Evening star. [volume], November 07, 1939, Page A-10, Image 10

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

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
ffje gening plat*
With Sunday Morning Edition.
THEODORE W. NOYES, Editor.
WASHINGTON, D. C.
TUESDAY...’.-November 7, 1939
The Evening: Star Newspaper Company.
Main Office: 11th St and Pennsylvania Ave.
New York Office- 110 East 42nd St
Chicago Office: 435 North Michigan Ave.
Delivered by Carrier—City and Suburban.
Regular Edition.
Evening and Sunday 65c per mo. or 15c per week
The Evening Star 45c Per mo. or 10c per week
The Sunday Star _ 5c per copy
Night Final Edition.
Night Final and Sunday Star 75c ner month
Night Final Star 60c pc-r month
Collection made at the end of each month or
itch week Orders may be sent by mall or tele
phone National 5000
Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance.
Maryland and Virginia.
Bally and Sunday 1 yr $]n.00; 1 mo. 85c
ally only -1 yr . $6 00; 1 mo.. 50c
Sunday only -1 yr.. $4.00: l mo.. 4u©
All Other States and Canada.
Sally and Sunday. 1 yr. $12 00; l mo.. $1 oo
ally only -1 yr.. $8.00; l mo.. 75c
tiunday only-1 yr. $5.00; 1 mo.. 50c
Entered as second-class matter post office.
Washington D C.
Member of the Associated Press.
Associated Press is exclusively entitled to
the use foi republicatmn of all news dispatches
credited to It or not otherwise credited in this
caper and also the local news published herein
All rights of publication of special dispatcher
herein also are reserved.
Trade Crisis With Japan?
Within less than two months, bar
ring events not yet in prospect, our
commercial treaty with Japan will
come to an end. Earlier this year
the United States announced that
the pact would be terminated on its
forthcoming expiration date, Janu
ary 26, 1940. The underlying sug
gestion was that renewal would only
be possible if Japan mends her ways,
especially with regard to “the things
the Japanese Army is doing in
China,” to quote Ambassador Grew
In his now celebrated public address
at Tokio last month, and also if the
Tokio government abandons the
policy of persistent violation of
American treaty rights in China.
A volume of trade which amounted
In 1937 to roundly $500,000,000 is in
volved. In that year the United
States imported from Japan $204,
291,000 and exported to the island
empire $288,377,000. Such figuses
suffice to indicate that commercial
relations between the two countries
are mutually advantageous in the
highest degree. Their magnitude is
a guarantee that neither in Wash
ington nor in Tokio will anything pre
cipitate be done that might under
mine a structure vitally important
to Japanese and American economic
life alike.
But if Tokio doubts that this Gov
ernment is not serious in expecting
action by the Japanese, any such un
certainty should be removed by yes
terday's announcement by Chairman
Pittman of the Senate Foreign Rela- |
tions Committee. He declared that j
unless relations with Japan improve
before the commercial treaty expires, |
rrvftm i.Mzi/MiUtAzii.. z.«z«z.s i
pending resolution empowering the
President to embargo “any or all”
exports to Japan. “It is entirely
fair,” Mr. Pittman explained, “that
Japan should be warned to beware
the Ides of January and reminded
that her entire attitude in China has
been one of total disregard of the
rights of the United States, as well
as of other countries.”
An embargo on American exports i
to Japan would be a matter of seri
ous concern to her. It would hit her
far harder than it would hit us. Of
a round $1,000,000,000 of Japanese
imports in 1937, about one-fifth came
from this country. The bulk of them
consists of raw cotton, the lifeblood
of the island's vast textile industry.
Shut off from American cotton sup
plies, that trade would face strangu
lation. If a commercial war be
tween us should extend to a bar on
Japanese imports by the United
States, the Asiatic nation would be
even more disastrously affected, for
nearly one-third of its total exports
of $900,000,000 is sold to the United
States, formerly mostly in raw silk,
but latterly, to a growing degree, in
cotton fabrics.
Private and official advices leave
no doubt that these conditions, forti
fied by the strong attitude Ambassa
dor Grew was directed to proclaim
upon his return to Tokio in October,
have caused the new Japanese cabi
net to ponder carefully the risk of
pursuing those policies in China, of
which the United States has now in
firmer tones than ever voiced its
uncompromising resentment. That
the civilian element at Tokio favors
concessions which would mollify
American susceptibilities, there is
little question. But there is no less
certainty that the army, which rules
the roost, remains adamant in its
refusal to abandon plans for that
"new order in Asia,” to which the
western powers resolutely decline to
assent.
