Evening star. [volume], January 19, 1940, Page A-10, Image 10

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With Sunday Morning Edition.
THEODORE W. NOYES, Editor.
WASHINGTON, D. £.
FRIDAY.January 19, 1940
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Bankrupt Leadership
Even when due allowance is made
for the fact that this is an election
year, it is difficult to comprehend in
full the poverty of statesmanship
and the utter want of logic reflected
In the manner in which administra
tion and congressional leaders have
throttled proposals to extend finan
cial aid to Finland in her fight
against Russian invasion.
There has been a great deal of
talk on the part of our statesmen of
their desire and of the desire of the
American people to aid Finland but
when the matter of a relatively
small loan which could be used by
the Finns for military purposes—the
kind of assistance they really need—
Is broached, these same statesmen
begin to bog themselves down in
objections evidencing a confusion of
mind which rebuts the assumption
that this country has any foreign
policy worthy of the name.
One of the most common and
least comprehensible of these objec
tions is that such a loan would
violate the spirit of our neutrality
law—a law which has not even been
Invoked in this conflict. Many of
these opponents of an unrestricted
loan are willing to advance funds to
the Finns for the purchase of Amer
ican farm and factory products, de
spite the undeniable fact that these
commodities, while they could never
Insure a victory, would be of some
help to Finland in fighting the war.
Presumably these statesmen feel
that it is all right to be a little un
neutral, that it is all right to help
the Finns so long as we refrain from
doing anything that might be ex
pected to enable them to survive.
Another argument is that an un
restricted loan to Finland would set
a dangerous precedent. This is a
confession of weakness, a tacit ad
mission on the part of our states
men that, once having made a loan
to the Finns, they would be unable
In the future to consider a request
for a loan from some other country
on its own merits. In other words,
xney are saying in enect that if they
make a loan to Finland to help
preserve that outpost of democracy,
which is surely to the advantage of
this country, they will not be able
to consider a possible future loan
to some other country solely on the
basis of whether it would or would
not serve the interests of the United
States to make it.
Finally, there is the contention
that an unrestricted loan to Finland
might offend Russia and that in
. some undefined way Russia might
retaliate and imperil us. That Is a
curious objection, to say the least,
in view of the fact that the Russian
government flagrantly and all but
openly, and in violation of its pledged
word, has been striving in every con
ceivable way to undermine our own
Institutions and our own form of
government.
The only safe conclusion that can
be drawn from this sorry spectacle
of American statesmanship at its
worst is that there is no one who is
willing or able to take a strong lead
In the shaping of our foreign rela
tions. And in that fact, with the
world at war, lies a potentially greater
threat to our security than could
possibly arise from whatever we do
or refrain from doing in behalf of
Finland.
c:_i_ ■ ^ ■
•jiyuuuuru v*rusaae
Effective administration of an effi
cient law to clear its highways of
advertising eyesores places Virginia
in the forefront as a model in the
national campaign to preserve the
beauty of the American countryside
and in the interest of safety, to
eliminate influences which tend to
divert or confuse drivers. Under the
present State licensing and control
legislation, crews removed 122,000
roadside signs last year.
It is interesting to note that Vir
ginia has not been satisfied to try
merely one method of accomplishing
this end. All the principal means
which have been effective ih other
Jurisdictions have been co-ordinated
Into a single program. Thus, while
a strict law was written Into the
statutes by the Legislature, both the
State Highway Commission and the
Associated Clubs, composed of 40,000
women, co-operated in obtaining
permission of land owners and ad
vertisers in eliminating thousands
of the signs. This co-operation pre
vented many lengthy delays and
made much legal action unneces
sary. In other cases the terms of
the law were invoked to remove
more signs, while in Arlington Coun
ty, the only jurisdiction in the State
using such means, zoning was resort
ed to. The county first used its zon
ing powers for this purpose two years
K
ago and immediately became Involved
in a court action with one of the larg
est outdoor advertising companies.
This resulted in a compromise last
week which accomplishes the basic
purposes of the county's effort,
although the ordinance was modified
to meet legal objections.
