Evening star. [volume], May 19, 1936, Page A-10, Image 10

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

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THE EVENING STAR
With Sunday Moraine Edition.
WA8BIN GT O N. D. O.
TUESDAY.May IB. IBM
THEODORE W. NOYES.Editor
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.. - —.■
Ihe Guney Decision.
There were at least three elements of
extraordinary interest involved in origi
nal enactment of the Gulley act.
In the first place was the President's
famous letter, urging its passage de
spite “doubts of its constitutionality,
however reasonable." The President’s
phrase added fuel to the flames of criti
cism of other New Deal tendencies to
override the Constitution in its effort
at “reform.”
In the second place, the enactment
of this law, designed to raise prices and
wages in the sick bituminous coal in
dustry, was the expedient chosen to
” avert serious labor troubles in the coal
fields, and in return for enactment of
the law a temporary truce was agreed to.
In the third place, while the need for
remedy of troubles in the bituminous
. industry was generally granted, the
Guffey act itself was subjected to severe
attack on the ground that if the Federal
Government had the power to fix prices
and to regulate wages and hours in the
coal industry, it would have the power
to accomplish the same ends in every
industry where products are shipped
from one State into another.
The decision of the court yesterday,
dividing six to three and five to four,
upholds the view of the President that
there was room for reasonable doubt as
to how the court would decide. The
court had the case under study for a
longer period than any other contested
New Deal legislation. And the decision
is such that some hope is offered for
re-enactment of a part, at least, of the
Guffey act in a way that may avoid the
pitfalls of the original act.
Whether that will be attempted at
this time, when Congress is beginning
the rush toward adjournment, is another
matter. There is little question in any
body’s mind, however, between the im
portance of members of Congress being
able to attend the political conventions
and get to the business of mending their
political fences back home and the im
portance of closing the ranks again and
moving forward in an attempt to find
some solution of the serious economic
plight of the bituminous coal industry.
The decision apparently leaves room
for amending legislation. Congress
attempted to make the Guffey act
separable as to the fundamentals of
interstate price fixing and the control
of wages and hours. The majority
decided that the two provisions were
< not. as a matter of fact, separable, in
so far as the case before the court is
concerned. Price fixing was only a
means to the end of regulating hours
and wages. A majority of five decided
that the price-fixing provisions of the
act could not stand alone or be con
sidered separately in this case, and that
Congress would not have passed the law
in that form. The minority of three—
Justices Brandeis, Stone and Cardozo—
joined by the Chief Justice, held that
the price-fixing regulations could stand
alone. But the majority left room for
doubt as to how it might decide if the
question of price fixing were presented
alone, although Justice Sutherland con
veyed something of a warning that such
doubt did not mean later approval of
the price-fixing power.
As a whole, the decision, while sug
gesting the possibility of another legis
lative test of the extent to which Con
gress may go in price fixing, leaving
wages and hours in the different States
to be covered by separate compacts,
hastens the time when the constitu
tional issue will be posed in the form
of an amendment explicitly giving Con
gress the authority It has so far sought
in vain to regulate wages and hours in
the manufacture of goods passing in
interstate commerce. This last decision
plainly threatens validity of the Wagner
labor relations act.
Circus Drama.
Thousands of Washington men, women
and children yesterday afternoon sought
the Ringling Brothers-Bamum and
Bailey Circus in expectation of the gay
a.nri iluiuvroiu «nUrtiifnm»nt «;Mrh
customarily is to be found nowhere else
than at such a show. But a sudden
thunderstorm gave them drama of an
other variety. The experience was har
rowing in the extreme, tragic in at least
one sad instance—a little girl from
Shenandoah died from injuries received
when she was struck by a swinging pole.
But the community should be and pre
sumably is grateful for the fact that
there was not further loss of life. The
danger was starkly real for more than
half an hour. With a forty-mile gale
blowing, rain falling in a torrential
downpour, lightning flashing and thun
der rolling in terrifying fashion, a panic
well might have occurred. And once the
rush started, nothing in the world could
have stayed its mad progress; hundreds
almost certainly would have been
trampled, scores killed.
Credit for the avoidance of ditftfr is |
' A
due to the circus personnel. The man
agement appears to have been equal to
the emergency; the band heroically did
Its duty; and a battalion of laborers
courageously and successfully matched
their strength and skill with the mili
tant elements to prevent the collapse of
the big top—by sheer physical force and
determination they saved the huge tent
and its frightened occupants. And the
show went on. Each actor, each clown,
each acrobat, even each dumb animal in
the ensemble met the crisis bravely. The
police and fire details lent their assist
ance in selfless loyalty to their traditions
of service.