Burgomaster Max
It is fashionable among certain
critics of modern society to affirm
that the age of heroism has passed
and that men no longer are willing
to live dangerously. But the cynics
guilty of this mistaken judgment of
contemporary character forget the
brave little burgomaster of Brussels,
Adolphe Max, who was a romantic
legend while yet he lived and will
remain the symbol of his country’s
spirit now that he has died.
Of course, there were other Bel
gians who refused to submit to the
Prussian conquerors of 1914. King
Albert the Good, Cardinal Mercier
and General Leman personified each
in his own especial way the inde
pendence of the martyred state and
the resistance of its people to an
alien will. But Burgomaster Max
was particularly daring in his atti
tude of defiance. Fifty months’ im
prisonment in Germany served
merely to confirm his militant patri
%
otism. He never surrendered. When
the invaders abused him, he gloried
in the compliment. It was a matter
of pride with him to be mistreated
by his foes. Not once did he com
plain against their persecution. In
deed, it would have troubled him if
they had failed to respond to his
challenge.
After the Armistice in 1918 he re
turned home to his familiar office.
Brussels chose him mayor for the
remainder of his life. He accepted
few other honors, desired no greater
recognition. Departing the world at
a moment when history is engaged
in turbulent repetition, he leaves a
name that cannot fade so long as the
human soul continues to yearn for
freedom and for a peace tolerable to
those who love liberty enough to vol
unteer to suffer for it.
New Milk Plan
Another chapter in the perennial
debate over milk prices in Washing
ton will open late this month with
hearings by the Agriculture Depart
ment's division of marketing agree
ments. But unlike many of the pre
vious hearings which have been held
by various local and Federal govern
mental agencies, the new one prom
ises definite benefits and much less
controversy than has resulted here
tofore.
Basically, the plan, proposed by
the Maryland and Virginia Milk
Producers’ Association, would tend
to equalize the cost of all milk com
ing into Washington. At present the
producers receive a contract price for
part of their class one milk, and are
forced by market volumes to sell the
rest at a much lower price as surplus.
Under the new plan a special price
would be provided for milk which
would be destined for families on re
lief, and those in the low-income
group. This would be higher than the
present surplus price, but consider
ably lower than the contract rate for
the best fluid milk for general sale.
The milk sold at the special price for
the poor would, of course, be of the
same quality as that available to
more fortunate homes. The result
would be to increase the volume of
class one milk sold without making
any material difference in the gen
eral retail prices.
Thus the producer would be able to
sell more of his product as class one
(for fluid use), rather than as class
two »for butter, cheese, and butter
milk i, or as class three (for ice
cream. The price for part of the milk
would be lower than the present
price, but higher than that now re
ceived for the other two grades. And
the provision of a larger supply of
low-priced milk for those who most
need its nourishment is a progressive
step.
The plan, while it is similar to the
marketing agreement which operated
for a few months in 1936, differs from
the latter in some of its details.
The proposal still does not offer a
solution to the argument that milk
prices are too high in Washington.
But this is a matter that involves
many agencies of government, from
the Health Department to the De
partment of Agriculture, as well as
the producers, distributors and con
sumers. If it succeeds in providing
a sufficient supply of vital food to a
major portion of those families which
now’ must compromise health with
purse, the greatest objection to the
general retail price will have been
overcome.
Pensions and Politics
The voters of Ohio and California
are balloting today on old-age pen
sion schemes which have cast an
ominous shadow across the Ameri
can political scene. The growth of
the pension movement—by-product
of today's misery and the fear of to
morrow—has been little short of phe
nomenal during the past five years.
That these short cuts to Utopia have
embodied the quintessence of eco
nomic madness, that the supposed
beneficiaries will suffer most in the
end, are facts that have not served
to stem the pension tide. “Liberal
pensions for the aged” is meat upon
which demagogues can fatten and
they have not failed to make the
most of it.
