Evening star. [volume], April 19, 1937, 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.
MONDAY....April 19, 19S7
THEODORE W. NOYES.Editor
The Evening Star Newspaper Company,
llth St and Pennsylvania Ave.
New York Office: 110 East 42nd St.
CTtlcago Office- 425 North Michigan Ava.
Rate by Carrier—City and Suburban.
Regular Edition.
Thi Evening and Sunday Star
05c ner month or 15e per week
The Evening Star
46c per month or 10c per week
The Sunday Star_ _5c Der copy
Night Final Edition.
Right F nal and Sunday Star_70c per month
Night Final Star__56c per month
Collection made at the end of each month or
each week. Orders may be sent by mall or tele
phone National 6000
Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance.
Maryland and Virginia.
Dally ard Sunday_1 yr.. $10.00; 1 mo, R5c
Dally only _1 yr.. $fl.OO; l mo., 60c
Sunday only_1 yr.. $4.00; 1 mo.. 40c
All Other States and Canada.
Dally and Sunday. 1 yr.. $12.00; 1 mo. $1.00
Daily only_1 yr.. $K.OO; 1 mo., 75c
Sunday only_1 yr.. $5.00; 1 mo.. 60c
Member of the Aaaociated Press.
The Associated Press Is exclusively entitled to
the use for cepubllcatlon of all news dispatcher
credited to It or not otherwise credited In thll
paper and also the local news published herein.
All righ'S of publication of special dispatches
herein are also reserved.
The Playground Rider.
One of the riders on the District
appropriation bill which rode unharmed
through the gory slaughter of its fellow
legislative provisions in the House was
the anomalous transfer from the De
partment of Playgrounds to the Board
of Education’s Community Center De
partment of about half the money for
playground operation. Along with the
tnoney went the authorization for oper
ation by the Community Center Depart
ment of “public playgrounds adjacent
to and in the vicinity of school build
ings.” Not all of the grounds thus
Involved are school playgrounds. Some
of them are District playgrounds and
some of them are National Park Serv
ice property. Of ninety play centers
operated last Summer by the Depart
ment of Playgrounds, the transfer will
leave with that department about six
teen. The Community Center Depart
ment has not, hitherto, engaged in
playground operation on any such scale.
The Star is not prepared nor is it
called upon to decide whether play
grounds should be operated by the
schools or by the department of the
municipal government established long
ago for that purpose. But what should
be apparent to everybody is that this
Important matter of legislation and of
policy should not be decided by the
Appropriations Committee; that It Is
distinctly contrary to the efforts now
being made to co-ordinate recreational
policies and programs under the already
confused conditions in the District; that
one, and not two, agencies should be
responsible for playgrounds operation
in the District, and that this particular
transfer seems to be premature and
represents a half-baked proposition
which will tend to lessen, rather than
increase, efficient playground operation
and expansion.
An outgrowth of an exhaustive study
of recreational services in the District
in 1934 was a letter from the President
in 1935 requesting the Secretary of the
Interior, the Board of Education and
the Commissioners to appoint a com
mittee which would “endeavor to formu
late a unified recreation system” for the
District. A committee was appointed,
a co-ordinator of recreation subse
quently chosen, and after many trials
and tribulations a “charter” or state
ment of policy and principles in the
direction of co-ordination, if not imme
diate unification, of recreational services
In the District was agreed to last Janu
ary and signed by the representatives of
the Commissioners, the Board of Edu
cation and the Office of National Capital
Parks. The immediate objective was
co-ordination of policies and programs,
with unification temporarily abandoned.
As a result of the District bill rider,
Instead of one agency in charge of play
grounds, two are to be created—adding
to the existing overlapping of authority
and divided control and making even
more remote the hope for co-ordination.
The record of hearings on the District
bill reveals a convincing argument by
Mr. Henry Quinn, member of the Board
of Education, in favor of the principles
represented in the transfer, although
he spoke for himself and not for the
board. Mr. Quinn's views are always
entitled to respect and in this case his
vision of an educational system which
includes the correct supervision of chil
dren's recreation and the full, intelligent
recreational use of school buildings as
well as playgrounds during the Summer
months is impressive.
But are the schools ready for this new
responsibility and are they equipped,
through the Community Center Depart
ment, to take on something else?
At any rate, there is no logic in the
establishment of two playground-oper
ating agencies. There is room, and need,
for only one. Either all the playgrounds
should be turned over to the Board of
Education, and the Playground Depart
ment abolished, or the present system
should be retained. Certainly the deci
sion between such alternatives should
be the result of planning and a thor
oughly formulated policy, not.the abrupt,
confusing and somewhat contradictory
plan that is carried as a rider on an
appropriation bill.
