Evening star. [volume], February 24, 1926, Page 8, Image 8

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8
THE EVENING STAR
With Sunday Morning Edition.
WASHINGTON, D. C.
WEDNESDAY. .February 24, 1926
THEODORE W. NOYES Editor
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City Planning and Park Extension.
The bill to enlarge the powers and
to change the organization and name
of the National Capital Park Commis
sion was intelligently and helpfully
discussed at the Senate committtee
hearing yesterday.
On the one hand the merits of the
project a-s a whole were convincingly
presented and generally conceded: also
the necessity of quick action to save
for the extended park system some
essential tracts that may otherwise
he lost, and also, written between the
lines, the obligation in civic loyalty
to appreciate duly and to welcome
heartily the t°ndered public-spirited
and self-sacrificing services of national
experts In city planning, and also to
accept and utilize thankfully the en
thusiastic labors in Capital upbuilding
of other conspicuous national Amer
icans.
On the other hand with equal vigor
and effect the necessity or desirability
of modification of a project heartily
approved in principle was urged. It
was argued that the new commission
created by the bill would possess two
distinct powers and functions, one of
suburban street planning and park ex
tension, and the other of continuing
administration of certain municipal
functions now largely exercised by the
District Commissioners: that the two
sets of functions logically required dif
ferent kinds of men to exercise them
most effectively; that the two commis
sions now merged in the bill should be
separated, and that in the case of the
commission which, as a modification
of the present form of local govern
ment, would substitute for the officials
now in charge of zoning, the public
utilities and traffic regulation, the leg
islation should be carefully consid
ered, and that in respect to the latter
commission there should be no unit
rule to prevent a minority from con
tinuing to express its thoughts to Con
gress os an appellate court, even aft
er it had been outvoted in commission.
The Star believes that the Capital
community favors heartily in princi
ple the proposition of the bill and de
sires its speedy enactment: that on
the planning expert commission it has
no claim to distinctive representation,
but If there is to be a fractional re
organization of the city government
It desires all the representation it can
possibly get.
The trend today Is toward greater
participation by the voteless Capital
community in its municipal govern
ment, or at least toward the giving ol
greater consideration to its advisory
representation in respect to such gov
ernment.
The two civilian Commissioners
must by law be identified with the Dis
trict at least to the extent of a three
year residence preceding appointment.
The. Engineer Commissioner is often,
as he is conspicuously today, appre
ciative of and responsive to communi
ty sentiment concerning its local af
fairs.
Any permanent change in the local
government, even fractional, will
doubtless receive thoughtful considera
tion in enactment.
The end of the coal strike creates
a demand for scrub brushes that in
dicates the beginning of a general
clean-up.
|
The Powers of Congress.
In respect to the division of the
Government into three co-ordinate
branches the Constitution is explicit.
The first three articles definitely es
tablish them. All legislative powers
are vested in the Congress, the exec
utive power is vested in the Presi
dent, the judicial power is vested In
the Supreme Court and such inferior
courts as Congress may from time to
time ordain and establish. That would
seem to be 'dear and explicit. But
from the beginning of constitutional
government differences of opinion
have prevai'ed regarding the precise
limitation of authority and preroga
tive.
Yesterday in the Senate, this ques
tion came under discussion in connec
tion with the aluminum inquiry. Sen
ator Cummins took the ground that
the Senate has no authority to direct
prosecutions or, through inquiries, to
usurp the functions of the Depart
ment of Justice or the courts. He re
ferred to the. procedure in the oil in
vestigation of two years ago as an in
stance of such trespass.
Congress can create new executive
departments and bureaus and can dis
continue them. It can prescribe the
organization of each department or
bureau. It can likewise create new
courts subordinate to -the Supreme
Court and can dissolve them. But
when the departments are once cre
ated and while they are functioning,
it cannot direct their operations, nor
can It direct or control the operations
of the courts once created. It can,
throi gh Impeachment by the House
and trial by the Senate, pass Judg
ment upon the conduct of executive
officers and judges, and, in case of
conviction, it can dismiss them from
the public service. The Senate can
veto appointments to office, either
executive or judicial, but it cannot
direct them.
It is undeniably within the power
of Congress to make research into
executive and Judicial conduct, either
as a “guide to legislation,” as was
stated yesterday, or as a means of as
certaining whether misconduct has oc
curred which may lead to impeach
ment. But there is no warrant for re
view of executive actions in usurpa
tion of the duties and responsibilities
of the Department of Justice and the
grand juries and the courts through
which it operates in the administra
tion of Justice.
The cloak of “guide to legislation”
h;ts covered many a legislative inquiry
that has been in . strict propriety an
invasion of the executive and judicial
functions. The oil inquiry of 1923-4
was of such a nature. The aluminum
1 inquiry appears to be of the same na
ture. The true purpose of them has
been to discover infractions of law for
tho purpose of prosecution, not for
the purpose of legislative correction.
If an executive officer or a judge
has been negligent, of duty, or has
committed malfeasance in office, it is
the right and It Is the duty of Con
gress to impeach him and try him.
To that end it must proceed in order,
with an inquiry by the House as the
first step. Should tho House be un
willing to take such a step, the Senate
has no prerogative of Initiative. The
conduct of Inquisitorial inquiries, not
truly as a "guide to legislation,” is
beyond its constitutional right. The
direction of prosecution by resolution
is likewise usurpation of the executive
and judicial authority. Congress may
by resolution properly provide the
executive with means to conduct
prosecutions, by authorizing the em
ployment of special counsel. It can
not in strict regard for the Constitu
tion direct such employment.
