Evening Star Newspaper, January 27, 1942, Page 8

The Foening Htar’ With Sunday Morning Editien. THEODORE W. NOYES, Editor. WASHINGTON, D. C. January 27, 1942 The Evening Star Newspaper Company. Main Office: 11th 8t. and Pennsylvania Ave. New Ycrk Office: 110 East 42nd St. Chicago Office: 435 North Michigan &ve. Delivered by Carrier—City and Suburban. Regular Edition. ening and Sunday 75¢ per mo. or 18¢ per w e Evening Star___45¢C per mo. or 10c per wee ‘The Sunday Star 10c per copy Night Final Edition. Night Pinal and Sunday Star Night Final Star Rural Tube D _Hu gemn: asntd Sunday &t e Evening Star ___ . ___ TO8oliections mads st the end of each month. or tions made at the ent exdiy ek “*Orders May be sent by mall o teler ‘phone National 5000. 85c per month 60c per month livery. ~ " 83c per month 55¢ per month Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Bunday only _. 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 it or not otherwise credited in this Daper and also the local news published herein. Il rights of publication of specisl dispatches erein aliso are reserved. Blackout Interest The Treasury Department’s de- mand for interest on the $1,000,000 which has been advanced to the Dis- trict under the local blackout law is indicative of an astonishing mis- conception of the use to be made of the money. As in so many other instances, the Federal authorities seem in this case to overlook or ignore the fact that the District, in addition to its status as & municipality, is also the seat of National Government. If Washing- ton were simply another city it would not expect an interest-free loan, nor would it have been necessary to make the loan in the first place. In an- other city, the need would have been less and the funds would have been secured from municipal revenues or by Federal grant, but the District, being the National Capital, is faced with an abnormal need for funds of this character, yet it can neither raise them through taxation on its own initiative nor borrow without express authorization of Congress. Thus far it has been denied par- ticipation in civillan defense funds already made available by Congress for use in the States. It was in these circumstances that the application for legislation au- thorizing the loan was made, and it is significant that Congress, contrary to the usual custom, passed a bill which neither called for the payment of interest nor specified any form of repayment. Congress, it would seem, viewed the transaction as an advance, not as a loan in the ordinary sense. Cer- tainly, that is the view of District authorities, and there is ample prece- dent for it. Under the Capper- Cramton Act, for example, numerous interest-free advances have been made. And furthermore, the Federal Government pays no interest on Dis- trict funds on deposit in the Treas- ury, nor does it share the interest burden on such local undertakings as the new Municipal Center Build- ing, which has been taken over in part for Army use. When the Treasury demands in- terest on an advance to the District of funds which are intended to en- able local authorities to cope with a problem that is the direct result of a national emergency, and when the Federal Government is to be the principal beneficiary of a satisfactory solution of the problem, one can only conclude that no proper considera- tion has been given to the peculiar relationship that exists between the Federal City and the Federal Gov- ernment. It is to be hoped that the ‘Treasury Department, in the light of the manifest intention of Congress and the circumstances surrounding the whole transaction, will reconsider and abandon its unwarranted inter- est demand. Guardsmen Ban ‘The order requiring State home | guard units to discharge all members employed by the Federal Govern- ment is proving a serious blow to the | excellent companies that have been formed in nearby Maryland and Vir- ginia. The unexpected edict, coming at a time when the guardsmen are of vital importance to their States, has caused® nearby companies to lose from 25 to 50 per cent of their per- sonnel. The order is said to have been in- tended to avoid disruption of Federal offices. Some branches of the Fed- eral Government, particularly the postal service, were reported to have been seriously affected by having many of their men called to home guard duties. In one Maryland com- munity it was said that seven postal workers, including the postmaster, were members of the State Guard. The War Department also said that many guardsmen had asked to be relieved of active duty because of their Federal employment. Whatever the justification for the order, the effect on the guard com- panies has been comparable to the effect of the original Hatch Act on