Evening star. [volume], March 20, 1937, Page A-8, Image 8

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

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THE EVENING STAR
With Sunday Morning Edition.
WASHINGTON, D. C.
SATURDAY__March 20, 1937
THEODORE W. NOYES.Editor
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W hose Responsibility ?
Yesterday’s Senate debate on the sit
down strike brought out rather clearly
the division of thought on the issue as
drawn in Michigan today. There were
no defenders of the sit-down strike as
such. The sit-down strike received al
most universal condemnation as a dan
gerous and pernicious form of anarchy
that carries grave threat to orderly gov
ernment in the United States. "I think
It is generally agreed that it is a form
of violence which a government of law
and order cannot recognize,” said Sen
ator Borah.
But on one side of the debate were
those who view the sit-down strike, as
deplorable or as dangerous as it may be,
merely as the result of what they regard
ed as inequitable law enforcement, in
equitable division of the fruits of labor
and of property, inequitable construc
tion of the Constitution. On the other
side were those who see the sit-down
•trike merely as the forceful attempt of
a minority of labor in the automobile
Industry to seize for itself “exclusive con
trol of the institutions throughout the
Industry which are affected by the strike.”
Regardless of the causes or the motives
which have contributed to the sit-down
strike, the important thing now is the
policy to be followed by constituted au
thority in bringing it to an end and pre
venting its repetition.
The plan now being followed in De
troit by Gov. Murphy and other authori
ties, including those in Washington, is
substantially the same that prevailed in
Flint. Efforts are being made to bring
the two sides together on some agreement
that will permit the peaceful evacuation
of the plants. In return for some con
cession on one side, the other side will
concede to something else. There is hope
that peace will be gained by compromis
ing with the law.
Granting thd seriousness of the dilem
ma faced by the Governor of Michigan
and other authorities, is this the wise
course? If pursued, it will only mean
that the sit-down strike again has been
condoned as a method of exerting pres
sure. It will mean that the orders of
the court have been disregarded once
more, flouted at will to gain a point. It
will mean another sit-down strike, an
other spread of sit-down strikes, each
time more serious and each time more
productive of general disrespect not only
of the courts, but for all law and order.
"America could disintegrate in another
swift and reckless sixty days,” said Sen
ator Vandenberg, “if today's illegal con
tagion is not stopped."
How can it be stopped? It can be
stopped, and instantly, by expressions
from the President of the United States
and those high in his administration
that the sit-down strike lacks their sym
pathy and tacit support; that this form
of violence is not to be condoned and
must be ended, and that neither the
preservation of labor's rights nor the
attainment of labor's hopes depends, in
the United States, on the violent seizure
of property and defiance of the courts
and the law. The silence of those in high
authority in this crisis amounts not only
to agreement with the methods of the
strikers, but to encouragement of their
tactics. The responsibility in this crisis
and the responsibility in ending sit-down
strikes are not so much with the
harrassed Governor of Michigan as with
the President of the United States. His
silence becomes more eloquent the longer
It is maintained.
Good wishes and bouquets go to
Amelia Earhart, who holds attention as
a transocean flyer. There was a time
when swimming the English Channel
was a thrilling achievement. It soon
became a customary form of exercise.
Flying around the world will soon be
come similarly usual, but this fact cannot
lessen the interest now concentrated on
Miss Earhart.
Gift Accepted.
Congress has passed the necessary
enabling legislation for the acceptance
of former Secretary of the Treasury
Andrew W. Mellon’s munificent gift to
his country. The only remaining for
mality is the application of President
Roosevelt’s signature to the act, and that
is a duty which the Chief Executive will
perform with pleasure. Construction of
the gallery is scheduled to be started
Immediately, so that the finished building
may be ready to be dedicated in the
Spring of 1939.
In terms of money values, Mr. Mellon’s
benefaction approximates sixty-five
millions of dollars. But it has cultural
significance far beyond price. The Capi
tal of the United States because of it
now is destined to become the most
notably Important art center in the
Western Hemisphere. Almost certainly
the great works of painting and sculp
ture represented in the collection will
attract supplementary masterpieces. It
Is rumored that at least one contem
porary connoisseur is currently consider
ing the presentation of the pictures be
.queathed to him by his father. The
latter’s will authorizes such disposal of
his treasures, an<J there are several rea
sons for believing that his wish may be
fulfilled within a few years.
Likewise, Mr. Mellon’s gift has stimu
lated renewed interest in the proposed
Smithsonian Gallery for the accommo
dation of canvasses already owned by the '
Government. The need has been recog
nized for decades, and Senator Walsh of
Massachusetts has a bill pending for
the requisite appropriation of funds.
