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THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition THEODORE W. NOYES. Editor WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY..February 24, 1938 Tha Evening Star Newspaper Company Main Office: 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Office: 110 East 43nd St. Chicago Office: 435 North Michigan Ave. " Delivered by Carrier—City and Suburban Regular Edition Evening and Sunday. H5c ner mo. or 15c per week The Evening Star.. _45c per mo. or 10c per week The Sunday Star_ .. 5c per copy Night Final Edition Night Final and Sunday Star_7 0cpcrtnontn Night Final Star 55c per month Collection made at the end of each month or each week. Orders may be tent by mail or tele phone National 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance Maryland and Virginia Daily and Sunday_1 yr., $10.00; l mo., hoc Daily only_1 yr., $0.00, 1 mo.. 5oc Sunday only_1 yr., $4.00; 1 mo.. 40c All Other States and Canada Dally and Sunday.l yr., $13.00; 1 mo., $1.00 Daily only_1 yr.. $s.oo; 1 mo., 7 5c Sunday only_1 yr., $5.00; 1 mo., 6oc Member of the Associated Press The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use lor republicauon ol all news dispatches credited to It or not otherwise credited m this paper and also the local news published herein. All rights ol publication ol special dispaccnes herein also are reserved. ♦ Room lor Sympathy. * Chairman Nichols oi the House Sub committee on District Tuxes is surprised to learn that there is no tax on beer in Washington. "That is what makes it so difficult to write a tax bill for the Dis trict," said Mr. Nichols, "and what makes me unsympathetic, to learn that the District has escaped taxes paid by other jurisdictions.” The revelation that there is no tax on beer in the District should not make Mr. Nichols unsympathetic. It should make him more sympathetic to the local taxpayers. Mr. Nichols has been a distinguished member of the House District Committee for some time. Mr. Nichols was a member of the committee which framed the tax bill for the Dis trict which went into effect last year. Mr. Nichols is the chairman of a sub committee now preparing another tax bill for the District. Mr. Nichols had the assistance of a so-called advisory committee on taxes, made up of certain municipal employes in the District Building, whose not very penetrating researches into the question of taxation were reinforced by a $5,000 appropria tion to assist them, paid for out of local taxes. Yet Mr. Nichols learns for the first time that there is no local tax on beer. Why does this make Mr. Nichols un sympathetic? Since the subcommittee, of which Mr. Nichols is chairman, began its study of the local tax bill there has been no meet ing attended by all the members of the subcommittee. For the past two weeks the House District Committee has been unable to transact business because of the lack of a quorum. Under such conditions, how can the legislators, ex clusively responsible for all taxes and *11 legislation in the District, be ex pected to familiarize themselves with anything? The tax bill now under con eideration has drawn, and will continue to draw, severe criticism from local tax payers because it is a poor tax bill. If the logical suggestion of the Board of Trade for a tax on beer is adopted and written into the bill, sufficient revenue may be produced to permit a modicum of tax relief in other directions. But Mr. Nichols doubtless realizes that a beer tax will meet the objections of some members who come from dis tricts where there are breweries; not because it is an unfair tax or be cause beer sold in the District should not bear such a tax. They will be against It because they are more concerned with the interest of their voting constituents than they are with the interests of their voteless constituents who live in the District. It is disheartening to learn that Mr. Nichols feels unsympathetic to the Dis trict, which has nothing to do with taxes except to pay them; w'hich lacks any voice in the selection of taxes or how the money is to be spent. News pictures show German children at play while wearing gas masks. Nurs ery rhymes will no doubt be invented Which give the gas mask a proper status. « .. , ■ Hitler has one great advantage in being sure of an attentive world audi ence whenever he decides that he is due Xor a speech. Clean Administration. Next to money, perhaps, there is no element so important to effective opera tion of the omnibus social security pro gram as integrity on the part of those administering the component plans. Conceding the broad thesis that local administration should be more generally satisfactory than centralization of all control in Washington, the social security legislation provides that States should exercise such administrative function in varying degree in all except the old-age Insurance program. In the old-age assistance program, for Instance, it was established that the Federal Government would match State expenditures