the governing bodies of nearby towns. All communities in the Washington area are composed largely of Federal workers. Frequently they are the most able, the most experienced and the most active in civic enterprises. Just as the Hatch Act, before it was amended, affected many veteran mu- nicipal officeholders, so the new ban ousts numerous key men in the ranks of the guard cempanies. The State Guard in Maryland and the Virginia Protective Force across the Potomac were formed to serve in emergencies after the National Guard was ordered into Federal service. The Federal ban has so shattered their ranks that companies ) 1 THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, once up to their maximum strength have been reduced below the legal minimum. Practically all have had to resume recruiting. It is hoped there will be little trouble, however, in get- ting enough men quickly to bring the units back to their former status. The emergency is such that there should be no dearth of able-bodied men willing to offer their services. Japan’s Maritime Gamble The running sea fight in the Straits of Macassar, between the Dutch islands of Borneo and Celebes, is important not merely in itself but for its larger implications, especially because of the heavy ship losses in- flicted upon the Japanese invaders. Japan may find it more difficult to replace the lost shipping than the lost men, and this applies to mer- chant vessels perhaps even more than it does to warships. If the already heavy drain on Japan’s tonnage can be kept up and intensified, it will prove to be her Achilles heel—a cer- tain source of eventual failure in her grandiose gamble for Far Eastern and Pacific domination. Japan, like Britain, is a maritime nation. Her whole fabric of empire rests not merely on her battle fleet but equally upon her mercantile ma- rine. The size of her naval estab- lishment is a closely guarded secret, but international commercial regu- lations have made it impossible to conceal the size of her merchant marine and mercantile shipbuilding facilities. Here, then, we have a basis to work on. Last year Japan had an ocean- going merchant fleet of about 900 vessels aggregating some 5,000,000 tons. That is one of the leading merchant marines of the world, but Japan’s shipbuilding facilities are limited, and during the four years between 1937 and 1940, launchings are reported to have fallen from 450,000 to 375,000 tons, probably due to priorities on steel and scrap for intensive military and naval prepara- tions. Three years ago Japan's Min- ister of Communications announced that Japan had 97 shipyards with an annual capacity of 800,000 tons. With the Japanese leaders preparing feverishly for an all-out war, as we know they then were, it is incredible that they would not have built mer- chant shipping to the limit then pos- sible. We may assume therefore that today, with even heavier military and naval calls upon materials and skilled labor, Japanese shipyards cannot turn out the theoretical annual maximum. But unless they can do that, or better, Japan’s tonnage must decline rapidly under the wastage of war. Even before the Macassar Strait battle, Japan had lost forty mer- chane ships, or an aggregate of 200,000 tons—a six-month output of her yards during recent years. Fur- thermore, that figure does not in- clude other ships damaged, but not sunk. The Macassar losses should aggregate well over 100,000 tons. That means another three months’ normal replacement. Those losses have been suffered in the first seven weeks of war. At that rate, Japan would lose something like one-third of her entire merchant marine by the end of the year. Against these losses should be set the considerable ton- nage of British, Dutch and American merchant vessels seized by Japan at the outbreak of the war. But Japan’'s potentlal conquests will yield few | shipbuilding facilities, except in the unlikely event of a conquest of the settled portions of Australla. So she will have no way of offsetting the vast building programs of Britain and America, which greatly exceed Ja- pan’s total merchant marine in a single year's launchings. Even if Japan should conserve the bulk of her war fleet, she must have many merchant ships to send troops and supplies to her expanding con- quests, some of them several thou- sand miles from Japan, and to bring home vital raw materials seized in the conquered lands. This applies equally to Japan’'s hold on her pre- war possessions, even nearby Korea. Deprived or crippled in sea power, the whole ambitious structure of empire would fall apart like a rope of sand. So every Japanese ship sunk brings nearer an eventual crisis which cannot be averted. = — The greatest war the world has ever known has accomplished