Evening star. [volume], June 16, 1937, Page A-10, Image 10

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

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THE EVENING STAR
With Sunday Morning Edition.
WASHINGTON. D. C.
WEDNESDAY_June 16, 1937
THEODORE W. NOYES......Editor
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All rights of publication of special dispatches
herein are also reserved.
Needed Revisions.
As this is written a majority of the
members of the House District Com
mittee, undeterred by the votes on Mon
day, seems determined to present the
omnibus tax bill to the House on one
condition only: That members of Con
gress vote either to tax themselves under
a local income tax, or to invite the
ridicule of the country by exempting
themselves and a handful of highly
paid Federal employes from a tax which
they are not required to pay at home.
Whether the Rules Committee will ac
cept that condition is apparently to be
decided today, but the District Commit
tee seems unreasonably insistent on a
tax measure which offers many diffi
culties and inequities under the condi
tions peculiar to the District of Columbia.
If the special rule is granted and
the bill comes up tomorrow, or if the
District Committee wisely withdraws it
—as it should—for further amendment,
there are important changes which
should be made.
1. If the income tax is retained, with
or without taxation of Congressmen and
a few favored Federal employes, it
should be substituted, as originally pro
posed, for the tax on intangibles. The
fear that the income tax might be
declared invalid is no excuse for re
taining the tax on intangibles.
2. It is doubtful if there is another
tax anywhere similar to the business
privilege—gross receipts tax hurriedly
written and dumped into this omnibus
bill, manifestly without careful study of
Its effects. A blanket tax on "gross re
ceipts”—not gross income—with no ex
emptions and applied without regard to
the nature of the business taxed is an
unheard of proposition.
The bill is apparently modeled in part
on the West Virginia sales tax. But
the West Virginia sales tax applies, in
the majority of cases, to "gross income,"
not gross receipts. It contains many
necessary exemptions and allowances,
providing at the outset a tax exemption
of $25 for individuals, thus sparing the
“little fellow.” Its rates are fixed in ac
cordance with the nature of the business
taxed. Its definitions are specific, while
those in the District version of the bill
Invjte ambiguous interpretations. This
bill should be killed outright or revised
to make it a reasonable sales tax. As
It is, it is probably unworkable and
certainly unfair. While some amend
ments were hurriedly drawn yesterday
afternoon by members of the House Dis
trict Committee, in an attempt to remedy
eome defects in the measure previously
pointed out by The Star, the bill is sus
pect as written and deserves a section
by-section scrutiny of all provisions.
3. The automobile weight tax should
be applied to the avoidance of the deficit
tn the general fund, and not applied
exclusively to the highway fund, where
there is no deficit. The automobile
(weight tax was originally proposed and
has always been considered as a sub
ititute for the existing personal prop
erty tax on automobiles. It should be
made a substitute tax—not an addi
tional tax.
4. The inheritance tax seems to have
been so carelessly drawn as to remain
full of loopholes for avoidance—not
evasion—of the tax by wealthy persons,
While taking its grab from small in
heritances. The estate tax, on the other
hand, has always been proposed here
as a method of obtaining for the District
the eighty per cent credit allowable
fender the Federal tax of 1926 and the
estate tax seems well and simply drawn
.with the exception of its failure to give
credit for inheritance taxes paid in the
District. But the inheritance tax should
fee abandoned, for the yield is relatively
Insignificant, or else rewritten to close
''Its loopholes, with reliance for revenue
placed on the estate tax.
The perfection or even the near per
fection of a complicated, eighty page tax
bill on the floor of the House is not an
Inviting prospect—either for the House
or for the local taxpayer. Therefore the
work of correction should be done in
committee.
Lath or Iron?
Although Stalin's firing squad guns
feave temporarily ceased to rumble, the
Jolley that sent Marshal Tukhachevsky
End seven other generals to their doom
is likely to reverberate for a long time.
Already Europe is speculating upon the
political effects of the revelation that
the mighty Russian military machine is
honeycombed, if not with treason, as
the Kremlin alleges, at least with dis
cord that throws tell-tale light on the
state of discipline and morale in the
red army. That is a development which
can have serious and far-reaching re
sults not only for the Soviet Union, but
for countries like Germany and Japan,
iwith their undisguised expectations of
En eventual clash wTith the colossal armed
Establishment created by the U. S. S. R.
