Evening star. [volume], March 02, 1938, Page A-8, Image 8

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

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THE EVENING STAR
With Snnday Morning Edition
THEODORE W. NOYES, Editor
WASHINGTON, D. C.
WEDNESDAY.March 2, 1938
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Ill tlie Garden of Eden.
Amid characteristic British calm—or
phlegm—the international helm in
Downing Street has been transferred to
other hands. Where Anthony Eden a
brief ten days ago was at the wheel,
Viscount Halifax now charts the course.
On Monday night, the House of Com
mons, after a debate which reflected
mainly Parliament s disappointment that
the head of the Foreign Office will sit in
the Lords, instead of in the Commons,
the government was given a resounding
vote of confidence on the chief issue
involved in the cabinet crisis. Though
the seals of office pass to Lord Halifax,
the circumstances in which he inherits
his portfolio leave no doubt that it is
the Prime Minister who, for all practical
purposes, has become Foreign Secretary.
The voice henceforth may be the voice
of Jacob, but the hand will be the hand
of Esau.
Now that ten days have elapsed since
that able pilot was dropped, the possible
consequences of Captain Eden's fall are
assessed both at home and abroad
somewhat more dispassionately than was
the case when Mr. Chamberlain's sacri
fice of his young lieutenant seemed a
shocking surrender to the dictators. The
impression was inescapable that Eden
had walked the plank at the behest of
Hitler and Mussolini, much as Theophile
Delcasse was booted out of the French
foreign office in 1905 at the demand of
Germany. Today, with Europe slowly
recovering from the repercussions of the
Austrian coup, Hitler’s Reichstag ha
rangue and the British government
shake-up, an impression is crystallizing
in London and other capitals that the
call of the hour is the advice another
Prime Minister once made famous—the
Asquithian ’’Wait and See.” Men now
are saying it is premature to prejudge
either the purpose or the ultimate effect
of Chamberlain’s kowtow’ to Fascism.
The commonest alibi is that under
cover of apparent capitulation he is
delivering a diplomatic master stroke.
Nothing less than the weakening and
eventual disruption of the Berlin-Rome
axis are said to be his stealthily pur
sued goal. By selling Mussolini on the
idea that a friendly Britain is better for
Italy than an allied Germany, Mr.
Chamberlain’s interpreters envision him
In the act of accomplishing an astute
deal for the enduring tranquillity of
Europe. Nor do they depict him in the
Machiavellian guise of a statesman bent
upon isolating the Nazis. On the con
trary, his strategy contemplates, so this
version runs, a four-power peace and
non-aggression pact embracing Britain,
France, Italy and Germany. The time
to judge the effectiveness of so benign
a program will be when the fate of
Austrian independence is settled and
Hitler's purposes elsewhere in Central
Europe are clearer.
me prime Ministers apologists, re
sentful of world-wide opinion that he has
played democracy false, diagnose his
governing motive as a passionate desire
to avoid war at any price. It is all very
well, his advocates argue, for peoples who
are not within a few hours’ reach of
Continental air fleets, to blame Neville
Chamberlain for thinking first of Brit
ain’s perils and second of “democracy.”
The man responsible for the island
kingdom's safety, we are adjured, must
watch his step, and in the same breath
comes the reminder that John Bull’s
rearmament will not be complete until
1942. By that time, if not before, the
Prime Minister’s friends are persuaded,
the lion will have recovered his roar.
It is possible that Lindbergh con
templates several trips to these shores
without making it clear whether he is
studying a breathing apparatus, routes
or aircraft improvement. Whatever oc
cupies his attention, he remains un
interviewed.
D’Annunzio.
At the moment of his death Gabriele
d'Annunzio is better known for his pos
turings and pretenses than for his poetry.
The earlier portion of his career was the
more noteworthy. Since 1911 nothing
artistically durable had been credited
to his hand. Politics claimed him, prop
aganda absorbed him during a quarter
century which otherwise might have
established his name among the im
mortals.
He was a Dalmatian by heredity and
became a fanatical nationalist by de
liberate choice. Some unexplained and
probably unexplainable trait made him
perversely famous in his youth. He
cultivated a talent for shocking people,
consciously developed his non-conform
ity, challenged state and church with
theatrical impunity. The only religion
he cared about was an idolatry of his
own creation—the worship of sensation;
and his patriotism was a Quixotic phil
osophy of self-adulation.
But D'Annunzio cannot be ignored.
