Evening star. [volume], September 27, 1939, Page A-8, Image 8

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

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^betting fstar"
With Sunday Morning Edition
THEODORE W. NOYES, Editor,
WASHINGTON, D. C.
WEDNESDAY_September 27, 1939
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herein also are reserved.
New Neutrality
The draft of the proposed new
neutrality legislation, now before the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
contemplates in wartime a with
drawal of the United States from
world affairs which is without prece
dent anywhere. The provisions of
the draft bill would isolate the
United States to a greater extent than
anything ever proposed by Senator
Borah and his colleagues, and if their
formula for war avoidance is correct
they should welcome this proposed
legislation with open arms, despite
the fact that it repeals the arms
embargo.
Under this new draft the United
States, in the interest of greater
national security, would surrender
many of its sovereign rights. The
doctrine of the freedom of the seas,
which has been a cardinal point of
our foreign policy since the founding
of the Republic, is abandoned for all
practical purposes on the theory that
adherence to it at this time might
Involve us in the European war. The
proposed legislation makes the appli
cation of the so-called “cash-and
carry” provisions mandatory upon a
finding either by Congress or the
President that a state of war exists.
Under the old law the President
could exercise discretion in invoking
the cash-and-carry system. And, of
still greater importance, the pro
posed new “cash-and-carry” section
becomes applicable to any commodity
to be shipped to a belligerent nation.
Under the provision which expired
last spring cash-and-carry applied
only to such commodities as the
President might designate.
The new draft does not provide for
cash transactions in the literal sense,
which would seriously cripple the
conduct of trade, but it serves the
same purpose just as effectively.
Ordinary commercial credits are per
mitted for ninety days and these
may not be renewed. Under the old
law, the duration of the short-term
uitruiu waa ieii/ tu uie discretion oi j
the President. In addition the new :
draft stipulates that title must be
transferred to the foreign buyer
before any commodity may leave this
country, and no American may there
after assert any claim in that respect.
The carry section is absolute, forbid
ding any American ship to carry any
passengers or freight to any bellig
erent, and, as a further safeguard,
the President is authorized to desig
nate danger zones into which no
American ship may venture.
These, and other provisions of the
draft, are designed to erect every
possible legislative safeguard against
the danger that American lives or
property may be destroyed by any of
the belligerents, and are advanced in 1
recognition of the fact that the exist
ing law is utterly lacking in such
protective provisions.
If the peace of the United States
. can be insured by keeping American
citizens and property out of the
danger zones, this proposed law will
accomplish that purpose. After
repealing the unneutral and unwise
arms embargo, it literally isolates the
country from the scene of conflict,
and it is difficult to see how any one !
who believes that isolationism is the j
key to peace can fail to support it.
Legislative Reforms
The archaic methods under which
State Legislatures function are never
more impressively disclosed than
when a group of experienced poli
ticians with progressive ideas sets
out to propose reforms. An excellent
example of that sort of thing is being
furnished by Maryland’s new legisla
tive couryhl composed of seven mem
bers of the State Senate and seven
of the House of Delegates.
The council itself was created In
recognition of the need for bettering
the legislative procedure in Maryland.
Other states have found it advan
tageous to have a similar group that
studies State problems between ses
sions and has a concrete program to
recommend when the Legislature
meets. At the council’s first session
In Annapolis Governor O’Conor sub
mitted thirteen recommendations,
five of them aimed at speeding legis
lative procedure, and then announced
that he would maintain a “hands off”
policy regarding the group’s deliber
ations.
The- recommendations included a
proposal that greater home rule
power be conferred on municipalities
so that the Legislature would not have
to pass on relatively minor measures
which could be handled by local ordi
nances. This reversal of the trend
toward centralization of power fas
•
well worth the careful consideration
of the legislators.
He also proposed such things as
the drawing of general statutes ap
plicable to all counties when possible
to eliminate many similar local bills;
outlawing the practice of introducing
bills by amending previously intro
duced measures in their entirety;
inauguration of a speedier method of
handling local bills; avoidance of
last-minute legislative jams by ad
vancing the deadline for introduction
of bills and authorization of the
transfer of judges from one circuit
to another when needed.