Such are the Issues of this present
discussion, which goes far beyond the
question of the proceedings in the
aluminum company case. It goes to
the roots of the constitutional estab
lishment, which is a more Important
matter than whether a certain cor
poration has been favored unduly In
the administration of the law.
District Equities.
Senator Phipps, the leader in the
fight for recognition of the District’s
tax surplus, without whose able and
unyielding advocacy that recognition
would never have been obtained, ap
peared yesterday at the Senate Dis
trict committee hearing to plead for
equity in the expenditure of that ac
cumulated tax surplus. At the same
hearing at which he appeared the bill
enlarging the powers of the National
Capital Park Commission was under
consideration. What Senator Phipps
said concerning the equities In con
nection with the expenditure of the
District's accumulated tax surplus of
the past carries over Into and applies
pertinently to expenditures of the Dis
trict’s current tax money in connec
tion with the commission’s fine work
of present and future park develop
ment at or near the National Capital.
The situation is known to all. By
the law creating the park commission
expenditure of $1,100,000 a year, a
penny a year for every man, woman
and child in the United States, was
authorized. When authorization of
actual appropriation was made the
bill provided in effect that pennies
amounting to more than* $600,000
should be collected from the less than
half a million Americans of the Dis
trict (roughly $1.25 instead of a penny
apiece), and over $400,000 should be
collected from the 109,500,000 of non-
District Americans (or a small frac
tion of a penny apiece).
When, however, appropriatlve ac
tion came to be taken, the actual ap
propriation was made under the Dis
trict appropriation bill dominated by
the temporary lump-sum payment
plan, inequitably construed, with the
result that all the pennies for this
national-local project came from the
local taxpayers and not even the frac
tion of the penny from the other 109,-
500,000 Americans.
It is inconceivable that this viola
tion of equity and .the specific terms
of the park commission’s organic act
should not be quickly corrected.
A war in China disregards the
opinion of the world and demands the
respect due a time-honored local cus
tom.
In the interests of morality it might
be desirable to secure a definite sev
erance of relationship with Tla Juana.
Occasionally an operatic debut is
exploited in a manner which indicates
that money not only talks, but sings.
Every economist is intelligently alert
to the many ways in which other
people could save money.
The Aqueduct Bridge Piers.
A bill for removal of the piers of
the old Aqueduct Bridge is pending in
Congress, and It should be passed at
this session. There has been delay in
Its consideration, and the Secretary of
War in a letter to the chairman of
the House committee on military af
fairs urges the merits of the bill and
its prompt passage. Army engineers
concerned with the relics of the old
bridge believe that there is some dan
ger that the piers may fall, and there
is no doubt that they obstruct naviga
tion and that In a time of heavy ice
and high water they might cause an
ice Jam. Tho Aqueduct piers, closely
spaced, have contributed to many seri
ous ieo jams and floods, and the old
-ders, with those of the Key Bridge,
form a greater obstruction to the river
than was the case before the building
of the new bridge.
The Secretary of War tells the com
mittee that the Army engineers have
found that considerable mortar has
been washed from between the stones
of the piers and that “in some cases
the stones have fallen out, leaving
cavities." Two of the old Aqueduct
piers tend especially to block the open
ings between piers of the Key Bridge.
One important thing to be considered
is that the abutment at the Virginia
end of the old Aqueduct projects into
the river about 60 feet beyond the
abutment of the Key Bridge, causing
a shoaling of the water between the
Virginia, abutment and the south pier
of the new bridge. It is desired that
the river flow through the piers of
the new bridge with the least possible
stoppage. Another thing is that the
grading and protection as the fill at
THE EVENING BTAK, WASHINGTON, D. C, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1928.
the Virginia approach to the Key
Bridge cannot be finished until the
Aqueduct Bridge abutment has been
removed.
The only commercial value of the
Aqueduct piers is that their stone
could be used In constructing retaining
walls for new parkland made from the
river marshes. There was a plan to
use the Aqueduct masonry In the
building of a retaining wall for the
land to bo made from the Eastern
Branca between Bennlng and the Dis
trict line. When it was suggested two
or three years ago that the piers
might serve for some kind of a new
bridge the engineers promptly disap
proved tho plan because the piers were
unsafe.
A Measure of Justice.
In 1870 Congress passed an act
which established tho basic pay of
officers of the Army, Navy, Marine
Corps and Coast Guard—then the
Revenue Cutter Service—assuring such
oliicors that upon retirement they
should receive seventy-flve per cent of
the pay of the ranks at which they
were serving at the time of retire
ment. That was. If ever a legislative
action can be so considered, a con
tract. By some twist of legislation,
perhaps Inadvertence, perhaps design,
an act passed In June, 1922, contained
a limiting clause, the effect of which
was to deprive the older officers, re
tired prior to July 1, 1922, of the full
compensation promised them by the
act of 1870.
Severe hardships were suffered by
many retired officers, some of them
entirely dependent upon their retired
pay, by reason of this reduction from
seventy-flve to fifty-nine per cent of
the active pay. It meant a reduction
of about twenty per cent of the pay
they were receiving. In the case of
an officer getting $3,000 a year in re
tired pay It meant a drop to $2,360.
And that was at a time of rising
costa in every line of living necessl
ties. It meant privation for many
men who bore the honorable scars of
service and who wore proudly the
decorations of a supposedly grateful
Government.
Ever since then efforts have been
made io correct this costly mistake.
