Evening star. [volume], August 20, 1930, Page A-8, Image 8

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A-8
I ffHE EVENING STAR
m With Sunday Morning Edition.
WASHINGTON, D. C.
WEDNESDAY. . .August 20, 1930
THEODORE W. NOYES Editor
The Evening Star Newspaper Company
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special dispatches herein are also reserved.
Maryland's Water Supply.
The question of where to get its
Water supply is not so much of a prob
lem to suburban Maryland as where to
get the cheapest water. The United
States engineers in charge of Wash
ington’s water supply and purification
systems say there is plenty of water
available, not only for the District, but
for Arlington County, Virginia, and the
parts of Montgomery and Prince Georges
Counties, Maryland, that have tapped
the District mains as a temporary
source of supply.
But the Washington Suburban Sani
tary Commission, instead of relying on
District water for Its permanent source
of supply, is completing plans for the
construction of a larger plant at Burnt
Mills, and by diverting water from the
Patuxent into the headwaters of the
Northwest Branch, the commission ex
pects to create an adequate supply of
Its own and to distribute it to consum
ers cheaper than it could sell District
water.
The Washington Suburban Sanitary
Commission, regarded as a consumer of
District water, already buys It from the
District at cost, and at & much lower
rate than Washington consumers pay
for the same commodity delivered to
their homes. But in the face of this
advantageous rate, the commission finds
It is cheaper to create and maintain its
own supply.
Why should this be? Theoretically,
Washington should have the finest
water supply system of any city in the
country. It has been constructed and
maintained under the supervision of
Army engineers. It has been paid for
as it was built. There are no interest
charges, which, added to sinking funds
to retire bonded indebtedness, add to
the cost of water In almost all other
municipalities. There are no divi
dends to be paid or high salaries to
officers. Publicly owned, publicly op
erated, free from political entangle
ments of one sort or another. District
water should be relatively low in cost.
Yet Maryland, buying It at a rate of
some twenty to thirty dollars cheaper
than the private consumer in the Dis
trict, finds it cannot afford to buy
District water because it can impound,
purify and pump its own supply at a
lower cost.
This situation presents an interest
ing commentary on the cost of water in
the District, which members of Con
gress have viewed with alarm as being
too low. It should also lead Mary
landers to study the cost of water.
Another Aimee Chapter.
Whatever may be the virtues or the
talents or the inspiration of Mrs. Aimee
McPherson, it is assured that she is
one of the best copy makers in Amer
ica. She is continually in the news.
Her spectacular evangelism was her
first introduction to the country’s read
ers. She built up a great institution of
worship and faith by sensational meth
ods of exhortation. Then she burst into
print again as the heroine of a kid
naping adventure, which turned out to
be somewhat different and altogether
unpleasant. Followed quarrels with her
mother, her co-worker In the field of
the evangelism business, wrangles that
gave the first turn to the tide of public
Interest in this remarkable woman.
Her travels East and abroad failed to
attract as much attention as if there
had been no scandal or family disputa
tion. Then a pause, without much
publicity, and now comes a tangled
taJe of nervous breakdown, of fisticuffs
with her mother, of menacing blind
ness. Surely this ought to sate the
most avid appetite for printer’s ink. j
It is entirely uncertain whether Prince 1
Otto of Hungary will regain his father’s
throne, but pictures of him show that
he owns already & full suit of Donald
Bryan clothes, including flllfgree pants
and that half-on and half-off sacque,
and can wear them with a swagger j
Magyar air.
Balchen* Dilemma.
Bernt Balchen, Admiral Byrd’s pilot !
*m two history-making expeditions and
one of the outstanding aviators of the
world, Is finding difficulty in becoming
an American citizen, an objective upon
which he set his heart as far back as
1927. To be admitted to citizenship a
foreigner—Balchen is Norwegian—must
have five years’ continuous residence in
the United States. The noted flyer,
and he Is not by any means alone in
his contention, believes that by the end
of next year the necessary five years’
residence will have been attained, but
the Naturalization Bureau holds that
Balchen'* trip to the South Pole on
Admiral Byrd’s successful venture
means an interruption in the period of
residence required and that if enforced
literally the law would prevent him
from becoming a citizen of the United
States for another five years.
Admiral Byrd, Senator Shipstead and
Secretary of Labor Davis and many
other# are active in the flyer’s behalf
and pressure is being brought to bear
In order that some way may be found
to waive the technicalities in this un
usual case. Certainly, Balchen has per
formed notable services for the country
he wishes to adopt as his own and just
a* certainly does the country at large,
and probably the naturalization offi
cials themselves, desire him to join the
fanks of Americans. On, the Soutt
J>oi* expedition Balchen * service wai
exclusively on vessels of American reg
istry and on territory claimed by the
expedition for America. In fact, the
camp from which Balchen piloted the
huge trlmotored plane over the Pole
was known aa “Little America.”
It is to be hoped, even if congres
sional action is necessary, that the
gallant Norwegian will soon be ex
tricated from his difficulties. He is as
suredly the type that America welcomes
to citizenship and it would seem that,
in view of the unusual aspects of the
case, technicalities could well be
waived. America has honored Balchen
for his splendid achievement*. Now
let us make him one of us.
Gov. Roosevelt's Incredulity.
Appealed to by eminent cltlaens to
intervene in the investigation into the
alleged sale of a judgeship in Greater
New York, which had reached the point
of virtual fiasco in the half-hearted in
quiry of the district attorney and the
refusal of the grand jury to indict, Gov.
Roosevelt has superseded the district
attorney in the case by the attorney
general of the State, who is now charged
with the prosecution of the Inquiry and
with trial if indictment is returned,
and has designated a Judge of the State
Supreme Court to preside over a special
term and to summon a grand jury to
consider this case.
