gtoenittg Pfaf
With Bandar Morning Edition.
THEODORE W. NOYES. Editor.
WASHINGTON. D. C.
FRIDAY.March 15, 1940
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Union for Strength
The fate of Finland has driven
home to Scandinavia with greater
force than any other development
in Europe’s wars the advisability of
a defensive union with Finland
wjrich might serve in the future to
ward off attacks upon any one of
them and thereby prevent the piece
meal conquest of the northern
neutrals.
Russia’s expansion in Northern
Europe has come to a halt, at least
for the moment; how long it will
remain static no one, probably not
even Dictator Stalin himself, can
say, so subject is the whole question
to the day-to-day developments in
the conflict between Germany and
the allies.
Certainly if Russia is embroiled
along with Germany in Southeastern
Europe or in the Near East the likeli
hood of a simultaneous drive in the
north will diminish. If, however, Ger
many finds difficulty in drawing
upon the resources of Scandinavia
and Finland or meets an allied
offensive to cut her lifelines to those
countries Russia may join forces with
the Reich, thereby menacing Sweden
and Norway from the new positions
she holds in Finland.
in mat. event, me sweaes ana
Norwegians now appear to realize,
Scandinavia and Finland must stand
or fall together. But translation of
this conception into reality, desirable
as that may appear to others, would
mean a revolution in the policies of
Stockholm and Oslo, which have been
to pursue independent, but corre
lated, courses without commitment
to mutual assistance pacts.
The principle of a unified and
eommon policy hitherto has been
rejected, and the Scandinavian gov
ernments have made it clear that
the involvement of any one of them
In war would not necessarily mean
the involvement of the others. There
is evidence now that the narrow
outlook is being discarded for a
broader and more far-sighted ap
proach to mutual problems, and
Stockholm and Oslo have stated
their readiness to discuss, at least,
a defensive alliance with the Finns.
Many formidable obstacles to such
an alliance have yet to be overcome.
Chief of all questions is the point at
which the alliance wrould come into
operation, and how far into the diplo
matic field the principle of common
action would be carried. Certainly if
the northern countries intended to
fight together their diplomacies would
have to be welded into a unit.
It is this common diplomatic as
well as military front which would
influence greatly the strategy of
both the allies and Germany toward
the neutrals. London, Paris and
Berlin would be dealing not with
three separate policies and three
separate entities, but with a solid
bloc, supported, in event of war, by
united military strength. Both sides
obviously would bend greater efforts
to win the favor of the northern
allies, whose hand in wartime
power politics would be measurably
strengthened.
The effect of a northern alliance
can be discussed now only in the
most general terms, for the- specific
provisions have yet to be worked
out. But first steps have been taken
toward union; how far they will
lead will be determined by how
firmly convinced the Swedish and the
Norwegian governments finally be
come that their best chance to
escape the ravages of war is to ac
quire the strength which only union
can give.
Free and Easy Credit
The issue involved in the Farm
Credit Administration controversy
Is whether an institution run for
almost seven years on sound bank
ing principles shall be turned into a
money fountain for farmers in debt.
Each of the successive resignations
of three high officials of the agency—
Governor Hill, General Counsel
Evans and Land Bank Commissioner
Goss—in protest against the free and
easy policy has focused attention on
the question, and now Mr. Goss
leaves behind him a testament that
illustrates how deeply the F. C. A.
matter affects us all.
“The Government pays the loss
whenever the borrower wants to
quit paying,” are the words Mr. Goss
uses to summarize the Qresent Farm
Credit policy. In its almost seven
years of existence the F. C. A. has
lent more than $5,000,000,000.
The F. C. A. debate began on
December 14^ when Secretary of
Agriculture Wallace, with President
Roosevelt’s open backing, announced
that the agency would become a sub
sidiary part of the Agriculture De
partment. Mr. Wallace has made the
F. C. A. an integral part of the New
Deal farm program, whose founda
tion rests on the use of public money
to subsidize farmers in a variety of
ways—Agricultural Adjustment Ad
ministration payments, crop loans,
export bounties, and now credit
available not necessarily to those
whose prospects and merits make
them worthy of it but to those who
need it. The Secretary of Agricul
ture has the notion that the public
support of the farmer is a valuable
governmental enterprise of such
broad social implications that liberal
use, not necessarily based on sound
hanking policy, of a $5,000,000,000
credit agency is desirable to further
the enterprise. Not only is this un
fair to the taxpayer but, as Mr. Goss
wisely points out, it is unfair to the
farmers, who “should never forget
that lending them more money and
getting them deeper into debt is no
substitute for lack of income."