The Navy “At War.”
Though far from sight, the Nation
follows with liveliest interest the annual
“war game" of the United States Fleet,
which has Just begun. An armada
roundly of 150 ships of all types, sup
plemented by nearly 500 airplanes and
comprising a personnel of 60,000 officers
ahd men, is now "fighting” its way
across the Pacific in the direction of
Honolulu. A “struggle” for Hawaii be
tween rival “black” and “white” fleets
is the specific objective of the maneu
vers, the general purpose of which is to
give ships and men intensive experience
in defense of the strategic “triangle”
comprehended by Alaska, the Hawaiian
Islands and the Panama Canal Zone,
» vast oceanic area of 6,000,000 square
miles. When Oahu, capital Island of
the insular territory, is under "attack,"
Army and Navy forces regularly sta
tioned there will Join in the operations.
Pearl Harbor, Uncle Sam’s mld-Paclflc
"Gibraltar,” will play a conspicuous
role. The "war game,” under general
direction of Admiral Arthur J. Hep
bum, commander In chief of the United
States Fleet, will last six weeks.
Happily the time Is past when this
large-scale, periodical battle practice
of the Navy was looked upon as Inter
nationally provocative, and, because of
its locale, as an unfriendly gesture
toward Japan in particular. Even
though the maneuver zone is thousands
of miles from the island empire, certain
professionally anti-American Japanese
used to criticize the program, just as
they formerly challenged the policy of
maintaining the fleet permanently on
the western side of the continent.
Those alarms no longer well up from
Japan, which herself annually carries
out a similar "game” of her own in the
Pacific, without any murmur of Amer
ican protest.
The Navy is our sure shield. To keep
It bright, effective and ready for Instant
action, it requires to be exercised under
conditions as faithfully suggestive of
actual war as staff ingenuity can devise.
It takes more than powerfully armored,
strongly armed and swift-moving ships
and planes to make a modem navy.
Trained officers and men are of the
essence of its efficiency. The requisite
degree of capacity is attainable in only
one way—by giving the human factors,
on which sea power in the last analysis
depends, maximum and regular oppor
tunity to use their heads and stretch
their muscles under warlike circum
stances. That is the sole, the all-vital,
purpose of the mock combat which will
rage throughout the great triangle
until the end of May. It is reassuring
evidence that amid the priceless bless
ings of peace, a wise America is pre
paring intelligently for the ever-present
possibility of war.
Welcome D. A. R.
Perhaps never before since the Daugh
ters of the American Revolution first or
ganized in 1890 has the annual Congress
of the order met in Washington under
conditions of such dynamic significance
as those which currently prevail. Ex
perienced observers of every school of
thought agree that the United States in
this present hour is rife with change.
Forces as yet but partially comprehended
are at work everywhere throughout the
land. The influence of alien philosophies
of reform may be detected in practically
every home within the confines of the
Nation. A devastating dislocation of in
dustry, following the most cruel and
costly of wars, gave these doctrines of
class strife their opportunity. The re
sultant confusion in the public mind is
too patently manifest to stand in need of
argument.
But the D. A. R. represents a tradi
tion which still providentially is pos
sessed of powers of resistance. The
order has made it a business for nearly
half a century “to cherish, to maintain
and to extend the institutions of Ameri
can freedom” founded by the sponsors of
the Republic. Its method has been that
of education, the pattern of patriotism it
has taught has been that of an applied
understanding of the meaning of liberty.
Conservative it is in the proper definition
of the word. Its intent is the preser
vation of the blessings and benefits of a
self-supporting, self-respecting, inde
pendent civilization. Against experimen
tation, untried theory, unwise extrava
gance, unjust exploitation and the de
liberate partisan perversion of basic
idealism it has been a bulwark for the
protection of society as a whole.
Yet it cannot be charged that the D.
A. R. has failed to be rationally pro
gressive. Few indeed have been the
advocates of helpful policies of gov
ernment who have appealed to the
order for assistance in vain. Rather,
it has furnished an example for literally
dozens of other voluntary organizations
supporting the steady advance of the
United States in the path toward the
goal initially visioned by the signers of
the Declaration of Independence and the
framers of the Constitution—a Nation
blessed with liberty, prosperity and peace
because of loyalty, equity and fellow
feeling enshrined in each individual heart
under the Stars and Stripes.
Now, particularly, millions of men
and women, bewildered by the loud de
bate of recent months, want guidance.
