Evening star. [volume], December 09, 1936, Page A-10, Image 10

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

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
THE EVENING STAR
With Sunday Morning Edition.
WASHINGTON. D. C.
WEDNESDAY..December #, 1»3«
THEODORE W. NOYES.Editor
The Evening Star Newspaper Company.
llth St. and Pennayivanla Ave.
New York Offlca: 110 East 42nd St.
Chicago Offlce: Lake Mlchican Building.
Rate by Carrier Within the City.
Secular Edition.
The Evening Star_ _45c per month
The Evening and Sunday Star
(when 4 Sundays)_ ,„60c per month
The Evening and Sunday Star
(when 5 Sundays)_-_05c per month
The Sunday Star_6c per copy
Night Final Edition.
Night Final and Sunday Star_70c per month
Night Final Star_ __65c per month
Collection made at the end ot each month.
Srders may be sent by mall or telephone Na
onal 6000
Bate by Mail—Payable, in Advanee.
Marvland and Virginia.
Dally and Sunday_1 yr.. $10.00: 1 mo.. 85e
Dally only__1 yr.. $0.00; 1 mo.. 50e
Sunday only_1 yr. $4.00; 1 mo. 40c
All Other Ststee and Canada.
Dally and Sundey_.l yr., $12.00: l mo.. Jl.no
Dally only—__1 yr., $8.00: 1 mo.. 75c
Sunday only _1 yr., $6.00; 1 mo., 60c
Member of the Associated Press.
The Associated Press la exclusively entitled to
the use for republication of all news dispatches
credited to It or not otherwise credited In this
paper and also the local news published herein.
All rights of publication of special dispatches
herein are also reserved.
Rift At Buenos Aires.
Proceedings at Buenos Aires today may
produce a show-down destined to deter
mine whether the Inter-American Con
ference is to achieve positive arrange
ments for Pan-American isolation from
European war or be doomed to wind up
in a blaze of that platitudinous ineffec
tiveness, against which Secretary Hull
*o earnestly inveighs. Clearly defined
differences have arisen over the question
as to the precise brand of neutrality to
which the sister Americas should pledge
themselves. The specific issue at stake
Is whether the conference should erect
definite barriers against American em
broilment in trans-Atlantic conflict or
indulge in innocuous resolutions con
fined to confirming the New World’s
pious passion for peace.
Argentina is believed to incline toward
a position which would not completely
6ever the Western democracies from as
sociation with European peace ma
chinery, notably the League of Nations.
The accomplished Argentine foreign
minister, Carlos Saavedra Lamas, only
recently presided over the Assembly at
Geneva and later received the Nobel
peace prize. In consequence, his coun
try enjoys deserved rank as a new
factor in international politics. The
chief arbiter of its foreign affairs, who
Is also president of the conference, is
correspondingly unsympathetic with
projects that would seem to minimize
the enhanced status in world affairs
which Argentina has just attained.
Moreover, sixteen of the American re
publics, or roundly four-fifths of them,
are members of the League, though they
are inspired with varying degrees of
enthusiasm for that enfeebled institu
tion, ranging all the way from Argen
tina’s fervent loyalty to the lukewarm
ness of the Central American group
which favors the creation of a purely
American league as a mutually defensive
alliance.
Secretary Hull, supported by Brazilian
Foreign Minister Soares, espouses a pro
gram designed effectually to immunize
the Western Hemisphere from Old World
war and to solidify Pan-American aelf
Bufficiency. Both General Justo, Presi
dent of Argentina, and Senor Saavedra
Lamas, In their opening addresses to
the conference, reflected hostility to any
thing savoring of isolationism. They
were at pains to reassure Europe that
nothing would be done at Buenos Aires
to burn the ancient bridges which have
traditionally united Latin America with
governments and civilizations across the
ocean. Nowadays in certain cases these
ties are strengthened by economic rela
tions which there is a comprehensible
wish not to undermine.
It is thus obvious that diametrical
differences have arisen, and there is no
gainsaying their gravity. On their solu
tion may well depend the question of
conference success or failure. Filled with
a common desire to avoid a rift, Argen
tina, Brazil and the United States are
Jointly taking the lead in attempting to
iron out the pending divergence, and
to that end are in restless communica
tion among themselves and the other
republics. Only in quarters outside this
hemisphere would there be rejoicing
over the demonstrated inability of the
American states to bury their hatchets.
Because of the immeasurably unfortu
nate consequences of discord, it is un
thinkable that harmony at Buenos Aires
will not finally prevail, but the good
neighbor spirit is clearly face to face
with an acid test on a fundamental
proposition.
Progressives Old and New.
