national and international personnel for the com- plete co-ordination of skill and knowl- 3 Stocks of | JANUARY 24, 1942, THIS AND THAT By Charles E. Tracewell. “Q STREET. “Dear Sir: * “I liked your excellent article recently about the crow. This bird has always been one of my favorites. Maybe I like him partly because he has been a sort of underdog, and I like to defend him. A great deal more than that, however, is his sleek beauty, interesting cry and general behavior, which is not bad. “My friends say I em no true bird lover, if I stick up for the crow, since it destroys many young birds of other species, so they say. I must confess that in a long life I have never seen a crow kill a fledgling. “What do you say about this? Are crows as bad on other birds as my friend states? If they are, certainly I nor any one else can be in favor of them, but I do not believe they kill as many as he says, and I would like to know what you think about this. “Very truly yours, T. C. P.” 9% We believe that the crow is just an- other case of “give a dog a bad name.” While it is true that it kills small birds, now and then, there is no reason to believe that it kills half as many as does the grackle, or that, indeed, its depredations in this respect in any way threaten our small American songbirds. This is no_extenuation of the crow. Its habits, in many instances, are not to be condoned. What we should keep in mind is that these habits are often overplayed by those who “have a crow to pick,” as the saying has it. Dr. F. E. L, Beal, writing in “Birds of America,” has this to say on the food habits of the crow: “The crow is commonly regarded as a blackleg and a thief. Without the dash and brilliancy of the jay, or the bold savagery of the hawk, he is accused of doing more mischief than either. That he does pull up sprouting corn, destroy chickens and rob the nests of small birds has been repeatedly proved. Nor are these all of his sins. He is known to eat frogs, toads, salamanders and some small snakes, all harmless creatures that do some good by eating insects. With so many charges against him, it may be | well to show why he should not be utterly | condemned. LI “The examination of a large number of stomachs shows that the nest-robbing habit, as in the case of the jey, is not so universal as has been supposed. Neither are many toads and frogs eaten. As frogs are of no practical value, their destruction is not a serious matter; but toads ere very useful, and their con- sumption, so far as it goes, must be counted against the crow. Turtles, craw- fishes and snails, of which he eats quite a large number, may be considered neu- tral, while mice may be counted to his credit. “In his insect food, however, the crow makes amends for sins in the rest of his dietary, although even here the first item is egainst him. Predacious beetles | are eaten in some numbers throughout the season, but the number is not great. May beetles, Junebugs and others of the | same family constitutq the principal food during spring and early summer, and are fed to the young in immense quanti- ties. Other beetles, nearly all of a nox- jous character, are eaten to a considerable extent. general rule that most birds subsist, to a large extent, upon grasshoppers in the month of August. Many bugs, some caterpillars, mostly cutworms, and some spiders are also eaten—all of them either harmful or neutral. Probably the most important item in the vegetable food of the crow is corn. By pulling up the newly-sprouted seeds, the bird renders himself extremely obnoxious. Observa- tion and experiments with tame crows show that hard, dry corn is never eaten if anything else is to be had, and that if fed to nestlings it is soon disgorged. The reason crows resort to newly-planted flelds is that the kernels of corn are soft- ened by the moisture of the earth, and probably become more pelatable in the process of germination which changes the starch of the grain to sugar. Crows eat corn extensively only when it has been softened by germination or partial decay, .or before it is ripe and still ‘in the milk.’ Experience has shown that they may be prevented from pulling up young corn by tarring the seed which not only saves the corn but forces them to turn their ettention to insects. If they persist in eating green corn it is not so easy to prevent the damage. “Crows eat fruit to some extent, but confine themselves for the most part to | wild species, such as dogwood, sour gum and seeds of the different kinds of sumac. They have also a habit of sampling al- most everything which appears eatable, especially when food is scarce. “In estimating the usefulness of the crow, the bird should receive much credit for the insects which it destroys. In the more thickly settled parts of the country it probably does more good than harm, at least when ordinary precations are taken to protect young poultry and newly-planted corn egainst its depreda- tions.” * x x % The fish crow is a great deal more destructive to small birds than the com- mon Crow. Two of the latter came into the yard the other morning. We do not often have these visitors. The cawing of one of them was heard as it circled down to a tree not far from the bird feeding station, which at that moment was doing a land office business. Soon this specimen was joined by an- other. They kept cawing, and every time they did so they bobbed their heads vigorously. |/ Looked at fairly, the crow is a beauti- look