— ■
Still a Good Bill
The new Hatch bill is still a sound
piece of legislation, even with the
amendments its opponents have suc
ceeded in putting through the Sen
ate, and friends of the measure
should stick to their fight until it is
sent to the White House for
signature.
Following adoption yesterday of
the Bankhead $5,000 limit on the
amount any individual may con
tribute to a campaign fund, Capitol
corridors buzzed with speculation as
to whether the measure would ever
get through both Houses.
Senator Hatch, the author of the
bill, explained that he voted against
the $5,000 limitation on ^11 contribu
tors only because he believed it was
offered for the purpose of antago
nizing the Republicans, who have
stood almost solidly for the measure.
While it is not likely to prevent Sen
ate passage, if the opportunity for a
final vote is granted, there is real
danger that the amendment may
cause the bill to be sidetracked in
the House.
But the mere inclusion of the
Bankhead amendment would be a
slender excuse, indeed, for not pass
ing this bill, which seeks only to
apply the same ban against political
activity by State employes paid from
Federal funds that already has been
imposed on Federal workers. Despite
all the oratory over invasion of State
rights during two weeks of Senate
debate, the simple fact remains that
the bill is merely a declaration by
the Federal Government that it will
not sanctiort use of the money it
gives the States for the kind of
political activity it already has
banned among its own employes.
Language in the original Hatch
Act, protecting the right of Federal
employes to vote as they please and
to express their opinions on all po
litical subjects, was placed in the new
bill for State employes yesterday, at
the request of the author, strength
ening the measure against one pos
sible source of objection.
A glance at the list of contributors
in the 1936 general election, pub
lished by a senatorial investigating
committee, shows that while there
were a good many donors of $10,000
or more, the vast majority of con
tributions were within the $5,000
mark. It should be remembered, also,
that the generous givers were not all
on one side of the political fence.
Senator Hatch has insisted
throughout the debate that his bill
is not designed to prevent a public
employe from making a voluntary
contribution, and for that reason it
would have been more orderly pro
cedure not to inject regulation of
voluntary contributions by private
citizens into this legislation dealing
entirely with Government personnel.
It would be a mistake, nevertheless,
for the backers of the Hatch bill to
let this maneuver divert them at the
last moment, when they are on the
eve of passing the measure.
Assuming the bill gets through the
Senate, it is more than likely it also
would poll a majority in the House,
even with the Bankhead amendment,
provided the House gets a chance to
vote on it.
Bu# spring is coming, and in its
wake will follow adjournment fever,
accompanied by the usual legislative
jam. In those circumstances some of
the House leaders may find them
selves tempted to put other business
ahead of the Hatch bill, until it is
too late to act.
If this happens the responsibility
would rest on the Democrats, who
hold full control of the legislative
program, and they should remember
that when President Roosevelt signed
the original Hatch Act to govern
Federal employes he* pointed out as
one of its weaknesses the fact that
it did not cover State personnel.
Bottlenecks
Home-going motorists who used the
new Thomas Circle underpass during
yesterday’s rush hour received a
lesson in how a modern, growing
city’s traffic can be handled and an
other lesson in how it should not be
handled. Without delay they moved
from Thirteenth to Fifteenth streets
at a moderately fast pace. But there
they encountered trouble. While the
new tunnel, with the inexorable effi
ciency of a production line, fed more
cars into the Scott Circle area, hun
dreds of other drivers were trying
to move northward on Sixteenth
street, and east and west on Rhode
Island avenue. The result, of course,
was a serious jam.
Washington has numerous bottle
necks where conflicting streams of
traffic at certain hours of the day
bring about a condition which is
solved too often by chance-taking.
Maine avenue and Fourteenth street,
together with the Speedway exit and
the narrow Tidal Basin outlet bridge,
have caused a major problem. This
will be intensified with the Increased
use of Maine avenue when the pres
ent harbor development Is completed
and when the Jefferson Memorial
begins to attract thousands. Plans
for a grade separation at this point
still are tentative. Facilitation of
traffic on Rock Creek-Potomac Park
way is progressing, with work under
way on the Massachusetts avenue
bridge and the K street viaduct.
Thomas Circle’s underpass has
cost nearly half a million dollars. Its
value in relieving congestion at an
intersection which is used by nearly
sixty thousand vehicles a day is in
estimable. But this value is impaired
when the major traffic flow is north
and west because of the veritable wall
of traffic which is encountered at
Scott Circle. Construction of a simi
lar underpass to carry Sixteenth
street traffic under the circle is being
considered and should be expedited.