What to do with the La Follettes, the
Norrises, the Johnsons and other pro
gressives has been a frequent topic of
discussion for years among Republicans
of the more conservative stamp. The
present Senator La Follette and Senator
Norris have solved the problem by be
coming independent of the Republican
party. Now that they, and many other
progressives, have taken themselves out
of the party, the conservative Repub
licans are trying to think up some way
of getting them back into the G. O. P.
They are giving the question serious
consideration today.
f When the Senate meets—and the
Rouse, too—on January 5, the question
of party organization rises. It will rise,
to be sure, in party caucuses even before
that date. What is to be done with
the La Follettes, the Norrises, the Ship
steads and the Lundeens, for example?
Fa Follette is a Progressive, and, with his
brother, Governor La Follette, is the head
of the Progressive party of Wisconsin.
Norris was elected as an independent,
without party stamp. Shipstead and
Lundeen are members of the Farmer
Labor party of Minnesota. They and
the people they represent have been Re
publicans in the past—not Democrats.
There la talk of asking them to join, so
far as organization of the Congress is
concerned, with the thin line of Re
publicans still left in that body. And
yet these gentlemen supported President
Roosevelt in the past compaign—and
even in the campaign of 1932.
Is the tail finally to wag the dog—is
the group of “regular” Republicans to go
over to the progressive wing of the party?
It is not likely that anything of that
kind will happen openly and on the
surface. Yet there is every indication
that some of these regular Republicans
are bent on shaking from themselves
the old conservative label—any inclusion
of them in the ranks of the “Old Guard”
brings cold shivers.
Republicans of the conservative school,
even those who survived the recent elec
tions, are today wondering what is to
happen to the Republican party. They
sadly wonder what there is left. Prob
ably they will acquire their second wind
and begin to breathe more easily after a
few months and take courage from the
fact that the party polled about 17,000,
000 in the presidential election. For the
present they are badly shaken. They
might, if they would, regard the Demo
crats. The Democrats have finally
bloomed forth in almost incredible ef
fulgence. For years, during the period
since the Civil War, the Democrats were
impotent, crushed—except in the “solid
South.” They refused, however, to re
main crushed. In the last half dozen
years the Democrats turned more and
more to the ideas of the La Follettes,
the Norrises, the Johnsons and the pro
gressives generally. They leaped aboard
the progressive bandwagon, in fact.
Some of the Republicans are wonder
ing if they did not miss an opportunity—
are asking themselves whether, instead
of undertaking to read the late Senator
“Bob” La Follette of Wisconsin and
the late Senator Ladd of North Dakota,
for example, out of the party back in
1925, they should not have taken a leaf
from their book.
The pendulum of politics swings—but
rarely does it ever swing as far back
as it has been in the past. It will swing
again, depending probably on economic
conditions or on some issue not now dis
cernible. In the meantime there is a
growing demand among the Republicans
in Congress that the party become mbre
liberal. Hence the talk of affiliating with
the lost progressives.
United Front.
On many past occasions the birthday
dinners of the Association of Oldest In
habitants have become forums for the
discussion of Washington problems and
topics relating to the betterment of the
Capital City. The seventy-first dinner
of the association on Monday evening
was especially notable in this respect.
Proper emphasis was placed by repre
sentative speakers on the two objectives
of such prime importance now to the
community, fiscal equity and political
equity. But, perhaps more by accident
than design, chief emphasis was placed
on the interrelation of the two object
ives in a manner that merged them as
a single goal—fiscal and political equity
for Washington.
The close connection between the two
has always been apparent to students of
both questions. Present circumstances
serve to make the connection still more
apparent, as shown in the theme of the
discussions Monday evening. Commis
sioner Hazen suggested two rough
formulas for measurement of the na
tional obligation, either of which would
substantially increase the Federal pay
ment. Mention was naturally made of
the present efforts of the President's
special committee in pursuit of an
equitable and workable formula for di
vision of fiscal responsibilities. But ex
perience has shown that the discovery
of a formula is a waste of time and
money unless Congress chooses to adopt
it. As Mrs. Harvey W. Wiley, one of the
speakers, suggested, “The best way to
get proper fiscal relations here is to get
the vote.’’ Certainly the greatest hope
for fiscal equity lies in political equality
for the people of Washington.
