THE EVENING STAR
With Sunday Morning Edition.'
WASHINGTON, D. C.
MONDAY....July 26, 1937
I THEODORE W. NOYES..Editor
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Jefferson Memorial.
A difference of opinion as to the loca
tion of the proposed Jefferson Memorial
has developed and unless it is settled
promptly it will result in either a pro
longed delay in the construction of this
tribute of the Nation to one of its most
illustrious statesmen or a placement that
will be unsuitable. The Committee on
Library of the House of Representatives
has taken issue with the Memorial Com
mission in respect to the site and has
submitted to the House a report rec
ommending the enactment of the bill
introduced by Representative Treadway
providing that "m no event" shall the
commission select the Tidal Basin site
for the memorial.
This action causes a conflict of juris
diction over the matter of the place
ment of the memorial. The commission
was by act of Congress given authority
to select a design and a site for the
tribute to Jefferson. Only by act of
Congress, therefore, can its decision in
favor of the Tidal Basin site be set aside.
If the House does not act upon this
report of the Library Committee, with
the Senate concurring, at the present
session, the commission may, under its
general authorization, proceed with the
letting of contracts and the construc
tion of the memorial on the site Which
it favors. Congress may, however, with
hold appropriations for the construction
upon such a site, which would be equiv
alent to a disapproval of the proposed
location.
The reasons advanced by the Library
Committee against the Tidal Basin site
' ere. first, that the cost would be excessive
if the memorial should be erected as
planned by the commission, that indeed
there is no way of knowing what the
actual cost will be, the estimates of the
Army engineers ranging from $2,500,000
to $6,500,000. It is next urged by the
Library Committee that there is no
assurance of a substantial foundation
being secured for the memorial at the
site chosen by the commission. It is
further noted that the Basin site would
lead to a grave traffic condition, that
it would conflict in esthetic relationship
with the Lincoln Memorial and that It
■would destroy some of the artistic values
of the general location, which have be
come traditional.
This present session of Congress
should not lapse without some definitive
action on the question of the placement
of the Jefferson Memorial. At least there
should be some decision as to the juris
diction of the now conflicting bodies,’ the
Memorial Commission and the Congress
Itself. The House Library Committee
represents Congress directly, to the ex
tent of its jurisdiction. The Memorial
Commission likewise represents Congress,
through its authorization by Congress
to proceed with the selection of a site
and a plan and the presentation of a
requisition for an appropriation. Only
by act of Congress can this matter be
adjusted.
So far as it has been manifested, public
Judgment upon the matter of the site
has been adverse to the location favored
by the Memorial Commission. That is
rot entirely a local public judgment.
Protests against the intrusion of another
great structure upon the park area and
the incidental destruction of many of
the cherry trees which form one of the
most charming and appreciated features
of this park have come from others than
residents of the Capital.
All considerations point to at least a
delay in the matter, to permit a fuller
study of the esthetic, as well as the
financial considerations involved. That
can best be assured by the passage of the
Treadway bill, which the House Library
Committee now urges. In any event, it
must be borne in mind, steps toward the
actual construction of the memorial
upon the site chosen by the commis
sion and opposed by the House Library
Committee cannot be taken until Con
gress provides through appropriation the
funds necessary for the execution of a
contract.
Contrary to some ancient traditions
there are moments when a Vice Presi
dent of the United States should be both
seen and heard.
Vivian Burnett.
“Little Ford Fauntleroy," in the theory
of his more robust and forthright con
temporaries. was a sissy and a prig.
The costume in which his creator dressed
him, the language which she put into
his mouth, the atmosphere with which
she surrounded him were open to ridi
cule. It was inevitable that they should
be parodied and mocked. Thus the
career of the original model was shad
owed and saddened almost from the
start.
But Vivian Burnett was, in sober
point of fact, as manly a man as any
body could have wished. He was ten
years of age when his mother's famous
romance was published, a sophomore at
Harvard when! she disclosed that “the
perfect little boy" was a portrait of her
ft
second child. After graduation he
served successively on the Denver Re
publican and the Washington Times,
earning an honorable name for him'self
as a working reporter. Still later he was
one of the group of so-called “muck
rakers” who wrote for McClure’s Maga
zine in the days when that publication
was leading the van in the campaign
for social reform.