Thus in a most direct way does the
Governor of the State repudiate the
Tammany-controlled city administra
tion. The Ewald case had reached the j
point of offending all politically honest
citizens. In its first stages It seemed '
likely to bring into difficulty only sub
ordinates who had perhaps grafted in
a matter of office distribution without
involving any of the higher-up authori
ties of the municipality. Then in its
quashing through the weak pretense at
prosecution by the district attorney,
obviously acting in harmony with the
wishes of the administration, It became
of even greater significance, though ap
parently ended with a whitewash.
The country at large is not very
greatly concerned over New York’s mu
nicipal misdemeanors and shortcom
ings, save that the maladministration,
in personal and political interests, of
its largest city constitutes a shameful
reflection upon what is known as Amer
ican civilization. But it is an offense
against self-respect to ask that the coun
try swallow the story that has been told
in explanation of the Ewald case. Let;
it be briefly reviewed, for continued un
derstanding: A municipal magistracy
was vacant. A deputy assistant dis
trict attorney aspired to the place. On
the eve of the appointment a Tam
many district leader, through a sher
iff's office clerk, “borrowed” 110,000
from the wife of the aspirant, the go
between giving her a note to run for
three years without interest, which note
was “lost.” The husband of the lender
was then appointed. Some time later he
got into difficulties over the trouble* of
a mining corporation of which he was
promoter and lost his office and the
Federal district attorney investigated
that case and found evidences of the
financial transaction that preceded the
appointment to the bench. Cited in an
“income tax inquiry”—a method that
has brought other Manhattan scandals
to light—the principals in the affair re
fused to testify before the Federal grand
jury on the ground that they might
thereby be incriminated or degraded.
This spurred the municipal district
attorney to action, and he went through
the motions of inquiry, got the people
before him and elicited the astonishing
story of a sheer coincidence between the
appointment of Ewald on his merits and
on the recommendation of a German-
American society, of which he was a
member, and the fairy-tale loan to the
district leadet. The mayor and the
former • Tammany chieftain gave
straight-faced testimony to the effect
that the appointment was in every re
spect square and above-board. The
mayor even declared that if Ewald paid
any money for the Judgeship he was
wasting it, that it might as well have
been thrown into the sewer.
And that is the story that the Tam
many government of New York asks
the country to accept and that the Gov
ernor of the State has now, by his in
tervention, refused to credit. It re
mains to be seen whether the attorney
general and a special grand Jury will
find out anything more concerning the
strange ways of Providence in the dis
tribution of favors and perquisites in
Greater New York.
Dried salmon eggs, when fed to cul
tivated trout, give them the more vivid
coloration of wild fish, according to
reports received at the Bureau of
Fisheries here, and thus remove one of
the prejudices of highly discriminating
anglers against hatchery fish. With
most seekers after brook trout it is not
! how wild they look, but how wild they
j act, that counts. And furthermore, th*
!wa things are going, those holding
! prejudice against hatchery fish had bet
, ter conquer the same pretty quickly or
else dispose of their tackle.
Dominion Status for India,
j All portents indicate that develop
j ments of far-reaching importance are
| imminent in India. Comproaftse is In
the air. That has always seemed the
inevitable outcome, though probably
only as a makeshift, as most compro
mises are, and particularly in the case
of a major crisis in British statesman
ship. John Bull, it has been said, has
a genius lor compromise. The empire
| on which the sun never sets would not
j be what it is today without an enlight
ened readiness in London to give when
j it becomes impracticable to take.
The latest reported turn of the Anglo
' j Indian kaleidoscope concerns an offer
from Gandhi's prison cell. He is re
puted to have written Viceroy Lord
Erwin a letter offering “peace’’ If the
British government will pledge domin
, < ion status for India at the October
. round table conference in London.
1 1 It is more than problematical that
, even the MacDonald Labor government
I will buy tranquillity in India at such
a price. Were it to do so, the price
j might —almost surely would —lnclude
r the risk of Labor’s political life as soon
[ as a rote in Parliament could permit
r Conservatives and Liberals to provoke
1 a general election on the Indian issue
Dominion status has been vaguely
. promised India by the present viceroy
v himself, but the hope which Lord Erwin
t held out had strings attached to it
:, Indians, for one thing, would have tc
- j be demonstrably capable of aelf-govern
p 1 ment before they could aspire to th<
h autonomy which Canada, Australia
a South Africa, New Zealand, Newfound
THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON. P. C.. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 1980.
land and the Irish Free State possess
within the framework of the empire.
India’s "Fourth of July" Is August
the 20th. On that date, in 1917, Edwin
Samuel Montagu, M. P„ secretary of
state for India, uttered these momen
tous words in the House of Commons:
The policy of His Majesty’* govern
ment, with which the government of
India is in complete accord. Is that
of the Increasing association of Indians
in every branch of the administration
and the gradual development of self
governing Institutions, with a view to
the progressive realisation of respon
sible government in India as an integral I
part of the British Empire.
The Simon commission's report makes
recommendations on all fours with this
organic program. But it is a long way
from dominion status.
Van Lear Black.
The first thought that occurs in the
case of the disappearance of Van Lear
Black, publisher of the Baltimore Sun,
from his yacht just outside of New
York Harbor Is that of the travesty of
fate that brought death by this means
to one who has recently completed the
most remarkable series of air flights on
record without serious mishap and with
a practical filling of all schedules. Mr.
Black was—lt is only too painfully clear
that the past tense must be used —an
ardent traveler. He loved the sea and
he had gone far In the yacht from
which he disappeared the other night
on his way to Baltimore. But he was
an even more ardent devotee of avia
' tion. and by his personal participation
1 he undoubtedly added richly to its de-
I velopment during the past few years.
His exploit of a series of flights total
ing. It is estimated, 125,000 miles, is
unapproached by any other individual,
unless Col. Lindbergh's mileage may
sum to the same figure, or greater. But
for the Pacific gap, which he closed by
steamship, he circled the globe by
plane.
