Evening star. [volume], August 25, 1939, Page A-6, Image 6

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With Sunday Moraine Edition.
THEODORE W. NOYES, Editor.
WASHINGTON. D. C.
FRIDAY..-August 25, 1939
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The Deciding Voice
In summing up his fervent appeal
for peace, President Roosevelt told
King Victor Emmanuel of Italy that
“unheard voices of countless millions
ef human beings ask that they shall
not be vainly sacrificed again.”
Throughout Europe there is abun
dant evidence to support that claim.
Clearly, the people of Germany,
Poland, Italy, France, Britain and
those of the lesser states have no
desire to lay down their lives on an
other futile battle field, but the de
cision is not for them to make. From
that fact comes the most persuasive
indictment of totalitarianism that
can be made. The preservation of
those countless millions of lives
hinges upon the decision of one
man—Chancellor Hitler—who will
have the deciding voice in deter
mining the issue of peace or war.
It is because Hitler holds this
power of life and death over his own
people, as well as those of neighbor
ing states, that the success or failure
of the peace appeals from the Pope,
the King of the Belgians and the
American President depends almost
entirely upon his reaction to them.
At the moment there is no evi
dence that any of the appeals will
deter Hitler from risking war to
satisfy his territorial aspirations. In
the messages sent by President
Roosevelt to the German Chancellor
and to President Mosciki of Poland,
three specific methods of settling the
dispute between those nations were
proposed: Direct discussion between
the two governments, submission of
the issues to arbitration if direct
discussions are not feasible, or selec
tion of a third and disinterested
party to settle the threatening
aitiiatinn
As yet there has been no response
from either government but there
can be no doubt that Poland, having
consistently stated her willingness to
adjust the controversy by peaceable
negotiation, would be glad to accept
any of the three proposals. But that
Is not true of Germany. Chancellor
Hitler has let it be known that so
far as he is concerned the time for
discussion has passed. He proposes
to partition Poland, without war if
Bhe will acquiesce in her own de
struction; by force if any resistance
Is offered.
If the German Fuehrer already has
determined upon that course of
action, and all available evidence
points to this conclusion, the peace
appeals probably will prove unavail
ing. But it does not follow that they
will have been entirely futile.
In the first place, decent men, con
fronted with the appalling prospect
of another major war, can do no less
than exhaust every possibility for
peace, no matter how remote their
chances of success. Secondly, if
Hitler now gives the signal that sends
the inarticulate millions to destruc
tion he will be unable to escape
responsibility for having resorted to
war while rejecting reasonable
methods of settling peacefully what
are at best relatively unimportant
Issues.
By the wanton recklessness of such
bn act, Hitler will forfeit the support
of public opinion throughout the
world for such merit as there may be
In his territorial demands. And,
beyond that, he will bequeath to
mankind indisputable evidence that
those who relinquish the responsibil
ities of self government in return for
what seem to be temporary advan
tages only invite the signing of their
own death warrants.
Argentine Agreement
Two aspects of foreign policy closest
to Secretary of State Hull’s heart are
his reciprocal trade agreements pro
gram and his “good neighbor” method
of dealing with Latin American na
tions. Until this week, neither policy
held large appeal for one of the most
hnportant countries to the south,
Argentina. Its statesmen looked for
Cultural and commercial union to
Europe rather than to the United
States. In trade, it reached special
agreements with England to the det
riment of the United States. There
Were reasons for this lack of rapport.
Economically, Argentina is suppos
edly a mutually exclusive competi
tor of the United States. And the
United States hurt Argentinian feel
ings by banning importation of her
fresh or chilled beef.
Acting Secretary of State Welles an
nounced Wednesday that on October
26 public hearings would open here
on a trade agreement with Argen
tina. The bare announcement itself
Is indicative that Argentina is ready
to reach an agreement, lor thre#
years of informal conversations lead
ing up to the negotiation have
already gone by. Argentina was un
interested in treating with us. Only
last January the government at Bue
nos Aires limited the amount of
goods which Argentina could Import
from the United States. The main
consideration in this step was the
fact that the United States was sell
ing to Argentina goods worth twice
what she bought. Argentina wanted
bilateral agreements which would
balance her trade.