two things, with many others. It has united Americans as nevey before in their history, and has at last gotten Steve Vasilikos, the prominent pea- nut vendor, off his private corner. e ——— Praise for Free Journalism Perhaps the highest compliment* ever pald to the American press is that of a Nazi officer who writes to Hitler's “Voelkischer Beobachter” that the principal fault of the people of the United States is that they “belleve what they see in print.” Undoubtedly, the allegation is jus- tified. It has been demonstrated again and again both before and since the beginning of the present world crisis that American citizens commonly have faith in the journals of news and opinion by which they are served. The fact that the Amer- ican public has been privileged to enjoy complete liberty of philo- sophical development during more than a century and a half compels accuracy and reasonableness in their press. No publication consistently unworthy of the confidence of its readers could survive very long in the United States. In the totalitarian countries, however, conditions are different. The journalists of Germany, Italy and Japan are permitted neither the right nor.even the duty of untram- meled utterance. Freedom and re- sponsibility alike are denied them. They ‘are the slaves of dictators who furnish the patterns to which, with- out the slightest deviation, they must conform. A dogma of compul- sion governs them. Naturally enough, it follows that the price they pay for their subserviency is that of being understood for what they are. They are disbelleved even when by acci- dental chance they happen to be truthfull The proper answer, then, to be returned to the critic writing in the “Voelkischer Beobachter” is that it appears to be the sorry fate of the peoples of the Axis nations that they cannot “believe what they see in print.” German War Minerals A recent study by the Bureau of Mines plainly indicates that there is no sound basis for the belief that a lack of strategic minerals will stall the Nazi war effort in the near future. Representing the results of a careful survey made under the direction of Charles W. Wright, the report shows that Germany “is surprisingly well supplied with minerals for essential military needs,” and expresses the view that it will be able to wage effective war for some time. Until last year German production of aluminum magnesium—deemed essential in the manufacture of air- planes and incendiary bombs—was larger than the combined output of the United States, Great Britain and Canada. Though these three coun- tries, at the end of 1941, are believed to have moved ahead of Germany in the output of aluminum and mag- nesium, the Nazis still have vast pro- ductlon facilities to replace equip- ment lost by the Luftwaffe. Germany, it is true, lacks petro- leum, tungsten, tin, copper and cer- tain other vital materials. Realizing these deficiencies years before the outbreak of the war, she began to bulld up huge stockpiles, largely through purchases from the Western Hemisphere, and by barter arrange- ments with the Balkan countries, under which she obtaired most of their output of minerals. Germany also took steps to increase production from domestic sources. The occupation of Poland, France, Norway and the Balkans has brought a large increase in Ger- many’s supplies of petroleum and war minerals. The economic ex- ploitation of the conquered terri- tories has been carried out sys- tematically, and with the usual Nazi efficlency. The result has been the strengthening of Hitler's military machine by furnishing it with needed strategic materials in substantial quantities. The regimentation of labor and industry also has assisted the Nazi war program. As far back as 1936 trade unions had been put under government control and labor was working sixty hours a week. These measures expanded Industrial out- put and increased stockpiles of stra- tegic minerals. The time when the United States and Great Britain will be able to ex- ceed German production of air- planes, tanks and munitions will de- pend in large part on two factors, the report warns. One is their ability to enlarge the output of minerals, and the other is the extent to which civillan consumption is curtailed to permit increased manufacture of munitions. Much of our mineral production continues to be used for non-defense purposes. The Bureau of Mines study should put an end to the idea that Germany is facing a serious shortage of min- erals. The war must be won the hard way, by smashing the military power of the Nazis, and not by elinging to the illusion that a deficiency of vital materials in the Reich will lead to an easy Allied victory. — Wartime Investigations Senator Chan Gurney, Republican, of South