Evening star. [volume], February 28, 1936, 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
FRIDAY._... February 28, 1936
THEODORE W. NOTES....Editor
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What Next in Japan?
While conditions at Tokio are ap
proaching normalcy after the week’s
Nazi-model blood purge, the outside
world awaits with anxiety the next phase
of the Japanese militarists’ drive for
supreme power. The fear is bound to
linger that the army zealots, following
their carnival of assassination and re
volt, will not shrink from risking sooner
or later some reckless adventure de
signed to justify their attempt to seize
control of the government. At the mo
ment moderate political elements, under
guidance of the Emperor and the highest
surviving statesmen, appear to be in
command of the situation. Civilian gov
ernmental functions, interrupted by the
slaying of Premier Okada and other
prominent officials, have been resumed.
Meantime there are ominous hints that
a Fascist military dictatorship may
emerge from the upheaval.
The acid test of the government’s
capacity to keep things on an even keel
is now due. It will be the thoroughness
with which it contrives to suppress army
insurrection, and the baldness of its
measures to punish the authors of Wed
nesday's murders. The young officers
who committed those crimes are de
scribed as “misdirected patriots, whose
motives were pure, but unwise.” It be
come^ the stern duty of the successors
of Premier Okada and his fellow-victims
to discover exactly who "misdirected” the
irresponsible hotspurs, who wrote 60
bloody a chapter of Japanese history,
and to subject them to the fullest pen
alties the law permits.
Ueciueaiy it remain* tu ue accu whcm*
er such procedure will ensue. After the
assassination of other high officers of
state under similar conditions in recent
years, the civilian authorities approached
the task of detection ard chastisement
of the guilty parties gingerly. The army
and navy beclouded both investigations
and trials in an atmosphere of jingoism
that made it exceedingly difficult for '
justice to be administered. Late events
at Tokio call for condign action by the
government if it is not to come under
suspicion of condoning what has hap
pened and of being clay in the army's
hands.
Nations beyond Japan’s shores are
watching nervously to see whether the
militarists will renew aggressive activities
on the mainland of Asia with a view to
provoking an armed clash .with China
or Soviet Russia, or with both. Japa
nese soldiers have always evinced ad
miration for German militarists and
their policies. Perhaps the Tokio war
lords will determine that they face the
same opportunity and incentive for glory
that inspired their German prototypes
In 1914, and decide that the hour to
strike for a greater Japan has arrived,
thus assuring their own perpetuation and
predominance. It was the late Okada
government’s refusal to sanction the
army’s project for conversion of North
China’s five provinces into another Man
chukuo or to authorize an offensive on
the basis of Mongolian-Siberian border
clashes that immediately preceded the
attempted coup d’etat at Tokio. Raw
material abounds on all sides of Man
chukuo for manufacture of “incidents”
with which to inflame Japanese pa
triotism.
There is no disguising the danger that
In a spirit of desperate desire to re
habilitate their prestige, the war lords
may foment movements that would en
gulf all Asia, could easily spread to
Europe and possibly embroil the whole
world. Everything depends on the abil
ity and readiness of the new Tokio gov
ernment to keep in leash the spurred
and helmeted plpmpnta t.hnt. aro thirct.
ing for revenge and vindication.
Amateur actors are busying themselves
with rather direct satire on public affairs.
' Their efforts appeal first of all to friends
and relatives, and a performance be
comes an occasion of mutual sympa
thetic understanding between an ama
teur stage and an amateur auditorium.
The campaign forecaster is hard at
work. So is the weather forecaster.
Neither succeeds in giving the Winter
of 1935-6 any more than the usual sense
•f comfort and security.
The Hagood Case.
The text of General Craig’s letter to
Secretary Dern recommending summary,
action in the case of General Hagood
Indicates that while the latter was re
garded as an excellent Army officer,
he had demonstrated a tendency to run
off the reservation in the past and it
was time to “crack down."
And while everybody recognizes the
necessity for maintaining strict discipline
and disciplined decorum among the
officers of the Army, Representative
Blanton’s statement of the case to the
House makes it pretty plain that General
Hagood, through %o particular fault of
his own, was left sitting on the end of a
limb for the Secretary of War and the
chief of staff to saw off. And as Mr.
Blanton says, the House subcommittee
which examined him in executive session
was responsible for inadvertently having
left him there.
First—General Hagood was invited to
testify under the written assurance from
the chief of staff that he and other offi
cers were “to answer you freely, fully,
and frankly, and that there are to be
no restrictions whatever placed upon
their appearance * • * by the War De
partment.” “No restrictions" ought to
mean “no restrictions.”
