Evening star. [volume], January 08, 1940, Page A-8, Image 8

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With Sunday Morning Edition
THEODORE W. NOYES, Editor.
WASHINGTON. D C.
MONDAY__— January 8, 194»
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Postmaster Burke
The prospective reappointment of
Postmaster Vincent C. Burke of
Washington, which confers life
tenure of office, is a fitting reward
for thirty-four years in the postal
service.
Mr. Burke started out in the Gov
ernment as a clerk at the post office
in Louisville, his home. Advancing
through the civil service ranks on
the strength of a growing reputation
as an able administrator, he was
named Deputy First Assistant Post
master General when President
Roosevelt was elected, and four years
ago was chosen to head the Wash
ing post office when the term of
Postmaster William M. Mooney ex
pired.
Under the comparatively new
Ramspeck-O’Mahoney Act, putting
postmasterships in the classified civil
service, Mr. Burke’s appointment now
will be permanent, his incumbency
entitling him to qualify through a
non-competitive examination.
Supporters of the Ramspeck
O’Mahoney Act expect to see it bring
about more appointments of career
men as postmasters, and from any
standpoint, that would be desirable.
Such a policy not only would hold
out definite encouragement to work
ers in the postal service, but it also
would redound to the benefit of the
public, for post offices are essentially
business institutions, efficiency of
which is bound to reflect the ex
perience of those at the top.
Under the old law, postmasters
were appointed for four-year terms,
and that meant a free-for-all
patronage grab every time an ad
ministration changed. Now, with
appointments for life, and the turn
over correspondingly cut down, those
who sponsored the change feel that
emphasis on patronage appoint
ments will grow less and less with
the passage of time, and they will
become an exception rather than
the rule, with postal employes grad
uating into the top places as a mat
ter of course.
Because me new law was passed
In a Democratic administration,
some critics have argued that it was
a device simply to freeze adherents
of that party in office. As the matter
stands now though, about half of the
fourteen thousand offices involved
will be opened to appointment after
1940. because the postmasters are
seiwing staggered terms, and in the
event of a change in the political
complexion of the administration,
the incoming party would have an
opportunity to put in its own ap
pointees, thus getting an even break.
Virginia Looks Ahead
Looking forward to the traffic
needs of twenty years hence, a spe
cial committee is preparing a de
tailed report, to be submitted to the
Virginia General Assembly this year.
Resulting from the findings of a
State-wide planning survey such as
Is being made in the District of
Columbia at the present time, the
Virginia report will contain recom
mendations for maintenance, devel
opment and planning on the basis of
actual traffic needs. Benefits to be
derived from such application of the
survey are many, but most important
Is the placing of the highway pro
gram on a practical, long-term foun
dation, rather than permitting it to
be guided principally by political or
personal influence.
Virginia has approximately forty
six thousand miles of highways un
der direct control of the State. Of
this, nine thousand miles are in the
primary system. Estimates place the
cost of surfacing all the roads in this
system, with a minimum of two oiled
lanes, at $296,000,000. Spread over
the twenty-year period such a pro
gram is not as prodigious as might
seem. More than $20,000,000 a year
is being spent now on the State’s
highways, and if the special commis
sion’s recommendation for a consti
tutional amendment to prevent di
version of gasoline taxes can be
adopted, the cost can be placed en
tirely upon those who benefit most
directly from the improvements.
It is the proposed amendment to
protect highway revenues which
promises the most bitter fight on the
report. A flve-cent tax is now levied
on gasoline in Virginia. As in many
other States, efforts have been made
In the past to guarantee that funds
so derived shall be used for highway
purposes only. This is based on the
contention that the tax was intended
Jo reimburse the State for rapid mod
ernization and high maintenance
costs made necessary by the auto
mobile, and that diversion of such
revenue into general or unrelated
special funds constitutes class legis
lation. A similar amendment was
defeated two years ago at Richmond.
But finding the means for carrying
out an intelligent and comprehensive
twenty-year plan makes reconsidera
tion timely.
Illegal Expenditures
Controller General Brown’s criti
cism of the lax disbursing procedure
in Government agencies, result
ing in illegal expenditures of ap
propriated funds, has a familiar ring.