Eventually, then, two magnificent exhi
bition halls may be erected. It follows
that Washington would possess the
equivalent of the equipment which Paris
has in the Louvre and the Luxembourg
and London in the National and the
Tate. Students, naturally enough, would
flock to such a focal point of interest in
esthetics; schools would develop for their
instruction; press, radio and other
mediums of education would reflect their
endeavors; the whole Nation would be
influenced toward new conceptions of
beauty and of truth.
For the moment, however, w'hat is im
mediately indicated is a word of thanks
for Mr. Mellon. He has been very gen
erous, and America is grateful.
Anglo-Italian Tension.
Mussolini's current struttings in North
Africa, where he is now parading as the
‘'protector of Islam,” coincide with ag
gravation of Anglo-Italian relations, due
to a variety of causes. It is now pain
fully apparent that the January agree
ment, whereby the two powers were sup
posed to bury the Mediterranean
hatchet and seal a general bond of
friendship, failed to forge ties of confi
dence or mutual esteem. Addressing
Italy’s Mohammedan subjects in Libya
after a demonstration marked by pomp
and pageantry reminiscent of the im
perial tours of the Caesars of ancient
Rome, II Duce thundered flamboyant
pledges of support to all Moslems, invit
ing them henceforth to look upon him
as guardian and leader. Waving aloft
a jeweled sword presented by local chief
tains, the dictator portrayed a Fascist
regime avowedly designed to capture the
loyalty and devotion of the whole Islamic
universe.
Mussolini's presence in Libya, in con
nection with Mediterranean maneuvers
of the Italian fleet, and his overtures to
Islam naturally excite mingled suspicion
and indignation in London. The British
are fearful that these activities fore
shadow open or covert efforts to under
mine their influence not only in Egypt,
Kenya and the Sudan, which are adja
cent to Italian possessions, but also in
Palestine and other Near Eastern regions
where Italian and British ambitions
clash. Rome makes little secret of the
fact that Mussolini’s expedition was
undertaken primarily to determine the
extent to which, including their vast
Moslem populations, the Italian colonies
can serve Fascist expansion purposes
in the event of Mediterranean conflict.
Memory reverts to the excursions of
William II to Morocco and Palestine
early in the century, which sought to
plant anti-British seeds in Mohammedan
soil, much as Mussolini now seeks to till
it in Italy’s interest. Those German in
trigues played their part in producing
the conditions that eventuated in the
World War.
Simultaneous with provocative devel
opments in Africa, events of British
origin are helping to poison relations
with Italy. The Dean of Winchester,
enacting the role of an English La
Guardia, has just characterized Premier
Mussolini as a "madman” and assailed
Italy’s “record of savagery” in Ethiopia,
Libya and Spain. The Archbishop of
Canterbury denounces Fascist methods
as “the worst African atrocities since
the Congo horrors.” These recrimina
tions follow closely Britain’s action in
inviting Emperor Haile Selassie to at
tend the coronation of King George VI.
In outraged reprisal, Mussolini bellows
that Italy will boycott the royal cere
monies at Westminster Abbey.
Anglo-Italian relations plainly are
assuming an explosive phase. Out of
the acrimonious situation looms one fair
certainty—that the British people will
feel more than ever justified in arming
to the teeth at sea and in the air, as
the Fascist menace to John Bull’s tra
ditional overlordship of the Moslem
world becomes more tangible.
•-» <♦» 4
Heroic hints of real war are echoed
in the economic fray now going on.
Some radio announcer will stand by,
after giving the signal, “You may fireside
when ready, Mr. President.”
A Trailer Census.
How many motor trailers are there in
the United States? That question has
been often asked by observers of the
latest trend in the American scene, that
of the more mobile life. It is now to
be answered, according to a late an
nouncement, by the Federal Census Bu
reau, which is to undertake an actual
count of the number of these “homes on
wheels’’ that are now in use in this
country.
The trailer is a distinctively American
innovation. It has, however, its prototype
in the gypsy van, and in some respects
its use is similar to the meandering Ro
many life which was long ago in evi
dence in Europe and to a less extent in
this country. Whether all or a majority
of these trailer travelers have quit their
homes for good, becoming veritable
habitual itinerants, is not known. The
Census Bureau’s inquiry, it would seem,
is not designed to answer that question,
being directed apparently to the mere
enumeration of the trailers themselves
and possibly their value, without refer
ence to the social habits of their owners
and users.