Mr. Black, however, is not to be re
membered alone for his devotion to the
development of the airplane. He was
a marked success. in business and his
connection with the publication of one
of the most successful and respected
newspapers in the country demon
strated his high ability in journalism.
His personality was such as to win and
hold, the friendship of a multitude of
people. He loved life and he lived vig
orously, and this fact Is what most defi
nitely indicates that his tragic ending
; was an accident. Yet the mystery of
his disappearance from his yacht may
never be dispelled.
The bride of today ought to be a 50
per cent better cook than her mother
or mother-in-law, lor ahe has better
utensils and better materials, and more
cookery knowledge is available, declares
an economics expert. Yes, but mother
or mother-in-law was not out all day
cooking herself on some beach.
A Budapest, Hungary, citizen com
mitted suicide, discouraged by thirty
years of steady and severe losses at
cards. That is quite a slump. It will be
admitted. However, he probably never
heard of the old Western dictum, “There
is but one thing certain In life, and
that Is that luck will change.”
At last the Chicago police triumph—
they arrest a vermin exterminator
armed with a shotgun. It was always
known that these big anti-criminal
drives would tell In the long run.
“Favors Subway Welding"—New York
newspaper headline. It refers to metal
pillars; the passengers are already
welded.
Game fish In most parts of New Eng
land this Summer are practically free
from hookworm.
SHOOTING STARS.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
Heroism.
It’s hard to be a hero—that’s to say,
the kind who meets
The plaudits of the multitude while
riding down the streets.
But maybe there are heroes in our
everyday affairs
So numerous that like as not you’ll pass
| them unawares.
It takes the hero instinct, when a fel
!1 low falls from grace,
To brace himself and make another
! start, and hold the pace.
i It takes the hero Instinct to smile on '
and play a part
In spite of bitter memories that keep
I I tugging at the heart.
1 It needs a man of nerve to face the
world when luck goes wrong.
To carry fortune well requires a nature
’ 'most as strong,
i There are heroes In life's failures. There
- are heroes in success.
’ In fact, 'most everybody is a hero more
> or less
Utter Cynicism.
. 1 “So you believe that every man has
his price?”
I “Not exactly that,” answered Senator
! Sorghum. "But I am strongly inclined
to think that many a man has gotten
’ a reputation for great honesty when
5 he was merely holding out' for better
1 terms.”
» -■ -
j Explanation.
"Briggs is dressing better and living
6 better than he ever did before.”
"Yes. His new valet has very expen
-5 slve tastes.”
Reform.
| ’Tis like a ghost that sallies out
To agitate the mind.
1 Ti* very widely talked about,
But mighty hard to find.
r Not What She Wanted.
"I have changed my lawyer,” said
i the prima donna,
e “For what reason?”
“Utter lack of consideration. He said
r he would manage to get my divorce for
me with no notoriety.”
ti
Slightly Confused.
i “Poverty,” said the cynical philos
opher, “is no disgrace. On the con
e trary, It may be an honor."
* i “Yes,” answered Mr. Dustin Stax; “I
n feel that way about It. But my tastes
1 are so expensive I can’t afford to be
* poor.”
y The Perfect Climate.
y We’ve yearned for it since days of old,
n But somehow never strike it;
t. No matter if It’s hot or cold,
a . There are some germs that like it.
t-1 “De man dat believes everybody,”
:e said Uncle Eben. ‘‘an’ de man dat doesn’
i, trust nobody U both Jeg’ about ft* foolish
1- ft* sftch othM.” 1
I THIS AND THAT I
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. ,
J
“Who’s this?”
If the telephone company could find
some way of preventing persons who
call up from asking the above Impudent
question it would achieve something
surpassing automatic phones even.
You hear the bell ring. Maybe you
are upstairs taking a bath. You run
| downstairs, dripping water like a New-
I foundland dog.
•Hello, hello!” you call, In the best
possible frame of mind.
You are at peace with the world, even
If you do regret the lack of a towel.
“Hello!” you repeat, wondering whose
voice will come out of the unknown.
Nothing la more unknown, in the
ordinary course of life, than the voice
which la about to speak to you on the
telephone.
No matter If you are the chairman
of the board, i.‘ it la a personal call
which has got by all the secretaries, Its
owner Is unknown.
A voice can get Into your ears when
its owner might not be permitted to
enter your home.
That is one of the wonders of the
telephone.
** * *
“Who’s this?” grates the voice.
Then the sunshine disappears, the
music ceases, and you Immediately
begin to wish that you had stayed in
the bathtub with the silent soapsuds.
“Who’s this?”
The voice grates insistently.
“None of your business!” is the re
ply you desire to hurl at his head.
“Who wants to know?” is an an
swer sometimes put into words.
The offender deserves either or both,
because he is asking something which,
in most cases, is strictly none of his
business, at least in the form asked.
No doubt it is the bluntness of the
request, particularly from an unknown,
which makes It offensive.
Courtesy here, as elsewhere, would
save the day.
If the person on the wire would say.
“This 1* Mr. Jones, is this Mr. 80-*nd-
So?” no one would be offended. But
he comes blurting in with a question
of identification, as if he were em
powered to ask questions.
Often he is a stranger, in which case
the telling of the name would mean
nothing to him. Why. then, does he
ask It? The one who dislikes the ques
tion feels the silliness of the proceed
ing, but especially dislikes the abrupt
ness of it.
** * *
Women, for some reason, are the
worst offenders.
“Who is this?” is one of their favo
rite questions over the phone.
The irritating thing is that almost
invariably they put a note of suspicion
into their voice, as if they believed you
were going to tell them falsely, but
had better not, for they were onto you.
Here are some of the appropriate re
plies which might be made to the per
son who insists on ssklng “Who’s
this?”
“A human being.”