Gradually the tempest exhausted
itself; order was restored, and there was
no insane stampede. The incident is
encouraging. Probably people are learn
ing to keep calm in the face of peril.
The lesson is important. Its benefits,
certainly, are useful in a planet never
quite exempt from hazard of one sort
or another. The crowd at the circus
yesterday never will forget the ordeal,
but perhaps there will be an advantage
in remembering it.
, ,.
Not a Candidate*
Almost on the eve of the Republican
National Convention former President
Herbert Hoover announces that he is
not a candidate for the presidential
nomination. This, Indeed, has been the
position of the former President for
many months. He has insisted again and
again that his sole interest in the cam
paign is to arouse the country to the
dangers which confront it from the
Roosevelt New Deal. That he has done
much so to arouse the country many
will testify. His speeches, broadcast
from one end of the land to the other,
have been masterly discussions of the
issues of the day, with a vein of biting
sarcasm.
Mr. Hoover as a potential candidate
for the presidential nomination, how
ever, has continued in the discussions
of the future of the Republican party.
Whether his present announcement will
put a final quietus on these discussions
so far as they affect Mr. Hoover is
questionable. Certainly Mr. Hoover has
refrained from seeking delegates to the
national convention, instructed to vote
for his nomination for President. Never
theless. Mr. Hoover has not said he would
decline the nomination if it came to him.
And that, after all, is the sole statement
that puts an end to all rumors that a
possible contender for the nomination
may yet be found in the race.
The announcement of Mr. Hoover that
he is not a candidate was made in entire
good faith. And as such it will be
accepted by his friends. He says also
that he is “not opposing any of the
candidates.” Doubtless this part of his
statement was made in answer to re
ports he was ready to form an alliance
with Senator William E. Borah and
others to prevent the nomination of
Gov. Alfred M. Landon of Kansas.
Mr. Hoover, however, sets considerable
store by the fact that the great ma
jority of the delegates to the Republican
National Convention are "uninstructed.”
unpledged by action of convention or
primary to any of the aspirants for the
yiCUUClllUU liuiauiottvu- AUCJ WIU IA>
sent to the convention, he says, to find
the right thing to do for the country in
the crisis which confronts it. For
months Mr. Hoover has contended that
the delegates to the national convention
should be of the highest type and they
should be left free to use their best
judgment in the selection of a presi
dential candidate. His wish for an
”uninstructed” group of delegates has
been fulfilled.
Mr. Hoover's immediate predecessor
in the White House, the late Calvin
Coolidge, announced a year before the
Republican National Convention con
vened in 1928: ‘‘I do not choose to run.”
For a year the country debated the intent
of that announcement. On the one hand
it was held that Mr. Coolidge had taken
himself definitely out of the race. On
the other it was argued that if Mr.
Coolidge had no desire to re-enter the
White House he would have used other
and more specific language. Whatever
he may have had in mind, the Coolidge
announcement prevented his renomina
tion, and probably nothing else could
have doner so.
What the Republican National Con
vention may do next month when it
meets in Cleveland is still in the lap
of the gods. What a meeting of un
instructed minds will bring forth in the
nature of candidates remains to be
seen. 8ome shudder at the thought.
Despite the efforts of Mr. Hoover, in
many States preferences have been ex
pressed for specific candidates, and it
is increasingly likely that the delegates,
after all, will listen to the advice of the
people.
European statesmanship is explaining
that it is still an entirely good League
of Nations, needing only a few minor
repairs.
War Debts.
M. Leon Blum, who will become pre
mier of Prance on June l, chose the
medium of an address before the Amer
ican Club in Paris to revive interest in
the French war debt to the United
States. He deplored “misunderstanding”
on the subject and voiced the hope that
something can be done to clear up the
vexatious problem. M. Blum ventured
no concrete proposals, but let it be
known that he does 'not subscribe to
the widespread French theory that the
debt long since has been as good as
cancelled. He shares the view of former
Premier Herriot that France owes it to
herself, as a matter of national honor,
to acknowledge the validity of the obli
gation and approach its liquidation in
that spirit.