The D. A. R., inspired by its love for the
country and the values always dear to
its people, may furnish the leadership
demanded by the emergency in the
shadow of which it assembles today.
When last heard from Aimee Semple
was crying about something. Whatever
her griefs may be, Aimee never has to
apply to the Government for relief.
Play Ball!
By special dispensation the “official”
opening of the base ball season has for
a number of years begun in Washington
each year, with the first game of the
schedule at the Capital started with the
throwing of the ball by the President of
the United States. This is the day for
that ceremony, and by good fortune the
weather is Ideal for such an occasion.
Whatever may be the outcome of the sea
son’s play, whatever the final standing
of the local representatives in the Ameri
can League, this game stands out from
the others inasmuch as the Chief Execu
tive of the Nation in effect presides over
the contest.
Washington’s standing in the league
this year has been forecast by most ob
servers as comparatively lowly. There
seems to be no pennant in sight, In the
judgment of the analysts. By general
consensus the "Yankees” are booked for
a repetition of their 1938 performance
of victory. But base ball is a queer game
in that surprises are always possible.
Talent that is rated as mediocre in the
course of the training season has a way
of developing strongly in the heat of the
contest. Combinations that appeared
A
to be likely to produce only average re
sults sometimes work out in terms of
sustained success. That such will be the
case with the Washington team this year
Is the sustaining hope of the thousands
who will attend the games here.
In any case, the sport will be sup
ported generously. There Is sure to be
a sufficient degree of success to keep
hope alive. But whatever may be the
final standing of the teams, the games
themselves will be certain to afford con
stant entertainment and perhaps to pro
vide occasion for excitement as those
exceptional situations that occasionally
arise—bases loaded, long safe hits scor
ing multiples of runs, or sensational de
fense plays cutting off game-winning
runs—turn out to the advantage of the
home team.
Base ball is a clean, fair game. It is
typical of the American temperament.
It Is truly the national sport. From the
sand lots where budding talent Is devel
oped to the playing fields of the profes
sional clubs the contests are waged with
skill, spirit and unflagging determination.
The slogan of the sport is that "the game
Is never over until the last man Is out
In the last Inning." That Is the reason
why this form of public entertainment,
peculiar to America, has become one of
the great industries of the country, and
why on the opening days the crowds
assemble early and await with eagerness
the cry of the umpires, "Play ball!" To
day the President of the United States
starts the season with a toss that makes
history, perhaps to the ultimate satis
faction of the multitude that consti
tutes Washington's faithful base ball
public.
One of the impressive phases of the
proposition to sacrifice the gorgeous and
significant cherry blooms for a Greek
temple in honor of Thomas Jefferson,
which historians will have to consider, is
how to account for the moments of seri
ous attention bestowed on it. Should the
plan be put over the shade of some Tam
many Congressman will be expected to
visit Mount Vernon and whisper, "I can
not tell a lie, Father of My Country, I
did it with my little tomahawk."
s - ■
County politicians have their difficult
moments with hold-up men of various
descriptions, but a multitude of them
are grateful that their counties are not
Harlan, where wonder daily increases as
to what might be expected of the
"colonels” if all of them were real mili
tary men.
Distinguished visitors at the White
House report that neither politics nor
finance was discussed. It would be a
social calamity if the arts of responsible
conversation were to be left in the cus
tody of Capitol Hill.
Participants in the Kentucky disturb
ance announce fears of injustice at the
hands of courts. They may feel the need
of a court of final resort Just about as it
is now constituted.
Shooting Stars.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
Appreciation.
Oh, de sunrise shine across de lake
De noon is warm and bright;
De sunset's fine an' no mistake.
An’ I loves dem stars at night.
Let de sun keep rollin’
F’um de east to west;
Any time o’ day it is
Is de time I likes de best!
Spring wif beauty is complete;
We loafs in Summer’s shine.
Autumn make de melon sweet,
An’ de Winter sports is fine,
Let de sun keep rollin'
Roun’ de sky so free—
Any time o’ year it is
Looks mighty good to me I
Sense of Humor.
"Do you think a public man ought to
have a sense of humor?”
"Yes,” replied Senator Sorghum, “if
it's the kind that enables a man to see
a joke in advance and avoid inadvert
ently making himself ridiculous.”
Jud Tunkins says many people who
came to see the Japanese cherry trees
went home happier, imagining that they
made certain that one part of the fruit
crop couldn’t be a failure this year.
Needful Relaxation.
The problems that have come our way
We’ll gladly put aside today,
So shut the desk and close the door—
We’ve got to watch the base ball score.