Now new amendments to the State
law are before the Assembly. These
would provide for higher license
fees, on a graduated scale, and would
reduce the exempt areas near busi
nesses advertised by such signs.
Still fewer billboards should be the
result.
Virginia’s success might well be
noted by Maryland, whose Legisla
ture a year hence will have an oppor
tunity to act on the condition of
Baltimore boulevard and other
highways.
Dangerous Economy
Climaxing a growing controversy
in Congress over the administra
tion’s fleet expansion program,
Chairman Carl Vinson of the House
Naval Affairs Committee, who is
author of a Navy Department-ap
proved bill for a twenty-five per
cent increase in naval tonnage, has
proposed a drastic cut in the pro
gram through elimination of a pro
vision for thirty-four new destroyers,
to cost half a billion dollars. This
reduction would leave in the bill
three aircraft carriers, totaling about
75,000 tons; an unspecified number
of cruisers aggregating 110,000 tons
and thirty-four submarines with a
total tonnage of 33,000. The pro
posed expansion thus would amount
to 218,000 tons instead of 400,000.
Chairman Vinson described the
dropping of the destroyer part of the
program as a “common sense ap
proach” to naval construction, as
serting that the Navy could not han
dle efficiently a larger number of
shipbuilding projects, anyway. “If
conditions are the same next year,"
he said, “we will just go ahead with
the balance of the program.” Mr.
Vinson’s decision to slash his bill
follows closely criticism of the Navy’s
program by several members of Con
gress, including Senator David I.
Walsh of Massachusetts, chairman
of the Senate Naval Affairs Com
mittee. There have been demands
for construction of bigger battle
ships, for larger cruisers to match
the “pocket battleship” development,
for eighteen or twenty inch guns.
There have been inquiries as to the
reason for the lag in construction of
ships already authorized. And there
have been indications that defense
appropriations will receive the clos
est sort of scrutiny from a Coneress
which is giving evidence of being
unusually economy-minded.
The proposed reduction in the
naval building program probably is
the result largely of the agitation
for bigger warships and of the move
ment for less spending. Mr. Vinson
expressed the opinion at a hearing
that the Navy is “running wild” with
small ships of the destroyer class.
Other members of the committee
have expressed their preference for
super-cruisers of perhaps 27,500 tons,
and super-battleships of 65,000 tons
or more. Admiral Harold R. Stark,
chief of naval operations, has told
the House committee that naval ex
perts are studying larger ships and
he indicated that capital ships of
about 52,000 tons might be recom
mended later.
But the urgent need now, he and
other high naval officers have
stressed, is for ships of smaller cate
gories—for aircraft carriers to ex
pand the aerial scouting power of
the fleet, for fast cruisers capable of
hit-and-run service of the type per
formed by the British cruisers
against the heavier Graf Spee in the
recent naval battle off Uruguay, for
the lighter and speedier destroyers
needed to combat submarines and
for submarines themselves. The im
portance of destroyers for subma
rine protection has been amply dem
onstrated in the current European
conflict.
The general trend toward econ
omy in the present Congress is com
mendable, but economy at the ex
pense of so vital a part of the Navy is
hard to comprehend. And while it
may well be that facilities for imme
diate construction of additional de
stroyers are inadequate, there cer
tainly can be no harm in authorizing
such construction at this time—so
that designs may be studied carefully
and plans may be ready when appro
priations and facilities bedome avail
able. National emergencies can de
velop within a'short span of hours
or days, but preparations to meet
them require methodical planning
long in advance of any threat to
national security.
The Child and the Future
More than a decade has passed
since the last White House confer
ence on the American child.
Today some of the world’s most
eminent specialists in pediatrics,
child psychology, sociology and edu
cation again are assembled in Wash
ington to consider the same prob
lems in the light of what has hap
pened in ten tyears.
Much has happened in the mean
time. There have been positive and
invaluable advances in medicine.