He was, in sober truth, a genius. None
of his contemporaries enjoyed a superior
mastery of words. He painted with lan
guage. Even though his finest pages are
marred by glorification of unworthy
values, it must be conceded that he was
a literary wizard. He worked miracles
in prose as well as in verse, proving
again and again his marvelous power
with a per. The fault was innate. He
could not govern himself, he could not
discriminate. The world of reality and
the world of dreams that he built within
it were chaotic as he saw them. His
anarchism, therefore, remained un
excused.
In the Great War he tried successively
the cavalry, the infantry, the navy and
the air force, performing exploits of the
most fantastic variety. Then, after the
Armistice and in defiance of all Europe,
he led the invasion of Fiume which
terminated in his expulsion from the city
he had meant to rule as a mystic prince.
The Fascist movement owes a debt to
his example of impertinence, but Musso
lini looked upon him with unconcealed
amusement. D'Annunzio goes down to
his grave sincerely mourned by none
save those who, loving letters, remember
what he briefly was long ago and per
haps under a different star permanently
might have been.
Reorganization.
As the Senate enters upon considera
tion of the Government reorganization
bill it is reassuring to note clear indica
tions of a desire to debate the measure
fully. It is one of the most important
subjects that will claim attention at
this session, and no harm will be done
by taking time to weigh the details of
its five major objectives.
No doubt there is some overlapping
and diffusion of functions in a set-up
of 135 governmental agencies, but the
very size of the problem is only an
added reason for making sure that the
proposed method of dealing with it is
the best.
It is well, also, that the opening speak
er in support of the bill has advised the
Senate frankly that no large percentage
of the present Federal budget can be
lopped off by regrouping agencies. This
is because of the fact that, despite the
growth of Government machinery', ad
ministrative expense is not a major part
of the total annual outlay in recent
years. Therefore, the declaration of
policy in the bill refers to reducing ex
penditures “consistent with the efficient
operation of the Government.”
The first title of the bill would em
power the President to consolidate or
abolish agencies, except a group of
quasi-judicial bodies like the Interstate
Commerce Commission, by executive
orders which would take effect after giv
ing Congress sixty days’ notice while in
session.
proponents will contend that many
past efforts to reorganize by listing spe
cific consolidations in the law have
shown it cannot be accomplished that
way. It will be argued just as strongly
by other Senators that the executive
order method places tremendous power
in the executive, in view of the fact
that both houses would have to pass a
bill and send it to the White House for
signature within sixty days if Congress
desired to prevent any particular execu
, five order from going into effect. The
further point will be stressed that if the
President exercised his veto power on
the legislation of disapproval, a two
thirds vote then wrould be necessary to
stop the change.
This will prove one of the main points
of conflict, although there is likewise a
division of senatorial opinion over abo
lition of the General Accounting Office
and the Civil Service Commission. Cur
rent accounting would be supervised by
the budget director, with a new auditor
general's office, under a joint commit
tee of Congress, to keep the legislative
branch advised through a post-audit.
A civil service administrator would re
place the commission, with an advisory
board limited to making recommenda
tions. A thorough debate will enable
the public generally, as well as the Sen
ate, to determine whether these various
basic changes in the Government set-up
should go through as drafted, or with
modifications.
The bill properly seeks to bring about
wider application of civil service princi
ples to Government personnel. In
cumbents of non-civil service jobs would
acquire a classified civil service status,
however, only upon recommendation of
the department head and By passing a
non-competitive examination.
If the President intends to invite a
liberation of all the newspaper skits he
has inspired it is hoped he will go back
and include some of those in which he
had the best lines.
Poor Man’s Court.
The action of the House in passing a
Senate-approved bill for the creation of
a small claims and conciliation branch
of the Municipal Court marks a valuable
contribution to the cause of needy liti
gants in the District. The signature
of the President is the only re
maining step before the bill becomes
law, leading to the expectation that the
“poor man’s court” will be in operation
within a few months, since its inaugura
tion will require only slight administra
tive changes in the present court set-up.
To Judge Nathan Cayton, of the Mu
nicipal Court, must go most of the credit
for this innovation in the District’s Ju
dicial system. In the face of opposition
that was at times strong and peculiarly
difficult for him to meet, he carried
forward a determined and intelligent
campaign for the new tribunal. As his
idea began to “take,” it rallied powerful
support, but if it had not been for
Judge Cay ton’s efforts the project would
have met defeat.