up to $30 per person per month and defray part of the admin istrative costs if the State plan and its administrative machinery met certain standards of the Social Security Board. Embarking on a project of public aid more vast than ever before attempted in this country, the board placed justifi able faith in the integrity of local offi cials in conferring approval necessary to bring relief to those in need of it. It is regrettable indeed if this faith is to prove misplaced in any appreciable number of cases, a condition now seem ingly evident with regard to Oklahoma, where agents of the board have un covered grounds for serious indictment of the old-age assistance administration. la brief, the charges are that pen sions have been granted to those not * needing them, denied to those who did need them and that other provisions of the approved plan have been flouted. Substantiation of such complaints pre sumably would force Oklahoma to set its own house in order. Certainly it must do so if it would participate further in Federal largesse. Assuming that the board initiated its current proceedings against the Okla homa administration only after careful consideration of facts, it is to be com mended for its courage in forcing the situation into the open. The example may have salutary effect in other States where suspicions of maladministration have arisen and may further the funda mental objective of bringing assistance to those who truly need it. Man Bites Dog. There is real news out of the em battled East. China has attacked Japa nese territory. A fleet of Chiang Kai shek's Russian-built aircraft, manned by crews of undisclosed nationality, has bombed the island of Formosa, approxi mately one hundred and twenty miles east of the southeast coast of China. Considerable damage in civilian life and property was wrought, and, according to Chinese claims, the Formosan air base at Taihoku was heavily strafed, with loss of forty Japanese planes, two hangars and a gasoline storage tank. Whether the casualties in life and military equipment are large or light‘is unimportant. What is significant nothing more significant has happened during the whole Far Eastern campaign —istthat a man has bitten a dog; an almost unheard of event has taken place, unheard of not only in two cycles of Sino-Japanese war history, but ut terly without parallel in Nippon's an nals for three quarters of a century. The soil of the island empire has again been violated by an enemy attack. Of immediate and paramount import is the revelation that Japan, supposedly su preme in the air, as well as on land and sea, does not command the skyways in the war zone and is herself vulnerable. It is no surprise to learn that tjre in stant effect of the raid over Formosa was the institution of air defense maneu vers in the Tokio-Yokohama area, with its population of close to ten million souls. Terror spread through the Em peror’s capital, for the Japanese public had been led to believe that the im perial forces are in as complete control aloft as they are ashore and afloat. Not since 1864, when a combined British Freneh-Dutch fleet bombarded Shimo noseki, has Nipponese territory felt the impact of hostile foreign shells. To at tack from the air, Japan's flimsily con structed buildings, with the exception of the comparatively few substantial places that dot the island, particularly those erected since the 1923 earthquake, are especially susceptible. It is realized by the naval and military authorities j that, structurally,, the island is virtually | at the mercy of an enemy in command of the air or able to attack in force. The peril of a Russian bombing plane assault from Vladivostock, only a few hours’ flight from Japan’s industrial centers, has long been a nightmare. That their demonstrated ability to strike at Japan—to turn the tables on the enemy—will vastly bolster Chinese morale goes without saying. The For mosan air affair follows notable defen sive successes recently won by Chiang's armies in Central China, on the far flung fronts along the Yellow River, now the scene of fierce encounters with the Japanese. General Matsui's recall m the midst of these crucial engage ments is undeniable evidence that things are not going to Tokio's liking. It sub stantiates cireumstarttial reports reach ing military observers at Washington that the long expected is steadily com ing to pass, namely, that the stubborn re sistance which the invader now faces, not only at the hands of well-drilled, well-equipped Chinese divisions, but in the even deadlier form of guerrilla war fare waged effectively and suddenly at vital points, is seriously slowing up the Japanese drive. The islanders are not defeated, but they are sinking into the morass that is China, and may sink be yond recall unless they soon pull them selves up. * I —— - How automobiles are best managed has become one of the great questions of the hour, with flying machines also call ing for scientific consideration as a means of advancing commerce instead of