Mr. Lesh, who has already distin
guished himself in his presentation of the
cause for national representation, char
acterized the present situation as re
gards adequate maintenance and im
provement funds for the Capital City as
a “new all-time low,” and Mrs. Doyle,
chairman of the Board of Education,
spoke feelingly and effectively of the
needs of the schools, dangerously
neglected in the period of fiscal un
certainty. But if there was common
distress over inadequacy of national sup
port and the resulting disproportionate
burden placed on the local community,
there was cause for general satisfaction
over the united front, represented in the
list of speakers and guests, that is gain
ing strength in the renewed campaign
for fiscal and political equity. A pre
cedent for Washington’s oldest civic body
was established Monday evening when
the ladies were invited to the anni
versary dinner. But this breaking
with an old tradition was not only
eminently successful, as far as the charm
of the gathering was concerned, but
symbolized the increasingly important
part that the women’s organizations of
Washington are taking in work for the
community welfare. Their continued
support is one of Washington’s assets.
A Permanent P. W. A.
Secretary Ickes’ presentation, in his
Star Radio Forum address, of the case
for a permanent P. W. A. was helped by
the recent findings of the Bureau of
Labor Statistics regarding the employ
ment results of P. W. A. construction
projects. One of his handicaps, removed
by the statistics now available, has been
the lack of specific information relating
to the number of jobs provided by P. W.
A. construction. Compared with the
more immediately visible employment
affected under Mr. Hopkins’ W. P. a., for
instance, P. W. A. was placed in a rela
tively poor light. For the only direct
ly ascertainable employment resulting
.from P. W. A. construction was the work
furnished on the site of the construction.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has
now oome forward with the figutas re
suiting from two years’ research, show
ing that for every man employed on the
site in construction work, two and a
half men receive employment in the
fabrication and supply of materials?
P. W. A. thus furnishes not only sub
stantial Improvements from which com
munities will Continue to receive benefits
long after the depression is forgotten,
but in their construction the employ
ment benefits are widely distributed, the
benefits going into varied lines of
industry.
Mr. Ickes has used the results of the
Bureau of Labor Statistics research to
strengthen his case for establishment
of a permanent P. W. A. He does not
mean a P. W. A. maintained at its
present strength, advocating that re
trenchment, in view of recovery, should
be undertaken “all along the line.'’ He
does believe that the nucleus of P. W. A.,
representing the efficient organization
built under his direction, should De re
tained. With such a nucleus, the coun
try would be prepared, in time of pros
perity. to utilize an effective recovery
instrument in time of adversity. This
nucleus, or a “public works general
staff,” Secretary Ickes points out, would
have prepared a “reservoir of well
considered, carefully planned" projects
which coyld be undertaken immediately
with the appropriation of necessary
funds.
The idea of planning for depression
in time of prosperity is not new, but
Secretary Ickes gives it timely and prac
tical emphasis. P. W. A. has accumu
lated a wealth of valuable experience
that should not be lost to the Nation by
total disbandment of the organization.
Even in times of relative prosperity
there are a number of functions which
P. W. A. could perform, through making
available Government credit and pos
sibly grants, in the assistance of States
and municipalities. And as the statute
creating P. W. A. expires next June 30,
the next Congress will have to reach
some decision on P. W. A.’s future policy
or its abandonment.
Regardless of its permanent status,
P. W. A. should be continued long
enough for the completion of projects
now under way and which will not be
finished by next June.
One of the best epigrams of recent
times is the reference to relief distribu
tion with the warning, “you can not shoot
Santa Claus.” World trade is protesting
in a not entirely different spirit, "It is
dangerous to defy a prime minister.”
Lloyd's Insurance Co. always man
ages to take a little publicity out of any
great political dilemma, but it has been
revealed in many recent instances that
preliminary betting odds do not really
mean anything.
Shooting Stars.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
The Last Laugh.
Old man Stubbles has a face
That seems always out o’ place.
When he hears a merry quip,
Never winks or moves a lip
Toward a smile. He'll sit an' stare
With a stern, forbidding air
Till he's all alone, an’ then
Laugh again an’ yet again.
When a hard-luck tale drew nigh
He was never known to sigh
Sympathetic-like an’ nice,
With a chunk of good advice.
But when he’s alone he'll take
Pen in hand fur old time's 6ake
An’ write out a check or two,
Helpin' some poor feller through.
Those who meet him stand aside
Talkin’ ’bout his sordid pride
An’ his domineerin’ way.
“Cold an’ cranky,” they all say,
'Cause his good deeds rest unknown,
An’ that's why, when he's alone,
He is laughing at the jokes
That he plays on all us folks.
Initiative Not Required.
"It is always a mistake to start a
quarrel,” remarked the cautious friend.
“You don’t have to start quarrels
these days,” answered Senator, Sorghum.
“You can always find one ready made
whenever you feel like mixing in.”
Intellectually Aloof.
“My boy Josh is a great scholar,” re
marked Farmer Comtossel.
“You must find his conversation very
agreeable.”
“Well, the only trouble is that the
things that interest me Josh doesn’t
consider important enough to know any
thing about.”
Optimism.