The essential purpose of the proposed
new court is to provide a friendly forum
in which the poor man, unversed in the
k
mysteries of the law, can have his claim
up to $50 tried, with or without counsel,
before a Judge whose primary objective
will be the simple and effective adminis
tration of Justice, free of the restraints
often Imposed by morf formal legal pro
cedure.
Some of the specific benefits that will
accrue to litigants if the bill becomes
law are voluntary arbitration and con
ciliation procedure, assistance in prep
aration of suit papers, service of papers
by registered mail as well as by the
United States marshal, simplified and
uniform statement of claim, a filing fee
of $1 and simple procedure for waiving
costs of worthy litigants, night sessions,
speedy procedure and installment pay
ment of judgments where necessary.
A Department Birthday.
Just as the complexity of our American
industrial life has increased in the past
quarter century, so has the importance
and the value of the United States De
partment of Labor grown.
Coming into being 25 years ago this
week, this youngest of full-fledged Fed
eral departments had as its original
objectives the furtherance of indus
trial peace, compilation of impartial and
accurate industrial statistics, the main
tenance of Improved working standards
and the most important task of bring
ing together the unemployed worker and
the vacant Job.
As was undoubtedly realized at the
time, attainment of such broad objec
tives could not be expected overnight.
All are continuing tasks and 25 years
after the founding of the department
it faces more work undone than has
been done. But throughout its history,
it has contributed a constructive service
to the Nation which even the black
and-white record of strikes settled, Jobs
filled and statistics compiled does not
adequately reflect.
As the department heads into a new
quarter century, both industry and labor
are wishing it well and maintaining their
confidence that increasing responsibilities
will be matched by increasing compe
tence and success.
"Gone With the Wind” is a modern
play still awaiting presentation. Even a
number of new productions of Shake
speare have gone through since that
enterprise was started.
The statement by Dr. Glenn Frank
tells how the thinking machine of the
Nation may become stalled and call for
a new list of collegiate prizes to get it
properly going.
Japan intimates that she has built all
the airships she will need for present
purposes without stating clearly what
those present purposes are.
Announcements are still made of air
plane destinations without definite as
surance of how and where they are
going to stop.
Even so simple a question as “How
much will it cost?” now becomes an
international problem.
Shooting Stars.
By PHILANDER JOHNSON.
The Plain People.
‘‘Give me the man who ain't too smart,”
Said Hezekiah Bings:
•'Content to play a useful part
In life's important things.
While I admire great intellect,
And am impressed by wealth,
Each may be used, I now suspect,
In ways not good for health.
‘‘We need the man of mental might,
We need financial thrift,
To keep this old world going right
And give a man a lift.
W'e also need the honest heart
That to plain duty clings.
Give me the man who ain’t too smart,”
Said Hezekiah Bings.
I'ninflurntial.
“Posterity will hold you accountable,”
said the earnest friend.
“That doesn't scare me so much,” an*
swered Senator Sorghum. “Posterity is
not in a position to exercise any direct
influence in the coming elections.”
Jud Tunkins says he . can’t enjoy a
horse race unless he bets on It, and even
then he generally doesn't enjoy it for
more than the first minute.
Pyrology.
To keep the home fires burning
Is an ambition fair,
But when for warmth you're yearning
You must proceed with care.
When you design, lighthearted,
A cozy glow serene,
Don't try to get it started
With too much kerosene.
“In ages past,” said Hi Ho, the sage
of Chinatown, “my people needed the
influence of terror, so the dragon was
placed before them. Next they began
to be too eager for gain. In order to
warn them against gold the dragon was
gilded. But, as so often happens, the
wise men were disappointed in their
efforts to rule the imagination. The
dragon did not make gold ugly, but gold
made the dragon beautiful.”
" Spring Cleaning.
Spring cleaning soon will be required.
And let us hope ere long we may, ,
Although the work has made us tired,
Find all the grease spots scrubbed
away.
“‘Tain no credit,” said Uncle Eben,
“foh a man to tend to business if he’s
done picked hisself out de wrong kind
of business.”
Doubtful Asset.
From tht Arkanaas Qaaetta.
The conquest of Shansi, it is said,
would give the Japanese one of China’s
most fertile areas, where “tobacco, cot
ton, rice and the highest grade of opium
popples are grown.’’ But only in times
of peace.
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
BY MARGARET GERMOND.
LOST RIVER. By Alice Walworth.
New York: Dodd, Mead It Co.