During the last Congress the Senate
unanimously passed a bill to restore
the original scale of retired pay. The
House failed to act. Already this
session the House committee on mil
itary affairs has favorably reported
a similar bill, and it is now awaiting
action, with the prospect that If it Is
passed by the House it will be again
passed by the Senate.
Every consideration of justice and
regard for the sanctity of a contract
demand this legislation. It will not
fully correct the inequity of the
change of rate, for some of the of
ficers who were hard hit by the act
of 1922 have passed away. But it will
relieve those who survive, and even
if there were but a single one remain
ing it should be done. It should be
done even if all were gone, as a be
lated atonement for a grievous mis
take.
Recital of the records and services
of some of the men who were thus
suddenly and without Justification de
prived of a large fraction of their re
tired compensation would add to the
urgency of the plea that this Injustice
be corrected. But whether they were
veterans of the Civil War, or of the
Spanlsh-American War, or were by
circumstances denied the opportunit>
to serve in any war, these retired of
ficers should be given the pay which
was promised them fifty-six years ago
Egyptologists are tempted to be
come modern financiers, who contem
plate an ancient tomb as a rival to
an oil well in financial possibilities.
It remains for Henry Ford to com
plete his record as a motorist finan
cier by challenging England for con
trol of the rubber supply.
All that is needed for the correction
of the profane play is one single au
dience that has the nerve to arise en
masse and go home.
Reports of Mussolini’s Illness do
not make it clear whether he is con
sulting an ordinary practitioner or a
psychiatrist.
Immigration authorities have neg
lected recent opportunities to enlarge
on the charms of foreign travel.
SHOOTING STAES.
HY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
Talking Politics.
Talkin’ politics! I’ll say
Serves to pass the time away.
Usin’ words so large an’ fine
That like music they combine.
That’s the way It used to be
With opinions bold an’ free.
Talkin’ politics with us
Simply serves to start a fuss.
Demand For Novelty.
"You made a splendid speech on
George Washington's birthday."
"Glad you liked It," answered Sen
ator Sorghum. "I disliked to say any
thing, but the public seems to require
new and original remarks Instead of
listening to the Big Stuff that George
himself said.”
Feminine Dress.
In depths of care
Our minds are lost.
The less they wear
The more they cost.
Jud Tunkins says a man who
smokes a ftve-cent cigar is in the po
sition of a person who uses bitumi
nous coal because he can’t afford an
thracite.
Drastic Action.
"I hear you have had a real estate
boom."
“It’s all over,” declared Cactus Joe.
“At the enq of the first three weeks
us Crimson Gulchers rounded up all
them realtors and deported ’em fur
runnin’ a skin game."
Rough Comment.
They say that old George Washington
In speech to phrases harsh would run
I wonder what good George would say
About some goings on today!
"Religion,” said Uncle Eben, "is a
great comfort, until you begins to
argue about it wtf de neighbors.**
THIS AND THAT
■ y
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.
"How is your automatic virtue
machine working, Mary?” asked Olga
O, dropping In one afternoon to see
the popular Miss Roque at her office
in the Essary Building.
Miss O claimed to have the shortest
last name in Washington, if not in the
world. Sue was of French and Rus
sian descent, pointing back with pride
to Count d’o of France, as one of her
ancestors.
Since the gallant days of Henri 111
the family had dropped tho “d." with
the result that a unique patronymic of
one letter resulted.
Mary Roque smiled at the question
put her by the dashing, dark-eyed
friend, a typical “flapper” of the worst
—or best—type, according to tho way
one happened to feel upon the ques
tion.
"Look." said Mary, pointing behind
a huge sheet of cardboard, which was
leaned back against the window sill.
This was the "virtue machine,” as
Olga culled it. It bore on Its face 24
pictured boxes, each one labeled in
beautiful lettering with the name of
some desirable quality, such as "Hon
esty," "Kindness,” "Hope."
Each word had a number, ranging
from 1 to 5, and below each was a
small slot. Mary’s machine had grown
famous almost overnight. Nickels had
rained through the openings, as pa
trons and friends sought the qualities
Invoked by the apparatus.
"Look," said Mary.
Olga O stooped down and peered into
the tent formed by the cardboard and
the wall.
"Gee!” she gurgled. "Look at all
them nickels!”
** * *
“Your grammar, my dear,” smiled
Mary, "would shock your distin
guished ancestors.”
“What grammar?”
“You said ’them nickels,’ Olga.”
‘‘Did I? Well, those niekles, then.
But where did you get them ail? For
heaven's sake, there must be a million
there!”
Mary's beautiful face, calm as
peace, flushed with pleasure.
Well, you see,” she explained.
"Every one who has come in has been
taken with the Idea. Os course, there
are not a million nickels, but there
must be some hundreds of them now.
"Every one seems to be In need of
something, so they think it over and
then drop in their money."
"And do they think they get their
money’s worth, Mary?”
"Yes, and they get a lot of fun out
of it. too, which Is thrown in extra,
of course.”
Mary Roque smiled her famous
smile, that struck one as the sun
shine does, warming body and soul.
"Looks like graft to me." giggled
Olga O, sitting down In u most un
dignified |>osture on one of Mary's
Windsor chairs.
"Olga, none of your ancestors ever
sat so," remonstrated the hostess.
“Mary.’’ continued Olga. Ignoring
the comment, “since I have been
looking at that machine, I believe
there is something I need, too."
"Yes?"
"Yes, I honestly believe I need a
saucer of that Prudence dope you’ve
got there." She fished In her net
purse. "But why do you charge so
much—s nickels, that's robbery.”
"Wby, any one can have a little
prudence, Olga, that Is why It costs
the most. The qualities hardest to se
cure cost the least, you see, as we
are most in need of them.”