Now he is dead, and the manner of his
passing from the world is such as to
insure remembrance of the gallant and
courageous individual he really was. His
final effort was the rescue of four per
sons from a capsized sailboat in Man
hasset Bay. The exertion brought on a
heart attack which cost him his life.
Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett never
invented a more authentic or a more
attractive hero. The “Romantic Lady”
simply could not vision in her imagina
tion a character as fundamentally in
teresting as her son actually became.
Truth again is demonstrated to be more
engaging than fiction.
King Leopold's Proposal.
Young King Leopold of Belgium comes
forward with a new proposal for bringing
order out of international economic
chaos. He suggests a continuing com
mission to deal with the commercial and
financial problems which perturb the
world and are sowing the seeds of armed
conflict. The idea is cordially received in
Washington because it is concretely
along the line of the Roosevelt-Hull
reciprocal trade program, which has
become the keystone of the administra
tion's foreign policy. The King's scheme
does not take our Government by sur
prise, because when his premier. M. Van
Zeeland, was here last month, the proj
ect was broached in broad outline and,
presumably, acclaimed as a move in the
right direction.
At first blush, the permanent body
which the Belgian monarch recom
mends bears a cousinly resemblance to
another League of Nations agency in
different form. For years Geneva has
maintained an economic commission
charged with the duty of exploring all
phases of the international economic
structure. It has held innumerable
sessions and conducted countless investi
gations. In 1933 it essayed its most
ambitious venture, the London Economic
and Monetary Conference, which ended
in glittering failure, due, as some Euro
peans alleged, to the action—or inaction
—of the United States.
Just as the League's various economic
branches have accomplished little more
than academic research, it is to be feared
that King Leopold's enterprise would
be condemned to similar futility. It
u'ould, to begin with, lack teeth—the
power to enforce those changes in the
realms of colonies, tariffs, exchange con
trols, trade embargoes, financial credits
and raw materials—without which any
such commission would remain a pious
gesture. To paraphrase a famous
saying, it would be magnificent, but it
would not be peace.
On the same day that King Leopold
launched his idealistic plan, Premier
Mussolini inspired a newspaper article
on the subject of international “fic
tions,” which he prophesies will some
day be “overwhelmed by reality.” Roman
observers think II Duce means that these
“fictions" can be wiped out only by war.
While there will be lively disagreement
with that theory in democratic countries,
there will be less inclination to dispute
the view that there are problems in the
world today which urgently clamor for
realistic solution. The claims of the
“have not” nations for more territory
and independent sources of raw mate
rials and foodstuffs are paramount
among those conditions.
Until these international imponder
ables are practically grappled with, dis
satisfied powers like Italy, Germany
and Japan will continue to prepare to
acquire by forcible means that which
the “have” peoples deny them. One
doubts whether the King of the Belgians
has evolved a device that promises any
genuine adjustment of these burning
questions.
Maverick Brander was a character
introduced by Charles Hoyt in “A Texas
Steer.” The author is now remembered
only because he was momentarily asso
ciated with Maude Adams. The name
was a good one, however, and Maverick
Brander still lives in political fact as
well as in theatrical fancy.
Dangerous Freight.
Three times within a week collisions
have occurred on the roads between
small motor cars and large trucks. In
one case in Virginia, in a head-on colli
sion between a coupe and an oil-laden
five-ton truck and trailer, three men
were burned to death, a woman was
fatally injured and two others were
badly hurt. Yesterday two similar cases
were reported. In the neighborhood
of New York City twenty-two persons
were injured when a passenger bus col
lided with a gasoline truck which ex
ploded. No lives were lo6t. Again last
week seven persons were burned to
death in Maryland when a truck hit
their car, causing an explosion of its
gasoline supply.
These accidents, which may have been
due to bad driving and disregard of the
ordinary rules of the road, demonstrate
the menace to life on the highways
through their use by large commercial
vehicles. For some time there has been
consideration of a proposal that special
roads should be provided for such traffic.
With their greater size and higher power
they are a menace to all passenger vehi
cles. They are competitors of the rail
roads, which are, of course, confined, to
their own lines. Their owners and oper
atives do not bear an equitable propor
tion of the cost of maintaining the roads.
They have virtually free use of the high
ways over long routes.
A system of commercial highways, to
be used only by goods carriers, would be
a solution of this problem of road safety.