No one can tell just how and why
To base ball for relief we fly.
But we are wishing, Just the same,
All nations would take up the game.
“He who has done his best,” said Hi
Ho, the sage of Chinatown, "deserves
praise, but must be prepared for a meas
ure of blame for *not doing still better."
Remorse is something that many
people claim to experience after they are
hopelessly caught.
Recurrence of Habit.
The back seat drivers lose their nerve
Until the driver makes the curve.
But when they feel quite safe once more,
They’re back seat driving as before.
Restraining Influence.
"Are you a radio fan?”
"Yes,” answered Miss Cayenne. "The
radio is a great promoter of harmony.
It enables you to listen to a lot of things
of which you disapprove without a
chance of expressing violent disapproval
which might start a scene of public dis
order.
Ferocious Appetite.
His forage Mars declines to cease.
He’s always on the job.
He wants to grab the Dove of Peace
And eat it for a squab.
"Of course, I’s worried Tx>ut finances
like everybody else,” said Uncle Eben.
"But I aln’ trying’ to make a bluff dat
It’s anjr now ’■perience wif me.”
?v •
College Scholarships Plan
For Jefferson Memorial
To the Editor of Tho Stir:
We have been following with much
interest the discussion over the erection
of a memorial to Thomas Jefferson. We
should like to suggest a substitute plan,
which should be an effective compro
mise. Instead of erecting another monu
ment for the tourist to “gape at," we
suggest that Congress authorise the
granting of Jefferson memorial college
scholarships to capable students who
are Interested in studying political
science, economics and foreign service.
The Government has schools to train
its military officers, but there is no pro
vision made for the training of its ad
ministrative officers. Perhaps some form
of scholarship could be made to stu
dents which would provide training,
consisting partly of actual training ex
perience in the Federal service. Thus,
trained, intelligent and efficient young
people would be brought into Govern
ment service where most needed.
There are many capable and intelli
gent youths in our Nation who desire a
college education but who are finan
cially unable to secure one. Under the
scholarship plan they would have an
opportunity to attend college and later
have a career in the Federal service.
We suggest that these scholarships be
divided among the States somewhat in
the manner that Annapolis and West
Point appointments are allotted. An
applicant’s character, scholarship, physi
cal fitness and capability should be the
factors involved in making the selec
tions. The scholarships should cover
tuition, books and living expenses at
any college which the recipient might
choose. A recipient should maintain an
enviable record to keep his scholarship
during the college years.
We have noticed suggestions that a
Jefferson memorial university be estab
lished, but •we believe the establishment
of such a university to be unwise for
obvious reasons, unnecessary to even
mention, except for the fact that strict
Government regulation and regimenta
tion would in effect defeat the purposes
of education. Governmental participa
tion in education is not to be desired.
Certainly there could be no more fit
ting memorial to the great Jefferson
than memorial scholarships given in
his name. These scholarships would be
of direct and lasting benefit to the
Nation as a whole. Also, the destruction
of the cherry trees is avoided and the
erection of another mass of concrete
to mar the landscape is prevented.
WARREN N. MARTIN,
CHARLES H. MOORE.
Japanese Cherry Trees
A Memorial to Amity
a!
To the Editor of The 8t»r:
One more weary protest, which voices
the feelings of many, on the matter of
the Jefferson Memorial. It seems to
many of us that one large undertaking I
such as the building for the Mellon
pictures might suffice for the moment
both to keep the architect’s name to the
fore and to ornament the city. At a
time when cuts are supposedly being
made to reduce expenses and when
every hospital and charity is having a
drive, for indispensable funds, the mere
thought of spending a huge sum for a
mere memorial seems appalling.
Washington has too many monuments.
It seems as if Arlington Cemetery oozed
down into the city. We have learned to
circulate with averted eyes past the cen
terpieces of hobby horses and military
gentlemen, but the present trend of
sublimated mausoleums is not so easy
to ignore. Why should we have some
thing just to look at? (We would prefer
to look at clean streets, but Theodore
Roosevelt was the only one to interest
himself in such.) But even those who
approve of a memorial to a President
we are glad to remember cannot feel
that the proposed site is suitable or even
sensible. Why should cherry trees that
are a memorial to Japanese amity be
moved and destroyed to make room for
still another memorial?
MARGARET L. HAYES.
Shameless Vandalism Not
An Honor to Jefferson
To the Editor of Th» 8tar:
If Representative Boylan Is determined,
as reported, to try to force his mis
guided project for demolishing the Tidal
Basin and the cherry trees I hereby
nominate him for Washingon’s Public
Enemy No. 1.