“The King of Siam.”
“So’s your old man.”
“And what have you?”
“It’s a nice day today.”
“None of your business.” (Additional
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS |
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE.
Chief Justice Hughes tarried in Wash
ington long enough this week to
familiarize himself with the extensive
plans for next week’s local reception of
visiting British and French bar digni
taries and then left for Chicago to
address the annual meeting of the
American Bar Association. The Chief
Justice has a special Interest in the
European visitors because of their
boundless hospitality to our judges and
lawyers who made the Old World pil
grimage under Hughes’ leadership in
1924. Six weeks in Europe this Sum
mer did not bring Mr. Hughes quite the
kind of fun he sought, because, as he
remarked in Washington, "they got all
the rain over there that we should have
had over here.” The Chief Justice
never seemed more vigorous than he
does today. His long morning walks,
his unfailing pastime, are negotiated
with spry relish. Close observers testify
that the famous Hughes whiskers
appear to be worn bobbed these days.
** * *
With India in seething turmoil, none
of the visiting British bar dignitaries
will excite greater interest than the
Right Hon. Sir John Simon. Many
cotemporaries in Britain look upon him
as the most distinguished lawyer in the
realm. Tall, white-haired and typically
English in manner and mien, Simon
has had an uncommonly eminent
career both in the law and in politics,
though he is still in the middle 60s.
Sir John’s name is now on all British
lips because of the Simon commission’s
report on India. It urges Increased
self-government for the land which
Oandhl has plunged into revolt, but
not. on so wide a scale as to Imperil
Britain’s stranglehold on the "crown
jewel of the empire." Simon, a Lloyd
j George Liberal M. P., has been solicitor
i general, attorney general and home
' secretary in successive London cabinets.
In France he was a major of the Royal
Air Force in 1917-18. American Jurists
have met him frequently across the
international arbitration table in con
nection with Newfoundland and Alaskan
boundary disputes.
** * *
Ranking Sir John Simon officially in
the visiting British delegation, if not
in stature as a lawyer, is Sir William
Jowitt, K. C., attorney general in the
MacDonald Labor government. The
birds of passage which have arrived
ahead of the British barristers whisper
that there’s no love lost between Simon
and Jowitt. In London the Labor at
torney general is accused of shedding
his Liberal party colors and adopting
the MacDonald label. Soon after that
transformation occurred, Jowitt ’ was
elevated to a knighthood and the blue
ribbon legal post in the Labor cabinet.
Sir William is one of Britain’s younger
statesmen, aged 45.
♦* * *
Word comes to Washington that
Representative "Tom” L. Blanton, Dem
ocrat, of Texas, swept the boards in
record fashion at the recent congres
sional primary in the seventeenth West
Texas district. His final lead over V.
Earl Earp, his rival for the nomination,
was 22.466 out of a certified total vote
of 41.606. Blanton carried 18 out of
the 19 counties in the district. What
ever Capitol Hill may think of the
Oreat Objector from the Lone Star
balltwick. Blanton’s home folks seem to
be nearly 100 per cent devoted to him.
** * *
Apropos the rigid economies ordained
for the Navy, they're spinning a salty
yarn over at "Skipper” Adams depart
ment about a certain dignitary who was
on duty at the London Naval Confer
ence. Before leaving Washington he
was warned to leave his uniforms at
home because he was going to a "peace
conference.” But officers were directed
to tote along a full kit of civilian clothes,
especially for formal occasions. The
sallorman hadn’t any morning coat and
the striped trousers that go with it, but
he has a brother-in-law built just like
him. Being famed in the fleet for his
financial conservatism—he’s a New Eng
land Yankee —and finding that his rela
tive had the necessary outfit, the thrifty
tar proceeded to borrow it. Now the
brother-in-law's clothes are back where
they belong, with a record of having |
done duty at Buckingham Palace and
other royal points east, west and north. |
** * *
Slogans being the political order of
the day, tha Republicans have decided
I to work the Raskob end of the Demn-
Icratic opposition for all it's worth.
Several of the opening guns fired from
the Fess-Lucas trenches have barked
1 about the "Raskob-Shouse” propaganda
bureau, and other words to that affect.
i
word, inserted between “your” and ,
“business.’’ strictly optional.)
“Who wants to know?”
“You’ve made a mistake. Please '
hang up and dial again.”
** * *
It is said that during the World War 1
a messenger boy of one of the press 1
associations was instructed to get the •
State Department on the wire. i
Through some freak he was put on <
the personal phone of the Secretary of ‘
State.
“Who’s this?” asked the boy, who ■
was of a somewhat facetious turn of *
mind, as youngsters are likely to be.
“This is Secretary Bryan,” came the
voice. “Who is this?”
The boy, in whom disbelief was
large, promptly replied, “This is Presi
dent Wilson.” ,
What happened after that we have
never heard. The anecdote shows that
our pet question is, a very human one,
I after all.
Surely It Is a natural desire to know
exactly who it is to whom one is talk
ing. The queer thing about teleph
ony, as we have stated, is that often
it permits an utter stranger to come in
where angels, at least if they were well
bred angels, would fear to tread the
aerial routes.
** * *
“Hold the line a moment,” Is an
other unfortunate telephone sentence.
Private secretaries most often are the
offenders. We have a great sympathy
with secretaries, private or otherwise,
but we wish they would stop asking us
to “hold the phone a moment.”
Their "moment” moat often means
minute or minutes, climaxed at last
by some such utterance as the follow
ing: “All right, thanks,” leaving one
completely In the dark as to the pur
pose of the call.
Then there is the playful person,
(usually feminine) who insists on
shrieking, “I bet you can’t guess who
this is!”
The one best answer, in such a case,
would be to yell brutally, “No, and I
don’t care, either.”
But, as best answers are seldom
thought of until hours later, in the
majority of cases the sweet merry
maker gets by unscathed, which Is Just
as well, of course.