It should be borne in mind that
these are not the academic recom
mendation of a political theorist but
the proposals of an experienced exec
utive. They indicate the need for
examining the very groundwork of
our Government at a time when
democracy must prove ^t is a better
system than one-man rule.
selecting a Judge x
In an unprecedented action, the
District of Columbia Bar Association
has recommended to Attorney Gen
eral Murphy and President Roosevelt
that United States Attorney David
A. Pine be appointed to the vacancy
on the District Court bench caused
by the death recently of Justice Jo
seph W. Cox. It has been the custom
of the association in the past, when
judgeship appointments were under
consideration at the Department of
Justice and the White House, to sug
gest, not one, but several eligibles
from the ranks of the local bar.
Mr. Pine was the unanimous choice
of the Bar Association for the District
Court because he is singularly quali
fied to serve on the bench and be
cause the association felt that his
record as district attorney has earned
him not only the approbation of his
colleagues in the legal fraternity but
the right to some special recognition
by his superiors. Mr. Pine is, indeed,
eminently fitted for judicial service
in District Court. A native and life
long resident of Washington, he has
had a distinguished career as lawyer
in private practice, special attorney
in the Department of Justice and
prosecutor. Few attorneys are so
thoroughly familiar with the work of
the local courts, so cognizant of the
legal problems peculiar to the seat
of Government.
The Bar Association—like The
Star—believes that the District of
Columbia is entitled to the fullest
practicable representation on the
District Court bench in view of the
fact that most of the cases coming
before that tribunal are of local
origin. The demands of justice in
this jurisdiction can best be served
by the appointment to the District
Court of justices acquainted by long
experience with the special law prob
lems of the District of Columbia. The
unusual recommendation made by
the Bar Association merits the most
serious attention of Mr. Murphy and
the President.
Drang Nach Osten
Events in Southeastern Europe be
gin to suggest that Hitler bought a '
gold brick when he gave Stalin op- j
portunity suddenly to switch from 1
proletarian to imperialist garb. Der !
Fuehrer won his war against Poland
in jig time, but the price the Nazis
seem to have paid for the Soviets’
aid is the halting of Germany’s
Drang nach Osten—the thrust for
power across the Balkans to the
Black Sea. Again the Berlin-to
Baghdad bubble appears in dan
ger of bursting—this time, once for
all—because the Russian bear is by
way of squatting squarely athwart
that path.
European chancellories expect
speedy and concrete developments
along these lines, with the impending
arrival in Moscow of Shukru Sara
coglu, Turkish foreign minister. His
circumstantially reputed purpose is
to lay the foundations of peace in
the Balkans. This would be accom
plished, the Turks plan, by linking
Rumania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and
Greece into a self-contained neutral
group protected by Turkey, Russia
and Italy.
The net effect of such a constella
tion would be to throw back Germany
in the east, virtually to the “line of
demarcation’’ in Poland fixed upon
with the Soviet Union, whereby the
Reich holds the western two-fifths of
the occupied country and Russia the
rest. Hitler by this agreement, if it
lasts, forfeits his deeply cherished
claim to the Ukraine, with its treas
ure-frove of mineral and agricultural
wealth, and loses the prospect of
seizing the economic riches of Ru
mania, for one hundred divisions of
Stalin’s army now stand on the line
of the Vistula and the Carpathians—
an effectual bar to German penetra
tion across either Hungary or Ru
mania to the Black Sea. If these
Turco-Russian-Italian schemes pan
out, Drang nach Osten is headed for
the discard.
m _ _1_ 1__9_
uu ui/vaoiuii view
such an outlook with alarm. The
Italo-Greek agreement to withdraw
troops from the Albanian frontier
and the demobilization of the Italian
garrison on the Dodecanese Islands
and the Anatolian coast clearly in
dicate 11 Duce’s anxiety by conces
sionary gestures to protect Italy’s in
terests and hopes in the Balkans
against the menace of a German ad
vance in that region. But the Soviet
Union appears to be the chief pros
pective beneficiary from the projected
new deal in the Balkan peninsula. It
would be an ironical turn of the
wheel of fate if, instead of paving the
way to the realization of the “Mein
Kampf” program of German mas
tery of the East, this strange and
kaleidoscopic war, “made in Ger
many,” were to end in establishing
despised Communist Russia as the
4
paramount Influence from Warsaw to
Istanbul.
