Evening star. [volume], May 31, 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_May 31, 1937
THEODORE W. NOYES.Editor
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Keeping; Faith.
Memorial day signifies something more
than mere remembrance of the martyred
dead. It should be an occasion of re
dedication for the living. The spirit of
Lincoln's Gettysburg address prompts
the annual commemoration, vitalizes the
rites and ceremonies which constitute
the sacred aspect of its program, gives
meaning and solemn importance to the
words men say and hear. Decorating
the graves of fallen soldiers and sailors
merely symbolizes the pledge of their
compatriots—the promise that the ideals
for which they sacrificed their lives
“shall not perish from the earth.”
And what are those ideals? The
Great Emancipator summarized them in
the phrase: "A new nation, conceived
in liberty and dedicated to the proposi
tion that all men are created equal.” He
stipulated further the duty of successive
generations to “highly resolve” that
“government of the people, by the people,
for the people,” shall survive. America,
he insisted, "shall have a new birth of
freedom.” The source of the necessary
“increased devotion,” he told posterity,
might be found in the example of "these
honored dead.”
Lincoln, obviously, was inspired in his
utterance. Deep understanding and deep
love of his country' filled his mind and
his heart as he spoke. Soon he, too, was
to give “the last full measure of devo
tion” that ‘he Nation might live. Destiny
already had marked him for immolation.
He walked in the shadow of his fate.
But when the assassin had struck, the
very horror of the deed served to ad
vantage the Union. North and South
both mourned the leader whose maxim
was: "With malice toward none, with
charity for all.”
It is with conscious recollection of the
past, then, that America should keep
Memorial day. Yet the preservation of
tradition is not enough. Renewed con
secration is demanded. This year many
thoughtful citizens believe that the
Nation is engaged in a struggle as im
portant as any conflict of long ago.
Alien doctrines are at work in the United
States, promoting class bitterness and
strife. Theoretically expedient reforms
are threatening the institutions estab
lished by the founders of the Republic.
Novel patterns of thought, untried
methods of procedure, adventurous ob
jectives are being loudly urged by par
tisan chiefs. Confusion prevails as never
before since the hour when the first
•hot W'as fired at Fort Sumter.
One thought, however, protides com
fort. America shall not fail, if it keeps
faith with the patriotic sons to whom
It pays homage on Memorial day. They
perished for the durable values of life,
the holy values. It would be treason to
Buggest that they suffered in vain.
Anxiety is felt by Congressmen lest the
Session be protracted into the Autumn.
That is not an altogether deplorable
prospect. It may be due to a revival of
the function of Congress to originate
end fully and carefully consider the
legislation for the enactment of which
It was established by the Constitution.
- ■ > i
A Washington man has been chosen
head of the American Society of Ma
gicians, which is quite appropriate, in
Mew of the “rabbit-out-of-a-hat” Fed
eral financing that has been in progress
in this city for a number of years.
Good Neighbor Pacts.
President Roosevelt has given the
Senate a practical chance to promote
Inter-American solidarity by prompt
ratification of the eight treaties and
conventions signed by the twenty-one
American republics at Buenos Aires. It
Will be a convincing demonstration of the
sincerity of the United States’ good
neighbor policy if the pacts receive from
the treaty-making branch of Congress
without undue delay the indorsement
which is necessary, as far as this coun
try is concerned, to give them effect and
purpose.
The hour has seldom been so propi
tious for action designed to fortify the
cause of peace throughout the Western
Hemisphere. The one latent danger to
tranquillity has evaporated with resump
tion of diplomatic relations between
Paraguay and Bolivia, following their
devastating war. In Brazil, where grave
political tension was threatened by
clashing presidential ambitions, there are
developments which minimize the peril
of strife over President Vargas’ succes
sion. The sister Americas generally have
their present being in an atmosphere of
uncommon calm. The time for sealing
the work of peace initiated in Argentina
last December is therefore ideal.
Four of the agreements pending in the
Foreign Relations Committee concern
co-ordination and improvement of inter
American peace machinery. Another,
and one of paramount importance from
the standpoint of our southern neigh
bors, reaffirms the doctrine of non
intervention in the internal or external
affairs of other states. The three re
maining pacts are of non-political
nature, being aimed at facilitating those
cultural and sentimental relations among
the peoples of all the Americas which
are the bedrock of understanding and
friendship.
