Evening star. [volume], May 14, 1935, Page A-10, Image 10

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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THE EVENING STAR
With Sunday Morning Edition.
■WASHINGTON. D. C.
TUESDAY.May 14, 1935
THEODORE W. NOYES.. .Editor
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Well-Timed, Deserved Criticism.
Justice Hitz accompanies his blis
tering and well-timed indictment of
irresponsible automobile drivers in
Washington with two concrete sug- j
gestions for remedy, one of which lies'
within the power of the courts to ac- :
cept and apply, the other resting with |
Congress. How long will it be before
the defenseless citizen, whose life and
whose property are daily endangered
through the very lack of such reme
dies. receives the benefits of reforms
which he is powerless to bring about
himself?
It is an intolerable condition which
permits fatal or incapacitating injuries
to citizens without hope of recovering
partially compensating damages from
the person responsible for such in
juries. Yet that condition in Wash
ington is aggravated by the circum- j
stances which are picturesquely and ■
accurately described by Justice Hitz
as follows:
Hundreds of these taxicabs flying
the false colors of an incorporated re
sponsibility which they assume but do
not possess, and which disappears at
every attempt to enforce it, daily are
dashing about our streets in the hands
of youthful drivers, irresponsible, un- I
Insured and driving on speculation. j
The sole objection to an adequate
compulsory liability law for taxicab
owners and operators lies in the sug
gestion that such a law might put
some of them out of business. But
what about the case of the fireman,
in which Justice Hitz gave this dis
senting opinion, who has been injured
for life while in the performance of
his duty, and who, through an un
convincing technicality of the law, is
unable to recover damages from the
person responsible for his injury?
And the fireman is by no means the 1
single victim of such conditions.
There have been many others, and
there will continue to be others until
adequate legislative remedy is pro
vided.
The safety-responsibility law, re- j
cently enacted, represented a step in I
the right direction. But it was only
a step. It requires a showing of finan
cial responsibility on the part of cer
tain careless or reckless drivers after
an accident—but not before. It should
be followed by a law requiring, as Jus
tice Hitz suggests, “a system of com
pulsory insurance preliminary to
license of either cab or driver, such as
prevails in some of our States, but
which can be created here only by act
of Congress.”
Prance is studying possibilities of ■
a Soviet association. Prance had one
commune and may be hopeful that
her voice of experience may be able
to guide the Russian variety to a more
satisfactory demonstration.
Complaint concerning radio pro
grams is being organized. More in
tellectuality is demanded, but popular i
entertainment has never yet been di- j
rected by a brain trust.
Japan and Siam.
Since the menace of Hitlerism has
engrossed the attention of the world,
especially in the realm of European
affairs, relatively little thought has
been bestowed upon developments in
the Far East. In that circumstance
may lie the explanation of news that
Japanese influence is spreading in
Siam at so alarming a rate that the
representatives of Western powers at
Bangkok are calling upon the govern
ment to throw light on certain dis
quieting developments.
Japan embarked upon its great \
Manchurian adventure in the Fall of j
1931 at a moment when Tokio reck- j
oned that Europe and America were j
so preoccupied with their own trou
bles. mainly the depression, that the
militarists’ program in North China
might be launched with little or no
risk of obstruction. Those calculations
proved to be well founded. The estab
lishment of the "Empire of Manchu
kuo" is proof that the gamble, from |
Nippon's standpoint, turned out to be
completely successful.
The Bangkok authorities deny that
Siam is being swung intentionally
Into Tokio's orbit, but there are many
indications that the populous little j
kingdom lately ruled by Prajadhipok j
is coming more and more to look |
upon neighboring and powerful Japan
as the “most favored nation.” Gov
ernment officials, notwithstanding un
mistakable signs of Japanese influ
ence, insist that the two countries
are “close” friends only geographical
ly. Foreign ministers at Bangkok
are assured that Siam is just as
eager as outside powers to keep the
nation independent, but there seems
to be no gainsaying that commercial
ly, politically and culturally ties with
Japan are being notably strengthened.
There are insistent reports that some
sort of Siamese-Japanese special
treaty has been signed.
Great Britain especially looks with
disfavor upon the po^pility of Siam's
becoming a Japanese outpost in South
eastern Asia. If its 200,000 square
miles and 12,000.000 of population
were to go the way of Formosa, Ko
rea and Manchuria. Japanese terri
tory and power would be extended to
the border of British India, In Burma,
and to French Indo-Chlna. That la
a prospect that fills the British In
particular with mixed emotions. If
ever realized, it might require impor
tant revisions of imperial policy.
Japan has profited before when the
Western powers had other fish to
fry far remote from Asia. It is Just
possible that the Tokio Imperialists
are flirting with the idea of peaceful
penetration in Siam at what they
deem to be another peychologlcal
moment.
Politics—Just Politics.