Leaving aside the question of the guilt
1
or innocence of the executed military
leaders, as to which the gravest differ
ence of opinion persists, it is manifest
that Russia as an international factor
is profoundly weakened by the wave of
•'purges” sweeping across the Soviet land
and engulfing virtually every branch of
governmental and industrial life. With
twenty-eight death sentences just car
ried out in Siberia as punishment for
alleged sabotage on the Amur railroad,
the known total of persons condemned
and shot during the past year, in the
drive to “liquidate” the regime's internal
foes, mounts to 151. As the Soviet's
influence is derived primarily from its
ability to throw tremendous military
weight into the world scales, Moscow's
authority and prestige are incalculably
curtailed by disclosures that Russian
prowess no longer rests upon that united
striking or defensive force that was sup
posed to exist. Soviet power, in one
of Bismarck's famous idioms, begins to
loom as a lath painted to look like iron.
Of paramount interest is the extent
to which Nazi Germany may venture to
capitalize Russian paralysis. The con
sequences for France are particularly
vital. Her foreign policy, especially with
respect to the Reich, is founded pri
marily on the alliance with the Soviet
and plans for joint military operations
in the event of war. With a Russia
bared as faction-torn from end to end
of its sprawling domain, Hitler may well
reckon that the hour is dawning when
he can risk an armed struggle for ex
pansion of German territory and power
in Eastern Europe, at the avowed ex
pense of Russia, as he has foreshadowed
in unabashed terms. Japan may harbor
similar thoughts.
Momentarily these matters remain
within the sphere of speculation. One
thing is indubitably clear—that the
Soviet Union will no longer rate as the
dependable phalanx of military strength
which it claims to be. Far from being
a rock of invincibility, against which
Russia's foes would hurl themselves at
their certain peril, the red army is sud
denly unmasked as an institution shot
through and through with dissensions
which not only stamp it as vulnerable,
but may tempt covetous neighbors to
attack, with hitherto unexpected hopes
of easy victory.
■ '■ .— » I — I ■
Tax Rate and Assessment.
From the standpoint of tax burden
comparisons with other cities, Wash
ington has suffered because of its low
tax rate. Critical members of Congress
frequently refer to a rate of two or three
dollars at home, compared with the $1.50
prevailing in Washington, and conse
quently draw utterly misleading conclu
sions.
Of course, the tax rate standing alone
is no measure of the real estate or any
other tax burden. The tax rate must
be coupled with the assessment stand
ard. or the prevailing ratio of assessed
to full value of property, before it has
any meaning at all. And the often neg
lected factor in connection with Wash
ington's low. nominal tax rate is the
extraordinary thoroughness with which
real estate in Washington is assessed for
taxation.
Elsewhere in today's Star an article by
two Government experts, who have been
making a survey on a Nation-wide scale
of the ratio of assessed to full value,
reveals the results of their study in the
District of Columbia. They were im
pressed by the fact that assessments for
taxation here come near equaling the
real value, or “full value,” of property.
And the reason they were impressed was
that Washington enjoys, or possibly suf
fers, the unique distinction of being
one of the few cities of the country
where full value assessment actually
means full value assessment. As the
late Representative Buchanan of Texas
once told the House, a tax rate of $1.50
in Washington is comparable with a
rate of three dollars which may prevail
“back home.”
Today’s article by Messers. Bischoff
and Williams may be cited in confirma
tion of this fact, established by other
studies in the past. But the article has
an additional significance in view of
the recent Jacobs report, which, on the
basis of a few appraisals here and else
where, reached the astonishing conclu
sion that property in Washington was
relatively underassessed. On that con
clusion was built a tax burden compari
son most unjust and misleading; so
plainly open to criticism, in fact, that
it served as one of the points on which
the report w'as condemned.
The painstaking and scientific ap
proach of the authors of this article
commends the results of their study to
all of those who are interested in the
subject of local taxation.
Step By Step.
A strike of 600,000 coal miners is
threatened by a lieutenant of John L.
Lewis if coal is shipped to the inde
pendent steel companies which are re
sisting the C. I. O. in Michigan and
Ohio. Lewis is head of the United
Mine Workers of America. Presumably
they would quit work if he decreed a
strike—a sympathetic strike. In Lans
ing, the capital of Michigan, a “general
strike,” or tie-up of all activities, was
engineered for a short time. Perhaps
this was to give the people a taste of
what could be done if the C. I. o. does
not have its way.
From the sympathetic strike to the
general strike is no long jump. If it is
attempted, however, it will prove a dis
astrous jump for Mr. Lewis, or any one
else wrho engineers it. Americans will
not tolerate such tactics—any more than
did the people in Great Britain in 1926.