Dakota has advanced a sug- gestion which may not be popular with some of his colleagues, but which nevertheless has a great deal to recommend fit. Declaring that 350 persons in one War Department division recently were obliged to spend all of their | time assembling information for a congressional committee while neg- lecting vital regular work, Senator Gurney contended that under exist- ing war conditions “there is no point in wasting time of busy officers and officials before committees up here.” This is a statement which has the merit of directing attention to a state of affairs that easily may cause serious abuses in time of war. It may be doubted whether Congress would or should abandon all military in- vestigations for the duration of the war. Obviously, there must be some investigation if Congress is to legis- late intelligently, but it is equally evident that more harm than good would result if congresssional in- quiries should be carried to a point where they interfere with proper functioning in the military establish- ments. This is a matter which urgently calls for the application of a rule of reason, to the end that Congress may: secure such information as is really essential to proper legislation, while resisting the temptation to seek per- sonal notoriety through investiga- tions that have little if any relation to legitimate legislative functions. If Senator Gurney’s observations bring improvements in this respect he will have made a not inconsider- able contribution to the Nation's war effort. What the average reader has con- stant trouble understanding is why an unexpected sandstorm is any worse on British mechanized troops in Libya than on Axis tank forces. A D. C, Of Stars, Men And Atoms Notebook of Science Progress In Laboratory, Field And Study By Thomas R. Henry. A few rays of sunrise are appearing in America’s critical rubber situation. Ever since the outbreak of war in the Far East which has shut off the major source of supply there has been only confusion. X All sorts of sources of rubber, from dandelions to potatoes, have been pro- posed. All have been possible—and ex- pensive. The price of synthetic rubber, which can be made ing any quantities desired once the plants are established, has been estimated at present rates charged for use in specialty goods. The lowest was far in excess of the 21 cents a pound which was the latest price for East Indian rubber. Rubber specialists of the U. S. Bureau of Standards have been engaged in more sclentific calculations. In a few months, it is entirely possible, there may be a reasonable supply of rubber at reasonable prices—although still far above pre-war prices, The fact remains that the United States with its vast industrial capacity can make all the rubber it wants and is willing to pay for—leaving aside for the moment the pertinent questions of equip- ment and labor. Synthetic rubber in the past has sold at prices ranging from 35 cents to $1 & pound. It probably can be placed on the market at 30 cents with the expansion of manufacture now proposed, experts at the U. 8. Bureau of Standards believe. ‘They estimate that approximately 500,- 000 tons of buna rubber, the product most widely used in Europe, could be produced from three-tenths of one per cent of the normal petroleum production of the country. The starting point is the highly vola- tile gas, butane. It is extracted from pe- troleum and, up to a few years ago, was an entirely waste product. Now some of it is saved for aviation gasolene mixtures. It is changed chemically into the highly volatile liquid, butadiene which now is marketed at 20 cents a pound. It could be much cheaper. The butadiene must be mixed with a more expensive product, styrene, in a ration of about two to one, to make rubber. Altogether, the Bureau of Standardg officials believe, efficient forms of buna rubber can be produced for 25 cents a pound, allowing from six to eight cents for plant amortization in five years. It is realized that in that time, if the war is over and the East Indian rubber restored, the investment will be essentially worth- less. The extra five cents would go for trans- portation costs, interest on investment and profit. Under emergency conditions even 25 cent synthetic rubber is not an impossibility. The cost of manufacture, exclusive of plant, would be from 18 to 19 cents. Various forms of buna rubber are suited to tires. It will require time, however, to build the plants and there is some question of availability of materials. It now is estimated that a glant capable of turning out 35,000 tons of buna rubber a year could get into operation in 18 months. The progress, of course, may be speeded up under war conditions. It will require an investment of about $200,000,- 