Eventually the trailer trend must be
reckoned with as a definite sociological
factor. It is now known to have made
veritable nomads of a great many thou
sands of people, mostly in family groups,
who cover wide ranges of territory at a
k
minimum of cost, who pay no taxes,
own no property beyond their motor
equipment and, where there are children,
evade all responsibility for their proper
education, save as some of the visited
communities require school attendance.
Undoubtedly this trailer development
is one of the results of the depression
which began in 1929 and from which
the country has not yet fully recovered.
The trailer itself came along after the
business and employment curves began
to rise on the American economic chart.
It was in a way an answer to the prayer
of the married man out of work and with
no firm ties to hold him to his home place.
Just how many of the trailer drivers
are of this class is not known. Un
doubtedly some are merely restless folk
who like to travel, to see new places, hav
ing funds enough to cut loose from their
former homes and indulge their craving
for change, for adventure, for experi
ment in a new mode of life.
A trailer census, to be of real value,
would include answers to these ques
tions. It should develop the factors of
parental responsibilities, of education, of
costs and of the effect upon the eco
nomic interests of the communities which
have been deserted and those that have
been invaded by these immigrants.
Income tax collections were liberal
this year. They were originally resented
as "inquisitorial.” They have proved so
searching that a citizen may have to
employ a mathematical expert to make
sure that he has, like the Circassian
Lady in the side show, "Conversed freely
on the topics of the day and answered
each and every proper question.” The
tax collection represents patriot gen
erosity stimulated, id some degree, by
the vigilance of the expert accountant
whom both conscience and discretion
compel the affiant to employ.
A strike prolonged may reduce a com
munity to the state of a deserted village
such as Goldsmith described. College
professors may still be admired for in
tellectual attainments as was the school
master who earned the tribute, "In argu
ment, the parson owned his skill; even
when vanquished he could argue still.”
--> t...
There are few who frankly approve of
war. Even to morbid natures inclined to
killing, war must seem needless when
children can be sacrificed by hundreds
by an explosion under a school house,
as they were in Texas.
When he makes a speech in New York,
A1 Smith continues to say "raddio,” as
a signal, perhaps, that there are various
matters concerning which he has not
changed his mind in the slightest.
When Justice McReynolds talks to a
fraternity he disregards the mysticism
of Greek letters and speaks in plain
English.
Chemistry boasts of things for better
living. It should never be tempted by
war profits to produce things for quicker
dying.
Shooting Stars.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
Keeping Honest.
We've played our hands and lost or won
With expectations high.
The disappointment ;or the fun
Have rapidly gone by.
Said One-eyed Bill, “What's gone before
Forget, or else conceal.
So let us cut the pack once more
And start another deal.”
Said Cactus Joe, "Oh, say not so.
Let s have a deck that's cool,
And ere another hand we show
We'll make another rule.
We will not hint at lack of trust.
If any friend nearby
Is caught at cheating, we will just
Put out his other eye.”
Habitual Hardtimcster.
“Do you think hard times are over?”
asked the impatient friend.
“They may be,” answered Senator Sor
ghum. “But you'll never convince the
man who always thinks times are hard
unless he has a soft job.”
Jud Tunkins says the man who never
complains is liable to be lonesome be
cause he’s got too discouraged to be
good company.
Superfluity.
We are travelin’ on to glory
With a pace that's firm and steady.
Don’t tell a hard-luck story,
We all know one already.
Overdoing an Illusion.
“I shall give up mannish attire,” said
Miss Cayenne.
“Doesn’t it become you?”
“Too much. It makes me look so
elegant that the waiters always assume
that I am the one who pays the check.”
“Few quarrels are ended,” said Hi Ho,
the sage of Chinatown. “Peace is too
often a breathing space between con
flicts.”
Patient Friend.
My Radio! My Radio!
With many a dulcet lay
You help the weary hours to go,
And never ask for pay.
And two things specially I laud
While listening to you—
You don't expect me to applaud
And it’s no use to boo!
"I has listened to a heap of good ad
vice,” said Uncle Eben. ‘‘Most of it
didn’t work, and I has jes’ about de
cided I might as well blunder along an’
do my own guessin’.”
The Real Surprise.
From the Worcester Oaiette.
An oyster-sheller in New Jersey has
found five pearls, which isn’t quite as
remarkable as the case of the fellow who
ordered oyster stew and found five
oysters.