Much of the cultish pseudo-psychol
ogy and cloudy pedagogical theory
which then was in its heyday has
been consigned to the world’s intel
lectual junk-heaps. Psychology
buttressed doctrines of election and
pre-destination of individuals for the
paradise of decent living on this
earth have fewer and less vocal sup
porters. The value of the child in ap
aging Nation hks been brought
clearly into focus.
But grave problems, hardly
dreamed of ten years ago, have
arisen. Then there were formulae
of living'to be followed. A child
was to be modeled, Insofar as a hu
man spirit can be modeled, on the
pattern of the best of the elders.
The framers of the future had some
thing to copy.
In the interval have been the great
depression and its aftermath, when
so much of the world’s youth has
seemed to be worthless in the cur
rent scheme of things, when high
schools and colleges have been pour
ing out graduates by the thousands
with no places for them to go. In
the minds of parents and public
officials charged with the care and
training of youth there has arisen
a great confusion, questioning as to
the value of much of present-day
education, doubt over what can be
done to fit youth for a future that
plainly will not be an unbroken con
tinuum witt the past.
Youth will find a way—an old
adage probably as true today as ever
in the past. The youth of today is of
better quality—certainly physically
and probably mentally—than ever
before. The two previous White
House conferences have been helpful
Influences. This one, it may ba ex
pected, will make further progress
in the same direction.
Mail Seizures
British rejection of the American
protest against illegal seizures of
mail in transit between American
and neutral ports will not tend
to strengthen American sympathy
for Britain, and, in fact, it contains
the germs of a controversy such as
raged between the American Govern
ment and Great Britain and France
between October, 1915, and April,
1917.
This is particularly regrettable be
cause the British government ap
parently has failed to appreciate the
concession made to it by the modera
tion of the American protest of
December 22. The temperate attitude
of the American Government is ap
parent by comparison with the
strong phrases used by Secretary of
State Lansing in identic notes sent
to the British and French govern
ments on May 24, 1916.
The mail controversy is an off
spring of the broader dispute over
the British right to take neutral
ships, including American, into
British jurisdiction for purposes of
contraband control. Insofar as the
use of the navicert system has made
it unnecessary to divert American
vessels en route to neutral European
ports, American ships are relieved of
this difficulty, but a large quantity
of mail originating in or destined
for the United States is carried in
_t — ... _ _
j-twi/aoii vcoocw ui in owcaiSIl, UUlCIl,
Norwegian or other neutral ships
which submit to examination at
British control points or are taken
to those places after visit by British
men-of-war on the high seas.
The presence of American mails
within British jurisdiction, on either
British or neutral ships permits
British authorities to remove them
and examine them, piece by piece,
for contraband, which, it is generally
agreed, covers all forms of valuables
—negotiable instruments, money,
gems, as well as merchandise. But
the examination of each individual
piece of letter mail, as is British
practice, is a flagrant violation not
only of the eleventh Hague Con
vention of 1907, which establishes
the inviolability of such postal mat
ter, but the property right of Amer
icans as well.
Such exhausting scrutiny of cor
respondence between Americans and
persons in neutral countries makes
possible a number of aggravations,
not the least of which is the like
lihood—as happened during the last
war—of unreasonable delays, loss or
destruction of correspondence, and
revelation to British official sources
of the private commercial affairs of
Americans.
Mr. Lloyd George revealed, un
wittingly perhaps, in the House of
Commons on August 8, 1916, that
information from private letters was
turned over to British government
departments for whatever use they
might make of it, explaining later
that American commercial secrets
were safe inBritish hands. Conceding
British integrity, if the practice is
still followed, it is not beyond the
realm of possibility for American
commercial secrets to get into im
proper hands during wartime when
it may not be possible to take all
the nrecautions necessarv to safe
guard those secrets.
The difficulties between the Amer
ican and British governments over
mail are not issues of principle. The
inviolability of letter mail is ad
mitted by all parties, but the issues
arise over how far Britain may
encroach upon neutral rights in pur
suing her blockade of Germany. In
this dispute the American Govern
ment stands exactly where it stood
in 1915-16—demanding full belliger
ent respect for the right of neutrals
to have their letter mail delivered
as expeditiously as possible, free
from invasion by British censorship.