** * *
There can be little question that the
universal adoption of automatic equip
ment will make telephoning a safer
and saner task.
Few men or women are inclined to
become angry with themselves. They
may criticize the highest men in the
land in regard to their conduct of
government, business or whatnot, but
when It comes to “bawling out” them
selves it simply isn’t done, that's all.
The man who picks up his phone
and dials Incorrectly will find the
blame placed squarely at his own door.
There will be no use talking back—
and no one to talk to. unless he wants
to become uncommonly nasty and dial
the operator.
The dials, however, will not free us
from the person who asks, “Who’s
this?” Maybe the company can do
something about it. We give it up.
Evidently the G. O. P. high command
thinks the A1 Smith curse hasn't yet
been taken off the Democrats, and that
it can be revived profitably by remind
ing voters that “Johnnie” Raskob is at
least the money man behind the
enemy’s gun.
** * *
The pending fracas Js noteworthy, at
least as far as the Democrats are con
cerned, for the comebacks which a
number of former members of Congress
are attempting to stage. Under the
militant leadership of Senator Millard
E. Tydlngs. Democratic congressional
campaign chairman, no fewer than six
one-time Senators and two one-time
members of the House are trying to
break back to Capitol Hill. The sena
torial exes include Lewis of Illinois,
Gore of Oklahoma, Gerry of Rhode
Island, Neely of West Virginia, Bayard
of Delaware and Hitchcock of Nebraska.
Bulkley of Ohio and Watkins of Oregon
are former. Democratic Representatives
who are now senatorial candidates.
** * *
Col. Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of
State, may be drafted to preside over
next month's prospectively stormy Re
publican State convention in New York.
The prohibition controversy is slated
to rage there with fine fury. Dr.
Nicholas Murray Butler estimates ‘that
the convention will be 60 to 70 per
cent wet. Stimson will have need for
all his diplomatic talent if he takes
the gavel.
(Copyright, 1830.)
Government-Owned
Mail Cars Advocated
To the Editor of The Star:
Increase in price does not always
insure added income. Experience has
revealed a limit to the size of a cus
tomer’s purse, and when that is reached
the would-be buyer, even at the cost of
personal Inconvenience, decides to bud
get more closely his expenditures, and
finds an alternative to his former cus- I
tom, possibly limiting his meat supply
or being content with a cheaper brand
of canned goods.
This is an economic fact which some
public utilities find it hard to realize.
It is easy for our trolley companies to
raise the fares, but they risk a loss of
patronage. They seem to ignore the
psychological effect of a natural revul
sion that seeks another mode of con
veyance as a patron’s sense of injustice
is aroused. Low fares and considera
tion for the comfort of the traveling
public tend to encourag and stimulate
travel, as illustrated by the popularity
of railway excursions.
The s .me principle applies to the
Poet Office Department. Postmaster
General Brown is reported to have
asked for alternative suggestions to the
proposed increase in letter postage.
That this will not necessarily solve the
difficulty is shown by the failure of a
like experiment with second-class mail.
But ’ e important fact is that two
other methods ’’ave long been advo
cated and have been persistently re
fused by Congress—(a> limitation to
reasonable proportions of the congres
sional franking system, which has l.<m
expanded to a scandalous degree; b>
Government ownership of mßll cars, so
that the cost of mail transportation
would be gauged on the principle of
mileage, as now one rallwav pays an
other for the privilege of using its
tracks, Instead of by ” e weight of mail
carried. The present system has re
peatedly been shown to be unfair in its
working. Owing to the impracticability i
of constant v.. ighing, one year’s w ight
of second-class mall is gauged on the
basis of a three-month test. The rail
way companies, having been tipped off
as to the dates of the t ~t. swell the
bulk of second-class mail during the
three months bv all kinds of absurd
methods and reap a corresponding har
vest. Is there not some method for im
pressing Congress with the weight of
public sentiment in favor of adopting
at least this plan, which has long met
the approval of economists?
WILLIAM J. SEELYE.
Not Even Sitting Pretty.
From the Omaha World-Herald.
This is a tough year on the chair
manufacturers. Americans are sitting
I in trees, and in India they're in the
streets.
AH Patriots Do That.
From the Birmingham News.
The statesman’s statue that fell off
its pedestal soma time ago was said to
look much mor| natural with its ear
on the ground.
Food Profiteering
Must Be Prevented
To the Editor of The Star:
Necessary foods, especially fresh vege
tables and some of these holdover* of
several days, and canned goods, canned
on. d two years ago, have increased
in price almost overnight 25 and 35 per
cent There is Simon-pure profiteering
in these prices. Some of the vegetables
are “culls,” and one and two year old
canned goods were bought by the Job
bers and retail stores at the wholesale
price of one and two years ago. So the
25 and 35 per cent advances in prices
now are nothing less than profiteering
of the most brazen character. Weeks
since I called attention to the fact that
wheat, has been at $1 or less a bushel
for months; as low—cash wheat in
Chicago—as 81 cents a bushel. Never
theless, bread is at the same price in
Washington, D. C., as it was when
wheat, sold at g 1.50 or more a bushel.
The price paid for beef-cattle, sheep,
lambs, hogs is (75 cents per sheep In
one case, 10 cents per pound, steers; 8
cents per poun, sheep, and hogs from $2
to $3 less than a year ago, while beef
steak, mutton, lamb chops and pork
crop prices to the consumer today are
little less than before these unprece
dented low prices now paid to the cattle
raiser and farmer.
I suggest as an immediate remedy
against these profiteering prices of
meats, vegetables and bread in Wash
ington. D. c., that the Secretary of
Agriculture and the District Commis
sioners, through their market and food
inspection bureaus, have printed In
every daily newspaper of Washington.
