Evening star. [volume], April 05, 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.
MONDAY_April 5. 1937
THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor
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Another No Man’s Land.
No legalistic “No Man's Land” created
by the courts can compare with the "No
Man's Land” created in the local relief
field by arbitrary application of a system
plus the paralysis of responsible officials
entangled in their own red tape. Arbi
trary rules have shut down on the avail
ability of created work to as many as
3,000 destitute persons here who are
technically “employable,” while equally
arbitrary rules and a lack of funds have
denied other relief to the same indi
viduals because they are technically
employable. Repeated pleas in their
behalf have fallen between the Commis
sioners and the Budget Bureau, each
passing the responsibility for action to
the other.
Yesterday's mass meeting of citizens,
called In behalf of these unemployed
employables, whose needs are causing
such suffering to themselves and such
concern to those familiar with their
plight, was a remarkable exhibition of
determination to correct a condition
which has been permitted to go too
long without remedy. The citizens who
expressed their own and the views of
local organizations dropped supplica
tion in favor of a demand for action.
Their resolutions and plan of procedure
may be effective if they are followed
vigorously, although the nature of the
obstacles In their path is not difficult
to recognize.
First of these is the division of re
sponsibility between the Commissioners
and the Budget Bureau, which leaves
the Commissioners helpless in recom
mending expenditures to Congress with
out the explicit approval of the Budget
Bureau and which enables the Budget
Bureau to say that the recommendations
cannot be made to Congress unless the
Commissioners persuade the bureau of
the needs and the availability of revenue
to meet them. And this impasse must
in turn be considered against the back
ground of a condition which places the
revenue-raising powers and the appro
priative powers in the hands of Congress,
largely dependent, in turn, upon Budget
Bureau recommendations.
The spirit of yesterday's mass meet
ing of local citizens seemed to be that
responsible officialdom has made a sorry
mess of the local relief problem and that
the only prospect of remedy lies in the
hope that local citizens, as politically
powerless as they may be. will be able
to win their case before what is now the
court of last resort—the Senate appro
priations subcommittee—and there ob
tain the necessary grant of funds.
Last year Senator Thomas, chairman
of this subcommittee, heard budget offi
cials in private regarding another im
passe then existing, which at that time
had tied up manifestly necessary funds
for health work. The Senator was im
pressed with the charges and counter
charges regarding responsibility passed
between the Commissioners and the
bureau. This year, it is to be hoped, the
Senate committee will devote a part of
ita time to a thorough Investigation of
the relief problem and especially the
•‘informal” exchanges between the Com
missioners and the official of the Budget
Bureau whose personal sociological pre
dilections led him to express himself so
vigorously in opposition to any more re
lief funds.
As one of the speakers at yesterday’s
meeting emphasized, the relief problem
is not merely a “job of charity,” but a
local olvic problem for which a solu
tion must be found. A thorough inves
tigation of the situation by the Senate
committee might reveal the cause of
the condition now existing, as well as
provide the remedy.
The term “liberal” has come into pop
ular use in political and economic dis
cussion, bringing up an obligation to
define the point where liberality ceases
and extravagance begins.
Instructions which boys get at colleges
are not always approved at home. It
may be necessary to organize a “Parent
Teacher Association” on new lines with
parents doing more of the teaching.
More Sitting Down?
If American tourists in London desire
to witness the coronation ceremonies
without paying for the privilege, they
might sit down at points of vantage now
and stay seated until May 12. Their
procedure, of course, will represent a
form of theft, but it will have the ap
proval of numerous apostles of "direct
action.”
Again, if opponents of President
Roosevelt’s plan to control the Supreme
Court wish him to withdraw his proposal,
they might sit down at the White House
until he surrenders. Police reserves
probably will be summoned to cast them
into outer darkness, but their misde
meanor will have the blessing of John
L. Lewis even if it ends in broken bones
and bonnets.
Similarly, those fanatics who object to
public ownership might sit down on Sec
retary of the Interior Ickes, while their
contemporaries who demand a balanced
budget and honest gold dollars might
sit down on Secretary of the Treasury
Morgenthau. At the same time, citizens
critical of subsidies for farmers at the
expense of city dwelling consumers could
sit down on Secretary of Agriculture
Wallace, and the growing army of appel
lants for "a breathing spell for business”
could sit down on Secretary of Commerce
Roper.