Some of President Roosevelt's po
litical advisers are out to bring the
bonus bacon home for Mr. Rooeevelt
if they can. Their plan, It Is report
ed, is to have the President Issue a
strong veto message of the Patman
"greenback" soldiers bonus bill. At
the same time there Is to be enough
slackening of the efforts to hold ad
ministration Senators in line to per
mit the veto of the bill to be over
ridden in the Upper House. In this
way, it is contended, the President
will be able to have his cake and eat
it, too. By his veto message he will
make a strong appeal to the conserva
tives and the business interests of the
country, which have feared currency
inflation, thereby strengthening him
self in those circles. At the same time,
with the bonus enacted into law by a
vote of the Senate overriding the veto,
the World War veterans and their
friends, not to mention the inflation
ists, will be satisfied. The veterans will
have their money and the inflationists
their greenbacks.
This is the kind of scheme, however,
which could succeed only if the ma
neuvers were conducted in the utmost
secrecy. The people in the country
who do not like currency Inflation
and who do not believe that It is ad
visable to pay the soldiers' bonus at
this time, if they thought they were
being flimflammed by the administra
tion, would scarcely look with confi
dence or regard toward the Chief
Executive. It is true that the veterans
might be satisfied, if they were paid
off, and would not hold his veto mes
sage against the President. Perhaps
these advisers of the President who
point out the virtues of their plan
remember what happened to the late
President Calvin Coolidge. In 1924
Mr. Coolidge vetoed the bill that set
up the first definite claim of the
veterans to the bonus. In the Senate,
as in the House, the veto was over
ridden with the aid of Republican
votes. Mr. Coolidge was elected Presi
dent in the following November, and
if the veterans felt any resentment
they did not show it at the polls, nor
did the business interests of the |
country.
It is hardly conceivable that the
President of the United States could
countenance such a plan. To do so
would mean a veto of the Patman bill j
with a mental reservation. There |
are, however, those within the presi- j
dential circle who are not averse to I
the payment of the soldiers' bonus now,
and with greenbacks. The chairman
pf the Reconstruction Finance Corpo- j
ration, Jesse Jones, in an address to !
Vorth Carolina bankers, said the coun
try could stand the payment of $2,300,- i
D00.000 as a bonus to the veterans
now, and that it would be a val
uable thing to get the issue out of
politics. Marriner S. Eccles. gover
nor of the Federal Reserve Board, j
told the Senate Banking Committee
that the issuance of the greenbacks !
to pay the bonus would really be no
more inflation than the issuance of
Government bonds. These state
ments, coming at a time when the j
fate of the bonus hangs in the bal- i
snce, were not calculated to strength- j
;n the group which planned to vote ;
to sustain a presidential veto. And
now it is reported that one of' the !
highest-ranking officials of the ad
ministration is giving the same kind
jf advice, to override the veto.
The veterans are being used, in this
matter, by the inflationists. The lat-!
ter realize that the demand for the i
payment of the bonus Is strong in j
itself. So they have saddled on the
ponus bill a proposal that starts the
Government printing presses making
money. It is a dangerous step that
may start a disastrous flight from the
dollar. Mr. Eccles should remember
Lhat when the Government issues its
ponds to raise a couple of billions of
dollars it obtains real value. On the
pther hand, when the Government
adopts the expedient of printing money
it is trying to take something out of
the air to pay the veterans. While
ihis may not seem a matter of great
importance to Mr. Eccles, perhaps it is.
When time is being saved by the
use of Initials, a billion dollars might
as well be referred to as ABD.
Lo! The Happy Farmer.
When a man bites a dog or when
thousands of farmers come to Wash
ington by train, bus and automobile
to give three long cheers for the
Government it is news. So Washing
ton is glad to extend the hand of wel
come to the pilgrim farmers who have
come to town with that mission. It
is not altogether surprising that the
farmers should be thankful to the A.
A. A. or to the administration for the
wonders that have been wrought by
processing taxes and benefits for
ploughing under. Lesser things have
moved men to gratitude before. But
when a farmer says he is satisfied with
a farm-relief program and is willing
to come to Washington to say so—well,
that sort of thing does not happen
every day.
If there are tongues in the cheeks
of observers of this spontaneous ex
pression of gratitude toward an agency
that is now fighting a battle for its
existence under a deluge of criticism,
it is because of the failure of the
farmers to explain, without reserva
tion, the source of the funds which
defrayed the rather ^eavy expenses of
a trip to Washington at a time of
year when most farmers are pretty
busy at home, or to give the Interest
ing details of how the farmers per
fected in such a short time their ex
cellent organisation, extending from
Georgia to Minnesota, which brought
them all here at the same time. It Is
only healthy curiosity to want to know
and the farmers should tell.
But perhaps the most interesting
commentary on the times that this
unusual farmers' march has written
is the fact that general surprise and
Interest Is created by a demonstration
of faith in and good will toward the
Government—regardless of how care
fully staged that demonstration might
be. Washington is used to bonus
marches, hunger marches, other farm
ers’ marches and various marches of
the discontented, come to town to
air their grievances against the Gov
ernment. But a delegation of citi
zens who journey to their Capital
to say that 'everything is lovely and
the gooee hangs high —well, can
you blame the average American for
regarding it with suspicion?
Majestic Course of the Law.
A man who has the money to retain
skilled counsel may, in the exercise of
his rights as a citizen under the Con
stitution, keep the courts busy for a
considerable length of time In de
fending himself against the efforts of
the Government to send him to jail.