The same charge was made two
years ago, in more emphatic terms,
by then acting Controller General,
Richard N. Elliott, and drew a warm
rejoinder from Secretary of the
Treasury Morgenthau, whose de
partment was one of those singled
out for particularly severe criticism.
Mr. Elliott, a Republican hold-over,
was assailed by the Treasury head
for “snapping at the heels of ad
ministrative officers of the Govern
ment.” There probably will be less
umbrage taken at the remarks of
Mr. Brown, a New Deal appointee.
Mr. Brown states his case plainly.
Akin to the situation at the time of
the World War, the economic emer
gency of recent years has brought
into Federal service civilian officials,
charged with disbursing duties, who
have “no experience or knowledge of
the legal restrictions placed by law
upon the Government’s accountable
officers.” When expenditures, unlaw
fully made, eventually are detected
as the accounts move through the
General Accounting Office, for audit
ing, and restitution is sought the
officers responsible fall back on Con
gress for special legislation to vali
date the accounts.
The Controller General, who be
lieves that the centralization of dis
bursing functions under the Treas
ury in 1933, may be contributing to
existing conditions, points out that
Government officials can guard
against improper disbursements sim
ply by asking the General Account
ing Office for a pre-audit in doubtful
cases. In the past year, there were
seventeen hundred requests for ad
vance decisions included in the near
ly eleven thousand cases of all sorts
that came before the General Ac
counting Office.
In the well-remembered adminis
tration reorganization bill which
would have wiped out the General
Accounting Office, the pre-audit
procedure came in for particular
condemnation, because of the power
it vested in the Controller General,
but it is rather evident that the prin
ciple should have even wider appli
cation.
The Controller General urges Con
gress to effect a reform in this field,
both by forcing the bonding of such
accountable officers as are not now
required to give surety for the funds
in their charge, and by being less leni
ent in passing special legislation to
relieve culpable officers of the neces
sity for reimbursing the Government
where funds have been improperly
paid out.
It will occasion no surprise if this
recommendation is heeded. Cer
tainly, it should be.
J- . --JL —.-iS-L
Budget Reform
The proposal to be offered today
by Chairman Harrison of the Senate
Finance Committee for creation of a
joint congressional committee to
survey contemplated appropriations
in the light of anticipated revenues
is a significant step in the right
direction.
Budgetary reform in this country
has been a slow and painful process.
Prior to the passage of the Budget
and Accounting Act of 1921 there was
virtually no effort made to shape re
quests for appropriations so that
they would bear some relation to
expected revenues in any given year.
Enactment of the Budget and Ac
counting Act resulted in notable im
provements, but still the appropriat
ing functions of Congress continued
to be exercised with little if any re
gard for the whole problem of
financing the Government’s opera
tions.
It would be the duty of Senator
Harrison’s proposed joint committee
to estimate total revenues and then
seek to adjust the total budget re
quests to this income figure. There
is no indication, howe^r, that the
committee, if established, would be
given authority to hold appropria
tions down to the level of revenues,
or to insist upon the raising of addi
tional income to offset excessive ex
penditures, but nevertheless its rec
ommendations would have the value
of supplying all Congressmen with a
comprehensive view of the income
outgo figures.
There is cause lor gratincation in
the fact that' the Republicans—at
least those in the 8enate—appear to
be strongly behind the plan of the
Democratic committee chairman.
This indication of Republican devo
tion to sound fiscal practice is mini
mized, however, by the fact that the
minority members have announced
their opposition to the President’s
proposal to raise $480,000,000 for de
fense purposes through enactment of
special taxes. The Republican posi
tion is that retrenchment can be
achieved through decreased govern
mental expenditures for normal
activities, but unless they propose to
carry this retrenchment to the extent
of eliminating the deficit—a drastic
bit of economizing which appears
extremely improbable In view of the
minority party’s record at the last
session—there does not seem to be
any justification for the Republican
opposition to new taxes, even in an
election year. 4
The soundest proposal yet to come
from the Senate is that by Senator
Byrd of Virginia, who advocates both
an increase in taxes and economies,
so that the necessity of increasing
the present forty-flve-billlon-dollar
limitation on the national debt may
be avoided.