Von Ribbentrop's expected arrival
in Moscow, coincident with the Turk
ish foreign minister’s visit, indicates
Nazi alarm over proposed arrange
ments in the Near East. He is said
to seek a deal whereby Germany
would agree not to Invade the
Balkans, and Russia would guarantee
no Soviet occupation. In return for
such “pledges,” there would be a
Turkish undertaking to close the
Dardanelles to all belligerents,
mainly, ot course, France and Britain.
What devious, dark-lantern plans
lurk behind this program cannot
now be conjectured, but it is doubtful
if it inspires enthusiasm or confi
dence in Rumania and the rest of
the Balkan peninsula.
Neutral Mussolini
Premier Mussolini’s formal declara
tion of neutrality in the European
war, while it gives temporary assur
ance that Britain and France will not
be confronted with a new enemy im
mediately, provides little encourage
ment for the hope that Italy will be
able ultimately to avoid the role of
belligerent.
Italy’s Premier in his last speech
showed little determination to stay
out of the conflict and in fact hinted
that he might appear before his
people at some time in the future
with an entirely different message.
But at least for the present Italy’s
policy, II Duce said, was threefold:
avoidance of hostilities, military
preparations for any eventuality, and
support for every peace effort.
Contrary to expectations as to
Italy’s role as an axis member at this
stage of the struggle, when Poland is
virtually conquered and large-scale
hostilities have not yet begun on the
western front, Mussolini had precious
little to offer in the way of a peace
formula. He made no concrete pro
posals which might serve as the
basis for negotiations, even if the
warring parties were in the mood for
them.
His gestures in that direction were
confined to an appeal to Britain and
France to accept the factual situa
tion of German conquest of Poland,
and laudatory comments for the al
lies’ failure to declare war against
Russia after the latter's invasion of
Eastern Poland. Any attempt to re
construct Poland would be “a vain
illusion," the Italian Premier said.
But Mussolini’s hopes for that kind
of a peace—and they must not be
very strong, from the tenor of his
speech — are entirely illfounded.
Great Britain and France have given
every indication of carrying on the
war until they attain the goal they
have set for themselves—the smash
ing of Hitlerism.
Prime Minister Chamberlain’s third
progress report to the House of Com
mons Wednesday was too recently
made to permit either Hitler or Mus
solini to forget that the British leader
took his position there to continue
the war not only until Poland is re
constructed, in accordance with the
allies’ mutual assistance agreement
with Poland, but until Europe is re
deemed “from the perpetual and re
curring fear of German aggression.”
In view of this determination there
appears to be little that Mussolini
can do to restore peace to Europe
short of the impossible—persuasion
of Hitler to give up his program of
conquest in Europe. Certainly II Duce
can achieve no such goal by calling
upon the allies to yield to a German
peace, which would leave rampant in
the world the forces which Britain
and France have now set forth to
destroy.
Read and Inwardly Digest
As an example of rapid deprecia
tion it is hard to beat the case of a
newspaper hot from the press. An
hour or so later, after the issue of a
subsequent edition, it is obsolescent.
Twenty-four hours later the depre
ciation is virtually complete and it is
good only for lighting fires. The one
notable exception to this immutable
rule is the Thuringia Gauzeitung of
Weimar, Germany. Its publishers,
with true Teutonic thoroughness,
have hit upon an amazing plan to
extend the useful life of each paper
and add immensely to its value. With
the war barely started they have al
ready achieved a big boom in circula
tion and acquired a list of satisfied
subscribers that is the envy of editors
all over the world. Business is ex
pected to get even better as the war
goes on and the population is pinched
harder by the allied blockade.