As witness the case of Sam Beard:
October 5. 1934—Arrested in a raid
on the Mather Building.
December 14—Indicted on a gam
bling charge.
December 21—Enters plea of not
guilty and posts bond.
December 28—Plea of not guilty
withdrawn and plea in abatement
filed.
January 2, 1935—Government filed
demurrer to plea in abatement.
January 7—Memorandum of points
and authorities in opposition to de
murrer filed by defense.
January 18—Government's demur- j
rer argued and sustained.
January 23—Demurrer to and mo- [
tion to quash Indictment filed by
defense.
February 12—Government filed
points and authorities In opposition
to the demurrer and motion to quash.
March 5—Demurrer and motion to
quash argued and submitted to judge. |
Ma/ch 6—Demurrer and motion
overruled.
March 11—Plea of not guilty filed, j
March 12—Stipulation filed as to
two defendants.
March 15—Defense filed motion for
bill of particulars; argued and
granted in part.
March 19—Bill of particulars filed
by Government.
April 29—Trial started.
May 6—Verdict of guilty returned.
Notice of appeal filed and defendant
released on bond.
May 10—Affidavits charging coer
cion filed by defense. New trial asked, j
May 14—Hearing to be held on
affidavits.
Definite statement is made that
President Roosevelt will veto soldier
bonus legislation and no less confident
assertion is made that the veto will be
voted down. Bitter as the argument!
may become, it may still have influence
in keeping the U. S A. out of another
war.
Paderewski may return to Polish
leadership. Oen. Dawes has proved
that a man may be both a great musi
cian and a great statesman.
—1 -- a
War maneuvers lor experimental
demonstration are undesirably realistic
when they include actual fatalities.
SHOOTING STARS.
BY PHILANDER J0HN80N.
Think Promoter.
My Radio! My radio!
You bring good cheer to me.
Though oft opinions you will show
With which I can’t agree.
Sometimes your mood is sunny,
Sometimes it’s rather sad;
The world is either funny
Or else it's just too bad.
My radio! My radio!
You often make me think
Of words I really should not know,
Caught from perdition's brink.
You make me think, I must admit,
And that should help a lot—
Though what about, I must admit,
Should mostly be forgot.
A Sad Philosophy.
“Aren’t you proposing too many
laws?”
"Maybe,” said Senator Sorghum.
"But some of my more prosperous
friends like them. The more laws
there are the more profitable becomes
the pull that permits evasion.”
Jud Tunkins says killing off hogs
may have aroused hopes of the old
fashioned pork barrel that contained
plain cash.
Balmless.
Though money may reward romance
When cruel lawyers take a chance
And very thriftily insist
That heart balm may perhaps exist.
When of new pictures there’s a crop
From brushes that refuse to stop
We drop our H's and declare,
“There is no ’art balm anywhere.”
Publicity Profit.
“Do you think good plays win lit
erary prizes?”
“Not necessarily,” answered Mr,
Stormington Barnes, “but good man
agers often do.”
The New Booking.
A happy farmer I would be
And get my vegetables tree,
Receiving what the Nation pays
For crops I do not have to raise.
I used to think a life of toil
Was necessary to the soil.
My present hopes are newly set,
The less I do the more I get.
“Some men,” said Uncle Eben, “get
de reputation of bein’ wiser dan
others simply because dey has been
luckier In dodgin’^ooaequences.”
THIS AND THAT
0
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.
Why is it that a garden looks so
much better some days than others?
It is a fact.
Usually it has nothing at all to do
with a well mowed and trimmed
lawn, as one might at first suppose.
Even stranger, It seems to depend
very little upon the flowers, whether
or not they are in bloom at the par
ticular time.
Every home gardener has known
such a time, when the entire yard
appeared at its best, for a variety of
reasons scarcely to be ascertained.
One always hopes that friends will
call at such times, but they seldom
do, usually waiting for things to look
at their poorest.
* * * *
One may come to feel that the
sheer state of the atmosphere has a
great deal to do with it.
On certain days, even at certain
hours, there must he just the right
amount of water vapor in the air to
transform an otherwise dull spot into
a picture.
Perhaps on days before rains this
effect is most noticeable.
Sometimes, just a few hours before
a rain, although at the time the sun
Is shining, everything will appear at
its garden best.
Fortunate is the beauty-loving
mind and heart able to realize that
this is the perfect moment.
* * * *
Gardens exist for these times.
All the rest of their existence is
but a working up to this.
During these perfect moments they
fairly shine.
The curious-minded home owner
will wonder if the casual eye could
note it.
Perhaps the closest acquaintance
is necessary, in order that the frac
tion of a difference may be noticed.
It is not large. It will never ‘‘knock
your eye out” or call especial atten
tion to itself.
There is no ballyhoo or propaganda
about it. This small difference de
mands something else, and neither
compels the beholder to notice it nor
threatens him if he should not.
Compulsion, in regard to it, is non
existent. Perhaps this is the real rea
son of reasons why it is eminently
beautiful. It is doubtful whether the
best things in life can be gained by
commands.
Though the greatest dictator of all
stands in our way, and with clenched
fists and frowning brows commands us
to admire something, we do it or not,
in mind and soul, only when we please.
Admiration by words is not the same
thing.