While there has not yet been a threat
of a general strike on a national scale
in this country, the steps which are
being taken are tending in that direc
tion, with increasing indications that
many raw labor leaders are anxious to
show their new-found power.
This very fact, as disturbing as it is,
may serve eventually to clear the atmos
phere. The time is rapidly approaching
when the American people must decide
between government under law and gov
ernment under irresponsible leaders of
new unions. There is no slightest doubt
how they will decide. And when the de
cision has been made, there will be
lesa trampling of the “human rights’’
of the individual by organized minority
masses. There will come the enact
ment of laws to make the labor
union as responsible as is indus
try.
Step by step the country is being
shoved toward a situation in which labor
leaders—not the rank and file of labor,
but professional leaders—are trying to
dictate to the American people what they
shall do and what they shall not do.
Either the administration has come to
the belief that things must get worse
before they can get better or the admin
istration is in sympathy with what is
going on.
Representative Connery
Washington parts with Representative
William P. Connery, jr., of Massachusetts
with unfeigned regret. His death is dis
tinctly untimely. Only forty-eight years
of age, his career was far from its natural
climacteric. He should have been granted
a much longer period in which to serve
his country.
Few men, however, have lived more
fully. Mr. Connery appeared to have
been born with more than the normal
quota of energy. The miscellaneous char
acter of his experience was evidence of a
vigorous mind and an ardent and en
thusiastic heart. He had been suc
cessively an actor, a soldier and a candy
manufacturer before he entered politics;
and in each of those diverse roles he had
attained celebrity. It seemed to be part
of his endowment to triumph over
obstacles. He was, in that regard, a
genius.
But Mr. Connery was abundantly
familiar with the meaning of struggle.
It followed that he was sympathetic with
the poor and the distressed. By de
liberate choice he was assigned to the
Labor Committee in 1923; he desired and
sought the appointment. As chairman,
he sponsored the pending wage-and
hour bill. It is nothing less than a
tragedy that he should have been denied
the privilege of fighting for it.
Yet it would be an error to suppose
that Mr. Connery's influence is lost. On
the contrary, his example will be a con
structive force on Capitol Hill indefinitely.
His good humor, his sense of fair play,
his warm devotion to democrary, his
personal charm and popularity are values
which death cannot touch. They will
survive in the memory of a multitude
and be an inspiration to another genera
tion of the people he loved.
The "Black Corps,” cream of the
Nazis, cordially invites Pope Pius to
‘‘come to Germany and see conditions
for himself.” A papal predecessor left
his sanctuary to oblige Napoleon Bona
parte and lived to regret it. “ ‘Won't you
walk into my parlor?’ said the spider to
the fly.”
- ■ -> * -■
These new slat blinds are not only a
boon to office workers, but also to
illustrators of advertisements and to
scenario authors. To show a Big Busi
ness Executive in these days standing
before an old-fashioned window-shade
would be about as bad as putting him
in congress gaiters.
— ■ - > -4 ——- ■ —
Shooting Stars.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
Steady Employment.
Oh, I long to be a statesman
With a fierce, ambitious thrill;
With a mind that's ever active
And a voice that's seldom still!
Though there come to other toilers
Hours of dullness now and then,
He may ever be accounted
'Mongst the busiest of men.
For the world is glad to listen
To the man who wants to teach—
And, for my part, I'll be ready
Any day to make a speech.
An Observation.
“Perhaps you may succeed in being
loved for the enemies you have made.”
“Perhaps," replied Senator Sorghum,
“but I have noticed that style of af
fection is mighty fickle.”
Jud Tunkins says working for pos
terity is a hard job, because you never
know what the tastes and requirements
of the real boss are going to be.
Deserves 'a Medal.
He is no hero in the fray,
Yet he is loyal, brave and strong;
The man who seeks a holiday
And takes his two small boys along.
The Hypochondriac.
“He is a man of wonderful robustness,”
said the pharmacist.
“But he has taken every kind of
medicine he could get hold of," said the
assistant.
“Yes. And he has survived them all.”
“Economy is good,” said Hi Ho, the
sage of Chinatown. “But it is not well
to fear dire necessity so much as to
live in perpetual imitation of it.”
Looking and Listening.
That Independence day
Is not so far away
We find as older grows the rosy June.
Of quietude we tell—
None the less we know full well
We’ll be looking at the fireworks pretty
soon.
Pyrotechnics as a sport
Has a very loud report
That may interrupt some gratifying
tune.
Prom both near and far away
Prophecies unite to say,
“We’ll be listening to the fireworks pretty
soon.”