This year’s deficit, as estimated by
Mr. Roosevelt, will leave the debt
just under the limitation, and Sena
tor Byrd was on eminently sound
ground when he said: “The debt
limit is where we should take our
stand and fight. We ought to oppose
anything that would increase it.’’
That is a sentiment which should
be echoed by every American who
would avoid national disaster on the
“rocks of loose fiscal policy”—a
danger which Mr. Roosevelt saw
clearly in 1932 and which appears
to be giving him concern again, after
an eight-year spending spree.
Balkan Clarification
f
The meetings at Venice between
Count Ciano and Count Csaky,
Italian and Hungarian foreign min
isters, respectively, may help to
clarify a muddled Balkan situation
and to develop out of the confusien
something of a common front against
Soviet Russia.
What has passed between the two
foreign ministers under the heading
of Balkan “peace” discussions is not
yet fully revealed, but reports of the
discussions are significantly unani
mous in suggesting that Italy, con
trary to her previous policy of
spurring Hungary on to revision—
by force if nefcessary—of her frontier
with Rumania, now is counseling
Budapest to refrain from bringing
the question of Transylvania to a
head in present disturbed conditions.
*At the same time King Carol caps
the warning recently delivered to
Soviet Russia by his Prime Minister,
George Tatarescu, with a clear pro
nouncement, which also appears to
have been obliquely addressed to
Hungary, that Rumania will resist
resolutely any invasion whatsoever
of her territory.
The belief that Italy may be press
ing for a truce in the Hungarian
Rumanian dispute in fear of Russia
is supported by an editorial in
Giornale d’ltalia by Virginio Gayda,
frequently Premier Mussolini’s voice
in foreign affairs. Signor Gayda,
less circumspect than Count Ciano,
forthrightly stated Italy’s policy to
ward Russia. Italy will have no
objection, he said, to Communism’s
expansion within the Soviet Union
itself, but “if Communism tries to
advance toward the vital interests
of Europe and Italy, Fascism will
reply in the proper manner.”
If Italy is apprehensive of a Soviet
move through the Balkans—and
there is now considerable evidence
that she is—the effort to bring Hun
gary and Rumania more closely to
gether would be a logical conse
quence of that fear. Whether
Italy’s advice to Hungary will be
heeded depends not alone on the
Budapest government but also on
Germany, for Hungary more than
any other European country right
now is subject to pressure from
Berlin. It is scarcely conceivable
that Hungary would attack Rumania
without the approval, tacit or ex
pressed, of Hitler, or that she would
refuse to abide by a German decision
to invade Rumania.
a a iu:. _i n__i.i.
<iv viua uiviiivuv-nuu vitb ovnvv
ment cannot govern more than the
immediate future—Germany does
not seem disposed to start a move
ment to invade Rumania.
The question that arises is the
point at which Italy—and Hungary—
would consider their interests
menaced by a Russian march
against Rumania. If the speeches
of King Carol and his Premier truly
signify Rumanian intention to fight
for Bessarabia, a Red invasion of that
province might well involve Italy and
Hungary immediately. The fate not
only of Bessarabia but of Rumania
as a whole would be at stake as soon
as Rumanian troops resisted the
Russian advance, and Russian occu
pation of Rumania would bring the
Russian bear still closer to Hungary
and Bulgaria, strengthening its in
fluence, if nqt its rule, throughout
Southeastern Europe.
Fair Exchange
A famous Persian tentmaker, poet,
and general all-around philosopher
of the twelfth century, Omar Khay
yam, once remarked, “I often won
der what the vintners buy one half
so precious as the stuff they sell.”
Eight centuries later the question
was settled, and the answer turns
out to be sheep, according to
information supplied by officials of
the State Reformatory at Leadville,
Colorado. Mingled with the 'goats, in
their charge was a flock of sheep—
or, considering their locality, per
haps they were wolves in sheep’s
clothing.
The Inmates, who at first could
see no good reason for the presence
of these animals, finally decided that
they were an undeveloped natural
resource and a basis of trade.
Hemmed in by a policy of encircle
ment, and having no cash on hand,
they somehow conceived the notion
of barter and by contacting a foreign
agent, swapped sheep for wine.