It’6 fine to be an optimist
With sunshine everywhere;
With only pleasures on your list
And not a word of care.
The world is like a picture bright
Where colors are arrayed
To fill us with sincere delight
’Mongst joys that cannot fade.
It’s fine to be an optimist—
But he who takes the part
From thought and care may not desist
With languid brain and heart.
His pictures are but hopes so proud
And glorious to the view.
He has to hustle with the crowd
To make his hopes come true.
Study in Seriousness.
"That ponderous person takes himself
very seriously.”
"No," replied Miss Cayenne. "He
doesn’t take himself seriously. He is
merely trying to persuade others to do
so.”
Seasonal Change.
The man who in mendacious ways
With fishing rods would run
A different style of game now plays—
He goes out with a gun.
"Anybody tollin’ a story,” said Unde
Eben, “wants to make It interestin’. Dat’s
why a hard luck story Is alius liable
to make things seem wuss dan day Is."
k
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
MARGARET GERMOND.
NIGHT OUTLASTS THE WHIPPOOR
WILL. By Sterling North. New York:
The MacMillan Co.
Out of a small town in Wisconsin
comes a story which makes those of us
who believed twenty years and less ago
that we were of sound and reasoning mind
hang our heads in shame as we remem
ber the hatreds and passions which min
gled with and warped our thoughts and
too often misguided our actions. Most
of us have not needed to wait for a good
novel to give us a true interpretation of
our behavior during the most critical
period in the history of the world, for
long ago came the rather appalling reali
zation that at a time when it was most
needed we dumped overboard our ballast
cargo of common sense and permitted
ourselves to founder for four long years
in a treacherous sea of emotionalism.
Experience is a hard but thorough
school. Collectively and Individually
we were taught many grave lessons about
the deadly four horsemen and how they
can be forced to ride. We learned also
that no matter where they ride, the ef
fect of their devastating blight may be
felt in the most remote comers of the
earth. And no great piles of marble such
as those which mark the blood-drenched
battlefields of France and Belgium com
memorate the sacrifices of those of us
who fought on American soil, in the
mills and factories, on the farms and in
the small towns. Rather are ours the
invisible, intangible scars of memory, re
minders of the mania which possessed
us, of our incapacity to separate prej
udice from reason, of our unwillingness
to believe that our money, our sym
pathies and our vast expeditionary
forces were being poured into the bot
tomless pit of a lost cause.
Milestones along me roaa 10 xnowieage
are these invisible monuments which
mark the slow progression of normal
thought through the aftermath of the
hysteria produced by the world’s most
colossal experiment In wanton slaughter.
One recalls our awakening to the fact
that the ultimate benefit of the weekly
day of sacrifice, suffered gladly by those
to whom it meant genuine hardship, was
reaped by the profiteers. Another is a
reminder of the shocking realization that
statesmanship faltered and died before
the onslaught of politicians. Still others
bring to memory the prejudice and
suspicion which we as individuals di
rected toward tried and trusted fellow
townsmen and the brutal persecution
which we practiced upon innocent, kindly
neighbors. Memory, in fact, is crowded
with the unpardonable cruelties commit
ted in our American communities as we
were caught in the wave of emotionalism
which swept through the land on a stead
ily mounting tide of patriotism.
We have learned many other things
about ourselves since the tide subsided
and the solid earth is again under our
feet, but are we far enough advanced in
our ability to appraise issues at their
true value and to apply these hard
earned lessons of experience if we should
again be faced by a similar crisis?
Mr. North’s story may not rank as the
outstanding novel of the age upon this
particular subject, but it is just the type
of romance that the majority of fiction
readers like, and for the good of the race
there cannot be too many of them. For
it gives us an even better understanding
of ourselves and of our limitations as it
mirrors the bed-rock of America In
1917-18 and is of that much needed sub
stantial character that helps to clarify
and to mold serious thought.
Brailsford Junction, Wis., is symbolic
of the thousands of small towns which
are the homes of the American people
and the small theaters in which their
Joys and their tragedies are enacted. It
is a community predominantly German
in population. Its young men of all
classes, creeds and races go off to war,
leaving behind them a typical group of
women, the usual assortment of men
exempt for one reason or another from
military service, and a scattering of in
determinate individuals who never were
intended to fit into any community or to
serve constructively in any capacity.
