Evening Star Newspaper, April 11, 1942, Page 10

The Foening Ftar With Sunday Morning Editien, THEODORE W. NOYES, Edjtor. WASHINGTON, D. SATURDAY .. April c. 11, /1942 cheaply and quickly, which is an im- portant factor in their favor. At a time when the U-boat menace is seriously disrupting ocean transport, the inland waterway plan offers possibilities that ‘merit thorough ex- ploration. ;’hc Evening Star Newspaper Company. : 11th 8t and Pennsylvania Ave. Maln S Serk Offce: 110 East ohind 8L Chicago Office: 435 North Michigan Ave. Delivered by Carrier—City and Suburban. Regular Edition. 5c per mo. or 18¢ per week FraBrant Sture? 188 Ber mo. or 10¢ ber week Sunday S(Ent Final Edition. i e Night Pinal and Sunday Star. ... 85c per mon Night Final Star 60c per mont Collections made at the end of each month or sach week. Orders may be sent by mail or tele- phone Natlonal 5000. Rates by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virsiva. Eyening. Sundas. $2.50 B0c 1 vear - $12.00 n ~7g6.00 { month’ . 3100 second-class matter post office, Rniered hs Washington, D. C. Member of the Associated Press. teq Press is exclusively entitled to credited to it or not otherwise credited in Ll‘lh paper and also the local news published h!r:hn. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein also are reserved R The Rubber Outlook The possibility of producing rubber for civilian needs—a project which supposedly had been dropped for the duration—again has come to the fore. Vice President Wallace is the latest and most prominent advocate of the proposal to keep the automobiles of America rolling, even though they move on synthetic rather than natu- ral rubber tires. Mr. Wallace be- lieves that solution of the problem lies in production of butyl rubber, which he says can be made quickly and without waiting to build fac- tories. This view is in line with the opinion recently expressed by Senator Truman of Missouri, who said that the only thing that can keep us from having a reasonable supply of syn- thetic rubber for military and civilian needs will be public indifference. In other words, Senator Truman is of the opinion that the American people can have tires of the synthetic variety if they want them badly enough. The Missouri Senator also advo- cates the use of butyl, a process developed by Standard Oil, which, he says, can be made from by-products in every petroleum refinery, thus eliminating the need for expensive installations of scarce machinery. It is on this question of materials—the extent to which such commodities as steel would have to be diverted from war industries—that the decision undoubtedly will turn. At present plans are under way for a synthetic rubber production of . abond 700,000 tons, enough to meet the ntilitary needs of ourselves and our allles. 'The matter in dispute is whether, while preparing for this production, we should not also take the steps necessary to turn out an additional 300,000 tons for civilian use, having in mind the desirability, from a transportation standpoint, of keeping a substantial number of the Nation’s 28,000,000 automobiles in service. If Vice President Wallace and Sen- ator Truman are right in their con- tentions that this can be done through additional manufacture of butyl, without interference with the war effort, then that would seem to be the course that should be followed. The only other possibility is to keep cars in service by retreading or re- capping the present stock of tires. Only two ounces of crude rubber are needed to recap or retread a tire, the rest of the job being done with reclaimed rubber, which is plentiful. On this basis, the retreading of tires for 20,000,000 cars would require the use of 5,000 tons of crude rubber from our stock pile of some 700,000 tons. It is not for the layman to say which of these two methods—the use of butyl or retreading —would be preferable. But if a supply of serv- iceable tires can be maintained with- out interference with war needs, then there will be few to dispute the de- sirability of taking whatever steps may be necessary now to make cer- tain that some kind of tires will be available when the need for them arises. — inland Barge Route In view of the optimistic claims which have been made recently re- garding possible development of in- land waterways for wartime ship- ping, President Roosevelt was well Jjustified in ordering a study of this interesting proposal. Advocates of the plan declare that the inland channel which ex- tends from Philadelphia to Jackson- ville offers one way of beating Hitler’s submarines. This waterway is too shallow, of course, for ocean-going tankers and similar vessels, but the President pointed out at his press conference that consideration is being given to the construction of a fleet of special wooden barges de- signed to serve as wartime cargo carriers. Such a fleet undoubtedly could transport substantial quanti- ties of supplies which now are being subjected to the perils of submarine warfare off the Atlantic Coast. The coastal waterway averages about eleven or twelve feet in depth from near Jacksonville to Philadel- phia, From Jacksonville to Miami the depth varies from six to eight feet. Even though it should prove to be impracticable to make full use of the