The lawyers certainly must have a
mischievous Impulse to sit down on Attor
ney General Cummings, and if the stamp
collectors of the Nation ever catch up
with him they certainly will sit down
with a vengeance on Postmaster General
Farley.
But what about the taxpayers? Surely,
they are entitled to sit down on a Con
gress which unhesitatingly mortgages
the future to win an election. Indeed,
if justice were done an unborn genera
tion would sit down on a Senate and a
House by which it has been sold down
an everlasting river.
The principle is clear enough. What
Is fair for the labor goose is fair for the
unorganized gander. The time will come
when Secretary of Labor Perkins will
regret profoundly her ill-considered sug
gestion that ‘‘the legality of sit-down
strikes has not yet been determined."
Now the thing is a habit. But there
can be no question about it being a
■ two-edged sword. It may cut friends
’ and foes alike, eventually.
Nazis in Africa.
Hitherto Nazi machinations outside of
Germany have for the most part been
confined to pernicious meddling in
Europe, notably in countries like Austria,
Poland and Czechoslovakia. Now Hit
lerism has raised its head in Africa,
requiring the Union of South Africa to
promulgate stern prohibitive decrees
against subversive activities. The bans
are aimed at German residents of South
west Africa, the Reich's former colony
which is administered by the Cape Town
government under a League mandate.
It is on the territory in question, em
bracing 300.000 square miles of valuable
mineral and agricultural areas, that
Berlin casts particularly covetous eyes,
in connection with the Nazi crusade for
recovery of Germany's war-lost colonial
domain.
The 7.000 or 8,000 Germans who live
under British rule in Southwest Africa
have been comporting themselves as if
the colony were still under the Reich
flag. Many are reported to have sworn
allegiance to Hitler, to have taken part
in recruiting for the German army or
to have joined “volunteer” bodies under
the banner of the swastika. The South
African government has finally deter
mined to suppress steps which bear all
the earmarks of a seditionary campaign.
Non-Britons are henceforth debarred
from declaring their loyalty to any alien
government or to affiliate with any polit
ical organizations with alien connec
tions. Fines, imprisonment and deporta
tion are the penalties that await
violators of the new laws.
That a situation is thus provoked
which may have critical international
consequences is indicated by week-end
reports of bitter German resentment of
the anti-Nazi restrictions. The affected
Germans propose a “boycott” of the
South African courts, establishment of
extraterritorial tribunals of their own
and an eventual appeal to the League of
Nations. The Berlin foreign office,
espousing their cause, claims that the
complainants are being denied cove
nanted political, cultural and commer
cial rights.
The Cape Town authorities are not im
pressed by this outburst of protest and
threats. Ever since the advent of Hitler
ism they have been called upon re
peatedly to suppress Nazi excesses and
pretensions. These reached a stage
that not only demanded drastic repres
sive measures, but destroyed most of
South African support of Germany's
program to regain her former colonies.
On the threshold of Hitler's drive for
restoration, current events in Southwest
Africa are far from propitious.
A dominant American characteristic
is a reverence for ancestral achieve
ments. Names associated with family
tradition dot the map, traditions ex
tending from Memphis, which bears an
imagined relation to the Nile, to New
Amsterdam content with lore related
to Hudson and his men. In order to
retain a consistent sense of genealogical
pride it may be necessary to forget de
tails of family history, which may go so
far as to associate a proud name with
some distressing incident, such for in
stance as threats of hanging for piracy.
Whence Prejudices?
The origin of prejudices is a fascinat
ing study, and others than professional
psychologists on occasion might do
worse than think about the source of
those opinions which so largely govern
human conduct. By way of illustra
tion, a remark once made by Israel
Zangwill may be cited. His sympathies,
he said, were with the Allies in the
World War because he resented the
mannerisms of German train dispatch
ers.
Of course, there were supplementary
reasons for the great novelist and play
wright’s choice. But he was faithful
to his first impressions. Try as he
might to throw off their influence, it
still seemed plain to him that the Teu
tonic system violated a fundamental
tenet of civilization—the principle of
courtesy. It troubled him to see vast
numbers of people submitting to a
martinet.
In similar fashion, a resident of
Washington recently changed his mind
about the Supreme Court. Engaged in
writing a voluntary defense of the high
est tribunal of the land, he went to the
beautiful new building in which the
justices now render their decisions. A
guard on duty at the entrance was im
polite to him when he asked permission
to borrow books from the library. In
stantly a display of tamper on tala part
f
complicated matters to the point where |
he was requested to leave the premises.