It is true that there would remain always
the element of danger in the improper
handling of passenger cars, but with the
• trucks and other commercial conveyors
i
barred from the lanes of passenger traf
fic and confined to lines provided exclu
sively for their use there would be un
questionably a material reduction In the
casualties which are now so grave a
menace in this country.
This matter must be taken into con
sideration sooner or later. The use of
trucks for freight carriage, and especially
of dangerous loads such as oil and gaso
line, is too great a menace to life to be
borne longer without some attempt to
find a remedy.
Irresponsible rumor brings a report
that a lady who glimpsed a red bathrobe
on one of the historic railway trains that
have recently sped on long journeys,
sends a message to the anonymous
wearer desiring personal acquaintance.
The words of women have lately been
regarded as words of wisdom and it
would be a misfortune to see them re
verting to days when the "personal
column" was accorded under social
influence in the realms of print.
Life in its progressive stages reveals
something of the same difference be
tween the sexes that school days re
veal, with the male intelligence largely
busy with big, beautiful figures, and
the female mentality stil busy with the
effort to make intelligent ararngements
to keep the bank account in conserva
tive relations with the grocer's account.
ivirs. eaarsnau rieia, aged 8», deeply
esteemed and victorious after some con
spicuous social struggles, dies, to receive
the homage of a continent. Her emi
nence though implying polite accomp
lishments really began when her father
went to Chicago and organized n hard
ware company. It was a hardware com
pany de luxe and is remembered among
the great influences in the country's
development.
The stories of Spanish aggression in
South America are old and would be
forgotten if it were not for the warlixe
attitudes forced upon Spain herself and
by implication communicated to this
continent.
A custom of welcoming the President
of the United States at the opening
games of the base ball season may have
encouraged some of the players to be
lieve that true eminence can be main
tained only by a systematic participa
tion in small scrimmages.
Shooting Stars.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
Achievement,
Our Congressman has done his best
The Nation's ear to reach.
It is admitted East and West
He made a splendid speech.
His voice re-echoed to the skies.
And 'mid the thunderous roar
He made more arguments arise
Than there had been before.
The base ball game again we see
Upon the old town lot.
Our .Congressman appears to be
At present quite forgot.
Thus patriotism we neglect
In the award of fame
And our applause again direct
Unto the base ball game.
History's Repetition.
“What we want to do,” said the ex
citable man with bristly hair, “is to
take all the money from the rich and
give it to the poor.”
“Grand idea!” answered Senator
Sorghum, “but how are you going to
keep the same people Irom getting the
money away from the poor, same as
j they did in the first place?”
! Jud Tunkins says a man often thinks
he's the life of the party when he’s
only a spotlight grabber.
Accomplished Without Armament.
The dove of peace flew round the ark
And gayly ventured this remark:
"The greatest voyage now is done.
And no one had to use a gun.”
Popular Attention.
"Why do you think a classical educa
tion is not desirable for your boy Josh?”
“Folks don't appreciate it,” replied
Farmer Corntossel. T never yet saw a
Summer boarder who was educated
enough to hold his audience when a
fellow pulled out a pack of cards and
began to do tricks.”
[ "We are living in an age of ma
chinery,” said Hi Ho, the sage of China
town. "Yet, instead of doing the work
for us, existence is made still more dif
ficult because we didn't know how to
control all the machines.”
I --
Hats.
Of fashions we must still take heed
As frequently they change,
And some of which Just now we read
Appear as passing strange.
I And now as women set the pace
They warn that for a while
In cultivating proper grace
High hats are out of style.
The hint is one men can’t neglect;
The proud and lofty way
Is one that no one should neglect
In this momentous day.
We meet our neighbors, man to man,
And try to wear a smile,
Remembering in this modem plan
The high hat’s out of style.
"Keep yoh imagination under control,”
said Uncle Eben. “When big work is
bein’ planned don’t mistake yohself foh
a pump an’ think you kin be useful by
throwin’ cold water.”
Gardening.
From the Grand Rapids Press.
To enjoy garden work, put on a wide
hat and gloves, hold a little trowel in
one hand and tell the man where to dig.
' *
Unimportant.
From the Jamestown (N. Y.) Post.