Ungrudging ratification by the United
States is certain to encourage similar
action by the Central and South Amer
ican governments, especially those which
for one reason or another are reluctant
to move speedily. President Roosevelt
struck the right note, in his message
transmitting the agreements to the Sen
ate, when he said that it is “particularly
fitting that the United States should be
among the first American governments’’
to place the final seal of approval on
these instruments of Pan-American good
neighborliness. From many standpoints
it is a psychological moment for our
leadership in that direction. The oppor
tunity should not be missed or its poten
tial benefits impaired by unnecessary
procrastination.
Sauce for the Gander.
The National Labor Relations Board,
created by the Wagner act, has a big
job on its hands handling disputes be
tween employers of industrial labor and
the workers. It may have a tougher
task, however, in settling disputes be
tween two militant organizations of
labor, the American Federation of Labor
and the Committee for Industrial Or
ganization. The warfare developing be
tween these two organizations, a war
apparently without quarter, seems bound
to lead to stoppage of work. There
were enough jurisdictional controversies
between labor unions before the C. I. O.
ventured into the troubled waters. So
far the national board has not under
taken to mingle in the strife between
the two major organizations, and if it
did it might find itself seriously em
barrassed.
Only the other day a report came from
Chicago that an organizer or worker
employed by the A. F. of L. had been
fired by William Green, or presumably
by him. The reason given was that
this worker had counseled the news
paper guild to join with the C. I. O.,
arch enemy of the A. F. of L. According
to the report, this worker had appealed
to the Labor Relations Board to compel
the A. F. of L. to reinstate him. A
pretty kettle of fish! Other workers
who have been discharged by private
employers have sought reinstatement
through appeal to the board, and their
cases have been taken up. If the board
undertakes to force the A. F. of L. to
re-employ a discharged worker, doubt
less the fur will fly.
It is becoming increasingly apparent
that under the operation of the Wagner
labor relations act, it is a simple matter
for employers to hire workers. It is
another thing for them to get rid of
them, whether for inefficiency or what
not. It is one thing for an employer
to charge inefficiency or disloyalty. It
is another thing to prove such charges.
Furthermore, the burden of proof is ap
parently placed upon the employer.
Such cases—and there might be many
for a single employer—may occupy time
and cause considerable expenditure to
carry them through. An employer may
come to the conclusion that the game is
not worth the candle, that it is easier
to let an inefficient worker stay on the
job, although it cost him money.
One solution may be found in greater
discipline exercised by the labor unions
themselves over their own members. If
the unions refuse to tolerate inefficiency
or malingering on the part of individual
members a real cure for a lot of trouble
between employers and workers may be
found.
The Wagner labor relations act has
been declared constitutional by the
Supreme Court of the United States.
Under it t/ie employers are required to
deal collectively with their employes.
Even friends of labor are critical of the
act on the ground that it is too one
sided. Amendments are needed, unless
chaotic conditions are to result, they
say. Up to the present time legislation
has been designed more and more to
free labor. The employer, it now' ap
pears, is likely to need protection, and
that protection should be given by law
if necessary.
Jefferson Memorial projects continue
to run into difficulties. The cherry tree
question in respect to the Washington
site has been succeeded by an engineer
ing problem at St. Louis, where it is
proposed to erect a tower 2,500 feet high,
an altitude so great as to set a nearly
impossible task for future world fair
feature designers who strive in turn to
break altitude records in steel.
-- ' > i -■ - ■ ■ —
An adverse report on the President's
Supreme Court bill by the Judiciary
Committee may result in the rare phe
nomenon of a filibuster to prevent action
conducted by the side favorable to pas
sage, which would establish a new
precedent not to be explained on the
score of human ages.
At Eighty.
Pope Pius XI at eighty is a figure
noble in virtue and beautiful in service
to God and man alike. Christians of
every school of thought join in recog
nition of his generous idealism and his
anxiety for the practical application of
its dynamic of love to the problems of
the world. He has won the respect and
admiration of Protestants as well as
Catholics throughout the earth for the
devotion to the Prince of Peace which
he has manifested all his life. A pontiff
utterly dedicated to equity and justice,
he merits universal praise at the moment
when he celebrates the completion of
eight decades of existence.
The period in which Pope Pius oc
cupies the papal throne is, certainly, one
of turmoil and strife. In Russia, Ger
many, Spain and Mexico the Church
has suffered grievous losses since his
election; in every country, indeed, the
revolutionary aftermath of the World
War has cost the cause of Christ de
feats hard to bear. Yet religion is not
dying. Rather, the contrary is true.