Peter Brailsford is among those who
go off to France, and it is around the
figure of his young wife, Early Ann, that
the story centers. The town characters
are familiar to all of us who are ac
quainted with small communities. There
is Carlton Ellingsworth, the banker and
hypocrite, and his fashionable wife; the
kindly and gentle Reverand Schiffelbein,
pastor of the Lutheran Church; Christo
pher Ellingsworth, unhappy son of the
banker and in love with the butcher’s
daughter; William Kaiser, the honest,
patriotic butcher; Paul Revere Fox, edi
tor of the weekly newspaper; Spicky
Springer, the community’s lone police
man; Marie Vandeewalker. lovely lady
with a reputation; Early Ann’s young son
and others of less notable mention who
are caught in the maelstrom of hysteria
and emotionalism and flung about by
circumstances which dump them all into
the front line trenches on the home town
battlefield.
ic is a laminar swiy w uu»i ui uo, * tv
the romance and sentiment packed Into
this series of episodes in the lives of good
people and bad, strong characters and
foolish ones; generous souls and selfish
ones, gives us a clear-cut picture of our
selves and of the unreasoning passions
which deprived us of the power to think
clearly, to lend a sympathetic ear or
to open an understanding heart to those
who disagreed with us or upon whom we
felt inclined to cast suspicion, whether
they were guilty or innocent.
It is good for us to read stories of this
nature, and outstanding among those
which have come to hand is this stirring
and convincing novel by Sterling North.
Abolition of Dollar Pass
Will Decrease Revenues
To the Editor of The Star:
■ According to the local papers, the Pub
lic Utilities Commission is without au
thority to prevent the Capital Transit
Co. from committing financial suicide.
When the C. T. Co. first adopted the
$1 pass, it was done to meet the com
petition furnished by the cheap cabs.
Have conditions in that respect changed?
Not that you can notice! Then why
hand back the advantage that has been
gained by abolishing the pass? It costs
no more to run a full car than it does
to run one half loaded. They should
know that by their past history. Their
excuse for wanting more fare and doing
away with the dollar pass is that they
are not making sufficient return on the
capital Invested. Bo6h! Then why are
they putting $100,000 a month into a
depreciation fund, and yet borrowing
and paying interest on money to pay for
cars, busses and repairing and replacing
tracks, etc? Probably listening to their
master’s voice, the holding company that
controls them, which always looks out
for its end. Congress inflicted this
merger plan on us, and as one of the
unfortunate small stockholders of the
old Capital Traction Co., I believe that
in Justice to us they should hold an in
vestigation of the affairs of the new com
pany. Their Idea of requiring that a
majority of the board of directors should
be local men has net accomplished what
was intended by that clause in the
; merger MU. B. BDWARD McOAMM.
THIS AND THAT |
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.
Second strongest trait in cat nature is
love of home. Hence the common name,
house cat.
Tigey is a free-born, roistering tom,
but when it comes to a demand for a
home, he Is on a par with his tribe.
When his family deserted him, leaving
him locked in the attic, he was sorely
put out.
Being in the attic probably was his own
fault.
Tigey was taking his daily nap when
the movers showed up.
A night in the open makes a fellow
very sleepy. ,
The minute Tigey saw those strange
men he streaked it for the staircase.
The men came on.
Tigey fortunately found the attic door
open.
Up he went.
And got shut in.
a a a a
The desertion, however, rested securely
on the shoulders of his owners, so
called.
It is a nasty little habit some persons
have deserting pet animals, leaving them
behind to find food and shelter.
The cat was discovered, it is true, and
given to another family, but the trans
planting didn’t seem to “take."
Tigey roamed the neighborhood, look
ing for a house which suited him.
It’s the house, not the family, of course,
with these strange animals. It's the
familiar, as contrasted with the un
familiar. It's habit, it’s anything you
choose, so long as it is the usual.
* * * *
Ever since kittenhood Tigey had his
eyes on the Templeton Jones home.
The Joneses liked cats, and not only
had several of their own, but were friends
to all strays.
A plate of salmon on the back porch
was the order of the evening.
Wandering cats partook of it often,
save when a dog managed to get there
first, which one often did.
Dogs are the true garbage can hounds;
cats resort to this method of feeding only
in an emergency; dogs, however, out of
preference.
Many persons do not realize that the
short intestinal tract of the dog enables
it to eat food which is tainted, or even
definitely on the bad side.
Cats, on the other paw, are very easily
harmed by such discarded foodstuffs,
especially in the warmer months.
* * * *
Even before Tigey's folks moved away,
Tigey had his eyes on this house.
He would have come around earlier,
only Mutsie, another wandering tom, beat
him to it.
Mutsie was a fine big fellow with
watermelon stripes.
He loved to dominate the neighbor
hood. Might was right with him and his
world. They knew no other right.
Mutsie knew this law so thoroughly
and was so experienced in its app'ication
that he drove the Jones’ cats indoors
and kept them there at the risk of various
wounds.
He drove poor Tigey, kitten, completely
away.