Second—Mr. Blanton says a great
many statements were made which were
not taken down by the stenographer;
that General Hagood’s statements should
not have been taken down, and, perhaps
most significant of all, “from time to
time some levity and facetious discussion
took place (in the committee room).
Otherwise the monotony would be un
bearable.”
Third—General Hagood received a
copy of the stenographic record of his
testimony, but apparently decided that,
having said what he said, he would be
man enough to let it stand. What he
said was no more than millions of
DeoDle have said, or thoueht: certainlv
what he said was the obvious truth, pos
sibly embellished with picturesque, if
unnecessary, rhetoric.
And such being the case it would seem
that the War Department probably has
more to lose than to gain by punishing
and humiliating an outstanding general
officer of the Army for an offense that
fair consideration would pronounce no
offense at all.
The Two-Thirds Rule.
The way is paved for throwing into
the discard the ancient two-thirds rule
for the nomination of presidential can
didates by Democratic National Conven
tions. This rule has risen many times
in the past to plague Democrats. It
has caused conventions to be deadlocked
for days. Four years ago, in Chicago,
there was a threat on the part of the
Roosevelt following to force the abroga
tion of this rule and bring about a
nomination by majority of the conven
tion vote. It could have been done.
Several Roosevelt supporters, however,
argued against it and the plan was
dropped and eventually Roosevelt was
nominated, after a deal with McAdoo
of California and Gamer of Texas. Had
the majority rule prevailed Roosevelt
would have been nominated on the first
ballot.
The sentiment in favor of doing away
with the two-thirds rule, which has
come down from the days of Andrew
Jackson, however, was strong. The 1932
convention directed that the matter be
considered and brought up at this year’s
convention. In the call for the Phila
delphia convention, recently issued, the
subject was included. And now Chair
man James A. Farley is predicting that
the question of doing away with the
tvtu'tuuuo i uic wm uc uiuugm up uii
the floor of the conyention and voted
upon. Which way will President Roose
velt cast his influence? The issue can
be decided by a majority vote of the
convention.
In the coming convention there is no
issue of candidates. Roosevelt and
Garner are as surely the choices of the
convention as if the nominations already
had been made. There is no question of
“blocking” the nomination of a presi
dential candidate by one-third of the
voting strength of the convention plus
one. It is an ideal occasion for the
Democrats to get away from the old rule
If they see fit. In the past, however, the
Democrats of the South have protested
vigorously against the abrogation of the
two-thirds rule. They have regarded it
as a veto power, to be used against any
proposed presidential nominee who might
be considered bitterly antagonistic to
their section of the country.
If the two-thirds rule is brought up
for consideration and action, as now
seems probable, the Philadelphia con
vention may become something beyond
the cut-and-dried affair which has been
promised. And if the convention does
away with the rule it will have earned
a niche in history. For nearly a hundred
years the rule has prevailed.
Fights against gamblers have to be
conducted at one time or another in
every large city. Gamblers sometimes
assist the law, as other gangsters do,
not with a purpose of civic benefit, but
in the pursuit of private revenge and
efforts to secure business monopoly. Ac
cording to Hoyle, gambling should not
be crowded. Unfortunately, crooks will
gamble.
While it is forbidden to teach “com
munism,” a confusion arises concerning
the precise systems taught by com
munism. They vary to an extent which
sometimes puts arbitrary authority over
the masses in the hands of some impet
uous individual who commands respectful
obedience even when he obviously does
not know what he is talking about.
Let There Be Sight.
Informed medical opinion seems to
agree that as much as fifty per cent, If
not more, of the blindness in men,
women and children could be prevented.
That in itself should be enough to lend"
enthusiastic support to the formation in
Washington of the District of Columbia
Society for the Prevention of BHnrin.M|
plans for which were recently announced
in The Sunday Star.
But the men and women who have
associated themselves in this undertak
ing are familiar with another fact—the
extreme difficulty and even lack of in
terest to be overcome in educating the
public to a general recognition of the
causes of blindness and the means that
are available to prevent much of It. It
was in 1881, fifty-five years ago, that
Crede, the Belgian obstetrician, mqde
known his discovery of the simple cure
of an eye infection then causing one
quarter of the blindness in children
throughout the world. But it was many,
many years before the results of his in
valuable discovery were applied with
any tangible degree of uniformity. Until
the American Medical Association, in
A
1906, took up the matter at Its Boston
convention and resolved upon an effec
tive Nation-wide campaign to enforci
preventive treatment for new-born chil
dren, blindness from a preventable caus<
at birth was still on the increase. About
the same time the National Society foi
the Prevention of Blindness was estab
lished. By 1913 the effects of concerted
effort were shown in steadily decreasinf
percentages of blindness among childrer
from this cause.