A temperamental and overactive
child is sometimes put in durance
until hunger brings it to its senses.
The same prescription is successfully
applicable to vicious and Infantile
nations.
The Reich is to pay a part of its
laborers’ wages in “promissory notes.”
If these prove to be anything like its
other promises, there will be some
nice wall papering done in Deutsch
land later on.
———— \
Ambassador Kennedy declares
there is “no reason—economic, finan
cial or social—to Justify United
States entry into the European war.”
Joe, no queen' ever said a bigger
mouthful.
& h
Gives Specifications
For G. 0. P. Candidate
Representative Wadsworth
Said to Have Essential
Qualifications *
To tho editor of The Star:
As the question arises nearly every
day as to who would be the most logical
and strongest candidate for the Repub
lican party to nominate for President
of the United States in 1940, permit me
to make a suggestion as to the tyne of
man who would be best suited for the
office.
I believe there is a widespread feeling
that—more important than the dictates
of partisanship, or of political or fac
tional politics—the next President should
be a real American of sound common
sente, thoroughly grounded in the needs
and requirements of the people of the
country. The great office of President
of the United States should seek the man
and not the candidate who hankers after
the office.
J have in mind, and desire to call to
your attention, a man who embodies
those requirements which I believe are
set in the minds of the voters. He is
Representative James W. Wadsworth of
New York State—a man with wide public
experience in national affairs through
out his career, and with contacts over
many years with the farmers, workers
and industrialists. His name and his
family are inseparably entwined with the
history of the great State of New York,
which is an essential requisite for victory
of the Republican party.
i noia in no disparagement the names
of others In the Republican party men
tioned for the office of President, but as
an American and a Delaware Republican
I must speak for a New York favorite
son—one that I believe would make the
best President in either party. I only
hope when the Republican National Con
vention meets that it will consider the
elements of Mr. Wadsworth's great
strength.
The following are six good reasons why
the Republicans should make him their
choice for President:
1. He is a real American and believes
in our American form of Government,
as his record in both branches of Con
gress proves. This is further attested by
his record of six years as a member of
the New York Assembly, and five years
as Speaker of the Assembly.
2. For the reason that he comes from
New York State, which is absolutely
essential for the Republican party to
win the election in 1940.
3. The Republican National Conven
tion will no doubt be held in advance of
the Democratic National Convention. In
case the Democratic party splits over
control, and nominates a radical New
Dealer, who is better able to draw the
conservative Democratic and Independ
ent vote throughout the Nation in 1940
than James W. Wadsworth?
4. He has the courage of his convictions
always, and cannot be induced to change
his vote on any bill to catch a few votes
on election day. He is not like a weather
vane that shifts with the wind, but
stands firmly for America first, last and
nil
5. If elected to the presidency he would
surround himself with an able cabinet,
and not do Just the opposite of what
his platform says—and what he says in
his campaign speeches.
6. He is a real ‘‘forward-looking”
statesman. As contrasted with crackpot
theorists his position on social and eco
nomic questions is fair, square and
sound. He is opposed to class distinction
and antagonism; he believes in the ‘‘com
mon man” and his rights, opportunities
and obligations under the Constitution
and the American system of Govern
ment; he believes in Government as a
helpful agent and servant of the people,
and not as an oligarchy to regiment,
repress and oppress in either the Fascist.
Nazi, or Communist patterns. Agricul
ture, labor, industry and capital would
all get a square deal at his hands.
FREDERICK K. REYBOLD.
January S.
Criticizes Unemployment
Compensation Law.
To the Editor ot The Bur:
There always was and there always
will be “knockers”—back-seat drivers
and criticizers of our lawmakers and
city fathers. I have no desire to be
considered one of them—I only desire
to raise what I think is a logical ques
tion and express an opinion.
My point is this: A year ago the 31st
of this month, I went to the hospital for
an operation on the base of my spine.