K *
Present Trend Illustrated
By Eastern Shore Parable
To the Editor of The Star:
Madame Perkins says the sit-down
strike has not been proved illegal, so
the Chrysler Corporation workers take
possession of eight of the Chrysler plants
and lock out the corporation’s officials.
This display of lawlessness has the
tacit, if not the direct, approval ot the
Department of Labor. It is only one
instance of hundreds of cases of brew
ing trouble throughout the country and
the situation has an ominous look to
thinking people. The labor vote is large,
so naturally the administration is not
going to do anything to antagonize it.
It is going to continue to encourage this
sort of thing even though it knows the
final result may be revolution or the
complete shutdown of many large in
dustries, accompanied by starvation and
bloody riots.
Never before has this country seen
such base pandering by an administra
tion to class hatred, prejudice and self
ishness. Mr. Roosevelt’s habit of telling
large groups of voters that they are en
titled to something they have not earned
is simply a case of sowing the wind.
Reaping the whirlwind is bound to follow
when it is no longer possible to give it to
them. Deep down in his heart he knows
it, too. He knows that sooner or later
he is going to be compelled to give labor,
the farmer and the reliefers the same
sort of due bill that Frank Rowans gave
Zeb Pusey down on the Eastern Shore
of Maryland many years ago.
Frank Rowans was a wdld young fellow
who lived with his uncle, Jim Richards,
and clerked in that gentleman’s general
store. Frank, due to his spendthrift
habits, was always in a jam. His uncle
always came to his rescue with the
necessary funds. At last, after one par
ticularly silly scrape of Frank’s, the old
gentleman told him to get out. The
youngster decided to give Philadelphia
the honor of launching him on a new
business career. He hired Zeb Pusey,
W’ho had a fast pacing mare, to drive him
to Salisbury, where he was to take the
train for the Quaker City. The maxi
mum charge for this service was $3.
Arrived in Salisbury Frank handed Zeb
the $3. Zeb brazenly said his charge
was $6 and, to back up his demand,
grabbed Frank’s suit case and told him he
would keep it until he got the other $3.
Frank’s truthful statement that he could
not pay the double charge and still buy
his ticket to Philadelphia moved Zeb not
a whit.
After much bickering and recrimina
tion Frank finally said, “By George, I
have it! I'll give you a due bill on Uncle
Jim’s store for the other $3.” Zeb, know
ing nothing about the trouble between
nephew and uncle, allowed that would
be O. K. The next morning Zeb, who
could not read nor write and, like a lot
of folks, had a strong back and a weak
mind, presented Frank’s due bill to old
man Jim Richards. Here is the way the
due bill read: "Due to Zeb Pusey, he
says, $3. It may be due him if he can
get it. But damned if I believe he is
going to get it. Signed, Frank Rowans.’’
S. H. MUMFORD.
Salaries of Married
Couples on U. S. Rolls
To the Editor of The Star:
The only valid argument against the
repeal of section 213 of the economy act
is that the combined salaries of childless
married couples enable them to live in
luxury, while married couples with de
pendent .children have no income at all,
and as the welfare of human beings de
pends upon an income—for the mass of
people through a job—work or incomes
must be distributed on the basis of per
sonal economic need. With the demands
of certain women for freedom to be self
supporting most intelligent men are In
sympathy, for it is being conceded that
because a woman marries there is no
reason why she should become either
a mother or a parasite.
Women with dependent children who
must go to work to supplement their
husbands’ wages to meet family expenses
are not free and wives who would become
mothers if sufficient income were assured
are neither gratifying their maternal in
stinct nor contributing to replace a nor
mally depleting population. There are
conditions that necessitate a limit to the
number of persons, residing in the same
domicile, who may hold positions in the
Government service at taxpayers’ expense,
and such fundamental changes could be
made that no limit would be necessary.
The present extremely high average
salary rate in civil service of $2,400 has
been obtained through vague propaganda
for a living wage without specifying
whether a living wage for an individual
or a family of four or five was intended,
and the cost of the two budgets is very
different as all intelligent people know.
Combined salaries for married couples
in civil service vary from about $3,500 to
$7,500 a year, or an average of $4,800. A
married couple could live in reasonable
economic decency on $1,800 a year and if
this was the maximum for childless mar
ried couples and the income of the
individual w>as half that amount it is at
once evident that there would be no limit
to the number of persons in a family
that might have jobs in Government serv
ice, and that the extremes of luxury and
poverty would disappear.
Civil service employes render less serv
ice today than they did in 1917, when the
average salary was but little over half of
what it is today. If it is argued that the
cost of living necessitates the higher
average, figures are available to prove to
the contrary, and the absolute necessities
of life must be guaranteed to all persons
before luxuries, at taxpayers’ expense,
are assured to any particular group.