Olga O dropped in her coins, one
by one.
"How do you like it?" inquired
Mary.
"Not much taste to it,” grinned
Olga, with a wry smile.
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS |
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE
One of the little ironies in the
Italian debt situation that may give
pause to opponents of ratification is
that Uncle Sam will have to make
Mussolini a present of 100,000,000 liras
If the settlement is killed in the
Senate—that is to say, the day that
Signor Volpi and Secretary Mellon
signed the funding agreement—No
vember 14, 1925 —the Italians handed
over to the Treasury* the equivalent
of $6,000,000 as the first installment
under the contract. Payment, how
ever, was to be regarded as binding
only in the event that the agreement
was ratified. The Italian understand
ing was—and Is—that the money will
be returned If the arrangement falls
through. An unrecorded tit bit of the
Volpl-Metlon deal is that although it
was concluded in time for signature
on Friday. Novemberl3, all concerned
preferred to escape the "hoodoo” of a
Friday and a 13th, so the pact was not
formally sealed until Saturday, the
14th.
** * *
President Coolidge has evidently
bombed all hopes of expanding the
Air Service of either the Army or
Navy on the extensive scale contem
plated by bills now pending before
Congress. He refuses to believe that
Uncle Sam is in danger in the sky,
either now or in the -measurable
future, and accordingly declines to
O.K. aviation plans contemplating ex
penditure of more than $100,009,000
during the next five years. The Presi
dent is bound to reopen the contro
versy as to whether an ounce of
preparedness is, or is not, better than
a pound of war. Our military and
naval authorities do not think exclu
sively In terms of the profoundly
peaceful present. They regard it
their duty to look ahead and envisage
future possibilities. The heavens may
be clear of war clouds today, they
argue, but may not bo as devoid of
them tomorrow, or next month, or a
year hence. It is against the dread
contingency of the wholly unexpected
that our soldiers and sailors desire to
build—ashore, afloat and aloft.
** * *
Mr. Coolidge is filled with a very
earnest fear that competition in air
armaments contains the seeds of war.
He thinks that if our air generals are
given too many flying and bombing
playthings they may be fired some
day by an irresistible desire to put
them to use. That theory Is one that
American Army and Navy leaders
frequently have to face and one for
which they have a ready rejoinder.
They point out, first of all, that Amer
ica is traditionally a peace-loving and
peace-preserving country. They ex
plain, secondly, that the making of
war by the United States is the ex
clusive prerogative of Congress, and
that no war ever has been, or could
be, made without the sanction of the
people acting through their chosen
representatives. So our service au
thorities resent suggestions that they
would arbitrarily abuse the weapons
with which the Nation’s money sup
plies them.
** * *
One of Gen. Pershing’s almost daily
visitors at Walter Reed' Hospital, in
Washington. Is Vice President Dawes.
The general of the armies and the
presiding officer of the Senate have
been bosom friends for more than 30
years. Their intimacy dates from the
days In the early nineties when Capt.
Pershing was military instructor at
the University of Nebraska in Lin
coln and Dawes was an Inspiring
young lawyer in the same city. When
Pershing needed a practical business
man to bring order out of chaos In
the purchasing department of the
.American Expeditionary Force in
•France he drafted his buddie of early
Aa it was late in the afternoon,
Mary closed her office, and the two
girls went shopping. For several
hours they roamed G, F and other
streets, going Into shop after shop.
A soda with whipped cream engaged
their attentions for half an hour.
It was going on 5 o’clock when
Mary returned to her office. She
switched on the light. The char
woman, Mrs. Hennessy, had been
around already. Mary saw, by the
absence of papers on the floor.
Mary was trying to make up her
mind to which charity she should give
the proceeds from her machine, and
abstractedly leaned down to peer at
the mass of coins which Uttered the
floor behind the cardboard.
"Oh!" she cried. “Oh!"
The blood rushed to her pink cheeks,
then surged out of them. She felt
suddenly miserable. Some one had
taken her treasure, in her absence,
leaving not a nickel behind.
“They—they were not ordinary
nickels,’’ said Mary to herself, with
something suspiciously like tears
gleaming in her starry eyes. "It—it
isn’t the money, but what they repre
sent.
"Twenty-two portions of Peace, at
1 nickel a portion; 76 plates of Com
mon Sense, at 5 nickels a plate: 46
slices of Kindness, at 1 nickel: 3
Hopes, 4 helpings of Courage, 67 serv
ings of Spirituality
"And now they are nothing but
nickels again!”
Mary stepped into the hall. Far
down the corridor she saw an open
door, and heard the swish of Mrs.
Hennessy’s mop. Mary walked down
and looked In. Mary had a “hunch.”
"How do you do, Mrs. Hennessy,”
smiled Mary Roque.
"How do you do. miss,” puffed Mrs.
Hennessy, red faced, returning to her
labor.
"This is very hard work you do,
Mrs. Hennessy," said Mury, with a
sympathetic smile, as she tripped
across the wet floor in her little
brown pumps.
“You’ll get your pretty shoes all
wet,” remonstrated the charwoman.
Mary stopped and looked down at
the big bucket of soapy water.
“Do you have to carry that
around?”
“Why, yes. miss—of—of course.”
"it's too heavy for you.” said Mary,
leaning over and lifting the bucket
by the handle.
The woman swayed back on her
knees.
“I never knew water was so heavy,”
went on Mary, putting the bucket
down.
"Maybe—maybe it’s the soap," said
Mrs. Hennessy.