A disturbing demonstration of the
■trength of the pension forces was
made during the last session of Con
gress. Despite the fact that Federal
old-age pensions and old-age benefit
payments were substantially liberal
ized, a Townsend plan bill was de
feated in the House by less than a
three-to-one vote. More than one
third of the Republicans and about
one-sixth of the Democrats voted for
it. It had the support of all the Rep
resentatives from Oregon, Washing
ton, Montana, North and South
Dakota, of sixteen of the twenty
from California, of seven out of nine
from Wisconsin, of four out of five
from Florida.
The Ohio voters today are passing
on a proposal to pay $50 a month to
persons sixty years of age or older.
The pensioner must have retired
from gainful occupation, and if he
has an income of less than $50 a
month, his pension will be only large
enough to lift his income to that
point. Eligible husbands and wives
will receive $40 each, and the cost
is to be met by a State income tax
equal to one-fourth of the Federal
income levy, and a two per cent tax
on all land valued at more than
$20,000 an acre. In California, the
proposal is to pay $30 each Thursday
to Unemployed persons over fifty
years of age, the payments to be
made in scrip.
If either or both of these plans
are approved—and that is by no
means unlikely—there is every reason
to believe the result will be financial
chaos. Should that prove to be the
case the misfortune of Ohio or Cali
' fomia may act u a deterrent on
f
I \
those who are disposed to support
equally fantastic schemes in other
sections of the country. It would
not be wise, however, to pin too much
faith on the educational value of
a trial and error fiasco in either
California or Ohio. In 1936 the voters
of Colorado approved a plan calling
for a pension of $45 a month for all
persons over sixty whose incomes
were less than that amount. For
a time the payments were made,
but the State’s finances were un
equal to the strain, and full pay
ments were discontinued. But de
spite this evidence that the plan
was unworkable, the voters by refer
endum last November refused to re
peal the pension provision.
Meddling Molotoff
With crass disregard for the
amenities of international "relations
—not so much through ignorance, to
be sure, as through a deliberate in
tent to divide the American people
against themselves—Soviet Premier
Molotoff turns a meddling hand
again to American affairs.
In a speech yesterday marking the
twenty-second anniversary of the
start of the Bolshevist revolution
the disingenuous chairman of the
council of peoples’ commissars heap
ed new vituperation upon the United
States, and particularly the “Ameri
can bourgeoisie,” for the repeal of
the arms embargo, thus seconding a
broadside issued earlier by the Com
munist International.
American neutrality revision, Mol
otoff said, was only “a mask to cover
their (the United States’) struggle
for profit,” and the Comintern said:
“The American bourgeoisie, very in
terested in further developing the
war, repeals the embargo on the ex
port of arms in order to secure huge
profits to the kings of the munitions
industry.”
Both these blasts echo recent arti
cles in Soviet newspapers—the gov
ernment’s Izvestia, the Communist
party’s Pravda, and the army's Red
Star—which denounced the "badly
concealed exultation” of Wall Street
at the outbreak of the war and the
alleged attempt of “American reac
tionaries" to draw the United States
into the conflict.
In effect these declarations, couch
ed in characteristic Communist ter
minology, constitute an open attempt
to subvert the working classes not
only of Great Britain and France,
where it is hoped they will thwart
| their governments’ war aims, but of
; the United States, too, where it is
i hoped to make Americans the tools
I of Soviet policy. Certainly intelli
i gent American workers will not lend
themselves to such strategy.
More offensive to Americans than
this clumsy divisive effort is the im
putation of insincerity and impurity
of motives to all those who supported
and fought for the changes in the
Neutrality Act sought by President
Roosevelt.
Molotoff's denunciation is not in
j comprehensible in the light of the
| historic Soviet aim. now brushed up
after a period of desuetude, to work
! a world revolution, and his sweep
ing attack upon capitalist, not only
in Britain, France and the United
States, but in Italy, too. can be read
only as a revival of the program of
world revolution which it was hoped
had been shelved.
But less understandable is the fact
that ostensibly neutral Soviet Rus
sia thus takes to task another neu
tral for purely national measures of
protection against war. Why Russia,
which is selling vital raw materials if
not finished war supplies to Germany,
! one of the belligerents in Europe's
war, would deny the United States
the right to make its resources avail
able for cash purchase by the allies is
one of the imponderables of the
Russian enigma.