“Grammar is a fine thing,” said Uncle
Eben, “but dar ain’ no kind o' language
dat trouble can't learn to talk.”
*
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
BY MARGARET GERMOND.
IP I FORGET THEE. By Josef Dunner.
Washington: Dulaun Press.
Through the experiences of Alexander
Roth, a student at the University of
Frankfurt, the inside story of student
life in post-war Germany, under the
policy of intolerance and persecution
indoctrinated into the system of social
ideology that has stripped human beings
of their individualism and converted
them into robots, is herewith unfolded
by Dr. Josef Dunner in a scholarly work
designated as a novel. It is in reality
a serious and impressive revelation of
the truth by a victim of the new order
rather than a piece of fictional enter
tainment.
Alexander Roth is one of the millions
of inexperienced young students who,
arriving upon the scene of their first
conscious contact with life at a time
when the world was still trembling from
the shock of four years of bloodshed,
became obsessed with the belief that
the whole order of civilization must be
scrapped to make way for the creation
of a Utopia for which only youth pos
sessed the formula. Alexander, as he
enters the Institute of Economic Re
search at Frankfurt, is a Communist and
actively engaged as a political worker
for the party in Germany. He is also
a Jew and, with his parents, is proud
of his orthodoxy.
On the Frankfurt-bound train Alex
ander meets Devorah Berg, a medical
student and a Zionist who believes in
tensely that the ideals of her race can
be restored to their rightful place in the
religious, social and economic order of
civilization through the rebuilding of
Palestine by reintegrating Jewish in
dividualism and replanting the roots
of nationalism deep in its native soil.
The romance which grows out of this
chance acquaintance on a railroad train
is destined to endure many sorrows,
though as a love story it does not in
trude upon the main theme.
Nurturing a passionate hatred for the
social and economic structure that had
evolved through generations of progress
ing civilization. Alexander and thou
sands of his fellow’ students were con
verted in countless numbers to the ideals
of communism. What Alexander did not
know, and w’hat the great universities ap
parently have been neglecting to teach
the self-willed students of the post-war
period, is the simple fact that mankind,
in the second era of civilization, con
ceived the idea of a great communal
state in which all goods and all wealth
would be equally divided, only to dis
cover that in practice it created even
worse suffering and misery than they
had ever known before among the specific
classes that it was intended to benefit.
The Prussian government must be
destroyed. Alexander's political activ
ities increase as the referendum which
may result in a victory for the former
Austrian house painter draws near.
Communism must win against the Nazis
and the Steel Helmets. But before
that referendum takes place Alexander
is beginning to doubt. Some stark
truths about the experiment in Russia
have begun to filter through the Soviet
smoke screen. He is a bit older. His
ability to apply logical analysis to
theoretical dreams has increased. Com
pletely disillusioned, he holds a confes
sional with himself:
"I thought communism would solve
the Jewish problem, my problem, all
problems. No more swastikas, no more
hatred, no classes, no privileges, every
body equal. Peace in the world • * •
and so I preach on their behalf. But
they lie and I lie as one of them. Didn't
I see how the Russian masses live,
dumb-struck as in a nightmare? Didn't
I see how a bureaucracy stronger than
the strongest capitalist autocrat leads
them on a leash? * • * Where is the
freedom that I seek, that I talk about
so proudly? Freedom of thought? Don't
I know that Jewish boys like me are
exiled to Siberia because they want to
talk the language of their people, be
cause they want to keep its traditions,
because they ask for something which
other peoples are even encouraged to
take? * * * I want justice. X want to
make the weak strong. * * * But practice
is far removed from the ideal. The
leaders, like the Nazis, sow hatred.
Lenin began it. And hatred bears only
hatred. And now' they want to destroy
the bit of democracy that is left in
this country. Together with the Nazis
against the Social Democrats. With the
Nazis who shout. ‘Judah die.’ ”
wun nazi victory’ comes persecution
and the blood purges that shocked and
horrified the peoples of the earth who
believed that barbarism was no longer
practiced in civilized countries. Alex
ander is forced to flee from Germany
with a price on his head. But not be
fore he has tasted the full flavor of the
bureaucratic power which knows no
humanity, which marks for persecution
as a Polish Jew a man whose grand
father was a peasant near Coblentz,
whose mother was born in the Nether
rhine, who was himself born in Neuss
and had taught five years in an elemen
tary school before enlisting as a volun
teer in the Great War,
Once ot# of Germany, Alexander suf
fers the humiliation and the hardship
which is the lot of all refugees. Even
tually he secures a commission as a spe
cial correspondent and covers a good
part of the world as a writer devoted
to the problems of his race in alien
lands. Devorah, persecuted on many
trivial charges and imprisoned for an
effort to mail a medical thesis out of
Germany, eventually joins Alexander
in exile, and together they seek refuge
and peace in the few European coun
tries which are not placarded “Jews
Not Allowed.” The story closes with
the acceptance by Alexander of an in
vitation to become a professor in a
reputable American university.