“It must be something,’’ agreed
Mary, and she calmly tipped over the
bucket.
Mrs. Hennessy screamed as a
flood of soapy water spread out, little
waves of froth bearing down upon
her.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” said Mary, peer
ing into the bucket.
Mrs, Hennessy began to weep.
“Why, how strange!’’ declared Mary
Roque. “I never knew one put nick
els In the water to wash floors. No
wonder you manage to keep things
so nice and shiny.”
She drained the remainder of the
water, and started off with the
bucket.
"I’ll return it to you in a moment,
my dear." she smiled back at the
forlorn Mrs. Hennessy.
“Then you ain’t going to arrest
me?" moaned the woman.
“For goodness sake, no!” called
Mary, smiling like an angel. "What
do you thl-ik I have a virtue machine
for, Mrs. Hennessy?"
Nebraska days. Gen. Dawes served
at Pershing’s elbow from September,
1917, until long after the armistice.
It was in vigorous defense of the
Army’s money-spending activities that
Dawes pot his "hell-and-Maria” rep
utation before a committee of Con
gress. That unambiguous outburst
trrappled Dawes to Pershing’s soul
with stronger of steel than ever.
** * *
There has just been issued from the
Government Printing Office In taste
ful bound form the memorial address
delivered in the House of Represent
atives in honor of Julius Kahn, late
Representative from the San Fran
cisco district of California. Few
eulogies of the sort were ever marked
bv more sincere affection than those
which his long-time colleagues In Con
gress spoke In recalling the ties which
united them to the member from the
Golden Gate. The volume Includes
the remarks of former Speaker Gll
lett and of Messrs. Longworth, Mad
den. Garrett, Bacharach. Hill. Sher
wood. Sabath and of Kahn’s fellow
members of the California delegation.
A lifelike portrait of tho author of
the World War draft law adorns the
memorial volume as a frontispiece.
The book ends with an excerpt from
the Congressional Record, reproduc
ing the Kahn memorial proceeding's In
the United States Senate.
** * *
Representative Fred A. Britten, Re
publican, of Illinois, isn’t the only
member of Congress facing a fight
with a good-looking woman in the
approaching congressional campaign.
News from Ohio Is to the effect that
a similar duel confronts Senator
Frank B. Willis, Republican. His
prospective opponent is said to be
Judge Florence E. Allen, Democrat,
of the Ohio Supreme Court, who Is
credited with aspirations to be the
first woman elected to a seat In the
United States Senate. Judge Allen,
who was born In Utah and is un
married, began life as a musician,
became an editor, later a lawyer and
then degenerated Into an officeholder.
She has made a splendid reqprd since
elected Judge of the Ohio Supreme
bench in 1923. Senator WlUls is
strongly Intrenched in the favor of
Buckeye voters, but it is conceded that
Judge Allen might give him a real
contest. It ought to be a musical
contest, for the Senator, as a side line,
is something of a violinist.
** * *
Some of the Nation’s teachers gath
ered in convention at the Capital City
over Washington’s Birthday thought it
presented the unpatriotic spectacle of
an underflagged community. The
Stars and Stripes were plentifully in
evidence, but not nearly so universally
as might have been expected in the
District of Columbia. Within one or
two squares of the same fashionable
residential street this observer noticed
the homes of three distinguished mem
bers of the United States Senate who
forgot that it was February 22 and
failed to display Old Glory.
(Copyright. 1928.)
A Friend of Yesteryear.
From the Hamilton Spectator.
Are we forgetful of old friends? For
Instance, can the class give offhand the
two-letter name of the three-toed
sloth?
Europe Is Listening In.
From the Pittsburgh Gazette-Times.
Another American girl has won suc
cess in the realm of grand opera—the
second in the present season. Europe
may yet hear its master’s veto*.
Politics at Large
By G. Gould Lincoln
The resignation of Bert E. Haney,
Democrat, of Oregon, as a member
of the United States Shipping Board
may be preliminary to his entrance
Into the race for the senatorial seat
now held by Senator Stanfield, Re
publican. It is only fair to Mr. Haney,
however, to say that so far he has
made no announcement that he will
seek the Democratic nomination and
election as Senator. As the primaries
in Oregon take place In May, how
ever, his decision one way or another
must be made soon. Mr. Haney dif
fered with President Coolldge over the
operation of the Government mer
chant marine. The President asked
for his resignation last Summer and
Mr. Haney declined to give It, deny
ing that he had ever made the Presi
dent a promise to go along with the
President’s plan of having the head
of the Emergency Fleet Corporation
control the operations of the Govern
ment fleet rather than the Shipping
Board.
** * *
Democrats here insist that If an
Issue were made of the regional con
trol of the Government merchant
marine by the Shipping Board as
opposed to centralized control by
the president of the Emergency
Fleet it would be an
aid to Mr. Haney In his campaign
for the Senate on the Pacific Coast,
where control by the East Is looked
upon askance. Should Mr. Haney de
termine to make the race, a strenuous
battle Is expected. Oregon now has
two Republican Senators, a Demo
cratic governor and an entire Re
publican delegation In the House.
Senator McNary, Republican, was
elected In 1924 by a large majority,
receiving 174.672 votes to 65,340 for
his Democratic opponent and 20,379
for his Progressive opponent. In
1920, Senator Stanfield was elected
over his Democratic opponent, former
Senator George Chamberlain, by a
little more than 16,000 votes. Senator
Chamberlain had been governor of
the State before being elected to the
Senate and was very popular both In
the State and in the Senate, where,
he had made a splendid record as
chairman of the military afTairs com
mittee during the World War. Only
once since 1876 has Oregon gone
Democratic In a presidential election.