000 to produce approximately 500,000 tons of buna. Meanwhile there is a frantic search for sources of natural rubber. Probably the best is the Amazon basin of Brazil, Bolivia and Peru. There are millions of wild rubber trees scattered through the jungles. The average dis- tribution, according to Department of Agriculture speclalists, is about three or four to the acre. Native report places where there are more than 50 to the acre. The other day Foreign Minister Aranha of Brazil in a radio talk declared that plenty of rubber could be obtained from the jungles at a price of 60 cents a pound, which would attract prospectors. He estimated the cost of producing syn- thetic rubber at $120 a pound, a gross exaggeration. Actually the last quoted price for Brazilian rubber was 40 cents a pound. The labor of harvesting is none too at- tractive at that price—but the fact re- mains that the jungles are a source of immediate supply. In 1915 Brazilian rubber production reached its high water mark of 42,000 pounds. At a 60 cent rate, Department of Agriculture specialists believe, this could be repeated in a few months. There are, however, problems of labor supply and transportation which are unknown quan- tities. Early in the century Brazilian rubber brought as high as $3 a pound. The cost of living has declined since for the rub- ber harvesters. Recalls Sentiment of 1917 For Present Application. To the Editor of The Star: It was the hot summer of 1917 when I first came to crowded Washington on my first job. I was an enthusiastic war worker enrolled at $100 a month, but later I succeeded in getting this pushed up to $125, since it was honestly impos- sible for me to live here on $100. One day I was asked to work up some copy for a war booklet and one of the items I produced read as follows: “Go back to the simple life. Be contented with simple food, simple pleasure, simple clothes. Work hard, pray hard, play hard. Wagk, eat, recreate and sleep. Do it all courageously. We have a victory to win.” About two weeks later I was startled to see this item printed in red, signed with the name of the big boss of our organization, to be inserted in a little dodger into every letter. It was picked up and printed in magazines and news- papers. I was very proud. I have been & writer for many years, but I think I have never written anything better than this four-line piece of ghost- ing pounded out on a typewriter when I was very young and my beloved country was at war. It seems to be just as ap- plicable today as it was in 1917-18. # FLORA G. ORR. Remembers Two Treaties Of Current Importance. To the Editor of The Star: In 1823 Argentina made with Colombia & treaty to defend against invasion the independence of the states formed out of Spanish America. In 1826 Argentina made with Peru a similar treaty. Though those treaties have a bearing on certain present circumstances, they seem to have been forgotten. EDWIN RYAN. TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 1942. " THIS AND THAT By Charles E. Tracewell. Why are there fewer birds at feeding stations on Sundays? This question was asked of this column the other day, and we didn’t get around to answering it, owing to other matters, but it is an interesting theme. Many homeowners who like to feed the wild birds know that it is true. Somehow, there never seem to be as many songsters at the seed and grain stations on Sundays as on weekdays. Some observers swear, too, that there are no bluejays. Most content them- selves with declaring that it is not the absence of any one species which wor- ries them, but a diminution in numbers of all species. * %% ‘The only logical answer can be that more persons put out something for the birds to eat on Sunday. This tends to draw .them away from the gardens where they find food regu- larly the week around. It is probable that persons who just think of the birds on Sunday do not have stocks of seed and grain. They simply use such foodstuffs as | they have handy. ‘This means that the birds in a given neighborhood will get a “treat,” as it | were, something different from the reg- ular bill of fare. ’ LR There can be little doubt that birds, as well as men, like a novelty. Especially is this true when it comes to something to eat. ‘While the wild birds at suburban and city feeding stations eat with gusto the food put out for them, they, too, are always looking for “something new.” Yet those persons who have tried putting out cottage cheese, for instance, at a well-stocked and well-attended feed- ing station, are likely to find that the white stuff merely frightens the birds. Why is this? No doubt if the cottage cheese is placed in a yard where no feeding has been carried on, it would only attract the birds, not scare them. The answer seems to be that novelty is not relished at the old stand. There it serves as a “something new” which disturbs the thinking processes of the birds. Call these “reactions” if you will. It makes no difference, the reactions seem to be the result of thought. The thought might run along this line: That here, where good food was secured safely, something new has appeared, and this “something new” is a matter for great suspicion, in such a place. This is nature’s conservatism, the foil to nature’s daring and determination to experiment. 