A German biologist finds that man has
fifteen senses, but, evidently, some of
them an not highly important.
k
Parole of Criminals Ig
A Dangerous Practice
To tho Editor ol The Star:
The curse of this Nation Is Its maudlin
sentimentality. The State of Maryland
has recently turned several hundred
criminals loose for no better reason than
that they had made good records In do
ing the work assigned to them. One of
the best workers in a gang of men I once
had knocked an old man in the head with
a brick to rob him of $2. Our national
crime bill already exceeds all other costs
of government. It Is idle to spend mil
lions of dollars of the taxpayers’ money
to detect and convict criminals and then
release them for so flimsy a reason as
that they properly performed the tasks
assigned to them. If the loss of the tax
payers’ money were the only considera
tion, it would not be so serious, but the
fact that J. Edgar Hoover points out that
every man of his force who has been
killed was killed by a convict on parole
makes it certain that Maryland will pay
dearly in a new wave of crime for her
misplaced clemency.
It would seem to be about time for
legislators to give a little consideration
to the law-abiding man who pays his
taxes and tries to raise his family to be
law-abiding citizens. That he must lock
up everything every time he turns
around, and leave his woman folk un
guarded only at risk, seems to be about
the last thing that ever occurs to the law
makers, who yield too readily to the
pressure of sob-sister groups. This
Maryland law should be promptly re
pealed. Or. better still, amend it to make
the legislators or parole officials respon
sible in damages to any citizen robbed or
otherwise damaged by the criminals that
such legislators or parole officials turn
loose upon society.
F. G. CAMPBELL.
Land Tax Alone Approved
For District of Columbia
To thf Editor of The Star:
I see that our Real Estate Board is
much exercised over the prospect ol Dis
trict real estate having to pay much more
than a present 60 per cent of municipal
i expenses. As a home owner whose land
and improvements are about equally val
ued I am not protesting the Senate's
proposed 1 per cent increase in the Dis
trict land tax, as the value of my land
is not due to my ownership, but to the
presence and activities of all other
Washingtonians. Were they banished the
entire lot would not be worth more than
one square foot of its present assessed
value. What I should like to see for the
District is a land tax alone, all improve
ments exempt, to meet the rosts of its
government. That would put us on a
par with Sydney, Australia, a city com
parable to Boston, Mass.; Johannesburg.
South Africa, and many other towns and
other political divisions of the British
colonial empire. Community members
here and elsewhere now pay a heavy tat
for the use of land and are constantly
bidding against one another to increase
it. Land taxes are cheapest to collect,
and cannot be dodged or passed on to the
consumer. Hence, with no other tax to
burden us and complicate our bookkeep
ing. cost of living would be reduced by a
half or more, and there would be no
further ground for apprehension over in
crease in housing rents.
W. N. CAMPBELL.
Nazi Demonstration in
New Jersey Protested
To the Editor of The Star:
I was very much moved when I read in
The Evening Star yesterday about the
Nazi activities in the Sussex hills of New
Jersey.
As an American citizen I should and
do sympathize with the V. F. W. in their
demands for a congressional investiga
tion and proper steps should be taken.
J. R. BONNHILL.
To thf Editor of Thf Star:
I was reading in The Evening Star
where ‘'8.000 German-Amencans Open
Nazi-Emblemed Camp” with 1.000 uni
formed men. accompanied by a military
guard, parading by a platform featuring
a picture of Chancellor Hitler. In my
opinion there ought to be a law barring
demonstrations of this sort in honor of
foreign rulers. Such movements of
these so-called Nazis will sooner or later
increase foreign power in this country.
They may be law-abiding citizens, but
they cannot be loyal to two countries and
be good Americans. If movements like
these don't prove harmful in the long
run or if there is anything in the Con
stitution prohibiting Congress from act
ing In cases of this kind then I have a
lot to learn. E. JEFFRIES.
A Timely Rebuke by the
Acting Controller General
To the Editor of The St»r:
In refusing* to honor the vouchers
of Mr. Jacob Baker and his fellow co
operative investigators for their trip to
Europe. Acting Controller General Elliott
is administering a proper rebuke to
President Roosevelt, at whose behest the
trip was made. The trend of the times
has definitely shown that power is now
no longer in the hands of Mr. Roosevelt
and his radical friends, but where It
should reside, in the people, who have
always guided the destinies of this
Nation.
To. us who await impatiently the res
toration of sensible government, this
calm, quiet and statesmanlike overruling
of Mr. Roosevelt is very encouraging. As
Controller General Elliott has so point
edly said. Mr. Baker has found his
“proper sphere’’ outside of Government
activities. Mr. Roosevelt has been
taught a lesson and given a warning by
his controller general.