Whom or what Representative Boylan
represents is becoming a matter of in
creasing speculation. Certainly as an
arbiter of public memorials and of suit
able sites for them he is proving himself
so utterly unfitted that he should be
relieved of his present position as chair
man of the Jefferson Memorial Com
mission.
It is inconceivable that this contem
plated outrage should be perpetrated in
the face of the rising tide of public
Indignation. To destroy or disfigure
what has become one of the famous
beauty spots of the world would be an
intolerable affront to the half million
citizens of Washington and to millions
of Americans throughout the country to
whom the cherry trees around the Tidal
Basin have become a symbol of sylvan
loveliness and a mecca for Spring pil
grimages.
And it would be an insult, not an
honor, to Thoma^ Jefferson, whose very
name would be desecrated by association
with an act of such shameless vandalism.
MRS. CHARLES E. RUSSELL.
Man’s Determination
To Destroy Nature
To tht Editor of The Star:
I would like to add my protest to that
of other nature-loving citizens of Wash
ington to Jhe removal of the Japanese
cherry trees from around the Tidal
1 Basin. Why destroy these trees which
add so much beauty to Washington in
the Spring of the year to put up a
memorial to Thomas Jefferson on this
particular site? Why is man so de
termined to destroy nature, which is an
evidence of God’s love for mankind, to
put up buildings of his own design? I
also feel that it is an insult to Japan
to destroy these trees, which were given
to this country as a token of her friend
ship for the United States. If a memo
rial to Thomas Jefferson is desired why
not put it at some other place in this
city that needs improvement.
While on this subject I would also like
to protest against the placing of earthen
fills in Rock Creek Park to carry cross
traffic. This would be an unwarranted
destruction of another beauty of nature.
ALETHEA J. MORGAN.
Temple Heights Fine Site
For Jefferson Memorial
To the Editor of The Star:
Hurrah for Temple Heights as the
proper place for the Jefferson Memorial!
Why? Because it releases it from the
crowded Constitution avenue, the classic
columns, the dubious Tidal Basin and its
cherry blossoms. Because it provides a
site always dear to the honored Jefferson.
It affords a beautiful view and is a
apacious site for a beautiful memorial.
So, hurrah for Temple Heights and
Jeffemn. J. L. McORJEW.
THIS AND THAT |
MY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.
"I vu always careful," said the lady,
"but after I got hit by that truck I was
more careful."
There's a true story in one sentence,
which has a good moral for all of us.
We can be more careful, whether we
ride or walk, whether we drive a car or
are driven, whether we mentally class
ourself as motorist or pedestrian.
Just a little more care, on the part of
everybody, and no doubt the list of
dead and maimed from our highways
would be reduced.
A little more care and that reduction
itself would be cut.
Everybody thinks he is careful, and
perhaps he is, but there is little doubt
that the careful must be more careful,
as well as the careless careful.
Those split seconds you hear so much
about—it is in those that the accidents
occur. There is not time in them to
be careful. The care must come before
hand.
* * * *
Making the care come beforehand—
that is the way the traffic problem is
going to be solved if it ever is.
It is difficult at this stage of American
life to feel sure that this particular
problem ever will be solved completely.
It is possible, however, to hope that it
will be, and to work in every way toward
that goal.
Individual carefulness, let us believe,
will go a long way toward making Amer
ica safe for itself.
It really is absurd to think that in
the names of pleasure, progress and in
vention we, as a nation, are making our
land unsafe for ourselves.
* * a *
Any one, by taking thought, can con
vince himself that, no matter how care
ful a driver or pedestrian he may be,
there still is room for Improvement.
Not at the time of accident.
It is too late then.
What is necessary is prior thoughtful
ness.
How to go about this?
One good way is to check over one’s
own traffic faults and determine before
hand to correct them.
This check must be a "double check,"
as Andy says.
First it must be done by going over
the entire matter while one is seated
comfortably at home or office. Then it
must be done "on the job.”
The same attitude is necessary for
both motorists and pedestrians.
All men are pedestrians at some time
or other.
“What do I do that is wrong, that is
careless, in traffic?’’
It is a good question, one which may
be asked by any one of himself, by any
one of herself.
« * * * *
“What do I do careless, endangering
others, endangering myself?’’
Once this is asked in all solemnity,
with a real purpose to achieve some
thing worth while, the list of wrongs—
including all careless thoughts, acts—
will grow amazingly.
The pedestrian particularly needs this
self discipline, because he is not inclosed
in a steel body. His fallible frame of
bones and flesh always comes off the
loser in a personal battle with an auto
mobile.