The explanation probably lies in
the purely formal nature of Russian
neutrality negatived in effect by
definite partisanship—at least for
momentary purposes — with Nazi
Germany, and in the likelihood of a
much closer agreement on the con
duct of the war than the rest of the
world officially knows.
Aftermath of War
All was quiet along the Ohio State
University front. In fact, no one
knew that a front existed, until a
wandering skunk^chose to attack a
weak sector, the Phi Kappa Sigma
Fraternity house. This creature de
clared no war. Instead, he put on a
gas attack without warning. The
casualties were appalling, and only
the prompt evacuation of the Phi
' Sigmas prevented complete disaster.
Caught with their masks down, they
demobilized rapidly into the night
air accompanied by the shrieks of
the stricken, and leaving as a rear
guard but one lone member and
Skull, their pet dog. Against over
powering odds, Skull engaged in a
dogfight with the enemy bomber
and laid him low. The lone member
seized a field telephone and sent
out the all clear, somewhat prema
turely as was later discovered.
Technically, the fraternity won the
battle, but like other wars that could
be mentioned, no one really won.
The Phi Kappa Sigmas saved their
lives, but only at the cost of their
democracy. No longer are they free
individuals in a land of liberty. As
a hideous aftermath of the war, they
are regimented and segregated.
Ohio State is at least temporarily in
the grip of the caste system. The
Brahmins are those lucky enough to
belong to fraternities on the other
side of the campus. Lower in the
scale come nearby fraternities, and
way down at the bottom is the Nu Pu
Chapter of Stigma House.
Another phrase illustrative of
damning with faint praise: “As sweet
• as lunch-counter sugar"
L 1
* t — — —
Realtor Takes Issue
With Court Articles
Housing Association Report
Held Erroneous
In Part
To the Editor of The Star:
I think some of the statements in the
series of articles on landlord and tenant
proceedings in the Municipal Court,
which are written by Horace Knowles,
and which are appearing in The Star,
are very unfair to real estate owners
and real estate brokers in Washington.
In the article which appeared in The
Star of November 1 the impression is
certainly gained that Mr. Knowles (and,
of course, most of the public concludes
that The Star coincides with his opin
ion) assumes certain findings in the re
port made by the Washington Housing
Association are true. The report con
cludes with four observations, which are
quoted in full by Mr. Knowles.
Answering the first observation, I may
say that the landlord is in a very dif
ferent position from a merchant or a
newspaper or any, other business. With
the merchant and the newspaper and
otner general businesses, if credit is
granted to a customer for merchandise
or advertising and he does not pay his
bill, no further credit will be granted
him. In the case of a property owner
the tenant is already in possession of
the property and in effect has the
granting of further credit to himself in
his own hands. The only way the prop
erty owner has of stopping further credit
to a bad tenant is to file a suit in the
Municipal Court and put him out, unless
he pays his rent. It is true that the
landlord attempts to protect himself by
requiring the rent to be paid in ad
vance, but we all know that in the ma
jority of cases the rent is not paid in
advance on the first day of the month.
In practice, if it is paid by the 10th of
the month, that is good; and if it is not
paid by the 10th of the month agents
generally make a definite effort to collect
it. and. failing in that, they are put to
the necessity of bringing a suit in the
Municipal Court for possession, in which
event the tenant will be in debt for at
least a month's rent before possession
can be obtained under the suit.
When tenants do not pay their rent
it is idle to sue them in an ordinary debt
suit as nearly 100 per cent of those who
do not pay their rent promptly are
judgmentproof. Charging the property
owner or agent with using the court as
a means of pressure for collection of
rent is, to say the least, unfair. It is the
only way the owner or agent has of stop
ping further credit and lass. and. re
member, that is what the court is for.
The second observation of the Housing
Association report, that many years of
continued tenancy should result in the
establishment of mutual confidence and
credit, and that this seems to be of no
consideration with owners and agents,
is refuted by their own statements in
the report, that 60 per cent of the de
fendants in such cases were found to be
chronic cases and were sued six times
or more in the 12 months, and that 90
per cent of the tenants sued were in
court more than once in a 12-month
period. The report only emphasizes the
precarious position of owners in collect
ing rents from the poorer classes.
The third observation, that tenants
complain that some agents are unwilling
to adjust the rent day to the pay day
and refuse to take installment payments
of rent, is false in part and true in part,
but the power to correct the same is
not in the hands of the owners and
agents.