Down near old Natchez during the
gay nineties life was just about as it had
been for the twenty or so preceding
years, except that all land owners were
perhaps considerably poorer than they
had believed they could be and women
were beginning to be conscious of the
prolonged era of misfortune and to give
rein to a spirit of restlessness and dis
content. The years immediately fol
lowing the Civil War had imposed hard
ships upon every one in the once happy
and colorful Southland, but by 1890 it
had become difficult to maintain the
sense of pride that had accompanied the
first pangs of poverty. While through
out the post-war South it was—and
still is—regarded as no disgrace to be
poor, the painful years of leanness had
taken their toll of endurance and it no
longer was regarded as a disgrace to be
rich. A new generation, bom after the
war, had grown to maturity. For them
it was not easy to foster pride in their
lack of fortune.
As a setting for a story about the young
people of this more or less uneventful
era along the Lower Mississippi, the
neighborhood of delightful old Natchez
Is ideal. Lost River Plantation is typical
of the old estates that flourished and
were the scenes of colorful gayety and
romance in pre-war days. It is here
presented as the only plantation in the
neighborhood that is not over-burdened
with debt and falling intp decay. As a
plantation, it figures only slightly in the
related events, yet its influence is pre
dominant and is largely responsible for
the tangled matrimonial ventures of
those who love and admire its owner.
There was not very much to interest
the Southern women of those days out-,
side of the management of their homes
except to angle for husbands. They
were unqualified for any gainful occupa
tion, and those with whom this story
deals were not overly capable in the
management of their homes. A peculiar
ity of the group is that there are no
living parents, so that there are no re
straining influences or heads of fam
ilies to interfere with individual ac
tions. The author merely presents a
set of fine young people in their poverty
ridden surroundings and sets them at
liberty to angle with beauty and charm
as bait for suitable husbands.
Lost River is the home of Ralph
Landon. Brierly is the shabby, debt
ridden place that Sam and Thea Carton
have inherited. Long Grove, red-haired
Connies inheritance, and all the other
one-time plantations are equally shabby
and hopelessly involved in debt. Con
nie has loved Ralph since they were
both small children. But his love for
her flicks out when a schoolmate of
Thea s comes to visit. Ralph's marriage
to Amy starts the matrimonial mix-ups
that have an effect upon the whole
friendly and likable group.
The affairs of these young people pre
sent an interesting study of the condi
tions and the limitations of life in the
deep South before the turn of the
century. The novel is without plot or
moral and makes no pretense at being
anything more than a series of love
stories related to each other only through
the circumstance of the friendship of a
small luxury-loving circle of life-long
neighbors.
T
MY DISCOVERY OF THE WEST. Bv
Stephen Leacock. Boston: Hale,
Cushman & Flint.
A lecture tour through Western Can
ada Is responsible lor Stephen Leacock's
latest “discovery” book. Like everything
else that has been published in his name,
it is sparkling with the humor for which
he is renowned, but let it not be thought
that this volume is pure nonsense. It
happens to reflect Dr. Leacock in a
serious mood, facing four-square the
accumulation of problems that beset
Western Canada—along with the rest
of the world—and expressing some per
tinent and convincing sentiments there
on.
“Going west, to a Canadian,” says Dr.
Leacock in a preface reprinted from a
1936 publication, “is like going after
the Holy Grail to a knight of King
Arthur. All Canadian families have
had, like mine, their Western Odyssey.”
A brief account of the Leacock odyssey
is here cited:
"There is something inspiring in this
building of a new country in which even
the least of us has had some part. I
can remember how my father went—
from our Lake Simcoe farm—to the first
Manitoba boom of over fifty years ago—
before the railway. He had an idea
that what the west needed was British
energy and pluck. He came back broke
in six months. Then Uncle Edward
went; he had a gifted mind and used
to quote to us that ‘the Star of the
Empire glitters in the West.’ It didn’t
He came back broke. Then my broth
ers Dick and Jim went. Dick was in
the Mounted Police and then worked in
a saloon and came back broke. Jim
got on fine but he played poker too well
and had to leave terribly fast. Charlie
and George and Teddy went—they all
went but me. I was never free to go
till now, but I may start at any time.”
So he started and rediscovered for
himself a good part of the same route
—by rail—that Mackenzie covered in
1793. His lecture tour Included prac
tically all of the major communities of
the Canadian west, but this is not a
reprint of the things he said to the
audiences who gathered to be entertained
by their famous fellow countryman. It
is a combination of travel lore and dis
cussion of the economic and other prob
lems with whjch his own country is as
sorely beset as are many other bewild
ered nations that are struggling to bring
a sense of order out of mass chaos.