EDWIN EVANS.
St. Elizabeth Employe Pays
Tribute to Dr. W. A. White
To the Editor of The Star:
In the vicissitudes of the modern world,
it is not meet for one of the lesser lights
or those in subordinate positions to break
forth in print, commenting on any sub
ject, but I feel impelled by a motivating
spirit and deem it fitting and proper to
pay tribute to one who was a friend to
all mankind. I believe I voice the senti
ment of the entire personnel of St. Eliza
beth’s Hospital in paying homage to the
memory of Dr. William A. White.
During his incumbency as superintend
ent of this institution, through his won
derful foresight, far-reaching brain, un
tiring zeal and progressive energy, the
vision of his dreams were fulfilled into
the building of the greatest hospital of
its kind in the world. Opinions and
criticisms to the contrary notwith
standing.
While he had no lineal descendants,
yet he was father to a vast multitude—
employes and patients alike, whose trou
bles and perplexities were laid at his feet,
and in his kindly eyes were revealed
friendship and love, beaming forth as a
light in a troubled sea of darkness and
despond. To those unfortunates that
were committed to his care and keeping,
he labored long and tirelessly to reach
into the remote mysticisms of their lives
and repair the frayed and broken threads
and bring anew the light of a new day
and awaken a clearer concept of human
understanding and life. This was the
field of his labor, in which he worked with
diligence and love for thirty-four long
years.
As we are taught and led to believe
k
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.
A plain wire fence with climbing rose
vines on it is a work of art in a snow.
Then the geometrical arrangement of
the wires, upon which is superimposed
the vine pattern, stands out in the
beauty of the regular and irregular'.
Snow, by clothing wires and vines
with an inch or two of white, brings the
pattern and arrangement vividly to view.
It is there all the time, however.
Because this is so, there is no need for
snow to show beauty, if the spectator is
able to peer beyond the usual and the
familiar.
Most persons need the unusual, such
as going to gallery or theater or forest
or seaside, to force them to look at
things.
* * * *
The exceptional person—and really
not so exceptional, after all—needs no
prior prodding.
He will not need to “go” anywhere, in
order to see what is close at hand.
He will not require the stimulation of
other persons, of foods or drinks, or any
manner of spectacle, to make him able to
see what is before him.
What is this whiteness of the snow
that it should have such power?
It brings forth the beauty of common
things by giving them a color and thick
ness they often miss in their everyday
adornment of the usual.
Astute persons who simply try to see
things for what they are, not demand
ing a setting forth of virtues, are for
ever rewarded.
This is the perpetual reward of the
seeing eye. the understanding mind.
To it beauty flows naturally, as water
seeks its level.
No need has this person, whoever he
or she may be. for the extra inducement
of a “show” or spectacle of any kind, a
going away, or an excursion. These,
too, in their time and place, and from
them always something gained, but they
are never necessary.
The person who finds them necessary
always is pretending that he does not
understand the other type of his fellow
man. Yet down in his heart he under
stands perfectly. And often envies.
* * * *
He who is able to see interest and
beauty in what others are willing to call
the commonplace cannot look out his
window without receiving his reward.
The snow, of course, helps, and that
is about its only good point, except that
it does help the crops.
The beauty which snow reveals with
its accentuation is there already, but
even the person well aware of it may
be diverted by superior beauty from the
true essential quality of the less.
Snow makes even the least susceptible
person stop and look.
It will do no less, of course, for the
man or woman who knew beforehand
that beauty exists almost evervwhere, if
one is willing to resist being diverted
from the search.
This resistance mainly takes the form
of ignoring.
Man is forever ignoring, or at least
pretending to ignore, something. As a
race of living creatures, he ignores death
by pretending to be too busy to remem
ber it. When the pressure becomes too
great, however, he tries to take a dose
of death, on the well-known theory that
like cures like. He goes to war.
* * * *
In the private, everyday life, it is very
easy to ignore beauty.
One of the best is the pretense that
common things, especially very familiar
common things, are not and cannot be
really beautiful.
The magic of a snowfall shortly proves
how wrong that supposition is. An old
garage, or shed, becomes something else
—a veritable elves’ palace. Even old
tree stumps, with gnarled fungi growing
at the base, are transformed into foot
stools of pixies.
There is no common thing which re
mains untouched, suddenly transformed
into something else. A garbage can lid,
rooted off the night before by a brows
ing dog, becomes Caesar’s shield.