The statement that agents are not
willing to adjust the rent day to the pay
day is certainly not true in most cases.
Agents generally, would rather have
rents fall due on either the 1st or the
15th of the month, as it is much easier
to look after them if they fall due on
those dates. It is true that agents refuse
to take installment payments of the rent.
law if they accept part of the rent and
the tenant does not pay the balance, the
agent cannot bring suit for possession
until the beginning of the next month.
If the law was changed so that agents
and owners could accept part payments
without waiving their rights to file a
dispossess suit if future installments are
not p»id as promised, I am sure that
agents and owners would be glad to ac
cept, in proper cases, installment pay
ments.
It is too bad that everybody doesn't
have enough steady income to insure
their proper and reasonable living ex
penses, but property owners have to pay
taxes, interest on mortgages, if any; re
pairs, insurance and other expenses, and
few of them can, therefore, afTord to
lose their rent. With many of them,
loss of rent means loss of their equity
in the property; and dispossessing a
tenant who cannot or will not pay his
rent, means further loss to the owner
who must in most cases make repairs
and then lose further rent while the
property remains vacant awaiting a new
tenant. Owners and agents don’t like
to have to bring dispossess suits. They
certainly do not go to the trouble of
filing suits for the fun of them. So far
as they are concerned dispossess suits
are only Necessary "headaches.”
’ Mr. Knowles should write a series of
articles presenting the property owners’
and agents' side of the case.
G. R. LINKINS.
November 3.
Editor's Note:
The Star is glad to publish Mr. Link
ins’ letter as setting forth his conception
of problems confronting Washington
landlords. The purpose of the articles
to which he refers, however, was not to
hamper landlords in the legitimate con
duct of their business, but to show the
desirability from the tenant’s stand
point of eliminating what appear to be
needlessly large court costs and inequit
able phases of Landlord and Tenant
Court procedure.
Chicken Thievery on
International Scale.
To the Editor of The Star:
Will some qualified person be kind
enough to explain the following enigma:
Two men mutually agree to rob a chicken
roost. One robs one half and the other
the other half. If both are guilty of the
same illegal act, why is one part free
and the other part guilty?
It is a clear case of particeps criminis,
but according to modem international
authority, this is not so. Is it possible
that one of these chicken thieves is too
large to handle, or may be eventually
used to rob another hen coop?
November 3. LOUIS ¥. DILOKR.
«
THIS AND THAT
By Charles E. Tracewell.
An interesting experiment was made
recently in a local garden to see how long
it would take to attract birds.
The results should be of great interest
to all persons who somehow have the
idea that feeding the wildbirds is an
esoteric rite, or that it necessarily re
quires special apparatus.
In this case, about a pound of mixed
seed and grain was thrown beneath a
heavy overhang of rose vines.
This was at 10 o'clock in the morning.
By 11 o'clock, one bird had found the
treasure trove.
By noon, at least three dozen songsters
were busy there.
Two quirrels also found the food, and
spent the rest of the day busily burying
sunflower seeds all over the yard.
Very few such seeds come up. They
are buried too deeply. In most cases
they are dug up and eaten long before
they get, a chance to germinate.
* * * *
The earth at the base of the climbing
rose—in this case a Dr. Van Fleet
proved as acceptable to the birds as any
man-made feeding station.
If an elaborate station had been
erected, made with shelves and hopper
for grain, fitted with watering pan, and
so on, it could not have had a better
"turn out" of birds than the plain earth
oeneath the vine.
The tangled growth of this big rose
had made a natural tent overhead, with
many canes on which the songsters could
rest,between bites.
Birds like nothing better than such a
situation.
In all but the heaviest rains the food
will be kept dry.
* * * *
Do not imagine that the situation will
hide the seeds from the birds.
These fellows are mighty keen when
it comes to smelling out something to
eat!
If any prior feeding has ever been
done in the yard, the songsters which
live in the neighborhood will not forget
it, you may be sure.
Newcomers to the sport of bird feed
ing may not realize, at first, that their
guests are divided, broadly speaking,
into two classes, those which stay with
us the year around, and those which
migrate.
Fortunately, in the first classification
are some of the very finest of all birds,
including the chickadees, titmice, nut
hatches, song sparrows, cardinals, blue
jays. mockingbirds; in the second, scarlet
taneger, wood thrush, catbird, various
warblers, etc.