D. C„ the wholesale price of meats,
vegetables and flour rby the barrel),
and in the same issues of the papers
have printed the retail prices. Have
these prices printed in juxtaposltl n
columns. Then the consumer can Judge,
and call down, shame and refuse to'
pay the retail profiteers their asking
prices.
Can these profiteers be made to sell
at reasonable prices?
A means might be found. I recall
that when the coal barons and miners
of Pennsylvania were called to Wash
ington, that President Roosevelt might
get from them their reasons for the
then non-mining of coal, the President,
after two days of listening to both sides,
told the mine owners to “go home and
open their mines in two days or he
would send the Marines to see that it
was done.” “Oh, but, Mr. President,
there 1s no law to Justify that!" “Well,
you open up your mines at once, then
we will see about a law.” The mines
were opened. W. E. RYAN.
Protests Dropping of
Theater Orchestras
To the Editor of The Star:
Monday's Star contained an article in
reference to the elimination of orches
tras in favor of "canned” music. The
theater-going public can and has been 1
pushed pretty far, but this last thrust i
of the theater corporations is one too
many. Do we who listen to enough
"canned” music in the forms of radios
and phonographs get a cut In admission
fees for listening to such atrocious
noises? Don’t we get some compensa
tion in the form of real musical rendi
tions after having our nerves shattered
for the sake of some well Aimed
picture?
Theater corporations are reaping har
vests from the movies. Only a glance
at the financial page of a dally is neces
sary to confirm that. Whv should they
curtail expenses further by discharging
musicians or expecting them to take a
reduction in wages when their profits
are Increasing stupendously? It seems
that their desire is to add nothing to
unemployment relief, or at any rate to
discourage the maintaining of our now
seemingly good standard of living.
The solution of the problem lies not
with the patrons but with the theater
owners themselves. The patrons in the
past have seemed more than willing to
meet increases in rates. Will they stand
this present gaffing? I hope not.
My family. has decided unanimously
to forego the little entertainment they
have had at the theater until a sober
agreement is reached with musicians
and we get nearly our money’s worth
again. That last statement shows that
we are still willing to be gypped some.
I am not a musician, but a wage
earner. NORMAN C. SEEWALD.
Lei the Movie Patrons
Vote on the Orchestras
To the Editor of The Star:
I see by The Star under date of Au
gust 18, 1930, that all orchestras play
ing in the different theaters are to be
discharged on September 1, and that
we are to have only canned music.
It is just too bad that the Capital
of the richest country In the world
cannot afford to have real music in
the poor moovie houses and more than
Just too bad that these same movie
houses raised the price of admission
for Saturday afternoon performances
when the Government so kindly gave
us half holiday during the Summer.
Will these movies give us lower rates
when they give us inferior entertain
ment?
Musicians and good vaudeville artists
are not made in a day and are not
usually the kind of people who can fall i
into any kind of work, and in addition |
to depriving the public of a great deal l
of pleasure, their discharge will add to
the already large number of unem
ployed.
Why not give the public a chance to I
decide whether they want squawky old
I canned music or the real thing? Let
them vote on this question.
In Dallas, Tex., this chance was
given to the public and the decision
was so overwhelmingly in favor of
orchestras that all the movie theaters
put the musicians back on the job. i
Judging from the number of long
lines of waiting patrons who are seen j
so often trying to get into the movies,
the theaters are not exactly starving, so
why let the musicians starve? I am
one of these patrons.
For real music and good vaudeville, !
LYDA BOYD.
Potomac “Seaweed”
Needed by Wild Life
To the Editor of The Star:
In the motor department of The Sun
day Star for August 17 is an article
by G. Adams Howard which speaks of
seaweed and seagrass as a blemish on
the appearance of the river along the;
Hains Point drive and implies that they
furnish a breeding place for mosquitoes. I
1 The growths mentioned are not sea
weed, but fresh-water plants, of which I
wild celery constitutes about 90 per
cent. This is a very important food
plant for wild fowl and is what attracts 1
ducks of various species to the Poto- |
mac River and furnishes the hunting
for which the stream has long been
famous. From Fall to late Spring num
bers of these birds can be observed from
the riverside drive and must be of con- ,
I siderable interest to the public. Fur
,hermore. during late Summer these wild
celery beds are frequented by numbers
of egrets and other herons, which are
beautiful and interesting birds. The
wild celery and other plants grow on
shoals as they have done since time
immemorial and, toeing swept freely by
the tide, are not breeding places of
mosquitoes. Elimination of these shoals
would be a very expensive process and
would rob the river of a great deal of
the interest it acquires from the pres
ence of the unusual and beautiful forms
of wild life they attract.
W. L. McATEE.
Some: Slow Starling,
frrom the Toledo Blade.
They say the dollar of today goes
farther than the dollar of yesterday.
Perhaps it is true—we don’t khow. All
we see is the start.
Space Kates Don’t Count.
From tha Ban Antonio Express.
Tha "controversy" over Mr, Coolidge's
800-word history unfortunately is sub
ject to no word limit.
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.
Take advantage of this free service.
If you are one of the thousands who
have patronized the bureau, write us
again. If you have never used the serv
ice. begin now. It is maintained for
your benefit. Be sure to send your name
and address with your question, and in
close 2 cents in coin or stamps for re
turn postage. Address The Evening Star
Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin,
director, Washington, D. C.
Q. In contract bridge, should dummy
leave the table without asking the
courtesy of the table, can a revoke be
scored against the declarer? —E. C.
A. The laws of contract provide that
when dummy leaves the table a revoke
is not scored against the declarer un
less his opponents call his attention to
the renounce in time to correct it. It
is not necessary for dummy to ask for
the courtesy of the table.
Q. What is # the greatest depth at
which divers can work? —L. K.
A. The greatest depth at which use
ful work has been accomplished by
divers Is 275 feet, This was in sal
vaging the United States submarine
F-4, sunk off Honolulu.
