Evening star. [volume], August 19, 1939, Page A-8, Image 8

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inerting gitaf
With SttndtY Morning Edition.
THEODORE W. NOYES, Editor.
WASHINGTON. D. C.
SATURDAY_August 19, 1939
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Germany's Real Aim
Gradually, but with shining clarity,
Germany's ultimate objectives with
respect to Poland are being revealed,
destroying the pretense Chancellor
Hitler has maintained that the
Polish-German issue could be settled
by the immediate return of Danzig
and the granting of a traffic route
across the Polish Corridor.
Germany looks now to settlement
of the entire Polish question, which
Includes not only Danzig and tha
traffic route, but the fate of 750,000 to
1,000,000 Germans who live in the
Corridor and Polish Upper Silesia.
This is not merely a matter of re
adjusting political boundaries to
conform with ethnic borders, but a
matter of a new partition of Poland
and its reduction to the status of a
minor, landlocked state.
The Nazis are now carrying out
the usual preliminaries to such
achievements — a concerted press
campaign and dissemination by
official circles of the nature of the
settlement which Germany seeks.
As far as Danzig is concerned, It is
indicated, Germany is willing to
negotiate not on the future status
of the Free City, but only upon the
manner in which it is to be returned
to Germany.
It is better, perhaps, that what
Germany expects to get from Poland
be fully known now, before any
formal attempt is made at settle
ment, than afterwards, as was the
case with Cr,echo-Slovakia. Chancel
lor Hitler promised before Munich
that cession of Sudetenland to Ger
many “is the last territorial demand
I have to make in Europe. * « *”
Yet the following March he estab
lished his protectorate over Bohemia
and Moravia—stultifying the Munich
agreement — absorbed Memel and
opened his campaign against Poland.
Much the same process is evident
In the case of Poland now. Last
A nrtl Uitlor rifPoraW irt rattln frm
Danzig and the traffic route across
the Corridor, but Polish Foreign Min
ister Beck questioned the sincerity
of the proposal, and the appearance
of the broadened German demands
is grim Justification for his skep
ticism.
The broadening of Germany’s aims
to include Pomorze and Polish Upper
Silesia sustains the Poles’ contention
that the fundamental German pur
pose is not to get Danzig and the
traffic route, but to recover for Ger
many everything that was German
before the war. Furthermore, it ex
plains Polish resolve to set the first
line of defense in Danzig, which, if
united to the Reich, would only fa
cilitate German seizure of Polish
territory. Danzig, they insist, has
been but the facade of German
purpose.
It is no longer a question of fight
ing for Danzig, however. The real
issue is whether Germany will get
not only Danzig but all the former
German territories. If necessary,
Poland apparently intends to fight to
prevent it, and Germany’s action
in taking military possession of Slo
vakia. thus facilitating a flanking
attack on Poland's southern border,
does nothing to encourage hope that
hostilities will be averted.
Relief for the Nazis
If Fritz Kuhn, leader of the Ger
man-American Bund, sees fit to raise
a relief fund in the United States
for Nazis in Germany, that is his own
business. But if part of that money
should come from relief funds ap
propriated for distressed American
citizens, then the matter properly
becomes the concern of Congress,
which made the appropriation. It
was on this theory, apparently, that
the Dies Committee investigating
un-American activities questioned
Mr. Kuhn about a $3,000 fund for
"winter relief” which he collected in
this country and turned over per
sonally to Fuehrer Hitler in Ger
many in 1936.
The fact that people could suffer
privations under Herr Hitler’s uto
pian system of government will be*
Interesting, of itself, to many persons
—for Propaganda Minister Goebbels
would have the world believe that
the Nazi way of life is a guarantee
of health, happiness and general
prosperity. It does not fit in well
with that pleasant picture to envision
Mr. Kuhn soliciting contributions
from bund members—some of whom
he admitted were unemployed—and
hurrying across the Atlantic to de
liver the money to a grateful Hitler.
Aside from thus surprise, however, is
th® Jolt which comes to American
taxpayers with the strong intimation
that some Federal relief funds paid
to members of the bund may have
gone into the German "winter re
lief” basket.