These expressions at Paris synchro
nize with recrudescence of war debt talk
in London. Influential Britons are
quoted as feeling that some steps should
be taken to ameliorate a situation that
is not conducive to cordial Anglo
American relations. The Baldwin gov
ernment gives no indication of cor
responding action. All of the exchequer's
available funds for the immediate future
r
are allocated to the vast rearmament
program. It is officially foreshadowed
that the impending semi-annual install
ment will again be defaulted at Wash
ington, and that there is no Intention
of talcing any initiative either for re
newal of payments or discussion looking
to a scaling down or cancellation of the
debt.
European war debts to the United
States total more than $13,000,000,000,
of which over $1,000,000,000 is in default.
Of the gross obligation, Britain owes
roundly $5,000,000,000 and France $4,
000,000,000. France ceased to pay at
the end of 1933 and Britain and other
debtors, with the shining exception of
Finland, which has met its obligations
regularly, made token payments until
June, 1934. Under the Johnson law,
all nations in default are denied access
to the American loan market.
Despite M. Blum's friendly observa
tions and the echo evoked in London,
June 15 is destined to come and go
without any payments on account of
the round $200,000,000 then falling due
from thirteen European nations. The
sum will be automatically added to the
mounting total of installments already
in default. It is improbable that the
present generation of Americans will
live to see payment of the war debts
or their curtailment on any substantial
scale. A Europe with its being chron
ically atop a powder barrel and with
costly competition in armaments in
progress on all sides, is not likely to
be in either mood or position to divert
funds to settlement of the American
war debts. Besides considering it
necessary to lavish money upon military,
naval and air establishments, nearly
every one of the debtor countries is
still struggling with economic vicis
situdes.
Under such circumstances, the United
States has no alternative but patiently
to await the time when conditions
“over there” will permit a more promis
ing approach to the entire debt proposi
tion. Meanwhile, Washington consist
ently maintains its readiness to con
sider any feasible readjustment pro
posals which the defaulting nations care
to submit. The attitude of the in
coming French premier offers the most
tangible hope held out for some time
that one of these days progress in the
desired direction may be made.
In newspaper circles debate has arisen
as to whether a gentleman shall take
his hat off when a lady enters the
elevator. The elevator conductor has
enough to do without attempting to
police the etiquette.
Along with glowing assurances of
awakening prosperity come somber hints
that the relief money is all spent and
that there is not going to be any more.
Debt payments to the U. 8. A. will in
duce a kindlier feeling and at least
permit conversation enough to disclose
whether there is anything new worth
finding out about the League of Nations.
» ii> « -— ■—
The young son of Col. Vidal, who
insists on flying, carries the Boy 8cout
idea right along into the clouds. He
has the first requisite of the true
aviator—a lack of personal fear.
Shooting Stars.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
Memory Gems.
Those Memory Gems of schoolday times
I reverently recall,
For they were sweetly soothing rhymes,
To gladden great and small.
When threats our good intentions mar,
With hope a verse draws near;
“Speak Gently. It Is Better Far
To Rule by Love Than Fear.”
When woman's wit we find arrayed
In militant endeavor,
They still recite, “Be Good, Sweet Maid,
And Let Who Will Be Clever.”
But envious ardor must arise,
Polonius, shrewdly terse,
Sounds influential when he sighs,
“Put money in thy purse!”
nanrprnus Aftsumniinn.
“You have made a profound study of
politics,” remarked the friend from
home.
"Don’t advertise any impression to
that effect,” said Senator Sorghum.
“You’re sure to lose votes if you allow
our friends to think I'm assuming to
know more than they do.”
Sentimentality.
“You seem sad,” said the pilot.
“Not exactly sad,” answered Miss
Cayenne. “Only sentimental. Every
time I get this far from earth I begin
to feel terribly homesick.”
Miss Springtime.
Oh gentle Spring, you dear old thing,
Again you prove so fickle
That when of sunshine we would sing
The rain begins to trickle.
And when to hours of rainbow show’rs
We offer salutation
The sunshine greets the blossoming
flowers
With fine exhilaration.
Pair Spring, you mix in politics
With a bewildering slyness.
We can’t keep up with all your tricks
Of “wetness" or of “dryness.”
Jud Tunkins says after hearing the
public speakers exaggerate things, a
circus poster strikes him as right simple
and reliable;
Energy.
TO energy the world extends
Its greetings oft with pomp and pride;
And yet sometimes a lot depends
On how that energy’s applied.
The ant, likewise the busy bee,
We praise for working with a will,
But blame the little germ when he
Insists on being busier still.
