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THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. TUESDAY February 5, 1935 THEODORE W. NOYES.. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: llth St. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Office: 110 East 42nd St Chicago Office: Lake Michigan Bulldlnf. European Office: 14 Regent St.. London. England. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Edition. The Bvenins Star 45c Der month The Evening and Sunday Star (when 4 Sundays).. . 60c per month The Evening and Sunday S.ar (when 5 Sundays) 05c per month The Sunday Star 5c per cop* Ninht final Edition. leht Pinal and Sunday Star 70c per month lcht Pinal Star 55c per month Collection made at the end of each month. Orders may be sent by mall or telephone National 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Ily and Sunday . 1 yr.. $10.00; 1 mo.. S.r>c ily only 1 yr.. $0.00: 1 mo.. 5oc Sunday only 1 yr ¥4 00 1 mo. 40c AU Other States and Canada. Dally and Sunday .1 yr ., #12.00: 1 mo.. #1 00 Daily only 1 yr., $8.00: 1 mo. ?5c Sunday only 1 yr. $5.00: 1 mo.. 60c Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively en titled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not other wise credited in this paper and also the local news published herein All rlchts of publication of special dispatches herein •re also reserved. The Senate's Power. The Supreme Court of the United States in its decision 1» the MacCrac ken case again upholds the authority of the Senate to punish for contempt. The decision handed down by the court does not extend the privilege •f the Senate. It merely sustains a power that has been the Senate's and which has been exercised in the past. The power of the Senate—and of the House—to punish for contempt, as the court points out, is limited. "It is true," says the court in its decision, "that the scope of the power is nar row." And the court adds, "No act Is so punishable unless it is of a na ture to obstruct the performance of the duties of the legislature." In other words, the act for which the Senate may punish for contempt must be obstructive of legislation. Where there is no legislative duty to perform or where it can be proved that the act complained of is not of a char acter to obstruct legislation the Sen ate may not punish for contempt. Nor may the power to punish for con tempt be extended to slanderous at tacks upon the Senate which present no immediate obstruction to legislative processes. TViû rofneel nf λ ν» ·-»*·/■»»· questions put by a Senate committee when it is engaged in investigations looking to future legislation has been held to be contempt of the Senate and punishable by the Senate. Refusal to produce papers in such a proceeding by a Senate committee, when sub poenas have been issued, is held to be ( equally an act of contempt of the j Senate. To deny the power to punish for contempt in cases of re fusal to answer questions or to produce papers would in effect greatly reduce the effectiveness of senatorial inquiries, perhaps nullify it. Congressional in quiries have frequently in the past been valuable to the country because they uncovered corruption and prac tices that wore inimical to the public Interest. The case now decided by the Su preme Court involved William P. Mac Cracken, former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for aviation. During the Senate inquiry into airmail contracts Mr. MacCracken served as attorney for some of the executives of air lines holding contracts for carrying the mails. The Senate committee called upon him for the papers in his files relating to airmail contracts. He answered that some of the papers amounted to confidential communica tions between an attorney and his clients. The Senate committee, how ever, insisted upon the delivery of all the papers. In the meantime Mac Cracken and a partner permitted two airline officials to examine the files in their office and to remove some of the papers. Although some of these pa pers so withdrawn from the files were later given to the Senate committee, others were not, having been de stroyed. The Senate adjudged Mac Cracken in contempt. The contention of the defense was that the Senate had no right to pun ish for contempt since the act com Dlained of- thp rpmrwal anH HocfFiin. tion of papers after subpoena, was "the past commission of a completed act which prior to the arrest and pro ceedings to punish had reached such a stage of finality that it could not longer affect the proceedings of the Senate or any committee thereof." The defense further insisted that the Senate could punish for contempt merely as a means of removing an existing obstruction to the perform ance of its duties. MacCracken, it held, had not declined to answer any questions, and had produced all the papers that were necessary and that existed. The court overruled this contention of the defense, holding that the Senate had a right to punish for a past and completed act, citing precedents to uphold its decision. The Senate, quite naturally, jealously guards Its powers. The greater its powers, the greater the duty ot the Senate, however, to use them wisely and justly. Inquisition may easily become persecution. Some of the Senators who at first favored World Court reservations de cided that they did not even want a rain check. Films for the Nation's Archives. Vastly Interesting is the decision providing that movie films of his torical importance are to be accommo dated in the new Archives Building. A special portion of the edifice will be assigned to such use and equipped to such purpose, and Robert D. W. Con nor, archivist, has announced the ap pointment of Capt. John O. Bradley to have charge of the work of receiv ing, cataloging and storing appropri ate material. Films are history. That fact has been realized from, the beginning of photography. Plates made by