It should be a matter of much
satisfaction in the United States as
well as in Argentina that tangible
steps at last are being taken toward
linking in harmony two of the great
powers of the Western Hemisphere.
The School Estimates
While the amount the District
should spend in the next fiscal year
for its public school system is some
thing that must, perforce, be deter
mined with regard to other munici
pal needs and the total revenue avail
ability, school authorities have made
a strong case for more liberal treat
ment in their 1941 budget requests.
Particularly is this true as to re
quests for funds for new structures
for which population demand is ap
parent, for replacement of old build
ings and for adoption of a policy of
land acquisition in advance of im
mediate construction needs.
The record would show, no doubt,
that the District has paid heavily
for delays in the purchase of sites
for projects that had been antici
pated, either in paying higher prices
when the land finally was acquired,
or in the loss of the best locations
and the consequent dislocation of
various pieces of the plan. The sug
gestion for more systematic and
timely purchases of sites sounds wise
indeed.
Discussion of better programing
of building and land requirements
brings to mind the fate of earlier
efforts in that direction. There was
once a formally adopted five-year
school building plan that did not
materialize. Failure of that plan,
however, does not present argu
ments against the proposal for
a more definite policy for land
purchases and larger amounts for
buildings, but rather constitutes
proof of the cause, for past failure
of fund requests is one explanation of
the length of the list of construction
and land items now requested.
Those charged with the handling
of the estimates should, and un
doubtedly will, take into considera
tion the fact that the schools have
no large P. W. A. building project
for the coming year as in the present.
One new school and a number of
additions to existing buildings are
being provided in the $1,000,000
P. W. A. program authorized a year
ago last month—a program which
was taken into consideration when
the building estimates for the 1940
budget were slashed to a minimum.
It is also worth noting that the
replacement program championed by
Senator Overton in the conference
on the 1940 budget and finally de
feated with a single small exception
again makes its appearance in the
1941 estimates. This would provide
several modern 24-room buildings to
replace a large number of ancient,
economically inefflcieht eight-room
structures.
A new Wilson Teachers’ College
and a new Abbott Vocational schol—
both items smothered in the hasty
passage of the 1940 bill after the long
duel between the House and Senate
over the amount of the Federal pay
ment—are again requested. The
need for the former was affirmed
strongly by a committee of Senators
which visited the present building
last June.
For the next year school authori
ties are seeking $18,775,000, an in
crease of $5,400,000 over this year’s
appropriations.
Orderly Retreat
Presumably American citizens
either living or traveling In Europe
will heed the carefully considered
and obviously wise counsel of State
Department representatives that they
make every reasonable effort to come
home or seek refuge in some other
safe territory.
If war is to come, it would not only
be in the interests of personal safety
of these individuals but also in the
direction of removing potentially
embarrassing responsibilities from
the American Government that its
nationals take the obvious precau
tion of getting out of the zone of
hostilities. Naturally enough such a
course might prove inimical to the
business interests of some of those
affected, but such an element un
questionably is of less moment than
the protection of lives or the em
broilment of this Government.
Fortunately for those now caught
in the "crisis countries” plans and
facilities available for their safe re
moval are greatly superior to those
existent when the World War broke
out in 1914.
For on that summer date twenty
five years ago, despite the passage of
weeks after the Sarajevo assassina
tion in June, there had been com
paratively little warning given either
here or abroad that disaster im
pended. And even for some forty
eight hours after Austria declared
war on Serbia on July 28 there was
relatively little in the way of a rush
for passage to America. Full realiza
tion of the emergency came soon
after, however, as Europe’s major
powers hurled formal declarations of
war at each other and almost simul
taneously withdrew their trans-At
lantic liners from ordinary passenger
service. And just as these govern
ments plan to do today, they then
took over all aystems of Interior
transportation for military purposes,
leaving tourists and refugees in seri
ous straits as far as travel was con
cerned.
Disruption of foreign financial ex
changes contributed greatly to the
distress, a condition that remained
serious until the American Govern
ment and American banking institu
tions could effect the actual physical
transfer of millions of dollars in gold
from this country to Europe.