Q. Hasn’t Nebraska repealed the
bank deposit guarantee law?—E. H.
A. This law has been repealed with
in the last few months.
Q. When was the minuet first
danced?—H. D.
A. The minuet was introduced in
Paris in 1650.
Q. What are the largest deer parks
in England?—M. B. .
A. The largest deer park in England
is that at Savemake, 4,000 acres; next
comes Windsor, which contains about
2,600 acres, in addition to the 1,450
acres of Windsor Forest.
Q. What political leader was known
as the "Ohio Gong”?—P. L. M.
A. William Allen, Senator from
Ohio, 1837-49, and Governor of the
State in 1873. He was also known as
"Earthquake Allen" and “Petticoat
Allen.” He is credited with having
originated the famous slogan used in
the presidential campaign of 1844,
“Fifty-four forty, or fight!”
Q. Row did Stephen Olrard make
the money he left for the founding of
Girard College?—W. R. T.
A. Stephen Girard of Philadelphia
was at first a seaman, working up until
he became a master of the coasting
trade. He then settled in Philadelphia
as a merchant and ship owner, who in
vested largely in the shares of the old
Bank of the United States, 1810, and in
1812, on the lapsing of its charter, pur
chased a controlling interest in the
building and reopened a bank under
, the name of the Stephen Girard Bank.
; He retained the old officers of the bank
and made it one of the foremost finan
cial institutions of the country. His
fortune at his death was about $7,500,-
000, and he left to Girard College about
$5,250,000.
Q. Please give the proportions that
are considered ideal for the woman of
today?—R. P. . „
A. The Society of Directors of Phys
ical Education has set forth the fol
lowing standard for the ideal woman of
today: Height. 63 ‘2 inches; breadth of
neck, 3.8 inches; girth of neck, 12.1
inches; breadth of shoulders, 14.7
inches; breadth of waist, 8.6 inches;
girth of waist, 24.8 inches; breadth of
hips, 13.1 inches; girth of hips, 35.4
inches; girth of calf, 13.3 inches; girth
of upper arm, 10.1 Inches; girth of
thigh, 21.4 inches, and forearm, 9.2
inches.
Q. Please give a history of the Lou
isiana Lottery?—V. T. B.
A. It received a charter from the
State of Louisiana for 25 years in 1868.
Paying Employes by Check
Debated as Check on Crime
Recent pay roll robberies which rep
resent a continuing loss to American
business have drawn widespread atten
tion to the recommendation by a com
mittee of the National Crime Commis
sion that employes be paid by check.
Imperfection is conceded in the plan,
particularly through the burden that
would be imposed on the banks, and
the danger of forgery, but many ob
servers suggest that a trial of the sys
tem would determine its value.
“We are forced to the admission that
the moral and spiritual forces of the
Nation have broken down and their
Influence and power have failed to
reach the elements from which the
criminal classes are recruited,” declares
the Chattanooga Times, stating that
“the ‘check system’ may prevent the
robbery of industrial pay rolls, but it
will not prevent the robbers from in
venting and pursuing other methods of
criminal activities." The Times con
cludes that “reliance upon laws for the
| healing of the Nation is only a fatuous
! form of social complacency, and unless
buttressed by a strong moral and
spiritual sense of public responsibility
i will only lead us further into trouble.”
I "Receiving payment by check,” ac
cording to the New York Sun, “is a
simple matter for employes who have
bank accounts. It is not so simple for
many who do not. Intelligent em
ployers with proper regard for the wel
fare of their workers have been able
to make satisfactory arrangements
with banks so that pay checks can be
expeditiously cashed. Banks usually
are glad to go to considerable trouble
jto give this service. If it were only a
question of dealing with employers of
this kind the change recommended by
the Moley subcommittee could easily be
i made. Unfortunately there are em
! ployers of a different sort,”
** * *
That the plan “would throw a heavy
burden of expense on the banks” and
that “it requires the supply of added
space and clerical assistance, especially,
to provide for certain periods in the
month when pay days come to a ‘peak
load,’ ” is the opinion of the Boston
Transcript, though that paper ex
presses a sympathetic attitude in the
statement: “The prejudice of many
employes against such payment has in
| numerous cases been overcome, and
means have been developed to protect
employers against the danger of loss
through false indorsement of checks
j issued. All of these efforts move in the
I path of progress, and wherever persons
and firms feel voluntarily inclined to
1 studv the possibilities and adopt an
equable system, they may well be en
couraged in their work. For the
promised goal—complete elimination of
pay roll banditry—is a bright and shin
ing mark.”
Logic in the committee’s report is
found by the Scranton Times, which
points to the clause “in the agreement
just entered into between the anthracite
mine workers and operators,” which
“provides for payment by check, where
it is convenient." The Times adds that
“it is admitted that in a few sections
of the coal region paying by check
might result In a great Inconvenience,
and possibly abuse, through workers
being forced to have their checks cashed
in speakeasies. The benefits of the pay
by-check system, however,” continues
that paper, “will offset the disad
vantages, particularly in giving protec
tion to men whose duty it is to pay off
the workers."
“The seriousness of this type of crime
is shown by the statement of the com
mittee that 200 pay roll robberies last
year which were critically studied re
sulted In a loss of more than a million
I dollars and the murder of 19 persons,"
says the Manchester Union, while the
Little Rock Arkansas Democrat be
| lieves the plan “apparently is the only
solution.” and the Flint Dally Journal
content!? that “prevention of crime is
better 2han apprehension”; that “the
mora 'moo use ot cheeks would as
It had a monopoly on the busines, with
in the State, and was required to pay
S4O annually into the State treasury. In
1890 the company made great efforts
to secure a renewal of the charter, of
fering finally an annual payment of
tl ,250.000 for It. but the act recharter
ing the company was vetoed by the
Governor. *
Q Who wrote "The Pillar of Fire,"
"Throne of David” and “Prince of the
House of David”? —S. S. M.