of the purple grackle. One may wonder how Shakespeare, in The crow is no exception to the | his “Merchant of Venice,” knew enough about crows to make one of his char- acters say that they can “warble” es sweetly as a lark at times. Fhis is said to be true, although & fact unknown to most persons. only when the crows are wholly alone in the forest that they indulge in sing- ing. If they are surprised, they imme- diately set up a great clamor, as if re- senting the intrusion, and as if deter- mined to prove that they cannot sing a note. Germinating corn not only is more pelatable to crows, with more sugar con- tent, but also has had its vitamin con- tent vastly increased. The crows show not only good taste but true wisdom in their preference. This is to be expected of such a smart bird, which, with the band of the approach of an enemy. Letters to Discusses “Isolation” of Argentina As a Reflection of Fear of United States. To the Editor of The Star Argentina’s reluctance to break off diplomatic relations with the Axis, as | displayed at Rio de Janeiro, recalls a similar attitude at Lima and accords with a fixed policy of non-collabora- tion with the United States. My seven vears' residence in Buenos Aires, with frequent journeys into the Argentine hinterland, taught me, how- ever, that the Argentines are not luke- warm in their desire to preserve the democratic principle. To understand their antipathy to a too-close bond with | the United States we need but review the stock reasons advanced in explana- tion of our own traditional antagonism to closer relations with Europe, an an- tagonism which rendered futile President | Wilson's dream of world unity after the | last war, an antagonism which many be- lieve responsible for the present world plight. Ever since Pan-American conferences | began—long before Fascism or National | Socialism came into being—a resistance to any form of co-operation with the United States has characterized the Ar- gentine delegates. They fear, if ties between the United States and its south- ern neighbors become too close, that the sheer weight of wealth and power will make its influence dominant; that all the Western Hemisphere will come under the “tutelage” of Washington, converting Latin America into a ‘sort of Yankee zone of influence. Since no Latin American nation has more than negligible armed strength, the brunt of resistance against a strongly militarized invader inevitably would fall to the United States. would mean United States warships and planes in Latin American ports and United States marines on Latin Amer- jcan soil. Argentine statesmen may be pardoned for pausing to study the im- plications of such a state of affairs. Some of them have asked if it might not prove harder to get rid of our ma- rines than to let them in. Our smug citizenry would be astonished if it knew how many Argentines wonder how much there is to choose between Nazi and Yankee domination. .It might seem that our conduct in the past quarter century merits more con- fidence. Such incidents ' the liberation of Cuba, the subsequent annulling of the Platt amendment, our refusal to take advantage of the post-Diaz dis- order in Mexico to secure a foothold in that country, our non-intervention in the internal affairs of other republics and our obvious willingness to free the Philippines, we argue, should convince Latin Americans that their fears are groundless. We, however, were not always so pure. of the Canal Zone from Colombia, Letin America reads more candid Past sins are hard to live old prejudices are hard to uproot. this world of sudden, bewilder- Effective defense | the Editor Letters to the Editor must ’ bear the name and address of a pseudonym for publication is permissible. The Star reserves the right to edit all letters with a view to condensation. the writer, although the use of | ing changes what assurance has the Argentine that some future administra- tion may not reverse the Rooseveltian good-neighbor policy? What assurance has it that coming generstions in the United States may not revive the philos- ophy of “manifest destiny”? Briefly, Argentina, taking a leaf from its great northern neighbor's own book, has wanted to keep clear of “entangling | alliances.” Its statesmen, by shunning commitments, have sought to keep Ar- gentine diplomacy free to pursue its best interests at all times, even when in conflict with the interests of other parts of the Western Hemisphere. But the great northern neighbor now has turned away from isolation. May the Argentine continue to follow its lead. May it not, by a persistent policy of aloofness, risk wreaking such catastro- phic consequences upon Latin America as our own aloofness, after the last war, wreaked upon the world. HARRY STARK. Augusta, Ga. Proposes Photographic Study Of Flow of City Traffic. To the Editor of The Star: Concerning the trafic problem in ‘Washington, it seems to me the only sensible approach is first to ascertain the existing traffic. I suggest this be | done by taking continuous moving pic~ tures from the air of this traffic over one or more total daylight periods. Prints developed from such photos would show the complete traffic story. The movement of each vehicle could be fol- lowed throughout its course. This would be expensive but it would furnish complete data for use in solving the traffic problem here. Let the experts stop “chasing the devil around the stump,” do some con- structive thinking and reach