“Dar’s gineto be jealousy an’ hard
feelin’s,’’ said Uncle Eben, “as long as
some members of de family has to stay
home an' wash dishes while others go
to de circus.”
Hospitals of Former Days
and Those of Modern Times
To the Editor of The Star:
Florence Nightingale’s life work has
lately been the subject of a Star editorial.
She did great work, but she couldn’t do
everything at once.
Up to about 1890, as I remember it,
many of the lesser operations were still
performed without anesthetics. In Bay
View Asylum, Baltimore, Md„ trained
nurses didn’t come in until 1896. Med
ical and surgical equipment, of course,
was not what it is now. But a good many
patients got well, though at times there
seemed to be a doubt as to whether a
party was dead or alive.
I was in the ward as a very young man
when one of the resident students certi
fied one of the sufferers as beyond all
earthly cares. A couple of huskies came
in and placed the "corpse” on a board
alongside the bed, washed him off and
got ready to put him on a stretcher.
Apparently they had been too vigorous
about their scrubbing—the “corpse” sat
up on the board and looked around in a
bewildered sort of fashion. He lived for
another two days.
Of course, all this has been changed
long ago. Baltimore’s Municipal Hos
pital, formerly Bay View Asylum, these
many years has been rated A-l. Besides,
the patient stays until he recovers or
dies. Chronics are transferred to the
“poor house” (on the same grounds) if
the person has no home or no worth
while home. Here, due to everlasting
overcrowding, as at Gallinger, they have
to discharge them half cured and with
no place to go. If the sufferer is quite
old. then he may have a chance to go
to Blue Plains, provided there is room.
In the old days in the Maryland Gen
eral Hospital you could get a ward bed
for as low as 40 cents a day. This in
cluded care by the staff and visiting
physicians and surgeons. As to Wash
ington. D. C., before Gallinger, the Dis
trict sent indigent patients to the various
pay hospitals at a very low special rate.
As late as 1917 the pay hospitals
accepted patients for as low as $1 a day.
By 1930 I found it raised to $2 a day
• plus plenty of • extras," plus your own
doctor). In 1935 I paid $3, "plus.” Now
it's $3.50, "plus.”
And so the poor man who would like
to pay his way hasn't a chance, espe
cially in case of a protracted illness. Of
course, he can pocket his pride and go
to Gallinger—an excellent Institution, but
always overcrowded. So what? Well,
Senator Robert F. Wagner, for instance,
is considering public health insurance.
Then there is the "medical center” idea,
which the existing hospitals are fighting.
And yet they claim that they are losing
money, although a lot of their work is
being done by unpaid help (student
nurses). Looks funny.
FRED VETTER.
Ground Song, Tameness
Of Wood Thrush Disptued
To the Editor of The Star:
We do not like to doubt the accuracy
oi muy Muicuieiii Mr. iiucweu may
make. He has given us many interest
ing items of information, but in recent
bird articles we are compelled to correct
a couple of his statements concerning
the thrush. In your issue of May 8 he
writes: “A wood thrush is so fearless
that the gardener will have trouble
mowing the lawn, as it hops along right
in front of the mower.” This is dis
tinctly incorrect. A thrush is not so
tame as a robin, but even it would not
go so close to the gardener or the mower.
A pigeon is the only bird that will risk
its safety in the way described. This
we see daily in parks.
In your issue of the 14th Mr. Trace
well writes: "The wood thrush, aristo
crat of our gardens, sings best on the
ground.” This also is incorrect. No
bird sings from the ground, not even the
sky lark, which builds its nest and makes
its home on the ground in a meadow and
is the finest of all song birds. Many of
the great poets of the past have written
about the song of the lark, and P. B.
Shelley added much to his fame as a
poet when "To a Sky Lark” reached the
public. It is intensely rich in language
and thought. R. LAPPIN.
Strict Application of
Heavier Penalties Needed
To the Editor of The Star:
The question of overtime parking is
stressed by Edward Lloyd in his excel
lent letter to The Star. I quite agree
with his contention that the police are
overzealous in penalizing offenders in
overtime parking. Regardless of the
ethical side involved in monopolizing
parking space, one must not lost sight
of the fact that a parked car does not
offer a menace comparable with that
of speeding or the insistence on right
of way when common sense and human
safety are involved.