4 x + The psychology of the human element in the scene has something to do with it, we believe. Most persons have more time to ob- serve the birds on Sundays than on other days. ‘Thus they watch more carefully and tend to think that the attendance at the feeding tray is not up to snuff, as the saying has it. All the time there are just as many birds, but the watcher has been expect- ing something huge, therefore the real turnout strikes him as somewhat disappointing. L It must be kept in mind that many of the birds at feeding stations where numbers appeer are common Sparrows. ‘This is not. always realized. 8o many persons have become used to the slur campaign against the Eng- lish sparrow that it never once enters their heads that the songsters which have appeared in numbers and which have so delighted them could be just common sparrows. But it is true. These birds are the great background or chorus of birds at many feeding stations. It ‘would perhaps be fine if nothing but the choicer birds would come, but it is un- doubtedly true that the English sparrows and even the starlings find their way even to the most secluded suburban and country places. And there is no reason why the true bird friend should not welcome them, within reason. They, too, ere hungry, and they have no place else to go for food. The sparrows, with their choral sing- ing, and their constant flights, offer really interesting pictures, which the cardinals and jays and titmice and chickadees and others accent. ® X x % Now, sperrows are very clannish, And adventuresome. The city still calls them, although they can find very little to eat there. Our belief is t these bands often fly back to the city just to look around. ‘Why they might select Sunday for this trip is unknown, unless we feel that birds, as well as humans, find this a good day. There is no reason why they shouldn't select Sunday. Fridey, we believe, is the blue jay's favorite travel day. ‘There is a legend to the effect that the jays go to visit the devil on this day, but that story is undoubtedly the work | of persons who profess to dislike jays. Certainly nothing is more sure than that certain birds like to fly around a bit, and when they find themselves lured away from s regular feeding place by new foods at new places, they simply cannot resist the call. ‘Who could blame them? The lure of new eating places is very well known to most persons. Hope springs eternal in the human breast, it is said, and this saying may apply to birds as well. If any readers have any comments on this matter, we should like to receive them, | because we think it is a very interesting subject. Letters to Urges Immediate Help For Australians. To the Editor of The Star: Since Japan is fighting an all-or-none battle, it is not inconceivable that Nippon will attack Australia before conquering the East Indies. Nippon is now sowing the seeds of savage conquest in New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland and the Solomon Islands, which lie adjacent to Australia. From the Solomon Is- lands, the yellow invaders might fan out to New Caledonia, their sole purpose being to herass our shipping lanes, there- | | realize s that he is the instrument of by making it exceedingly difficult to send aid to Australia. When the Nazis were at the gates of Moscow, the cry then was “that the de- fense of Moscow was the defense of Washington.” Now that Australia is serfously menaced, we are less appre- hensive, yet the danger is as great or greater, for if Manila and Singapore fall and the Japs make & successful con- quest of Australia, the Pacific crisis easily might become a Pacific catastrophe. The battle and defense of Australia is the battle of the United States from Port- land, Me., to Portland, Oreg. How else can we view this global conflict? The Pacific battle is equally as important a8 the destruction of Hitler. To prevent the Japs from seizing the East Indies and Australia, we must send the Australians sufficient planes and supplies at once. We must not let Aus- tralia fall into the hands of the Japs. If we fail in our duty a potential Allied victory in 1943 might be changed into a stalemate in 1953. A. A. SHAPER, M. D. Cincinnati, Ohio. Disagrees