Ophthalmia neonatorum, of course, li
only one cause of preventable blindness
Compulsory treatment of children at
birth is merely one of the aims of the
District society, which plans also to work
in behalf of the prenatal care of mothers
the systematic examination of pre
school children, the full-time service*
of an oculist for the public schools, the
follow-up work, through clinics, ol
treatment for those suffering from dis
eases and injuries of the eye, bettei
lighting facilities in industry and gen
eral education of the public.
State and national legislation ha*
recognized the need for public support
of the blind. There is obvious need,
now, for the renewed activity of. public
spirited citizens in behalf of legislation
and education designed to prevent
uiin/)nacc WVtof affnrf paiiIH Vip tnnrf
noble than the salvation of those other
wise distined to lives of eternal darkness?
Popular fancy turns from one song tt
another. “Hot Time in the Old Town’
was chanted in respectful salutation ol
the American war spirit. “Sidewalks ol
New York” was a political ballad of deep
significance. If the Townsend plan
gathers momentum some aggressive eco
nomic purpose may be written into the
gentle old serenade, “Darling, I Am
Growing Old.”
It should be no trouble for any pro
fessional educator to show goods, at
least to the extent of writing in simple
English exactly what he would print
about communism if he were editor in
chief of American school books. Much
argument is carried on with insufficient
detail as to what it is all about.
After a few initiations the President
of the United States is made aware that
a college has a lot of harder things tc
teach than Greek conjugations or Latin
prosody. /
Keeping politics out of business is
easier than keeping new and hitherto
unknown varieties of politics out oi
campaign demonstrations.
One of the hard men to debunk is old
Ben Franklin, who was himself an ex
pert in removing the social varnish that
glossed a fallacy.
The new problem in finance is not
how far a silver dollar can be thrown,
but how high a paper dollar can be flown.
- Shooting Stars.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
The Original Monopolist.
Poor old Adam! He endured a lonely
life! 4
There wasn't anybody he could talk to
but his wife!
Each day he started homeward when the
sun was sinking low.
He had searched the garden over. There
was nowhere else to go.
He couldn't take a paper to instruct him
or amuse.
There wasn't anybody but himself to
furnish news.
He couldn’t start a base ball game. He
couldn’t Join a club.
Eve was a social leader with nobody
’round to snub.
He had a splendid orchard that was
blooming with delight.
He tried to eat up all the fruit, and lost
his appetite.
He had the best menagerie a man could
hope to grow,
But not a soul would offer him two bits
to see the show I
Poor old Adam! What an autocrat was
he!
There wasn’t anybody who could ques
tion his decree.
He’s a terrible example—take the tip
for what it’s worth—
The only man on record who monop
olized the earth.
Wavering Faith.
“You still have faith in the wisdom
of the plain people?”
“Yes,” answered Senator Sorghum,
“but I’m going to lose some of it if. the
opposition continues to pile up influence
and votes.”
Sardonic Observation.
“That novelist says he takes his char
acters from real life.”
“He should be encouraged to keep on'
taking them," replied Mr. Growcher.
“The fewer like them in real life, the
better.”
Supply and Demand.
*Most everybody grabs a pen
Or else types something out
And says he’ll give his fellow men
A lot to think about.
With saints, philosophers and crooks
Composing late o’ nights,
Oh, who’ll have time to read the books
That everybody writes!
Jud Tunklns says some stump speeches
are like the static that prevents you from
getting the real ideas that are tryin' to
come through.
Personal Opinions.
O politician bold and free,
On public topics you should be
Prepared to touch.
But your opinions old and new;
Of colleagues, likewise theirs of you,
Don’t matter much.
“One way to git de best of an argu
ment,” said Uncle Eben, “Is to .say one
thing wif all yoh might an* keep on
sayin’ It. Dar atn’ no use tryin’ to con
rlnce a parrot.”
a
I
Leaders of Past Ages Who
Relied Upon Great Minds
' To the Editor of The Star:
“There have been monarchs who pro
fessed to be above learning." So X note
in a Star editorial. Well, in the olden
times kings were mostly warriors. Tot
learning they depended on their advisers.