He obliged with alacrity—to save time
In the preparation of an attack on the
court which he declares may have to be
printed on asbestos!
Human nature is like that. One of
the bitterest critics of the administra
tion of Herbert Hoover was a wholesale
dealer in railroad ties who came to the
Nation’s Capital to lobby for a Federal
loan to his principal customer. The
money was not available. So, in the
end, the disappointed petitioner went
back to Tennessee to campaign for the
election of Franklin D. Roosevelt. A
lifelong devotion to republicanism had
to be thrown overboard, but the sacrifice
went unnoticed in the circumstances.
And the chronicles of human experi
ence are replete with Instances much
more important than any of these men
tioned. The Chief Justice, it may be
recalled, might have been a tenant of
the White House in 1917 had it not been
for the prejudice of a certain California
member of the Senate. Likewise, the
Chief Executive currently in office might
never have returned to public life in
1928 had it not been for the antipathy
of a certain “happy warrior” for an
other aspirant for election as Governor
of New York.
Some of the current readjustments of
patriotic principles now charged can
hardly fail to recall the whimsical sar
casm of Artemus Ward (Lincoln’s
favorite humorist): "My pollertics, like
my relijjon, is of an exceedin’ accom
modatin’ character.” John Drinkwater
was one of the writers who have aided
in an appreciation of Lincoln's intel
lectual precision which made instantly
clear the quip of the comedian who seeks
to disclose a profound disapproval, by
a process of reduction to the absurd.
A nation’s wealth lies chiefly in the
orderly development of its resources.
It would be embarrassing if the guard
ians of Treasury gold, buried in the
Kentucky hills, were, when it is required
for service, to organize ‘‘a sit-down
strike.”
Human ambition is very likely to be
haunted by shades of envy. No depart
ment of government likes to be out
ranked in title by another department.
Perhaps the word ‘'Supreme'' in "Su
preme Court” is what really rankles.
Senator Ashurst of Arizona has evi
dent inclinations toward a sense of
humor which may yet rival the cher
ished drolleries of Bill Nye when he used
to edit the "Tombstone Epitaph.”
Shooting Stars.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
Back to Business.
The Old World heard a call from up
among the distant stars.
The operator said, “Somebody's calling
you from Mars.”
"Friend Mars must call some other day,”
the Old World told the clerk;
“I'd like to have a chat—but I'm com
pelled to go to work.”
The Old World got some papers written
lengthily to show
The psychologic rules by which society
should go.
Said he, "The lure of literature most
temptingly doth lurk,
But hand me down my overalls—I've
got to go to work.”
The Old World heard a pleasant song
about eternal bliss.
Said he, "That is a state of things I do
not want to miss.
The fires of Industry must blaze to
clear away the murk,
For every hope of happiness depends
on real work.”
Question of When.
"A wise man may change his mind.”
“My boy,” replied Senator Sorghum,
"the greatest of all wisdom consists in
knowing when to change your mind.”
Disturber.
The man who likes to hear himself
Vociferate with lusty glee,
You’ll find most likely is an elf
Who lacks all sense of harmony.
A Scientific Question.
"Nothing is ever totally lost or de
stroyed,” said the professor of physics.
“In that case,” said the simple and
frank person, "how do you explain the
fact that everybody loses umbrellas and
you never meet anybody who has found
one."
Evolution.
Though slang a scant respect doth win,
It calls upon mankind to note
That he who always "butteth in”
In course of time becomes "the goat.”
A Curious Resemblance.
"Mr. Oroucher is always complaining
that nobody understands him.”
"Such people,” replied Miss Cayenne,
"are frequently like one of these old
fashioned riddles. When you get the
answer it really doesn’t seem of much
Importance.”
Of No Consequence.
“There are bacilli In a kiss!’*
Exclaims the sage, suspicious;
But microbes in a case like this
Are really delicious.
"De reason,” said Uncle Eben, “dat
some men likes children, is dat children
hasn’t accumulated enough info’matlon
to call a bluff about bein’ wise an’
superior.”
Compromising Neutrality.
Prom the Williamsport Sun.
Washington reports the probability of
a compromise on neutrality legislation.
Yet when neutrality Is compromised It
ceases to be neutrality.
All Very Much Alive.
Prom tho Troy (N. T.) Record.
Officials in Missouri who were sleeted
by ths votes of ths dead havt reported
no ghosts at tbs pis eounter.