Men are more spiritually mature at the
present hour than they were In 1914
when Armageddon dawned. The agony
through which they have passed—still
are passing—has cleansed the souls of
whole communities. For example, there
is a wonderful hope for unity operative
everywhere today; the scattered forces
of Christianity are learning to co
operate.
j And for this gain Pope Pius deserves
a large measure of credit. He has borne
himself so distinctively, so mercifully,
that those who ordinarily might refuse
his leadership have been proud to ac
claim him. A scholar, deeply read, and
a philosopher, skilled in science, he
would challenge attention in any field
of effort. That he chose to pledge his
talents to God is something for which
mankind in general is grateful. Granted
that the times have been difficult, the
Holy Father nevertheless has worked
miracles of healing. He has been a good
physician to the whole human family.
It delights to honor him—because it
loves him.
One of the cherished souvenirs of
Stephen Collins Foster to be preserved
in the half-million-dollar memorial just
erected at Pittsburgh and about to be
dedicated will be the pocketbook of the
poet composer, found among his effects
after his death. It contained just thirty
eight cents, the sum of Foster’s fortune.
Perhaps if he had had the half million
dollars his memorial has cost he would
not have written the folk classics that
have earned him the fame worthy of
this eloquent architectural appreciation.
Delegates to the twenty-seventh na
tional conference on weights and meas
ures are gathering in Washington. It is
not expected that the program will in
clude discussions on such questions as
"how big is a budget?,’’ "does a seventy
five-year brain weigh more than a sixty
five-year one?” or "how can the num
ber of jobless people be determined
without counting?”
The eclipse of the sun a week from
Tuesday will have a totality period of
seven minutes, the longest duration of
utter darkness for more than a thousand
years, the astronomers declare. They
are quite safe in thus challenging the
"I remember when" folks who are prone
to elaborate their recollections, especial
ly in long-range memories.
Shooting Stars.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
Good Intentions.
Good intentions we know
Have as paving appeared
In the Realms Far Below,
By each sinner still feared.
We d avoid if we could
This epitaph sad:
"His intentions were good,
But his judgment was bad.”
In historical lore
We are called to repent
Of the doings of yore
That at first were well'meant,
And the line we repeat
In some grave's leafy bow'r—
"His intentions were sweet,
But his judgment was sour.”
News and Names.
“You are aware, of course, that names
make news,” said the highly advisory
friend.
“Yes,” answered Senator Sorghum,
“especially the kind of names people
call one another when they get thor
oughly out of temper."
Pictorial Preference.
He talked incessantly of art,
But most admired the graceful skill
With which engravers can impart
Fair meaning to a dollar bill.
Jud Tunkins says when a friend needs
a little doctoring he never worries much
until it is found necessary to call in
some kind of an ’ologist.
“You say love one another,” said Hi
Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “yet you
attempt reforms that provoke quarrels
that extend from the family circle to
the nations of the world.”
Cheerful Listener.
“What is your favorite feature on the
radio?”
“I like every thing that comes along,”
said Miss Cayenne. “Sometimes I
approve even of the static for interrupt
ing something that threatens to become
dull.”
Gentleman’s Game.
We really like the good old game
And Uncle Sam admires the same.
We're not impatient when we lose
And take each other’s I. O. U's.
Yet no game's proper, none deny,
When somebody is always shy.
“Anybody kin change his mind,” said
Uncle Eben, “but he's gotter be high an’
important to make folks think de change
makes much difference.”
The World’s Hardest Job.
From the South Bend Tribune.
The man named premier of Spain with
instructions to win the war is the sixth
to receive, that assignment since last
Summer. Does he have a good insomnia
remedy?
Legal Advice.
Front the Salem (Mass.) News.
The people are urged to inform them
selves more thoroughly about the laws.
The information that many want is how
to get around them.
Radio Gagsters.
From the Muskegon Chronicle.
Radio jokesters who yell because their
gags are stolen ought to be glad that
most of them are credited to some one
else.
A Post-Farley Lapse.
From the Indianapolis News.
A letter addressed to a resident of
Spokane, from Montpelier, Ind„ was nine
years getting to its destination, and Far
ley cant be blamed for all the delay. *
M
Sales Tax Is the Fairest
And Most Easily Collected
To the Editor of The Star:
The District of Columbia in its taxing
methods is unlike most other jurisdic
tions. For the purposes of taxation a
very large part of the population is alien.