shallower stretch in Florida, the deeper portion of the channel might be adapted to a barge service capable of carrying considerable car- goes of fuel and other essential ma- terlals between points along the Eastern seaboard. Wooden barges of simple design eould be used in developing the in- land route. They could be bullt "~ Indomitable Norway Nowhere in conquered Europe is the spirit of resistance and latent revolt against Nazi domination more widespread and deep-rooted than in Norway. The second grim anniver- sary of Germany’s surprise invasion finds that rugged country in a con- dition of whole-hearted resistance which, though taking mainly passive forms, is rone the less difficult for the German authorities to handle. The latest crisis has arisen in con- nection with the church. The effort of the traitorous Quisling regime to introduce the Nazi Youth Or- ganization, with its control over the rising generation, thereby alien- ating them from the influence of established religion and the family, has aroused the unanimous veto of the Norwegian clergy. All the bish- ops have resigned, and the parochial clergy are ready to quit their pul- pits, even though threatened with concentration camps or worse. The people stand solidly behind their clergy, and the National Lutheran Church in Norway is a power fo be reckoned with. Thus does the breach between Nor- way and its conquerors become more absolute and irreconcilable. At the start, efforts were made by the Ger- mans to have civil institutions and officials function with some degree of normality. But when Norwegians refused to obey Nazi orders as mere puppets, they either resigned in pro- test or were superseded by Quislings or Germans. Ever since last Septem- ber, Norway has been under a “state of emergency”—virtual martial law. Many persons have been executed by courts martial, while at least 7,000 are in prisons or concentration camps. Economically, the country has been stripped to the bone. The German oc€upation has seized 20 per cent of all national property and ex- torts at least 25 per cent of the na- tlonal income for German uses. The result is that a former land of plenty suffers desperate shortages of locally produced foodstuffs, notably fish, due to German requisitions. In these spring months before the harvest, conditions among the people are especially severe. All this renders Norway a tinder- box of rebellion which needs only a spark to flame into open resistance. The Germans are well aware of the danger and have reinforced their garrisons, especially in Northern Nor- way, which is peculiarly exposed to a possible United Nations invasion, since it has no land communications with the southern parts of the coun- try. Even though no invasion takes place this spring, Norway is immo- bilizinf much German man power and equipment which could be used to good advantage on other fronts. The Germans know that, in Norway, they can take no chances. Centenary Journal The Galveston News is celebrating its hundreth birthday anniversary today. It was on April 11, 1842, that its first edition—a little four-page folder—appeared. The editor and publisher was Samuel Bangs, a rov- ing soldier-printer, inspired with the spirit of the Alamo. He worked in a tiny shack and by the light of a sperm candle. His equipment was a rickety hand-press and a rack of jumbled type, but with nothing else save a passionate desire to help the Republic of Texas, he established an institution that now properly may be regarded as a living memorial of the period to which he belonged. It was, certainly a herolc era. Mr. Bangs was a follower of Sam Houston. His contemporaries were such worthies as Rufus Choate, Dan- iel Webster, Henry Clay and John B. Gough. To his printshop came re- ports of Colonel John C. Fremont’s exploration of the Rocky Mountains, Lieutenant Charles Wilkes' expedi- tion to the South Seas, the signing of the Ashburton treaty with Great Britain, the arrival of the novelist Charles Dickens at New York, and the appropriation by Congress of money to build an experimental telegraph line from Washington to Baltimore. It was the time when the destiny of all the land between the Mississippi and the Pacific was being decided by events. And it also was an epoch when the human character of the United States gradually was shap- ing up in distinctive form. The Galveston News played an important part in the development of Texas and of the Nation at large. It survived the Civil War and seven successive cycles of famine and plenty. The community to which it especially was pledged grew with and because of it. Devastating floods and fires, naval blockades, bitter political strife—all these accidents were included in the lot of the city and its principal daily. To say that both prospered by experience with trouble is not an exaggeration. What the future holds for them may be beyond the power of man to tell, but if its fruition is not vastly dif- ferent from that of the past there will be reason for rejoicing. . Plywood Planes The disclosure that the Navy is testing a training plane made of plastic plywood directs attention to the progress achieved by the Ameri- can aviation industry in developing substitutes for metals previously used in the manufacture of military aircraft. Wood