With Mr. Kent's Criticlsm Of Mrs. Roosevelt’'s Policies. To the Editor of The Star: Your columnist Frank Kent in The Star of January 19 took Mrs. Roosevelt to task for espousing the cause of the masses. We concede the right of Mr. Kent to criticize Mrs. Roosevelt. In our democracy he is privileged to oppose her defense of the N. Y. A, the W. P. A, and her placement of Mr. Lash on the youth division of the O. C. D. Mr. Kent says Mrs. Roosevelt lends encouragement to resisting elements, “creates resent- ment and promotes disunity.” He fur- ther claims her talks are “untimely, in- ept and unnecessary.” Now if one takes the trouble to read carefully “Mein Kampf” and the con- temporary literature of Germany and TItaly, one will reach the conclusion that Mrs. Roosevelt is trying her hardest to keep America from breeding a Hitler here. Mr. Kent and so-called conserva- tives are counterparts of the bourgeoise in Germany in the days of the republic and during the rise of the National So- cialists. " We say it can’t happen here. As long as sympathetic, intelligent patriotic citi- zens like Mrs. Roosevelt do not fear to discuss social problems like race preju- dice, nor to do battle against religious intolerance or social disease, we may pre- vent fascism, communism and paganism. E. B. HENDERSON. Discusses Social Sins Of Hoarders and Profiteers. To the Editor of The Star: Experience has shown that there tra- ditionally are two chief offenders against the common good and welfare in times of war, the hoarder and the profiteer. The hoarder consummates his mischief by converting his cash sur- plus into & surplus of vital commodities, ’ the Editor Letters to the Editor must bear the name and address of the writer, although the use of a pseudonym for publication is permissible. The Star reserves the right to edit all letters with a view to condensation. withdrawing them from availability to all. He justifies this attempt to exempt himself from common suffering and sacrifice by contending that he is but wisely making provision against the in- evitable rainy day. What he fails to hastening the very evil he selfishly seeks to escape. The poor whom he has harmed with his avarice already have | learned to tighten thelr belts and they survive with less than comfort’s needs. The hoarder faces lean times with no preparation but selfishness, no resource but a sharpened appetite and only the spirit of the craven and malcontent. On the other hand, the profiteer is the economic parasite who uses the hoarder as his principal host. The hoarder hav- ing create@ an artificial scarcity, the profiteer takes selfish advantage of urgent and compelling need by exacting a usurious price from those who must buy or perish. Both are public enemies, regardless of their station in life and irrespective of their pious arguments in justification. THOMAS E. MATTINGLY, M. D. Proposes Saving Tin | For National Defense. To the Editor of The Star: Technically, I am considered an “enemy alien,” although I have my first papers and in about a year shall be & full-fledged naturalized citizen. Along with every American, my only ambition is to see the super-robots of the Third Reich and their boon-companions, those double-dealing highway robbers of the East defeated. Every effort must be made by us, the civillans at home, to conserve the defense materials of which we are critically short. Along this line I wish to suggest the following idea: Every manufacturer using tin tubes for his products should be required to im- print on every tube “Save Me!” or “Don’t Throw Me Away!” Receptacles could be rhade available at designated places for the deposit of tubes saved by the public. ‘This tin salvage program would create no inconvenience for anybody, and would require just as little amount of thoughtfulness on our part. 8. 2. ‘Warns of Dangers Involved In Replacing Service Men With Women. To the Editor of The Star: Congratulations to members of the fair sex for the willingness they have shown in volunteering their services for the defense of America. It is a mighty fine gesture on their part, substituting for the boys who have been called to the colors. We hope, however, that when the emergency is over that they will be will- ing to return to the role of mother and housekeeper in the same spirit, thereby giving the boys who are discharged from the service a chance to get their old Jobs back. They, as good Americans, and I know that they are, should realize that it is only because of the emergency that they are being called upon to help out and not merely a chance to make themselves financially independent. ‘We do not want s duplication of 1917. JULES B. RODIER. 