Unfortunately, the committee
failed to establish definitely, during
a brief consideration of this phase
of the inquiry, whether there actually
was such an un-American diversion
of American relief money. Certainly,
if the bund is as American as it
professes publicly to be, it should
devote its fund-raising activities to
relieving the distress of its own
members. The Nazi relief offshoot
of the Dies investigation deserves
further exploration by committee
members.
' ' — ■" — t
Army maneuvers just concluded in
nearby Virginia have had one result
which is of outstanding importance
to the cause of national security.
They have Revealed that the Army’s
outstanding lack is not so much man
power or modern equipment as it is
the lack of trained, co-ordinated
staffs for the larger organizations.
mu« a-.. _ _ j il - _i
• **v lumj nuu uiv 11 niiuiiai uuaiu
are composed of excellent units, as
has been demonstrated during the
past two weeks. The battalions are
splendidly trained and function with
precision, intelligence and skill on
the march, in camp or in tactical
maneuvers. The battalion work
throughout the maneuvers was uni
formly of high standard during the
two weeks.
Regimental work also was good,
though less uniform than that of the
battalions, since it Is rare that Na
tional Guard regiments can be as
sembled for training as units. There
is ordinarily no opportunity for
brigades or divisions to work to
gether.
The battalions may be considered
the building bricks of the Army. But
a pile of bricks is not a house. Nor
are battalions an army, unless they
are welded together as integral parts
of a whole. The cement which holds
the larger army units together is the
staff work of the higher commands.
If a division is to function as a unit
it must be controlled by a general
and a staff trained and accustomed
to working as a team. Various mem
bers of the staff must know each
other's methods, strengths and
weaknesses. -
Teamwork can be acquired only
through actually working together
until roughnesses are ironed out and
smooth, co-ordinated action results.
This is indispensable to the proper
functioning of any large human or
ganization, particularly of a military
organization. The functioning of
division and army staffs as teams,
now that expansion and re-equip
ment of the Army is going ahead in
accordance with the new national
defense policy, stands as the greatest
military need of the service. Ma
neuvers of the type just concluded
are necessary to the training of the
iciA i oiauo aiiu ouuuiu uc nciu leg
ularly throughout the Army if the
country is to reap the benefit of the
excellence in the battalions and
smaller units of the service.
Earl Baldwin's Speech
The address of Earl Baldwin be
fore the Congress on Education for
Democracy deserves a wider reading
than it is likely to receive. But that
does not mean that the former
Prime Minister of Great Britain
journeyed to New York in vain. The
words he came to speak will have
their helpful influence upon Amer
ica, directly and indirectly, for years
to come. In one form or another
they will be repeated with growing
effect.
Earl Baldwin set forth his case for
democratic ideals against a back
ground of history common to all
the English-speaking peoples of the
world. He called to his aid a tradi
tion confirmed in blood. The free
dom which he defended “was bought
with a great price’’ and will be main
tained without regard for the cost.
But it must never be taken for
granted. “Democracy,” the veteran
statesman declared, “is far ,the most
difficult form of government that has
ever existed. * * * The success of a
democracy depends upon every one
realizing his or her responsibility to it,
thinking of his duties and forgetting
for a time his rights. • • * That calls
for education and character—edu
cation in problems domestic and
foreign so as to have material where
with to form a judgment and char
acter to concentrate on the essential
and to look beyond the immediate
effect of particular action on the
fortunes of a favored politician. * • •
Given the man of genius who can
make the masses believe that he
alone can make the work they need
if he has a free hand—if you get to
that point, you are within sight of
revolution by the Fascist."
The alleged efficiency of "totali
tarian practice,” however, "is
achieved by paying a price we cannot
pay.” Earl Baldwin argued: “The
triumph of these ideas is bought by
the suppression of the liberty of the
individual human soul, the very life
and spirit of the ideas upon which
our conception of democracy is
based. The Bolsheviks, whose orig
inal leaders were men of great
though narrow intellectual power,
saw clearly that the greatest obstacle
to the enslaving of the human will
was the Christian faith, and made
that faith the object of their bitterest
attack from the first. Only by the
elimination of a power which in the
human heart they knew to be greater
than their own could they create a
generation malleable to their in
fluence. And it is a terrible thing
that in the extreme Nazi teaching
you see this tendency in Germany
today.”