destroying it. If the year 1938 lives up to its possibilities it will be indeed memorable. Kentucky is a fine old State, able to say from personal observation what to do with a gold reserve that has been pa tiently accumulated. Politics in Zoning. Zoning apparently has been added to the list of political issues in Montgomery County. Efforts to rezone a tract ad joining the Sligo Valley Park to permit erection of apartments split the county board of commissioners along Fusion Democratic lines—with the exception of a Fusionist who later resigned and was replaced by an anti-organization Dem ocrat who was expected to vote with the other Fusionists. The resignation co incided with the zoning dispute, although it was evidently caused chiefly by a patronage battle. Nevertheless it re vealed how important zoning issues— which should be settled on a scientific basis—are at the mercy of political developments. Admittedly it is not an easy task to decide what should be done in cases such as the one which has just confronted the Montgomery board. Opponents of the rezoning showed their suijprise at the proposal to erect apartments in an area which they considered beyond the apart ment zone. They predicted that land lying near the tract involved would no longer be classed with the most de sirable in the county if the change in zoning were approved. An unusual angle of the case, however, was that two 20 acre tracts bordering the park already have been rezoned with little, If any, opposition. This caused the applicant in the third case to charge discrimina tion. One argument stressed by the applicant was that apartments along Sligo Valley Park will be no more detrimental than those along Rock Creek Park in Wash ington. This will be true if the county building authorities see that, in the event of rezoning, only high-class structures are built. Already, in the opinion of many, an important highway entrance to the city has been definitely marred by the erection of apartments suggestive of Greenbelt. The Sligo Valley Park zoning fight points to the need of putting zoning in the hands of an agency removed from political pressure. Decisions in zoning cases should be based on an impartial analysis of public opinion and an en gineering study of the possibilities of the arras involved. The State Legislature may well weigh the entire Montgomery situation to see if some such method of making zoning more scientific and less political cannot be devised. Honor for Mrs. Townsend. When the town of Halle in Germany bestowed the Handel Medal upon Mrs. Lawrence Townsend it provided an opportunity for an expression of Wash ington’s gratitude for her devoted service to music and to music-lovers. The Nation's Capital needed such a personality. Art prospers here as else where only as it is promoted and pro tected intelligently. Mrs. Townsend appears to have been endowed by nature with fine discrimination, keen enthusi asm and high efficiency. Her ideals have been both lofty and practical. She has democratized her genius in the best of all possible ways—by bringing musi cians and an appreciative public to gether. The benefit to both is obvious. Relatively, honors are few in America. The peoples of Europe have developed through long centuries a larger number of tangible symbols of acclaim. But it does not follow that the citizens of the United States are unmindful of their obligation to those who spend their substance, their time and their strength in behalf of cultural progress. The com munity of Washington certainly is glad to join with that of Handel’s native city in a gesture of thanks to Mrs. Townsend. She has earned applause, and it is not withheld on either side of the Atlantic. The President will have things to say to the news men with regard to foreign policies. A large part of the interest in his remarks may depend on how they are handled by patient and skillful translators. Literature is brilliantly recognized in present politics and never has there been a more determined effort to intensify the literary quality of comments as they arise. Italy will now hear what Neville Chamberlain has to say, with perhaps no feeling that success has bepn scored' in making a new job any easier than the old one. --» *- i—-.. From the President's private office comes the consistent message “no com ment.’’ Even the realtor hesitates about mentioning basic values and the prospect of future improvements. Getting things definitely settled once and forever has never been deemed es sential to England’s happiness. What the future may hold in store is as essen tial as ever to mental comfort. Shooting Stars. By PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Beneficiary. For heroes pagentries are made; For men who suffer as they climb. The one who looks at the parade Is he who has the easier time. And yet the man upon the street Who offered no suggestion wise. But waits in comfort all complete, Is always first to criticize. Temptations of Talent. “Would you advise a young statesman to study oratory?” “No,” answered Senator Sorghum; “being a great orator these days simply tempts a man to take a chance on say ing the wrong thing.” Jud Tunkins says when a man gets mad too easy it’s a pretty sure sign his conscience ain’t clear. “Meanest Man” Contest. The “meanest man on earth” no more Is that misguided elf Who says. “There won’t be any core” And keeps all for himself. He is no grpuch. In wildest glee He seeks what he calls fun. Earth’s meanest man just now is he Who hits and tries to run. “What’s the population of Crimson Gulch?” “We won’t know for several days,” an swered Cactus Joe. “Another feud has broke out.” “A beaten path is easiest trod,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “yet progress has depended largely on our perpetual human .curiosity as to what may lie in the jungle.” Three Thousand at Least. The Candidate now comes along, A fairy friend with magic strong. A fairy's limit used to be A kind consent to wishes three. The Candidate more skill must claim In following up the fairy game, For he must promise with a will Three thousand wishes to fulfill. “A natchelly talkative person,” said Uncle Eben, “generally has de best of an argument, owin’ to his vocal cords bein’ la de best trainin’.'* ... ' V —1 Over-Capitalization of Railroads Discussed To tho Editor of The Star: I have read with considerable interest your editorial in the Sunday Star of February 20 discussing the case of the railroads. This editorial contains the first men tion I have yet seen in the public prints of the outrageous and unconscionable overcapitalization of these utilities. My own experience—after reaching early manhood—goes back to the very early eighties and I have known personally of scores of cases of what was commonly considered by the gen eral public to be bribery, fraud, out right defiance of the law, and other forms of swindles and trickery too nu merous to mention. Of course, the actual history of the ruining and wreck ing of roads so they could be bought up cheap and “reorganized" can be read bv anyone sufficiently interested to look it up. I seriously believe that there are many roads in this country which are overcapitalized to two, three, and four times their actual cost to the buc caneers that either built them or later stole them. There Is nothing to wonder at that they cannot pay dividends. As was mentioned in your editorial, some one, of course, is bound to get hurt if and when some considerable portion of the water is squeezed out of the stocks of such roads, but I defy any person to defend outrageous freight and passenger rates for the purpose of paying those dividends. Many people argue that it is an outrage to allow the trucks and buses to use highways to take away such a vast proportion of the business of the railroads. I can't seem to force any tears to mv eyes on account of the plight of the poor rail roads. While on the subject of overcapitaliza tion, let me say that for a great many years I was in a position in the Gov ernment service where my duties re quired me to handle and carefully ex amine reports made by investigators to the Federal Trade Commission, which reports in hundreds and hundreds of cases brought out a clear statement, expressed in figures, telling of the doubling up. over and over, of the cap italization of gas, electric and water plants. The usual system was for two or three insiders in one of the well known big corporations to manage—by bribery if necessary and possible—to buv up some small or medium-sized munici pal plant. This select group would then resell—perhaps “reorganize"— and at the same time run the cost up from $25,000 or $35,000 to ten times that amount. Then, within just a few months or weeks the property would be tak^n over by the big companv and stock sold to the general public for an other doubling up. ALBERT D. RUST. World. Situation Today Is Most Amazing in History' To the Editor of The Star: The present “reign of terror” dwarfs Into insignificance the proceedings of the original performance to which this phrase is classically applied. The ac tions of the totalitarian powers in their undeclared wars on weaker peoples have already cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent non-combatants, and the threats to those who may op pose their will declare a purpose of much further destruction with its accompani ment of untold misery. Already these actions and the pro nounced program of these powers have disrupted the peace of mind of the world; disturbed the economy and po litical policies of all other nations, and made all free peoples apprehensive that the security which centuries of sacri fice entitles them to cherish are en dangered. It is an amazing situation, entirely unimaginable at the termination of the Great War. But what is much more amazing is the complacency with which these disruptive developments were ob served by the peoples who were to be come the victims of their accomplish ment. The program of the Nazi leader was blatantly advertised, with un ashamed synicism and with