_1:1 i _ i 11 i
tunui lai puiiL-jr imo ttUUUIIl*
plished the miracle. The Gauzeitung
has neither fewer nor more claims
of victory than the Berliner Tage
blatt, or, for that matter, the Paris
Temps or the London Times. It is the
business office that has turned the
trick, by the simple device of using
newsprint made from potatoes. It is
reported that readers fairly devour
it. First they read about how won
derful is the Fuehrer and how invin
cible is the German nation. They
then regale themselves with pictures
of Goering and his mezzanine front
carefully built up with pounds and
pounds of real steak. This naturally
makes them hungry, so with a sigh
they cut part of the five-thirty edi
tion up into strips, cook it in axle
grease, and defy the world by pro
ducing an ersatz French fry. There
is nothing like a good potato meal to
hearten a family. There is even a
possibility that five or six hundred
of them in a row will stimulate a few
dormant thinking powers in the Ger
man people and cause them to ex
change their government for another
which may have less glory but be bet
ter equipped with vitamins and
calories.
I 4
Denies We Should Aid
France and Britain
Wants Embargo Retained and
'Cash-and-Carry1
Measures Added
To the Editor of The Star:
In these .restless days of voluminous
writing, of claim and counterclaim,
charge and countercharge; when opin-.
ions conscientiously sought and sincerely
reached stand at hopeless odds with
others whose claim to merit is no less
valid, and none, however well supported,
can aspire to stand free from denuncia
tion from some quarter; surely no new
addition to the mounting torrent of
words can have more than fleeting in
fluence, nor can any one analysis pre
tend to disentangle the complexities of
all the problems with which the war
confronts us.
Still, the questions now presented
touch all the country closely. No one
of us can stand immune from the effects
of the course upon which we will at
length embark. And since we still func
tion as a democratic Nation, it remains
the part of the citizenry to take stock
of what the issues are, to seek carefully
for conclusions, and, having found them,
to give them expression for whatever of
value they may hold.
My own, for the moment, are directed
to The Star’s leading editorial, “Begging
the Issue,” of September 15. In that
editorial, as at other times, in further
ance of its policy, The Star sets down
two principal grounds as calling for
the lifting of the present embargo. Of
these, the second, though less strongly
urged, seems most clearly to state the
issue in the controversy: “• • • it also
would enable us incidentally to supply
the hard-pressed European democracies
with arms and ammunition.”
inese questions come to mind at once:
Do we want to supply these belligerents
with arms and ammunition? Do we
want, or do we need, to take any side
or lend any support whatever in this
struggle, now that Europe has come to
the day of reckoning for the tragic
errors of the conference at Versailles?
Do we want to be party again to the
crippling of a nation, the suppression of
a people, to punish it for having fol
lowed a road which its present antago
nists, with open eyes, laid out for it?
These are the dominant, not the in
cidental, questions. It is the question of
the relative dangers of this country's in
volvement under this or that system of
neutrality which must appear as sec
ondary , in a discussion of the embargo.
Whatever may be the merit of the con
tention that the present law holds dan
gers which should be corrected, that
result can be accomplished fully as effec
tively through the amendment of the
embargo act as through its repeal. Few,
if any, protective clauses can be em
bodied in a “cash and carry” law, which
could not equally be inserted in the
present law, including regulations of
raw materials shipments. To insist upon
repeal of the embargo as essential to
our present security, then, is to confuse
the issue which is paramount today: Do
we want to help the allies in this war?
I submit that we do not. First, because
the allies have already shown a signal
lack of regard for efforts expended in
their behalf. The post-war spitefulness
of the allies needs no refreshing in the
minds of most Americans, nor does the
coolness with which a large proportion
of this country's proposals were shoul
dered aside at Versailles require any new
reminder. A single glance at existing
war debts concludes the case to estab
lish the more than possible proposition
that the allies have no more than the
vaguest notion of honoring the obliga
tions which they so readily assume in
exchange for the assistance which we
O*' ^ MIV1U.
Secondly, the allies deserve no aid.
With Europe In their palms in 1919, they
proceeded to so cut and fiismember the
German nation and economy that for a
decade thereafter repeated attempts at
democratic government met with the
same despairing realization that the
problems were too big, too hopeless, for
solution by the means at their disposal.