* r
Sit-Down Strikes and the
Property Rights Question
To th« Klltor of Th« Star:
Various reasons have been suggested
concerning the legality of sit-down
strikes. Mr. Homer Martin’s contentions
about their legality and the acquired and
vested rights of the workers to protect
their jobs are well known, and it ap
pears Mr. John L. Lewis acquieses by
his acts, although I have not read any
direct statement he is supposed to have
made on this particular point at issue.
Justice Pecora and Mr. Landis seem
to agree, as well as some prominent per
sons connected with the present ad
ministration.
Let us assume that the workers have
acquired a "property right” and author
ities, or the courts, declare and define
those “property rights,” which would in
clude the legal right to take over the
offices and plants of a corporation, such
as happened in the Chrysler sit-down
strikes. And, the next automobile plants
which the automobile unions take charge
of shall be Ford’s. It is understood that
Mr. Ford and his family own all, or
practically all, of the Ford plants. Mr.
Ford and his family have acquired and
hold a lot of money, or property, or
wealth. Mr. Ford is getting old. He has
worked hard and well. Suppose he takes
the position that he has done a good
job; he had an idea, developed it, put
it into practice, furnished work for thou
sands, helped create a demand for auto
mobiles, a greater demand for good
roads, a greater use of gasoline and
oil, but is now old, tired and wishes to
avoid further grueling work and strife,
and decides to quit the manufacture of
automobiles entirely.
In such an event, and the automobile
union workers have acquired a ‘‘property
right” as defined by Mr. Martin, would
Mr. Ford be permitted to quit? Could
he sell, or dismantle his plants, or turn
them into other use than the manu
facture of automobiles? For the pro
tection of their ‘‘property rights” and
their Jobs, could not the workers seize
the plants and operate themselves? It
seems to me that if such claims of ‘‘prop
erty rights” upon the part of the workers
should be sustained, the same reasoning
for keeping control of the plants and
operating them would be as logical and
legal. Of course, the question of financ
ing the operation and the purchase of
materials would arise. However, that
would be easy. Mr. Ickes, or Mr. Hop
kins, could be assigned to attend to this
feature of the case. All those thou
sands of workmen and their families
could not starve, so the humane thing to
do, the logical thing to do, would be for
the Government to furnish the neces
sary money and directing talent to keep
the plants producing. Why put a good
automobile worker to digging a ditch or
to any other kind of work to which he
is not accustomed?
It seems to me all of the above
troubles could be avoided by abolishing
the Supreme Court, doing away with
Congress and establishing a committee
to take over all industry and all agricul
ture, eliminate a lot of expense, ‘‘wheels
within wheels," and then we would have
a country of no strife, no suffering, no
poor and life would be one long, sweet
song, the same as in Russia. j
Mr. Editor, I am for "property rights.”
I have no property, but want some in
some form. I should like to have the
Government assign my "property right”
in the United States Treasury. As long
as we choose, and perhaps can seize,
why grab a "property right” in a fac
tory, when one in the United States
Treasury would be a lot closer to easy
money. C. J. ANDERSON.
What Manner of Men Have
Been Given High Offices?
To the Editor of Th« Star:
In your daily columns there are many
Interesting letters from your readers re
garding the economic and political situ
ation at the present time, and I have
noticed that while numerous criticisms
are made about the present so-called
“sit-down” strike situation, no one seems
to have offered a constructive solution.
It would seem that the main ques
tion to ask is what manner and what
kind of people have we placed in our
high offices such as the President of the
United States and Governors of several
of the States that have tolerated these
illegal conditions to exist.
There are several laws in practically
every State of the Union referring to the
duties of a governor. Also there is a
law in the U. S. Revised Statutes. Sec
tion 5299, which commands the Presi
dent to execute his authority to protect
the rights of private property, etc. By
what right or authority do these execu
tives take it upon themselves to use
their own personal discretions and
whims to Ignore their oaths of office?
The point will come up before long
when the people that represent the large
majorities which do not belong to
either the powerful capitalistic group
nor the powerful labor union groups
which are essentially communistic in
spirit, will resent in no uncertain terms
the unlawfulness and undemocratic
high-handed manner which these two
groups have taken and it is hoped that
conditions will return to the time when
monopolies and large money interests
are held and checked by law and these
laws enforced and these labor organ
izations controlled and their leaders de
ported and the organizing of these labor
organizations made unprofitable.