Naziism. communism and fascism and
all the other isms parading as idealistic
cures for social evils, stripped of their
fallacies and presented in naked truth,
are not beautiful to look upon, nor are
they pleasant to meditate upon as pos
sible substitutes for true democratic
principles of government and for in
dividual liberty of religious, racial and
occupational expression.
Dr. Dunner, who is connected with
the Brookings Institution in this city,
has become known in this country as a
lecturer rather than an author. This
is the first book he has written since
he came to this country, though several
of his stories have been published in
Europe in the past three years. As a
boy he left his home and his school in
Berlin to become a farm worker and
then a factory worker. He is the descend
ant of an old and famous family of
rabbis, and though he is now only
twenty-nine years old. he has lectured,
written, organized and fought to end
the oppression and injustice imposed
upon his race for centuries. It was ,his
writings on political affairs that made it
necessary for him to leave Germany
when the Nazis came into power. As a
lecturer and foreign correspondent he
covered Europe and Asia during several
years of political turmoil, and ip 1935
came to America to continue his studies
in economics and sociology. He there
fore brings to this first offering of a
novel to the American public a wealth
of knowledge and experience in a
•scholarly expose of internal Germany.
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.
What attracts birds to a garden,
.after all?
Here are some of the things:
1. Trees.
2. Overgrown shrubbery.
3. Berried bushes.
4. Available water.
5. Quiet.
6. Pood.
7. Absence of people.
8. Absence of dogs and cats.
Whether these will be sufficient lure to
draw birds to nest in a yard is another
matter.
There can be little question that many
nearby suburban gardens are having a
banner season now in bird nesting.
There are from two to six times as
many birds nesting in many of these
yards as in past years, although some of
the gardeners have tried to attract the
birds for many seasons.
Keeping the yard full of birds in the
Winter by the use of several feeding
stations Is one thing, but drawing them
to nest there in Spring is something else
again.
it -it it *
In one nearby Maryland yard, wherein
three feeding stations have provided con
tinuous seed and grain, together with
suet and other delicacies, for two years,
more birds are nesting today than dur
ing the prior five-year period.
Yet it would be impossible to say that
the food lure was what did it, for di
rectly across the street, where very little
if any Winter feeding was indulged in,
much the same conditions prevail today.
There are many more birds nesting in
both yards than ever before, and the con
dition seems to be general everywhere,
judging from reports coming in. There
is a widespread interest, on the part
of the great "man in the street,” in bird
observation.
In an area of 300 feet, for instance,
there are now nesting the following:
1. Barn swallows.
2. Flickers.
3. Robins.
4. Wood thrushes.
5. Baltimore orioles.
6. English sparrows.
7. Cardinals.
8. Starlings.
9. Wrens.
10. Turtle doves.
No doubt there are many others, but
the nests of these have been seen and
counted.
There are at least four, and maybe five,
species enumerated above which have
never nested in this place before.
The owner of the yard with three feed
ing stations (part of the area given
above) would like to think the plentiful
food caused the increase in nesting birds.
No doubt the feeders had something
to do with it, but the owner does not
feel justified in giving them the entire
credit.
Bird life is not so simple. There are
many factors involved. A few of them
have been given above, but since most
of them have been in full swing over the
years, it is not possible to credit them
entirely with the increase of nesting.
Another factor ought to be placed in
the list, that of the erection of bird
houses, or nesting boxes.
Most of these boxes are theoretically
for bluebirds or wrens, according to the
size of the entrance, but often they are
utilized by other birds.
A nice bluebird house, for instance,
may never be occupied by anything ex
cept members of the wren family, while
a neat home dug in a poplar stump by
a flicker may be utilized next year by
starlings.
* ★ * *
What may be believed is that birds, in
general, do respond to the gesture of a
bird house, whether designed for them
or not.
In other words, they feel more at home
where bird houses are plentiful.
Surely this is natural.
While the songsters do not “think”
about the matter, as humans would, they
must sense the good will which has gone
out toward them.
Even the wildest of creatures, such as
the wild rabbit, will come into such a
yard, eat the grass—and a few flowers—
and then lie down flatly on the ground,
perfectly relaxed for a half hour at a
time.