Lack of passport requirements,
which clouded the claims of many as
to their American citizenship, and
absence of any effective interna
tional regulation of steamship rates
were additional obstacles to orderly
movement of the fleeing thousands.
Largely from these lessons of the
last war better provisions for han
dling mass rescues have been de
vised. Their successful operation de
pends, however, upon co-operation
of those most closely affected and
acceptance of the judgment of the
Government’s foreign representa
tives as to their day by day conduct
during the critical period.
Mr. Chamberlain's Speech
It has been believed In some quar
ters that Prime Minister Neville
Chamberlain is a weak and vacillat
ing person, but it now begins to be
appreciated even by his critics that
he is rather a man of strong and
rigid character. His speech in the
House of Commons yesterday was
moderate and reasonable in its tone,
yet it did not lack the qualities of
inspiration which history looks to
find in the utterances of leaders of
the noblest distinction.
Mr. Chamberlain presented the
case against Adolf Hitler in convinc
ing style. Deliberately, not once but
twice, he set the German Chancellor
apart from the German masses, de
claring: “The greatest calamity that
could occur was not desired by our
own people or by the German peo
ple.” Again, he isolated the Nazi
Fuehrer from whatever merit there
may be in the issues involved in the
quarrel with Poland by insisting:
“We do not think of asking Germany
to sacrifice her national interests, but
we cannot agree that national inter
ests can only be secured by the shed
ding of blood or by the destruction of
the independence of other states.”
This is high ground, certainly. Mr.
Chamberlain, in effect, was pleading
for a morality to which neither Hitler
nor his allies Mussolini and Stalin
ever have risen. “We want to see es
tablished international order based
upon mutual understanding and mu
tual confidence,” he said. Then, that
he might not be misunderstood, he
stipulated: “We cannot build up
such an order unless it conforms to
certain principles which are essential
to the establishment of confidence
and trust. Those principles must in
clude the observance of international
undertakings when they have once
been entered into and the renuncia
tion of force in the settlement of
differences.”
American public opinion supports
this philosophy. Likewise, it compre
hends Mr. Chamberlain’s meaning
when he solemnly announces: “If,
despite all our efforts to find a way
of peace—and God knows I have done
my best—if, in spite of all that, we
find ourselves forced to embark upon
a struggle which is bound to be
fraught with suffering and misery for
all mankind and the end of which no
man can foresee; if that should hap
pen, we shall not be fighting for a po
litical future of a far-away city in a
foreign land. We shall be fighting
for the preservation of those prin
ciples * * * the destruction of which
would involve the destruction of all
possibilities of peace and security for
the peace of the world.”
Sidney Howard
Playwrights who can achieve a
lyrical despair over the state of the
world are not uncommon in our
times. But those who can view man’s
current plight with a degree of hope
are rare. Sidney Howard was of the
latter group, a dramatist savagely
uncompromising in his awareness
that all was far from weli with the
world, but Just as savagely uncom
promising in his conviction that it
could be made better.
That is why Sidney Howard’s loss
to theater and screen in Wednes
day’s unfortunate accident is the
greater.
The author of “They Knew What
They Wanted,” “Yellow Jack” and
half a dozen other plays of genuine
substance and stature was a fighter.
Long before he brought his sturdy
physical and brilliant mental gifts
to the stage, he proved his energy
and his courage as a World War avi
ator. The characteristics which
earned him distinction as a war
time flyer carried over handsomely
into his subsequent work. They are
the qualities which one likes to think
of as American and, as their posses
sor, Sidney Howard demonstrated
that they could not fall.
The theater, his first love, and the
movies, his second, are the poorer
for his death, the richer for his work
and the inspiration which it should
be to others.
Hitler for the past few years re
minds baseball fans of Cobb in his
prime, when he used to go to first
on a pass, make second and third on
errors and scoot for home on a short
fly. However, every once in a while
Ty would get thrown out at the plate.
John Citizen in general, and Paul
Pedestrian in particular, sometimes
get weary of widely publicized “new
drives on violators of motor laws.” It
might be a good plan for the authori
ties to try one some time without a
single word of warning.