Often enough It is possible to dis
miss the polite command by words to
the effect that "Oh, yes' It is very
pretty,” when all the time one thinks
the effect atrocious.
It Is the same with Government
buildings, with gardens, with pic
tures. No one really can command
us. after all. The tighter the dictator
ship, the more lip-service, that is all.
* * * *
Fortunately the home owner, in re
gard to his own yard, is not faced by
dilemmas.
He may sdmire his own, or not,
just as his disposition goes, and the
day.
What others think Is something to
him, but moat what he thinks him
self.
Hence the happiness of these days
when he feels that thought and labor
have not been in vain, that, though
the yard may take no prizes, still It
has much to commend it.
i
This is a pleasant feeling, known
not only to gardeners, but to all who
try to do something. There always
will be knockers, and worse, those who
spend some of their valuable time
trying to "run down” those whose
offense, In their eyes, simply Is that
they are attempting to do something.
The number of ways in which these
persons attempt to discredit them Is
astounding. Some do It directly, some
openly, some by subterfuge, some by
petty persistence. Some do It with a
smile, others with a snarl, but do It.
Hence, In regard to gardening, Is
it eminently pleasant to feel, on cer
tain days, that the amount of time,
labor, intelligence and money put Into
it are getting results. In one way or
another. Then the petty sneerers
may be overlooked. It Is not always
so. Sometimes, depending upon the
sensitivity of the patient, the sneerers
do wreak their unnecessary vengeance
perhaps more than they shall ever
know.
* * * *
Hours when the garden seems at its
best may or may not be spent In work.
This will depend upon which aspect
of gardening one specializes in.
The actual work of gardening Is one
thing, and certainly the moat essen
tial. Therefore, he or she who really
makes the garden, who doea the work,
who sows, digs, transplants, carefully
watches over seedlings, Is the real
gardener, and no one shall say nay.
But there is another side to it, of
course, else wealthy owners of great
estates would be strangers in their
own grounds, and the award of prizes
to them at flower shows would be
mockery.
This is the side of direction; and
there is another side, which has mostly
to do with understanding and admira
tion.
He or she who honestly loves the ;
results of gardening, who is able to
understand what la being done, and
to rejoice when rejoicing Is due. may
be thought to be as much a gardener,
in a sense, as any. though he or she
never handle a trowel.
• * * *
This will mean that the American
sport of garden w'rangUng. often heard,
must come to an end.
Some families seem to keep gardens
merely to fuss and fume over them.
Everything that one party does, the
other party deplores.
One side specializes In pruning, the ;
other In deprecating pruning, however
necessary.
Often this mock-quarreling comes
about because both sides to the peren
nial disputation desire to pose as real
dirt gardeners.
Usually there Is just one dirt far
mer. and the other might as well keep
out of It, and enjoy the results.
This brings peace and harmony
where before reigned a sort of seml
dlspute as unpleasant as it was weak.
Sometimes strong doses of a thing are
not as unpleasant as repeated weak
ones.
Wherefore. It comes about, that gar
den harmony is to be sought in more ;
places than flowers.
When harmony reigns, as It ought,
every opportunity exists for all to dis
cover the sheerly beautiful days when
everything is more beautiful, when
the light is just right, when even the
untrimmed grass edges are forgotten. 1
and every one remarks. "How fine the j
garden looks today!” These are
precious hours, all the more so because
they do not come often. When they i
arrive, make the most of them.
STARS, MEN AND ATOMS
Notebook of Science Progress in Field,
Laboratory and Study.
BY THOMAS R. HE\RY.
The unendurable torment of anxiety
may be the kick-from-within which
constitutes the chief driving force of
man's social and mental evolution
It is thus pictured by Dr. William
A. White, superintendent of 8t. Eliza
beth’s Hospital, in the third Salmon
lecture before the New York Academy
of Medicine.
Anxiety, as defined by Dr White,
is a sort of internal loss of balance.
It is quite different from fear. One is
afraid o( that which threatens from
the outside. A man fears being run
over by an automobile, killed in bat
tle or discharged from his job. He is
not, strictly speaking, anxious about
these possibilities. The vague, tortur
ing sense of anxiety may come entire
ly independent of anything in the
outward environment of which to be
afraid.
But psychically the organism is very
delicately balanced. In order to live
in society one must repress or subli
mate various Instinctual drives which
are inherent in life. There is, for ex
ample. the instinctive impulse to de
stroy that which gets in the way. It
must be repressed, and this neces
sity of repression is perhaps a funda
mental basis for human morals. Or it
may be transformed by the psycho
logical process known as sublimation
into a virtue.
The processes of repression and
sublimation have gone on in every
one until a balance is reached. It is
probably a slightly different balance
for each individual. Ordinarily no
body is conscious of it. It is only
when the organization, so delicately
built up to get along in the world, be
gins to break down that the indi
vidual becomes aware of the extreme
internal discomfort—the cause of
which cannot be fathomed—known as
anxiety. It is one of the earliest and
most frequent symptoms of a mental
collapse. It also serves as a spur to
changes in ways of life or ways of
looking at things. One struggles to
retain the Internal balance just as
one struggles to retain the external
balance. If there is complete failure
it is a case for the psychiatrist. Oth
erwise the regained balance becomes
part of a changed pattern of things.