But Earl Baldwin is not discour
aged by the pressure of destructive
1
philosophies. Instead, he still re
tains his faith in the “ordinary
man” who “wants to do the right
thing.” He affirms without reserva
tion: “No man is fitted for absolute
power over the wills of tils fellow
men.” The democracies, as he
visions them, are dedicated "to work
in the spirit that all classes should
realize the brotherhood of man, and
not in the grudging spirit that has
political expediency for Its motive
power.”
In summary, the former Prime
Minister’s message was this: “I
would always stress the spiritual
rather than the political founda
tions of democracy. It is a recog
nition of the dignity of man and of
his Individuality, and that dignity
and individuality are his as a child
of God. There is the unbridgeable
gulf between the democracy and the
isms that are for the time being in
control of so large a part of Europe.”
Wartime Dictatorship
America is making plans for a dic
tatorship that will reeiment all the
material resources of the Nation as
they have never been regimental be
fore. This will not be a political dic
tatorship calculated to overturn tra
ditional democratic processes of gov
ernment, but a wartime dictatorship
designed to save democracy by
prompt and effective mobilization of
industry as well as manpower in
event the United States should go to
war.
Acting Secretary of War Louis
Johnson disclosed part of the pro
gram in an address before the newly
created War Resources Board, com
posed of six outstanding representa
tives of industry under leadership of
Edward R. Stettinius, chairman of
the United States Steel Corporation.
Mr. Johnson said that the exigencies
of war demand that tremendous au
thority looking toward control of the
Nation’s economic resources should
be vested in one official, subject to
authority of the President, who, of
course, would be the supreme dicta
tor. The chairman of the War Re
sources Administration, into which
the War Resources Board would auto
matically be transformed in time of
war, probably would become wartime
industrial dictator, Mr. Johnson said,
wdth the other members of the ad
ministration serving as advisers or
assistants. The War Resources Ad
ministration of America’s next war
will be a counterpart of the War In
dustries Board of the World War
except that the chairman of the new
board will have an absolute authority
denied to the chairman of the
wartime agency. That board, Mr.
Johnson pointed out, suffered from
inexperience and "inertia.” Its mem
bers acted in harmony, he said, but
the board’s administrative machinery
proved to be sluggish and inadequate.
Lessons learned in 1917 and 1918
are being used to advantage by to
day’s planners for industrial mobili
zation in any future conflict.
The War Department has worked
out a comprehensive plan for quick
mobilization of material, labor and
capital to back up the Nation’s mili
tary forces—with careful attention to
safeguarding business, labor and
other civil elements from unnecessary
hardships. The whole program has
been formulated to bring every
essential resource to bear against a
common enemy. This w’ill be a co
ordinated regimentation of the
Nation for the purpose of self-preser
vation; for perpetuation of a way of
life in which dictatorships have no
place except in time of war.
Refugee Club
When storm clouds loom on the
domestic horizon and the home tem
perature drops to forty below, both
instinct and past performances warn
the veteran husband that a cyclone
is about to break loose, and that
even the doghouse, to which he has
temporarily retired, may no longer
offer its dubious safety. It is for
such occasions that the men’s club
was primarily invented.
The shelter it offers from heavy
weather in the home is unsurpassed.
The moment a member crosses its
magic threshold, conditions are com
pletely reversed. With a sigh of re
lief, he realizes that whatever he
does is automatically right—in the
eyes of his fellow members, because
most of them are past grand exalted
potentates in the universal lodge of
matrimony, and in the eyes of the
club servants, because that is what
they are paid to think. Prominent
among the safety devices is a one
way telephone, free and unlimited to
outgoing calls, while incoming female
voices are held up at the switchboard
until the operator verifies a deep sus
picion that the party is either dead
or called suddenly away to Kam
chatka for three months. The system
is woman-proof, and no wife has ever
yet beaten it.
Press dispatches tell the tale of a
certain Mr. Logan, very much mar
ried, but unable to afford the luxury
of a club. After hiding behind the
eight ball about as long as possible,
a ray of hope came to him. He re
called that years before he had been
sent to Sing Sing for five years on a
manslaughter charge and paroled
about two years later. He went to
the parole commissioner and con
fessed that he had made a fatal
error in resigning from the Ossining
Social Reform Society. He pleaded
for reinstatement and a chance to
get in two years and ten months
more of club life which he had
carelessly thrown away. Both Logan
and his application are on file pend
ing decision, which, it is hoped, will
be favorable.