Complications set in and I could not
return to work, so I was laid off. My
employers had previously paid the “un
employment compensation” tax for me
and the others employed by them. When
T nnnlipH fnr mm non ca firm T nro ■ in
formed that I had to be "able to work”
to receive benefits. The question is: Is
that fair to all concerned? Am I wrong
In criticizing the authors of that law?
Isn’t it reasonable to assume that a man
flat on his back has less chance of
making a living or part of one than a
man in good health? Couldn’t official
inspectors pass on cases of that sort to
prevent fraud?
The second point I wish to raise is
this: Toward the last part of my nine
months’ illness, I was self-respecting
enough to try to get part-time work, and
again applied for compensation. I
earned $2 and some odd cents one week
—that increased my waiting period one
half week. The following week I earned
about the same—my waiting period was
increased another half week. Can a
body live on such small money? Does
such a regulation encourage a man to
seek part-time work or to take it when
it is offered him? When the board
found I was still unable to work full time
they again told me I had to be able to
work full time. What is the answer?
My third and last point is: Our so
called relief is steadily building up a
huge deficit in the Treasury and is tear
ing down morale all over the country.
It doesn’t make a man self-respecting in
the slightest degree. Why should the
taxpayer’s money go to feed non-self
respecting persons; why should it go
out as a continual drain without re
turning? Why not put it out as a long
time loan bearing 1 per cent interest?
Wouldn’t that make people think before
accepting? Wouldn’t that help make
them self-respecting? At least some of
' the money would come back and could
be used over again.
GILBERT M. JOHNSON.
[ January IS.
U
' w
THIS AND THAT 1
By Charles E. Tracewell.
■nrix-ruttor i-uaue.
“Dear 8ir:
“Your column on the sparrows has
interested me greatly.
"Recently I had a fine opportunity
for watching the birds at our feeding
station. Again this year we found an
old table and put it against the garage.
“Then dad went into the woods and
got some pines and put them around
the table. The birds have a perfect
sanctuary.
“Sunflower and other seeds, and odds
and ends are put on the table and all
the songsters enjoy them greatly.
* * * *
“I wonder if anybody in Washington
can come necr to the following list for
variety?
“This is what I have seen in the last
two weeks at our station:
“Juncos, downy woodpeckers, flicker,
Canadian wrens, purple finches, cardi
nals, nuthatches, tufted titmouse, chick
adees, white-throated sparrows, song
sparrows, English sparrows, tree spar
rows, starlings, mockingbirds.
"To hear the strains of ‘Sam Peabody’
coming in your window on a cold frosty
morning from the white-throated spar
row is something to make the day joy
ous and glad.
“Sincerely yours, C. W. 8.”
* * * *
Fifteen species make a fair average
bird attendance hereabouts in winter
at an average small garden feeding sta
tion.
Persons located in woody sections will
have more.
One species will appear, another will
disappear.
Some yards will have real bluebirds,
of which probably 100 winter in the
District of Columbia, in the “bluebird
belt” which runs across the city ap
proximately at Wesley Heights.
This column has a report from one
resident who has 70 cardinals in his
grounds at one time.
What a sight those 70 redbirds must
be! -
Once we had nine at once, on a bitter
snowy day. The sight has given pleasant
recollections since. Few birds seem
brighter and more proper in the snow.
* * * *
The prize of our winter garden this
vear is a male towhee.
This beauty has been around since the
autumn, when he appeared at the small
feeding station beneath the maple.
The female towhee has not been seen
at any time, but the male is seldom
absent for long.
He is more sedate in manners than
any of the sparrows.
A sizeable creature, 8 inches long, the
adult male has its head, neck, chest and
upper parts a gleaming black; its sides
and flanks a reddish tint making a fine
contrast.
Tne female is more modest In color*
lng, the black portions replaced with
brown.
The towhee Is, of course, the chewink.
Both common names are supposed to
indicate the call notes.
Chewink, many listeners feel, is by
far the best, since it really gives some
idea of the clink of the call notes.
* * * *
Ornithologists speak with respect of
two peculiarities of the bird.
One is its scratching in leaves for
food. Other members of the great finch
family, notably the purple finch and
some of the choicer sparrows, do the
same thing, but none excels the towhee
at it.