Many thousands of the persons living in
Washington are foreign as regards its
upkeep. The owners of real property
must contribute to the conveniences and
pleasures of urban life that these peo
ple enjoy.
In some instances these foreigners buy
and own their homes and must contrib
ute to the taxing funds, but this is the
exception rather than the rule. The
owners of automobiles must pay the tax
on them and on the gas they use. Many,
perhaps the majority of these persons,
live in crowded quarters on the least pos
sible investment. They enjoy the use of
streets and parks and have police protec
tion furnished by property owners.
There are few if any of the States
where any privately owned property is
exempt from taxation. The incomer
from a State may bring a carload of fur
niture upon which he has paid with reg
ularity an annual tax and finds it to be
tax free here. The District is possibly
the only jurisdiction where household
goods under a value of $1,000 are exempt
from taxes. The usual State rates as
sessed on the household goods of resi
dents of this city would perhaps meet
all delinquencies in expenditures.
The District is, it Is believed, the only
jurisdiction where the return of property
for taxation is left entirely to the volun
tary action of the property owner. In all
the States the small political divisions
have assessors and taxing officers whose
business it is to interview every property
owner and see that no property escapes
its just proportion of the burden. As it
is here much property may escape the
burden without any evil intent on the
part of the owner.
The sales tax is the most fair and rea
sonable of all methods of taxation. There
is no escape from the duty thus imposed;
there can be no "tax dodgers.” Each
purchaser of goods, not exempt, must
make the required contribution and the
burden is thus broadly distributed. It is
the only method by which the otherwise
tax-free citizen may be compelled to con
tribute to the upkeep of the urban ad
vantages so generously provided.
Some merchants may say that this will
drive persons to the nearby places beyond
the District lines to buy goods. But this
is more than answered by a correspond
ing relief from the tax burdens the mer
chants are now called upon to bear.
Residents who should go elsewhere to
buy ran only be classed with "tax
dodgers.”
The reasonableness of the system is
found in the fact that the amounts are
small and payable without accumula
tion. It is the one tax system with the
motto "pay as you go.” It is self-adjust
able in that the wealthy naturally buy
more than those less wealthy and all are
free from oppression.
The resident foreigner's plaintive plea
of “bark home" expenses cannot be so
much as a persuasive argument against
this proposed system.
J. W. THOMPSON.
New Fields of Opportunity
For Rugged Individualists
To the Editor ot The Star:
John D. Rockefeller exemplified rugged
individuality in the highest degree. He
strenuously devoted the full measure of
his powers and faculties to material ex
ploitation and the acquisition of un
matched individual wealth. His per
sonal fortune exceeded that of any other
single individual in the annals of the
human race.
When we extol rugged individuality as
an American ideal, our meaning is
limited chiefly to industrial, business and
financial enterprises, and the accumula
tion of great wealth. Rugged individual
ity finds an unlimited field for its outlet
in a new country like ours has been up
to now, with unlimited and undeveloped
resources.
But after our frontiers have been
reached and overrun, and the wealth of
the Nation concentrated in the hands
of a few individuals, rugged individuality
must be curbed, lest the mammoth for
tunes of the few absorb the larger por
tion of the wealth of the Nation and the
less well endowed, and less capacious
fellow citizens be reduced to a state of
sufferance, dependent upon the gratis
grace and goodness of the highly favored
and more fortunate few. The ruthless
rugged individual now finds himself
under the ban of public disapproval and
restraint of laws and regulations which
the community has imposed for its own
self-protection. Our country may prob
ably never again see a John D. Rocke
feller, an Andrew Carnegie or a Henry
Ford.
But rugged individuality does not
necessarily confine itself to industry,
commerce or financial pursuits. Other
fields of human enterprise challenge the
most strenuous exercise of the highest
powers and faculties with which human
nature is endowed. The sphere of re
ligion, politics, adventure, science, art,
philanthropy and human service arouse
the most strenuous energies and quicken
the liveliest enthusiasm.
The larger the number who devote
their powers and talents to social and
human service, the greater will be the
gain for mankind. The field is unlimited
and the opportunities are appealing. In
the great enterprise of human adven
ture the frontiers can never be reached.
KELLY MILLER.
Abattoir Not Objectionable
To Benning Neighborhood
To the Editor of The Star:
I have often wondered if the beggars,
ragged, hungry and dirty, couched out
side the beautiful cathedrals in foreign
countries thought them as beautiful as
the sailors and marines out on a jaunt
seeing the sights?