'> A
Persecution Concealed
By Many Aliases
Want of Reason and Justice
Blamed for Variety of
Old World Ills
By Dale Winters.
Persecution is an ugly word. It creeps
up upon us dally, in conversation, in the
press, and over the air. It is synony
mous with Europe, and minorities, and
sorrows, and tribulations. It has no
one place of abode; it darts here and
there, under various names. Like a
poisonous arrow it never misses its
mark.
A few years ago it ran amuck in
Soviet Ukraine and starved out 5,000,000
Ukrainian souls whose freedom-loving
spirit would not yield to Communist
will. In the World History were en
tered the words “Enemies of the State.”
Leaving the bones bleaching upon
the fertile steppes, it darted northward
to Western Ukraine where Polish
troopers flogged helpless Ukrainian vil
lagers, burned their homes, and destroyed
their food. That came under the head
ing of “Pacification.”
Germany next. Here persecution re
solved itself in denial of citizen rights
to the Jewish people. Ridicule, segre
gation, and confiscation became the
order of the day. Item number 3 in the
World History reads “Racial Purity.”
Reckless now', persecution with one
wide sweep placed the Czechs, Slovaks,
and Carpatho-Ukrainians under the
domination of foreign masters—to breed
further persecution. “Artificial Cre
ation” was the next entry.
August finds it in the Tyrols of Italy—
that little mountainous strip of German
soil that England awarded to Italy for
refusing to support her German World
War ally. Clubs and whistling bullets
bid the native German families bon
exodus northward into the greater Reich.
Look up World History, and you will
find this on record as "Permission to
Leave.”
Persecution is a vicious word. It
creeps out of the inkwell at every treaty
table and writes itself in on every page
of the fateful documents. It gloats with
the victors and scoffs at the vanquished.
It loathes freedom and delights in op
pression. It is the sword of the tyrant,
the weapon of the desperate. It knows
neither reason nor justice, for it was
created to destroy both reason and
justice.
Yes, persecution is an ugly word . . .
for it is a man-made word.
Takes Issue With
Nolda Letter.
To the Editor of The Star:
I have no desire to unnecessarily pro
long a discussion in your columns as to
who is primarily to blame for the failure
of the Seventy-sixth Congress to pass a
bill liberalizing retirement features, but
I do seek this second opportunity to
correct statements in the Nolda letter.
Mr. Nolda ‘'assumes" that It might
be taken for granted that Mr. Steward,
having gone on record as favoring a 5
per cent contribution from Federal
workers, would favor the 4>2 per cent
contribution compromise arrived at by
the Senate and House conferees. The
statements made in my article were
not based on assumption, but on facts.
I quoted from the Congressional Record,
wherein Mr. Ramspeck stated that in
all fairness it should be stated that
Mr. Frank Bennett, president of Railway
Mail Association; Mr. William Horner,
legislative representative of the National
Federation of Post Office Clerks, and
Mr. Charles I. Stengle, president of the
American Federation of Government
Employes, personally assured him of
their willingness to compromise the
percentage of deduction from employes’
salaries at 4’2 per cent In order that a
reduction in optional ages of retire
ment might be secured.
Mr. Steward gave neither Mr. Rams
peck nor any other of the conferees such
an assurance, for he was not even pres
ent when the conferees sought advice
from the representatives of employe or
ganizations awaiting outside of the con
ference room. Nor was there present any
one to represent or speak for the U. F.
A. W. group of w'hich Mr. Baker is
president. Had either of these groups
been represented and had they been
willing to accept the ir2 per cent agreed
upon in conference, as did Mr. Stengle
for the A. F. G. E. group, we might
have had a satisfactory retirement
law today.
There was no more chance of the
Ramspeck bill carrying a 5 per cent
reduction passing than there was of the
Neely bill passing which carried the
4 per cent reduction. A compromise
between the two bills had to be secured.
That compromise was 4‘/a per cent and
our group had a spokesman there in
Col. Stengle to accept that compromise.
Therefore, we did all possible to co
operate—others failed to by being absent.