A. They were written by the Rev.
J. H. Ingraham, born 1809, died 1866.
The first treats of the exodus of the
Israelites, the second the establishment
of the Jewish ktnglom, and the third
the life and crucifixion of Christ.
Q. When 6 is divided by 0 what is
the answer?—B. S.
A. The answer is infinity, since 0 will
go into 5 an infinite number of times.
Q What is the quotation from Shake
speare about the primrose path?—
W. J. P.
A. Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” act 1,
scene 3, line 50, says. “Doe not as some
ungracious pastors doe shew me the
steep and thorny way to heaven; Whilst
like a puft and recklesse path of pleas
ure, libertine, himeelfe the primrose
path of dalliance treads.”
Q. What city has the largest pro
portion of men to women? —S. W.
A. In 1920 Akron, Ohio, had 135.9
males to 100 females, a higher ratio
than that of any other large city. The
figures of the 1930 census have not been
completed as yet.
Q. How long ago did people discover
that the tomato is edible? —H. L.
A. About 1850. people began to eat
tomatoes. Before that time it was the
general belief that tomatoes were
poisonous.
Q. What is an alembic?—l. O. O.
A. An alembic is an apparatus for
distillation used chiefly by the al
chemists. and now superseded in more
convenient forms of still, both in the
laboratory and in the factory.
Q. What was the result of the out
board motor boat race from New, Or
leans to St. Louis? —M. B. Jj.
A. Os the five crafts wl/ch started
up the river from New Oifeans to St.
Louis only the one piloted by Claud
Mickler of New Orleans reached iti
goal. Mr. Mickler made the trip in an
outboard motor boat in 78 hours and
51 minutes. This surpasses the record
made last year by Dr. Louis Leroy of
Memphis in his boat, Bogie.
Q. Are there any windowlesa build
ings?—G. M.
A. Buildings of this kind artificially
lighted and ventilated are being
planned and a few are in existence. A
film studio erected by UFA, near Ber
lin, is without windows and the plans
for the large Travel and Transport
Building at the Chicago World’s Fair
in 1933 call for steel walls without
windows.
Q. In what part of Pennsylvania is
the George W. Childs Btate Forest
Park? Has it a camping ground?—
C. L.
A. This park is located in Pike
, County along the Silver Lake road,
; about two miles west of Dingmans
Ferry, a small town on the Milford
Turnpike (United States route 209)
between Stroudsburg and Milford. It
. contains a well equipped public camp
i ing ground and is said to be one of
the most picturesque parks in the
State. It has been suggested as the
I first wild-flower preserve in Pennsyl
' vania by the State chapter of the
Wild-flower Preservation Society. The
■ park was deeded to the commonwealth
by George W. Childs, for many years
> editor and publisher of the Philadel
. phia Public Ledger.
sist in the process.” The Dallas Journal
argues that “if the word should be
given the world that all business has
adopted the check-payment plan, the
information would filter to the under
world and eventually put a stop to
hold-ups.”
* •* * *
“It seems to offer the most feasible
solution.” in the Judgment of the Chi
cago Daily News, an<| the Bt. Louis
Globe-Democrat proposes the remedy:
"Supposing that in all cases, except
where the total was negligible, all sal
aries and wages should be paid for two
or three years by check, even if at some
inconvenience. Would not these crimes
virtually disappear? Cash payments
might be resumed after gangs that live
by pay roll robberies have been broken
up and this phase of the baffling crime
problem has ceased to trouble.”
"It is a costly way of learning the
advantages of a check system,” holds
the Roanoke Times, “when companies
lose thousands of dollars and lives of
pay roll guards are sacrificed each year
in defense of an antiquated system of
payment which modem gangs have
demonstrated to be unsafe and disad
vantageous. If the gangs are to be
fought successfully a blow must ba
struck at the source of their existence
by ceasing to move large pay rolls
through the streets to plants and fac
tories.”
“Suggestions are offered.” states the
Indianapolis Star, “as to plans for mak
ing the checks easily negotiable, and at
the same time guarding against the
danger of forgery. The payment of
pay rolls in checks would certainly put
a stop to the killing of messengers and
the looting that has become a national
scandal.” The Jackson Citizen Patriot
agrees that "any reasonable method of
counteracting pay roll hold-ups should
be approved by industrial and other
interests likely to be the victims of
such crimes.”
“In the past the workers have not
favored the plan because of the trouble
of cashing checks, and in some States
there are laws against paying wages in
this form.” records the New Bedford
Standard. The Helena Montana Record-
Herald calls the State laws “out of
date,” and finds that “the attitude of
labor has changed.” because the “work
er of today knows about the banking
business, and a large percentage of
those who work for hire have accounts.”
The New York Evening Post advises
that “the special committee which sub
mits the present report can facilitate
its effectiveness by grappling with the
question of an easily and safely nego
tiable check." The Lincoln State
Journal remarks: “The prejudice of
the worker being the only obstacle, the
present should be a good time to over
come it. Few workers will refuse Jobs
these days because payment is made
iby check. And elimination of this
menace is to the advantage of all con
cerned.”
■ > I
Drought Certificates
Proposed as Remedy
To the Editor of The Star:
May I suggest that the people of this
country be given the opportunity to
assist in alleviating the hardship on
account of the drought by the following
plan:
The United States Government have
printed drought certificates, designating
91 as a gift to the drought fund, these
to be distributed to all the banks in
the United States. These certificates
to be exchanged for $1 by all those who
wish to have a part in helping those In
distress. Or any other plan that will
be approved by the one whose name
appears at the end of this article. And
as one who deserves the whole-hearted
support of every person In this country,
I suggest that the plan be dedicated to
President Hoover.
P. WENTWORTH HAUL