HENRY P. ATTERLEE.
No Vole, No Voice, Not Alien.
Prom th« JanesTille. Wise., 0»»ett«.
Residents of the city of Washington
and the District of Columbia are again
voicing their protests over their disfran
chisment. A resident of Washington,
D. C., or its suburbs in the District ex
ercises the same right of citizenship as
the alien who has been here 30 days or>
less—and no more. The minute one
takes up his residence in Washington he
loses that real evidence of citizenship
which is the right to vote. True it is
that thousands of our citizens who have
that right do not exercise it. If one
tried to take it away from them, there
would be a serious protest, not only
from the citizen himself but all those
concerned with him. American society
and government are made up of this
clear distinction between the sovereignty
of the citizen and the definitely unal
lowable alien outsider. The alien may
be a resident of this country, and be the
beneficiary of all our liberties, but he
does not have the right to aid in the
organization and perpetuation of gov
ernment by voting in elections. The
citizen of the District of Columbia—if
he can be called a citizen—has the
same right as the alien and no more. He
can live in the District, pay rent and
taxes, but he is denied the right of
franchise. This is an unjust and in
excusable situation and ought to be
remedied. without question or delay,
———- f
THIS AND THAT I
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.
Hibiscus.
Interesting word, interesting flower.
It means marsh mallow, and refers to
a genus of malvaceous plants, of which
the althea and the common hibiscus
are well-known.
Every one familiar with the flowers of
the althea shrub recognizes this kinship
instantly on seeing one of the great din
ner plate sized blossoms of the hibiscus.
Few flowers excite more interest than
these huge blooms, especially when
brought into a downtown office.
The fact that they will last only a
few hours, even when placed in water,
.makes them not good for such usage,
but the real fun, of course, comes in the
jokes made by persons unfamiliar with
them.
"Where did you get the daisy?” some
wag is sure to ask.
The "daisy,” of course, is some 8 to
10 inches in diameter.
The motion pictures often show beau
ties of the great South Seas wearing
these huge pink blooms in their hair.
* * + *
It is amazing to many home garden
ers to know that they may have these
large blooms in their own gardens.
Few flowers are easier to grow.
Although true marsh mallows do best
in damp soil, such as at the edge of a
marsh, most of the varieties grown in
the garden are hybrids, and do well in
drier soil.
The roots of this plant are long and
tapered, and of such strength that it is
mo6t difficult to disengage them from
the earth, once they have taken hold
and grown well for a season.
These roots live op year after year,
although the tops die down, leaving only
bare canes in the. wind. These canes,
of course, are dead, and nothing grows
on them again. * Entire new growth
must be made from the roots each year.
This begins early in Spring, and by this
time the bush is 5 or 6 feet high, and
begins to send forth the huge blossoms.
* * * *
It 'is the size of the flowers which
compels attention, but the texture of the
petals is not coarse, as might be
expected, nor is the color poor. In fact,
these hybrid specimens now come in
several fine colors, including pinks, reds
and whites, and combinations of these
colors. Also in pale yellow.
For a large flower, the hibiscus is deli
cate. If we wiVe to place it immediately
alongside a spike of gladiolus we would
see at once where the latter is more
velvety in texture, more refined in char
acter, more subtle in every way. But at
the back fence, where its rather coarse
I habit of growth belongs, it is a very
good shrub, although it possesses one
fault, even there, which is that it is
rather floppv. The canes, unless staked
I up and held with a string, may blow
down in a Summer thunderstorm.
This shows very well how nature
takes care of such things; in the natural
habitat, especially in the marshes, the
old canes from last year's blooming are
left behind, and these still stand to help
hold up the plant. When the wind
1 strikes a clump of such nature-grown
hibiscus, or hibiscuses, the new canes,
with their great blooms, blow' over
against old canes, and are held up.
* * * *
I The word is pronounced "high-bis
i cus,” with the accent on the second
syllable.
It is funny to listen to some persons
who think they must be "arty" at all
costs. The terrible ways they twist this
poor word is amazing as well as
amusing.
The family to which this great flow
ered one belongs Is an interesting fam
ily. It includes Malva sylvestris, the
common mallow, and M. rotundifolia,
the dwarf mallow. Both of these are of
Old World origin, but are now natural
ized all over the United States.