All would have been well had the
authorities been orthodox and fol
lowed the customary procedure of
counting sheep only at night just
before dozing off. Butrsuch was not
to be. An impromptu wideawake
daytime tally revealed a shortage of
a hundred and fifty sheep, and a
surplus of wine in the little brown
stone jug. The blockade has now
been tightened but little hope is en
tertained of recovering the sheep,
which are gone with the wine.
Who remembers the old gag to
the effect that the only thing a Finn
was fit for was to milk a reindeer?
a i
Urges Full Expose of
Subversive Activity
Twcnty-Ytar-Old Disclosures
Of Un-Americanism
Are Recalled
To the Editor of The Star:
"I told you so” Is, .as Mr. Bryan called
It, a portentous, sad, unpleasant phrase.
Yet a great many people have a Just
claim to its use today. Among them
are those who warned of the ill that
would come because the United States
did not \throw Its great power behind
the League of Nations and co-operate
in controling aggressions through "sanc
tions,” or economic pressure. The same
applies to those who saw clearly the
menace of radicalism to the United
States, particularly as engineered by
Soviet Russia.
There are those who would “kill” the
Dies committee. That committee may
be open to some criticism, but no Amer
ican of the old stripe is going to believe
it has not uncovered some things that
needed light shed upon them.
The big issue is: What is America
going to do about it?
For the same kina oi tacts were un
covered and discussed about 20 years
ago. Mr. Wade H. Ellis, then special
counsel for the Foreign Relations Com
mittee of the Senate, presented, back
about 1919 or 1920, some startling facts.
Mr. Ellis, formerly attorney general of
Ohio, and later assistant to the Attorney
General of the United States, had to aid
him as an investigator Mr. J. Edgar
Hoover, now the chief "G-man.”
Today we are getting a repetition of
much that Mr. Ellis brought to light by
his cross-examination. At that time he
said that if all the facts could be brought
to the attention of the people they would
amaze and startle the country. He de
veloped that there were then nearly 400
periodicals, with a combined circulation
of approximately 5,000,000 copies, which
i were advocating violent sedition and in
surrection, by force of arms, against the
Government of the United States. Mr.
Ellis estimated that the combined nu
merical strength of the Communist party
of America, the so-called workers’ party,
the I. W. W„ and all the extreme left
wings of the various revolutionary groups
was greater than the total vote cast for
the Socialist candidate for President. He
deubted whether many people believed
a fact well known to Government agen
cies, that many of these organizations
were financed and controlled directly
by Soviet authorities in Moscow, and
that their purpose, frankly avowed in
Russia, was to take advantage of every
opportunity to provoke a revolution in
the United States.
Perhaps the most dangerous and in
sidious propaganda, Mr. Ellis thought,
was being directed by the plotters against
world order among the enlisted men of
the Army and Navy of the United
States. He called attention to the
"humiliating spectacle” of the Secre
taries of War and Navy being compelled
to warn officers of these branches of the
national defense against "mischief
makers” who were sowing the seeds of
discontent and disobedience, with the
hope of Inducing the traitors they had
made to turn against their comrades
when the moment should arrive for
open resistance to authority.
While it was known, Mr. Ellis said,
that propaganda against our institutions
had invaded the stage, the movies, the
schools and colleges, the most abhorrent
demonstration of Bolshevik deviltrv. in
his judgment, was the attempt to arouse
class and race hatred among Negroes, of
whom there were at that time some
12.000,000 in the United States. He
brought out that one of the planks of
the Communist party in the United
States declared in favor of inciting
Negroes to arm themselves against their
white neighbors and appropriate private
property. Mr. Ellis declared that, of
course, the great body of the colored
race in America was too decent and law
abiding to be attracted by such base
appeals. But there was no question, ne
said, that such a movement was in full
swing. He gave chapter and verse from
the minutes of the congress of the
Third International in Moscow.
Two classes among our own citizens,
Mr. Ellis thought, were more dangerous
than the “reds.” The “pinks” were the
parlor Bolshevists, many of whom he
declared to be weak-minded men and
women of wealth or high social posi
tion who were contributing annually
millions of dollars to aid in the subver
sion of the Government that protected
them. The “yellows” he described as
the cowardly mob followers among the
politicians who are willing to compro
mise vital principles and who are ready
to advocate any measure which they
thought would please the envious or the
ignorant. It was the “yellows” in this
country, some of them in Congress, some
of them out, declared Mr. Ellis, who
were, step by step, encroaching upon
the Constitution, breaking down our
representative form of government and
gradually weakening public authority.