That was In 1912, when Woodrow Wil
son carried the State by a minority
vote, the majority of the votes being
split between Taft and Roosevelt.
Oregon must be reckoned a Repub
lican State, therefore, and there must
be a considerable overturn to elect a
Democrat to the United States Senate.
\\ ith the control of the Senate at is
sue, the Republicans will put up a
stiff fight to win there this year.
Should Mr. Haney not be the Demo
cratic candidate for the Senate the
former Representative Elton Watkins
may throw his hat In the ring.
** * v
The antl-World Court battle has
begun In earnest by members of the
Senate group which opposed entry of
this country Into the court. Senator
Borah of Idaho and Senator Reed of
Missouri fired the opening guns the
first of this week in Chicago, the prin
cipal city of a State where a pro-court
Senator, William B. McKinley, is mak
ing a race for renomination and the
World Court has been made an issue.
Senator Borah Is to speak twice at
least this week against the court in
Wisconsin, where Senator Lenroot,
who led the fight In the Senate for
ratification of the World Court proto
col. also comes up for re-election this
year. Pro-court Senators are threat
ening reprisals if this warfare Is kept
up by anti-court Senators.
** * *
Democrats are pricking up their
ears over the news from Indiana that
Gov. Jackson has delivered speeches
interpreted as criticism of the votes
of Senators Watson and Robinson of
that State against the World Court.
Before he appointed Senator Rohin
son to fill the vacancy in the Senate
created by the death of Senator Ral
ston. Gov. Jackson declared he would
send to W’ashington a man who would
support In every way the adminis
tration of President Coolidge. Yet.
Senator Robinson hopped off the res
ervation In the World Court fight. The
hope of the Democrats is that the Re
publicans in the Hoosier State will
get Into a row among themselves and
make It possible to elect one or even
two Democratic Senators next No
vember. It is now rumored that Rep
resentative Arthur IL Greenwood,
Democrat, of the second Indiana con
gressional district, will be a candi
date for the long term against Sen
ator Watson, and that Cyrus Woollen,
prominent Indianapolis banker, will be
a candidate for the short term against
Senator Robinson.
** * »
Massachusetts promises to be one
of the principal battle grounds of the
coming campaign. The Democrats are
carrying on already an intensive cam
paign, seeking to elect former Senator
David I. Walsh in place of Senator
William M. Butler, chairman of the
Republican congressional committee
and successful manager of the cam
paign which elected President Coolidge
In 1924. They are hoping to present
an undivided front, with Senator
Walsh as the outstanding figure in
their ticket, and with either Joseph
B. Ely of Westfield or William A. Gas
ton of Boston as candidate for gov
ernor. Former Mayor Curley of Bos
ton and former Mayor John F. Fitz
gerald may or may not fall in with
this program. In Republican circles
the belief has been expressed they
will not, but Democrats take a more
hopeful view of the situation and say
that Curley and Fitzgerald will either
be out working for the Democratic
ticket or will at least not seek to
hinder it.
A defeat of Senator Butler would
be construed as a repudiation of the
administration of President Coolidge
in his own State, and might have con
siderable effect upon the presidential
campaign In 1928. The Republicans
will leave no stone unturned to pre
vent such an occurrence. Doubtless
this line of defense will be strongly
defended by the Republicans. The
candidacy of Senator Butler might
I have sustained a serious blow recently
had it not been for prompt and vigor
ous statement on his part. The Ark
wright Club, composed of textile mill
owners, through Its president, admit
ted at a hearing In the
that It would be In favor of some
modification of the 48-hour law which
governs the employment of women
and children In the mills. A bill under
consideration at the time would permit
the employment of women for 54
hours a week instead of 48. Senator
Butler Is financially Interested In tex
tile mills. He denied emphatically
that he favored modifying the 48-hour
law, and said that he strongly urged
against any such change in the law.
President Coolidge, as governor of the
State, signed the bill creating the 48-
hour law in 1919.
** * *
Gov. Albert C. Ritchie of Maryland,
who looms more and more as a prob
able Democratic nominee for President
In 1928, is to be a guest of the Boston
City Club on April 22 and deliver an
address In that city. The Democrats
there are planning a great reception
for him.
** * *
Senator Robert M. La Follette, jr..
has occupied a seat in the Senate less
than three months. He is the young
est man to serve in that body since
the days of Henry Clay. But in the
brief time he has been Senator, the
junior Senator from Wisconsin has al
ready made himself a factor in legis
lation and debate. He has delivered
two speeches, one on the World Court
md the other on the tax bill, and upon
both he was congratulated by his col
eaguse. like his distinguished father,
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. UASKIX.
Q. How old wan Paul Lawrence
Dunbar when he died?—D. G.
A. The negro poet died in 1906 at
the age of 34.
Q. In St. Elizabeth's Hospital in
Washington a medical school? —E. H.
A. St. Elizabeth's Hospital, which
is recognized by the American Medi
cal Association as a "class A" Instltu
tion, is devoted to the treatment of
patients admitted from the District of
Columbia and of present and former
members of the several military serv
ices who are suffering from menUtl
disease. This institution gives in
struction to students of the Army
Medical School, the Navy Medical
School, George Washington, George
town and Howard universities, and
to various medical otlicers detailed
from the Navy and 1 ’nited States
Veterans’ Bureau. It also gives in
struction in general medicine and
surgery and pathology to students of
George Washington and Georgetown
medical schools.
Q. Where Is Mount Wallace, and
for whom is it named? —A. T.