In the old days Infusions of the leaves
were used as soothing agents in sprains
and the like. The root of some of these
species is still used as a demulcent for
kidney affections. The large, fleshy
roots lend themselves well to this pur
pose. Perhaps the roots of the hibiscus
would do as well as any.
All the members of the family pos
sess mucilaginous properties and persons
interested in herbalism still find use for
them. The taste of all of them is rather
weedy, naturally enough, since this
waedy character is very marked in the
'growth habits of all except the common
althea, which is entirely woody in
nature, lending itself to hedge purposes,
trimmed or untrimmed.
* * * *
The hibiscus should have plenty of
sun, wherever planted.*
It may be used in any garden situa
tion, water being no more essential to
it than to most plants. This is strange,
since growth by water is natural to it.
With ordinary garden soil and water,
however, it does very well, and grows as
large, fresh and meaty blossoms as ever.
The great flowers open in the very
early morning and generally close about
noon. On cloudy days they may remain
open all day and. occasionally, the next
morning also, especially if a light and
misty rain has served to keep them
fresh. They stay open longer when the
Summer days are cool than when hot.
They are not satisfactory cut flowers,
as they tend to wilt and close about
noon, whether in or out of water.
* * * *
While the hibiscus may be grown
easily from seed, the most satisfactory
way is to purchase the roots in the early
Spring and plant them at once. This
gives the specimen every chance to
make a good start and to be all ready to
push up those stout canes early In
April.
At first the canes are green on the
outside, and rather tender, but with the
passing days they become tougher and
turn to a slightly grav-green cast with
the growth of a regular bark.
The canes always remain very brittle
and that is one of the best reasons for
putting a stout stake at each specimen
and tying most of the cane up to it. in
a rather loose way, not too close or tight,
as the latter arrangement spoils the
character of the plant.
It is no fun to see a fine hibiscus
snapped off about 6 inches from the
ground in a thunderstorm, but this
often happens unless the specimen is
tied up. Once the plant is broken in
I this way, it is a dead loss for the season,
| although the great roots may live and
send up stalks the next year the same
as ever.
The sprawly habit of growth makes
rather close planting best, say about 2
feet, so that the branches intertwine
and help hold each other up. The effect
is best if at the extreme rear of a lot.
and in a place where wildness shows to
the best, advantage. This is not a tidy
shrub, like its cousin, the althea, nor
are its flowers any more beautiful, but
their immense size gives a note scarcely
| to he found elsewhere.
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE.
To judge by his demeanor at the first ,
White House press conference following
collapse of the Supreme Court plan, Mr.
Roosevelt is a cheerful loser. His laugh
and smile are still in working order.
Whatever emotions may fill him, he has
the philosophical bearing of a man who,
having fought and failed, is resigned to
the inevitable. The President conveys the
impression that his crusade for ref
ormation of the high bench was by no
means fruitless. P. D. R. was fully
prepared for reportorial curiosity about
his reaction to his heaviest* political re
verse. In response to questions, he
reeled off. with unfeigned satisfaction, a
j typewritten memorandum of pro-New
Deal decisions that ensued upon the
heels of the court-packing proposal.
Although denied his real objective, Mr.
Roosevelt clearly feels that the game
was worth the candle. He seems per
suaded that a ‘court-conscious” and
‘‘Constitution-minded” country shares
his abiding aspiration for continued
progress along trails which have now
been blazed. The President rejects sug
gestions that he will go on "campaign
ing” for his court program and stresses
that the business of extending social
legislation gains is up to Congress. But
no doubt exists that he intends to exer
cise unceasing influence in promotion
of all the causes still close to his heart.
* * * *
Inclusion of Senator Bob La Follette
and his brother. Gov. Phil, in the first
presidential week end cruise after the
judiciary battle Is an event of deepest
political significance. It is an open secret
that the young Wisconsin Progressive's
Influence in administration councils,
even though he constitutes a one-man
group in the Senate, is of grade-A quality.
Whenever he takes part in White House
conferences with congressional leaders.
It's of record that Bob's views carry as
much weight as, and sometimes more
than, those of some front-rank Demo
cratic brethren. The President is tre
mendously fond of both the La Toilettes
and admires .the skill by which they
have become political masters of a great
State. Their ideas on social and labor
'legislation particularly command Roose
veltian respect. Prognosticators of long
range events are certain that If there's
to be a realignment of liberal forces,
within or outside the Democratic party,
in 1940 or before, the President courts a
working alliance with the La Follettes
and the elements which they personify.