The Benning abattoir will give work
to about 500 men and women; it was in
dorsed by the Benning Citizens’ Associa
tion, composed of some who have made
their living at the slaughter house since
1877. It was indorsed by the Central
Labor Union of Washington. The plans
for the new abattoir were approved by
the Department of Agriculture and it
will be under strict Government super
vision. As for pollution, the five sewers
from Prince Georges County, Md„ that
empty into the Eastern Branch and flow
under Benning Bridge are more dan
gerous to health than all the modern
abattoirs could ever be.
Of course, some citizens’ associations
seven miles away objected to the abat
toir, but some of their-apartment houses
are none to pure. Why throw stones?
The location of the abattoir is un
suited for fine residences, it is surrounded
by a big freight yard, two railroads, feed
ing pens for all live stock going north, a
junk yard, two storage yards for poles,
old railway cars, cable spools, cinders; a
grain elevator, coal storage, two packing
houses. It is only 20 feet above sea
level. Few from the Northwest, either
white or colored, would move out there.
It is a mile from the colored Government
housing project, tenants of which would
rather have a job than relief. The Gov
ernment spending cannot go on forever.
JOHN RIGGLES.
Sea brook, Md ^
)
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.
Violets and buttercups are supposed to
interest children only, but many an
adult gardener might pay attention to
them with profit.
These may be common flowers, but
they are immortalized In the popular
songs of the past.
Many will recall “Every Morn I Bring
Thee Violets” and “Dear Little Butter
cup,” the latter one of the favorite mel
odies of “Pinafore.”
These small flowers, nestling in the
grass, are minor but nevertheless beau
tiful melodies in the great plant sym
phony of nature, in which the peony,
the iris, the rose and the gladiolus pre
sent major strains.
Some will love the smaller flowers and
birds, in preference to the greater and
showier.
It is possible to have all of them, at
least in little, rather than to possess just
a few of the larger.
* * * *
Many persons cut themselves off from
some of the best benefits of flower gar
dening by a mental attitude of indiffer
ence toward minor creations.
This attitude not only deprives its
holder of countless small beauties, but
above all helps create a frame of mind
which, extending itself over larger areas,
as such things always do, results in in
tolerance on a wide scale.
The total of these petty indifferences
and misjudgments is far greater than
the sum of the parts.
It is the same with music.
Every one will understand this when
It is applied to music.
Consider one of the new electrical
recordings of a beautiful voice, a fine
orchestra, singing a singularly effective
and melodious song.
Here we have four component parts,
the record itself, the voice, the orchestra
and the song.
The grand result, however, is far
greater than the sum of these four.
There is a quality in the music which
brings honest tears of appreciation to
the sensitive listener.
Music Is like that. It has that power.
Real music, that is. I
* * * *
The home gardener who keeps his
eyes open for the lesser notes in the
plant symphony will always nave a
real advantage.
Many flower "voices” will sing to him
which are never heard by others.
Among these, the violet and buttercup
melodies are far from least.
Some persons even manage to find
beauty In the humble dandelion, which
has grown to the proportions of a lawn
nuisance.
If there is beauty in the bright yellow
of these, surely it Is to be found in the
humble buttercups, which belong to an
ancient and noble plant family.
Wise householders will refrain from
running the lawn mower over them
while they are in bloom.
It is true that the stalks are somewhat
straggly, but the fine little cups of yellow
are not to be despised, and do not last
very long, after all.
There will be plenty of time to mow
them down later, when the mowing will
do the plants no harm.
Enjoy while they bloom the humble
buttercups, lowly but beautiful in their
season. They are to be desired par
ticularly around stonework of any kind,
where they find themselves very much
at home.
“Just weeds,” some one says.
Just weeds!
It is a phrase which has done a great
deal of harm to flower appreciation, in
its time, and probably will continue to
do so as long as man gardens.
This has its good and bad side. A weed
is simply a plant out of place for human
purposes. There can be no argument
that many such plants do a great deal
of harm to man’s legitimate aims.
The dandelion, for instance, is not a
desirable lawn plant.
Its rosette of leaves blankets the
ground and prevents grass from grow
ing up. Then when the dandelion leaves
expire, at long last, as a famous person
said, a bare spot is left.