To offer and to plan a really con
structive procedure to solve our present
day ills would require first a real man
who is absolutely sincere and honest
in-his intentions and capable of being
a leader and not the type we now have
at the head of our government. It
would further require a group of men
of the same caliber who would be truly
American in their ideals and reorganize
the entire government procedure in line
with the Constitution as it is written
and to abide by the laws. Until such a
person or group of persons can be se
cured it is pretty obvious that our pres
ent-day ills will not be cured.
CASEY HENRY.
Insurgent Eagle.
From the Flint Journal,
An Italian war plane shot down an
inoffensive Ethiopian eagle. The bird’*
crime, we can guess, was it didn’t halt
its flight and return the Fascist salute.
Study or Discussion.
Prom the Winston-Salem Journal.
It is apparent from the present Su
preme Court agitation that a lot of
people would prefer to discuss the Con
stitution rather than to study it.
Thinking.
Prom the Takima (Wash.) Republic.
It would be too bad if we all thought
alike, says a correspondent. Maybe so;
maybe not. It would be bad if all of
us thought as some of us think we think.
Reno in Retrogression.
Prom the Humboldt Tlmea.
Nevada will not permit divorces based
on mere incompatibility. Goodness, do
they have to give reasons when they
I want a divorce in Nevada?
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.
No greener lawn ever has been seen
around the White House than this
Spring.
Many a modest householder, walking
by, nods appreciation of this feat, for
feat It Is, to have a good lawn—any
where at any time.
The lawn Is at once the hope, pride
and despair of many good amateur
gardeners.
Knowledge seems to have really very
little to do with the outcome.
Often side by side, In adjacent yards,
one may see grass which stays fairly
green all the year around, and grass
which dies out In Winter.
The why and wherefore of all this
undoubtedly lies in the sorts of grasses
sown, in the first place, or the exact
type of sod used—
But which?
* * * *
Read as you please about lawn build
ing, try out experimental plantings of
this and that seed, fertilize with various
known and unknown materials, the fact
remains that a lawn Is often an unknown
proposition.
Use certain “cover grasses," such as
Italian rye, and get a good lawn—for a
time. Unless other and more lasting
species are used, no permanent lawn
will result. Sometimes this won’t come
about, anyway.
Lawns are stubborn, in many in
stances. They go along all right all
Summer and Fall, but when Winter
comes, out they go, leaving large patches
of bare earth.
When the formal raking of early
Spring is undertaken, the dead grass
is pulled off by the rake, leaving nothing
but earth behind.
* * * *
Rather than despair of good grass,
or give over the attempt to have it, a
good procedure is to reseed a poor
lawn twice a year, in early September
and early April.
Lack of rainfall at critical periods,
especially in Fall and early Spring,
often has a great deal to do with
unthrifty lawns.
It must be kept in mind, then, that
plenty of water is essential at these
planting times, if one decides that a
decent lawn is possible in no other
way.
One always will be puttering around
about the grass?
Well, a good lawn, or even a halfway
good lawn, is worth it. It is, as has
been said so often, the background for
home and garden. Specialty gardens
are feasible with little lawn, but the
average place looks better with plenty.
Grass has a softening wa? with it.
Grass tones down harsh lines, and helps
make the average house look homelike.
Grass is, indeed, something like snow.
Every one knows the magic of a snow
fall. in its possibilities; not every be
holder realizes that grass, too, provided
it is of a fair quality, has much the
same magical effect.
♦ * * *
Grass is. then, Summer snow, if the
gardener chooses to look at it that way.
Ask the robin. He will say it is not
snow, but his larder.
The good lawn would be worth it, if
for nothing more than that the robins
like it, and have great times in it.
All birds love a good lawn.
In this they are one with the good
householder.
By proper seeding, at the times men
tioned, even the most dlfflcult lawn
may be kept at a fairly even state of
medium excellence. Few persons are
Interested In another man's lawn, except
to think it better than their own. This
is a well known state of mind, evidenced
In the famous song which every one has
heard about, but nobody ever heard
sung.
Fortunately, this lack of Interest In
another's lawn permits the honest
householder to go about his reseeding
twice a year without comment.
Routine procedure calls for putting
seed Into every bare spot. What If the
grass will grow over without It? The
possibility should make no difference.
Plenty of fresh seed is a mighty help
for the poor or medium lawn. The
more of It Is used the better both for
the stand of grass and the mind of the
maker.
Psychology has a part to play In lawn
making.