The world today feels somewhat
like a man who, having had his ton
sils out in 1918, now is suffering again
from acute tonsil!tis.
1 \
Of Stars, Men
And Atoms
Notebook of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
By Thomas R. Henry.
Long a useless nuisance In the paper
and rayon Industries, lignin Is coming
Into its own.
It is the ‘ soot” of a plant's life fires,
lining the walls of wood cells. In the
past it has been almost entirely a waste
product.
Now chemists of the United States
Forest Service laboratory at Madison,
Wls., have learned how to convert It Into
at least four substances of commercial
value. One Is methanol, or wood alcohol.
Four others had not been previously
discovered, although one of the group
was described as theoretically possible
by a Oerman chemist.
The discoverers, Drs. E. C. Bherrard
and E. E. Harris, describe the first of
these new substances as paraprophyl
cycloheanal, valuable as a solvent for
organic gums and resins and oils used
in lacquers. It also acts as a wood pre
servative. The second and third sub
stances are thick liquids which will be
come solid after standing a long time.
Both may be made Into plastic mate
rials. The fourth new substance is as
yet unnamed, because Its structure has
not yet been determined. It has prop
erties that make It valuable as a lacquer
ingredient and, because of its water
resistance, as a cement or adhesive for
wood or paper. It also may be used as
a plastic material.
As a by-product of paper and Indus
trial cellulose mills, about 1.500,000 tons
of lignin now are dumped Into streams
each year, making it a pollution prob
lem. The cellulose, of wood cells, is used
in making the paper and rayon and
now Is the most important wood con
stituent from a chemical conversion
standpoint. The cementing substance
In and around the cells Is lignin. It
composes about one-fourth of the struc
ture of all fibrous plants.
Because of its complex chemical na
ture, lignin in its natural form has baf
fled scientists. The Forest Service
chemists were able to Worm combina
tions between it and hydrogen, thus
changing its chemical nature so that It
would be broken down into its constitu
ent parts. The hydrogenation process
already is in use commercially in mak
ing hard fats from vegetable oils, petro
leum from oils and coals, and getting
gasoline out of natural petroleum.
In the laboratory tests the hydrogen
atoms were added to a solution of puri
fied lignin by means of heat and pres
sure and the use of a catalyst, which in
duced rapid reaction but took no part
In It. Under this treatment the dirty,
brown lignin solution changed to a
thick, sticky, colorless fluid. The catalyst
then was removed by means of a centri
fuge, working on the principle of a
rr^sim spnarotnr TY-to trac than
distilled, to create the wood alcohol and
the four new substances.
The process has been patented and the
patent assigned to the Secretary of Agri
culture.
* * * *
A 2,000-pound meteorite, probably a
fragment of one of the largest shooting
stars which have struck the earth, has
just been added to the geological collec
tion of the Smithsonian Institution.
The specimen was found about six
miles from the town of Cranbourne. near
Melbourne, Australia—the general area
of the Cranbourne meteorite which was
first discovered in 1854. The largest
piece, weighing more than three tons,
now is in the British museum. The seo
ond, with a weight of about a ton and a
half, is in a Melbourne museum. Small
er figments are scattered in museums
over the world.
It is not certain that the large frag
ment just brought to Washington was
actually from the same fall, which prob
ably occurred before Australia was
known to white men and perhaps before
the island was populated. That there
should have been two large falls in the
immediate vicinity, however, is consid
ered quite unlikely.
The probability is, says E. P. Hender
son, in charge of the Smithsonian's
meteorite collection, that this "shooting
star" exploded in midair and in such
cases fragments may be found some dis
tance apart. This is the way meteors
frequently behave.