■t-arner experiences and impressions
accumulated in the western part of the
Dominion naturally underwent a strik
ing change as a result of his latest tour.
He discovered, in fact, a new west, just
as any traveler who visited Germany,
Italy or the United States prior to 1914
would find great changes of thought, of
political and economic policies and of
social trend if visiting those same coun
tries again in 1937.
Booms of earlier days and those of
the future claim attention. He dis
cusses also such important subjects as
tariffs, national debt, agriculture and
machinery, wheat control, money power,
mineral wealth, debit and credit, legis
lating prosperity, the gold standard, so
cial credit, banks, the “bogey” of Amer
icanization,” population, economic sep
aratism, railways, immigration, company
settlements, colonists, development of
resources, economic control and prac
tically every other question or problem
in which every member of the few free
thinking peoples who remain on this
planet today are deeply interested.
And be it remembered that with all
of this mass of information and observa
tion, the Leacock humor is not over
shadowed to the extent that the volume
is in any sense uninteresting or lacking
in entertainment value.
War Clouds on the Hill.
From tht Sioux City Tribunt.
Prom the temper of the debate In
Washington, the next war may develop
in Congress.
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES B. TRACEWELL.
What has become of all the squirrels?
It used to be that 30 or more of these
rodents greeted us every morning.
Now it is seldom that we see even one.
Building operations in the suburbs
may account for the lack, but when we
think of all the gunning we heard at
the last "open season’’ we fear for the
worst.
Squirrels offer friends of natural
things some of the finest amusement
and interest possible to find anywhere.
It is true that these fellows can do
damage at times and cause more con
sternation. but, by and large, their
depredations are not widespread
Sometimes they get into a house and
if they cannot get out they will cause
a great deal of damage by attempting to
gnaw down doors and windows.
Occasionally an incautious approach
leads to a bitten linger—clear through
to the bone. Few animals possess such
sharp teeth.
Attempts of squirrels to nest inside a
house sometimes lead to a great deal of
trouble.
* A * *
In the main, however, the squirrels
do a pretty good job of minding their
own business.
They seem so essentially a part of the
suburban scene that It is rather sad to
contemplate their going for any reason.
Even bird feeding, that growing indoor
outdoor sport, does not seem quite right
without one of those bushy-tailed ro
dents shoveling out the food to suit his
whim.
Whimsical is the word for the squirrel
family. Their very motions seem dic
tated solely by caprice.
Even their steady work at building a
nest possesses this quality.
* * * *
Ever seen a squirrel building a nest?
Almost like a mechanical creature, it
shuttles up and down a tree, selecting
nice branches, biting them off with those
needle-sharp teeth, bringing them down
to the chosen crotch.
Huge quantities of branches are re
jected after being bitten off.
The ground becomes littered with
them.
Steadily the rodent works away, run
ning miles up and down the tree with
the greatest of ease. It would be
fatiguing work for anything except a
squirrel.
This animal is at ease in a tree.
At last the nest seems to be finished.
The squirrels contemplate it with seem
ing pride and great tail waving.
Suddenly they depart—for good.
Why they abandon their nest after
such activity remains a mystery.
It is just the squirrel way, evidently.
* * * v
Squirrels in some sections of the
country seem to do more damage by
getting into houses than hereabouts.
It is said that they form a real prob
lem in suburban New York, for instance.
Those who like them find these interior
activities humorous.
Those who do not say they are really
nothing but rats, and that if it were not
for their fluffy tails no one would regard
them as "cute.”
Friends of squirrels comprise perhaps
the most loyal people in the world;
their hearts melt at the sight of those
■ ‘ — " ■ -—
two little ears, those bright eyes and
that Impudent banner known as the
tall.
* * * * •
Neither dogs nor cats can at all ex-'
plain the disappearance of the squirrels.
Dogs always chase, but seldom catch
them.
Cats mostly have too much sense to
try. Even when a cat catches a squirrel,
which the more vigorous ones can, now
and then, the rodent has every chance
to get away.
If you have never seen this "get-away,”
you have missed something; the cat
always puts the squirrel on the ground,
because it is just a little too heavy to be
carried with comfort.
The squirrel plays "dead” for a few
seconds, then suddenly runs, and, if
near a tree, makes its "get-away” easily.
* * * *
The real reason for the disappearance
of squirrels must be man, the arch
exterminator.
His guns, his car wheels and his
present-day use of poisonous baits to
exterminate vermin on a large scale
These undoubtedly account for a lack
of squirrels in any neighborhood.