8olomon, no doubt, was a wise man in
his own right. But Pharaoh of Egypt
looked to Joseph the Jew. Joseph was
the Roger Babson of that day. He knew
all about “cycles.” i
Alexander the Great was tutored by
Aristotle, the foremost man of antiquity.
He wrote dassics on most any subject,
inducting a bqok on “Politics.” It is a
pity that he and Jim Farley never met.
Jim could have given him dope enough
for another chapter or two. Charle
magne ruled in glory as King of the
Franks and Emperor of the Romans.
He was very illiterate. But guided by
the English monk Alcuin, first scholar
of the age, he became a patron of the
arts and sciences.
The English kings of the Middle Ages
were mostly advised by great churchmen
. —Thomas a Becket, Cardinals Pole,
Wolsey. The magnificent Louis XIV of
France had no particular headpiece. But
he had the good sense to surround him
self with men of the first order—Mazarin,
Colbert, Turenne, Conde, Luxembourg
and others. Frederick the Great, though,
was his own brain trust and his own
best mind.
now, the classic example of royal bull
headedness is Sigismond, King of Bo
hemia, King of Hungary, Holy Roman
Emperor. It was during his reign that
the famous Church Council of Constance
came off, where John Huss, the Bohemian
reformer, was burned at the stake. Like
most of the upper class, Sigismond spoke
Latin or at least put up a bluff at it.
Not the Ciceronian Latin, but “Monk’s
Latin.” And even this he couldn’t handle.
Once some fool courtier dared to cor
rect him. That got the Emperor's goat:
“I want you to understand that I am
the King of the Romans and above
grammar." (Rex Romanus sum et supra
grammaticam.) That settled it.
Rulers these days, as pointed out in
The Star, are intelligent newspaper read
ers, excepting, maybe, Hitler, Stalin and
Mussolini. These don’t have to read.
They know exactly what tomorrow’s
paper is going to print. It’s nice to be
a dictator after you get to be one.
FRED VETTER.
Architecture and Landscape
On Constitution Avenue
To the Editor of The Star:
Mr. James Waldo Fawcett’s presenta
tion of the main points of the new Pan
American Union Building controversy has
aroused so much interest that I hope
that opinions of disinterested authorities
on architecture and landscape designing
will be sought.
I feel that the structure as designed
by Dr. Paul Cret is superbly suited for
placement on Constitution avenue in all
respects save the following: First, the
triangular area proposed for its location
is too small. Secondly, probably occa
sioned by the lack of space, the building
line is pushed inordinately forward
toward the south—according to the dia
gram, m fact, the back of this building
is in line with the front of the others
along the avenue. Thus, the desired
frame for the Lincoln Memorial is being
conspicuously and unpleasantly lrregu
larized. Thirdly is Secretary Ickes' ob
jection that it will impinge upon the new
Interior Building to the north. In re
spect to this valid argument, however, I
might add that the Pan-American Build
ing would suffer more than the Interior.
The contrast between the small perfect
gem and the propinquous large office
building would by no means be felicitous.
Mr. Moore seems to adopt the attitude
that the whole affair is a fait accompli.
It is not too late to make a change, how
ever, in such an important matter. Mr.
Frederic A. Delano's compromise plan
offers suggestions. A landscaped plaza,
with trees and monuments to pan-Amer
ican heroes, would be both appropriate
and act as a buffer between the large
office on the north and the peaceful
serenity of the Lincoln Memorial setting
on the south.
ROBERTS G. COGSWELL.
Proposed Law a Blind to
Aid Illegal Immigrants
To the Editor ot The 8t»r:
Alien sympathizers and others who
believe that our Government owes a
greater duty to foreign citizens than to
our own unemployed citizens are now
trying to drum up sentiment for the
pro-alien Kerr-Coolidge bill pending in
Congress.
The main purpose of this bill is to
vest in the Department of Labor the
power to permit an alien to remain in
this country, if he has unlawfully
sneaked his way into our country and
before being caught has become the
father of a baby. Proponents of the
bill infer that geographically the United
States is the only . place where alien
families can be united.
In order to fool those who believe
America should be retained for Ameri
cans the alien sympathizers in Congress
are stating that the bill also provides
for the deportation of alien law breakers.
But we already have laws providing for
the deportation of aliens unlawfully
here. What we need more than any
thing else is the enforcement of these
laws. Bruno Richard Hauptmann, who
unlawfully stole his way into our coun
try, could have been under existing laws
deported long before he killed the Lind
bergh baby, if the Labor Department
had been diligent.