Sweep away this whiteness, as the sun
shortly will, and the underlying form
remains precisely the same.
Ought we not to be ashamed of our
selves, that a little deceptive whiteness
can make such a modification of our
views?
Underneath we find the same old vir
tues. the solid strength of the lid, the
utility of the garage, the picturesque
stump, the fine sweep of fence and vine.
We should look for the up-pointing
beauty of telephone poles, the long
strands of wires, their symmetrical ar
rangements, the glint of sunlight on the
insulators, the perspective of streets and
avenues, seeming to come to a point at
the far end, the sweeping curves of roads
in Rock Creek Park, the flow of brown
fences, white roads, overhead the cease
less sky interrupted by clouds.
* * * *
Human faces are never without their
beauty and interest. Not the beauty of
the magazine covers, perhaps, or of
Hollywood, but the solid satisfaction of
utility, each face speaking squarely of
what its “owner” is and thinks. This
thinking, of course, covers his shrewd
ness. his intent to deceive others, if he
can, in some cases. We would ask noth
ing covered up. Nothing can be covered
up, really. Little sharp eyes, too close
together for best beauty, have a certain
shrewd beauty of their own. Nor is this
a stretch of a good word. The beauty is
there, although it is no motion picture
sophistication.
So one may find eyeglasses beautiful.
They have a certain symmetry, fitting
the head, the nose, the ears, the eyes,
above all. They sit so close but not
touching, so true in line, straight across,
whether the shafts are at the middle
or at the top. There is something
breathing of magic mountains and trout
streams in the shining lenses. There is
the beauty of the gadget, beloved of
mankind. What more entrancing gadget
than this? Surely all peoples long for
eyeglasses, else we would not see so
many pairs. It is impossible to believe
that all the husky young fellows one sees
in public places with spectacles really
need to wear them. No, they cannot
fool us for an instant—they think they
make them look mature, the same as
mustaches.
Beauty is everywhere, if we refuse to
be diverted, and if we are willing to be
lieve that interest is a sort of beauty.
STARS, MEN AND ATOMS
Notebook of Science Progress in Field,
Laboratory and Study.
BY THOMAS R. HENRY.
This is the end of another queer I
Winter.
Its freakishness, according to J. B.
Kincer. Weather Bureau expert, was
concentrated chiefly in January, which
was abnormally cold in the West, ab
normally warm in the East and brought
almost simultaneously disastrous floods
in one part of the country and disastrous
drought in the Southwest.
When thousands of homes in Louis
ville were under water great dust clouds
drifted over the stricken city from a
drought areas.
This unusual January weather, Mr.
Kincer says, was the result of the strange
behavior of air masses. Normal east
ward movement of high and low pres
sure masses was prevented by a per
sistent "high” stagnation over the
Florida-Bermuda area. This aerial traf
fic blocking resulted in prevailing warm
southeasterly winds in the East which
advanced vegetation to the danger point.
At the same time the Northwest, under
a blocked blanket of cold air from the
Arctic, had North Pole weather and
there were serious freezes in California.
The air mass behavior returned to
normal during February. Rainfall, how
ever, was scanty over the interior of the
country. The Ohio Valley—which had
more than four times its normal rain
fall in January—had but little more than
half normal the next month. February
temperatures were practically normal
nearly everywhere.
The Weather Bureau can make no
predictions as to whether this will be
another abnormally dry Summer in the
West. Last Summer was the dryest on
record. Similar conditions this year
would be just as ruinous.
Spring opens, says Mr. Kincer, with
plenty of moisture in the soil nearly
everywhere east of the Central Great
Plains. Winter snows left ample water
in storage in most of the Western moun
tain areas. The stricken Dakotas and
Montana also had heavy snows, the
cover being about as deep as at this
time last year. The soil is still very
dry, however. Subsoil moisture, too,
short at the start of Winter, has not
been replenished in this area. The soil
must depend entirely on Spring and
early Summer rainfall.
Tie Tie Tie *
Was this a bugless world‘for about
60,000,000 years?
One of the enigmas of paleontology
is that so few insect remains have been
found in rocks of the Cretaceous geo
logical period which just preceded the
coming of mammals, birds and flowering
plants.
The Cretaceous was a time of abundant
life. It was the heydey of the great
dinosaurs. The Jurrasic period which
preceded it was notable for the
abundance and variety of its insects.
Yet, up to the present, practically none
has been found—except for one locality
in Germany—in Cretaceous rocks.