It is impossible to place the blame on
other animals. Nature knows her busi
ness better than that; left to her, tribes
of animals do not Increase too much;
on the other hand it is not possible for
any one tribe to wipe out another.
It is only when man steps into the
natural arena that whole species are
wiped out, as were the beautiful pas
senger pigepns, which once darkened
the heavens in their migrations.
Man with his guns, his merciless car
wheels and his tons of poison
And not enough stress has been put
on those terrible wheels, despite all the
writing and talking about them.
We believe that motorists take a great
deal more game than they are held
responsible for. We base this on re
ports which come to this desk and upon
personal observations along a nearby
country road.
Motorists who go up into the Penn
sylvania hills tell us there is no trip
they make but what they see half a
dozen or more dead skunks alone.
Most of these animals are killed at
night.
This is not natural selection in any
degree. Man has added a deadly side to
such selection, and of a sort with which
no dumb brute, so called, can understand
or guard against.
* * * *
It seems to be a question whether
even man, with his conscious intelli
gence, can understand what he has
created, or really take steps to counter it.
Automobile casualties mount every
year. The toll of wounded is staggering.
Along the road mentioned the walker
often sees dead squirrels and occasionally
a rabbit. But mostly squirrels.
It is not because these rodents are not
agile, it is because the wheels are merci
less that they are disappearing, we
believe.
The word "they” refers, unfortunatelv,
to the rodents, not the wheels. Amer
ica has a bad case of "wheelitis,” a sad
disease which kills thousands and maims
millions every year. And none of the
"doctors” seems to know what to do
about it.
-—__
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
JSY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE.
Prom one of the best informed quar
ters in the Par East there has just
reached this observer a letter dated as
recently as February 2 and sent by trans
pacific Clipper airmail, which draws a
graphic picture of the stone wall into
which the Japanese war machine has
run in its attempted conquest of China.
The writer, who is in unique position to
speak authoritatively, says:
‘‘Japan has succeeded in driving the
Chinese Nationalist government and its
armies away from the coast, from
Shanhaikuan to Shanghai, and is now
in occupation of the ruined and de
populated cities of Shanghai. Hanchow,
Wusih, Soochow, Nanking and Wuhu.
Japanese soldiers have so harried the
civilian population in the areas to which
they have penetrated that all of that
country is now completely prostrate.
They have systematically killed off or
driven away the men, while the reports
that come from well-authenticated
sources of their treatment of the women
remind one of the stories of the Mongol
hordes that swept through Asia and
Eastern Europe in the 12th and 13th cen
turies, rather than the conduct of a well
disciplined force sent abroad to accom
plish the political purposes which the
Japanese leaders have constantly said
they wished to accomplish in China.”
* * * *
Contemplating what the future holds,
the well-posted observer continues: ‘‘I
feel that the Japanese armies in China
have defeated their purposes. The coun
try they have occupied has been so
devastated that they can never expect
the co-operation from the population
which they claimed to want. They
will have to retain permanently large
garrisons to hold the towns they occupy
and a large force, in addition, to police
the roads along which supplies for their
troops will have to be carried. The
Japanese hoped they could quickly finish
the strife and call home their armies,
but I am afraid they have just begun
to enter upon the long process of con
quest and pacification. It will cost them
all of the profit they ever hoped to make
out of the adventure. In fact, I cannot
see how they can expect to get anything
out of this business at all. They are
sinking into the morass that is China
and will sink beyond recall unless they
can soon pull themselves up. They have
defeated China, but I think they will
in the end discover that China’s defeat
is their defeat.”
A A S. a.
Somebody asked Vice President Gar
ner the other day whether he expected
to emulate the exalted example of Mr.
Roosevelt and write pieces for the pa
pers. Cactus Jack replied substantially
in these words: “The private views of
John Garner aren’t worth a nickel.
The views of the Vice President are not
for sale.”
* * * *
Despite the storm raging around the
head of “Honest Harold” Ickes over his
Washington’s birthday broadcast to the
British Empire on “Democracy, or
What?” the Secretary of the Interior,
it appears, only inaugurated a whole
series of "America Speaks” talks, which
the British Broadcasting Corp. has ar
ranged to spill over the airways on
which the sun never sets. Yesterday
the second address of the series was
broadcast by Glenn Frank, chairman
of the new Republican Program Com
mittee. On succeeding Tuesdays, speak
ers will include Myron Taylor, chair
man of the United States Steel Corp.;
John L.j Lewis, Dorothy Thompson,
President Conant of Harvard, Harry L.