A good lawn Is not something which
one must have. Today a very great tol
erance has arisen for poor lawns. Even
muddy terraces are to be seen In many
parts of town. No one seems to think
harshly of the keeper of a poor lawn.
It is only in the mind of the keeper,
himself, that any doubts will arise.
If they do, let him cherish them, for
they are valuable In more ways than
one. Not only will the soul sensitive
to grass, and Its value, make a better
citizen and neighbor, but he will, above
all, get a great deal more pleasure out
of life.
His sensibilities will be aroused, and
he will realize that nothing Is finer, in
the everyday walks, than a good lawn,
and the good things it does for house
and garden.
There is, above all, satisfaction to the
artistic eye.
This Is something which no home
gardener should forget. After all, there
is not much reason to growing flowers,
especially, except as a satisfaction to
the sense of beauty.
The lawn must be counted as an
aggregation of plants, flowers as well
as any, in a very good sense. It is diffi
cult to handle, many times, because its
beauty lies precisely in aggregation. We
may have a few specimen shrubs, and
forget the poorer ones in the flowering
of the former.
But with grass plants it is an entirely
different matter. They must be very
much alike, in thickness of stand, in
height (aided by the mower), and espe
cially in their appearance of health.
Such a result is not easy to secure.
What saves the reputation of many a
gardener is that in this one item of
gardening few persons are critical.
The reason that even gardeners are
not critical of other people's lawns is
that they commonly tend to look upon
the grass as a thing apart, which it is
not, rather than as an integral part of
every good house and garden, which it
most certainly is.
Continuous sowing is one way of hav
ing a good lawn, if not an excellent one.
At least it will be satisfactory during the
time one wants it mo6t, Spring and
Summer.
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE.
Although President Roosevelt’s Su
preme Court-packing proposition is two
months old today, its enactment is just
about as doubtful as when the bombshell
was sprung on February 5. Both admin
istration forces and opponents of the
plan are firm in claiming victory for
their respective viewpoints. Each side
admits that whoever wins will do so by
a razor-edge margin of not more than
a handful of Senate votes. The balance
of power rests with the group of a dozen
or more Democratic senators still un
committed. There's no doubt that
plenty of New Deal pressure will be
exercised to bring the fence-sitters into
line for the President's proposal.
Whether patronage and relief bait is to
be as ruthlessly used as Senators Holt
of West Virginia and Burke of Nebraska
suggest has yet to be clearly revealed.
The sanest estimate of the probable
outcome is that the White House will
get its way, but only after substantial
compromise on the number of addi
tional Justices, the retirement age limit,
and some kind of constitutional amend
ment. Few authorities except blind
presidential partisans believe that the
Rooaevelt program can possibly be
passed In the original form.
Meantime, speculation persists as to
whether the bill’s chances have been in
creased or diminished by the recent crop
of decisions affecting wages and labor.
Administrationists identify themselves
with Attorney General Cummings’ con
tention that “the soundness of the
President’s proposal” has been estab
lished bv the Supreme Court’s reversal
of itself and the demonstrated “futil
ity” of the theory that constitutional
difficulties can be avoided by careful
drafting of laws. The opposition is no
leu convinced that the court's find
ings pull most, if not all, of the props
from beneath the claim that either
enlargement of the bench or constitu
tional change is necessary’ to secure
desired humanitarian objectives. Be all
this as it may, there is no inkling that
the controversial Niagara will be checked
at any early date. No deadline is in
prospect for cessation of committee
hearings, with both camps pretending
that time is on their respective sides.
Indications are sprouting that popular
interest in the court talkfest is on
the wane. New ideas, pro or con, are
already about as scarce as hen's teeth.
Rival leaders are beginning to wonder
whether endless discussion is an asset
or a liability.
w w w w
Senator Carter Glass has received
more than 7.000 letters and telegrams
from people In all parts of the United
States In response to his recent two
fisted radio assault on the court-packing
program. His office reports that this is
about twice the number of “fan” com
munications evoked by the Virginian’s
celebrated broadcast advocating Mr.
Roosevelt’s election in November, 1932.
Among those who sent the Senator com
mendations on his appeal for an inde
pendent judiciary are Samuel Harden
Church, president of Carnegie Institute,
former Assistant Secretary of War Han
ford MacNider, innumerable members
of Congress, outstanding representatives
of the bar, law school professors and Jus
tices and ex-Justices of state and Federal
courts.