Sven the most careful pedestrian, If
he is entirely honest with himself, will
And that far too often he is far from
careful.
He stops on the curb, turns around to
look at a new building, forgets the traffic
and his perch at the edge of it, turns
and steps off the curb in one movement.
School children often are extremely
careless here. Several of them laughing
and joking each other, will stand on the
curb with back to the passing stream of
cars.
Carefulness calls for every one to face
danger, not turn back to It.
* * * *
The Insolent attitude of some pedes
trians, who seem actually to defy motor
ists to strike them, is carelessness in
the extreme.
Just what they hope to gain by this
attitude is not easy to understand, except
a momentary satisfaction not worth the
danger run.
Pretty girls who rely on their beauty
to protect them from traffic are leaning
on a slender reed.
Even Helen of Troy, were she alive
today, would think twice before doing
some of the silly things you see women
do every day in our streets. And the
men, of course, are not far behind. There
seems to be a certain percentage of our
population, regardless of sex, the mem
bers of which altogether lack a normal
amount of caution.
Herbert Spencer's idea that self
preservation is the basic law of life has
no standing with these good folk.
Watch them gawk into the streets,
even slowing down, instead of accelerat
ing their pace. See them cross diag
onally from northwest corner to south
east corner.
Note how they are “thinking about
something else,” how they even read in
the street, how they dodge around be
hind parked cars and walk out with
out looking to right or left.
Many of our honest burghers hava
not yet realized that the old courtesy
ruling, which required automobiles to
stop behind public vehicles when un
loading and taking on passengers, is no
longer enforced.
The crux of the modern automobile
problem lies in the plain fact that the
mind and eye of man were never made
to cope with such speeds as are possible
and pfrmissable today.
As long as we will not cut down the
speed, but even Increase it, we will have
this maiming and killing.
The only salvation, as all salvations,
is a personal one.
We do not enter heaven in a crowd,
but one by one.
We do not save ourselves from our
fellow men in automobiles, if we do, by
getting together in a mass and defying
all motorists as such, but solely by reason
of such care and good fortune as shall
be ours.
A little more care, brethren, and the
thing is done—maybe.
Let us remember the lady we heard
the other day, and her words of everyday
wisdom.
“I was always careful,” she said, “but
after I got hit by that truck I was more
careful.”
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE.
President Roosevelt dismisses without l
comment any and all suggestions of
compromise on his Supreme Court bill.
The White House nonchalantly indicates
that such proposals bob up about every
15 minutes, and otherwise lets it be
inferred that they are making no dent
whatever. Of course, as an astute pol
itician and master strategist. P. D. R.
is not expected to talk compromise pre
maturely, whatever may be at the back
of his head as a possible last resort. Any
suggestion of retreat, administrationists
hold, is out of the window at a time
when things seen to be in the bag for
them, even though by a narrow margin.
Despite New Dealers’ sunny confidence,
resolutely maintained, at least for public
display, the impression will not down
that rather than be beaten altogether
on court enlargement, Mr. Roosevelt will,
if and when necessary, decide that half
a loaf is better than no bread. Propo
nents and opponents alike are persuaded
that six additional justices always were
the President’s asking figure, but not
his taking total—that, in other words,
he will on the last round-up accept what
he can get, as long as it represents vic
tory for his basic purpose. Opinion is
almost universal that he can have two
new justices, practically for the asking.
No little concern prevails In high
places over the decision by the Federal
Circuit Court of Appeals at Boston rul
ing the social security act unconstitu
tional. The Government will put up a
stiff fight to save the law when it is
before the Supreme Court for final de
termination. If that tribunal passes on
the case while the judiciary bill is pend
ing in Congress the decision might have
considerable influence on Senate and
House voting. Although the Department
of Justice hopes for an immediate show
down, it’s doubtful whether the Supreme
Court will choose to review the Massa
chusetts decree during the present term.
Chief Justice Hughes and his associates
already have before them a direct test
of the law, brought from Alabama. A
ruling in that action may be handed
down when they next sit, on April 28.
Arguments in the Southern case evoked
interrogatory Indications from the bench,
strongly suggesting the possibility of
another 5-to-4 decision, on social se
curity. The Alabama appeal applies
only to unemployment compensation.
The Massachusetts case is the first one
involving the old-age benefit section
of the law.
* * a a
With augmented Importance of the
National Labor Relations Board special
interest attaches to the personality of
J. Warren Madden, chairman of the
board. He has been on the Job since
1935, on leave from the University of
Pittsburgh, whose law faculty he Joined
in 1927. A native Illinoisan, Mr. Madden
took his degree of doctor of juris
prudence at the University of Chicago.