In addition to its Impressive appear
ance, due to its combination of colors
and its good size, and general look of
stability, the chewink always attracts
attention by the vigor with which it
scratches for its dinner. It loves to do
this, even if the food is placed on the
bare ground.
The other peculiarity is the bird’s lack
of solicitude when any one comes near
the nest. Most observers believe this is
a deliberate attempt of the towhee to
pretend indifference, in order to mis
lead possible enemies. It is said that it
shows normal bird agitation once the
nest and eggs or fledglings are actually
discovered. If this observation is true,
the towhee apparently has more than
usual bird intelligence, just what one
might expect from such a forthright
creature.
* * * *
Ground robin is another common name
for the bird. It does look somewhat like
our real robin, which will come “bobbin’
along” next spring, or late winter.
By that time the towhee will be on
its way North.
Let gardeners who have this songster
in their yards at this time take good
care to observe and study him at close
range if possible. He is well worth all
your trouble.
Ordinary good mixtures of seeds and
grains attract him.
In this regard it may be well to say
that there is no mystery about what
you feed the birds in mixtures. All birds
like sunflower seed, and every mixture
should have plenty of it in the mix.
Some cracked corn, wheat and oats are
liked by some species. The percentages
in which they are mixed, including many
other seeds liked by wild birds, are not
really fixed by anybody, but are accord
ing to the best judgment of the mixer,
and especially the tastes of the feathered
guests. If you want to “mix your own,”
a little experimenting will show just
what the birds will eat, and what they
leave. After that, you suit your own
ideas and your purse. The birds have
a better idea than any human what
they like, and will shortfy “tell the
world” if you give them a chance.
Letters to the Editor
Representative CeUer Urges
Aid for Finland.
To the Editor ol The Star:
We should not be finicky about a loan
to Finland. Finland needs no food,
no gifts or charity of clothing. It has
all of those items it needs. Its vital
necessity for its very existence are
modern army Garand rifles, bombs and
planes. There is no reason for timidity
in supplying such ammunition to Fin
land, we are not violating the Neutrality
Act for there has been no declaration of
war. In international law there is no
wTar. We must boldly strike out and
help this courageous republic which in\
the spring might become helpless against
overwhelming odds. Finland's fight is a
fight for democracy. We are vitally in
terested. All the Baltic states are
threatened. Finland is the last barrier
there. We were not finicky about a
$25,000,000 loan to China. We gave the
excuse then that there would be no
declaration of war between Japan and
China. There is ample excuse now to
aid Finland. There is a definite prece
dent. Delay is fatal. I have therefore
offered two bills, one to provide for a
$50,000,000 loan to Finland, and the
other to authorize the Secretary of the I
Treasury to transfer to Finland the
$234,000 payment last made by Finland
on its debt to the United States, all
of which monies are to be used by Fin
land to purchase in United States
necessary war materials. I am endeavor
ing to have immediate favorable action
taken on these measures by the com
mittees to which they have been re
ferred. REPRESENTATIVE
EMANUEL CELLER.
January 18.
Law School Dean Discusses
Pre-Legal Education.
To the Editor of The Star:
A recent editorial in The Star on “Pre
legal Education” suggested to me that it
might be desirable to place certain facts
before you. The facts are these:
1. In almost all of the States and ter
ritories in the United States except the
District of Columbia the requirements
for admission to the bar when set by
the courts are prescribed by the high
est court. In the District of Colum
bia a provision of the Code authorizes
the District Court to fix the require
ments for admission to practice before
that court. I understand that this is a
statutory survival from the time before
the establishment of the Court of Ap
peals when the only appeal was to the
United States Supreme Court. The con
fusion in the District of Columbia comes
from the fact that the statute does not
leave the Court of Appeals free to exer
cise the power which the highest courts
of most of the States possess to fix the
admission requirements for the lower
courts of the District in addition to its
own. '
2. The requirements set by the Court
of Appeals are not unduly high. Thirty
three States and one territory now re
quire two years of college or its equiva
lent before law study, and seven other
States require the same education before
admission. At the time when the Court
of Appeals took action there were only
two States in the Union with lower re
quirements than the District of Colum
bia. Their rule tends to bring the Dis
trict of Columbia more into line with the
requirements of other States.