Hopkins, Elmer Carter, editor of Oppor
tunity, and Herbert Hoover. While
speakers are assigned no definite topics,
it’s understood their respective themes
will deal broadly with democracy, po
litical liberty, social welfare, economic
security and Anglo-American friendship.
•
Two or three years ago. when Bernard
M. Baruch was being ballyhooed, much
to his own displeasure, as “acting Presi
dent of the United States,” he imparted
to a Washington friend that the soft
impeachment apparently grew out of
the fact that the silver-crested New
York financier was periodically, though
quite informally, consulted by the
White House. The plain-speaking eco
nomic royalist, who has just told the
Senate Unemployment Committee that
“the Treasury is no place for the theories
of political Messiahs,” was once described
as “the spinach of the New Deal
wholesome, but most of the time damned
unpalatable.”
* * * *
When Joe Kennedy presents himself
in Downing Street this week and reveals
the nature of the business he's come
to transact for Uncle Sam, he'll probably
be told to "go to Halifax.” It won’t
mean what that good old Anglo
Saxonism generally denotes. It'll just
signify that his majesty's new secretary
of state for foreign affairs is Viscount
Halifax, who now presides over what
Europe until 10 days ago called the
“Garden of Eden.”
Virginians are discussing with mixed
emotions a patronage battle royal be
tween President Roosevelt and Senators
Glass and Byrd, who burn no incense
before the New Deal throne. It seems
they jointly recommended for reap
pointment Virginia’s two United States
district attorneys and marshals, but (so
the tale goes) F. D. R. declines to okay
renewal commissions until they're in
dorsed by Old Dominion Democrats
friendlier to the regime than the sena
torial twain. Typical of State-wide
comment is a Roanoke Times editorial:
"We are inclined to string along with
the prediction that if the stalemate
continues Virginia will probably stand
by Messrs. Glass and Byrd. We are
loath to believe the President would be
guilty of spiteful and childish tactics.
It is probably true he has no great love
for either of our Senators. But if he
attempted to strike at them by with
holding these reappointments until they
produce * other recommendations, the
President would be giving offense to
ardent pro-Roosevelt Virginia Demo
crats no less than to the Senators. It
would be absurd for Mr. Roosevelt to
suppose he can discredit them with the
people of Virginia by such methods. If
he thinks that, he has another guess ,
coming. The only effect would be to
strengthen the Senators and correspond
ingly weaken the President, in the esti
mation of Virginia Democrats.”
* * * *
Today was set aside for the great
Senate cheese referendum. The curtain
was raised by a telegram to Senator
Duffy, Democrat, of Wisconsin from
George L. Mooney, secretary of the
National Cheese Institute at Plymouth,
Wis. It read:
“Am selecting an assortment of
cheese, heroic in proportion, exquisite in
palatability, infinite in variety, Wiscon
sin’s contribution to the divinities of
diet. Plans will be completed for March
2. Men working overtime boring holes
in Swiss, aromatic Limburger demanding
recognition; Wisconsin longhorns deny
Texan nativity; the majestic Cheddar
having difficulty in the impartial selec
tion of the lucky Wisconsin twins, daisies,
and young Americas who will accompany
him. Brick claims we cannot build with
out it, while modest Muenster, Edam,
Brie, Liederkranz and Parmesan promise
to satisfy the most fastidious gourmet.
If Senator Barkley raises point of order,
Limburger will speak for itself.”
When this fragrant warning was read
into the Record, Barkley said to the
Senate: “I should much prefer to listen
to limburger than to smell it..”
(Copyright, 1938.)
ANSWERS TO
QUESTIONS
j • —
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. Baskin, director, Washing
ton, D. C, Please inclose stamp for
reply.
Q. What Is tha Women’s Field Army?
—L, Q.
A. It Is a part of ths American Society
for the Control of Cancar.
Q. Can peanut Tines and shells be
utilized for any purpose?—E. L. H.
A. The vines make good hay and the
shells are used for many purposes. In
cluding a base for fertilizer and fine sliver
polish.
Q. Is there any native language In
Africa which Is understood by several
tribes?—M. G.
A. The Hausa language Is spoken by
3.500.000 natives, and Is a general lan
guage used for communication among
many different tribes. It was disseminated
by Hausa slaves and Hausa traders.
Q. What is the given name of Segar
who draws Thimble Theater with Pop
eye?—E. G.
A. Elzie Crisler Segar Is the full name
of the cartoonist.