Actually the dandelion is a fine plant,
and that is the other side. While weed
fighting helps man in certain aims, it
tends to make a person suspicious of
many good plants which have no other
fault than being out of place. Too
luxuriant growers, in other words.
If we keep in mind that weeds, after
all, are plants, and most often splendid
specimens, growing well under the most
adverse conditions, we may save our
selves much garden worry, and build
up a splendid frame of mind w’hich is
useful in all walks, not alone in the
garden.
* * * *
Common violets, the kind with pretty
little flowers, but very little fragrance,
are regarded by many gardeners as
weeds, pure and simple.
They ruthlessly dig up and throw
away all specimens. Then they go to
the catalogues, and order seeds of Rus
sian or other violets!
The common sorts grow well and
spread so rapidly that they will over
flow the garden in short order, but
surely these qualities cannot be held
against them. They are precisely the
qualities we desire in the rarer and
more exotic things. Let us honor them
wherever found.
This attitude will permit many a violet
to grow In the fence corner, around
stones and In that shady spot at the
rear or side of the garage. Many bare
places where few other things thrive
will be covered over completely within
two or three years.
“Confederate violets,” as they are
sometimes called, are special favorites
of many persons living hereabouts.
These blossoms are pale white, so
light as to be grayish, with fleck of light
blue in them.
They are beautiful flowers and deserve
all the love that many persons give
them.
Few of the wild violets have much
fragrance, a loss, indeed, since the odor
of the flower is uppermost in song and
story.
Still, one cannot have everything. The
common wild sorts are to be respected
for the good qualities they have, rather
than bemoaned for those they lack.
This is another good attitude, which,
attained in little things, may be carried
on to the greater as life goes on, but
w'hich, if not built up in little, scarcely
ever can blossom forth later.
It may be that many of the things we
deprecate in modern life, deeds which
at times seem other than human, are
the sad results of lack of training in
the little things. Certainly the person
who naturally admires violets and but
tercups has a certain advantage in life
out of all proportion to the smallness
of the things involved.
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE.
Signs pile up that there'll be the
toughest kind of struggle over the Con
nery-Black labor standards bill. Slice
it as thin as you please, it still smacks
strongly of what A1 Smith would call the
old N. R A. "baloney.” No matter how
regulation of hours and wages is hedged
in, the plan also savors of what Justice
Cardozo. when blasting the wide powers
given to Blue Eagle code authorities,
termed "delegation run riot.” Finally,
from many quarters, the proposition is
assailed as outright Fascist in trend.
Apart from the constitutional snarls into
which the project thus is almost certain
to run, it faces prompt and bitter con
gressional vicissitudes. Announced Amer
ican Federation of Labor opposition of
itself guarantees plenty of strife at the
Capitol. The placing of labor of all
classes on the same level conjures up
the possibility of hostility from Dixie's
spokesmen. So, on constitutional and
regional lines, to say nothing of the
divergent views of union leaders, the bill
is headed for a stormy career as it
bounces into the legislative hopper.
* * * *
For the first time, the reading public
is to have a peep at the kind of letters
Uncle Sam's children are addicted to
writing to the President of the United
States. Mr. Roosevelt's mail is different
from that of any preceding occupant of
the White House, mainly because of his
radio fireside chats and the voluminous
"fan” communications, pro and con,
which they produce. Ben Whitehurst,
former chief of the correspondence divi
sion of the Federal Emergency Relief
Administration and W. P. A., has col
lected a great batch of F. D. R.’s letters,
both humorous and troubled in content,
received from citizens in all parts of
the country. They will be published in
volume form this Summer under the
title “Dear Mr. President.”
+ *
Because of relief and economy debates
in Congress, about to set in on an in
tensified scale, special interest attaches
to figures just cited by Senator Byrd,
Democrat, of Virginia on the current
cost of government. Defending his de
mand for abandonment of the Shenan
doah Park homesteads, a resettlement
project designed to spend $1,500,000 in
his own community, the Virginian argues
that economy, like charity, should Legin
at home. To bulwark his indictment of
governmental waste, Senator Byrd cites
the present grand army of 1.466.2C3 reg
ular Federal employes, which represents
one out of every 80 citizens. The total
pay roll for Federal, State and local
employes in 1935, he says, was $5,679,
000.000, or 10 per cent of the national
income. The Senator claims that new
Federal employes are being hired at
the rate of 100 a day. Byrd’s general
charge is that “the most wasteful and
bureaucratic form of government in
American history now exists in Wash
ington.”