As for Mr. Ramspeck’s repeated pub
lic statements that he would favor no
bill that did not embody a substantial
increase in employe contributions, I
think the less said about that the better,
in view of Mr. Ramspeck's inclusion in
his bill of a provision to retire Con
gressmen at 45 years of age, with five
years’ service to their credit. At the
same time he loudly protests against the
cost of retiring Federal employes at
the age of 60, who have served 30 years.
The Increase from the 314 per cent
contribution we now make to the 4',4
per cent which our group concurred in,
would have covered the additional cost
quite adequately, many believe, since
the actuaries based their figures on the
impossible assumption thUt every one
would hasten to retire at the optional
age. The majority could not afford to
do this and past experience proves that
only a small per cent have ever availed
themselves of the early retirement age.
However, 68 is entirely too high for an
optional retirement age which Is now
in force for the average clerk and it is
to be hoped that the next session of
Congress reduces this materially.
August 24. INEZ JUSTUS.
0 - , —
Believes Pedestrian Safety
Drive Has Failed.
To the Editor of The Star:
Inasmuch as the pedestrian safety
drive has definitely proved a failure, as
shown by the many arrests and the great
difficulty experienced by most pedes
trians in crossing the streets with the
green lights, why not try an amber light
for pedestrians? Surely it’s worth a trial,
and only a fair trial would prove whether
or not such a procedure would delay
motor traffic unduly. I’m for It.
August 34. A MOTORIST.
THIS AND THAT
By Charles E. Tracewett.
The value of the mockingbird as a
garden resident is somewhat in doubt,
despite its beautiful songs and inter
esting habits.
Does the mocker drive other birds
away through its sheer presence?
The longer one observes this bird, the
surer he will be that this is the case,
that the mockingbird is a liability
rather than an asset, and that it keeps
away other songsters at all times of the
year, even when it does not actively
attack them.
This is a nuisance bird, in other words,
no matter what its friends may say
in its praise.
* * * *
Take this fellow which is running
our yard at this time.
It seems rather late to have a nest,
but surely he acts as if he were de
fending one.
Old Quincy, the yellow cat, is in ter
ror for his life.
Quincy has no designs whatever on
mockingbirds.
He is much too fat even to try to
catch one, let alone do it.
He asks nothing better than to be
left alone by the birds.
w w w w
This mockingbird is after him every
minute.
The moment the cat comes into sight,
the bird dives down, flaunting the white
in its wings and letting out the most
outrageous cries.
When the cat settles down on the
porch, the bird flies close by, and keeps
up its defiance. So far it has not flown
onto the porch.
The second Quincy steps down into
his yard, the mockingbird flies straight
at him.
A resounding peck on the cat's spine,
just north of the tail, and Quincy is
ready to come into the house, and who
can blame him?
• This performance has its comedy
value, of course, in the eyes of all ex
cept the four-footed animal.
He is outraged.
* * * *
The expression in his eyes says plainly
enough, "Now what have I done?”
The mockingbird is trying his best to
tell him, but the two do not speak the
same language.
Once the cat is indoors, the bird flies
back to the rose vine.
You might think he would quit, now,
but he never does.
Angry, snarling noises come from the
fence at all hours of the day.
* * * *
Time and time again this mocker flies
completely around the house, uttering
snarls of defiance to the world.
Often in the early hours, Just at day
break, he can be heard grumbling with
vehemence, when there is no living
thing in sight.
The other morning a flock of six blue
Jays flew down to sample the food in
the feeding station.
They had no more than landed, when
the kingpin went at them, full tilt, as
if to drive them completely away, but
he was mistaken this time in his foe.
The jays not only did not budge, they
made such threatening movements and
uttered such resounding clamor, in their
own right, that the mocker went back
to his vine and subsided.
* * * *
In truth, there is very little to -be
said in favor of America’s renowned
mockingbird in any one's yard.
In a neighborhood, he is all right, but
when he takes up his stand in a gar
den, at any time of the year, he tends
to drive away all other species.
Despite the praise heaped upon him,
he is better heard than seen.
Most persons who have tried feeding
the birds in winter know that one
mockingbird will drive away all other
birds, even when he cannot eat the
seed himself.