What is needed is a Police Court judge
who is courageous and independent
enough to impose the maximum penalty
in traffic violations causing bodily in
jury, without regard to sex, social sta
tion or what not; also a coroner’s jury
that will rarely exonerate a driver whose
negligence has caused a traffic fatality.
Make the liability to heavy fines and
long imprisonment greater and there will
be a marked improvement in the situa
tion; furthermore, so-called educational
safety campaigns—invariably unsuccess
ful-will be superfluous.
nr<nxvz iifiDAV^n.
Complete Citizenship
For Women Is an Issue
To the Edgor of The Star:
Herbert Hoover “said a mouthful’’ In
his recent speech at Philadelphia when
he made the statement, “We have been
accused of a few forgotten men, but the
New Deal has forgotten all the women.”
I am becoming thoroughly discouraged
with the continued indifference of this
administration toward women’s funda
mental interests. The attitude seems to
be, "Shoo, fly! Don’t bother me," when
women approach the national sugar bowl
to get a grain for “the weaker sex.” It
is degrading for them in a so-called
democracy to have to beg and plead and
petition for that which belongs to them
as of right. In my humble opinion, the
party that deserves to win in the coming
election is the one that will put into its
platform a plank that will pledge that
party to work for a complete citizenship
status for women, something they do not
have now. Are women “persons" and
“citizens” according to the fourteenth
amendment to the Constitution or not?
It granted national identity to somebody.
ROSE ARNOLD POWELL.
Still Valid.
Prom the Detroit Newt.
Our fiscal structure is standing up very
well. A Cleveland answers editor tells
an inquirer that a half-dime dated 1851
is still worth 5 cents.
Adhesive.
Prom the Milwaukee Sentinel.
Though Uncle Sam is giving up some
of his islands, it is probable that Guam
will stick to him like a wad of gum to
a park bench.
4
I THIS AND THAT I
BY CHARLES E. TRACE*ELL.
It is good to see that Maurice Maeter
linck has written a book on pigeons.
They share the volume with spiders,
which also attract his curious fancy.
The city and suburban dweller inter
ested in. Nature will be glad that so
distinguished a writer has turned his
attention to these creatures, especially
to the pigeons, for the latter are mostly
just accepted.
We need some one to put a little
philosophy into pigeons. They are so
well known that people accept them, as
they do English sparrows, without
thinking about them.
Yet the pigeons, which Include the
doves, are among the extremely inter
esting birds, as any one knows who has
watched them beneath bird feeding sta
tions in the home garden.
Doves really are pigeons, pigeons are
doves, either way you want to call ’em.
Usually the term ’’dove” is confined to
the smaller and somewhat sleeker birds.
"Dove” and "pigeon” are practically
synonymous.
* * * *
There are five big pigeons which have
come to our yard daily since last No
vember.
Before the feeding stations were
established, not a one of these birds ever
flew down, although some of them had
been observed from time to time about
a block away.
r It was not three days after seeds and
grains had been put out that they ap
peared.
What graceful fellows they are, de
spite their size!
A little awkward in the take-off, but
once aloft they are splendid flyers. The
prowess of the family is well known.
One has but to think of the various
racing pigeon*, and even back to the
Ark. It was a dove which brought glad
tidings. Since earliest days the dove
ha* been regarded as symbolic of peace.
* * * *
The word “pigeon’* comes from the
Latin pipere, to cheep, through old
French pijon. a young cheeping bird.
Hence when we use the word today
we go back to the very springs of bird
land, as it were.
One of the most beautiful of the
typical South American songs is called
“The Dove.”
It is a happy circumstance that one
may have in the garden tide by side
real pigeons and doves. The dove family,
or pigeon family, whichever one chooses
to call it, .has hundreds of species. Only
a pigeon fancier could begin to tell a
tenth of the domesticated pigeons.
So there will be little good for the
gardener to worry his head over which
sorts of pigeons honor the grains he puts
out for the birds.
They are ground feeders, so do yoe
man service in cleaning up beneath trees
or shrubs where feeding devices often
are placed.
Unless one happens to be near large
pigeon places, such as some of our parks
have become, there will be little danger
of the garden being swamped with these
birds.
Usually half a dozen will come regu
larly. These do not make bad additions
to the hosts of other smaller birds. They
likewise attract the Carolina dove, a
most welcome visitor.
* * * *
It is both an instructive and beau
tiful sight to watch pigeons and doves
feeding side by side.
The latter Is more sedate, in all ways,
than the pigeon.