* * * *
When age limits are under discussion
in Congress during the fight over the
judiciary bill, some one is likely to ,'ise
up and point out that President Roose
velt’s inhibitions about the value of men
in the lean and slippered years are not
shared by Great Britain. Prime Min
ister Neville Chamberlain, who has just
taken office, is in his 69th year, while
Stanley Baldwin, whom he succeeds,
achieved his supfc ne political triumph,
the preservation of co.nstitutional au
thority in the abdicatioil| crisis, on the
verge of 70. Sir Johm Simon, Mr.
Chamberlain’s second ini command, as
chancellor of the exchequer, la 64. The
lord chancellor, .Vlaooua^F Hlflaham, la
65. Several other “oldsters” in the new
ministry are well along in the 60s.
Incidentally, it's a 67-year-old judge in
Westchester County, New York, who has
just given an epochal “liberal” decision,
permitting the youth of Yonkers to wear
shorts in public. His ruling lays down
the doctrine that “the Constitution still
leaves some opportunity for people to
be foolish, if they so desire.”
* * * *
Secretary Hull derives lively satisfac
tion from the beneficial results already
produced by the reciprocal trade agree
ment with Canada. During 1936 our
imports from the Dominion increased
$92,000,000 to a total of $378,000,000,
while Canada bought from us a total
of $370,000,000, or $57,000,000 more than
in 1935. In each case, import gains sub
stantially exceeded such increases from
all other countries combined. Recovery
on both sides of the border, drought con
ditions and rising prices were contribu
tory factors in boosting Canadian
American trade toward old-time levels.
♦ * * *
Recently the Roosevelt Supreme Court
plan was the paramount issue in a
Pennsylvania congressional by-election
and resulted in a big gain in the Repub
lican vote. New York State Republicans
apparently derive encouragement from
that event. It’s announced that the
judiciary scheme will be utilized as major
campaign material in the forthcoming
G. O. P. attempt to retain control of
the Assembly. There is now a bare 76
to-74 Republican margin in the lower
branch at Albany. Efforts will be con
centrated on winning six seats in popu
lous upstate counties.
* * * *
West Virginia is so liberally repre
sented in the new Federal Coal Com
mission that amusing suggestions are
forthcoming to change its name io the
“West Virginia National Bituminous
Coal Commission.” Two of the seven
commissioners and the secretary of the
body are from the Panhandle State.
There might have been a fourth West
Virginian in the outfit, if Charles Brooks
Smith, Washington correspondent of a
group of prominent State papers, had
succumbed to an inviting offer to become
director of public relations for the
agency created by the Guffey act. After
44 years of uninterrupted pursuit of the
nimble item, Smith preferred to stick
to his trade.
(Copyright, 1P37.)
Washingtonians Lucky to
Be Americans in 1937
To the Editor of The Star:
Are we Washington-Amerieans not
fortunate vs. London-English residents?
For, it is now unlawful in London to buy
a loaf of bread after 10 o'clock Sunday
morning. Cut flowers may be purchased
but no potted plants on Sunday in
London. It is also illegal !n London on
Sunday to take home ice cream in con
tainers. London drug stores are for
bidden to sell anything but medicine on
Sunday. Londoners may buy candy dur
ing Sunday, but no meat or tobacco. We
Americans really don't realize how lucky
we are to be Americans in 1937. Certain
Americans who have made great for
tunes in the United States and have
made investments in London pay per
sonal income taxes to England but none
to Uncle Sam. Englishmen pay no
taxes to the United States on their
American investments or incomes there
from. W. E. RYAN.
ANSWERS TO
QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. U 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 long has Judge Keno.saw M.
Landis been czar of base ball?—E. F.
A. Judge Landis was chosen in 1920
to act as commissioner of professional
base ball.
Q. How much cotton can one man
pick in a day?—M. A.
A. The Bureau of Plant Industry has
a record of 800 pounds of cotton picked
by one man in one day. However, the
Bureau of Agricultural Economics has
gathered evidence that there have been
men who under unusually favoraole con
ditions have picked as much as 1,500
pounds in one day. This necessitates
good weather and a large number of
bolls ripening at the same time.
Q In what part of the refrigerator ‘
should beer be kept?—G. L.
A. It should be placed on the bottom
shelf away from the cooling unit. It
should not be too cold. About 40 to 42
degrees F. is the proper temperature at
which to serve beer.