The Reds had a definite plan to formu
late certain specific attacks upon the
Constitution in the form of amendments
which would ultimately destroy our basic
laws
Mr. Ellis was so successful in bringing
out the facts that the most noted
offender, the so-called unrecognized
ambassador from Soviet Russia, Ludwig
C. A. K. Martens, bom of German par
i . t _ _i _.1 l__rtu i
Cilia ill xvuaoin miu ocuv
cherin, was deported.
But that was 20 years ago. And
America took a long nap, thinking she
was independent of Europe. The new
war and the Dies committee revelations
may stir us to a recognition of the stu
pidity of any such attitude of mind.
We may be half brother to the world,
even the crucible of God, but it is not
yet time to forget the words of two
Presidents. Said Theodore Roosevelt:
“We have room for but one language
here and that is the English language,
for we intend to see that the crucible
turns our people out as Americans of
American nationality and not as dwell
ers In a polyglot boarding house.” And
it was Woodrow Wilson who said: “Some
Americans need hyphens to their names,
because only part of them has come
over.” Which means many people in the
United States have not the American
spirit.
The administration is not favorable
to the Dies committee and Mr. Murphy,
as Attorney General, has started what
seems a rival investigation. But the main
thing is for the people to awake to what
is goir'r on. And to that end the power
ful aid of the press is constantly needed.
' January S. PAUL MOORE.
i
I THIS AND THAT 7 I
-- W
By Charlts t. Tracewell.
"LAUREL, Md.
"Dear Sir: Ever since I read your
comments upon the Carolina and winter
wrens I have been trying to write you.
"For the past 30 years we have been
living in Southern Maryland. A part of
the time in an ideal location for wrens.
"The house wren leaves every year
about the first of Otcober and from then
until spring the song of the winter wren
takes its place.
“They are so nearly the same size and
color that they were mistaken for each
other. But through your lessons on
birds I have learned to differentiate the
birds and find many differences.
* * * *
"A winter wren one year built a nest
in our tractor over Sunday.
"Of course, we had to move it on Mon
day.
“One wren built in a mail box. It had
to move tfvery day until at last it got
tired and went somewhere else.
"The Carolina wren was never mis
taken for either of the other two. It is
2 or more inches longer than either the
house wren or Winter wren. It is seldom
found outside of its habitat near a
stream and near a woods.
* ^ ^
“There Is a bird in Southern Mary
land that I had an Interesting time find
ing, and which I have not seen men
tioned in your column. I may have
missed it.
“It is the yellow-breasted chat, or as
I have called it, the yellow mockingbird.
“Its ventriloquistic powers gave me the
interesting time. But since I first saw it
I have heard and seen it in many dif
ferent places.
“I thoroughly enjoy your many and i
varied article#.” “Sincerely, J. P. B.”
* * * +
The yellow-breasted chat is a migrat
ing bird sometimes seen in our suburban
sections in the summer.
Once you see it, if never again, you
will not forget it.
Here is the real Joker, many think, of
the whole bird world.
The blue Jay might have this distinc
tion, but its activities along the line are
devoted more to playing pranks on other
birds.
Nothing pleases a jay more than to
run at sparrows and chase them away,
although all the time you can see that
it means them no real harm.
The sparrows understand this, too, but
not being quite sure, and taking no
chances with the superior size, speed and
strength of the Jay, they invariably fly
away.
This tickles the jay no end. It preens
itself, looks around for more birds to
conquer, gives several raucous squawks,
then takes off. ,
* * * *
The chat is an altogether different
bird.
Hla antirs rnnsistiYiff lnroplv nf rnmi
cal head eranlngs, are done to please
man.
It there is any other reason for them,
it is hard to discover; the bird does not
do them except when a human being is
around; given a man or woman, or child,
the chat invariably goes through them
all the time watching to see if its efforts
are appreciated.
They almost invariably are. The bird
is unusual enough to excite interest any
where. In addition, its posing always
draws the eyes of persons interested in
bird life.
* * * *
A very interesting account of this chat
may be found in “Wake Robin,” by John
Burroughs.