* * * *
Right now is perhaps the best time of
the year to begin to attract members of
both these classes.
Scores of birds are on their way South,
dropping down for a day or two in any
friendly garden, especially if food is
offered them.
It requires close watching to see all of
—?
them that come, and not many persons
will be able to do It, but most will be
fortunate enough to see a few of them,
if some food is put out daily.
If you want birds all the time, you
must put out food all the time.
They will not waste their time where
there is nothing to eat. Even stay-at
homers, which eat daily in a yard, will
fly away the moment the supply of food
is allowed to run out.
This rather ungrateful performance is
forgiven readily, in view of the great
requirement which birds have for plenty
of food, in order to keep their heat re
quirements at a maximum.
The colder the weather, of course, the
more need for constant stoking of the
“furnace.”
If plenty of food is available, birds are
as warm in freezing weather as in the
heat of summer.
They are nature's pure children, and
it makes no difference to them how cold
it is—how fine it would be if the chil
dren of men could say the same! Then
there might be an end to this business
of colds and influenza and pneumonia.
W * * *
The way to learn to write, some one
has said, is to start writing.
The way to begin, in other words, is
to begin.
The way to begin to feed the birds is
to begin putting out food for them.
It is as simple as that.
Instead of worrying about the pur
chase or construction of a feeding sta
tion, just get some mixed seeds, or
chicken feed, or chick feed, or plain sun
flower seed, and put it out in the yard,
in a tree box or even on the sidewalk.
Every day we pass a happy band of
birds, eating away vigorously on a down
town sidewalk, not 3 feet from a bustly
throng of traffic.
Passersby on their way to the Govern
ment departments—this place is close
enough for many thousands of workers
to walk—have to almost push the birds
out of the way to get past.
* * * *
Tit placing the food beneath some
kind of bush or vine.
Do not imagine that because it seems
concealed to the human eye it is hid
in the least from the far sharper sight
of the feathered hosts of the air.
Then, too, they can smell it. and then,
too. they have some mysterious way of
finding food which man has not yet
fathomed. There seems to be no doubt
of this at ail. Mere sight cannot explain
it. Some species put out scouts, which
tell the other birds without moving from
their posts. Among the birds which do
this really marvelous thing are the
starlings.
The only drawback to beneath-the
bush feeding comes in snow’y weather,
when the fine particles drift down
through even the thickest vine. It may
. be necessary to scoop out the snow every
now and then, but this is not much of a
i task, after all, and if you don't do it. the
i birds probably will do it for themselves.
Letters to the Editor
Minister Addresses Query
To Isolationists.
To the Editor of The Star:
Midst the recent assembly of law
makers for the United States, many
speakers were heard, some qualified, some
otherwise; debating our position as it
should relate to the present Euro
pean war.
Few there are who would doubt that
we in the United States are a Christian
Nation, symbolized as it is by such an
inscription as "In God We Trust."
As Christians, we also should know
that we contact with the positive king
dom of the Lord Jesus Christ under God,
and the negative kingdom of Satan and
his forces of evil.
The question for “isolationists” to settle
in their ow-n minds before any declama
tion is, if the King of Heaven was here,
with a planned purpose to establish His
spiritual kingdom for Christian brother
hood and called for assistance against
what is now apparent, an anti-Christian
war. what would be the attitude of the
leaders of this great Nation?
What would the individual answer be?
The key to whatever kingdom one desires
is in his own hand, may the people be
wisely led through reason and co
operation. REV. F. H. MANDRELL.
October 31.
Comment Evoked by Article
On the Destroyer Kearny.
To the Editor of The Star:
Commenting on your article of October
11 concerning the scheduled launching
of the destroyer Kearny next January, I
would like your readers to know that
Commodore Lawrence Kearny was born
and died at Kearny Cottage, Perth Am
boy, N. J„ and not only fought pirates,
as you say, but was Mayor of Perth
Amboy and, above all, established the
“open door'’ policy in China in 1842.
Strange to say, however, our town is not
•named for him. but for his famous
cousin, Gen. Philip Kearny, and the
Federal Shipbuilding Co., where the
launching is to take place, is located in
“Phil'’ Kearny's town, not the commo
dore's. Furthermore, Miss Mary Kearny,
the sponsor, was born here in Kearny
Castle, or Kearny Arms, which be
longed to her father, a Washingtonian.