Progressive preferences and prejudices
on the subject of Supreme Court ap
pointments will weigh heavily at the
White House, too.
* * * *
President Roosevelt and Postmaster
General Farley don’t seem to see exactly
eye to eye on the present and future of
the economic situation. The President
holds fast to the theory that certain
New Deal objectives, hitherto balked by
judicial processes, must be attained be
fore anything like durable prosperity can
be expected. A Nation “one-third ill
fed, ill-housed and Ill-clothed” Is appar
ently still the picture which the White
House sees. At Saturday's Democratic
rally in Toledo, Farley declared that
“it can be stated emphatically that re
covery is here to stay—that the past few
months have shown a gratifying Increase
in the pace of business expansion, and
experts are almost unanimous In pre
dicting that the upturn will continue.”
In the same speech Sunny Jim trotted
04t a wealth of statistical data to bolster
the claim of “restored economic health"
and "Justified optimism over the eco
nomic outlook.” He also glorified the
fact that "labor 1* enjoying a larger
share of the rewards than it did in the
so-called boom years.”
* * * *
While comment on lately embittered
events almost universally depicts Presi
dent Roosevelt as chief loser and victim. i
victors in the judiciary battle say that
some of the places on the mourners'
bench should be allotted to certain brain i
trusters—mainly, young legalistic lum
inaries of the New Deal—who are re
garded as the real villains of the court
packing piece. The rebuke which Con
gress and the country have just admin
istered to their ill-starred ideas discredits
them, according to some Capitol leaders,
far more than the President, to whom
their patent medicine was sold. In this
connection, it is suggested that while
Roosevelt has lost political prestige, his
popularity is probably not diminished
in any proportionate degree. A friendly
court opponent thinks the London Eco
nomist’s recent survey of the New Deal
put matters in a nutshell when it said
that while the President may not always
have the right answers, he asks more of
the right questions than any other con
temporary American statesman has done.
* * * *
Senate court oppositionists grabbed
most of the recent national limelight,
but honorable mention is due those
House Democrats who. within a week
of the launching of the President's court
proposal, made public protest against it.
Prominent in that pioneer group were
Representatives Celler of New York,
Pettengill of Indiana, Cox of Georgia
and Lamneck of Ohio. Judiciary Com
mittee Chairman Sumners of Texas was
also in the vanguard, as was Representa
tive Drewry of Virginia. Beginning as a
slender minority bloc, the movement
was destined to grow into what un
doubtedly would have become a sizable
majority against the bill. All the early
House protecters would have been in
the thick of the fray had the doomed
scheme ever reached their side of the
Capitol.
* * * *
Those who believe that what really
killed the judiciary bill was the change
of heart which the Supreme Bench
underwent after February 5 are recalling
a wisecrack by a distinguished foreign
member of the press gallery who is famed
for his polltial epigrams. His court jest
was: “A switch in time saved nine.”
+ * * *
"Dear Alben” Barkley’s election to the
Senate majority leadership brings par
ticular joy to the country's rail workers.
Almost 15 years ago. as a member of the
House, the Kentuckian introduced the
famous Howell-Barkley bill at the re
quest of the standard railroad labor
organizations. The measure had hard
sledding in both branches of Congress,
having been stubbornly opposed by the
carriers, but eventually, and largely
under Barkley’s leadership, the first rail
way labor act was passed, and years later
was strengthened by amended legisla
tion. In 1926 railmen had an oppor
tunity to show their appreciation of
Barkley's friendship, when he was in
the midst of his first and hotly contested
senatorial campaign. Labor, official
organ of the brotherhoods, spread a
special edition over the Blue Grass
State, which helped materially to give
him victory.
* * * *
Americans recently in Europe bring
back a report current in Berlin that
Vladimir Romm, former Washington
correspondent of the principal Soviet
newspaper. Izvestia, who was implicated
ANSWERS TO
QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HA SKIN.
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 near completion is the United
States-Alaska air route?—W. H.
A. Only July 5 the route was two*
thirds in operation.
Q. How many refrigerators are ther*
in the world?—E. G. D.
A. There are about thirteen million.
Of these, about eleven million are in
the United States.
Q. Please list the instrumentation of
the Naval Academy Band.—M. B. S.