3. It is manifest that a requirement
stated as two years of college or its
equivalent must have some definition.
What Is a college and what Is '‘equiva
lent'' to two yean of college work? The
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!
rule of the District Court of Appeals
requires that a college have standards
sufficient to entitle it to accreditation or
regional approval. Standards for ac
creditation are objective and ascertain
able and the accrediting groups include
representatives from institutions of
higher learning. Pusy lawyers on our
Committee on Admissions to the Bar
and judges working under heavy pressure
do not have time nor experience to in
spect institutions which set themselves
up as colleges and arrive at any worth
while conclusions. Unless some standard
can be set up any institution that calls
itself a college is likely to be accepted
Irrespective of its standards.
4. The ruld of the Court of Appeals
provides that equivalency of two years of
college shall be established by an exami
nation. It is difficult to see how equiva
lency can be established in any other
way. A college entrance requirement is
exacted not only because of the mental'
training involved, but also because law
yers ought to know some of the informa
tion taught. Reaching the age of 25 and
occupying a routine position in an office
will not give one the intellectual back
ground to meet the standard of equiva
lency to two years’ college. An exami
nation requirement safeguards the public
and yet avoids the rigidity of requiring
actual attendance at an institution of
learning.
•/. a cjuiuuon oi adequate educa
tional requirements for admission to the
bar does not result in injustice in Wash
ington since ample facilities are provided
here for college work and professional
work for those who have to support
themselves while studying.
It may be that confusion results in the
fact that the Court of Appeals and Dis
trict Court have different standards. It
does not, however, follow that it would
be good public policy for us to adopt the
lower of the two. Would it not be better
to have requirements for admission to
the bar set by the same court which is
the final arbiter in the establishing of
rules of law for the lower court, that is
the Court of Appeals?
It has been a matter of a good deal of
chagrin to some of the lawyers in Wash
ington that our standards for admission
to the bar have been so low. It has been
encouraging to see efforts made to raise
them. It is hard for some of us to con
cede that they should be lower than in
other parts of the country.
WILLIAM C. VAN VLECK,
Dean of the Law School,
George Washington University.
January 17.
Home Owner Plagued
By Hungry Squirrels.
To the Editor of The Star:
This is a cry for help! My Washington
bungalow has become a squirrel cage!
While living in Florida I am renting my
frame bungalow and the tenants report
that they have counted as many as 14
squirrels at one time. They nest inside
the walls and are fast chewing up the
place. Their comings and goings are not
silent and in consequence my tenant is
threatened with a nervous break down.
The exterminator people seem to be un
able to tackle the job of capturing these
city pets (pests) and I thought that
through tbs good offices of your paper
Haskin's Answers j
To Readers' Questions
By Frederic J. Haskin.
A reader can get the annoer 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 long has Queen Wilhelmlna
been on the throne?—B. J. B.
A. She succeeded her father as sover
eign of the Netherlands In 1890. As she
was only 10 years old at the time, Queen
Emma acted as regent until September
6, 1898, when Wilhelmlna was formally
crowned queen In Amsterdam. !
/ _
Q. Where did the numbers racket
originate?—S. T. R.
A. The numbers gambling game,
called boll to by some, was Imported
from Spain, via the West Indies, after
the Spanish-Amerlcan War, and for
many years was little known and UtUe
played outside the Negro section of
Harlem, In New York. ^
Q. How much do women spend an
fur coats and neckpieces?—L. E. 8.
A. It Is estimated that American
women spent approximately $350,000,000
on furs in 1939 and that about 800,000
women purchased new fur coats.
Q. Please give the names of some neW
annuals that won the all-America I
awards.—L. R. S.