Q. What were some of the best-known
cartoons of the late Clare Briggs?—H. W.
A. They include When a Feller Needs
a Friend, Ain't It a Grand and Glorious
Feeling. Somebody Is Always Taking the
Joy Out of Life, In the Days of Real
Sport and That Guiltiest Feeling.
Q. Who was the first physician in the
United States to inoculate for smallpox?
—W. R.
A. Zabdiel Boylston was the first in
America. In an epidemic of smallnox
in 1721 he was persuaded by Cotton
Mather to inoculate. Beginning with his
sons and slaves he inoculated in all 241
persons, of whom but six died. Public
sentiment was against Boylston and
Mather and attempts were made to bomb
the latter's house.
—
Q. Why are water bugs called Croton
bugs?—W. F.
A. At the time that the Croton aque
duct began to supply water to New York
City. roa:nes became numerous in the
city. They were, therefore, called Croton
bugs.
Q What are some of the special
events of the Rhododendron Festival at
Asheville, North Carolina?—S. F. G.
A. The fourth annual military ball will
be held on June 15. On June 16 the
rhododendron parade and pageant will
take place; June 17, the baby parade and
coronation ball; June 18. the mutt dog
parade, jesters’ revel and sponsors' ball.
Tours of the flowering areas will close
the fete on June 19.
Q. What is the name of the alphabet
ordinarily used in writing and printing
Sanskrit?—C. C.
A. Devanagarl.
Q. What book won the Theodore
Roosevelt Memorial Award?—E. M.
A. The award of $2,500 for a book
manuscript by a new author on social,
economic, political or international
phases of American problems has been
presented to Dean Alfange, a New York
attorney,, for his book. "The Supreme
Court and the National Will.”
Q. How early was jazz music intro
duced in Chicago?—T. L.
A. Joseph K. Gorham is said to have
brought a jazz band from the South to
a cafe in Chicago in 1915.
Q. When is the international popula
tion congress to meet?—H. T.
A. The fourth general assembly of
the International Union for the Scien
tific Investigation of Population Prob
lems will meet in Paris on July 29, 1937.
Q. What is the Holy Ghost flower?—
H. W\
A. It is a Central American orchid
with fragrant white, sometimes purple,
spotted flowers thought to resemble a
dove. It is also called the dove flower
or the Holy Spirit plant.
Q Who founded Ocean Citv. Mary
land?—^ R.
A. It was founded in 1879 by Simon
Lake.
Q. Is stainless steel ever used for mon
uments?— F. R.
A. The first sculpture in the round of
any considerable size executed in stain
less steel will be placed on the promenade
of the new Astoria Pool in Queens, The
two sixteen-foot statues, each consisting
of 125 separate pieces, were designed by
Emil Siebern.
Q. What organization offered a prize
for a substitute for the word hors
d'oeuvre?—C. H,
A. Last February the Midwest Hotel
Show offered a silver loving cup and a
cash award for a suitable name. It was
announced that the contest was a failure
as none of the suggestions was good
enough.
Q. How old Is Philip Gibbs?—S. K.
A. Sir Philifj Gibbs was born In 1877,
so will celebrate his 60th birth anni
versary this year.
Q. What is the best kind of floors for
a building in which wild animals are to
be kept captive?—L. J.
A. A form of silica composition used
in the Zoos in Washington and Chicago
is preferred by experts, who are now
definitely opposed to concrete, which
was once thought to be superior to wood.
Q. Whv is Bond street so famous?—
H. W.
A. Sir Thomas Bond started building
the famous London street about 1688 and
it became the home of many well-known
people, including Sterne. Boswell, Nelson,
Lady Hamilton and Swift. It is now
particularly noted for its fashionable
shops.
Q. What is the official name of West
minster Abbey?—B. S.
A. It is the Abbey, Church of St. Peter,
Westminster.
A Rhyme at Twilight
By
Gertrude Brooke Hamilton.
Be of Good Cheer
How can I face the morrow
When confused by poignant grief,
Bowed down by such deep sorrow
Friendship offers no relief,
By darkness overtaken,
Thrown on a desolate strand,
Seeming by all forsaken
Though I need a guiding hand?
Fear not, child. Men forsake you
While tempests ’round you blow;
The turbid storms o'ertake you
And sorrow lays you low;
Your bark, It may be stranded
On rocks that overwhelm—
Fear not. You will be landed.
God’s hand Is on tha helm I ^
v