With Intermittent periods at the bar he
has taught law at the University of
Oklahoma, Ohio State University, West
Virginia University, Stanford and Cor
nell. In Pittsburgh, Chairman Madden
was also interested in public housing
activities and in a field now much in the
national eye—special policing in indus
try. He has written books on domestic
relations, including marriage and di
vorce. The Labor Relations chief is still
on the sunny side of 50.
* * * *
Seldom ia recent years has there been
such a muster of the solid South in
Congress as was revealed in the House
vote on the Cavagan anti-lynching bilL
Dixie’s Representatives lined up prac
tically en masse against the measure.
Two Democratic exceptions were Maver
ick of Texas and Creal of Kentucky, who
voted for the bilL Three Republican
*
Southerners who also were for It were
Robslon of Kentucky and Taylor and
Reece of Tennessee. Although Repre
sentative 8umners, Democrat, of Texas,
chairman of the House Judiciary Com
mittee, led the opposition to the Gavagan
measure, he took occasion while it was
pending to telegraph the Governor of
Mississippi a scorching denunciation of
the recent lynchings in that state.
* * * *
Lively Interest is aroused in both
American official and foreign diplomatic
quarters by Belgian Premier Van Zee
land's approaching visit to Washington.
Nearly everybody thinks that in some
form or other Europe's spiders yearn to
have the Yankee fly walk into their
parlor and Join them In cleaning up the
world-wide economic mess. According
to persistent stories inspired across the
Atlantic and relayed to this side, what
i statesmen over there hanker for is an
international conference to be sponsored
by Uncle Sam. Unless M. Van Zeeland
is a magician, or unforeseen develop
ments transpire, the Brussels statesman
who recently gave Fascism a knockout
blow will not encounter much enthusi
asm in the United States for an Amer
ican-called parley on economics, dis
armament or peace. "Hands off” Europe's
entangling business is the Roosevelt
slogan—until further notice, anyhow.
W1 ^ ^
Two biographies of Senator Norris,
Independent, of Nebraska are scheduled
for publication this year. One is by
Alfred Lief, who recently wrote a life
of Justice Brandeis. The other is the
work of Richard L. Neuberger and
Stephen B. Kahn, whose volume will be
entitled “Integrity: The Story of Oeorge
W. Norris.”
* * * *
Senator Holt, Democrat, of West Vir
ginia nearly threw a fit the other day
when his secretary breezed in with the
announcement that “John L. Lewis” had
written the baby Senator a warm letter
of commendation on Holt’s opposition
to the Supreme Court-packing plan.
After the West Virginian regained con
sciousness it was discovered that his
correspondent was not the bushy-haired
czar of the C. I. O., but a gentleman of
the same name who resides at Deposit,
N. Y., where he keeps an inn and runs
a farm.
* * * *
Jacob Ruppert, owner of the New York
Yankees. Is chairman of a new organ
ization called the United Brewers’ In
dustrial Foundation, which is about to
clear for action to preserve the beer in
dustry from the danger of a return of
prohibition. In an inaugural statement,
Mr. Ruppert declares that the brewing
trade ‘‘must recognize its social re
sponsibility, if it is to develop." It is
pretty generally admitted that the
ancient alliance between breweries and
the old-time saloon played a primary
role in producing conditions which
enabled Wayne B. Wheeler to put Uncle
Sam on the water wagon. It is the de
clared purpose of Mr. Ruppert and his
fellow-brewers henceforth “to align the
industry with every force working for
the public good.” Beer thus becomes the
ally of liquor in the effort to erect a
dike against another eighteenth amend
ment—a field of endeavor in which W.
Forbes Morgan, former treasurer of the
Democratic National Committee, has
Just been hired to exhibit his talents,
at $100,000 a year.
(Copt right, 1837.)
Concentrated Diet.
From the Muskegon Chronicle.
The wheel of a toy train was found
in the stomach of a Los Angeles lad. It
is one alternative to taking spinach for
iron.
4
ANSWERS TO
QUESTIONS
MY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.
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. Is golf an Instinctive game like
base ball?—H. V.
A. Henry Guilford Picard, professional
at the Hershey Country Club, states
that It Is not. He says that the swing
involves an unnatural movement of arms
and body which requires constant prac
tice and a sound grasp of basic principles.
Q. How long are most of the news
reels?—E. J.
A. The average news reel is approxi
mately 900 feet long.
Q. How many quarts of milk does it
take to make a pound of butter?—W. L.