This particular fragment will be
placed on exhibit at the National Mu
seum, but it also is planned to subject
some of it to chemical tests to determine
its structure and its mineralogical rela
tionships. While the fall of the Cran
bourne meteorite must be considered one
of the major collisions between the earth
and a body from outer space, Mr. Hen
derson says, it is known to have been
exceeded on several occasions. Nothing
has yet been found approaching the 30
ton Cape York meteorite discovered in
Northern Greenland by Admiral Robert
E. Peary. The Williamette meteorite in
Oregon and the object believed to have
formed the great Arizona crater were
larger bodies, and this particular fall
was probably exceeded in size by one
which struck in Northern Siberia during
the World War, the shock of whose col
lision was observed on seismographs all
over the world but wmcn never nas been
located.
Says Thanksgiving Should
Remain Inviolate.
To the Editor of The St»r.
Comment on change of date for
Thanksgiving observance this year has '
progressed mainly on the idea of the
commercial benefits to result therefrom.
What was the motive which inspired the
first Thanksgiving celebration? Com
mercial advantages? Material profits?
Indeed, no. Hearts of men and women
were attuned to gratitude for divine
favor and as reverential individuals they
longed for a place of worship in which
to utter prayer. Essentially from this
concerted disposition Thanksgiving
emerged as an American institution—a
day for reckoning; a day when material
receipts were weighed in the scales of
spiritual appraisement.
There is something of sanctity in the
Thanksgiving pause. Tradition has hal
lowed the observance; other generations
have honored it; presidential proclama
tions have revered it. It is an invincible
heritage which merits preservation. It is
a bulwark of inspiration that should, in
the changes of time, remain inviolate.
August 17. LOUIS V. WOULFE.
A
THIS AND THAT
By Charles E. Tracewell.
"FOURTEENTH ST. N.W.
"Dear Sir:
"The little known fact that wild tur
keys may frequently be seen In Virginia
not more than some S8 miles from Wash
ington should Interest the bird lovers
of your Instructive column.
"On my recent visit to the picturesque
wilderness camp of Boy Scout Troop, No.
32, along the Potomac River at Freestone
Point, south of Woodbrldge, Va., a tur
key hen, with seven half-grown turkeys,
was seen crossing the automobile road
leading to the camp on July 26, and on
the previous morning soon after day
break the writer heard the turkey calls,
and later saw tracks on the fine sandy
beach, where the turkeys had evidently
come to secure food and grit.
"Nearby the lovely crimson-eyed rose
mallow (Hibiscus oculiroseus) was seen
in full bloom, and in abundance, along
the line of high tide, and In a locality far
below the usual range of Southeastern
New York and New Jersey.
"The well posted caretaker of the
neighboring private duck hunting lodge
told the writer that recently he had en
countered a female turkey with about 15
young ones feeding near our camp.
"Sincerely, T. U."
* * * *
Turkeys belong to the same order and
suborder as the pheasants, but are dis
tinctive American birds.
silvestrig) was the subject of Audubon's
most famous plate.
It has been called variously the Amer
ican turkey, Eastern turkey, Northern
turkey, wood turkey, American wild
turkey.
Dr. T. Gilbert Pearson tells us that
the Spanish invaders of Mexico found
the natives in possession of some large
domesticated birds which were exceed
ingly toothsome.
"Some were transferred to Spain,” he
continues, "and it was found that they
would breed readily in captivity. In time
these birds were Introduced into Prance
and England, and by and by emigrants
brought them back to America.
"At one time they were very abundant
in many places, and early writers tell of
their custom of gathering in flocks of
hundreds and migrating on foot for long
distances in quest of forest mast upon
which they fed extensively.
"This habit of collecting in large flocks
may still be noted in some regions, as
for example on some of the islands off
the coast of Georgia.”
* * * *
The hen lays 9 to 12 eggs, usually, in a
nest on the ground and exceedingly
well concealed, partly to protect them
from the gobbler, which is said to break
them if he comes upon the nest.
May Thatcher Cooke, in her book on
the birds of the Washington (D. C.) re
gion, says that the wild turkey was for
merly a common resident, but Is now
very rare.
There Is a small flock, she says, near
Bush Hill, Fairfax County, Va. (this
book was published in 1929), and they
occur in the Bull Run Valley slightly
beyond our area.
She says further: “Apparently they
remained fairly common in the wilder
sections until about 1890. The latest
definite date of breeding within our area
waa of eggs found near Falls Church
May 3, 1903. A flock of 11 was seen
near Neabsco, Va., December 2, 1928.”