A. Mount Wallace is a peak in Pike
County. Mont., in the Absaroka Na
tional Forest. It was named "Wal
lace” by the United States Geographic
Board In memory of Henry C. Wallace,
the Late Secretary' of Agriculture. The
mountain Is about 10,800 feet high.
Q. Why will some cream whip
while some will not?—M. S.
A. The kind of cream. Its age, its
butterfat content and its temperature
influence the whipping quality of
cream. Cream to whip well should he
very cold, from 24 to 48 hours old,
and contain at lpast 30 per cent but
terfat.
Q. What per cent of the. coal used
in this country is anthracite? —M. N.
A. In normal times about 15 per
cent of the coal used Is anthracite.
Q Why do we have thunder and
lightning in the Spring and Summer
and none in the Winter?—S. H. B.
A. The Weather Bureau says that
we do, occasionally, have thunder and
lightning in the Winter, but they are
far more frequent in the Summer.
The thunderstorm is caused by the
rapid ascent of air carrying a large
amount of water vapor. Now, to
carry a large amount of water vapor,
the air must be warm, and, to rise
rapidly, the surface temperature must
he much higher than that of the air
half a mile to a mile above. These
conditions are far more frequent in
the Spring and Summer than during
the Winter; hence the thunderstorm
is correspondingly more frequent dur
ing the warmer season.
Q. Are deaths from tuberculosis in
creasing?—S. H. P.
A. Based on the returns from States
which have reported to the Public
Health Service, about 112.000 per
sons died in this country in 1924 from
tuberculosis. If the death rate had
remained what it was in 1900, there
would have been more than twice the
number of deaths.
Q. Is Mrs. Roosevelt's maiden name,
"Carow,” an English name?—L. R.
A. Mrs. Roosevelt’s father was of
Huguenot descent, the name "Carow’’
being originally "Quereau.’’ Mrs.
Roosevelt traces her American lice
to Jonathan Edwards.
Q. How deep do divers go?—J. A. J.
A. Depths greater than 200 feet
have been reached by divers. Chief
Gunner's Mate Frank Crillev, U. S.
N., broke the record when he attained
a record of 288 feet to locate the
sunken submarine F-4 in Honolulu
harbor. Thirty-five fathoms, equal to
a pressure of about 100 pounds, is
regarded as the average depth for
divers of experience and good
physique.
Q. When were slaves first brought
to this country and when was the
practice stopped?—S. A. R.
A. The first slaves were brought
Regret Government Appears
As an Inconsistent Prude
Most American newspapers are not
proud of the position in which the
Government was placed by the deten
tion of the Countess of Cathcart at
Ellis Island when she sought to enter
the United States. It is true, as the
Lynchburg News points out. that the
countess was not banned by the immi
gration auhtorities because she was a
divorcee, as the press abroad seems to
assume, but as a result of her own
admission of acts involving moral
turpitude. Vet there is quite a general
feeling that the action was unneces
sary and laid this country open to the
charge of inconsistent prudery.
"If the countries of Europe were to
adopt retaliatory measures,” says the
Buffalo Evening News, “If they were
to review all Americans who came to
their shores on the score of moral
turpitude, not a few travelers from
this side of the Atlantic would find
themselves In the same situation as
the Countess of Cathcart. It may de
velop that the United States has initi
ated a movement for the framing of
an International code for personal con
duct."
What Is more, in the view of the Bal
timore Sun, "if other nations follow
suit, no traveler will ever know when
he may be numbered among the de
portable class: the opportunity pre
sented to make trouble for innocent
persons, as well as to disturb friendly
international relations, is obvious.”
** * *
"What, for instance,” asks the Pas
saic Daily Herald, “might happen to
the former president of one of the big
gest of New York’s banks who cross
ed to Paris after a reconciliation with
his wife? Or to many others?” The
Cincinnati Times-Star follows up this
thought with the suggestion. “Whv
not call It quits and trade the Still
mans for Craven and the Cathcart?
Europe took the Stillmans off our
hands and so long as Europe keeps
the Stillmans we ought not to make
such a fuss over the presence of a
couple of turpitudinous young per
sons.”
“The immigration gates that often,
all too freely, swing inward to admit
bootleggers and gunmen and interna
tional crooks of high degree," declares
the Akron Beacon-Journal, “are slam
med In the countess’ face, and with an
ostentation that violates every element
he does not speak often, but when he
does, It is after careful preparation
and with a grasp of the subject which
makes his remarks worth hearing. He
opposed the leaders of his party on
both the World Court and the tax bill,
but that Is not a new experience to a
La Follettc. During the campaign in
Wisconsin last Fall, when he was a
candidate for election to the Senate,
Senator La Follette made his position
clear on these issues. Senator La Fol
lette, like his father before him is giv
ing much attention to economic issues.
He put through the Senate a resolu
tion calling for the Income tax returns
of the anthracite coal operators. He
has a resolution providing for an in
vestigation of the 80-called bread trust
and food monopolies. He does not
scatter his fire, but rather concen
trates it. He has been called upon to
preside over the Senate several times
during his brief service. On one oc
casion when the debate became heated
and a Senator, under the rules, was
called upon to take his seat because
he was “out of order,” the youthful
Senator kept his head and handled the
situation like a veteran.
Into the Arfierioan colonies in 1619.
The first act of Congress prohibiting
the importation of slaves into the
United States was in 1807. The
Emancipation Proclamation, freeing
all slaves In seceding States, was in
1663, and the adoption of the thir
teenth amendment, prohibiting slavery
throughout the borders of the United
States and its territories, was in De
cember, 1865.