bold de tail. It was carried through step-by step, first by pure effrontery, but later by a show of sufficiency. At the in ception of this development, when it was plainly clear that it was to be pushed to its ultimate conclusion, the nations now suffering jitters and palsey through inaction could have stopped it short by a mere display of force and purpose. W'hat is the situation? The nations that are supposed to have won the war have now to extend themselves to the breaking point and to endanger their economy merely to preserve their politi cal existence; the world is faced with mass destruction and misery, and West ern civilization is itself at stake. And all for lack of imagination, for un necessary blindness to see things as palpable as a pike-staff, and for in excusable want of purpose and courage. Nothing in all history can produce a parallel to such a case of ineptitude; to the writer it is the most amazing and inexplicable situation that has ever arisen in human annals. WILLIAM I. WYMAN. Careful Drivers Have No Occasion to Blow Horns To the Editor of The Star: The editorial “Silencing the Horns-’ in The Star for February 18 is not in keeping with previous comment on the general undesirability of automobile horning. City people are surrounded by ‘conditions unconducive to sleep and the ban on auto-tooting should be backed 100 per cent. Those are romantic in deed who interpret nocturnal honking as an accompaniment of innocent ro mance. Plea is made that the careful driver warns persons and animals in his path by a blast of the klaxon. On the con trary, a careful driver will at all times have his car under such control that he can stop without colliding with any thing ahead. In fact if automobiles were made without horns, that change in itself would promote careful and considerate driving. Most tooting by autoists is not only unnecessary but is inspired by some of the less desirable human attributes as egotism, impatience, selfishness and fear. If the motorist keeps his car in good condition and drives sanely, he will very seldom have reason for sound ing his horn. W. L. McATEE. Nerve! From the Peoria Star. Ultimate limit of nerve: An American .saying the Filipinos aren’t‘fit for self government because they would get ' hopelessly in debt. Hitler a Regular Winner. From the Troy <N. Y.) Record. German Army heads who stood out against der big boy have learned what every householder knows. In an argu ment with a paper hanger you can't win. Inviting Trouble. From the Fittsbursh Foit-Oaiatte. Hungary, by discovering oil, has placed herself In danger of an undeclared war. THIS AND THAT • BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Restraint Is a wonderful quality In music, no matter how little standing it may have in the rest of the world and man’s affairs. Restraint, in music, is the power be hind the almost unaudible ’’ppp,” the real zest in the thundering “fff.” Loud or softly let the orchestra play, the listener will feel sure that the group could do it more extremely if it pleased. Now this is the crux of real music, but the listener must have some sort of musi cal experience to realize it. A "jitterbug,” a youngster who must sway to his “hot” music, will know noth ing of restraint in music, because his 3,000 discs know nothing of it. He may think he knows a great deal, but actually he is acquainted only with one type of music, which has specialized in movement with the lid off. Restraint, from a musical standpoint, means that the musician, whether singer, instrumental soloist, or member of an orchestra, has deliberately keyed down his whole endeavor. The automobilist who has a car which will go 90 miles per hour, but has never run it faster than 50, is showing restraint. He know’s the feeling of power beneath the hood. The listener who senses that his musi cian has something in reserve has an even greater satisfaction. Even when thp score calfs for a thun dering finish, the performance will be much better if the musicians make no attempt whatever to knock the bottom out of their instruments. * * * * The tenor who opens his mouth and screams on his last note is not an artist, no matter how much of a “celebrity” he may be. He is just ‘‘showing off,” as the little girl did who sang “They Cut Down the Old Pine Tree” for ten blocks without stopping. It may be showmanship, but it isn't music, at least not the best music, which cannot get along without restraint. It is axiomatic that the better the musician, the more restraint he shows. This quality Is not to be confused with conservatism. There is no particular relationship, nor anv need of any; true musical restraint is shown utterly outside the type of composition involved. The true artist will show restraint in singing a lullaby, or conducting a symphony, and she or he will do so by singing or con ducting so that the music is not quite so much of whatever it is. This is not a hard thing to under stand, but it seems utterly beyond those listeners who have not had the experi ence of listening