When at length in desperation the nation
sought another way, it had to turn to
Hitler. We don't like his methods, but
we cannot forget that he is typical of his
kind and that it was the allies, in the
crystal.splendor of Versailles, who be
queathed the Nazis to Germany.
Thirdly, there is no "method short of
war'' by which this country can under
take to sponsor the success of one com
batant in a struggle of such proportions.
The position is eminently sound that,
once the mighty and terrible conflict has
begun, any deliberate act of Government
which, incidentally" or primarily, re
bounds to the sole benefit of one side, is
actually an act of intervention. More
forcefully yet is that truth brought home
w’hen it is borne in mind that the act
of assistance is in reality in no way
necessary to assure the security of the
United States, which can be protected
just as surely by the insertion, in most
cases, of the identical protective clauses
into existing legislation. Then again, we
must consider what, once we have defi
nitely committed ourselves to one side in
the conflict, will be the future of the
Johnson Act, and indeed of the vitality
of the cash-and-carry principle itself;
while the answer is admittedly no more
than speculative, certainly, in view of
our history, the question is one which
may furnish grave and reasonable
grounds for concern. As we consider
the tragic and fruitless result of our
neutrality policy of 1914-1917, when we
followed a course not dissimilar, in many
fundamental respects, to that which is
now supported by The Star and other
opponents of the embargo, we are pre
sented with the conclusion that we must
either get into the war, or stay out of
it completely—there can be no playing
of favorites by "methods short of war.”
This is Europe’s war. Let them fight
it out as best they can, and the devil
take the hindmost.
Let’s keep the embargo!
PRANK E. NATTIER, Jr.
September 16.
Robert Fechner Urged
For Secretary of the Navy.
To tht Editor of The Star:
With rumors of war, President Roose
velt should appoint as Secretary of the
Navy a man like Robert Fechner who
can build guns, ships and ordnance and
who is not tied to any big corporation.
Some dollar-a-year men in the last war
looked out for their own railroads and
corporations. JOHN RIGGLES.
Bradberry Heights, Md.
September 30.
l
THIS AND THAT
By Charles S. Tracewell.
As a general rule, the larger the bulb
to be planted at this time of the year, the
deeper in the ground it goes.
Yet even the smaller bulb seldom goes
less deep than 3 inches, at the base, and
the larger not more than 8 inches.
Even if rules of planting are ignored,
as regards depth and distance apart,
there Is every chance that nature will
bring up the stalks and flowers in due
tipie.
So the real concentration, in planting
the tulip, narcissus, hyacinth, crocus
and the like should be placed on doing
the Job properly.
This means more than getting the base
of the bulb at a predetermined distance
below the general surface of the soil.
It means, above all, getting the base
flat on a flat bed.
This is more Important by far than
depth.
* * * *
Study your fall-purchased bulbs care
fully, before you try to put them in the
ground.
Determine which end really is the base,
and which the top.
It is easy, with most bulbs, but even in
a given category there will be a few
specimens which are slightly misshaped.
There is no point whatever in just
throwing bulbs into the ground, and
then covering them carelessly with soil.
It is true that they may come up and
bloom, even under such treatment, but
they will do far better if some thought
is given them beforehand.
Probably there isn’t anything in the
world that isn't better for a little
thought, is there?
* * * *
inrce to six incnes deep is consider
able more of a hole than it sounds.
To get the bottom big enough and
guite flat is not easy, as countless
thousands of home gardeners know from
experience.
Unless care is taken, the sides tend to
slant in, depending upon the sort of
trowel used, and the bottom to be
round, rather than flat.
If the bottom is curved, it means that
the base of the bulb will not fit down
flat, and that when the dirt is thrown
in it will not All in snugly around the
base.
This, in turn, generally results in the
standing of water at the base of the
bulb, together with air.
* * * *
Air and water, at the base of a tulip
"bulb, make a pretty bad combination.
It can be avoided by realizing the
difficulty of getting the bed flat, and
then seeing that it is achieved.
This is a pleasant difficulty, best
solved by digging the hole rather larger
than seems necessary.
This will allow for making the walls
straight, thus making it easy to have
enough room to flatten the bottom.