Q. Are fewer oranges being grown
and marketed than there were last
year?—F. C. C.
A. The Florida orange and tanger
ine crop for shipment Is estimated at
14,000,000 boxes, which is 2,500,000
boxes below last year's crop. The to
al California orange crop is estimated
at 20,400,000 boxes, which is an in
crease of 2,300.000 boxes over last
year, Florida is expected to furnish
6,500,000 boxes of grapefruit, and
California, 400.000. This is a slight in
crease in California and a slight de
crease in Florida.
Q. If a person is 21 years 2 months
ofd, is he in his twenty-first or twenty
second year?—E. B.
A. He is in his twenty-second year
Q. Where is the largest dry dock In
the world?—D. H.
A. The world's largest floating dry
dock is located at Southampton, Eng
land, whither it was towed recently
from the Tyne River, where it waa
built. This gigantic structure is 960
feet in length and 170 feet in width.
Q. What was Barbara La Mam's
real name?—W. F. A.
A. Her name was Rhea Watson.
Q. W r hen did human beings first
begin to cook their food?—D. R.
A. There Is no authentic record, cor
does mythology or tradition under
take to fix the time when man learned
to cook.
Q. How many planes does the Air
Mail Service have, and how many peo
ple are employed In this division of
the Post Office Department?—K. A. C.
A. The Post Office Department, ac
cording to its latest report, has 9<>
mall planes and employs 745 people
in its Air Mail Service.
Q. Is goat meat sold to any extent
in this country?—M. R. S.
A. Statistics show that an average
of 141,487 goats were slaughtered an
nually under Federal Inspection, In
the United States, during a five-year
period, 1916 to 1920, inclusive. Goat
meat quite generally goes into the
regular mutton trade and has a char
acteristic sweetness, provided it is
properly finished. Few consumers
have the ability to distinguish between
mutton and this meat.
Q. Is the name of the master of the
slave, Dred Scott, recorded?—J. M.
A. A United States Army surgeon.
Dr. Emerson by name, was the own
er of Dred Scott.
Q. What is meant by earthshine?—
C. D.
A. The faint light that is visible
on the portion of the moon which is
not directly illuminated by the sun. It
is due to the light which the earth re
flects on the moon, and is most con
spicuous soon after new moon, when
the sun-illuminated part of the moon's
disk is smallest.
Our Washington Information Bureau
is looking for a job—that of anstcer
ing the questions about which you are
in doubt. It has a most active and
intelligent staff of researchers and
correspondents, and plenty of work is
the thins that most pleases them. The
Bureau will furnish you with exact
and definite information on any ques
tion you may submit. It is able to
offer to The Evening ,Star readers free
service of unprecedented scope and
value. Send in your inquiry today
and inclose 2 cents in stamps fur re
turn postage. Address The Evening
Star Information Bureau. Frederic J
Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C.
of decency. These same gates, s
seems, did not bar the British earl wL ■
was the partner of the coun’ess. It is
this favoritism, it seems, and not the
worse blundering of the department 1.
assuming the role of censor of per
sonal morality, that nas caused all the
fuss.” The suggestion that “moral
turpitude Is moral turpitude and what
Is fair to the woman is fair to the
man” is advanced by the Albany Eve
ning News, with the added comment
“America would be busy indeed if it
tried to draw its skirts away from all
such who enter this country. And It
has much to do at home.”
** * *
The Newark Evening News thinks
that “morality never masqueraded in
a shabbier dress than when dealing
with the Countess of Cathcart and the
Earl of Craven,” while the Louisville
Courier-Journal asserts that “the
United States is placed in the position
of the intolerant prude, the moral
snob,” and “Europe naturally regards
their action as international bad
manners.”
To the Danville Bee “it Is the
spectatcle of a great government
bending to a small and ugly incident,
making fish of one and fowl of the
other—in other words, a brief act c>£
peeksnifflan drama that is not only
unfair to the victim but ridiculous
and unnecessary.”
"Why should the countess have
been questioned when the earl was
not?” continues the Omaha World
Herald. “She certainly has the right
to be faced by the complainant and
to know why the complaint was
lodged. If we haven’t gotten into
this absurd predicament too far may
the good Lord preserve us from ever
getting into another like it!" The
New York World also emphatically
condemns the action: “Nothing so
nauseating in its shameless hypoc
risy. nothing so intolerable in down
right stupidity, has turned the laugh
of scorn on the United States for a
long while.” The Rock Island Argus
"shudders at the possibilities opening
up. were all tried and true Americans
with a past obligated to leave the
country.”
** * *
But the Milwaukee Journal remarks
that “the countess knows her stuff.”
and refers to the fact that she “fre
quently mentions, casually, the title
of her forthcoming production in all
this publicity that she has been get
ting free, and which she could have
got In no other way than with the
Government's assistance.” The Nash-
Banner argues that "when
woman secured equal rights man be
came liable for equal wrongs,” and
that In this instance “It was a clean
cut case of guilt by both.”
While the need of reforms at Ellis
Island is suggested by the Ann Arbor
Times-News, this paper believes that
"In the meantime it Is well that there
be no distinction as between foreign
ranks,” and the Springfield Repub
lican maintains that "no overflowing
sympathy need be spent on foreign
visitors, however highly placed in
society, whose sex escapades do vio
lence to proper legal and social safe
guards.” The Aberdeen Daily World
also calls attention to the fact that
the countess “wrote a play embody
ing her experiences with Lord Craven
and she came to the United States
to market her produce. She intends.
In other words, to capitalize her Ir
regular life.”