The Jones family was ready to acquiesce
in this dictatorship. At that time they
had Just taken up bird feeding in a large
way, and soon saw that wild birds and
cats do not mix.
Fortunately, Mutsie did not offer to
harm the birds. He would sit on the
porch, watching them for hours at a time,
but make no offer of harm to them.
This was better behavior than that of
the Jones' own cats, so Templton Jones
cut the famous knot by keeping the cats
in most of the time.
* * * *
Mutsie kept Tigey completely off the
scene.
But one day Mutsie failed to show up,
and thereafter never appeared again.
By this time Tigey had grown into a
big fellow.
Now was his chance. Deserted by his
own family, houseless in Chevy Chase,
he came roaming over to And what he
could find.
The kind-hearted Jones If d him. Tigey
purred. Then, to reward them, he made
straight to a bird-feeding station and
showed them how prettily he could leap.
"Here,” he seemed to say, "see what a
fine catcher I am!”
The Jones family was now faced with
one of those famous dilemmas one reads
about so much in the papers.
They tried every known method of
keeping their new friend away from the
birds.
Tigey didn't realize it. but he was
breaking up something into which the
Jones family had put time, money and
interest.
* * * *
Harm to the cat was out of question
with the Joneses, so the only thing left
was to give him away, since he had no
home, or shut him up somehow.
The garage!
It was a bright idea, and, best of all,
it worked splendidly.
No sooner was the door opened then
Mr. Tigey, lured by a platter of good
beef, entered with tail held high.
He ate his dinner, looked around him,
selected an old bushel basket for a bed
and dropped asleep.
A night in the open makes a fellow
both hungry and sleepy.
* * * *
Outside the birds by the score flew from
feeding station to feeding station, while
inside the cat lay asleep.
Sometimes in his dreams he would hear
the flutter of wings, powerfully beating
the air. as 50 sparrows rose mightily in
the air at one time and of one accord.
In time the cat came to look forward
to his voluntary incarceration.
A plate of meat or salmon, placed on
the driveway outside, would not be
touched while the garage door was being
unlocked.
"This way,” his waving tail would
seem to say, "this way for my little
house.”
Into it he would march.
It was his home.
Tigey had a house at last.
He was a house cat once more. Small,
but plenty big enough, with no one to
pester him. with two windows and a
very fine big door and a neat roof and
an old basket—it was his little house.
"A swell house,” purred Tigey, from
the depth of his cozy basket.
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE.
It s a long, long way to Tipperary, but
Republican leaders are already scratch
ing their heads over the burning issue
of who is to lead the elephant out of
the wilderness in 1940. That dilemma
will be out in front, though not openly
discussed, when the national committee
meets at Chicago on December 17 to
decide Chairman Hamiltons fate, and
again when party magnates foregather
in Washington four days later during
Gov. Landon's presence in the Capital.
Republicans concede their immediate
need is to formulate future policy at
least in broad outline—to decide whether
it should adhere to the conservatism of
the past or be liberalized to match the
needs of the era typified by the New
Deal. Whatever the trend, it's agreed
that no unnecessary time should be lost
in picking a leader capable of mobilizing
public sentiment in the name of the
17,000.000 men and women who cast
Republican ballots in November. Until
such a man is found, G. O. P. supporters
fear the party will flounder and drift
hopelessly, while laboring under the dual
handicap of lacking both a destination
and a pilot.
* * * *
Admission is universal that in this new
Winter of its discontent the Republican
party is without a pre-eminently out
standing personality of presidential pro
portions, with the single exception of
Senator Vandenberg of Michigan. In
consequence, certain Republican eyes
turn once again to the Supreme Court,
in the direction of either Justice Roberts
or Justice Stone, notably the former.
His boosters think that if Roberts could
be persuaded to re-enter law practice
and politics, he would be far and away
the party’s best bet. There’s lively in
terest in the records young Senators
elect Lodge of Massachusetts and Bridges
of New Hampshire may chalk up in
Congress. Should either capture the
popular imagination, he would have dis
tinct 1940 possibilities. Senator McNary
of Oregon is not disregarded, nor is Gov.
Landon’s renomination considered alto
gether out of the question. President
Prank of the University of Wisconsin
and President Dodds of Princeton are
being honorably mentioned. Charles
Evans Hughes, jr„ former solicitor gen
eral of the United States, is thought to
possess some availability.
One of Uncle Sam's private grudges
against John Bull, in connection with
the British constitutional crisis, is that
it has been crowding the Inter-American
Conference at Buenos Aires off the front
pages at the very moment Washington
craved the maximum of limelight for
the New Deal’s most ambitious venture
in the realm of foreign affairs. There
may be less remorse on this score if
proceedings at Buenos Aires, as momen
tarily threatened, do not turn out to be
quite the love feast that was expected.