The great overlying idea is protection
—man himself searches for this, and it
is not strange that even the brute
creatures, so-called, appreciate it, and
have enough intelligence to know it when
I and where they find it.
*r- *r
The best way, then, of attracting birds
is to provide them protection.
This is not easy. It means plenty of
trees, the more the better; shrubbery per
mitted to grow too tall and too thick,
perhaps, for best effect; many shrubs
with berries upon them, which are al
lowed to remain; bird baths placed low
on the ground, with only about two
inches or less of water in them; the real
quiet which comes with a lack of too
much movement, either of man, his dogs
or cats.
It will be found, in most instances,
that as the interest of the human occu
pants of a house decreases in gardening,
as an occupation, the interest of the
wild birds booms in proportion.
Many a gardener discovers, with the
years, that a yard may get along very
well with little attention, comparatively
speaking, provided that trees, shrubs and
perennial plants compose the most of it,
along with a fair lawn.
Other interests or necessities may de
prive one of opportunity of doing much
work in the garden.
Then the w'ild birds are likely to take
possession.
Absence of people, dogs and cats from
a given plot of ground tends to increase
the amount of bird life, one may believe.
It is not so much any real danger
from any of these, as that the birds
think they are in danger therefrom, and
naturally fly away to more secluded
places.
Jr Jr Jr *
The surest way to get plenty of birds,
one might think, is to give up all use
of a yard, which, of course, would be a
big mistake.
What may be done is simply to give
the birds as much freedom from confu
sion as possible.
In this way, by just a little thought,
it is possible to eat one's cake and have
it, too.
Birds are exceptionally tame this year.
Chickadees which have stayed here will
not fly away from a feeder even when one
walks within two feet of it.
Increase of nesting in a given area is
an interesting phenomenon in bird life.
No doubt there are many explanations,
some of which we have tried to give
above, but there must be many others.
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE.
Washington is destined for many a :
day to reverberate with echoes of the
high explosive fired at the Roosevelt
court bill by the Senate Judiciary Com
mittee. Not within the memory of any
living member has a committee of Con
gress ever hurled a deadlier bombshell
at an executive proposal. That the ma
jority of the committee consists of mem
bers of the President's own party makes
the episode all the more epochal and
sensational. While the generally hostile
nature of the report was, of course, fully
discounted, Capitol Hill did not expect
quite so stiff a knockout blow. The re
port ranks as a masterpiece of political
disputation and one certain to go into
the books as an historic defense of an
independent judiciary. The terse 13
points raised against the bill in the
committee's summary of its objections
doubtless will provide the high spots of
the opposition's case if and when the
ill-starred project reaches the stage of
Senate debate. They are held to be
about as unanswerable a set of argu
ments as ever were launched against a
legislative program in Washington.
Senator O'Mahoney, Democrat, of
Wyoming, because he is the one profes
sional writing man on the Judiciary
Committee, gets the lion's share of credit
for the high literary flavor of its report.
Senator Burke, Democrat, of Nebraska
also is believed to have had a major
hand in preparing the devastating docu
ment. The Nebraskan's leadership of
the fight against the President's bill
must be one of the bitterest pills F. D. R.
has had to swallow. Three years ago,
during the congressional campaign of
1934, Mr. Roosevelt publicly acclaimed
Senator Burke's eloquent epitome of the
New Deal as the finest definition of the
administration's purposes yet uttered in
any quarter. There was. of course, at
that time no intimation that the more
abundant life embraced plans for “violat
ing every sacred tradition of American
democracy,” as the Judiciary Committee
in an annihilating passage pillories the
court scheme.
* * * *
While Senate Democrats monopolize
the limelight of glory in the drive to kill
the Judiciary bill—with Wheeler, Burke.
McCarran and O'Mahoney rated as field
marshals of the opposition army—it’s
ynderstood that, behind the scenes, Re
publicans Borah of Idaho and Johnson
of California rendered yeoman service in
the field of strategy. As battle-scarred
veterans of the League of Nations fight,
both of them know their onions in such
a contest between Congress and the
White House as is now raging. It’s ex
pected that G. O. P. Minority Leader
McNary of Oregon, another skilled tacti
cian, also will sit in at councils of war,
if it becomes necessary to invoke par
liamentary recourses to insure the bill's
defeat. * * * *
Little or no attention has been paid
to the attitude of the House in the court
fight. Members say the country is mis
taken in believing that the bill would go
through the lower branch with a whoop.