and plastic glue constitute 90 per cent of the ma- terial used in the new plane, and it the tests are satisfactory, it may ‘THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 1942. be put into mass production to pro- vide training ships for the Navy’s air cadets. It is also proposed to build plywood multary transport planes and cargo carriers. Army flyers, it is reported, may be trained in planes using low-alloy steel, in place of aluminum alloy, which is urgently needed in the pro- duction of bombers and fighters for the United Nations. North American Aviation, Inc., recently announced the successful use of low-carbon steel in the manufacture of air- planes. According to the designers, the new craft, in strength and safety, will be equal, if not superior, to the present aluminum alloy planes. It is estimated that the use of wood, in a single plane, will save 250 pounds of aluminum alloy and 1,000 pounds of low-alloy steel per plane. In training combat flyers for our rapidly expanding air forces, thou- sands of planes will be needed. By making more aluminum avallable for fighters and bombers, construction of plywood and low-alloy steel trainers thus may increase substantially the offensive power of the United States. Housing Run-Around Tt is fortunate that the run-around which prefabricators of demount- able housing have been experiencing at the hands of Federal authorities is not typical of all the Government's dealings with businessmen seeking to participate in the war effort. The delays, confusion and inefficiency in general which reportedly have plagued the prefabricated housing program from its inception shortly after Pearl Harbor are set forth in a number of letters received by The Star since publication of an article recently relating how the program has bogged down. The “diary” in yesterday’'s Star of one contractor's difficulties in getting action from Washington is an altogether shock- ing and distressing narrative. Although the demountable housing program was launched early in Janu- ary as a super-emergency project, designed to provide temporary shelter for thousands of war workers in critical areas in the shortest possible time, the facts are that some three months later less than half a dozen of fifty-seven contractors who were authorized to prepare plans and order materials have been given signed contracts and not all of these have received the necessary orders Navy Yard, where the housing situa- tion is particularly acute, vital war work is being impeded by loss of workers who cannot find places to live. One firm which obtained in February a contract to build 5,000 area was still awaiting a “proceed” reports. Although at least one contractor charged, in a letter to The Star, that the chaos is attributable to “sabo- tage” by some officials who were prejudiced against prefabricated houses, the consensus was that the situation has resulted from several factors, including lack of co-ordi- nation in the official setup in the early stages of the program (all Federal housing agencies since have ernment architects and engineers with different ideas as to design and construction, inability to find suit- able sites and various sorts of red tape and bungling. This deplorable state of affairs should be remedied at the earliest opportunity. It is to be hoped that the new housing ad- ministrator, John B. Blandford, jr., will be able to get this important program moving effectively and effi- ciently before many more valuable days are wasted. Politics in War While many over here complain that there is too much politics in the war, from London comes a plea for more politics, strange to say. For some time Britain has been op- erating under an informal political truce, which has had the effect of keeping in power those fortunate enough to be already at bat, and providing no chance for those in the fleld ever to reach the plate. The trouble is that both the ins and the outs have the same plat- form; they are in favor of winning the war and against any more re- treats. That virtually ends politics. It results, says Lord Beaverbrook’s Evening Standard, in ersatz M. P.’s so dazed by uncontested elections that they are never the same again. In some cases, the fact that they are never the same again is a break for the British public, but in other cases it is not. Beaverbrook feels that the entire membership of Parliament would be finer, tougher men if they had had to go through a real fight to get there. In time this notion may extend to the United States. If it does, it will be a tremendous help to the morale of millions of Republicans who, up to now, have been good only for pay- ing taxes and being drafted. During the ages of recorded and depicted history the ladies have worn some mighty silly sartorial effects. Modern man, however, will back as the most comical combination that of high-heeled pumps and slacks. One sometimes gets a pretty good idea of how successful an anti-Nazi thrust was by the vehemence with whigh the Nazis deny that it had any measure of success whatsoever. The notorious Mr. G. 8. Viereck lays his recent prison sentence to “war psychosis.” In this case, and others like it, we recall the phrase, “Gee, ain't it great to be crazy?” to start construction. At the Norfolk | | ganisms. | only sulfa drug promising adequate con- it ithout poi- | prefabricated houses in the Norfolk | Lo\, Of Intestinal bacteria w L order and a priority rating at last ! been consolidated), too many Gov- | Of Stars, Men And Atoms Notebook of Science Progress In Laboratory, Field And Study By Thomas R. Henry. A new member of the sulfa drug family which removes much of the risk of ab- dommal operations—such as those for appendicitis and gall stones—has jusi been reported by Johns Hopkins Univer- sity surgeons. It reduces to a minimum, say Dr. J. Edgar Poth and his associates, the risk of peritonitis following an operation. This has been a bugbear of abdominal surgery in the past. It is the chief cause of death following appendicitis operations. The new drug is succinyl sulfathiazole. Careful studies of 100 patients indicate that it destroys certain bacteria in the intestinal tract that are the chief causes of post-operative infections, The exceptional effectiveness of suc- cinyl sulfathiazole is due largely, the Johns Hopkins surgeons believe, to the fact that only about 5 per cent of the drug, given by mouth, is removed from the digestive tract by absorption into the blood stream. This also may account for the unusual freedom from 1ll effects which distinguishes it from other com- pounds of the sulfanilamide family. These are essentially killers of infective bacteria in the blood stream. No undesirable results are likely, Dr. Poth and his associates say, even when full doses are given over periods of as | much as 16 weeks. Succinyl sulfathiazole, they explain, is not intended to replace the rigid, anti- septic precautions followed in abdominal surgery, which have been the chief safe- guard against infection in the past. But when the two are used together, the | results are almost 95 per cent certain. The new drug, they report in the cur- rent Archives of Surgery, also appears to contribute to the patient's comfort after the operation by preventing or reducing the formation of gas in the intestines. Full doses are continued after the opera- tion until the danger from peritonitis or abcess formation is over. Dr. Poth has observed, he reports, that convalescence is unusually smooth under these condi- tions and that there is little abdominal distension or “gas pains.” ‘The drug is of exceptonal vialue, it is reported, in operations for gall stones. One of the criticisms of several other | sulfa compounds is that they are likely to cause kidney stones when used in exces- sive amounts. Experiments have shown | that this substance, only a very small amount of which is excreted by the kid- | neys, has no such effect. The exact mode of action of succinyl sulfathiazole is not clearly understood, but it is believed that the beneficial | effects may be the result of a chemical tabolism of certain disease-producing or- ‘Thus far it appears to be the sonous effects. * x k% Henceforth American bread will fortified with “niacin.” A special committee of the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Re- search Council has adopted this name for the anti-pellagra vitamin to replace the objectionable “nicotinic acid,” which threatened for a time seriously to dis- rupt the Government's better foods program. The term, “tobacco bread,” was being spread widely over the country. In some rural communities it was believed firmly, be according to reports reaching the coun- | cil, that it actually was proposed to mix | tobacco juice with flour. “Nicotine” suggested tobacco. It is well known that this alkaloid is a deadly poison, widely used against insects on garden plants. Now the vitamin known as “nicotinic | acid,” it is explained by the American | Medical Association, first was produced | | in the laboratory in 1867 by a very com- plex chemical treatment of nicoline which resulted in a product bearing very little relation to the original alkaloid. At that time, nobody realized that it ever would be used as a food. For more than 70 years it remained a laboratory curiosity. Hence the unfortunate name. “Although nicotinic acid first was pro- duced from nicotine,” says the Journal of the American Medical Association, “and although even now a small proportion of this substance is being -produced com- mercially in this manner, the implication that tobacco is contained in the enriched bread is far from true. Most of the nicotinic acid is produced as a coal tar derivative. Although nicotine is a toxic substance, nicotinic acid is a vitamin essential to life.” The widespread objection to “tobaceo bread” caused a lot of worry to some of the Nation's foremost vitamin experts. It was hard, however, to pick another name which would not give & false idea of the substance. The new name has been selected by Dr. C. A. Elvehjem of the University of Wisconsin, ‘who first discovered the identity of the laboratory curiosity with the elusive substance in food which pre- vented pellagra; Dr. W. H. Sebrell, nutri- tion expert of the Public Health Service, and Dr. Tom D. Spies of the University of Alabama, foremost experimenter with the substance in treatment of pellagra victims. The new name, comments the Journal of the American Medical Association, also gets rid of the unfortunate term “acid,” which, to thegeneral public, “denotes a