Despite the slaps which have been
administered on the writing wrist of
that gentle philosopher in recent years,
his many works on birds still have a
validity all their own.
To him a bird was not a subject for
ornithological discussion, but a living,
breathing thing which was not so far
different from the living, breathing thing
we call man.
He did not, in a many of speaking,
regard birds just as something to be
analyzed in a laboratory, as some of our
consumer organizations seem to do with
soap, for instance. They will analyze
soaps, find the percentages of compo
nents, and on their findings brand it
good or bad. They do not seem to real
ize that most of us use soap in the bath
i win, iiui, ui uic lauuiaiury, wie aes
thetic side of soap is something, the way
it feels on the skin, the way it leaves the
skin an hour later, etc. It is the same
with music. Music is not something in
a vacuum, as some one has well said,
but a very human activity, in which men
earn their living by being artistic. It is
a great deal more than decibels and fre
quencies.
John Burroughs wrote well. His
works still contain excellent observa
tions.
* * * *
The yellow-breasted chat is one
warbler which doesn't look in the least j
like a warbler. It is inches long, its
upper parts olive green, its lower yellow
and white.
The bill is short, stout and arched,
somewhat parrotlike. One of the bird's
common names is yellow mockingbird.
The flow of sounds from this chat do |
somewhat resemble those of the mocker 1
in summertime.
One peculiarity is its .flight song, after
it has twisted its neck’ time and again, j
looking at the watcher.
It flies up with head down, its legs
dangling in a way svhich is difficult to
describe in any other way than to say
it is done for effect.
As it goes, it makes pretty notes, not
at all like those it has just finished on
the nerch.
Letters to the Editor
Suggests Meeting Coasting
Problem in Modern Way.
To the Editor of The Star:
I have read The Star for about 20
years; my father was a subscriber as far
back as I can remember, and my grand
father, who was born in Washington 90
years ago, started reading The Star soon
after it was established in 1852. In all
of this time none of us, to my knowledge,
has addressed a letter to you. I have a
thought, however, which might be timely
and sufficiently important to warrant a
little space.
I refer to the question of children
coasting on the city streets. I know
something about this since I am the
father of three children of coasting age,
one of whom was knocked from his sled
by a car last year, but fortunately was
not hurt. I drive a car and twice already
this year have narrowly missed children
on sleds.
The Police Department has earnestly 1
tried to cope with the situation by roping
off a few streets. This, however, is not
enough. I have noticed that the children
coasting on the streets not roped off are
usually small children. They are un
doubtedly staying close to their homes
and are not allowed to go as far as the
regular coasting places. A remedy for
this would be to have a great many more
streets blocked for the coasters, of course
avoiding the blocking of important thor
oughfares or arterial highways as much
as possible. Then I think it should be
absolutely against the law for any one to
ride on a sled on any street other than
those provided. I think we could even
go further and at small expense build
regular tracks in some of the parks and
playgrounds. In most of the suburban
towns around the city I am sure there
would be citizens who would donate the
use of a large field for the purpose dur
ing the few weeks when we have snow
In these communities the county or mu
nicipal police should see to it that no
coasting is done except on the provided
hills or fields. It is in these outlying dis
tricts that there is the most danger be
cause of the speed of the traffic. I think
that most parents would be willing to
pay fines if their children were caught
disobeying such a law if the plan would
be the means of preventing most of the
sledding accidents occurring every year.
I know I would and I have three of them
to pay fines for.
In some communities tnere are special
problems to face. For Instance, In one
small town the* citizens were informed
j that the.^pa^ which is the only place
, for coast|hfe, “could not be blocked this
i year as rlt had been taken over by the
] State and State highways cannot be
I closed for iny purpose.” Of course the
matter was dropped and all coasting was
done in the midst of fast moving traffic.
For who is there who will tell his boy or
girl to stop coasting altogether after all
the years we spent doing it ourselves?
We did not have the heavy automobile
traffic to worry about. This is a modem
problem and should be faced in a modem
way. If it costs a little of the taxpayers’
money, what of it? We are establishing
relief funds for everything else under the
sun, why not this?
Vienna, Va. W. D. HARKNESS.
January 4.
More Low-Coat
Houses Urged.