A. Some of the silver medal win
ners for 1940 are Petunia Cream Star,
a creamy white or light primrose flower
shaped like a blunt five-pointed star;
Rose Pink Sweet Pea, a new intermedi
ate spring-flowering variety; and Midget
Blue Ageratum which is only 4 to 8
Inches tall and Is ideal as a border plant.
Q. When was slavery declared Illegal
In Great Britain?—T. H. S.
A. The British Parliament on August
28, 1833, outlawed slavery in the empire
as of August 1, 1834. About 700,000
slaves were liberated at a cost ofc 20,000,
000 pounds. Slavery had been unlawful
in the British Isles since June 22, 1772,.
by a decision of the Court of King*
Bench.
- x
Q. What caused Lon Chaney’s death?
—G. P. G.
A. Lon Chaney entered a hospital on
August 15, 1930, for treatment of an
anemic condition resulting from a severe
attack of pneumonia suffered early in*
the year. Following the attack of
pneumonia, Mr. Chaney had a throat
affliction which further weakened him.
A hemorrhage was the immediate cause
of his death on August 26, 1930.
Q. Please give the names of New York
City's ‘'blllion-dollar” banks.—H. P. S.
A. They are as follows: Chase Na
tional, National City, Guaranty Trust,
Bankers Trust and Central Hanover.
Q. What was the first public building
in Washington, D. C.?—N. K.
A. The White House was the first pub
lic building erected in the Capital City,
the cornerstone having been laid on
October 13, 1792.
Q. Would it be correct to paint the
wood of a walnut marble-topped table %
white?—H. G.
A. Walter R. Storey, an outstanding
authority on interior decoration, sug
gests that near-antiques of the Victorian
and Edwardian period be painted white.
He says that in a recent display brought
from London bjr Alban Conway and
shown at his New York City studio an
old-time parlor table had carved walnut
supports painted as white as its marble"
top.
Q. What famous lawyer said that
there had never been an Impartial
judge?—L. P. B.
A. Clarence Darrow is quoted as say
ing, “There never was an impartial
Judge, except one who's dead.”
Q. Will a star sapphire mar easily?—
J. B.
A. Sapphires are about the toughest
stones known. Only the diamond can
scratch them.
Q. What amount of money was paid
for the famous painting the "Blue
Boy”?—A. K.
A. The "Blue Boy” was bought from
the Duke of Westminster by Sir Joseph
Duveen for the late Henry E. Hunting-^
ton for $800,000. The portrait is now
in the Huntington Gallery at San
Marino, Calif.
_ «
Q. Who first, used the expression
“steam roller” in a political sense?—
K. B. C.
A. It was first used by Oswald F.
Schuette, then Washington correspond- *
ent of the Chicago Inter-Ocean, to de
scribe the rough methods used to pro
cure the nomination of W. H. Taft as
the Republican presidential candidate
in 1908.
Q. Is it true that the Merchandise
Mart in Chicago is built on an air lot?
—M. H. C.
A. The Merchandise Mart is built over
tracks of the Chicago & North Western
Railway. The railroad retains owner
ship of the area on which its tracks
operate. It sold air lots, representing
possession of the space above ground
occupied by the entire building, and
numerous miniature ground lots neces
sary to sink caissons. The air was
actually subdivided into lots and the
diagram of the aerial real estate filed
in the office of the recorder of deeds k
of Cook County, 111.
Q. How can I get the most out of my
Income through a workable budget?—
L. M. T.
A. See page A-2 of today’s Star.
some one might be able to offer a helpful “
suggestion. BERT C. FARRAR.
January 13.
Discusses Appeal of
Alien Doctrines.
To the Editor of The Star:
What makes a small minority of the
American people amenable to Imported
doctrines and movements? It is not any
intrinsically sound political or economic
value or moral virtue that makes the
appeal to our citizens.
The appeal of the foreign doctrines
and movements is due to failure to in
troduce a greater measure of economic
democracy in the lives of all the Ameri
can people. Solve the unemployment
problem and give every American an
opportunity for education, for health
and for recreation, and you will destroy *■
the forces that create unrest and
people prey to all kinds of “isms."
January 13. E. K. MERAT.
l\ *