It is said that there are 2,862 aliens
unlawfully here and already appre
hended whom the Labor Department
is allowing to remain, because it has
been found that they have become the
parents ur oauies. 11 me ijaDor Uepart
ment will unlawfully assume a “discre
tion” to permit these aliens to remain,
how could we expect the department
wisely to exercise a “discretion” if “dis
cretion” were expressly granted giving
the department power to deport or not
to deport as It saw fit?
The real honest-to-goodness reason
behind this bill Is a desire on the part
,of alien sympathizers to make a loop
hole in our immigration laws to enable
the Communists and others being driven
out of Europe to steal their entrance
into this country. P. WILSON.
Relief in Sight.
From the Chicago Daily Tribune.
Ah, the Fourth of July will come around
some day! How every patriotic heart
bursts with pride and joy at the thought.
And on the Fourth of July that ther
mometer crawls up to something above
zero.
A Tourist Attraction.
From the Muskegon Chronicle.
If the Michigan Tourist and Resort
Association wants to do something tor
Western Michigan it should see that it
is supplied with some quintuplets.
Hatless.
From the Lowell Evening Leader.
A judge in Wisconsin has never owned
a hat. From which we infer that he has
not been much interested in running
for office.
| THIS AND THAT |
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.
When the garden finally emerged from
the layers of snow and Ice which had
incrusted It for weeks, it seemed the
most forlorn, dilapidated garden it was
possible to find.
The only happy thing was that all
others, large or small, were equally so.
Looking at them, with grass unlovely
from the long days beneath the snow,
shrubs bare, trees even more so, they
seemed far, far away from the prime of
May.
One month, two months—could one
month, two months make so much
difference?
For the home gardener knows what
the garden will present the latter part
of May, with green grass, shrubs in leaf,
and peonies just coming into bloom.
It seems impossible of realization,
however, as one looks over the unusually
bare scene of the present.
* * * *
Behind the garage, where rare medical
plants, once used by Indians and settlers,
attempt to grow, there still is a solid
sheet of ice.
Much snow has melted from the high
ground to the north and flowed down
over the ice. The water is 2 inches high
on the side of the automobile house,
but the sheet of ice beneath it has not
melted.
In the yard there still are great ex
panses of half-frozen water.
Altogether, the scene is best described
as messy.
It seems impossible that a fresh, green
outlook, such as is presented here every
Spring in abundance, could have turned
Into this. Or, the other way around,
that this harsh appearance ever can give
place to the greenery of Springtime.
* * * *
That it can, however, and will, is our
common knowledge and heritage.
This is the anticipation of the season,
which no amount of withering and
harshness can destroy.
We know, positively, that in due time,
and it will not be long now, the discol
ored grass will begin to turn to the beau
tiful green the world loves.
Out of the bare branches of the shrubs
will poke tiny green buds, some of flow
ers and some of leaves.
The rose canes, now bare and whipping
in the wind, will assume gradually a
different color, and the little buds will
come, followed by those loveliest of all
rose leaves, the reddish ones, so clean
and fresh.
Tulips will push their noses up through
the soil. The tiny crocus will burst into
flower. Other forms of the life will
appear, including cutworms and other
inimical pests.
Blackspot on roses will arise into being
with those very first beautiful red leaves.
White nodules will come on the bark
of lilacs, and the home gardeners will
wonder about it, or call it oyster scale
and prepare an oil spray.
* * * *
These are only a few of the things
which will occur, or at least begin to
occur, about four weeks from now.
Think of it, indeed!
Snow and ice can come again, winds
blow with March ferocity, but only four
or five weeks separate us from April 1,
popularly called April Fool’s day.
What a fool name for a beautiful day!
A February fool, or* a March fool,
possibly, but never an April 1oqL
Even the kittenish feelings of $hoM
early days of real Spring cannot
an April fool acceptable. One wonders
how the ancients got so far oft the marie.
But they loved to prod at the most
beautiful and sacred things, those
ancients, as even the most cursory
examination of customs shows.
* * * a
Prom now on the Wintering song birds,
which have loved to congregate in the
gardens where food has been put out for
them, will be less and less Inclined to
depend upon man.
Nature will call them, in many ways,
and they‘will find succulent and fresh
food to take the place of the dry-as-dust
grains and seeds which have constituted
their daily fare at the feeding stations.
These were the best bird lovers could
do for them, and these were highly
acceptable, as the fat birdies attest, but
no doubt they are far from ideal, at
least from a bird’s viewpoint.