the earliest pioneers recently have been printed for display in public museums and great numbers of people have found them worthy of Inspection and comment. Celluloid negatives also are available in notable quantity, and many reels of pictures taken by camera men employed by the several news movie companies still are pre served In the hands of persons who doubtless will be happy to co-operate with Mr. Connor. Different Government departments and bureaus likewise have film rec ords which, obviously, should be pre served In a central treasury. The cinematic chronicles of the World War period especially are valuable and ought to be protected. They illustrate an age as well as an event and therefore have ethnographic sig niflrance of a high order. Students of later generations will appreciate them. But films deteriorate unless care fully guarded. Some, it may be, will have to be recopied. A fund to make reproduction possible should be pro vided. Facilities for the showing of the pictures also will be necessary, and Congress should appropriate whatever money may be required for that sort of equipment. Costs, however, never will be ex ceptional and every penny will be justified in terms of educational and patriotic service rendered. Nothing can surpass the pictorial illustration of history as an agent for the pro motion of love of country. How won derful. how thrilling it would be if the Nation had movies of the inaugu ration of George Washington or the signing of the Declaration of Inde pendence or the battle of Bunker Hill! Tor World Trade Peace. While the European powers are moving on the grand scale to tighten up the machinery of peace in the political and military realms, the United States is accelerating its ef forts to promote trade peace through out the world and incidentally to expand the market for American goods. The basic purpose of the pro gram upon which Secretary Hull has energetically embarked is to induce the trading nations, under a sy?tem of mutual concessions, to abolish fac tors which make for economic war, such as high tariff barriers, exchange controls, import quotas and other re strictions now strangling international· commerce. In signing with Brazil the first regu lar reciprocal treaty consummated under the United States' new policy. Secretary Hull expresses the belief that it will "break the log jam of world trade" and "cast a broad beam of light and hope into the existing ! economic darkness' The pact with the Amazon republic is an ideal speci- J men of reciprocity. It clips twenty five per cent off the Brazilian tariff on sixty-seven American products. In j return, the United States reduces j tariffs on seven Brazilian products and keeps on the free list Brazil's > principal export item, coffee, together i with eleven other commodities. There j are, in addition, correlated arrange ments for regularizing Brazil's' finan cial obligations in this country. The State Department is now negotating lifteen similar reciprocal treaties with Latin-American and European countries. Preliminary dis cussions are under way with several others. Secretary Hull reminds com mittees of Congress that nationalism is rampant everywhere—an almost incorrigible determination upon the part of governments and their busi ness people to do all of the taking and none of the giving. Such tendencies are not unknown in the United States when tariff making and tariff bargain ing are under way. The Hull reciprocity program is a declaration of war on that kind of economic selfishness and isolation. It is notice to the world that Uncle Sam is ready to do business on the fifty-fifty basis with all comers. To promote progress in that direction, there is now under consideration a plan to send abroad, as trade missionaries, outstand ing American business leaders, who presumably will not only explore op portunities for widening the market for our wares, but also preach the reciprocity gospel. They will be within their legitimate rights, too, if they emphasize America's ability and purpose to withhold most-favored nation privileges from countries which insist upon maintaining discriminatory practices against the trade of the United 8tates. The State Depart ment's Trade Agreements Committee is now compiling a list of such gov ernments. America has hoisted the banner of world trade peace. It is now for thoee to rally around it, who will. When Horace Greely said "Go West" he had no possible thought of con ditions to cause so many to go job hunting In Hollywood. An Architectural Standard. Gratifying evidence that the next addition to the Government's build ing equipment in Washington will con form to the standard lately set In the development of the Mall-Avenue tri angle and other spaces taken for con struction purposes is afforded by the statement that has been Issued by the Federal Reserve Board, with regard to the plans for its projected new hous ing. The site selected, within the area north of Constitution avenue and west of the White House group, is in the natural line of development of a con sistent scheme of placements. Fur thermore, the program for the struc tural design, submitted to the archi tects who have been selected for the competition, Is calculated to "satisfy the requirements of utility and beauty." While considerations of practical use fulness and adequate space will govern, the dictum of the Commission of Pine Arts, which has been accepted by the Federal Reserve Board, that the new construction must have "impressive dignity," will prevail. It is noted in this statement that the proximity of the. projected building to the Lincoln Memorial and nearby per manent structures already erected on Constitution avenue or later to be erected In the "West Rectangle" sug gests that the exterior of the Reserve Board building should be In harmony with its environment. That precept should be maintained In all permanent