To the Kdltor of The Star:
Quite frequently, In the columns of
your paper, you have devoted consider
able space to Washington’s deplorable
housing situation. I know that I am .
only one of your many readers who hope j
that you will continue your effort* to I
J
*
Letters to the Editor mustS
bear the name and address o) .
the writer, although the use of
a pseudonym for publication is
permissible. Please be brief!
better the living conditions of the people
of our community.
What could be more disgraceful than
to find in the Capital of the most pros
perous nation on earth that thousands of
people are forced to live in slums and
tenement dwellings that seem strangely
out of place in the 20th century?
With Congress undoubtedly intending
to vote more and more funds for national
defense, it seems to me thaj^iit should
not neglect the houses in “'which, the j
American people live. A people well fed,
well clothed and well housed is a strong
and healthy people, and constitutes a
very powerful factor in nullifying the
plans of any possible aggressor. Fur
thermore, construction of houses not
only gives homes to the American
people, but jobs to the American people.
More lo*-eost housing projects are an
urgent need and will become ever more
SO. A WASHINGTONIAN.
January 2.
Would Compel Payment
Of War Debts.
To the Editor of The Star:
In recent weeks I have noticed various
contributions to your “Letters to the Edi
tor” column discussing issue of the Euro
pean w*ar debts and the idea behind Sen
ator Lundeen's committee for securing
payment of these war debts.
May I take this opportunity to sup
port the “Make Europe Pay War Debts
Committee"? I believe this committee
to be wholly unselfish in trying to drive j
home to Americans the Idea of demand- 1
ing full payment from the warring na
tions of 1914. E. S. L.
January 3.
Answers Letter on
Use of Liquor.
To the Editor of The Star:
In answer to the article of C. D. Cecil,
December 30, concerning liquor, I will
quote from the word of God, Proverbs,
xx.l, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is
raging: and whosoever is deceived there
by is not wise.” BIBLE STUDENT.
January 2.
Aroused by Picture
Of Homeless Men.
To the Editor of The Star:
One of the most “horrible” stories I’ve
seen in print, was that published in The
Star with a picture of men keeping warm
over a grating on the comer of Sixth and
E streets.
Why should the Capital of the richest
coufltry on earth have things like that
occur? And I’m not a Red, either.
January 4. D. D.
Good Will Guild Head
Commends Star Article.
To the Editor of The Star:
On behalf of the Good Will Guild of
the Good Will Industries I wish to thank
The Star for the very excellent article
by Mrs. Jessie Fant Evans about Eliza
beth Smith, the little crippled orphaned
colored gill who does such excellent
repair work on dolls at the Good Will
Industries, which appeared in The Sun
day Star of December 17..
Such articles are soj* helpful in ac
quainting the public witfi the aims and
operation of the Goocl Will Industries in
providing employment for the crippled
and the elderly who cannot find work
elsewhere. FANNY F. HERRECK.
President, Good Will Guild. |
January 8.
Haskin's Answers
To Readers' Questions
By fredertt J. Haskin.
A reader can gel the answer to any
question of fact by writing The Eve
ning Star Information Bureau, Fred
eric J. Haskin, director, Washington,
D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply.
Q. How much do women spend on per
fume?—S. L.
A. Women in the United States spend
$33,000,000 a year for this luxury.
Q. Please give some Information about
Mount Holy Cross In Colorado.—K. H. L.
A. This great natural emblem of
Christianity was declared a national
monument on May 11, 1929. Formed by
banks of perpetual snow, the cross is
1,200 feet upright while the arms are
some 400 feet in width. The snow in the
crevasses which forms the cross varies
In depth from 25 to 125 feet. The white
majestic symbol is situated at an alti
tude of 14,000 feet and was the inspira
tion of Eugene Field's legendary tale,
“The Holy Cross.”
Q. Should a cyclamen plant be kept in .
a cool room at night?—L. G. M.
A. The plant thrives best when kept
in a room with the temperature down to
45 degrees.
Q. What was Oscar Wilde's definition
of a cynic?—R. S. C.
A. “A man who knows the price of
everything, and the value of nothing.”
t~\ WTYsrs ntnr. , 1,4
prodigy of all time in,the theatrical pro
fession?—T. D.