Current estimates are that while at the
outset it might have commanded a ma
jority of 30 or 40. it's doubtful whether
it could be passed at all today, despite
the Democratic majority of more than
200. Fifteen out of the 25 members of
Chairman Sumners’ Judiciary Commit
tee are accounted unalterably antago
nistic. There’s said even to be doubt
whether there would be a majority in
the Rules Committee to take the bill
from the calendar should the Judiciary
Committee send it there with or with
out an adverse report. It’s been sug
gested that Representative Pat Drewry
of Virginia might eventually be asked
to lead the House bloc that disapproves
the bill. Several weeks ago he broad
cast a stirring radio address against it.
As he is chairman of the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee,
which will be charged with the duty of
re-electing a Democratic House next
year, it's figured that Drewry would be
a powerful factor in mobilizing opposi
tion to the unpopular court measure.
* * * *
Persistence and extension of labor un
rest in the steel and coal fields intensi
fies the demand in and out of Congress
for some sort of expression from Presi
dent Roosevelt that would influence lead
ers of industry and workers alike. There’s
a general feeling that, without taking
sides, the White House has it in its
power to pour oil on the troubled waters
by merely making some ringing utter
ance on behalf of law and order and
■ proclaiming that the public interest is
paramount. Members of Congress, in
cluding some stanch administration sup
porters, are understood to be bringing
urgent pressure to bear on the Presi
dent to do or say something without
further delay. The argument is that
otherwise the impression will take root
that he condones action which can lead
to disorder on a far wider scale than
anything so far witnessed, besides strik
ing a fatal blow at recovery, especially
re-employment.
T ¥ * ¥
Senator Herring. Democrat, of Iowa
!s convinced that hot weather is the
thing most likely to produce sudden
adjournment of Congress if the session
threatens to project Itself far into the
Summer. “When I was Governor of
Iowa,” the Hawkeve statesman says, “I
was accustomed to look out of my win
dow at the Capitol in Des Moines every
morning and study the condition of the
lawn. As soon as I noticed that the
grass was beginning to sear and yellow,
I knew I wouldn't have the Legislature
on my hands very long!”
* 3f£ * *
Three generations bearing the name
of Charles Evans Hughes are fore
gathered at Brown University this week
for commencement exercises of the
Chief Justice's alma mater. Himself of
the class of '81. he will be joined by his
son, Charles Evans Hughes, jr.. class
of '09, and by his grandson, Charles
Evans Hughes, 3d. who will be graduated
with the class of '37, All three Hugheses
have brilliant Brown records to their
credit. The Chief Justice on his gradua
tion day 56 years ago delivered a classical
oration entitled “The First Appearance
of Sophocles.” His son prepared a com
mencement address on “The Changing
and the Permanent In the Moral Order.”
The youngest Hughes, in strictly mod
ern vein, will hold forth next Saturday
on the subject of “We, the Specialists.”
All three Hughes Brownmen were famed
in college days for debating talents,
along with other intellectual attain
ments.
William E. Dodd. American Ambassa
dor to Germany, hasn’t put in all his
time at Berlin practicing Yankee shirt
sleeve diplomacy on those recurring oc
casions when it was necessary for Uncle
Sam to talk turkey to the Nazis. There
will shortly be published, under Dr.
Dodd's authorship, the first volume of
a series of books entitled “Struggles for
Democracy: The Old South." The Am
bassador, himself a North Carolinian,
has written copiously on Dixie subjects,
including “The Life of Jefferson Davis,"
“Statesmen of the Old South," “The
Cotton Kingdom” and “Lincoln or Lee?"
(Copyright. 193T.)
ANSWERS TO
QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HA SKIN.
A reader can get the answer to any
question cf fact by writing The Evenina
Star ’nformation Bureau, Frederic J
Haskin, Director Washington, D. C.
Please inclose stamp lor reply '
Q How many horses are racing on the
major race tracks in the United States?
—A. D.
A. The Jockey Club says that there
are probably about 30 race tracks that
might be considered in this classification.
The number of horses racing- in the
United States in 1936 was 10,756.
Q. How many persons become of voting
age in the United States each year?
—J. O. C.
A. Slightly over tw'o million persons
reach the age of 21 each year.
Q. Please name the rulers who are now
in exile.—J. H. H.
A. The rulers in exile at present are
William II of Germany, Alfonso XIII of
Spain, Ferdinand of Bulgaria, Haile Se
lassie of Ethiopia, Frederick-Augustus of
Saxony. Prince Otto of Hapsburg, heir
to the throne of Austria and Hungary,
may be added.
Q. How many kinds of birds are there
in the Philippines?—W. L. M.