corrosive substance such as the liquid used in automobile storage batteries.” The objection to the old term, which will be retained for strictly scientific use, has been most pronounced in parts of the. South, where it has come near wrecking the nutrition program. Quotes a Soldier’s Toast Which General Liked. To the Editor of The 8tar: Lt. Gen. “Skinny” Wainright and I were second lieutenants together in old Camp Stotsenburg, just north of the Bataan peninsula. “Skinny” was fond of poetry and in the past few weeks I often have thought of one of the poems he liked. I do not know its origin, but it was about a cholera epi- demic in India, when people were dying right and left. It ran something like this: “Then stand to your glasses steady, . And drink to your sweetheart’s eyes; Here's to the dead already And here’s to the next man flnutna:l" | war,” | To the Editor of The Star: T suggest naming the Second World | THIS AND THAT By Charles E. Tracewell. There were compensations in the gar- den for the loss of trees and shrubs caused by the big snow. One gain was the necessary pruning required after nature had done her own work. It was commonly found that all over- grown shrubs and evergreens, as well as climbing roses, suffered the most from the storm. ‘They offered most harborage to the snow, and bent over more, Their com- ing up was slower. All this was in the nature of a sort of pruning. Gardeners who had hesitated to cut, lop and shear, found that Mother Na- ture, the real gardener, had taken a hand for them. L] They discovered that she had left things in such shape, however, that much remained to be done. 1t was necessary to cut off many long canes to even them up with those that had been lopped off. Some necessity existed in most yards for severe cutting back, as it was found that in no other way would shrubs, in particular, look properly. In fact, it was feared, after a prelim- inary survey, that many of them would not live at all unless some drastic prun- | ing was done, * ¥ % & ‘The happy thing about the storm. from the garden standpoint, was that the | damage was not as extensive as many at first had thought. There was irreparable loss of some fine old trees, but many trees suffered | no more than a good pruning. The likelihood was that inside of a month most home gardens would be better than | ever. L ] Another gain was that the necessities of the storm removed many a garden and many a gardener from the static | class. The static garden may be beautiful, | but it is scarcely interesting. The garden, whether it be large or small, in which there is nothing more to be done, is scarcely as good as the one in which everything is to do. We wonder if the same thing, or much the same thing, may be said of gardeners? Can the gardener who has worked until there is nothing more to be done be said to be a static gardener? At any rate, the plot of ground where everything is planted, and all the work | | done, 1s surely static. reaction which interferes with the me- | Gardens just of shrubs and ever- greens, the ‘“green garden,” are still with a vengeance. These are often constructed by “week- | into the yard, and had seen very little | cases mercilessly—as they should have | end gardeners,” persons who have no more time to give them. Such plots have their uses, but they are too static. ** %% To get fun out of gardening, there al- ways has to be something left to be done. If woman’s work is never done, as the saying has it, surely the gardener’s work is seldom finished, at least from early spring until winter. * * The unexpected snowstorm righted all this for many persons. ‘Their gardens suddenly changed from static to ones demanding a great deal of attention. Just the day before, one had looked to do. Now everything was to be done. Evergreens bowed almost to the ground had to be pulled back and held there. | Shrubs had to be pruned, in some | been pruned several years ago. Vines which, though withered, had acted as tents to hold up great masses of heavy snow, came down at last. Great rose vines, acting in the same way, were ruthlessly pruned back, al- though too late. * ¥ % ¥ The snow was a good lesson to most home gardeners. { It taught them what they already knew, but had disregarded. that man | and his gardens are always at the mercy of the weather. Some persons try their best to ignore the weather. | But men in planes and men in gar- dens cannot do so. They must know | what the prediction is and how much | chance there s for it to come true. Gardeners, of all men, must build up their own powers of weather prognosti- cation. Every man in old clothes with a spade in his hand. whether he gardens for profit or fun, must be an amateur mete- | orologist. In this way, and in this way only, he can enter in a comradeship with the winds and the rains and the snows. Otherwise they catch him as they do | city folk, unprepared and unwitting, suddenly thrown to the ground, and sullen over the sudden visitation. Sometimes, in the country, a hailstorm can ruin a crop in 10 minutes. In the average home garden of small size there is no such catastrophe, but it is & good thing to feel in step with what happens, and to be able to greet the | sudden storm as an expected, not an | unexpected, guest. Let us count up our