King Edward's romantic tribulations
have not only sidetracked the Pan
American conference in both the Amer
ican and European press, but reduced the
Spanish revolution to relative insignifi
cance, along with two other great events
which ordinarily would rivet world at
tention—the Pope’s illness and the im
minence of Sino-Japanese war.
* * * *
Reports that Mr. Roosevelt plans to be
a country gentleman after January,
1941, and not aspire to a third term
naturally kindle speculation about the
next Democratic presidential nominee.
Kansas City Boss Pendergast’s boom for
Senator Bennett Champ Clark of Mis
souri spurs the discussion. To date only
four names have figured with varying
degrees of prominence in the 1940 Demo
cratic dope—Secretary of Agriculture
Wallace, Gov. Earle of Pennsylvania,
Gov. McNutt of Indiana and Senator
Byrd of Virginia. Because of his grow
ing international stature. Secretary Hull
is being talked about as a possible suc
cessor to P. D. R. Should the Tennsssss
an bring home the bacon from Buenos
Aires, in the form of an inter-American
pact to keep the Western Hemisphere out
of trans-Atlantic or trans-Paciflc war,
Hull's name will be one to reckon with,
despite the fact that he'll be 69 years of
age in 1940. The other Democratic
eligibles just mentioned are of younger
vintage.
* * * *
Anti-Nazi elements triumphed at this
week's convention of the Amateur
Athletic Union of the United States at
Houston. Tex., when former New York
Supreme Court Justice Jetemiah T. Ma
honey was re-elected president of the
organization. It was Mahoney who
vigorously but unsuccessfully opposed
American participation in the 1936 Ber
lin Olympic games on anti-Nazi grounds,
succumbing to forces led by long-time
President Avery Brundage. At Houston
the latter backed the losing candidacy
of Maj. Patrick J. Walsh of New York.
One of President-elect Mahoney's first
acts was to include Commodore Ernest
Lee Jahncke of New Orleans, former
Assistant Secretary of the Navy, among
A. A. U. delegates at large for 1937.
Jahncke opposed holding the Olympics
in Germany and was dropped from
membership on the International Com
mittee at its meeting in Berlin, Brund
age being elected to the Louisianan’s
place.
* * * *
Current resignations from important
Government posts present no novelty in
Washington. For years there has been
a continuous exodus of specialists and
experts to more lucrative jobs in private
life. Big business was nevrir keener than
today to commandeer the services of men
of wide experience with the inner work
ings of the Federal machine, especially
the quirks and innovations that have
come into vogue since 1933. Treasury
lawyers and others who have hart op
portunity to learn the tax and revenue
ropes are in special demand. It's an open
secret that a lot of top-rank cogs in the
New Deal machine continue to function
at heavy pecuniary sacrifice only out of
idealistic devotion to the Roosevelt cause.
But the fat incomes waiting on the out
side are tempting bait.
* * * *
Although the American body politic
doesn’t get excited over the election of
a vice president, a contest for that office
is the red-hot feature of the National
Press Club’s annual political battle to be
decided on December 19. That situation
arises mainly because Charles O. Grid
ley, correspondent of the Denver Post,
now vice president. Is practically un
opposed for election to the presidency.
He has been an able adjutant of retiring
President George W. Stimpson of the
Houston Po6t, who rendered notable
service as leader of the club’s weekly
luncheon forum, In which speakers of
national renown regularly appear. The
vice presidential combat rages between
Harold Brayman of the Philadelphia
Public Ledger and Lorenzo W. Marlin
of the Louisville Times. Both popular
candidates, they are running neck and
neck and no landslide is in sight.
<Cooyrl«ht, 1936.)
Tammany a la Mode.
From the Illinois State Journal.
The most fashionably dressed men in
New York, declares George Ross, are
found at Tammany Hall. So, after all,
It wasn’t A1 Smith who went high hat.
Hie Hardest Task.
From the Sioux Falls Arcus-Leader.
Of all the hard tasks allotted to man
kind we can think of none worse than
for a defeated candidate to file a cam*
palgn expense statement—or pay the
ANSWERS TO
QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. H ASK IN.
A reader can get the answer to any
question of fact by writing The Evening
Star Information Bureau. Frederic J.
Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C.
Please inclose stamp for reply. „
Q. How do the children celebrate
Christmas in Mexico?—K. M. M.
A. The festival dear to the Mexicans
is the Pasoda, which means "inn.” In
their homes the children form in groups
and march upstairs and down singing
hymns. All doors are shut and the ling
ers knock at each in turn, for they rep
resent the Journey of Mary and Joseph
to Bethlehem. Each room is supposed to
be an inn, and as they knock, some one
from inside shouts, “No room in this *
inn. You cannot enter.” When the little
pilgrims are tired out, some unexpected
door is jovially opened, and they behold
upon a table a doll, representing the
Infant Jesus around which are arranged
Christmas greens and toys.