A. There are about 700 species, about
half of which are found only there.
Q How fast do bullets travel?—E. M.
A. Military rifles drive their bullets at
speeds of from 2.000 to 3,000 feet per
second. The Gerlich bullet, one of the
speediest, is capable of traveling almost
a mile a second.
Q When will it be possible to order
a copy of the proposed Government bul
letin showing pictures of each United
States postage stamp?—H. F.
A. This book is now ready for distri
bution and is called "A Description of
United States Postage Stamps Issued
by the Post Office Department from July
1, 1847, to December 31, 1936.” The
price is 25 cents for paper cover and 75
cents for cloth-bound edition and is for
sale by the superintendent of documents,
Washington, D. C.
Q, What is the name of the poem which
begins "Over the river and through the
wood, to grandfather's house we go”?
—L. G.
A. It is "Thanksgiving Day,” by Lydia
Maria Child.
Q. What was El Paso formerly named?
—W. F.
A. Before being won from Mexico in
1836, the town was known first as Ponce
de Leon Ranch and later as Franklin.
Q. Are the children of trailer families
given free public schooling in Florida?
—I. H.
A. Trailer pupils in Florida must pay
a fee of four dollars the term for gram
mar school and eight dollars the term
for high school.
Q. Does astigmatism cause cataracts?
—A. R.
A. Astigmatism is a defect of vision
due to an abnormal curvature of the
front surfaces of the eye. so that a clear
image does not fall on the retina. Prop
erly fitted glasses correct the trouble by
focusing the rays to form a true image.
If correct glasses are not worn, there
is eyestrain which may cause headaches,
indigestion, and other nervous symptoms,
as well as local irritation. Cataracts are
not caused by astigmatism.
Q. Who is acting Mayor of New York
City when Mayor La Guardia is away
from the city?—R. G. V.
A. William F. Brunner, president of the
Board of Aldermen.
Q. What songs did Ethel Waters sing
in the musical comedy, “As Thousands
Cheer"?—F. W.
A. "To Be or Not to Be,'' “Heat Wave,”
and “I've Got Harlem on My Mind”
were sung by Ethel Waters.
Q. What accounts for the museum or
sideshow freak known as the Leopard
Man?—R. F.
A. The person, physicians explain,
suffers from vitiligo, a disease which
attacks the pigment of the skin, bring
ing about the spotted condition. The
cause of the disease is unknown, and it
is said not to affect the general health
of the patient.
Q. "Who called England a “right little,
tight little island"?—C. S.
A. Thomas Dibdin used the charac
terization in his “The Snug Little Island.”
Q. Are there many covered bridges in
Vermont?—L. M. K.
A. There are more than 200.
Q. Please list some books that give
experiences of people who have been
confined in mental institutions and later
have recovered.—D. W.
A. “A Mind That Found Itself,” by
Clifford Beers; "Asylum," by William
Seabrook, and “A Mind Mislaid." by
Henry Collins Brown, are all books of
this type.
Q. Did Jim Fisk comer the gold mar
ket?—E. F. S.
A. Jim Fisk did not succeed in cor
nering the gold market in September,
1869, when his attempt to do so precipi
tated the crisis known as Black Friday.
Fisk, through his partner Belden. re
pudiated contracts amounting to many
millions of dollars.
Q. Was Boake Carter born in England?
—F. D. A.
A. Boake Carter was born in Russia,
where his father was in the British con
sular service. He was educated in Eng
land, came to this country in 1920, and
became a naturalized citizen of the
United States in 1933.
Dickman Not Originator
Of Sick Benefit Society
To the Editor of The 8 ar:
In a recent Issue of The Star appeared
a fine article sketching the life and ac
tivities of Mr. John B. Dickman as an
honored local labor leader for many years.
But the article contained one statement
crediting Mr. Dickman with originating
the idea of organizing a sick-benefit
society in the Government Printing Office
in 1884. I am sure Mr. Dickman would
be the first to disclaim the credit for
proposing such a society. I have seen a
copy of the Manual of the G. P. O. Relief
Society dated 1894 in which the state
ment is made that Mr. William S. Waudby
i proposed the formation of a sick-relief
society in the G. P. O. in 1883; that on
March 29, 1883, an organization meeting
was held and Mr. Waudby was elected
secretary, Mr. Dickman being appointed
chairman of a committee. The Manual
dated 1898 contained a reprint of the
same historical sketch. Mr. Waudby,
who will be "80 years young” on Jun«
15, 1937, lives on Sixteenth street north
west, CYRUS E. COOK.
I >