* * * *
Was the mourning dove left to moum
the passenger pigeon, its relative?
Always, in bird books, its place Is near
that of the turkey and immediately
after the extinct pigeon, another great
American food bird, but even more than
that, a famous American beauty.
If we can trust the paintings of the
passenger pigeon, it was one of the most
beautiful things on wings, with its soft
grays and pink breast.
The shame of its extinction we will do
well to keep in mind, when we have an
urge to think harshly of European peo
ples, from time to time.
Cruelty is no possession of one race,
merely, but is a J'ait of the human spe
cies; lack of forethought, in handling
natural possessions, quite as much a
characteristic of Americans as others.
There was no real necessity for killing
off all the passenger pigeons.
There were millions upon millions of
them, to begin with, and even a tiny bit
of conservation common sense woqld
have kept at least some thousands of
these fine birds in existence. But not a
one is left, although a flock of a dozen
or so was seen in nearby Maryland as
late as 1889.
The shame of this extinction, so un
necessary, should help prevent the siml
mi mnugmri ui umer species. roriu
nately, there is a much saner viewpoint
on all conservation matters today than
ever before, to balance the reckless, war
like tendencies around the world.
* * * *
The crimson-eved rose mallow, as seen
by our correspondent, is another wild
beauty, belonging to a famous plant
family.
These and other mallows, sometimes
called marshmallows, love to be close to
the water, and often are seen growing
luxuriantly in it.
The amazing thing is that they grow
equally well in a dry summer garden.
The rather coarse and sprawly growth of
the stalks has kept many gardeners
from trying them, but this can be over
come by planting them close to a fence,
to which they can be tied with a cord as
they grow up. The old stalks do not
bloom again, but new ones are sent up
every spring. The roots are large and
meaty, and do not winter-kill. Once
planted, they are good for years, and are
well worth trying in any yard.
Letters to the Editor
Comment* on the Mareh
Toward War.
To th# Editor of Th» Stor:
Since the earliest conquests of the an
cient world down to this vital, present
day, the nations seeking appeasement,
through the sacrifice of principles of
right, have always fallen an easy prey
to those kingdoms whose desire was con
quest and whose only thought was the
subjugation of adjoining states.
The desire for peace must be backed
up by might, in order to hold and
possess. The house is not broken into
by thieves or robbers, while strong, brave
men keep the watch.
From Babylon to Rome, world empires
fell, only when the sinews of war had
deteriorated and a false sense of security
had lulled the arm of defense into leth
argy; then, in that careless moment,
great empires passed into total and ever
lasting eclipse. And what of art? The
ripe fruit grown on the trees of wisdom
and knowledge of the ages, shaken down
in a night and lost forever! Hence
forth, no man can boast himself a
historian. We know so little of what
man has done, and the little we do know,
we know not so well. The man who es
says to preserve a line, depicting what is
gone, will in all probability be remem
bered on account of his Inaccuracies
rather than by reason of having perpetu
ated truth.
Righteous thought is the first vital
energy of the universe. Life and liberty
are its twin heritages. We desire peace
in our day, but dare not hope for it, be
cause men's thoughts are not of peace,
but of evil. What eye can pierce this
chaotic night?
Nations have but one program: The
preparation for and rehearsal of war to
come! This hideous thing could have
bppn ninnprf In t.hp hnH • but nnv it mn«t
be struck through skull and bone. There
is no turning back, as I view the picture.
The thought creates terror in every heart
and ,all but paralyzes the souls of men.
At such a time as this, and there is
jet freedom of the press in America,
politics should be laid aside for the day
and an honest effort made to cast a few
pearls of truth, even though some of
them fall in the midst of swine and are
trampled under the cloven hoof.
MILO ELSON EMMERSON.
August 16.
Asks About Drivers Who
Violate Pedestrian Rights.
To the Editor of The Stsr:
Recently one of your contributors sug
gested the use of the amber light for
pedestrian safety. Suggestions have been
made by others, especially by Congress
men who have taken a special interest
in traffic safety, for a pedestrian light.
However, the director of traffic in a
speech made at a citizens’ association
meeting declared that the use of a pedes
trian light would solseriously retard ve
hicular traffic that the adoption of such
a light is out of the question.