Q. What city had a population of ten
thousand on the day it was settled?
—T. W.
A. This is true of Oklahoma City. It
was opened for settlement April 22, 1889,
and by nightfall had a population of ten
thousand under tents.
Q. How many cigarettes are produced
in Virginia factories?—E. W. H.
A. Virginia factories produce 200,000,
000 cigarettes a day,
Q. Was the "Saint Louis Blues” an
original theme?—V. H.
A. Helen Kaufmann in “From Jehovah
to Jazz" says that it was a street song
when W. C. Handy met it. 11 was knowrn
as “East Saint Louis,” and was not a
very good tune. Handy liked the spirit
of it. He wrote his melody w'ith just
enough of the original in it so that, in
all honesty, he felt called upon to
acknowledge that it was not wholly his
own. Handy says of his composition: "I
took the humor of the coon song, the
syncopation of ragtime and the spirit
of the Negro folk song and called it
blues.”
/
Q. Is the novel, "Eugene Aram,” based
on fact?—M. H.
A. Eugene Aram was a real person.
He was an English scholar who lived
from 1704 to 1759. He murdered his
friend Daniel Clark in 1745. When the
skeleton was discovered 14 years later
Aram was hanged for the crime.
Q. What country now governs Kaiser
Wilhelm Land?—W. K.
A. The former Kaiser Wilhelm Land
is now under mandate to the Common
wealth of Australia and is governed by
an administrator. It is called the Ter
ritory of New' Guinea.
Q. What was the soap which was the
foundation of Viscount Leverhulme's
fortune?—S. B.
A. He named it Sunlight soap.
Q. How many people are there In the
Woolworth Building, New York City?—
C. F. R.
A. Tenants and employes of the build
ing number about 14.000 persons.
Q. Who are the best newspaper writers
on aviation?—H. K. L.
A. The winners of the Transconti
nental A: Western Air. Inc., newspaper
aviation trophy for newspaper men who
consistently develop the best informed
■writing on air transportation are as
follows: Devon Francis, aviation editor
of the Associated Press, winner of a silver
trophy and a cash award of $250 for
first prize; Reginald M. Cleveland of the
New York Times, a silver trophy for
first honorable mention; C. B. Allen,
aviation editor of the New York Herald
Tribune, a bronze trophy for second
honorable mention.
Q. For whom is Asheville, N. C.,
named?—C. R.
A. The city is supposedly named for
two men, Samuel Ashe, an eminent
jurist, and John Ashe, a soldier.
Q. From what poem is the line, “And
they took the light of the laughing stars
and framed her in a smile of white”?—
K. R.
A. The line occurs in the first stanza
of "Leonainie,” by James Whitcomb
Riley.
Q. What is meant by motet in music?
—C. L. F.
A. The term motet was defined by
Walter Odington about 1225 as short
movement in song. The older motet is
a vocal composition WTitten for several
(usually three) voices, of which the
tenor was assigned a motive or part of
a Gregorian chorale. The text is bibli
cal. The masters of the motet form were
Orlando di Lasso, Palestrina and Bach,
who also is responsible for the insertion
of the chorale into the motet. The
motet is unaccompanied.
Q. How many Japanese students are
attending American colleges?—H. J.
A. According to a survey of the Com
mittee on Friendly Relations Among
Foreign Students there are now 2,531
Japanese students in our colleges.
Q. Why is the dahlia so named?—S. T.
A. It is named for Dahl, a Swedish
botanist.
Q, Which receives the higher salary,
the Governor of New York or the Mayor
of New York City?—T. B.
A. Both receive $25,000 a year.
Q. How many springs with carbonated
waters are there in the East?—E. H.
A. Saratoga Springs, N. Y„ has the
only naturally carbonated waters found
east of the Rocky Mountains.
Q. What is the meaning of the word
Bethlehem?—J. K.
A. Bethlehem means house of bread.
Q. When did Frederick Douglass live?
—C. T.
A. He was bom in 1817 and died in
1895. He was the son of a slave mother
and a white father. He became a great
leader of the colored race.
Q. How old is Carnegie Institution in
Washington, D. C.?—E. H.
A. Carnegie Institution of Washing
ton, D. C., was founded in 1902. The
original endowment was $10,000,000.
Taking Orders.
Prom the Williamsport (Ta.) Sun.
Some one who has investigated the
subject says that most women prefer to
take orders from a man. But, of course,
they use all the cleverness at their com
mand to assure that the man gives the
orders they desire.