to restrained playing and singing from the best artists. The “jitterbug” previously instanced is one who must move while listening to music. Sometimes his entire body is in volved, sometimes only his head, or hands, or feet. Such a listener will not know restraint when he hears it, because he has lost track of all other qualities in music ex cept movement, or rhythm. This quality, by the way, is not to be confused with “swing,” which, as a word, has come to have in popular music a totally different meaning from rhythm. Many popular gramophone discs are on the market today labeled “swing” when they are not "swing” at all. The word, as used now, simply means improvised mu sic, or “ad lib,” as the musicians say. When you hear over your radio an old tune which you once liked, but which in its present rendition you scarce can rec ognize, you may know that the musicians are “swinging” it, that is, swinging away from the music, as written, and playing it to suit themselves at the moment. If it is intensely rhythmical, that merely happens to be the spirit of the age; it has nothing to do with “swing,” and the word itself doesn’t mean a swinging tune, or anything of the sort, necessarily. A Sousa march is swinging enough, but it isn’t “swing” music in the present sense. * * * * Restraint is akin to Oliver Wendel Holmes when he said that he didn’t dare write as funny as he could. He had something in reserve. Good musicians always have something in reserve, and, curiously, something they never use. This is because music is not physical alone, but mental as well. Music is the most curious art in the world, in that It partakes of mathematics, pure science, on the one side, and of all the emotions, on the other. Some listeners profess to find this a confusing situation, that a musician must work with numbers, and yet may be a fellow who will get angry at a wrong note. His science and his temperament, they tell themselves, are hard to reconcile. * * * * Yet it may be put down that musicians, and real music lovers, are the most hu man of human beings, for they are honest with their minds and also with their emotions. A musician is not ashamed of being temperamental, as others say. He knows better than they do that the real mind in music is the emotional side. That is recognized by grave men of affairs, busi ness and military and political leaders, who attend concerts with great regular ity, because they recognize that at them they will find honest emotionalism un ashamed, even proud of itself, so long as it has worked with the laws of the game first. Hearing music is one time- a man may be lionet with himself. ♦ * * A little French girl <from Milwaukee) made a series of recordings in Paris. Her voice was restrained, delicate, beautiful, so that although the songs she sang were of the lightest sort, the discs she made were works of art. When she came back to America she was told that singing of that type was not “popular’’ over here. The listeners, she was told, wanted noise, and plenty of it. Her records made “over here’’ are un restrained. She yells where there is no need of yelling, and when she doesn’t scream loud enough, the recording engineers, evi dently, “pepped’’ up her notes for her. No more dramatic contrast can be found than those old records and the new ones. The old ones are artistic. The new ones are—well, what America wants, evidently, but pretty sad. once you have heard the others. Restraint is the core of music, the great secret of inner con tent and happiness, and sanity. STARS, MEN AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Projrreps in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. H&VRY. In forty years there has been produced i in the world a pound and a half of ] radium—about enough to mske a two inch cube of this precious mineral. Of this, less than a quarter of a pound now can be located in the United States. The element is worth, at present market. prices. $25,000 a gram, which is about one four-hundredth of a pound. It re quires a million pounds of the original ore of the richest deposits in the world to obtain one gram. These statistics are abstracted from a publicity release just issued by the El Dorado Radium Corp., owner of the deposits discovered seven years ago near Great Bear Lake, just below the Arctic Circle in Northwestern Canada. This discovery, according to the news release, resulted in reducing the price of the life-giving element from $70,000 to $25,000 a gram. The company, believed to be the largest in the world, is able to produce about five grams a month. The corporation, presumably seeking for possible customers, surveyed about 213 leading hospitals in 47 cities. They found that about 100 of these hospitals had no radium at all. Some cities, such as Des Moines and Syracuse, had not a speck. There are about 30 grams in New York City valued at $750,000; 13 grams in Philadelphia, 11 grams in Chicago, nine grams in Buffalo and about five grams in Boston. This makes 68 out of the total of 82 grams which the company