* * * *
There’s not a particle of indication In
Mr. Roosevelt’s debonair demeanor that
he’s at all upset by the storm of prob
lems and controversies, political, eco
nomic, congressional and otherwise, now
raging around his head. The Supreme
Court fight, labor troubles, depression in
the Federal bond market, agitation over
sit-down strikes, disparity In prices be
tween durable goods and consumer com
modities, international unrest all and
k
sundry, domestic and foreign, seems to
leave the President more or less un
ruffled. His serenity does not mean, of
course, that he is not adequately con
cerned over these various trials and
tribulations. It rather reflects afresh
his worry-proof temperament and his
apparent disinclination to aggravate
the situation by any public expression of
undue anxiety or alarm. The chief
executive probably was the most sur
prised man in the country that his
"economic dissertation in words of one
syllable" on price spirals, as he dubbed
it, should have blown the lid ofl the
stock market on April 2. It was de
livered quite casually in response to an
eleventh-hour press conference question.
Norman Thomas, national Socialist
leader, has just sailed for his first trip
to Europe in almost 30 years. In the
course of it he plans to tour Russia and
commune with Soviet government offi
cials on world problems, even though
he had some difficulty in getting Mos
cow's permission to enter the country.
A passport visa was at first refused Mr.
Thomas by the U. S. S. R. because
of his membership in the North Amer
ican committee for defense of Leon
Trotzky, exiled former Bolshevist poten
tate. Thomas says he is neither a Com
munist nor a Trotzkyite, and, while
friendly to the Soviet, "don't believe I
have to take it on blind faith that
everything done in Russia is done by
God.”
* * * *
"Willie” J. Collins, superintendent of
the Senate press gallery, has just com
pleted 28 years of service in that potent
branch of the Capitol. He began his
career in 1909, in charge of the press
room of the Senate Office Building. After
serving in the gallery successively under
Col. Edwin A. Halsey, now secretary of
the Senate, and James D. Preston, now
assistant administrative secretary of
the National Archives, Collins took
Preston’s place as superintendent 6ix
years ago. He says the greatest change
he has seen in his time is the Increase
in the number of Washington's women
writers. When he first entered the gal
lery, the late Mrs. George F. Richards,
veteran representative of a group of
New England papers, was the only ac
credited newswoman on the Hill. Today
there are 39 women in the gallery. The
total membership of correspondents has
grown from 172 in 1909 to 520 in 1937.
* * * *
“Daisy" Harriman’s appointment as
minister to Norway will temporarily re
move from the Washington scene the
vivid personality who has presided for
nearly 20 years over one of the Capital’s
few genuine political salons. Her
famous Sunday night supper parties
periodically brought together for in
formal, though always animated, dis
cussion high government officials, con
gressional and political leaders of all
party complexions, foreign diplomats,
newspaper correspondents and distin
guished visitors from abroad. Free and
frank round-table debate, on national
and international topics, brilliantly led
by the vivacious hostess herself, was the
Invariable rule. Her admirers are confi
dent that the author of "From Pinafores
to Politics” will give an eminent account
of herself in diplomacy. Before her se
lection for the Norwegian post, Mrs.
Harrlman had been mentioned for the
ministership to the Irish Free State and
also for a District of Columbia commis
slonership.
(Copyright, 1037.)
Back to the “Walk-Out.”
From tb* Battle Cr„k Cn«ulr,r-N,w«.
Individualism Is by no means dead.
From a Louisiana town comes news that
striking workers “walked out.”
ANSWERS TO
QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.
A reader can get the answer to any
Question of fact by writing The Evening
Star Information Bureau, Frederic J.
Baskin, Director, Washington, D. C.
Please Inclose stamp for reply.
Q. How much money Is paid In taxes
by the motion picture business?—E. H.
A. Approximately $350,000,000 In taxes
was collected from the film Industry In
1936.
Q. la the Maxwell House atm open
In Nashville, Tenn.?—K. D.
A. This historic hotel is still open to
the public. The traveler may rent suite
308 with the same furnishings used by
Andrew Johnson. One expert says the
Maxwell Is the besi, built brick house In
the United States. Work on the present
building was started In 1859, but It was
used as a hospital during the Civil War.
The bill of fare for the opening of the
Maxwell House In 1869 shows an array
of food that would bankrupt the modern
hostelry. There were twenty-two hot
entrees and fourteen kinds of wild game.
Including boned wild boar's head, haunch
of black bear, saddle of venison, Ten
nessee coon and Kentucky 'possum.
Q What State sends the most automo
bile travelers to Florida?—W. P.