construction works In Washington. Had It been adopted and faithfully followed in the past, many misfits and architectural blemishes would have been avoided. One passage In the program as stated is of special Interest: It Is, however, thought desirable that the esthetic appeal of the ex terior design should be made through dignity of conception, purity of line, proportion and scale, rather than through stressing of mere decorative or monumental features. For this rea son it Is suggested that the use of columns, pediments and other similar forms may be omitted and should be restricted to a minimum consistent with the character of the building as described. There has been some criticism, not in all cases justified, of the character of the ornamentation of some of the newer additions to the Government's housing equipment In Washington. Uniformity of design is not in itself desirable, nor, in the conditions that prevail, is it possible. Short of the wholesale revision of the architectural layout, at an impossible cost, would such uniformity be feasible. Succes sive impulses of building enterprise on the part of the Government have left numerous discrepancies, which must be accepted and tolerated. Some modifications are possible, as in the case of the so-called State, War and Navy Building, for the reconstruction ι of which a plan has been adopted and ! awaits execution. In another case, the old Pension Building, completed half a century ago, a redesigning plan is under consideration. In the planning of the structures that are to be placed within the "West Rectangle" care should, and doubtless will, be taken to avoid incongruous misfits and departures, to perpetuate anew the mistakes of the past. The Federal Reserve building, designed in 1 accord with the instructions given | to the competing architects, will per haps establish a standard to be ob served when the later comers in this area, notably the contemplated homes for the War and Navy Departments, are undertaken. The "Henderson Castle" was the scene of many a throng when Mrs. Henderson was a social leader. The sale of Its furnishings will recall not only occasions of entertainment, but also important conferences for pur poses of philanthropy and civic better ment. Radio announcers go so far afield 1 in their opinions that they some- I times appear to entertain doubts j about everything on earth, excepting the wares they incidentally but ar tistically celebrate. Nobody wants to shoot Santa Claus, although Mr. McCarl may, to those who view fiscal problems superficially, seem indifferent to what may happen to a spirit of joyous beneficence. Strikes in the automobile industry cannot hinder business recovery, ex cepting for those persuaded to deem it expedient to suspend their own j earning capacity. In addition to consulting all avail able authorities, the Supreme Court may be expected to devote some time to listening to the voice of safety. Various economists favor the rule, "when in doubt close the New York Stock Exchange or the Chicago Board of Trade." In the war on crime the police re porter takes on a position of leader ship in current journalism. SHOOTING STARS BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Survival The storms will sweep the ocean deep And devastate the land. Our patient vigils we must keep, Though few can understand. Men face despair beneath some care, But all awake to see The ocean and {he land are there— And so, good friends, are we I Respectful Audience. "I shall listen with interest to your speech on George Washington's birthday." "I'm not going to make any speech," answered Senator Sorghum. "What Washington said Is still being heard throughout the land, and it isn't for me to Interrupt." Initials. 'Mongst the initials on display These two are noted, "Q" and "A." Each question seeks an answer true. Each answer brings a question new. There's no decision so profound That queries new do not abound. Existence, since its earliest day. Has been made up of "Q" and "A." Two Varieties. "How's your boy Josh doin'?" asked the neighbor., "I don't know," answered Parmer Corntossel. "He's got a job with the Government, but I can't be sure whether it's one of them jobs where you work without gettin' paid or get paid without workin'." "My ancestors were fighters," said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, "who wished to bestow peace on posterity. I reverence their memories and would rather go on fighting for posterity, as is the custom. Discarding Aces. If you mislead your fellow man, You must prepare, However furtively you plan, His lot to share. If you are faithless unto some Confiding elf, You'll also find, in days to come, You fooled yourself. "Good advice is never wasted," said Uncle Eben. "If others won't use It, you kin take ^ yohself." , .. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. No crocus In bloom this February! An old Washington ciutom, yellow and purple flowers shortly after the groundhog sees his shadow, takes the count once more. Last year, for the first time In years, these friendly little flowers failed to appear os schedule. The year before that—1933—cro cuses showed their colors on Febru ary 1, and were In bloom almost all that month. No bloom, not even that of the so called snowdrop, normally appears earlier In this vicinity than the crocus. Overlooked by those who want to have their "çyes knocked out" by huge blossoms, thè crocus is beloved by all persons really garden-minded. * * * * There Is no snobbery In this at all. It is but another Instance of at tention to the particular, as distin guished from the mass. It is one thing to see a group of flowers, quite another to see the In dividual plants, of which the group is composed. The best interest in gardening con tinues only so long as the gardener Is eager and able to discern each plant, one from another. When this stage of his education Is past