It seems to be the policy of those in
authority that vehicular traffic must be
speeded up at all costs and to effect this
pedestrian traffic control was adopted
under the pretence that it was a measure
designed solely in the interest of walk
ers. In your paper there is printed daily
the number of pedestrians arrested for
violating the pedestrian traffic control
law, but not the number of motorists who
violate that regulation, although the
schedule of arrests and accidents shows
the total number of motorists arrested
for all causes.
It would be Interesting to know the
number of motorists arrested for failing
i
Letters to the Editor must
bear the name and address of
the writer, although the use of
a pseudonym for publication is
permissible. Please be brief!
to give pedestrians a break when they
are entitled to it.
In failing to provide a light signal for
pedestrians and intimidating them with
threats of arrest for crossing on a red
light even when no vehicles are ap
proaching. the District government places
itself in the light of favoring one class
of taxpayers at the expense of others,
especially when motorists break the
pedestrian traffic rule and get away with
it. Unless the authorities show a fairer
spirit in this matter and motorists dis
continue disputing the right of way with
pedestrians when they are entitled to it,
the attempt to enforce the pedestrian
traffic regulation will be a waste of time
and effort. MARIE STEARNS.
August 17.
Discusses Question of
Glenn Dale Nurses.
To the Editor of The Star:
I was thoroughly shocked to read in
Tuesday’s Evening Star that a group
of nurses at Glenn Dale Sanatorium are
anxious to have the Commissioners re
scind their decision to send 16 colored
nurses to the Glenn Dale Sanatorium.
It is quite apparent that here is a
group of individuals who are literally
asking the Commissioners to run the
sanatorium not for the welfare of the
patients, but rather for the personal
convenience of a limited number of
nurses. Such a request is extremely un
fair for the following reasons:
1. These 16 colored nurses have quali
fied according to the health standards of
the District as competent trained nurses.
2. It is evident that this decision of
the Commissioners is based upon their
inclination to build up the efficiency of
the District s general health program.
3. The protests center about a handful
of nurses at Glenn Dale, w'hose interests
are purely personal.
A \Ta.__ . ....
- —. “Uiaca All all illSUlU
tion where 50 per cent of the patients are
Negroes certainly does not represent a
community catastrophe.
5. If fairness and justice are any part
of the philosophy of a democracy, such
a prejudiced appeal as these nurses have
made to the Commissioners is most un
just. GEORGE W. GOODMAN.
August 11.
Thanksgiving Day Change
Of Date Discussed.
To the Editor of Th« Stsr:
As I had a little influence, many years
ago, in fixing the date of Thanksgiving
for the last Thursday in November, I now
make the suggestion that it should be
about the middle of the month, that is,
on the third Thursday. This would make
it come between November 15 and 21
(both inclusive), and would seem to be
seasonably, socially, economically and
religiously more suitable than the pres
ent date, or even than that proposed by
the President. For many the date now
commonly accepted is a trifle late and
often too cold and the time between
Thanksgiving and Christmas is rather
short; and this change seems advisable.
So let us think over this suggestion—to
have "Thanksgiving” come on the third
Thursday of November—and consider
whether it would be a good and reason
able and satisfactory change, easily made
and generally acceptable.
August 17. HERBERT P. GERALD.
i
Answers
To Questions
By Frederic J. Haskin.
A reader can get the answer to any
Question of fact by writing The Eve
ning Star Information Bureau, Fred»
eric J. Haskin, director, Washington,
D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply.
Q. When was John Philip Sousa’s
“Washington Post March" first played?
—E. J. H.
A. Dedicated to the paper of the same
name, the march was first played by the
United States Marine Band under
Sousa's baton on June 15, 1889, on the
grounds of the Smithsonian Institution
in Washington, D. C. -
Q. What is the largest star sapphire?
—E. D. B.
A. The Star of India, weighing 583
carats, is the largest known. It was
brought from India over 30 years ago and
is now in the Morgan collection of gems
at the American Museum of Natural
History in New York.
Q. Where is the cigar capital of the
world?—L. T. H.
A. Tampa, Fla., is so-called. The Cu
'ban section of the city is lined with shops
and cigar factories, and over 1,500,000
Havana cigars are made daily. >
Q. Is the word dice both plural and
singular?—C. S. M.