It also permits the stirring and break
ing up of more soil immediately around
the bulb, which is always a good thing
in planting.
* * * *
You never can get back into the hole,
of course, all the earth you take out.
No matter how long one works in the
yard, the wonder is always the same,
that so much more comes out than can
ever be gotten back!
This is a good thing, however, provided
allowance is made for it. It results in
a good stirring up of the soil, in all
planting operations, and incorporates
some air, but not in too great quanti
ties at any one place.
It means that when rains fall, some
of the water will have easier entrance
to the root depths, but since there is
no air pocket left there, it will not stand
around the base of the bulb.
* * * *
After the bulb is squarely placed on
its base, in which it is best to place some
sand, to insure good drainage, the soil
is poured in around it, but not watered
down.
Some firming of the soil may be done
with the hand, but this should not be
done hard enough to dislodge the bulb
on its base.
Earth should be heaped a little on the
Surface, but not enough to cause water
to flow completely away. If too little
earth is left, a depression will form, at
the first rain, in which water will remain,
which is not a good thing.
The idea is to have the earth flat
above all bulbs when winter comes.
* * * *
Are ouios Dest m borders, beds, or
drifts?
Prim things, such as the hyacinth,
look best in beds, but tulips in rows, and
most of the smaller bulbs in drifts.
Daffodils, by whatever name one
chooses to call them, are at their best
in the ao-called naturalistic treatment,
that is, planted in no regular order,
but giving the effect of just having grown
there.
This is the way they really do grow in
nature, through multiplication, and no
doubt it gives the best possible effect In
any situation. What must be kept in
mind is that the idea of “drift” does not
necessarily contain the idea of size.
Drifts of spring flowers need not be along
estate lines; a small drift at a doorstep,
going to one side in the yard, or at the
corner of the house, may contain no
more than a dozen bulbs, but the effect
is still drifting.
Letters to the Editor
Blames Public Policies
For Railroad Ills.
To the Editor of The Stir:
I have just completed reading a reprint
in the San Antonio Express of your
editorial. “Service of the Railroads in
Wartime," embodying the divergent
opinions of the Railway Age and Mr.
J. J. Pelley, president of the A. A. R.,
along with your own views.
Should the United States find the
carriers completely inadequate to meet
the demands of an emergency, it is my
opinion that the blame will rest in the
public policies that have been pursued
toward them.
The railroads contributed more than
any other single factor to the growth
of this country. One has but to take
note of those sections where railroad
development has been least advanced
to verify this.
Stories are told of the ruthlessness of
the railroads in the early days. Doubt
lessly, some acts were committed which
would not be approved by public senti
ment. However, what great industry has
been developed without question as to
the justice of the tactics that have been
followed? Also, were not these cases
the exception rather than the rule?
The Government granted charter
rights for the investment of capital.
People put money in this industry in
good faith. In later years, the Govern
ment has regimented the railroads,
while at the same time permitting their
competitors to operate at public ex
pense.
If we find we do not have adequate
railroad transportation, we have only
ourselves to blame.
This is from one who never has worked
a day for a railroad; has not and never
had an investment in railroads, and
has had little, if any, occasion to use
railroads. D. K. SMITH.
Tampico, Mex.,
September 23.
Nation-wide Approval Shown
For Enfranchising the District
To tht Editor of Tht Star:
Having read some time ago a state
ment by Mrs. Roosevelt that she did not
think the people of the various States
are interested in national representa
tion for the disfranchised people of the
District of Columbia, I thought it might
be of interest to tell of a petition I
have been circulating for quite a while
and presented at the last congressional
hearing. It Includes over a thousand
signatures of citizens from every State
in the Union. The petition not only
represents Individuals, but also educa
tional conventions, chambers of com
merce, church and school organizations,
etc. ANNA HENDLEY.
September 30.
Strong Warning Given
Against European Propaganda.
To tht Editor of Th« Star:
We are going to hear a lot of propa
ganda from both sides in the European
war. I am in possession of some very
disturbing articles, Injected into the
Congressional Record by Senator Nye in
his speech of last April 35 entitled “Prop
aganda in the Next War.” The author
Is Capt. Lydell Hart, noted British mili
tary authority associated with the Lon
don Times. I will quote a few significant
sentences.