he has gone out of the best joy of gardening as an art. He still may love the growing plants and get a great deal of real satisfac tion out of work with them, but he will never again be able to enter into the fullest joy of the gardening year. * * * * Therefore, the humble crocus may be taken as a symbol, of something held, if one still loves it; of something mai,, ii ιυ is a. uiaiitr υχ nu cuiise quence in his own mind. Then all these thousands of city folk who would not know a crocus from a periwinkle—they have lost something, eh? This does not mean that they must suffer from it, particularly. Such things are not like food, and clothing, and warmth. One may not know a crocus from a peony, yet be just the same man or woman as ever. A matter of no consequence to them, of course—but surely they have lost something, although rightly It may make no difference to them. * * * * All of us have lost something, many things, whenever we have failed to grasp the good in pursuits. The real bonus, or good, of life, should not be a few paltry dollars. It should be a vastly diversified grasp on ell the good things that ever were. It should be a ready acceptance of anything that any human being, any where. had found worth while. It should call for a thousand, maybe a million, attempts, with consequent failings, but glorious memories. Consider the most cosmopolitan person you know. The chances are that, despite the fact he has been everywhere, and seen everything, his real range of intense interests is very narrow. He has not flown an airplane, he has never bowled, he knows nothing of deep-sea fishing, and wouldn't know more than a dozen breeds of dogs by name. He thinks, and most of hie friends do. too, that he Is something of a wizard, when It comes to having been places and having seen things, but compared with all the things a human might see and do he is but a piker, not much different from most of us. If any one wants an Interesting diversion for an hour, he may think over all the types of persons he has never met. We have read of kings, queens, explorers, scientists, actors, playwrights, authors and the like, in bewildering array, but many a man who ratheir fancies his many-sidedness will discover that, after all, he has | not met many persons of renown, even glimpsed them at $2 apiece at lectures and the like. ♦ * * * He would be a gre^t busybody in deed who sought to do everything, j know, hear and see everything. This gigantic sampler of life and living perhaps would become the prize jack-of-all-tradee of the centuries and in the end be little better of! than the homebody, popularly called bourgeois, who might lament to himself that! he had seen nothing and been no- j where. What is possible for the latter is to take a genuine interest m the many ! things which confront him every day. Instead of maintaining, as so many do, an Indifference based mostly upon the fact that these things bring them in no money. Alas, how many things bring in no pay, except the joy and happiness which may be in them for those who are able to find them! And so it may be believed, without reaching too far, that he who looks for the crocus, because he loves the crocus, is far, far better off than he who pays it no attention at all. * ♦ * * The mystery of Nature Is nowhere more strikingly shown than in the fact that her thousands of bti'.ue lie beneath snow and ice without taking hurt from the cold. Just cold air—somehow that does not strike one as so inimical, but much ice and snow—these impress the average beholder with their powers for harm. Failure to see the earth for days, ! even weeks at a time, is an experience comparatively new for many local gardeners. Some who began their gardening careers as long ago as 1923 did not have a chance until last year to wit ness what many call "an old-fash oned Winter." Ten years Is a long time in any gardener's life. Yet hundreds who took up this out door sport at about the time given had to wait many years before they realized that crocuses do not always bloom In February. During thoee years they built up an entirely false idea of what plant pro tection ought to be. They got the idea, innocently enough, that such protection was entirely unnecessary in this climate. Now they know better. If the last two Winters have done I nothing much except Impress the ! home gardener'with the need of fore thought for his plants, they have done some good in the world. STARS, MEN AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HEMRY. The great malaria epidemic eweep- ! ing over Ceylon—to date it has at tacked a fourth of the population and caused more than 30.000 deaths—is a ' striking repetition of what, la all probability, caused the rapid downfall of some of the world's greatest civili zations, according to British medical officprs who are trying to check its spread. Eight centuries ago Northern and Eastern Ceylon was literally a tropical paradise with great cities, roads and . an irrigation system that was among the wonders of the world. A military invasion from India drove out the populace. The great irrigation reser voirs and ditches deteriorated and mosquitoes multiplied by the millions. Malaria got the upper hand. When the refugees straggled back after the invasion they perished. The great cities, some of them almost the size of Washington, tumbled down and were buried under the jungle. Ever ^Lthe,whoIe countryside has sup ported only a scanty, poverty-stricken and malarial population. It has been impossible to settle the land, either with whites or natives fiJ?Ul^odU!trent has 016 cona tion of Southern and Western Ceylon, where there is plenty of rainfall, swift flowing streams and an equable cli amCt 4nn ,™rts a population of about 400 to the square mile. Parts of this country are well known as health resorts. The central plateau land"Cribe<1 aS "a troplcal New Eng rig!lt besIde it Is the