A. It takes about 10 quarts of milk
averaging 3.9 per cent butterfat.
Q. Was Robert W. Chambers, the
author, an artist?—E. J.
A. He studied art in Paris from 1886
1893 and exhibited there. His illustra
tions appeared In Life, Truth, Vogue and
other magazines.
Q What is the name of the ship at
Annapolis which Is modeled after the
old Constitution?—C. V. B.
A. It is called the Constitution Junior.
It was built by a former Navy man and
used for training Sea Scouts, but now
has been given to the academy.
Q When was the first call issued for
a national suffrage association?—A. S.
A. It was in 1848. Elizabeth Cady
Stanton and Lucretia Mott Issued the
call, presided at the meeting and or
ganized the association.
Q. Why are spurs used in the corona
tion?—L. T.
A. The gold spurs with which the King
is presented are laid on the altar of
Westminster Abbey by his majesty to
show that, as head of the armed force
of the realm, he places that force at the
service of God.
Q Why are certain roses called tea
roses?—A. B. C.
A. They are called by that name be
cause they are descended by hybridiza
tion from two roses—Rosa chinensis and
Rosa gallica—which had a perfume
similar to that of tea.
Q. What was Edward Payson Weston s
vocation before he made a career of
walking and lecturing?—D. K.
A. In his youth he was a reporter on
the New York Herald. He first attracted
attention as a pedestrian when, at the
age of 22, he walked 443 miles in 208
hours to attend the Inauguration of
Abraham Lincoln.
Q Who were the 10 ministers who
founded Yale?—S. M. Y. •
A. There were 10 clergymen con
cerned in the establishment of Yale
University in 1701 at Branford near New
Haven. Their names were Israel
Chauncy of Stratford. Thos. Bucking
ham of Saybrook, Abraham Pierson of
Kenilworth, Samuel Andrew of Milford,
Jas. Pierpont of New Haven, Noadiah
Russell of Middletown, Joseph Webb of
Fairfield, Samuel Mather of Windsor,
Jas. Noyes of Stonlngton and Timothy
Woodbridge of Hartford.
Q. What is chamber music?—F. W.
A. It is any music suitable for a small
hall as distinct from music best adapted
for a large auditorium; instrumental
music in the sonata form for a small
group of string or wood-wind instru
ments, with or without piano.
Q. TOiat does the Hebrew word shal
om mean?—H. W.
A. It Is a watchword meaning “peace
to him who is far off and to him who is
near.”
Q. How many people died of the blaek
death during the scourge in Europe?—
F. E. M.
A. The disease raged in Europe and
Asia in the fourteenth century. It was
prevalent in England from August, 1348,
to Michaelmas, 1369. During this period
in some places two-thirds of the total
population died. Hecker estimates that
during the period of the black death
one-fourth of the population of Europe,
or 25,000,000 people, died in Europe alone.
Q. Please define weather—B. L.
A. It Is the condition of the atmos
phere at any time in respect to heat,
moisture, wind, rain, cloud and elec
tricity.
Q. Please give the origin 61 the Chil
dren’! Bureau of the Department of
Labor.—R. T.
A. The Children’s Bureau originated
in a suggestion made by Miss Lillian D.
Wald to President Theodore Roosevelt
in 1906 that there was need for a Fed
eral agency which would serve as a
center of authoritative information on
the problems of child life. The Presi
dent favored the plan and it was rec
ommended by more than 200 experts on
child care whom he summoned to Wash
ington in 190(5 for the White House Con
ference on Care of Dependent Children.
In his message to Congress that year the
recommendation was included. Senator
Borah sponsored the bill creating the
bureau, which was signed by President
William Howard Taft on April 9, 1912.
The late Julia C. Lathrop, first chief of
the Children's Bureau, was also the first
woman to be chief of a Federal bureau.
Q. When substituting cornstarch for
flour how much should be used?—
W. A. B.
A. About half as much cornstarch is
sufficient.
Q. What is the art of wood engraving
called?—L. M.
A. Besides the term wood engraving,
there is the modern term, xylography,
adapted from the Qreek.
A Rhyme at Twilight
By
Gertrude Brooke Hamilton.
April Song
Haunting, sweet and airy floats a melody
From some songster wary in a forest tree;
Blown by a wind-fairy all the way to me.
To a love-mate singing of the nesting
time;
After the long winging from a distant
clime
Ardent measures flinging into trilling
rhyme.
It would come, the thrilling thing of
which he sang,
Nests would soon be filling with a
fledgling gang;
. While with cooing, billing, all the forest
rang.