A. One of the most outstanding was
the boy William Henry West Betty, who
was born at Shrewsbury in 1791 and died
in London in 1874. Because of his amaz
ingly precocious talents he was* known
as the Young Roscius, after the famous
Roman actor, Quintus Roscius. He ap
peared on the stage at 11 years of age
in the heaviest Shakespearean parts.
The vogue that he enjoyed was such that
the House of Commons actually ad
journed to witness his “Hamlet."
Q. Please give a history of the U. S. S
Cowell.—D. H. C.
A. The U. S. S. Cowell (DD167) wai
named in memory of Master John G.
Cowell, who was appointed a master ip
the United States Navy, January 21
1809. and died of wounds receive<
near Valparaiso in the action be
tween the United States frigate Essex
and his British majesty's frigate Phoebe
and the sloop of war Cherub April 18.
1814. The conduct of this W^ve and
heroic officer, who lost a leg during the
action, excited the admiration of every
man on the ship. After being wounded
he would not consent to be taken below
until loss of blood rendered him insensi
ble. He was at the time of the action an
acting lieutenant. The U. S. S. Cowell
<DD167i has been out of commission at
the navy yard, Philadelphia, Pa. since
June 27, 1922, but she'has not been
stricken from the Navy list.
Q. Who discovered protozoa?—K. F. M.
A. Protozoa were first discovered in
the latter half of the 17th century by A
van Leuwenhoek, a Dutch amateur
naturalist and chamberlain to the sheriff
of Delft. Leuwenhoek carried on hl»
investigations with magnifying glasses
and microscopes, which he had designed
and made himself.
Q. What was the name of the woman
who influenced Abraham Lincoln to re
vive Thanksgiving Day?—M. S. O.
A. National revival of the holiday by
Lincoln is said to be due to the activities
of Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of the
popular woman's magazine called
Godey's Ladies Book. For 20 years she
had been untiring in her efforts to stim
ulate interest and public desire for a
Nation-wide Thanlftgiving Day to be
observed oh the same day every year.
Her magazine writings on the subject
won President Lincoln's sympathetic
support, and his proclamation in 1884
was a direct result of her urgent solicita
tions.
—*
Q. From what show is the popular
song. “I Didn't Know What Time It
Was"?—T. P. C.
A. It Is from the George Abbott pro
duction, “Too Many Girls,” with muslr
by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorens
Hart.
Q. In which of Kipling's poems is the
line, “Over the world and under the
world and back at the last to you”?—
C. V. S.
A. It is from "The Gypsy Trail.”
Q. Where did the Irish city of London
derry get its name?—E. D. M.
A. Founded in 546, the place was
named Derry. In 1613 the King of
England gave the city to the city of
London. It f was ruled by the London
County Council and 12 livery companies.
James I canceled the charter, but Crom
well restored it. From the date of-the
London ownership of Derry, the name
was changed to Londonderry.
_ ‘L
Q. What is a klipspringer?—R. S. G.
A. It is a small African mountain an- f
telope ranging from the cape through '
East Africa to Somaliland and Abys- •
sinia. Characterized by rounded hoofs,
thick hair and gold-spangled coloring,
it represents a genus by itself ‘ and is
remarkable for its unusual agility.
Q. Please give some information about
the eccentricities of Samuel Johnson.—
G. L.
A. The famous author's gestures, grim
aces and actions sometimes diverted
and often terrified people who did not
know him. At a dinner he would ab
sent-mindedly stoop down under the
table and pull off a lady’s shoe. Some
times he would amaze a drawing room
by suddenly ejaculating a phrase of the
Lord’s Prayer. He would conceive the
idea of touching every post in the
streets through which he walked. The
sight of food affected him as it would a
wild beast. Often he gorged himself
with such violence on some favorite
delicacy that his veins would swell and
moisture break out on his forehead.
Q. Who commanded the first United
States air unit to engage in fighting on
the western front?—M. S. L.
A. Maj. B. M. Atkinson organized the
l$t Pursuit Group at Villeneuve-les
Vertus, Prance, and commanded this
group, which was the flrft American air
unit to see active duty at the front.
Q. Where can I obtain a reliable
almanac that is inexpensive?—J. R. B.
A. See page A-2 of today’! Star.
i A