blessings, not | the least of which may have been the | recent snowstorm, and be glad that it | was not accompanied by a bombing | raid, too. That really would have been some- thing! Letters to Readers Submit Further Names | For Second Armagedden. ‘To the Editor of The Star: It is noted that suggestions are asked for a name for this World War. Briefly, I offer a few as follows: “Peace | or “Restoration War” (a war to | | win peace for the liberty-loving peoples of the world); “Liberty War” (for all people who love freedom, and would make the world a better place in which to live and let live); “Retribution War” | buying homes here and who have been | | Washingtonians for years? (a war to liberate all from the shackles of tyranny and oppression); “The Righteous War” (for what is right). LA P To the Editor of The star: A majority of the people will con- tinue to call this World War No. 2— “Universal War.” M. B. M. “To the Editor of The l:l\‘: Regarding the suggestion for an appro- priate name for the present World War, | how about: dom"”? “War for Universal Free- That is just about what it amounts to. | A. E. LEWIS, To the Editor of The Star: The President has asked for a name | for this war, so I send this name to you: “The War of Nations.” M. A M. War “The New Ordeal.” . NEWTON. To the Bditor of The Star: In response to our President’s invita- | tion to give the prefent world-wide con- flict & new name, here is a list you can choose from: “America’s Greatest War,” “War of Mankind,” “War of Time,” “America Global War.” WM. RANDOLPH DUDLEY. Asks Pointed Questions About Civil Service Appointments. To the Editor of The Star: In a recent newspaper column I read that, since the declaration of war, 24,345 typists have been hired for Government service. Assuming that the civil service system of hiring is still in effect in this country, as we are fondly led to believe, that would mean that a person who was on the typist register at any time since December 7 would” have been hired im- mediately. Yet, although I passed a civil service examination for typist on September 14, 1941, I have not yet had any results from it beyond a bare an- nouncement of my rating, which was 95.15 per cent. There has been some talk lately about the discrimination in Government offices against women above 35 years of age, which might explain the difficulty I have experienced, but if at 37 years of‘age I can pass an examination with'a rating much better than women almost 20 years my junior I believe I have a right to the same consideration in receiving an appointment. Persons with the high- est ratings should get the first jobs, and 1t is hardly conceivable that 24,845 per- sons received ratings of 95.15 per cent or better. Just how are appointments made now- sdays? Are people chosen at random, | appointments? | “our progress toward victory over the | more of a parry than a defense. | port of all intelligent, honest peopie in | he. Edi the. Edrtor 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. regardless of qualification, and if so who makes the choice? Before swelling the population of an already grossly overcrowded city, why not give appointments to people who are | And unless | the civil service system is to be branded an utter farce, how about giving appoint- ments to those people who head the list, | and who have every right to expect C. M. L. Defends Mr. Dies VA" " it . if too long & name is substituted. So | e s | here is a suggestion: Critic’s Complaints. To the Editor of The Star: The letter of Doris Rubin, printed | April 3, praising Vice President Wallace for his courage in denouncing Repre- sentative Martin Dies as a menace to Axis,” must not go unchallenged. In the first place, it takes no courage for one to defend himself, and in the case of a high official it is practically a necessity when the opposition also is an official. In the second place, Mr. Wal- lace’s denouncement of Mr. Dies was It would be far more commendable and take far more courage for Mr. Wallace to state that he would investigate the charges of Communism against persons under his supervision, but he evidently preferred to evade the issue by person- ally excoriating Mr. Dies. | Contrary to Miss Rubin's statement | that Mr. Wallace will have the full sup- | the United States and that the Vice President’s opinion is a refiection of gen- eral sentiment against Mr. Dies, I be- lieve that the reverse is true in each case and that Mr. Dies has done a wonderful service for his country in exposing both Fascist and Communist subversives and | their methods. It is not worthy that Miss Rubin fa- vors funds for furthering our fight | against Fascism. Does she not realize } that Mr. Dies is fighting against all anti- Americanisms including Communism? If Miss Rubin must look at such things | through colored glasses, let her use red, | white and blue glasses. FLORENCE HUSSON. Suggests Corrective Effect of Time On Theories of Government, To the Bditor of The = There may be other forms of Govern- ment that are potentially far superior to democracy. However, before I would be willing to concede them that distinc- tion, I would prefer to either see or know in some other definite way the results those forms ‘have brought about after 150 years of functioning. Time has the unhappy habit of re- vealing the defects in man-conceived things, including forms of government. Por instance, man once believed that the ideal form of government was the vesting of full authority in the hands of one individual, whose title was “king,” “emperor,” “czar,” etc. But time finally proved that that conception was not exactly ideal, at least, not in the eyes of many. J. J. SPERRY. | swallowing the fish. Haskin’s Answers To Questions By Frederic J. Haskin. A reader can get the answer to any Qquestion of fact by writing The Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Has- kin, Director, Washington, D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. To what extent is Japan self-suffi- cient in the production of foodstuffs?