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. By whom was the capital of Turkey moved from Constantinople to Ankara? —F.R. S. A. The late Kemal Ataturk moved the government to Ankara, it is said, to escape European politics. Ankara was declared the capital of Turkey by a decision of the-Great National Assembly on October 13, 1923. Q. Please give me the source of the quotation, “I will fight it out on this line if it takes all summer."—F. H. H. A. The phrase “Fight it out on this line if it takes all summer” occurs in a letter of May 11, 1864, from Gen. Grant to Gen. Halleck, written at Spotsylvania Court House after the battles of the Wilderness. The statement expressed Grant’s determination to continue his plan of advance on Richmond in spite of heavy losses. Needlework — Welfare units all over the country are busy knitting and sewing for the needy abroad, and our boys in camps here. If you aren’t handy with a needle— either knitting or sewing — and want to do your share of this kind of work, send for a copy of our booklet on NEEDLEWORK. The instructions are simple—many il- lustrations are included to make the directions clear. To secure your copy inclose 10 cents in coin wrapped in this clipping and mail to The Star Information Bureau. Q. Must a person have a birth certifi cate when the time comes for him to draw his social security pension?—J. A. B, A. A person who is eligible to receive annuities under the Social Security Act after reaching the age of 65 need not necessarily present a birth certificate as evicence of his age, but he must present some secondary evidence such as Bible record, baptismal certificate, insurance policy, census record or a sworn state- ment from two persons knowing the circumstances of his life and birth. Q. Is it proper for a bride to wear & veil at her second marriage?—J. L. W. A. On the occasion of a second mar- riage, the bride never wears a wedding vell, nor does she dress in white, Q. How much rubber does the United States import in normal times? How much comes from South America?— A W A. The average yearly imports for the years 1937-1939 were about 1,109,000,000 pounds, only 1.6 per cent of which came from Latin America. Before the present war this country used about 60 per cent of the world’s supply. Q. Can you give me the name of the person or persons who planned Canberra, the capital of Australia?>—F. T. S. A. Walter Burley Griffin of Chicago was architect of Cranberra. On April 30, 1911, the Commonwealth Govern- ment, in & world-wide competition, in vited designs for the capital city. The first prize was awarded to Mr. Griffin whose ideas best expressed the garden city Australia sought to build. Q. How long will Venus be the evening star?—J, L. A. Venus will be visible as an evening star until February 2, and again from | November 16 to the end of the year. Q. Please explain to me what is meant by “frost smoke."—D. H. A. “Frost smoke” is a fog which rises In wreaths from open water which is relatively warm compared to the over- lying cold air. This fog usually con- sists of ice crystals (snow). Frost smoke forms more readily in very cold weather when the wind is calm or very light, and when the difference between the temperatures of the water and the air is large. The fog slowly drifts away from the open water over adjacent ice and gradually deposits a slight covering of snow on the ice. Q. Where in the Bible does it tell of St. Paul's visit to Malta?—N. P. A. The Melita mentioned in Acts 28, | verse 1, is believed to be the island of Malta. Here the apostle suffered ship- wreck in what now is known as St. Pauls Bay, on the northwest coast. Q. Can you give me some information about a pugilist named Mervine Thomp- son, who flourished about 1884?—J. F. McC. A. Mervine Thompson was known as the Cleveland Thunderbolt. He was a heavyweight at the time of John L. Sulli- van and started fighting in 1882. He was a famous wrestler, also, and was one of America's greatest strong men. He knocked out Jack Stewart in 1884 in two rounds and beat the great colored fighter, C. C. C. Smith, in 1884 at Cleveland. Calm The storm has passed, and parallel- ograms Of rain no longer cut their narrow lines Across the flelds. This clustered bud of lambs Beneath the shelter of the hillside pines Slowly unfolds like a chrysanthemum At dawn. These many tasseled heads of rye, That have been staring downward bent and numb, Look upward once again and see the sky. That darkened cloud descending to the east 1s like a map of mountains and pla- teaus, Whose grim volcanic rumblings all have ceased. And higher where its fringes now disclose White beaches and fantastic shores instead, There like an outbound vessel for v Cathay, The sun appears and beckons overe head Ten floating islands in a placid dbay. TEMPLE HOLLCROFT. A ’