"Very few persons could go through
life,” said Dr. White, “without from
time to time experiencing, if ever so
lightly, the symptom of anxiety. It
results when sublimations threaten to
fail and repressive forces are on the
verge of being overwhelmed by in
stinctual demands. It is an indication
that the balance of power within the
psychic systems is moving in the di
rection of the instinctual processes.
“Anxiety itself constitutes an sx
ceedingly painful state of mind. In
its more severe manifestations it is
unendurable and almost any means of
escape from its torment may be chosen
by the patient. At any given time
wnen the instinctual forces are
strengthened or the repressing and
sublimating forces are weakened anx
iety may develop, and under these cir
cumstances one of the solutions pre
sented to the patient as a means of
escaping the torment is to do those
things which will reconstitute the su
premacy of sublimation and repres
sion—in other words, to move in a di
rection away from the instinctual
forces -and toward those processes
which make for development in the
direction conceded to be evolutionary.
“So we may assume, I believe, that
anxiety is one of the outstanding
forces which drive man along the
path of development and civilization.
I should dislike to think that it was
the only force, for if that be so. then
ail man s virtues could be explained
by fear. It should be considered as a
"pushing from behind.” Other forces
which "attract from before, In accord
ance with the ambivalence of all man
ifestations of energy, need to be fully
taken into account.
"Attitudes of mind harass the In
dividual when they contain unsolved
problems and continue to do so until
the problem reaches some sort of so
lution and the individual correspond- ;
lngly some sort of quiesence. These I
internal stresses and strains constitute
what might properly be called stress
diagrams that have an inherent ten
dency of their own to gravitate to 1
some state of equilibrium, an expres
slon on the energlc side which I sus
pect is not dissimilar to the psycho- |
logical expression of anxiety. I might 1
add curiosity as another of those
drives which make for the release of
tension."
* * * *
The fundamental concepts of psy
chology, Dr. White says, are under
going a change "of importance com
parable, in my mind, to such events
as the substitution of the Ptolemaic
conception of the universe by the
Copernican or the advent of the
Darwinian theory of evolution.”
This change, he points out, is in
the emergence of the idea of the
"organization as a whole.” Man is
something more than the sum total
of all his parts.
"The form of the universe as It
appears to man,” said Dr. White, "is
necessarily a function of his mind.
The mind, like the camera obscura,
reflects a certain aspect of the uni
verse in miniature. It may be said
that the world without and the
world within are so related to each
other that they exist like the oppo
sites, day and night. Each has its
particular form and content only
because of the other.
“It has always been conceived that
the world within was dependent upon
the world without, but here we have
definite indications that the reverse
is also true. Nobody doubts that our
perceptions and our ideas would
cerre to exist if there were nothing
to i.ovide stimuli from outside reall
tn. but here we have a definite in
dication that these outside realities
world cease to exist if this world
wliiun disintegrates. Neither one can
exist without the other.
“The old structural academic psy
chology assumed that on the psycho
logical side the finished product—the
idea, for example — could be traced
back to Its elemental constituents,
which in this instance were sensa
tions. But the study of child psy
chology has demonstrated that the
child does not first acquire a series
of discrete sensations and then put
them together so as to form percep
tions, so that these perceptions are
nothing more nor less than the sum
of the sensations which compose
them. The first experiences of the
child are already perceptions with
respect to which it tries to relate
itself. The specific and concrete are
not amalgamated to make the com
plex, and it becomes evident that the
whole is not expressed in the sum
of its parts. The whole Is more than
the sum of Its parts, for by the or
ganization of these parts and their
relation to each other, something en
ters the situation which is possessed
by none of those parts separately.
“Complexity of behavior is not de
rived by progressive integration of
more and more originally discrete
units. The conception of chain re
flexes as -usually presented is not In
Validity of Pooling
Funds for Insurance
To the Editor of The 8t*r:
In the leading editorial of The
Star on Thursday, May 0, under the
title “Of Doubtful Validity," you make
the following statement:
"The States which have enacted un
employment Insurance laws to con
form, as far as It is now possible to
conform, with the principles of the
national social security legislation
have adopted the so-called pooling
plan, under which employer con
tributions are paid into a pool from
which unemployment benefits are
later to be drawn.”
Let me call your attention to the
fact that the Utah unemployment
compensation law recently enacted Is
of the Wisconsin type, with Individual
employer accounts. The unemploy
ment compensation acts recently en
acted In the 8tates of New York and
Washington In anticipation of Fed
eral legislation provide for a State
pooled fund, but the New York law
provides that the Industrial commis
sioner shall study the operation of the
fund, the financial aspects and the
sufficiency of contributions thereun
der, and submit a report of his find
ing* and recommendations lo the
Legislature not later than February,
1838. This provision Is designed to
pave the way for ratings in the future
according to the risk of unemploy
ment in different industries if this is
thought to be necessary or desirable.
State workmen’s compensation laws
with a State-pooled fund have been
upheld by the United States Supreme
Court, as pointed out by Chief Jus
tice Hughes in the minority opinion
of the railroad retirement case. The
analogy between workmen's compen
sation and unemployment compensa
tion would appear to be much closer
than that between unemployment
compensation and old-age retirement.