It is not so widely realized that in
summer he is similarly a liability in the
garden he selects for his own.
w- w * w
Up until 1900 or thereabouts, mocking
birds were rare in the District and near
by Maryland and Virginia.
Friends of birds held it an achieve
ment if they saw one at all.
In those days mockingbird^ could be
caged, but the law changed all that.
Today it is against the law to cage
this or other of our songbirds, with the
result that we have many more birds
than ever before.
Now mockingbirds stay with us the
year around, at least a few of them do.
At first it is a treat to welcome them
to a feeding station.
The white in the wings always at
tracts instant attention. Usually the
newcomer to bird feeding is delighted
to be able to identify the newcomer to
the food trays.
A mockingbird!
Pretty soon he begins to see that this
really fine fellow is rather more to be
preferred in a story than in the home
garden. It is really too bad. The mock
ingbird is a splendid specimen of bird
life, good looking, interesting, a famous
mimic and singer in his own right. It
is regrettable that he always wants to
boss the show'.
Letters to the Editor
inwuMn i im oervice
Unit Treatment.
To the Editor ol The 8t»r:
The splendid prospect for needed lib
eralization of the retirement law for
Federal employes having gone aglimmer
ing for the time being, due to the op
position of certain organizations to an
increase from the present 3>2 per cent
deduction from salary to 4>2 per cent,
raises the question whether any good
purpose is subserved by treating practi
cally the entire civil service as a unit.
Representatives of the employes in
great divisions or units of the Federal
civil service, numbering tens if not hun
dreds of thousands, indicated to the
Senate and House conferees the willing
ness of their organizations to accede to
the terms proposed. The representatives
of other large organizations of such em
ployes declared unwillingness. Since
these services are separate and distinct,
permitting of different treatment with
out resulting confusion or embarrass
ment, why can not the scope of the pro
posed legislation take in the Govern
ment units desiring inclusion and omit
from its operation those not so desiring?
There is nothing novel in this proposal.
At the present time the personnel of
some Government services are outside
the scope of the General Retirement Act;
other units, the diplomatic service for
instance, have a retirement system of
their own. As the matter now stands,
the vast work back of the Senate and
House bills goes for nothing, except for
its educational value. This work has
included hearings, an immense amount of
research to determine cost of various
plans proposed, public mass meetings,
reports and conferences galore, and the
result Is two or three crumbs of better
ment.
What good reason exists why the per
sonnel In great distinct units of the
Federal service should be denied the
benefits of legislation they desire, merely
because other units, equally distinct and
severable, do not desire such legislation?
July 28. GEORGE A. WARREN.
Rabbi Urges Plan
For Social Justice,
To the Editor of The Star:
When Chamberlainism co-operates
with Fascism to make Israel an economic
outcast; when dictators destroy free par
liaments, brotherhoods and peaceful na
tions; when a Father Couglin and a Gen.
Moseley, both peddlers of race hate and
reaction, ride high in impudence, free
from fear or interference, then one may
expect to hear at least an organized voice
of righteous indignation, if not the adop
tion of concrete solutions to these prob
lems, from synagogues, societies, rabbis
and present-day leaders. <
So far, in place of practical programs,
mere resolutions have been proposed. In
stead of making actual corrections to
democracy, we have only past implica
tions and vague future interpretations.
Confronted with immediate needs and
issues, the leaders either evade the ques
tion or reply: “We cannot hazard to
predict safely.”
Typical of this is a letter by Morris D.
Lazaron, addressed to The Star of May
22, concerning the crisis in Palestine and
its effect on Jewish life. He extols the
glory of the past and travels on the safe
road of the unknown future. To these
men, the ill-treatment and misfortune
of the Jews is Just a historical subject,
or, perchance, a topic for a sermon. A
policy of hush-hush creates the impres
sion that in America there are no poor,
no strangers, no aliens, no unemployed,
no political victims, no refugees and no
persecuted.