Those whd have watched the birds all
Winter must be satisfied, from ‘now on,
to see their numbers at the feeders
diminish as the days grow warmer and
brighter.
It will be interesting, to all such, to
see just how this gradual diminution
works out.
Which birds will give up the stations
first, and in what order will the others
follow? Which species will linger?
Will bird feeding be advisable after
the tulips begin to come up?
These are some of the questions which
will be asked by those who have fed
the birds.
* * * *
Activity in the garden, too, will tend
to diminish their numbers day by day,
after the season nnens un
So far, since Winter set in earnestly,
the wild birds have had the garden much
to themselves.
Disturbances have been few and far
between, and these usually righted
themselves shortly, so that birds had,
in effect, a true sanctuary.
Necessary supplying of the feeders has
been done at dusk, after the birds have
flown away to their roosting places.
From now on, more and more dis
turbances will occur, so that by the time
of those first really warm days, when
even the most lethargic feel inclined to
roll sleeves and seize a rake, the birds
will find altogether a different state of
affairs.
* * * *
Exclusive bird use is not a normal
use of a garden.
Gardens are made for humans, by,
of and for humans.
Birds enjoy Spring and Summer gar
dens, too, but not as sole occupants.
Their normal sunny day activities are
carried on in the trees.
They fly over the heads of their
friends, happy in the new birth of the
good earth, pleased with the luscious
moist foods so easily secured.
No need, then, for feeding devices
made by man.
Every clod teems with worms. Grubs
and caterpillars are on the way. Fresh
insects and wormlike forms of insect life
abound.
These the birds help clean up, doing
active police duty in all gardens.
As we look at the yard, just emerged
from its coats of snow and ice, it looks
hopeless. We doubt all this magic
Only for a minute. “One More
Spring" is not.just a book. It is a
perennial reality.
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE.
While no immediate repercussions af
fecting American interests are foreseen
from the explosion in Japan, our diplo
matic, naval and military people are
watching events with undisguised con
cern, especially the peril that the war
lords may plunge the empire into a
face-saving war. Washington’s Par
Eastern authorities are by no means cer
tain that “tranquillity” at Tokio is of
lasting quality. Some fear, on the con
trary, that it’s only a species of calm
that precedes more furious storm. An
other view is that the soldiers over
played their hand and that the danger
of civil strife is a factor making for
Par Eastern peace rather than war, be
cause the army can no longer claim the
support of an undivided Japan. Even if
Japanese-American relations are not
directly affected by the eruption con
vulsing Nippon, the United States would
automatically be concerned in aggres
sive military operations in China, should
these lead to ruthless violation of the
rights of other powers. Because of such
possibilities Washington is keeping a
weather eye peeled on developments.
* * * *
Democratic National Chairman Parley
seems to have embarked upon a pro
gram of storming the heights of Re
publican favorite sons. Last week he in
vaded Gov. Landon’s home town in Kan
sas, where he took a side-swipe at the
“Topeka Coolidge” in connection with
alleged cheese-paring of State educa
tional funds. On March 2, on the eve
of the New Hampshire presidential pref
V/* VilW IMUMIUJ, MIO *VV-n
generalissimo will hold forth in Col.
Frank Knox’s former home community
of Manchester on “Roosevelt and the
Democratic Platform.” The address, to
be broadcast over a New England net
work. will apparently attempt to refute
the charge that the President has vio
lated 1932 party pledges. There’s no
indication of any early intention on Mr.
Farley’s part to retire from the post
master generalship in order to devote
himself exclusively to the re-election of
F. D. R.
* * * *
Warm tribute to Herbert Hoover’s cur
rent political activities has just been
paid by Dr. Ray Lyman Wilbur, Secre
tary of the Interior in the former Presi
dent’s cabinet. Writing in the A. R. A.
Review, official organ of the Hoover re
lief organization veterans, Dr. Wilbur
says: “Incidentally, what other leader
in modem history could have been fol
lowed with the satisfactions we have
had in going along with Hoover? While
I have admired him greatly for years, my
admiration has grown in recent months
because of the, courage and willingness
which he has shown in trying to cor
rect dangerous tendencies involving the
future of our people. It would have been
easy for him to shrug his shoulders,
speak of ingratitude and take a trip.
Tn«t^»ari, he has faced the music, taken
the punishment, and is now in position
to give some.”