Since State workmen’s compensation
laws with pooled funds have been
upheld, it would appear reasonable to
assume that the court would also hold
unemployment compensation pooled
funds likewise valid.
While it is true that the court dis
approved the pooling principle as ap
plied to railroad retirement, pointing
out that solvent railroads would have
to carry the obligations of insolvent
or defunct ones, the court was very
careful to distinguish the pooling re
quirement in this case from other
cases where It had been upheld, as. for
example, the workmen's compensation
rases and the deposit Insurance of
SUte banks. The case, therefore, does
not necessarily Indicate what the Su
preme Court will hold in the future
on a State unemployment compensa
tion law which provides for pooling of
funds.
In your editorial you further state:
The pooling principle, as con
tained In ihe District bill, was strongly
indorsed by the experts who advised
the President on the form of social
security legislation. They contended
that this principle recognises unem
ployment as a community problem and
the protection against some of the
evils of unemployment as a community
responsibility.”
May I call your attention to the fact
that the report of the President's Com
mittee on Economic Security urged
that States be permitted to experiment
with different forms of unemployment
compensation and to adopt either a
8tate-pooled fund or the individual
employer-reserve type of fund. There
are undoubted merits in both types of
plan. The State - pooled fund plan
provides a maximum protection to
employes generally, while the indi
vidual-employer-reserve plan provides
the maximum incentive for stabiliza
tion.
COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC SE
CURITY. EDWIN E. WITTE. Ex
ecutive Director.
American People Are
Not Insurance Minded
To the Editor of The Star:
For a Nation as insurance-minded
as we are supposed to be, are we no*,
singularly lacking in any adequate
comprehension of the main funda
mental?
This is peculiarly evident in our
present dominating interest in social
security, which, of whatever type, is
quite obviously a matter of mutual
insurance.
Irrespective of the technique, no
insurance can be any better than
the store of the tangible goods to
which in theory it lays claim.
Pensions, life insurance, annuities,
all forms of insurance against con
tingencies are, by themselves, mere
claims. This is all that they can be,
since in the last analysis wealth it
self Van be hoarded only to a limited
degree.
The saving of the mere claims is,
after all. relatively easy. The riddle
of the ages is how to store wealth
for future security.
We seek to store wealth as money
of intrinsic value and this money
then ceases to perform its primary
function. If we store the wealth as
money which has and should have
no intrinsic value, the same holds
true, with this added delinquency,
that if the paper, however issued,
ceases to bear a rational relation to
productive capacity, it ceases to serve
as a medium of exchange and is
worthless
If we seek to accumulate the tangi
bles themselves, their inadequacies
become apparent. Wealth rots or be
comes obsolescent. There is the cost
of malntalnance.
We see this dimly, and to evade
responsibility we increasingly prefer
to be owed rather than to own. The
edifice we erect is one of debt, which
remains and grows, even if the wealth
vanishes. So we Imagine. And truly
jo it does, but we now discover that
Dur claim is no better than the
debtor's ability to pay Interest.
If any category of us has a valid
claim on wealth, to live on and en
|oy, we must recognize that in the
last analysis there is but one pos
tlble storehouse for savings, namely,
the collective social capacity to pro
duce and distribute, functioning as
such. We live, in truth, on current
production. Far from having saved
for our needs that are to be, our
future satisfactions have as yet not
even been created.
It is the malntalnance of this func
tioning entity that is vital. For
where else can our claims finally
rest? Our true security must lie
In our success for assuring capacity
for producing and consuming. This
assures the insurance, which must be
no less than the adequate spread
and the sharing of the Inevitable
risk. If the ratio of claims to ca
pacity exceeds a certain maximum.
Insurance obviously fails.
And the insurance of a part by the
whole involves a mutual responsible ]
Ity. There must have been previous
lervlce. p. r. WHITMAN.
----I
Protection in Paris.
Prom the Sen Antonio Evenlm News.
French deputies ere indignant over
a scheme to sell everybody in Paris
f&s masks. Do the lawmakers take
It as a personal insult?
accord with the actual working of
the nervous system. On the other
hand, within the total, ever-expand
ing integrated organism as a whole
partial patterns emerge more or less
and tend toward independence and
dominance. Under normal conditions. ;
however, they always remain under
the supremacy of the individual as a
whole.” *. I
| ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASK1N.
A reader can get the antwer to
any question of tact by writing The
Washington Evening Star Information
Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director,
Washington, D. C. Please Inclose
stamp for reply.
Q. Doe* the Kentucky Derby create
many Job*?—C. J.
A. Business men of Louisville esti
mate that 5.000 temporary Jobs are
made available by the Derby.
Q. What Is the slightly sticky Ur
like substance on the leather handles
of folf clubs?—W. H. 8.
A. Grip leathers are usually dressed
with a treated oil. Some is sold under
trade names. Other manufacturers
mix their own. A mixture of castor j
oil and pitch, and sometimes beeswax,
is used.