Q., How much money in bonuses has
been given since President Roosevelts
re-election?—W. R.
A. A survey shows that more than
$180,000,000 in bonuses and salary in
creases has been given by employers to
workers since election.
Q. What places are to be visited by
the American Seminar next Summer?
—W. E.
A. The party will proceed to Berlin,
Warsaw, the Ukraine, Moscow, Lenin
grad, Helsingfors Sweden, Denmark,
London, Canterbury and Paris.
Q. How many people have learned first
aid through the American Red Cross?
-C. E. D.
A. More than 1,100,000 men and women
have received first-aid training.
Q. How many grade crossings at rail
roads have'no warning signs?—E. W.
A. Of the 235,000 railroad grade cross
ings in the United States, about 207.000
are unprotected by gates, warning signals
or watchmen.
Q. How much do the bicycles cost that
are used in the six-day bicycle races et
Madison Square Garden, New York?
—H. W.
A. The bicycles which weigh only 19
pounds cost $100. A team uses six dur
ing a race. They are composed of 1.400
different parts and the cord racing tires
used on the wheels cost $5 a pair.
Q. What is the official language of
Finland?—S. R. R.
A. It is officially bilingual, Finnish and
Swedish. About 89 per cent of the people
speak Finnish, and 10 per cent or more
use Swedish.
Q. How many originals has the Ring
ling Museum at Sarasota, Fla.?—J. 6. F.
A. It has over 700 original art works.
Q. How did the expression, "to pull the
wool over his eyes.” originate?—E. 6.
A. It is an expression said to be traced
to English courts, the judges of which
wore wigs. Literally, if a wig is lowered
over the eyes, one cannot see the situa
tion clearly.
Q. How many persons of the Christian
faith are there in the Philippines?—
C. R. M.
A. About 90 per cent of the inhabitants
of the Philippines profess Christianity.
Q. How does the number of telephones
in New York City compare with that in
London?—L. M.
A. London has 1,000.000 telephones and
New York City has 1,506,100.
Q. What proportion of the coal supply
of the United States has been consumed?
—H. G.
A. Only about 1 per cent. However, it
is the high-grade coal which is being
used first.
Q. What is Jack Benny's real name?
—H. G.
A. The screen and radio comedian is
named Benny Kubelsky.
Q. What Is the circulation of the
Reader s Digest?—W. W.
A. It has the astonishing circulation
of more than 1.800.000 copies, an attain
ment that is most striking because it was .
accomplished without the use of fiction,
pictures or advertisements.
Q. Do all animals have mouths?—A. 6.
A. Not all animals have mouths, for
certain parasitic forms, notably the tape
worm, lack a system for digesting food.
In such cases, the food is absorbed
through the surface of the animal.
Q. Do many writers and artists go to
Capri?—E. G.
A. The Isle of Capri is a favorite
resort of both writers and artists. J. R.
Green, the historian: Lord Leighton,
artist; Elihu Vedder. illustrator; Joseph
Conrad, Norman Douglas, Francis Brett ,
Young, Compton Mackenzie, E. F. Ben
son, Booth Tarkinton and D. H. Lawrenr»
are among those who have sojourned
there.
Q. Are there many very long rivers In
Europe?—J. G.
A. Of the European rivers, only one, the
Volga, is more than 2,000 miles in length.
Of the others, only the Danube, the
Dnieper and the Don exceed a length of
1,000 miles. 8
Ambitious Arizona.
From the New York Sun.
The Arizona House of Representatives
has asked the United States to buv .
enough Mexican land to give Arizona a
seaport. Somebody in Arizona must have
just heard about the seacoast of Bo
hemia.
Italy's Food Names.
From the Ashland (Ky.) Independent.
English names for foods are being
purged from the Italian vocabulary for
political reasons. Calling spaghetti “lib
erty noodles’’ would be a dreadful re
prisal.
A Rhyme at Twilight
• By
Gertrude Brooke Hamilton
Dusk Dreams.
My dream castle is so fair, so fair, -
Built of marble as light as air.
All the interior snowy white.
All the adornments starry as night,
The foundation laid in gray twilight.
And in my castle there waits for me
All the delights of Arcady;
Lilies to freshen like fall of dew.
Balsam of pine breathing health anew.
And in the soft gloaming, you, love, you.
So when the sun has sunk in the West
And I may know the hour of rest,
Forgetting the cares with which day
teems,
As the first bright star of evening gleams
I seek my fairy castle of dreams.