* * * *
New York Republican women who
favor the Landon presidential candidacy
evidently believe that if the hill will not
come to Mahomet, Mahomet will go to
the hill. As the Kansas Governor per
sists in refraining from a barnstorming
tour of the East, it is proposed to fill
a special train with New York woman
supporters who will pay their respects
to him at Topeka early in March. At, or
about the same time, a caravan of New
York business men plans to go there on
the same mission. Meantime wide cir
culation is given to a recent pronounce
ment attributed to Landon, which is
about the farthest 'he’s gone In avow
ing his aspirations. The Governor Is
following: "A new man has just got
to go down to Washington and clean
up this mess. It means grief unending.
It means 10 years off a man’s life. Maybe
it means failure. I’m .not afraid of that.
I’ll go if I have to. Maybe some of the
others are better fitted to do the job
than I am. If one of them is, I am for
him."
* * * *
From the hullabaloo which Repub
licans in Congress are kicking up over
the Gen. Hagood incident, the impres
sion is crystallizing that the G. O. P. is
not disinclined to exploit it as a 1936
campaign issue by linking it up with
the anti-New Deal drive against "dic
tatorship.” Also there is talk that if
Hagood is "martyrizecf.” friends might
urge him to enter South Carolina politics
and aspire to a seat in Congress. Both
Smedley Butler and the late Billy Mit
chell were credited with senatorial am
bitions, respectively in Pennsylvania and
Wisconsin, following their disciplinary
experiences in Washington,
* * * *
Here’s a passage-at-arms from the re
cent W. P. A. debate in the Senate.
Senator Hastings, Republican, of Dela
ware: “Memphis, Tenn., has a (25,000
W. P. A. dog pound. If stray dogs aren’t
claimed in three days they’re taken into
a gas chamber and killed.” Senator
Neely, Democrat, of West Virginia:
“Why don’t they bring the dogs to the
Senate chamber?” Mr. Hastings: “If
they’d let them listen to the Senator
from West Virginia for a little while, it
would have a bad effect on them.” Mr.
rteeiy: 11 womans maice mem more ,
vicious than the Senator from Delaware
is toward the present administration.”
* * * *
MaJ. Gen. Frank Parker, commander
of the ‘‘Fightin’ 1st” Division of the
A. E. F„ has Just returned from the
Philippines and by request been assigned
to complete his remaining seven months
of active service with his old outfit at
Fort Hamilton. N. Y. An enthusiastic
cavalryman, Gen. Parker, despite mo
torization and mechanization, holds fast
to the horse as “a sure method of loco
motion” to the fighting front and advo
cates its retention as an essential “stra
tegic element” in any military establish
ment. "Motors and machines break
down,” says Gen. Parker, "but the old
horse just keeps going.” To commemo
rate the general’s service in the Philip
pines, a volcano was named Mount
Parker.
(Copyricht. 1936.)
Proposal to Open Silver
Mines for Bonus Payment
To the Editor of The 8t»r:
Since the passing of the bonus bill
at this particular, overburdened time,
and the consequent arguing about the
form of payment thereof, it has occurred
to me that instead of paying with paper
money and thereby probably endanger
the treasures in the Treasury, it would
be a wiser and more patriotic gesture
to open up the silver mines and pay the
bonus in silver dollars.
I presume the mines are all under
private ownership, but it seems that
some reasonable agreement could be
made; it would give work to thousands,
and act as a tonic to the present sluggish
condition in States where they have few
resources, when the mines lie idle. Even
the minting of so many dollars would
add to the activities.
To' use the substance from Uncle
Sam’s own ground with which to pay
his soldiers cannot possibly injure his
Constitution.
- ANNETTE HEN1UKSEN.
.' k ' ‘ . ’
ANSWERS TO
QUESTIONS
■—.
By Frederic J. Haskin.
A reader can get the answer to any
question of fact by writing The Evening
Star Information Bureau, Frederic J.
Haskin, Eirector, Washington, D. c.
Please inclose stamp for reply.
Q. How many people attended the
Olympic Winter games in Germany?
—C. M. .
A. The attendance is estimated at be
tween 350,000 and 400,000.
Q. Do alligators often eat people?
—H. P,
A. According to W. T. Homaday, there
Is no authentic record of the loss of a
human life by an alligator.
Q. How are artificial rubles manufac
tured?—C. W.
A. They are built up by gradually
fusing, in an oxyhydrogen flame, a mix
ture of powdered aluminum oxide with
a small amount of chromium oxide,
which imparts the red color. These
built-up or synthetic stones have all the
physical and chemical properties of a
natural ruby and are often superior in
color.