“Atrocity propaganda will be less effec
tive with neutrals in the next war. It
will need a definite threat to America—
a threat which will have to be brought
home to every citizen—before the re
public will again take arms in an external
quarrel. The position would naturally
be easier if Japan were involved, and
this might, and probably would, bring
America in without further ado. At any j
«
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/
rate it would be a natural and obvious
object of our propagandist* to achieve
this, Just as during the Great War they
succeeded in embroiling America with
Germany. Our old plank will be the
democratic one. This should not be
difficult to put over to the American
public. We should, as before, send over
our leading literary lights and men with
names well known in America, to put
our viewpoint over the dinner table.”
And so the plot thickens. The article
can be read in full in the above-men
tioned copy of the Congressional Record.
What reason have we for entering this
war? Shall we again be fools, like the
last time, and to what end? Shall the
precious blood of our sons be spilled
in the slime of European power politics?
Let’s prevent this by not succumbing to
British propaganda.
GLADYS HUSTED.
Silver Spring, Md.
September 20.
Says We Need Not
Enter War.
To th» Editor of Tiie star:
The last war which was waged to
make the world safe for democracy ap
parently made it unsafe for any and
everybody, If we are to draw our con
clusions from the chaotic world condi
tions existing today. Despite this gen
erally admitted fact we are being told
again that democracy must be pre
served, and hence our entrance into
the present gigantic conflict is inevitable.
What assurance have we that this
Nation will not be asked to participate
in future wars, if indeed European
civilization survives? For centuries for
eign powers have engaged in endless
warfare and not a single problem has
been solved. Peace among men will not
be promoted by hurling bombs.
Voltaire wrote: “Nothing but a name
remains of those who commanded bat
talions and fleets; nothing results to
the human race from a hundred battles
won, but great men have prepared pure
and durable delights to generations yet
unborn. A canal that connects two seas,
a picture by Poussin, a discovered truth
are things a thousand times more
precious than all the annals of the
court, than all the narratives of war.”
EDMUND K. GOLDSBOROUGH.
Sept. 16.
Local Suffrage Seen aa
Cure for Diatrict DU.
To tb( editor of The Star:
I have been Informed recently of
drastic reductions of forces end salaries
of W. P. A. workers in the District. Why
inflict such reductions upon the residents
and workers of the District of Columbia,
who are now confronted with many un
fortunate perplexities? It would be far
more equitable to let all the States and
Territories fare and share alike when
reductions are made necessary. Play no
favorites. Act impartially. I believe the
only solution of the many inequities that
exist is for Congress to enact legislation
granting suffrage to the residents of the
District of Columbia, with the privilege
of electing their own people to govern
their affairs and with representation in
Congress. A bona fide and lifelong
resident of Washington, D. C., close to 78
years, I feel confident that Congress will
rescue the disfranchised populace of the
District of Columbia by enacting such
legislation during the special or regular
session. henry F. ash.
September 23.
A
Haskin's Answers
To Readers' Questions
By Frederic J. Hasktn.
A reader can get the answer to any
Question of tact by writing The Eve
ning Star Information Bureau, Fred
eric J. Haskin, director, Washington,
D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply.
Q. What was the first United States
air unit to participate in fighting on the
western front?—T. L.
A. The 94th Aero Pursuit Squadron,
of which Eddie Rickenbacker was com
manding officer, was the first American
aviation unit to engage In combat on
the western front. This unit was cred
ited with 69 victories, the largest number
of any American unit. Rickenbacker
headed the list with 26 victories.
Q. Please give Benjamin Franklin’s
epitaph which he wrote when a young
man.—E. J. D.
A. It is as follows: "’The body of Ben
jamin Franklin, printer (like the cover
of an old book, its contents torn out,
and stript of its lettering and gilding)
lies here, food for worms. But the work
shall not be lost, for it will (as he be
lieved) appear once more, in a new and
more elegant edition revised and cor
rected by the author.”
W- how many of the men and women
listed in “Who's Who” are members of
Phi Beta Kappa?—W. J. R.