There ^s no known reason why there
shouldn’t have been insects. Abundant
before, they became abundant again in
the succeeding Eocene and have re
mained one of the dominant forms of
life on earth ever since. Cretaceous
that there is a life beyond the grave, in
faith we trust that his spirit is com
muning with his departed co-workers
that labored with him in this the field
of his human endeavor on earth, be
lieving that they are looking down and
invoking a blessing on the heads of their
successors to carry on the work so nobly
begun and carried thus far. Upon these
grounds and within these buildings stand
mute monuments to his memory.
EDWARD E. SMITH.
k
climates were propitious for them. There
was plenty for them to eat.
It is, of course, only by a rare acci
dent that insect imprints ever are pre
served as fossils. But there are such
vast numbers of bugs that even the rare
accidents become rather numerous.
Smithsonian Institution paleontol
ogists are loath to believe that there
actually were few Cretaceous insects.
The probability is that there are plenty
of fossil imprints which haven’t been
found in spite of intensive search.
While this condition remains, how
ever. there is essentially a 60.000.000-year
gap in the life story of one of the
dominant forms of animal life. Hence
any sort of Cretaceous insect fossil is
like the rarest sort of gem in the eyes
of the paleontologist. Hence special
significance is attributed to two wing
prints which have come into the Smith
sonian collection from a Cretaceous
sandstone in Eastern Colorado which
have been tentatively classified by Dr.
Paul W. Oman of the National Museum
staff.
Both are ’ bugs.” A bug, in the termi
nology of the entomologist, has the
restricted meaning of a "heteropterous
hemipterous” insect and the word is cor
rectly used in reference to the bed bug,
the stink bug. chinch bugs and the like.
Closely related are the hoppers—leaf
hoppers, plant hoppers, mealy bugs and
the rest.
One of the creatures described by Mr.
Oman was a giant leaf hopper. It was
bigger than the average of this family
now extant. The other, described from
a smaller fragment of wing impression
in the sandstone, was probably closely
related to the present-day squash bug
and not very far distant from the bed
bug or stink bug.
It is hardly conceivable that these two
fragments and a few more like them are
all the trace left behind them of the
billions of billions of insects which must
have infested the Cretaceous landscapes.
Czechoslovaks Have Not
111 Treated the Germans
To the Editor of The Star:
In The Sunday Star of March 14. In the
article on Czechoslovak-German relations
by Constantine Brown, there appear a
number of statements which call for cor
rection. For instance, it is there claimed
that the Germans in Czechoslovakia
“have been ill-treated ever since Czecho
slovakia became an independent state.”
It is also claimed that the Czechoslovaks
were "drunk with power” after they had
gained their freedom from Austro
Hungarian rule and proceeded to give
their former oppressors “the same treat
ment they had received.”
Obviously Mr. Constantine Brown is
not familiar with the facts in this case.
Had he taken the trouble to learn the
truth he would have discovered that the
Czechoslovaks not only did not accord
their former oppressors the same treat
ment which they (the Czechoslovaks) had
received under Austro-Hungarian rule,
but they gave them much better rule
better even than the treaty of Versailles
required for the protection of minorities.
In fact, they sought to give their former
oppressors as nearly the same treatment
that they gave their own people as it was
possible to give under existing circum
stances.
The fact is that the Germans in
Czechoslovakia have always been not only
unreconciled but irreconcilable with the
turn of events at the close of the war,
and refused to co-operate with the
Czechoslovaks in the establishment of
peaceful relations with their fellow citi
zens and the formation of a government
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 many members of Congress
are former newspaper men?—H. W.
A. Thirty-seven members of the Sev
enty-fifth Congress are now or have been
in the newspaper profession as publishers
or reporters.
Q. Is it true that the Old Gold con
test is causing as much of a Jam in the
mails as occurs at Christmas?—S. H.
A. The Post Office Department says
it does not compare with the Christmas
rush, but whenever a big Nation-wide
contest is under way, the mail is in
creased by several million letters a week.
Q. Please give a list of popular musical
compositions of all time and the number
of copies sold.—J. K.
A. Such a list would Include: "Til We
Meet Again,” 6,500,000 copies; "Silver
Threads Among the Gold,” 5,500,000
copies; "Whispering.” 4,500,000 copies;
“Rose of No Man's Land,” 4,000.000
copies; "Missouri Waltz,” "Marcheta,”
3,500,000 copies each; "After the Ball,”
3,000,000; "Alexander's Ragtime Band,”
2,500,000; "Three O'clock in the Morn
ing” and "My Blue Heaven,” 2,000,000
copies each.*
Q. Are Mexicans included in the
classification of whites in taking the
census?—H. Ft
A. In 1920 Mexicans were included in
the white classification, but in 1930 they
were given a separate classification and
included among other races.