Let us be practical. Israel is akin to
all races. True, the treatment of the
Jewish problem may differ because we
are an ancient, moral and landless peo
ple; but in the struggle for bread, se
M
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!
curity, peace, justice, life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness, all men are
created equal. Remember, when the
despot makes war. suppresses races, bums
books, crushes homes, commits mur
ders, he does not distinguish between
Spaniard, Czech, Protestant, Jew, Cath
olic or Mohammedan. Manchuria, China,
Ethiopia, Austria, Czecho-Slovakia,
Spain, and Albania were despoiled and
looted. Next on the list may be Danzig,
the Tyrol. Arabia, Bulgaria or any poorly
armed nation.
Therefore, facing these conditions, let
all who are oppressed and threatened,
regardless of creed, color, or race, unite,
work and struggle in co-operation with
all the spiritual and political forces of
democracy, peace and social justice, in a
righteous and collective union.
In this logical effort and plan, our
conception of God should be a God of
peace and economic justice. As workers
for peace and justice, we should become
children of mankind also, not children
of God alone. Otherwise, only hope re
mains, and by hope of itself, men face
doom. If the attempt is made to solve
the Jewish problem by faith alone and
without material facts, it will result in
mere evasion and suspension. Faith
without facts is a soul without a body,
or a sermon without a people. Hence
the Jewish people as children of man
kind also, acquire courage for a solution,
and will apply justice to God's earth.
RABBI HIRSCH Z. GLICKMAN,
Organizer, People’s Culture Synagogue.
August 15.
Woman Appeals for
“Sensible” Hats.
To the Editor of The Star:
It seems I have been deluding myself
with the naive idea that hats were in
tended for protecting and enhancing the
wearer’s charms.
My mistake was brought home forcibly
to me after looking at several pages of
the society section of last Sunday’s Star.
Certainly no woman could face her mir
ror and by the most violent twist of
feminine imagination convince herself
that she had enhanced or even retained
her natural charm by “planting,”
“perching” or “smearing” such atrocious
things on her head as appeared in said
paper.
Among the hats I have reference to
were four, ranging in appearance from a
delirious popover to a porcupine's tall.
Now if to be “chic” or “smart” one must
make oneself look ridiculous and fit only
for the comic section by wearing what
fashion dictates, some of us will have
to go about just plain dowdy. Words fail
me and a nervous breakdown threatens
when I Imagine myself searching
’amongst such horrors for something re
motely resembling a hat and the thought
of being seated behind one in a theater
makes me quite 111.
Please—a few sensible, attractive hats
for intelligent normal women to wear.
Alexandria, Va. MRS. M. S. SNOW.
August 23.
Assistant Secretary of War
Thanks The Star for Editorial.
To the Editor of The 8tar:
Your editorial in Saturday’s Evening
Star, "Wartime Dictatorship,” is an ex
cellent interpretation of what the War
Resources Board has in mind to accom
plish for national defense. I have just
this morning returned to Washington
and among my first duties am writing
to commend this expression cm your part.
August 31. LOUIS JOHNSON.
/
Haskin's Answers ^
To Readers' Questions
By Frederic J. Haskln.
A reader can get the answer to any
question of fact by tenting The Eve
ning Star Information Bureau, Fred
eric J. Haskln, director, V,7ashington,
D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply.
Q. How many men in Europe are
equipped for war?—L. H. M.
A. The nations of Europe have more
than 8,000,000 men under arms.
Q. What was the first luxurious hotel
in the United States?—K. J. M.
A. The Palace, built in San Francisco
in 1875, was known as America's first lux
ury hotel.
Q. When was the Edison Tower dedi
cated?—E. H. J.
A. The tower was dedicated and light
ed on February 11, 1938. the 91st anni
versary of the birth of Thomas Edison.
Q. Is it true that rubber can be made
from petroleum?—T. J. S.
A. A new synthetic rubber is being
extracted from butane, a petroleum gas.
By catalytic refining the butane mole
cules are reformed into a rubber-like
molecule. It is estimated that the
petroleum industry can produce annually
10,000,000,000 pounds of synthetic rubber
from the butane now available.
Q. What Is a Bohemian ruby?—C.
J. D.
A. This Is a Jewelers’ name for rose
quartz when cut as a gem.
Q. What is the lowest point in West
Virginia?—L. S.