A bit of a wag is the pigeon. He
takes life so intensely that he is funny,
in the popular phraseology. No doubt
many humans fall into the same cate
gory.
Pigeons have a sort of strutting walk
which strikes the funny bone of ob
servers. Their way of picking up their
food verges on the comical. Their antics
with the female of the species are ludi
crous, especially the waltz they make, as
they turn ’round and 'round in her
presence.
If one did not suspect the relationship
of doves and pigeons from their appear
ance, he would be able to guess it from
their voices. While the voice of the
pigeon is not as soft, it has a great deal
of the typical “coo’’ in it, marred a bit
by some tinges of the comic quality
noted.
* * * *
There are few sights more appealing
than that of a flock of half a dozen
pigeons alighting in a backyard.
Their powerful wings support their
heavy bodies easily, giving the observer
the same impression he receives of
Ashes In water.
There is no wasted motion, no undue
beating of the wings. In this respect,
the Carolina dove is an even more grace
ful flyer. But the regular pigeons,
known to all, are fine while in the air.
Usually they make a trial flight over
a yard and back again before alighting.
This descent is really beautiful, as
the great wings hold the fat bodies
easily in the slow fall to earth.
After that comes the waddle, proving
to all and sundry that the pigeons are
out of their native element for the time
being.
a * * *
Tne Carolina aove, sometimes cauea
the mourning dove, from the sound of
the voice, or the turtle dove, from its
shape in cold weather, combined with
the markings on the back, is really a
very beautiful bird, in a quiet way.
Nothing seems more appropriate in a
garden than a pair of these birds.
Their voices, while in a sense mourn
ful, in another distinctly are not so;
rightly heard, they simply are part of
the great outdoors, and possess some
thing of the gentleness of the lower
notes of the flute.
A dove might be called the contralto
of bird singers. Its sounds are to be
heard at all hours and to the listening
ear in time become highly welcome. At
first one may have been inoculated with
the dire meanings of that word "mourn
ing," but after this wears off the more
subtle tones are heard and these, one
often is surprised to find out, are pleas
antly happy, as much so, almost, as
that of most bird songs.
The gurgles of the pigeons lack this
note of refinement. Their voices seem
to be concerned with food and the like,
but as far as we know the doves have
no such mundane thoughts, if we can be
lieve the far-reaching tones that Journey
to us every day.
Especially in the late afternoon it is
pleasing to hear the a-coo-oo-oo of the
Carolina dove, its soft accents somehow
blending with the decline of the sun,
the shadows on the grass, the beloved
supper time of the world.
Pigeons and doves are fine birds, if
just a few of them are present. They
exemplify the old saying, “Two’s com
pany, three's a crowd."
STARS, MEN AND ATOMS 1
Notebook of Science Progress in Field,
Laboratory and Study.
BY THOMAS R. HENRY.
A new tool for the diagnosis of various
human maladies—the inhibiting, poison
ous effect of blood sera on the root
growth of seedlings of certain plants
grown in a solution under standard con
ditions—was described to the National
Academy of Sciences here last week by
Drs. David I. Macht and Raymond E.
Gardner of Johns Hopkins University.
This toxic effect of human blood sera
on plants was first discovered by Dr.
Macht 15 years ago and he now has
found that it varies with certain dis
eases so notably as to afford an almost
certain means of differentiation. The re
sults with seedling roots are much more
striking than can be obtained with ani
mal tissues.
Much more toxic than normal is the
blood sera of victims of pernicious
anemia, leprosy and the skin disease,
pemphigus. These differ among them
selves in the extent of the poisonous
effect, so that the actual malady from
which a person is suffering can be de
termined in a questionable case. The
degree of toxicity changes as the cure
progresses, making it possible for phy
sicians to evaluate the success of their
therapeutic treatments.
A notable instance, cited by Dr. Macht
in his report to the National Academy,
is in pernicious anemia. Under the now
standardized liver extract treatment the
patient apparently greatly improves. Yet
the toxicity of the blood sera remains
unchanged, apparently demonstrating
that the underlying condition responsible
for the blood disease has not been
affected.
i^uxuiK Mir past year, ui. mw/iii
ported, it has been found that the blood
sera of victims of virus diseases as a
class is much less toxic than ordinary
sera. These are the maladies due to
the submicroscopic filterable viruses, the
list of which constantly is increasing.