A. One leader, 2 flutes. 2 oboes, 2
bassons, 1 E-flat clarinet, 1 alto clari
net, 1 bass clarinet, 24 B-flat clarinets,
4 saxophones, 10 B-flat cornets or
trumpets, 8 French horns. 8 trombones,
2 baritones or euphoniums, 6 basses or
Sousaphones, 4 percussion. Total, 75,
and a harp to be added soon.
Q. How many kittens are bom at one
time?—B. E. B.
A. A litter usually contains from two
to seven kittens.
Q. What is the significance of the red
dots on automobile tires?—S. B
A. These marks may be square, round
or triangular. They indicate how well
the tires are balanced and at what
point with respect to the casing the
inner tube valve should be placed when
a tire is mounted.
Q How large is the kidney in the
human Body?—G. L. E.
A. Dr. Morris Fishbein describes a
kidney as about 4‘jx2'2xl:4 inches.
Each kidney contains between one mil
lion and four million filter chambers,
each with 2 inches of microscopic tubing.
Q Were the members of the crew of
the Hindenburg civilians or soldiers?—
R. W.
A. They were citizens. The airship
was operated commercially.
Q. What university in the United
States has the largest collection of
books?—H. G.
A. Harvard University leads with
3.8001)00 books and pamphlets, the
largest university collection in the world.
Q How many Americans are now
permanent residents of France?—S. M.
A. There are now 11.881. This is an
increase of about 700 over last year.
Q Has Tennessee a new child-bride
law?—H. J.
A. Tennessee's new' marriage law spfs
16 years as the minimum age for brides.
Q. How many Spaniards have lost
their lives in the Spanish Civil War?
—W. R.
A. On July 17. the first anniversary of
the war, 500,000 Spaniards had been
killed.
Q. Please name two songs which can
be sung simultaneously by two groups
of singers as a stunt.—E. K.
A. "Solomon Levi” and "The Spanish
Cavalier" lend themselves well to this
son of vocal combat.
Q How large is Swope Park in Kansas
City. Mo.?—E. R.
A. The park consists of 1.400 acres.
Q How were the boundanes of the
United States fixed after the Revolu
tionary War?—C. W.
A. They were fixed by the treaty which
ended the war and all powers of govern
ment and right to soil passed to the
United States.
Q. What is meant by black light?—
C. J. C.
_ A. The term is applied to infra-red
rays which occur beyond the red end of
the spectrum, and are of longer wave
length and invisible.
Q. What is the name of the town In
the South that has an all-Negro popu
lation?—H. K.
A Mound Bayou. Miss., was founded
50 years ago by former slaves and has
a population of 2,000 Negroes. There is
no jail and for 13 years no capital
crime has been committed in the com
munity.
Q. How many trips to foreign lands
did George Washington make?—W. H
A. Washington's trip to Barbados in
1751 was the only foreign journey he
ever made.
Q. Was shell shock first noticed In
the World War?—A. M.
A. It was known as early as the six
teenth century and was called “wind
of the ball.’ In the World War some
of the explosives caused a pressure of
10 tons to the square yard. This caused
great injury to the nervous system, pro
ducing .various disturbances.
Q In the early days of railroad build
ing, how much land was donated to the
railroad companies?—W. L. K.
A. Approximately 138 million acres of
land was donated to the railroads by the
Federal Government and approximately
40 million acres by the various States.
Q What is the derivation of the word
“socialite"?—W. H.
A. It is coined from the words “social'’
and “elite.”
Q. Was Mark Twain the author of the
inscription on his daughters grave be
ginning: “Warm Summer sun, shine
kindly here”?—J. L.
A, The lines, which were altered by
Mark Twain, are from a poem entitl*
“Annette,” by the Australian poe .
Robert Richardson.
A Rhyme at Twilight
By
Gertrude Brooke Hamilton.
Homing Thoughts.
I’m homesick tonight for the old, old
days,
The earnest nonsense of childhood's
plays;
I want to be young, very young, again,
When the only sorrow was physical pain,
Or the broken strands of a daisy chain.
/
To wake at dawn with a heart full of
song
For the day that never seemed too long.
When only a pleasure missed brought a
frown;
And to whisper, as night inclosed tha
town,
With a sleep-bowed head: “Now I lay
me down.”
- I.,,. n
in the Radek treason trial at Moscow
last Winter, is still alive, but an exile in
Siberia.
(OMWTtoM. 1*»T.)
I