malarial jungle and every now and then, for some unknown reason, the disease breaks out and decimates the popu lation of the fertile country. The longer the epidemic persists the harder to check it because the fields are left r,T^Vat^ and 016 streami become srJrhZl'h 7Ï0? ?resent ePyemic is de ZlP&J* Lancet· official journal of the British Medical Association, as the worst in history and at a less fntime might; have resulted in depopulating the island. The efficacy of malaria as a de itT°ÏZ ?f„ civHizations is illustrated rentrai Λ the Maya culture in Central America—which represented the greatest height which aboriginal peoples attained in the New World StraJiBe ,decllne and disappear ance of the Maya cities beneath the jungle often has been attributed to nialaria, which produced & progrès sively deteriorating effect once it had gotten a foothold. * * * * A new kind of visitors to earth from the vastness of outer space is studied by Prof. Car] Stormer former research associate of the Car negie Institution of Washington and now at the Norwegian Institute of Astrophysics. These are the luminous night clouds, blue-white in color, which are observed during the Summer months speeding across the sky at a speed of about 40 yards a second and at a height of about 60 miles. They are seen chiefly in high latitudes, mostly between midnight and morning, and move from east to west, so that they have been noted over Canada within about 33 hours of their appearance over Norway. After eliminating various other pos sibilities—such as that of fine clouds of water vapor or ice crystals at such a great height—Stormer concludes that these are clouds of interstellar dust which drift into the earth's at mosphere and may be considered as essentially of the same nature as ffleteaiv Tùelr tendency to recur a certain period each year le also characteristic of meteor showers. The case of a 3-year-old girl who weeps blood—apparently with no physical abnormality of the eyes or of the lachrymal glands to account for it—is reported in this week's issue of the Lancet, journal of the British Medical Association. The account is from R. L. Haviland-Michin, an army medical officer in India. The patient was the child of a native sol dier. With no ascertainable reason for the abnormality, there was little to be done from the medical stand point, but after about three months of observation, the army medical offi cer reports, the blood in the tears finally has decreased until now only a faint tinge of pink is discernible. * * * » Stinginess and sadism, or love of inflicting pain, are companion quali ties, according to a report published in this month's issue of the Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases from Dr. Oluf Bruel. Danish psychiatrist. Besides giving a number of clinical reports of cases where stinginess and cruelty were combined, Dr. Bruel finds that the relationship enters into the idiomatic structure of the Northern European languages. Thus, "to bleed" any one is idiomatically synonymous with taking money from the victim. "To skin alive" is an expression often used to describe a shrewd and profit able business deal. The reverse ex pressions are used when the speaker is the victim. Dr. Bruel finds that the districts of Denmark where the populations are reputedly the most parsimonious are also the ones where the murder rate is highest. * * * * Hair may be "vulcanized muscle." The essential difference between myosin, the protein substance of muscle, and keratin, the protein sub stance of hair, is that the latter con tains a small amount of sulphur, according to W. T. Astbury and Mrs. Sylvia Dickinson of the Textile Physics Laboratory of the University of Leeds, who have just reported a chemical study of the two materials. Section 8 of Constitution And Gold Clause Issue To the Editor of The Star: The answer to the "greenback letter of W. E. Ryan" in a recent issue of your paper will be found in article 1, section 8. of the Constitution of the United States. Since some of the folks are keen to wager on what the Supreme Court will do in certain Instances it may be well for them to read section 8. I have a hunch the reading of same will affect the betting odds and I also have a hunch the Supreme Court has read section 8. The money power of this country, which has lived off interest piled upon interest for a century, knows its back is broken. The center of the money power is now the U. S. Treas ury, which will make it flexible to meet the conditions of the moment | To save Mr. Ryan from looking up section 8 and to save the betting boys the trouble also I will say that sec tion 8 reads this way: "The Congress shall have power to coin money and regulate the value thereof and of for eign coin " By the way, I haven't seen anybody throwing away any of these dollars in which some people say 41 cents is missing. How come? ·. RUSSELL T. SDWABDa, Food Prices, Beefsteak, Rats, Cats and Chickens To the Editor of The Star: Mr. J. W. Westhaver mildly chides the writer because he complained lh a recent letter to The Star about the unwarranted Increase In the price of food without offering a solution to the problem. He then makes this original and unique suggestion for its solu tion: Organize the farmers and con sumers. Sure! Let's do that next Monday morning. In lieu of our pos sibly not being able to finish up that little job before lunch time, Mr. West haver suggests that "Government control of processors-distributors might provide the simplest solution of the food problem." Now, this gentle man surely is not so naive as to be lieve the Government is going to be interested in any plan that will tend to lower prices to the consumer. The Government's chief concern has been, and still is. how to get prices up. The fact that the big jump in food price comes after the food reaches the stores, thereby benefiting the farmer not at all, seems