A. This Winter, cars with Ohio licenses
were most numerous.
Q. What route will be followed by the
coronation procession?—W. H.
A. Prom Buckingham Palace the pro
cession will travel down the Mall to
Whitehall, to Westminster Abbey, thence
to Victoria avenue, to Northumberland
avenue, past Trafalgar Square to Pall
Mall, to St. James street, to Piccadilly,
to Regent street, to Oxford street, past
Hyde Park, down East Carriage road to
Constitution Hill and back to the palace.
Q. What is a pot-hunter?—G. D.
A. In sports, it refers to a person who
is keener on winning prizes—silver cups
or pots—than on the sport.
Q. What became of the comic supple
ment character Little Nemo, and what
artist originated the character?—W. J.
A. Winsor McCay, who died in 1934,
created Little Nemo in 1902 for the New
York Herald. Mr. McCay used his son
as a model for the character. Winsor
McCay, Jr., is now drawing a strip called
Little Nemo in Slumberland and will
carry on his father's work as a cartoon
ist.
Q. Where are the book reviews of
Clifton Fadiman published regularlv?—
L. P.
A. In the New Yorker.
Q. What kind of a drink is otard?—
D. S. A.
A. Otard is the trade name of a French
brandy.
Q Where is the quotation found. An
other Richmond in the field?—C. T.
A. It is in Shakespeare's Richard III.
The king, speaking of Henry of Rich
mond—afterward Henry VII—says: "I
think there be six Richmonds in the
field. Five have I slain today instead of
him—A horse! A horse! My kingdom
for a horse!”
Q. What is the Burroughs Newsboys’
Foundation?—H. J.
A. The foundation in Boston was
established by a former newsboy, Harry
E. Burroughs, now a lawyer, author and
philanthropist. It is devoted entirely to
the guidance and education of working
boys and has an enrollment of over 5.000.
Q. How large Is the Bols de Boulogne
In Paris?—C. J.
A. The park consists of 2,100 acres.
Q. The three balls of the pawnbroker’s
sign are said to be taken from the device
of the Medici family. Why did they use
this device?—C. M.
A. According to legend or romance,
Averardo de Medici slew the giant, Mug
ello, and took the three balls of his mace,
for his device.
Q. Was Sarah Bernhardt at one time
fined for breaking a contract?—L. W.
A. She broke her contract with the
Theatre Francais in 1880 and was obliged
to pay a forfeit of $20,000.
Q. Are three meals a day the best num
ber for efficiency?—F. P.
A. Dr. Howard W. Haggard in "Diet
and Physical Efficiency” says that max
imum efficiency results from the proper
diet taken in five meals instead of three
per day.
Q. What is "The Lusiad"?—W. J.
A. It 1s the only Portuguese poem that
has gained world-wide celebrity. Writ
ten by Luiz de Camoens, it appeared in
1572 and was entitled "Os Lusiadas,” the
subject being the conquests of that nation
in India. Divided into 10 cantos, the
poem contains 1,102 stanzas.
Q. How many criminals are executed
each year in the United States?—O. S.
A. In 1932 there were 155: in 1933, 160;
in 1934, 198, and in 1935, 186.
Q. Was Beethoven bom deaf? If not,
how early did he become so?—W. H.
A. The composer began to be troubled
with a defect in his hearing when he
was in his 20s. From about 1798 the
trouble became more serious until by
1814 the loss of his hearing was complete.
Q. What per cent of the midshipmen
at the United States Naval Academy
graduate?—P. H.
A. About 70 per cent of the midshipmen
finish the course.
Traffic Penalties.
From the Philadelphia Kveninc Bulletin.
New York Traffic Code has been
amended to permit certain types of
offenders to pay their fines by proxy.
The rule does not apply, however, to jail
sentences.
A Rhyme at Twilight
By
Gertrude Brooke Hamilton.
In the Dusk.
Low in the west a crescent moon
A misty ray sent down
Where solitary Venus shone;
While all above the town
The firmament hung black as Ink;
A density that seemed to link
In some mysterious bond afar
The crescent moon and evening star.
I wondered if the fair young moon
Was gossiping on high;
As in the black and murky dusk
No other star was nigh: . . .
Old Saturn plans to spare a ring
You. Hesperus, to nearer bring,
While fiery Mars In anger gleams
And Jupiter frowns on their scheme*.
A nonsense whimsy, routed soon.
As clouds enshroud the crescent moon.
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