Kearny, N. J. BRIDGES LEACOCK.
November 3.
Welcomes Interest in
Virginia Poll Tax.
To the Editor of The Star:
It is interesting to note the growing
Interest in Virginia in the question of
payment of the poll tax as a prerequisite
to voting. In the neighboring county of
Arlington, the current campaign has pre
cipitated a considerable amount of public
discussion regarding this question. I re
gard this as a very healthy symptom.
The preservation of democratic institu
tions depends upon widespread discus
sion of public issues by the electorate. I
only wish that more of this discussion
were going on in Fairfax. Efficient rep
resentation of a county in the State Leg
islature is more likely when the people
of the county are articulate regarding
legislative affairs.
No doubt citizens will become increas
ingly alive to the importance of the suf
frage and to the necessity of securing
accurate information and defining cor
rect principles. Nothing would give me
more pleasure than to participate in dis
cussions of this question where the par
ticipants are sincerely anxious to asoer
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!
tain the facts and to consider the basic
issues involved.
The basic issue concerns the confi
dence of the politician in the people.
There are those who prefer government
by the few in the interest of the well-to
do with a limited electorate that can be
trusted to vote the right way. Some Vir
ginia Republicans are particularly in
clined to this theory of government. It
is an utterly undemocratic theory. The
basis of the Democratic party is confi
dence in the people. The stability of
government in the future will depend
upon the extent to which the literate
and responsible elements in the popula
tion participate in elections. One prac
tical means of encouraging such partici
pation would be legislation to provide for
more general collection of the poll tax.
This would be the simplest and easiest
way to secure an additional million dol
lars for Virginia schools.
Fairfax, Va. FRANCIS P. MILLER.
November 2.
Commends Star for
Court Articles.
To the Editor of The Star:
I want to tell you that I am glad you
are publishing the series of articles
started on Sunday re the relations of
tenants and landlords and the uses made
of the publicly supported courts by those
landlords who are long on alertness and
short on principles. We, the citizens,
need awakening.
November 2. BLANCHE M. CRAPO.
Jay Franklin Doth
Protest Too Much.
To the Editor of The Star:
Abuse, facetiousness and ridicule—all
these things Jay Franklin is direct
ing against the Dies Committee in his
column in ine star. And all because
Representative Dies and his efficient
committee are pulling up the rotten floor
ing in the old hog pen and causing the
rats to run for cover.
I read Mr. Franklin's facetious column
in a recent issue of The Star in which
he mockingly suggests that he is begin
ning to fear he himself may be accused
of being a Communist because he owns
a Phi Beta Kappa pin; said pin being
the emblem of a Greek letter fraternity;
said Greek being a foreigner; all for
eigners Communists, etc.
I have never been rewarded with a
Kappa key. I am just a poor guy trying
to get along under the handicaps of the
New Deal, like millions at others. Also
like them, I know when a thing needs
investigating and that John Q. Public
is almost a hundred per cent behind Mr.
Dies and his committee. Jay Franklin
and others of that ilk may as well make
up their minds to that fact.
October 25. S. H. MUMFORD.
Suggests Planetarium
As Gift to D. C.
To the Editor of The Star:
It is fine to know that there is a pos
sibility that the $50,000,000 Widener art
collection will be given to the National
Capital.
Wouldn't it be great if some of our
philanthropists would present the Capital
with a planetarium?
PRANK a. CAMPBELL.
November 1
t
Haskin's Answers
To Readers' Questions
By Frederic J. Haskin.
A reader can get the ansiver 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. Where Is the statue erected to the
men who lost their lives in the Titanic
disaster?—J. S. H.
A. On the banks of the Potomac River
in Washington, D. C., stands the Titanic
Memorial, sculptured by Gertrude Van
derbilt Whitney, in tribute to the men
who responded with their lives to the
cry of "Women and children first" on
board the sinking Titanic. It was do
nated in 1927 by the Women s Titanic
Memorial Association.
Q. Please give the names of some
prominent people whose hobby is minia
ture railroads?—P. J. D.
A. Among those who are interested in
model railroads are King George of Eng
land, King Leopold of Belgium, Vincent
Astor, Joe Di Maggio, Wallace Beery,
Tommy Dorsey, Guy Lombardo, Premier
Mussolini, Wayne Morris, Robert Mont
gomery, Reginald Denny, Marshal Goer
ing, Judy Garland, Sonja Henie and
Stuart Erwin.