to make no differ ence to the Government. The idea is to get the price up. The chain stores must indeed think their own personal Santa Claus is here. Mr. Westhaver remarks on "the sys tem that is denying Mr. Mumford his daily beefsteak." What does he mean, "daily" beefsteak? Why, I had my monthly beefsteak (round) the other night and I insisted the kitchen door be left open while the steak was being cooked and thus killing two birds with one stone: Giving the neighbors an olfactory treat and doing a little per sonal bragging. Daily beefsteak, in deed! The gentleman must be under the impression that I have just come to Washington to take a job at a salary commensurate with the fact that I control a couple of thousand votes back in dear old Squeedunk County. As a result of my letter of protest on food costs in The Star Miss Stella Stewart, chief retail division of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, mailed to me some voluminous reports on the activities of her department in dis seminating food prices to the public. It was all very interesting and I thank her but, reading it as intently as I could, I was unable to find anything that changed my opinion that the average farmer would faint from shock if he knew we here in Wash ington are paying 5 cents a pound for cooking apples and 4 1-3 cents a pound for sweet potatoes. Maybe it is a piece of impudence, however, for me to presume any one except a Democratic officeholder has the right to eat such things. Nothing so important as what the consumer pays for his daily food is going to receive any attention from the Government. It must be some thing important if it is to be investi gated. In that connection I am in daily terror that an old friend of mine down in Maryland is going to run afoul of Federal investigators. This good old soul has a nice flock of chick ens. but here of late the rats have been cracking down on them like ofBce-seekers on a Congressman. For awhile it looked like annihilation for the flock. Fortunately the old lady also owns three cats and they have solved the problem. Her modus oper andi is to put the cats in the henhouse as soon as darkness falls. Being good ratters these noble cats have saved the flock. Trouble is likely to arise, how ever, because the whole performance is a direct violation of an N. R. A. code. I have tried to convince the old lady that she should split the cats' tricks of duty into 8-hour shifts, so as to conform to the code, but she will not listen to me. She is also ignoring section 7-a because she will not per mit collective bargaining by the felines. Any day I am expecting to hear she is in the hoosegow. S. H. MUMFORD. Washington Alone in Car Parking in Streets To the Editor of The Star: With reference to James N. Galla gher's letter in The Star of January 25 I will say I seem to have the same trouble in trying to park my car for an hour or two somewhere within a block from my home. That certainly is the truth about cars being parked for days in the same spot—in fact, there are any number of cars parked right in this block for a week or more, and probably they will be there several days more. Why does not the Traffic Depart ment do something about it? I have never visited a city with such poor traffic regulations as those of Wash ington. You hear all this talk about build ing more garages and getting more parking lots, but what is the use in doing that if you can use the streets for garages? There are lots of garages right now that hardly make their taxes because cars can be parked on the street. I think if a man can afford to drive a car he can afford to keep it in a garage. I am sure the qjjy of Wash ington would put up an awful holler if every one who owned a piano parked it on the street. How can a garage or parking lot do any business as long as the cars are allowed to stand on the streets for days? I want to state here I do not own a garage or parking lot, but just wanted to express my views on the subject. I have been in a number of large cities and in none of them can a car be parked for days in the same spot. P. O. STIMPSON. Deadly Black Spider Killed Near Baby's Cart To the Editor of The Star: The Bureau of Entomology says that black widow spiders have in creased alarmingly in recent years, have become widespread and com mon, and may be found in some quantity in Washington. However, it was more of a shock than we anticipated when, the other day, we discovered one of these pests crawling toward the baby carriage in #hich lay our young daughter. Any kind of a spider bite would be serious for a five-month-old infant, but imagine our feelings when, after be ing stepped on, this spider turned on its back, revealing the significant red warning sign, and tried to fight. For tunately, the second blow killed it. Apparently the creature gained ac cess to our living room from the cellar by crawling up a radio gTound wire, which runs through a hole in the floor. This incident happened before the recent storm and cold wave. I am aware that ordinarily this spider hibernates In sheltered places out doors, so perhaps the recent bad storm and the following cold have killed many of the pests, except pos sibly some which may have got into cellars, like this one, before the cold set in. For many years nature study has been a hobby of mine, and while I prefer birds, animals and fish, I know enough about Insects to make me feel that I identified this spider correctly; therefore will you kindly publish this letter so that your readers may be on guard against this most dan gerous of insect pests. ROBERT A. MULLEN. Demoted. From the Winston-Salem (If. C.) Journal. Cotton was once king in the abso lute sense, but tariffs and the AAA have reduced his realm to something litoff oanetitutiooal monarchy, ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASK1N. A reader can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Washington Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. When is the Saar Basin to be given to Germany?