an intelli- gent conclusion from incontestible data. VERITAS. Retorts to Mr. McLemore’s Remarks On Mr. Lindbergh’s Willingness to Serve. To the Editor of The Star: ‘Will Henry McLemore of the Georgia McLemores, now living dangerously on the sands of Daytona, note that Charles A. Lindbergh came to Washington and went quietly to work in a top job? No fuss, no feathers. His column of January 3 referred with satire to Mr. Lindbergh as be- ing willing to serve even at second table. The column made no headway with thinking persons, but it did show up the Mr. McLemore genre as being small and Dorothy Thompsonish and the writer as not the sort of person we Northerners are always being told con- stitutes “s gentleman from Jawjah.” ; LADY YANKEE. ful bird, totally without the evil, slinking | It is | 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. Did Russia or Japan declare war first in the Russo-Japanese War?—W, G. D. A. Japan severed diplomatic relations and on February 8. 1904, began the war by attacking and defeating the Russian squadron at Port Arthur. Formal dec- larations of war were made by both governments on. February 10. Q. Will you please give me the origin * of “thumbs up?”"—E. T. C. A. “Thumbs up” means approval, “thumbs down” disapproval. In the gladiatorial combats of ancient Rome the spectators were allowed to decide whether or not the defeated gladiator should be put to death. “Thumbs up” or “in” meant that he be spared; “thumbs down” or “out” that he be slain, Q. Does orange juice lose its value if it is kept for a day or two in the refrigera- tor?—C. 8. A. Orange juice may be stored for a day or two without appreciable change in vitamin C if kept in closely-covered jars in the refrigerator at a temperature of 45 degrees F. or below. Uncle Sam’s Almanac, 1942—In- dexed for quick reference, this up - to - the - minute publication should be in every home. It is full of facts the average person has need for every day in the year. Contains information on such popular subjects as radio, sports, Army, Navy, religion, motion pic- tures, as well as charts, graphs and maps for wartime consumption. You will be surprised at the amount of worth-while material in this 48-pagé publication. To secure your copy inclose 10 cents in coin, wrapped in this clipping, and mail to The Star Information Bureau. Q. Is it a good idea to sprinkle coal for home use?—C. O. D. A. A slight moistening of soft coal not only allays the dust but causes the very fine particles to adhere to the larger ones, thus letting more air through the fuel bed. Because of this, most grades of soft coal burn a little better when slightly moistened. Q. Kindly inform me from what poem the following lines were taken: “Ships that pass in the night, And speak to each other in passing”?—C. B. C. A. These lines are from Henry Wads- worth Longfellow’s “Tales of a Way~ side Inn,” The Theologian's Tale: Eliza- beth, Part IV. Q. Please tell me who plaved the title role in the silent picture “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."—W. F. L. A. John Barrymore played the role of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the silent version of the picture. Q. I am a British subject and have | my first papers. Will I be taken in the starling, puts out sentinels to warn the | X Lo draft?>—R. E. A. Declarant aliens (those who have declared their intention to become a citi- zen of the United States) are required to register for the draft and may be re- quired to serve, Q. How large a bird is the kiwi?—P. M. R. A. 1t is about the size of domestic fowl. The kiwi's egg is unusually large and in relation to the bird is the largest laid by any living species. Q. The Bible speaks only of Wise Men. How did we get the number three?—J, B X A. The number of Wise Men is sup- posed to be three because in the Gospel of St. Matthew, 2.xi, there are three dis- tinct gifts named: Gold, and frankin- cense and myrrh. Q. Please advise which are the largest and smallest counties in Texas.—J. R. A. Brewster County with an area of 5935 square miles is the largest county in Texas, and Rockwall County with an area of 149 square miles is the smallest, Q. How many acres of standing timber are there in the United States?—J. W. L. A. There are 462,000,000 acres of com- mercial forest timberland in the United States. Q. T would like to know how many F. B. 1. agents there are at the present time. —A. K. A. There are approximately 2,800 F. B. 1. agents at present. Q. Why do soldiers often refer to their superiors as “brass hats?”"—H. R. A. The term originated in the British Army where it was used to refer to gen- erals or staff officers from the orna- mental gold braid on their caps. Like many similar terms it became popular during the Pirst World War, though it had been in use much earlier. To a Staunch Mariner Oh, human spirit, swept by every tide, By all winds veered and carried out to sea, You patch the fraying sail, you scan the wide Horizon for a glimpse of land or tree, You breast the lashing storm. The little fleet That put to sea with you for dream-bright shores Is scattered soon. Upon the waveés you meet | A broken spar and idly drifting oars. A bitter voyage! Yet, some quenche less spark, Some visioned harbor light invites you on. You caulk the leaking seam through cold and dark, Persuaded of the glory of the dawn. You struggle toward the haven of brave ships, And, oh, there is a chantey on your lips! 4 INEZ BARCLAY KIRBY. 2.