Q. What is the best thing to say to
a woman in a situation where you would
say Yes, sir, to a man?—C. C. G.
A. Except in conversation with the
President of the United States, one sel
dom uses Sir. It is correct to say in
stead, Yes, Mr. Jones. Yes ma’m and
No ma'm are not correctly used. Chil
dren are taught to say. Yes, Aunt Edna;
No, Cousin James. An adult says, No,
Mrs. Preston; Yes, Miss Alice.
Q. Was Andrew Carnegie at one time
a messenger boy?—H. J.
A. The philanthropist became a tele
graph messenger boy in 1851, subsequent
ly learning telegraphy in the employ of
the Pennsylvania Railroad and becoming
a telegraph operator.
*
Q. Was South America inhabited
when it was discovered by the white
man?—V. M.
A. It long had been inhabited. The
Incas had developed a standard of civ
ilization before 800 A D.
Q. What is the altitude of Reno,
Nev.? Is it on a river?—E. M.
A. Reno is situated at an elevation of
4,500 feet and is on the Truckee River.
Q. Was General Philip Sheridan ever
a private soldier in the Civil War?—W.
H. H.
A. He was not. He began his Army
career as a second lieutenant in July,
1853, after graduating from the United
States Military Academy at West Point.
Q. How does Turkish tobacco differ
from the tobacco raised in this country?
—M. B.
A. Tobacco is native to America. It
is not known when it was introduced
into Turkey, but there it has lost many
of its American characteristics. The
plant has a smaller, thinner leaf and a
pungent, spicy taste.
Q. Is rayon successfully used in the
manufacture of automobile tires?—W.
M. G.
A. Research in the use of rayon in
[ tires shows that for high-speed runs
with heavy loads tires made of rayon
i cords may be expected to give, in some
| instances, four to five times as much
; mileage as other tires. Cars equipped
with experimental rayon tires have been
i driven several million miles. The ma
1 terial is expected to become of great
; importance in tire manufacture.
Q How many prizes were given in a
| Louisiana lottery?—H. T.
A. As the scheme was finally arranged,
there were 3.434 prizes at each drawing.
Q. How is the name of Samuel Pepys,
the English diarist, pronounced?—L. H. J.
A. The name was pronounced in the
seventeenth century, and has always
been pronounced by the family, Peeps.
Q. Where in France is the new statue
of Thomas Paine?—H. W. R.
A The statue, by Gutzon Borglum, is
in Paris and will be unveiled in April.
It is eight feet tall, cast in bronze and
covered with a layer of gold leaf, re
calling Napoleon's famous toast to the
writer: “Thomas Paine! A statue of gold
should be erected to you in every city of
the world."
Q. Does the Metropolitan Opera
House ever have the house completely
sold out for a week's performance?—
J. K.
A. It is very unusual, but happened
recently when “Siegfried” with Kirsten
Flagstad in the role of Bruennhilde sold
out for the week.
Q. Why do some bricks crumble?—
M. H.
A. Usually such bricks have been
underburned, are soft, and therefore
susceptible to crumbling as a result of
dehydration.
based on friendly co-operation. For years
they even refused representation in the
Parliament, which was offered them, and
when finally they did accept it was in a
spirit of hostility and with the idea of
making trouble. They preferred to pout—
and to plot.
Under these circumstances the Czecho
slovak government was forced to take
such measures as it deemed necessary
to the preservation of the republic and
the hard-won freedom of its people. They
could not do less. Any other people in
similar circumstances would have acted
similarly. What, for instance, would the
American people do if they had a stub
bornly hostile, irreconcilable element
within their midst, constantly plotting
against the integrity of their territory
and their government?
Mr. Brown also makes the further
statement that the “Czechs make up only
forty-nine per cent of the population,”
classing the Slovaks with the Germans
and Hungarians as the “ill-treated” ma
jority. This also is misleading, inasmuch
as the Slovaks are practically one race
with the Czechs, their language being the
same except for dialectic differences.
When the facts are known I think it
will be recognized that the Czechoslovaks
have displayed marvelous forebearance
and patience in dealing with the German
minority. They have certainly done much
better than the Germans did toward their
subject races when they were “on top.”
And they have done much better toward
any of their minorities than the Germans
of the Reich have ever done toward their
own minorities.
EDW. WOLESENSKY.
/ *