________
Q. Please five the age. number of
children and amount of bonus received
by the average World War veteran.—
H. L. H.
A. It is estimated that the average
veteran Is 43 years old, has 2.48 chil
dren, has received a certificate worth ,
$986.63, and has borrowed against 1
that certificate (with Interest), $573.52.
Q. What Is the name of the doctor j
who can tell a person's age by his :
eyes?—F. O.
A. Dr. Felix Bernstein, biologist, has
found that a person’s expecUtion of
life may be estimated by the harden- j
ing of the eye lenses.
Q. What proportion of the children
who are adopted are illegitimate?—
R. T.
A. The percentage varies from 35 to
62 in different areas.
Q. What is the thermite process of
welding?—D. 8.
A. Thermite (also thermit) is a !
mixture of aluminum in fine grains or
filings with some metallic oxide, usually
of Iron or chromium. On being heated
by priming with magnesium powder
and barium oxide the aluminum com
bines violently with the oxygen of
the oxide, setting free the iron, pro
ducing a fluid slag and generating
sufficient heat either to melt or bring
adjacent parts to the welding tern- I
perature. It is used In welding steel
rails and for other purposes.
Q By whom is the Freer Gallery of
Art In Washington administered?—
E. F.
A. The gallery is administered un
der the trusteeship of the Smith
sonian Institution.
Q. What Vice President of the
United States took the oath of office
on foreign soil?—S. A.
A. William Rufus King, who was
elected with Franklin Pierce, took the
oath of office in Cuba March 4. 1853.
Q. When were the Philippines dis
covered?—T. W.
A. They were discovered by Magel
lan in 1521. They were conquered by
Spain in 1542 and remained under
Spain until the Spanish-American
War.
—
Q How many young people between
the ages of 18 and 24 are out of
work?—S. J. C.
A. The Children's Bureau estimates
that there are 2.000.000 to 3,000.000
young people between 18 and 24 out |
of school and job.
Q. What per cent of the automo
bile accidents are caused by skid
ding?—C. T J.
A. About 4 per cent.
Q What is the difference between
a kingdom and an empire?—C. M.
A. A kingdom is a political entity
ruled by a monarch called a king.
An empire is a group of kingdoms and
distinct states, all of which are under
the rule of a monarch called an
emperor.
Q. Did the Indian* use salt?—E. G.
A. The Handbook of American In
dians says that not all of the tribes
of Indians were accustomed to using
salt, whether from difficulty of pro
curing it, the absence of the habit, a
repugnance for the mineral, or for
religious reasons, It Is not always pos
sible to say. Salt exists in enormous
quantities In the United States, and
it was not difficult for most Indians
to obtain It.
Q. Why did Chabas call his famous
painting ’’September Morn’’?—M. O.
A. The artist chose this title be
cause the painting was completed on
a Beptember morning.
Q How far Is it from Pari* to Lon
don?—j. s.
A. About 220 miles.
Q How many laws enacted by Con
gress has President Franklin Roosevelt
vetoed this session?—R. R.
A. During the present session of
Congress no laws have been vetoed
by the President. Most of the bills
signed by him during the present
session have been appropriation bills.
Other bills have been the Reconstruc
tion Finance Corp., the $4,000,000,000
relief bill, the bill providing for baby
bonds, crop loan bill, the oil bill, the
airmail bill and the income tax pub
licity bill.
Q. Does the time spent as a pas
senger count in a pilot's flying
hours?—W. W.
A. It is not counted.
Q. What is the normal temperature
of a dog?—R. G.
A. The normal temperature of dogs
is higher than that of people. It is
usually about 101 degrees. Young
dogs and small ones have slightly
higher temperatures than old and
large animals.
Q. Is the Kilauea Volcano a men
ace to Hawaii?—C. B. T.
A. It is considered harmlessly ac
tive. It affords a marvelous spectacle
for tourists.
Q. How many divorces are granted
in Reno in a year?—R. J. H.
A. Divorces in Reno, Nev., in 1933
numbered 2,450.
Q. How much of the money found
in letters which reach the dead letter
office is eventually returned to the
owners?—H. B
A. Money found in letters during
the fiscal year 1934 amounted to
$69 596 29, of which amount $40.
230.73 was restored to the rightful
owners.
Q Who were Justice Oliver Wendell
Holmes' heirs?—J. T. W.
A. Associate Justice Oliver Wendell
Holmes married Miss Fanny Dixwell
of Cambridge. Mass , who died in
1929. They had no children. At death
Justice Holmes was devoid of rela
tives. except for his nephew, Edward
J. Holmes of Boston, and the latter's
wife.
Q. Please explain why St. Louis is
not in a county.—B. O. C.
A. The constitution of Missouri in
1875 conferred upon the City of St.
Louis the power to frame its own
charter and at the same time to sepa
rate from the County of St. Louis
and become a separate political entity
in the State. The city limits are
defined in this act and adjacent ter
ritory cannot be brought into the
city proper without consent of the
citizens of the city, of the adjacent
territory and of the county.
Q What is the usual temperature
In Habana. Cuba?—V. E. 8.
A. There is very little range of
temperature. The mean annual tem
perature is 76 degrees F. It rarely
goes above 90 or below 50 degrees.