was able to locate in the United States. The other 14 grams are scattered over the country. When the survey started, the publicity release states, the corporation expected to find about 225 grams. They were un able to locate more than ioo grams, however, although it is extremely doubtful if much of it actually has been lost. Some of it, of course, may have disappeared through commercial uses. Radium is found in extremely minute amounts in the mineral pitchblend which is widely distributed over the* world, but in very minute quantities so that exploitation in most places would be prohibitively expensive. The original radium mines -were in Austria from which the Curies obtained the supplies of pitchblend out of which the element was isolated. The richest radium de posits in the United States were in Southwestern Colorado from which, over a period of several years, four or five grams were obtained. Both the Austrian and the American deposits, however, sank into insignifi cance about 15 years ago with the dis covery of very rich pitchblend deposits in the Belgian Congo. These were exploited by a Belgian company and the price immediately fell from over $100,000 to $70,000 a gram. The richness of the mines and the “cheapness” with which the element could be extracted gave this company essentially a world monopoly. Then, about seven years ago, came the discovery of the Great Bear Lake de posits—the original find, it is said, having been made by an Indian who “smelled” the rocks. Radium prospectors believe that a peculiar odor permeates the at mosphere in the vicinity of a rich de posit. These finds, breaking the world monopoly of the Belgian Congo, rapidly brought the price down almost two thirds. The cost of extraction is very expensive. Other deposits may be found, although it is doubtful if any of them will be much richer. The owners of the deposits have been especially generous in supplying speci mens of the ore to institutions for scien tific study, and several have been re ceived by the United States National Museum here. The element, emitting some of the most powerful radiations known to man, is becoming of more and more value for the treatment of cancer which cannot be reached by X-rays. It is credited with saving hundreds of lives. Until about three years ago, there was no possible rival. Since then, however, physicists have been able to produce several artificial radio-active elements by high energy bombardments. Theo retically some of them are more potent than radium. Eventually they may fill a notable place in medicine. At present and for a long time to come, however, the possibility of producing them in even the minute quantities in which radium can be extracted would be in credibly costly. Two Star Editorials Elicit Commendation To the Editor of The Star: As an Englishman I heartily con cur in The Star's editorial "Democracy Abdicates,” the writer of which has a profound knowledge of the European situation. To me it is rather a curious coin cidence that "the shopkeeper statesman who sold the pass” should be a Cham berlain. Those of us who have reason ably long memories will recall with pro found regret that it was Joseph Cham berlain—alias Brummagem Joe—who played the role of Judas to the Grand Old Man Gladstone. The latter introduced his famous Irish home rule bill, which was accepted as a solution of the Irish ques tion by Ireland's greatest statesman, Charles Stewart Parnell. Brummagem Joe saw the opportunity to get the thirty pieces of silver from the rabid tories of England, so he stuck the harpoon into Gladstone's back and submarined the Irish home rule bill. This home rule bill if it had been enacted into law would have, in my opinion, permanently settled the Irish question. Ireland would have become a tower of strength to Eng land and the fair name of England would not have been indelibly marred by the horrible barbarities of the ‘‘Black and Tans.” DANIEL J. DIXON. To the Editor of The Star: My congratulations on your very ex cellent editorials, "Democracy Abdicates” and "George Washington,” in The Star of February 22, 1938. It seems more than a passing coinci dence that two such outstanding edi torials should appear side by side on an anniversary' that means so much in American history. TACIE E. BOLEN. Deplores Support of Olympics in Japan To the Editor of The Star: With reference to the letter by Mr. Bush, I cannot understand how any patriotic, respectable American citizen who is aware of what our Constitution stands for would approve of our send ing a delegation of athletes to any of the Fascist countries and particularly Japan, as that would be putting our selves on a par with medieval tryant oppressors, murderers of innocent men, women and children, robbers, who are wearing a civilized mask but whose hands are dripping with the blood of their victims. Our participation in any such event would undoubtedly mean our approval of or at least acquiescence in their de structive work. ■. D. SHEPARD. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. A reader can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Wash ington Evening Star Information Bu reau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Wash ington, D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. How much money is spent tor time on the air?—J. H. A. Gross revenue from the sale of time on the radio totaled $140,000,000 In 1937. Q. What is meant by the letters P. P. on a personal card left by a French per son?—W. M. A. The initials stand for "pour felicita tion’’ or congratulations. Q. What was the name of the ship in which the pirate Jean Lafltte was last heard of?—G. E. P. A. In 1821 Lafltte picked a crew to man his favorite ship, Pride, and sailed away into the leegendary realms from which he had come. Q. How large is Sweden’s army and navy?—W. H. A. There are 655,000 men on the army rolls of Sweden with 400,000 reserves. The active navy personnel is 4,500. Q. What is another name for Bright's disease?—C. H. A. Nephritis is a synonym for Bright's disease. Q. Why are the stars said to be fixed when they are really in motion?—H. W. A. The stars are said to be fixed be cause they are so far away that neither the motions of the earth and sun, nor those of the stars themselves, have ordi narily appreciable effects upon their apparent positions. Q. What is the average number of per sons on a farm?—W. B. A. In 1935 the average number of per sons per farm was 4.67. Q. What is believed to be the oldest city in the world?—F. C. M. A. It is not possible to say, with any degree of accuracy, ■which is the oldest city in the world. Damascs, in Syria, is believed to be the oldest city now inhab ited. Archeologists are constantly un covering ruins which are moving the time of history farther and farther back. A buried city believed to be 7.000 years old was recently unearthed in Mesopotamia. It is known as Pepe Gorra and lies near the ancient city of Nineveh. Q. Do animals grow during hiberna tion?—A. G. A. They do not grow. All bodily activ ity is at low ebb. Q. When was the big Ku Klux parade in Washington, D. C.?—R. N. B. A. There were two Ku Klux Klan pa rades in Washington—one on August 8, 1925, and the second on September 13, 1926. The larger one was held in 1925. Q. What causes a rainbow?—A. B. S. A. The rainbow is caused by light from the sun passing into a drop of water and out. again after reflection from the far side. Since the drops are spherical, hence are quite alike no matter how turned, it follows that the angle between the lines from drop to sun and eye must always be the same whether the drop be high up or near the growid. This re quires that the rainbow, as viewed by an observer, must appear circular. Q. How old is Mayor Frank Hague of Jersey City?—R. M. A. He is sixty-two years old. Q. When was the Dutch Reformed Church established in America?—M. S. S. A. It was founded in Colonial times by Protestant settlers from the Netherlands. A congregation was organized in New Amsterdam <New York City) in 1628. Q. Who discovered Howland Island?— J. W. A. It was discovered in 1842 by G. E. Netcher of New Bedford, Mass. Q. What were the Southerners called who allied themselves with the Repub licans after the Civil War for purposes of self-advancement?—G. S. A. They were often called Scalawags. Q. Where is the Bowie collection of firearms?—C. G. A. It is on exhibition in the museum of Fort McHenry7 National Park, Balti more, Md. It is rated as one of the finest collections of small firearms in the United States. Q. How old is the chrysanthemum?— E. H. A. The common chrysanthemum has probably been known for at least 2.000 years. In Japan, where it can be traced back many centuries, it is the national flower. Breynius in 1689 was the first European to mention the chrysanthe mum. M. Pierre Louis Blancard intro duced the first large-flowering chrysan themum into England in 1789. The plant was first introduced into America in 1847. The work of hybridization was first, taken up by Dr. H. P. Walcott and later in the '80s by John Thorpe, who organized the Chrysanthemum Society af America in 1890. at which time hybridiza tion seemed to have reached its zenith. Care of the Feet. If your feet have you down take our advice and get yourself a copy of the booklet, CARE OF THE FEET. Nothing is more important to your comfort than comfortable feet. You w’ork on them and play on them and you must take care of them. Too great stress cannot be put on the importance of caring for the feet correctly. The booklet contains authoritative general information on home treatment of minor foot ills, selec tion that will strengthen and improve the foundations on which you stand. Don’t neglect them. Order your copy of this helpful publication now. Ten cents postpaid. Use This Order Blank The Washington Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskln, Director, Washington, D. C.: I enclose herewith TEN CENTS in coin (carefully wrapped) for a copy Of the booklet, CARE OF THE FEET. 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