—M. R. A. The territory will be turned over to Germany on March 1, 1935. Q. Why does wine age in bottles while whisky doee not?—L. H. P. A. The Bureau of Industrial Alco hol says that "if whisky ages in the bottle, chemical and physical tests up to the present time have failed to show it. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that a whisky containing the normal amount of congenencs ' does not have the proper conditions to induce a slow oxidation process in a bottle, as it does in the charred barrel. On the other hand, wine, on account of its high acid content in comparison with that of whisky, will age in bottles, which Is evidenced not only by its taste, but by the precipi I tation of tartrates." Q. How many elephants are there in this country?—D. A. M. A. The National Zoological Park says that the number of elephants in this country is approximately 150, most of them in circuses. Q. What is the inscription on the tablet in front of the Adler Plane tarium in Chicago?—M. P. K. A. On a plaque at the entrance of the structure is engraved a declara tion of the purpose of the institution, reading: "To further the progress of science: to euide to an understandiïii ! I of the majesty of the heavens; to j emphasize that under the celestial j I firmament there is order, interde- 1 ι pendence and unity." Q. When did Uncle Joe Cannon1 first meet Abraham Lincoln?—H A D. A. He first saw Lincoln at Charles ton, 111., in 1858, when he heard a debate between Lincoln and Douglas. He met Lincoln about two years later at the Republican State Convention. Q. What kind of material are fairy stones made of?—C. B. A. Fairy stones are found in Carroll County, Va., on top of Bull Mountain. These are starlike crystals simulat ing the Roman Maltese St. Andrew's i Crosses. They are found in cross form in their natural state. The stones are a mineral hydrated Iron-aluminum silicate in the orthorhombic system. They have a subvitreous to resinous luster and are brown or black in color. The crystalline varieties are frequently cruciform, owing to twin ning. The proper name for such stone is staurolite, which is a com bination of two Greek words mean ing cross and stone. Q. How many of the ten tribes of j Israel returned from the Babylonian 1 captivity?—J. J. S. ! A. After the Babylonian captivity there was a general dispersion of the j Jews and the records of only two tribes, Benjamin and Judah, were 1 preserved practically in their entirety. ! It is impossible to say just how many I j of the other tribes returned, or where I their leaders settled. Q. Are snow fences put up to keep I the snow off the field or off the ! road?—J. T. N. A. They are constructed to keep the heavy snows from blocking the high ways and making them impassable to traffic. I , . . Q. Why are bandboxes so called? —O. T. A. They were used In the seven teenth century to hold ruffe, which were often called bande. Q. When was the first shirt fac tory established In the United States? —J. H A. In 1848 In Boston by Oliver Winchester. Q To what extent can sound t· amplified?—R. K. A. Under the direction of Dr. Ε. E. Free, sound expert, a sound micro scope has been developed by Cari A. Johnson of New York University which is capable of amplifying sounds ten thousand billion times. In dem onstrating the instrument, sound# made by weevils chewing wheat grains were so loud as to disturb adjoin ing class rooms. Q. How many impeachment eases have been tried by the United States Senate?—T. 8. A. Twelve. Q. When does dawn begin?—T. P. A. It begins when the sun is 18 degrees below the horiaon. Its dura tion therefore varies with the latitude and season of the year. Q. How long has the slide trom bone been made?—G. N. A. In its present form, it was known as early as the beginning of the six teenth century. Q. Which were the States that did not secede for which there were stars in the Confederate flag?—L. V. B. A. Mainland and Kentucky were the two States which were expected to enter the Confederacy, but which did not. Q. When did the Hejira begin?— R. W. A. The epoch began with the flight of Mahomet from Mecca to Medina, when he was expelled by the magis trates, July 15, 622. Q Is beauty sleep the sleep before midnight or afterward?—M. L. A. Sleep taken before midnight. Q. What is meant by union in re ferring to table linen?—Ε. T. A. Union means half linen and half cotton. Q. What three cities in the United States have the densest population? —R. P. A. New York City has the densest, which is 4.000 per square mile. Chi cago is next with 3.899 per square mile, and then Cleveland with 3,852 per square mile. Q. Whet causes the foxing of book pages?—T. H. S. À. The foxing of the leaves of books is often produced when the books are subjected to extremely cold temperatures. When this is the case, after the temperature moderates the air laden with damp penetrates the books and deposits its moisture on the cold surfaces. Q. How much damage is done to plants by disease end insects?—A. F. A. The Nation's losses from insects and plant diseases are more than $3.500.000,000 annually. Q. Where does this expression occur: "For of all sad words of tongue or pen. the saddest are these, "It might have been' "?