Q. Has Tokio a memorial to the vic
tims of the 1923 earthquake and Are?
—-J. 8.
A. The Hall of the Nameless Dead
commemorates 33,000 victims.
Q. Please give some information about
physical training in Russia.—H. J. M.
A. The number of those taking part In
regularly organized physical culture and
sport clubs has increased from 800.000
in 1928 to 8,200,000 in 1934. The Soviet
Union has 4,000 stadiums and sport
fields, over 2,000 gymnasiums and 300
s'-’ing grounds. Physical culture is oblig
atory in all schools. Many industrial
Pianos have a daily period of gymnastics.
Q. What was the full name of the late
King George?—H. J.
A. His majesty was baptized George
Frederick Ernest Albert. These were all
names ancestors.
Q. Please describe Sainte Anne de
Beaupre in Canada.—H. H.
A. This famous pilgrim resort Is 20
miles east of Quebec. A shrine was
founded there about 1620 by Breton
sailors in gratitude to Sainte Anne for
their escape from shipwreck. A chapel
was built in 1658. In 1676 the chapel
was replaced by a church, which was
replaced by a larger one in 1876. In
1922 this was destroyed by fire, but was
replaced by a handsome edifice. The
shrine is visited by 150,000 annually.
Q. Do Filipinos smoke tobacco?—A. A.
A. A large crop of tobacco is raised
in the Philippine Islands, most of which
is consumed there, since men, women
and children smoke.
Q. Is Mussolini tall?—R. W.
A. He is only 5 feet 6 inches in height.
Q. When was the conscience fund in
the United States Treasury started?
What is done with the money?—F. N. F.
A. The conscience fund was opened
with a contribution of $5 in 1811. Money
received for this fund is not carried on
the books of the Treasury Department
as such, but is listed as miscellaneous
receipts. The amounts sent in range
from 2 cents from a person who failed
to put a stamp on a letter when mailed,
to several thousand dollars from pewons
who smuggled goods into the United
States without paying Import duty. Usu
ally the sums sent are small. No spe
cial use is made of the money. It simply
goes into the general funds of the de
partment.
Q. When was the first motion picture
theater opened?—E. L.
A. The first to be opened was in Los
Angeles, Calif., in 1902.
Q. What city is called the Queen of
Watering Places?—E. M.
A. Brighton, England, is so called from
its popularity as a seaside resort.
Q. Is Coney Island divided into dis
tricts?—J. C.
A. Coney Island is divided into four
well-defined districts: West Brighton,
Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach and
Sea Gate.
Q. What is the acreage of Wakefield,
George Washington's birthplace?—H. M.
A. The estate consists of 400 acres.
Q. How long do members of the Ca
nadian Mounted Police serve?—R. H.
A. The term of service is five years.
For ex-members, the term is one, two,
three to five years’ service.
Q. What are some of the largest ban
quets that have ever been served in
New York hotels?—J. M.
A. Such affairs would include the ban
quet for the Twenty-seventh Division
on its return from France when 5,000
were served at the Hotel Astor; the wel
come to Col. Lindbergh, at the Commo
dore, which was attended by 3,800; the
1933 dinner for the Catholic Charities
at the Waldorf-Astoria, numbering 3,500:
the annual communion breakfast of 6,000
members of the New York Police De
partment Holy Name Society at the
Astor.
Q. Where is the original Uncle Sam
buried?—E. H.
A. Samuel Wilson, who served as a
supply inspector during the War of 1812,
is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Troy,
N. Y. He died July 31,1854.
A Rhyme at Twilight
By
Gertrude Brooke Hamilton
Royal Respite
rhe world may know the glittering le
gions of the King;
rhe crown, the bended knee, the gleam
of sovereign ring;
Elis brilliant counselors; his fearless,
terse commands
n. —m— Wanil •rtvAtre
lands.
rhe world may know him throned in
stately palace halls,
His face judicial where the mellow sun
light falls,
Invincible where chandeliers illume his
might—
Who knows the King, in his uncrowned
twilight?
rhe King, weary and spent, with brood
ing. shadowed eyes,
3eeking the royal colors in the sunset
skies
Listening to&ome far vesper bell that
might erase
Pomp’s somber aftermath in his in
trepid face
fcnd ease the furrows carved by state
hood on his brow,
Deep as a saber scar, or trenches cut by
plow.
tourt policy in starlight seems a paltry ,
thing— m
Who knows the dusk mood of the nlfl
lant King? Jj
■