Chain-Letter Craze Stirs
Satire and Condemnation
The current “send-a-dime” chain
letter craze is as absurd as it is illegal,
in the opinion of the press. Most
editors feel that the popularity of
the scheme demonstrates not only the
overwhelming desire of some people to
get something for nothing, but their
gullibility in forgetting that most of
the participants will be left holding
the bag.
“Under the ‘send-a-dime' project,”
the Boise Idaho Statesman explains,
“an individual receives a list of six
names in a letter asking him to send
10 cents to the tap name on the list.
He is then to remove that name, add
his own name to the bottom of the list,
and send copies of the letter and the
new list to five others. By the time
his name will have reached the top
of the list it will be in the hands of
15,625 persons, if there is no break in
the chain. If each of these sends him
a dime, he will receive over $1,500
from this one link in the chain before
his name goes off the list.”
“Theoretically, there is no exact
limit to the distance the thing could
be carried.” says the Ashland (Ky.)
Daily Independent. “All that is neces
sary is that on any given date the
number of new suckers being tapped
is greater than the number of dimes
in the mail.” The Youngstown Tele
gram contributes tl\e observation,
however, that “a newspaper man who
never won a mathematics examination
In his life, but has learned a bit about
people from people, has figured that
some six repetitions of this process
puts the letter in the hands of the two
billion persons on earth.”
In the words of the New York Herald
Tribune. “It is another of those affairs
where to be in on the ground floor is
vital. But Denver appears to have
crowded and overcrowded the ground
floor. It will, therefore, be New York s
lot to supply the requisite ‘suckers’ for
the upper stories of the structure.”
"It is an interesting game, and many
in search of fun will take part in it,
just to see what will happen, without
caring particularly whether they get
their dimes back or not,” remarks the
Youngstown Indicator, but the Bir
mingham (Ala.) News is of the opin
ion that, “if it is a dishonest propo
sition—which it is—then honest people
will w-ant no part in it.”
“In these early days of the scheme's
operation, it offers food for thought
by those share-the-wealth advocates
who. admittedly, are not getting along
so well with their pet proposals,”
facetiously suggests the Montana Rec
ord-Herald, while the Ann Arbor
Daily News observes that it Is “in
evitable that chain letters would be
Introduced as a means of solving pres
ent economic problems and sharing
the wealth.” The Knoxville (Term.)
Journal thinks that “if one must do
something foolish or silly or sinful to
ease the tension of all the debts and
duststorms. doubts and dangers that
in these dubious days bedevil and
bedog us, why not try out the dime
letter chain by way of daring fate
to give us a break?”
"Though less mysterious than the
philosopher’s stone and not so pic
turesque as the divining rod, this lure
to quick riches seems to have caused
no little stir,” says the Atlanta Jour
nil. Indeed, the Chattanooga Times I
raprts that the postal service in Den- I
ver “has been all but wrecked by the
Influx of chain letters.” To the Nash
ville Banner, the fad “is another evi
dence that getting rich quick con
tinues to be the crowning ambition
of a large element of the American
public.” and the Texarkana Gazette
sees in it “a parallel to the frenzied
prosperity of the boom years."
To the Tulsa (Okla.i Tribune, how
ever, it merely proves (hat the Amer
ican people like "fadding about for a
while.” The Indianapolis Star calls
the dime venture a “nuisance,” and
the Danville (111.) Commercial-News
thinks the “silliness of the chain lettei
evil has seldom been exceeded."
The Tulsa (Okla.) World take* a
serious view of the matter, and as
serts that “the whole chain-lettei
craze, now tied to current political
delusions, seems to indicate decided
moral and mental breakdown." To
the Pueblo Star-Journal, "the most
intriguing phase of it is the half Joc
ular claim that the exchange of let
ters will usher in prosperity.”
The Birmingham (Ala.i Age-Herald
contends that the "chance of running
afoul the law would seem to be at
least as great as the chance of getting
anything out of it.” The Bay City
(Mich.) Daily Times and the South
Bend dnd.) Tribune also emphasize
the fact that the post office has de
clared the chain letters to be Illegal,
and the Richmond (Ind.) Palladium
urges that "the warning of the post
office be heeded.” even though, as the
Uniontown (Pa.) Morning Herald
points out. "to indict all those now
advancing the scheme is obviously lmr
practicable.”
Urges Better Drinking
Water at Mount Vernon
To the Editor of The Star:
I think it is about time that those
in charge of Mount Vernon do some
thing about furnishing visitors with
a decent drink of water on the
grounds. Sunday afternoon hundreds
ol men, women and children with
perched throats could get no water
The only water on the grounds, and
which is hardly fit to drink and very
little of it, is an old antiquated and
unworkable pump. If this is pur
posely done for the benefit of outside
concessions, then I say It is a racket
and should be stopped.
WILLIAM OTTE.
A Rhyme at Twilight
By
Gertrude Brooke Hamilton.
Nocturnal
Out from the city to spaces where
The firmament gives the only light
Day-tired people drive at night,
Seeking release from the bonds of
care,
Seeking the deep starlight.
Moons give to the heart and brain
Shifting shadows, effulgence bright,
Black-patched woods and roads of
white,
Dreams that border too close on pain!
No shadows stare In the soft blue
night
[ Driving in deep starlight. 4