—T. P. A. It is in Whittier's "Maud Muller." John Barton Payne Lauded As Useful Public Servant Newspaper comment on the death · of John Barton Payne is marked by ! : appreciation of the career of a man ! who raised himself from poverty to a position of high esteem and spent [ the closing years of his life in service : to all distressed people. "The life story of John Barton | ' Payne." says the Jamestown (Ν. Υ.) ί i Post, "is such as that which has often j been recorded in our American an- j nals. His boyhood was handicapped < by poverty. From the obscure vil- ; lage which was the scene of his birth, by his industry and sound judgment through years of effort he rose to distinction in the legal profession and to the enjoyment of plenty. Though a native of Virginia it was in Chi j cago that he won special notice as a 1 talented lawyer." According to the ! Manchester <N. H.) Union, "he re ! alized that he did not live in a Utopia and that, consequently, it was ί necessary to work to live. So, lit I erally and figuratively, he dug in; first of all as a farm boy. Then he became a clerk in a country store; I next a lawyer. By the time he was 21 his name had countywide sig- ; nificance." "John Barton Payne," the Scranton Times declare, "was an important cit izen. He held big political offices, and was regarded as a fine lawyer and big business man. In these dual char- J acters he held the offices of chairman and later counsel of the United States Shipping Board; he was Secretary of Interior in the cabinet of Woodrow ! Wilson and judge of the Supreme Court of Cook County, 111. The high j places he held attest the caliber of the man." "His quiet but wide beneficencies have come too little to the public attention," says the Newport News Times Herald. "Bom a Virginian, the 1 vicissitudes of the War Between the States made him technically a West Virginian, but his heart was ever with the Old Dominion and on her he showered beneficencies within his means as a patron of art and edu- j cation. · · · The scope of his interest was wide, his devotion deep and his loyalty intense. He has served his generation well and history will enlarge his stature. He was one of the greatest sons that 'The Mother of States' has given the Nation." "But it is not in the realm of law nor in political office that Judge Payne will be best remembered," be lieves the Lynchburg Daily Advance. "As a humanitarian," they continue, "his conspicuous service will be the brightest page of his life. Although 65 years of age when called upon by President Harding to become chair man of the American Red Cross, he did not fear to tackle so strenuous a task and for years he devoted his efforts to some of the largest relief enterprises of all time." According to the Atlanta Constitu tion: "Under his direction the Amer ican Red Cross has become the most efficient organization for the relief of the distressed the world has known. In every visitation from which the people of the country have suffered— flood, pestilence, fire, earthquake, famine, drought and unemployment— the Red Cross under his guidance has been the succoring organization to save life and minimize suffering. * * * For 14 years he served as chairman of the Red Cross without remunera tion other than, as he himself ax pressed It, the 'personal satisfaction' of serving those whose need was des perate." "The name of John Barton Payne, who just died after a long and event ful life," to the Dayton Herald, "1· associated imperishably with the grqpt [ humanitarian work of the American Red Cross, of v.hich he had been chairman since 1921," and the Bir mingham News points out that "it was under his chairmanship that the or ganization attained its greatest peace time usefulness." To the Kansas City Times "the range of his interest»" is "remarkable." while the Des Moines Tribune thinks that "if our system of government provided for a community Df elders, offering counsel and guid ance as did those of ancient Israel and Greece. John Barton Payne very likely would have been among them during the last quarter century." The San Antonio Express pays tribute be cause "during life's eventime, when most men are content to retire. Judge Payne carried forward his arduous, greatly responsible labors." "One of those tremendously busy men, never too busy to help others," is the way the San Francisco Chron icle describes him, while the Idaho Statesman feels that "his life stands as an example worth following today." The Rochester Times-Union speaks of "a career notable for public service," and the Nashvile Banner declares that "he died rec6§xjized as one of the world's greatest. Jywtfianitarians." Workers Will Finance Proposed Work Relief To the Editor of The Star: William Green, president of the American Federation of Labor, pro tests that relief employment at $50 a month will injure wage earners instead of being a benefit to them. It might help us to keep this matter straight in our minds if we recognized fully that the $4,000,000,000 work relief fund is not going to "benefit" anyone—least of all the present wage earners. It is merely a necessary evil—pre sumably necessary, at any rate, since we have been unable to do without it—but certainly an evil. Its sole object is the relief of thoee millions who, having been unable to find any one to employ them and pay them wages are unemployed and wageless, and more or less destitute. The idea that the fund should be, or by any stretch of the imagination could be, conceived as a benefit to wage earners in general is absurd. The only way it affects wage earner· is that they, together with workers in business and professional life, will have to pay the bill. It will cost each one upward of $100 for the current year. In other words, since seven or eight millions of workers have been unable to find any one to employ them and pay them wages, their fellows who are working have under taken to perform that function. The Government is merely their agent In carrying out the plan. W. H. HULL. Sipn of Poverty. Prom the Marshalltown (Iowa) Time»· Republican. The observant reporter remarked this morning, "You can tell where a poor man lives by the ashes on his sidewalk. If you don't believe It slip out west and satisfy yourself.'· On the Anxious Bench. Prom the Roanoke (Va.) Times. < Many a citizen who couldn't raise $75 if his life depended on it U await the Supreme Court's decision In th· gold case with aa much interest aa Andy Mellon himself,