The non-toxic effect was demonstrated
for such maladies as experimental
vaccinia, fowl pox, herpes, rabies, one
type of meningitis and various patho
logical animal growths. These results,
says Dr. Macht, are in agreement with
findings made some years ago in tests
with clinical cases of scarlet fever.
Curiously enough, a series of blood sera
from monkeys infected with poliomyelitis
did not reveal this phenomenon, the re
sultant index being within the normal
range. Previous examination of the
blood sera from 100 cases of trachoma,
the widespread eye disease, revealed that
they possessed a specific toxicity not ex
hibited by sera from other pathological
eye conditions.
The blood sera from ordinary bac
terial and protozoan infections had about
the same toxicity as normal sera. The
two exceptions to this were in the cases
of tuberculosis and syphilis. The high
toxicity of leprosy may be useful in
diagnosis.
Normal blood aera of many genera of
animals were found to have about the
same toxicity to the seedlings as the
sera of normal human beings. The
only exception was the blood sera of
reptiles which were more toxic than
those of other cold-blooded animals. The
blood serum of non-polsonous snakes
was as toxic as that of poisonous ser
pents.
♦ * * *
The human infant has an inexpli
cable spurt in growth at about the sixth
month and an equally inexplicable de
cline at about Mm eighteenth month of
life, it was reported to the National
Academy by Drs. C. B. Davenport and
William Drager of the Carnegie Insti
tution of Washington.
They plotted the actual curves of
growth for hundreds of babies in an
effort to work out a general law of
growth, but were unable to derive any
formula which accounted for these age
anomalies. They determined that the
spurt and decline were both independent
of the season and of the month of birth.
In rapidly growing babies both occur
earlier than in slow growers. In a pair
of identical twins the excesses and de
ficiencies occur at about the same time
and in about the same degree.
The irregularities are found. Dr. Dav
enport reported, not only in weight, but
also in stature, sitting height and leg
length. The further interpretation, he
said, must rest on future study.
* * * *
A different rate of development for
the white and red blood cells was re
ported by Dr. Florence R. Sabin of the
Rockefeller Institute for Medical Re
search. Her experiments were made
with young rabbits, but presumably the
same effect would be found throughout
the animal kingdom.
Both are low, she found, just before
birth, but all the materials are at hand
for the rapid increase of the red cells
as soon as the animal starts to eat. The
number per cubic millimeter of blood
characteristic of the adult animal is
reached during the second and third
weeks of life. The hemoglobin, or red
coloring matter of the blood, exceeds in
amount that found in adults.
The while cells increase much more
slowly and reach their full quota only
by the fifth and sixth months of life.
Presidential Primaries
Of Little Practical Use
From the S»iin»w Dally New*.
While the presidential primaries in
various States furnish interesting ma
terial for political speculations, one is
tempted to wonder what earthly use
they are. They bind no one, not even
the delegates of the States in question.
Rarely, if ever, are all the avowed can
didates represented on the respective
party tickets. It could easily happen
that none of them would be, the State’s
vote going to some man entered merely
for the purpose of holding the conven
tion delegation’s votes in handy shape
for the politicians to make the best deal
they can.
A good many people have flirted with
the idea of presidential primaries that
would be binding, but so far no one
has been able to suggest a means of
overcoming the practical administrative
difficulties involved. As it is, the votes
are advisory and it is perfectly well
understood that a delegation is entirely
free to abandon the State’s choice as
soon as it is convinced he has no
chance and demand the best price it
can get from contending candidates.
It is difficult to see where the people
get any return from such elections,
comparable with the cost of conducting
them. Such virtues as they may have
seem to have been appropriated by the
politicians for their own purposes. Per
haps some day some one may devise a
presidential primary system that means
something, but we are a long way from
that todajr.
I
» Htl
■v
A reader can get the answer to any
Question of fact by writing The Evening 8!
Star Information Bureau, Frederic J
Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C. IP
Please inclose stamp for reply. -Iff
Q. How many homes have been built H
at Matanuska, Alaska?—D. L. #|
A. There are 173 spruce-log cabins and H
bungalows. There is still room for about |4
850 families in the valley, allowing 40 liji;
acres to each farmer.
Q Are the common cottontail rabbits I4
bom blind?—J. H. t|l
A. They are bom blind and with ex-. B
tremely short hair in nests made of dead B
grass warmly lined with fur from the B
mother’s body Several litters of from m
two to six young usually appear during s';
the Spring and Summer.
Q. When was "Camille” written and S
when was it dramatized?—G. M.