A. The word is the plural of die.
Q. Please give the origin of the name
Pall Mall.—E. H. G.
A 11 m.11 __1_a_S_
- —- »*» uiioicm game Ail
which a ball was driven through a ring
with a mall or mallet. Pall is from the
Italian word palla, meaning ball and
mall is from maglio. meaning mallet.
The game is said to have been played
in or near the famous street in London
that bears that name.
Q. Why do the inhabitants of Tibet
wear earrings?—P. S. R.
A. In Tibet earrings are worn by peo
ple of all classes, because of the wide
spread belief that a person whose ear
lobes are not pierced will be reborn in
the next life as a donkey.
Q. What is the most unusual animal?
J. H. M.
A. The duckbill of Australia is some
times referred to as the strangest of all
animals. It has a beak and weblike feei
like a duck, but is covered with hair and
feeds its young on milk. The male duck
bill Is the only poisonous mammal in the
world. It bears on its hind legs grooved
spurs connected by long tubes with poi- ’
son glands situated near the thighs. The
voice of these animals is like the growl
of an angry puppy.
Q. What is the highest price per 100
pounds that sugar has been since 1902?
—J. D. S.
A. Since 1902 the highest price for 100
pounds of sugar was in 1920 when the
price was $25.97 wholesale in New York. *
Q. Do many women in Italy attend
college7—b. j. t.
A. In 1937-8, out of a total enrollment
of 74.909 students in Italian universities
and institutions of higher education,
there were only 13.363 women.
Q. Does it ever rain in Death Valley,
Calif.?—E. J. R.
A. The average annual rainfall there
Is less than an inch and a half.
Q. What is engraved on the block of
stone in the Washington Monument
which was contributed by Kentucky?
—M. K.
A. The granite block bears the fol
lowing inscription: "Under the auspices
of Heaven and the precepts of Washing
ton. Kentucky will be the last to give up
the Union. ‘United We Stand, Divided
We Fall.’ ” The stone is placed on the
inner wall on the 230-foot landing.
Q. How long does it take a ship to go
through the Panama Canal?—W. K. F. v
A. The passage of the canal, which is
51 miles long, requires about six hours.
Q Who was the first white man to go
to the South Sea Islands?—D. J. F.
A. On March 6, 1521. Ferdinand Ma
gellan landed on Guam, the southern
most island of the Marianas group.
_ 4
Q. What is the legend of the laurel
tree?—J. M. H.
A. In Greek mythology, Apollo loved
the nymph Daphne. When he descend
ed to earth to woo her, she fled from
him, and begged her mother, Gaea, the
earth goddess, to save her. Through
the intercession of Gaea, Zeus turned
Daphne into a laurel tree. From that
time Apollo made the laurel sacred and
winners in the Pythian games, as well
as great poets, were crowned with the
leaves.
Q. Is there a Beebe Foundation to aid
musicians?—S. P. c.
A. The Frank Huntington Beebe Fund
for Musicians at Boston is for the pur
pose of sending talented young Ameri
can students abroad for musical study.
In default of suitable candidates in this
field, it offers the same opportunity to
students of painting.
Q. Please give the origin of the Con
cord grape.—H. B. S.
A. In 1840 some boys of Concord,
Mass., gathered wild grapes in the neaiw
by woods. On their way home they
threw some of the seeds on the land nf'
Ephraim Bull. Mr. Bull preserved one
of the seedlings that sprang up, and
when it fruited he planted its seeds. One
of the second generation of plants proved
superior to the others, so he preserved
this, which became the parent of that
variety of grapes.
Gold in Amber
Now August sunshine dapples
The yellow sassafras,
And fragrant burnished apples
Pall mellow to the grass.
The chipmunks roam the pastures
Where every sunny space
Is bright with blue wild asters
And dainty Queen Anne’s lac*.
The brown-eyed Susans, golden.
Line the dusty road,
Where by the warmth emboldened
Hops a tiny toad.
Oh swift-flown days of summer.
With gleaming hours and rare,
All overlaid with sliver
Of floating gossamer;
Would that we might preserve you
In amber's golden light,
And so In gold conserve you
To color winter’s night!
MARION H. ADDINGTON.
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