A. The lowest point in the State is 289
feet at Harpers Ferry.
Q. How did James G. Blaine acquire
the nickname of “the tattooed man from
Maine?”—M. S.
A. The sobriquet, “The Tattooed Man”
had its origin in the fact that one of
tht New York weekly illustrated maga
zines printed a cartoon representing Mr.
Blaine as Phryne, before the Athenian
judges, and tattooed with the names of
the political scandals with which hi*
name had been connected.
Q. What State produces the most
bauxite?—L. U. S.
A. Arkansas produces about 95 per
cent of the bauxite mined in the United
States, Saline and Pulaski Counties
yielding the largest amounts.
Q. How does the Bible define pure
religion?—J. C. H.
A. According to James, i.27: “Pure
religion and undefiled before God and
the Father is this, To visit the fatherless
and widows in their affliction, and to
keep himself unspotted from the world.”
Q How large is the Associated Actora
and Artistes of America?—J. H. M.
A. The organization has a member
ship of 30,000.
Q. In what year did New Orleans hav*
a centennial exposition?—T. A.
A. The Industrial and Cotton Centen
nial Exposition was held at New Orleans,
La., from December 16, 1884, to May 31,
1885.
Q. How many people have read “Mag
nificent Obsession,” by Lloyd C. Douglas?
—E. W. R.
A. It is estimated by the publishers
that the book has been read by some
2,000.000 people.
Q. For whom are the Heisman, Max
well and Lambert football trophies
named?—K. R. S.
A. The John W. Heisman Memorial
Trophy is awarded each year to the foot
ball player deemed the most valuable.
It perpetuates the memory of a football
coach and gTidiron mentor at many
colleges for 35 years. The Robert W.
Maxwell Trophy, also awarded to ths
outstanding player, is named in honor
of Robert W. (Tiny) Maxwell, a former
all-America player, sports writer and
gridiron official. The August V. Lam
bert Memorial Trophy, emblematic of
leadership among Eastern gridiron teams,
was donated by Victor A. and Henry
L. Lambert of New York City in memory
of their father, an ardent football fan.
Q. How is the meat of rattlesnake
used as a food?—W. J. B.
A. It is sometimes fried and in some
localities the canned meat is served as
an hors d'oeuvre with cocktails.
Q. Please give the names of the flowers
for each birth month.—P. J. H.
A. January, carnation; February, prim
rose; March, violet; April, daisy; May,
lily of the valley; June, rose; July, sweet
pea; August, gladiola; September, aster;
October, dahlia; November, chrysanthe
mum; December, poinsettia or holly.
Q. Was the dodo a real or a mytho
logical bird?—W. J. W.
A. The dodo was a clumsy, defenseless
bird, about the size of a swan, found
living on Mauritius when the island was
discovered by the Portuguese near the
beginning of the 16th century. Its wings
were small and incapable of flight. Un
able to cope with conditions, this helpless
bird was exterminated about 1651 and no
entire specimens are preserved.
Q. In which national park is the large
tree through which there is a tunnel?—
E. L. J.
A. The most famous is the Wawona
Tree in the Mariposa Grove, Yosemlte
National Park. This tree is 281 feet tall
and has a maximum diameter of 374
feet. The tunnel through it is 8 feet
wide and 26 feet long. Another big tree
in the same grove is the California Tree,
which also has a tunnel.
Q. How many gallons are there In a
barrel of beer?—J. E. M.
A. There are 81.
Q. What was the financial value of
Pasteur’s discoveries?—8. P. D.
A. T. H. Huxley expressed the opinion
that the money value of the discoveries
thkt brought Pasteur fame was sufficient
to cover the whole cost of the war in
demnity paid by Prance to Germany in
1870. Pasteur, however, chose to remain
poor and to set an example of simplicity.
Q. How may I obtain a booklet of
photo reproductions of scenic beauties of
the United States?—J. R. T.
A. See Haskin's advertisement on Page
A-2.
Target
Unheralded as a hurricane
The might of beauty drives its dart;
It leaps like lightning through the brain.
Nor stops until it strikes the heart.
PAUL S. OEHSEK.
k