Q. Is there any estimate of the num
ber of words in Shakespeare's vocabu
lary?—B. A.
A. Shakespeare is credited with having
had 24.000 words in his vocabulary.
Q. What is a British White Paper?—
O. N. H.
A. The official reports or communiques
issued by the British government peri
odically are known as Blue Books. Oc
casional reports, which usually are not
so extensive, are called White Papers.
Q. How many people deposit their
money in postal savings accounts? What
is the total amount deposited?—R. H. W.
A. The postal savings system has more
than 2,700.000 depositors, with balances
to their credit of over $1,262,000,000.
Q. Did Victor McLaglen ever fight Jack
Johnson?—H. L. G.
A. According to Jack Johnson's book,
he fought Victor McLaglen in Vancouver,
on March 10, 1909. Johnson won the
bout in six rounds.
Q. Who said “Cleanliness is next to
godliness'?—C. F.
A. The phrase is taken from a ser
mon by John Wesley “On Dress'’ and is
as follows: "Certainly this is a duty, not
a sin, cleanliness is indeed next to god
liness.’’
Q. Where can a boy take a course in
baseball?—N. D. M.
A. A home-study course in baseball
technique is offered by the extension
department of the University of Indiana,
at Bloomington. There are a number
of baseball schools, among which are the
Joe Stripp Big League School of Base
ball at Orlando, Fla., which has a session
from January 8 to February 18, 1940,
and the National Baseball School at Los
Angeles. Calif., which will be held from
January 15 to March 15.
Q. 'Who first made soap powder?—
L. S. H.
A. The first soap powder was intro
duced by B. T. Babbitt about 1845.
Rather than melt the waste soap shav
ings he packed them in boxes for sale,
and met with instant success.
Q. How large is the Marine Corps?—
C. B. R.
A. The strength of the United States
Marine Corps, as of July 1. 1939, was
1.183 commissioned officers. 146 warrant
officers and 18.020 enlisted men.
Q. What is the highest passible vac
uum pressure?—C. J. T.
A. The National Bureau of Standards
says that vacuum simply means absence
of air pressure. The “highest possible
vacuum ’ is therefore 14.7 pounds per
square inch at sea level.
Q. Who is the tallest king?—D. D.
A. Christian X of Denmark is the
world's tallest monarch. He is said to
be 6 feet 6 inches in height.
Q. Can paper be made from the castor
plant?—W. D. H.
A. At the Sam Houston State Teach
ers' College, Huntsville, Tex., newsprint
from castor plant pulp has been made
in sufficient quantity to be used in print
ing the school newspaper. The paper
is made from the stalk of the castor
bean plant and is said to be ideal as a
filler for book paper.
Q. What is the inscription on the me
morial to the late Senator Huey P.
Long?—K. C. B.
A. “Huey P. Long, 1893—1935. Sleep
on. Dear Friend, and Take Your Rest.
They Mourn You Most Who Loved You
Best."
Q. What is the title of the musical
selection which was sung in the Peris
phere at the New York World's Fair?—
C. L. B.
A. The music sung by the chorus is
entitled “The Rising Tide" and is by
William Grant Still.
Q. Why do lead bullets shot into water
become ineffective?—S. L. V.
A. The ineffectiveness of bullets shot
into water is the result of the absorption
of energy by the water. The amount
that a lead bullet will flatten on impact
with water varies with the striking ve
locity, the hardness of the lead and
the angle of impact.
Awake at Dawn
I lay and watched the first faint shafts
of light
That filtered through the passing of
the night,
Falling in bars and crosses on my floor
Like noiseless, shadowy tides along a
shore.
I watched with eyes dream-filled, yet
open wide,
The slow receding of the quiet tide,
As, bit by bit, in the familiar room
Night-shrouded objects all emerged from
gloom. ,
Across my pane, like swinging censers
flung, '
The flickering leaf-shadows danced and
clung—
Then all the sky gleamed forth in
roseate hue,
Shell-pink and amber against cobalt blue.
God’s rainbow promise that man yet
shall know
A peace as beautiful as the dawn-glow.
GERTRUDE BROOKE HAMILTON.
i