— N. W. A, A. Normally Japan is practically self- sufficient in the matter of foodstuffs, producing about 80 per cent of its re- quirements. Most of the remainder is imported from its colonies, Chosen, Tai- wan and Manchuria. Q. How did the King of England get the title Defender of the Faith?—W. J. A. The title was conferred upon Henry VIII by Pope Leo X in 1521 as a reward for the King's treatise against Martin Luther. Though Pope Paul TII later de- prived Henry of the title, it was eon- firmed to him by Parliament and has been used by his successors. FAMILIAR SAYINGS — The English language, especially as it is written and spoken in the United States, is richly larded with words, phrases and sayings that lend it touches of humor and add immeasurably to its color and graphic quality. The booklet FAMILIAR SAYINGS brings to- gether several hundred of the expressions, giving their sources or origins. It is divided into topics and is indexed to make it readily available for reference purposes. To secure your copy inclose 10 cents in coin wrapped in this clipping and mail to The Star Information Bureau. Name Address Q. When was Madison, Wisc., founded? A. Madison was sstablished as the State Capital in 1836. Like Washing- ton, D. C., it was laid out to serve as the seat of the government of Wisconsin and named after James Madison who had just died. Q. What is the superstition relating to the rhinoceros horn?—N. H. 8. A. There is an ancient superstition that a drinking cup made from a rhinoceros horn would reveal the pres- ence of poison. In 1762 a writer stated that when wine is poured into such a horn it will rise, ferment and seem to boil, but when mixed with poison it “cleaves in two.” This superstition pre- vails in some parts of the world today. Q. How did the pheasant get its name?—T. P. A. A. The common pheasant is believed to have come from ancient Phasis on | the southeastern shore of the Black Sea; hence its name. It was known to the Greeks and Romans and introduced into England by the latter. Q. What book, aside from the Bible, is the best seller of all time?—H. R. 8. A. “In His Steps,” by Dr. Charles M. Sheldon, has probably sold more copies than any other book ever printed, except the Bible. Dr. Sheldon said he did not | begin “In His Steps” as a book, but simply wrote a bit each week to read to his young people’s group on Sunday nights. Q. Who said, “God warms His hands at man’s heart when he prays?”—C. M. A. Part IV, “Widow in the Bye Street,” by John Masefield, is the source of the line, Q. What is the elevation of the Car- retera Central in the Andes, said to be | the world’s highest highway?—M. D. K. A. The Carretera Central crosses the Andes at an altitude of 16,127 feet. Q. When was the “Great Stone Face” discovered?>—W. D. G. A. It was discovered in 1805 by Na- thaniel Hall, a member of a roadbuilding crew. Tt is related that he was hunting partridge for breakfast when he looked up and suddenly glimpsed “the most | wonderful face” he had ever seen. Q. What is the hardest man-made substance?—H. G. J. A. Tungsten steel is the hardest man- made substance, Q. Where is the oldest Christian church in the world?—N. R. G A. What is considered to be the nldest church still in Christian use is the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. In character as well as in structure it remains to a large extent the basilica which Constantine built over the sacred grotto, the legendary spot of the manger where Christ was born. Its main res- toration took place in the sixth cen- | tury during the reign of Justinian. Q. Where is the largest bell in Amer- jca?>—S. T. A, The largest bell in America is the bell in the Cathedral of Montreal. It weighs nearly 15 tons. Q. When cormorants are used for fish- ing, how are the birds prevented from swallowing the fish they catch?—B. R. S. A. The fisherman places a metal ring around the bird's neck to prevent it from New Moon White slender shell descending in the dusk, Pale silver goblet that holds the dark moon yet to be, Shall the hour of your fullness find us here | Still looking on your light with such tranquility? | Or shall we on some unfamiliar shore behold Your jfull-blown gleaming disk of burnished light And ponder there the shining silence of your peace, Dispassionate above the troubled fliq‘h,t.’ Or further still, and on a certain later day, Shall our perplexed eyes forever be withdrawn, At the hour when your thin gold scimitar Sweeps down to cleave some flery dawn? .FREDERICK EBRIGHT.