A. It was written by Dumas fils in |
1848 and dramatized in 1853. 4
■
Q. Is the Pacific Ocean larger than
the Atlantic?—H. M. g
A. The Pacific comprises about 40 per ;!i
cent of the sea area of the earth, while
the Atlantic comprises only 35 per cent.
Q. Is cannibalism more fiction than S
fact?—E. L. P. y
A. The existence of cannibalism is a
well-known fact. Many primitive peo- i
pies have practiced it widely in historic
times and some still practice it.
Q. Who is the original of Percy
Crosby's “8kippy”?—E. H. ^
A. The artist created "Skippy” 16
years ago. His 8-year-old son Percj>
however, is the inspiration of many of I
the present cartoons. I
Q. Please give some information about
Egypt's new" King —H. M.
A. King Farouk is 16 years old and
will rule under a regency until he is 18. '5
He is fair with blue eyes and is 6 feet
in height. He has been attending the |
Royal Military Academy at Woolwich,
England, and speaks English without an
accent.
Q. When did Paderewski play in 3
America the first time?—R. B |
A. He made his American debut No
vember 7, 1891. |
Q. How long before the time of Christ
did Buddha live?—A. D. M.
A. He is supposed to have died about >
483 B.C. at the age of 80.
Q. How are gasses classed, since they 3
are neither solids nor liquids?—8. J.
A. Gasses flow into the shape of the ;;
container, so are classed with liquids
as fluids. I
Q. When was daylight saving time used *
throughout the United States?—T. D.
A. During the Summers of 1918 and "
1919.
Q. What proportion of a cigarette is
usually thrown away?—W. D. M.
A. A little less than half. About l1.*
inches. f
Q. How old was Aaron Burr s daughter
Theodosia when she disappeared?—S. 6. 1
A. She was about 30. She had been
married in 1801, and was on her way to*
visit her father in 1813, when she was
lost with a ship whose fate was never
known.
. • *
Q. What is the origin of the expres
sion, "to eat humble pie"?—E. M.
A. The British had a homely but edi
ble dish made of the umbles (from Latin
lumbulus, little loins), the heart, liver
and entrails of the stag. The fact that
the umble pie was served to the less
important members of the household led
to the use of "to eat humble pie” as,
an allusion to a humiliating drop in the
! social scale.
Q. Is mass said in a Roman Catholic ,
Church in anv language except Latin?
—A. E. H.
A. Embracing the world, there are
eight other languages in which it is
said—Greek. Syriac. Coptic, Armenian,
Arabic. Slavonic, Georgian and Ru
manian.
Q. How old is plastic surgery?—L. C.
A. As early as the sixteenth century,
a famous Italian surgeon, Tagllacozzi,
invented some of the practices in use
to this day. The Hindus performed
nose-repair operations centuries ago by
grafting pieces of skin from their fore
heads. Justinian II enlisted the help
of skin-grafters to rebuild a nose which
he had lost on the battlefield.
Q. How long had Mount Vernon been
built when George Washington went
there to live?—C. L.
A. Four years. Lawrence Washington
built the original house in 1743, and
George Washington went there to live
with him in 1747. It was remodeled
and enlarged to the proportions now pre- ,
served by Gen. George Washington.
Q. When was the postal rate to Eng
land changed from 3 cents to 5 cents?
—F. M.
A. The change was made September
1, 1931.
Q. What is the difference between a
divorce and the annulment of marriage?
—O. R.
A. In granting a divorce the court
recognizes the existence and validity of
the marriage, but frees the parties from
the bonds thereof. In annuling a mar
riage a court recognizes the existence . .
but not the validity thereof and purports
to place the parties in the position they
would have been if the marriage had i
not been performed.
Survivors.
From the Sioux Falls Arnu-Lesder.
It is already apparent that the dande
lions came through the severe Winter .
without injury.
A Rhyme at Twilight
By
Gertrude Brooke Hamilton
The Heart of f Boy.
Like the contents of his pockets, tangled
strings,
Cookies, fishing worms, bean shooter,
varied things.
So mismatch, strange emotions are a part *
Of that ever-puzsling riddle—a boy's
heart.
Day-dreaming of adventure, exploits
bold;
Impervious alike to heat or cold;
With pranks that nearly drive his parents
wild,
Yet quick to stoop and soothe a crying
child.
«•
As well as try to pierce the junge By a v
chart
As to plumb these depths—a boy’s be
wildering heart.
f <