A. There are 5,469 Phi Beta Kappas
in “Who’s Who.”
Q. Are there any plants that catch
fish?—C. H.
A. There are water plants, such as the
bladder-wort, which catch small fish by
spreading bladder-shaped nets into
which the fish enter. Being unable to
escape they die and the plant then
feeds upon their decaying bodies.
Q. Where is the highest section of the
District of Columbia?—J. S. P.
A. The highest point in the District of
Columbia is in Tenleytown, where the
elevation is 420 feet.
Q. How long has the word rubber been
used?—E. T.
A. Rubber was named by Joseph Priest
ley, the famous English chemist. In
1770 a friend in America sent him a ball
of crude rubber. Discovering that it
would erase pencil marks, he broke off
small pieces and called them rubbers.
Q. Who said “We may live without
friends, we may live without books, but
civilized man cannot live without cooks' ? *
—E. A.
A. This quotation is from Owen Mer
edith’s “Lucile.”
Q. How large was the Circus Maxi
mus?—W. H. G.
A. The Circus Maximus at Rome, built
in 605 B.C. by King Tarquin, and rebuilt
and enlarged by Caesar, was 312 feet *
high, 1,875 feet long and 625 feet wide.
It first held 150,000 spectators, but the
capacity was increased to 385,000 in the
4th century, A.D,
Q. Was Cher Ami, the famous World
War carrier pigeon, mounted after his
death?—M. J. R.
A. The pigeon's body was mounted and
placed in the National Museum at Wash
ington, D. C.
Q What pitchers in the big leagues
have won the most games in a single
season?—H. T. M.
A. In 1884 Charles Radbourne of the
Providence National League Club won 60
games. In 1904 John Chesbro of the
New York Yankees won 41 games In
1908 Christy Mathewson of the New York
Giants won 37 games.
Q How did Easter Island get its name?
—M. R.
A. It is so called from its discovery on ,
Easter Sunday, 1722.
Q. What is used to support the enor
mous weight of the skyscrapers in New
York City?—D. J. S.
A. The foundations are sunk to bed
rock by means of open coffer-dams or
closed pneumatic caissons. The caisson
may be a huge timber box or steel cylin
der, open at the bottom, but closed at a
height of 8 or 10 feet so as to form a
working chamber. Above the working
chamber the caisson is filled with
concrete, which is pierced by vertical
shafts for the passage of men and
materials. When the edges of the
caisson reach rock, the working chamber
and shafts are filled with concrete, form
ing a solid pillar. After the founda
tions have been completed, the steel
skeleton is rapidly placed in position.
Q What is meant by kudos?—F. T. R.
A. The word means glory, praise, re
nown or fame.
Q. When was the buried city of Pom
peii discovered?—H. P. J.
A. It was discovered beneath vineyards
when some workmen were laying an
aqueduct in 1594. It was almost 200 years
before systematic excavations were be
gun. Pompeii was buried under volcanio
ash by an eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D.
W Please explain the difference be
tween the American plan and European
plan in regard to rates at hotels.—E. 8. H.
A. The term, American plan, is applied
to the custom of charging a flat daily .
rate for room- and three meals a day.
Charges made on the European plan rep
resent only the tariff paid for the room.
Q. Where was the Rotary Club organ
ized?—N. R.
A. The first Rotary Club was formed in „
Chicago in 1905 by Paul P. Harris.
A Sedan Chair
Within a great museum now it stands.
Its figured blue brocade and carven
frame
As fresh as when some stately, pan
niered dame
Wrapped in rare ’broidery brought from
Eastern lands
At dashing Brighton gave her gay com
mands
To red-cloaked link-boys for the mas
que or rout,
Or turned with sprightly Jest or witch
ing pout
When Brummel's lips, perchance, touched
her slim hands.
Gone Brighton’s pomp and fashion; gone
the beaux
Whose frills and furbelows and buckled
shoon
Fluttered the hearts of belles of long ago
Who dance no more beneath the silver
moon—
And yet, betwixt the old chair’s cush
ions pent.
Still lingers a faint, sweet, evasive scent.
CHARLOTTE BECKER.