This would permit a better controlled
movement a§ far as Dupont Circle,
with possible outlets into Rhode
Island avenue, Seventeenth and
Eighteenth streets, congestion still
would exist at Dupont Circle, but the
blocking of traffic would not be so
severe if Scott Circle’s problem were
solved first. Then the Dupont un
derpass for Connecticut avenue
would follow logically.
Liquid Oxygen Bombs
Early in the war there were rumors
in England and France of a “secret
weapon” in possession of the Ger
mans. Nazis in Rotterdam boasted
loudly that Hitler was in possession
of something—nobody knew what—
with which he could put an end to
the war in short order. But, they
said, Der Fuehrer was too good and
kind a man to use it unless the das
tardly enemy drove him to despera
tion. At first some believed that this
unknown weapon was the magnetic
mine. It certainly did damage
enough—but it could not be sup
posed that it would have any great
effect on the progress of the war.
Moreover, there was nothing partic
ularly secret about it. The govern
ments of both France and Great
Britain were well aware of- the gen
eral principle. They had known all
about it for twenty years.
Now congressional interest has
been aroused by ia liquid oxygen
bomb—such as reputedly was used
experimentally in the Spanish war
and which was reliably reported to
be capable of destroying anything
within a mile radius of the place of
explosion. It is by no means im
possible that the military uses of
the most violent explosive known to
man have been explored thoroughly
and that some of the obstacles to its
use have been surmounted. The
trouble with liquid oxygen, so far
as its potentialities as an explosive
can be known to laymen, is that it
must be made as it is used. Liquefied
oxygen, at a temperature of one hun
dred and eighty-three degrees below
zero centigrade, evaporates very
rapidly at ordinary temperatures.
It is somewhat of a mystery how a
supply of bombs filled with such an
explosive could be manufactured and
transported for the use of an army.
If some method has been found of
manufacturing liquid oxygen in an
airplane in flight—and there have
been rumors of such—the pilot could
make his bombs as he drops them.
And this, for the time being at least',
would be bad news for the opposing
forces. This may indeed be the “se
cret weapon.” But fortunately, it is
not very secret. The tradition of
science under all flags that results
be published for the benefit of the
world in times of peace has resulted
in making widely known the broad
features of handling liquid oxygen.
Physicists of Great Britain and
France can be expected to get at the
details very quickly if the bomb be
comes of great military importance.
Publishers' Paradise
A circulation expert sent a form
letter to the Represa (California)
Sports-Telegram guaranteeing, for a
fee, to double its circulation In six
weeks. He could have saved three
cents had he but known that it is the
official newspaper of Folsom Prison.
The management refused.
In explanation of the phenomenon,
it must be remembered that both the
stock and the subscribers are closely
held, and the broad free outlook so
necessary for expansion is lacking.
With gently smiling jaws they wel
come such new clients as are sup
plied free of charge by the Los
Angeles County, police and courts,
and seek no others. They are very
snooty and not without reason.
The publishers of the Sports-Tele
gram have a soft snap and should be
the envy of all other publishers. Not
only do they eliminate the cost of
wire services by substituting the free
grapevine telegraph; they also make
use of that unique institution, the
payless pay day. They have worked
up the delivery service to a peak of
perfection by consolidating routes,
and there is little chance of a paper
going astray when addressed to Mr.
123,456, at Corridor L, Cell Twenty
two. And best of all, when Constant
Subscriber writes in, kicking about
everything, the editor can put him
in solitary.
Those members of Congress who
excoriate District institutions for
failing to function one hundred per
cent remind one vaguely of the
Pharaoh of the Exodus who insisted
that the Children of Israel make
bricks without straw.
It is claimed that a man out West
found an edible mushroom that ac
tually weighed forty-five pounds.
What a suitable garnishment this
would make for a whole roasted
buffalo!
Says Pioneers Explore
Frontiers of Behavior
Philosopher Tells
Of Adventures in
Human Research
I
To the Editor of The Star: ,
"Where can one find a man who can
take ^n ax and a chew of tobacco and
go build himself a home?" you ask in
an editorial printed on March 11.
As one who daily lives with an ax in
his hand and a chew in his mouth, sur
rounded by 10,000 acres of neglected tim
ber, lacking many of the luxuries of the
pioneers of fiction, and having once read
a book on psychology, I feel qualified to
answer: “The woods IS full of’em.”
Those who so bemoan an equivalent of
the early frontierman are unworthy of
the name of scientist. Their mood sub
jective, their outlook perverse. Others
must do their thinking for them. Tra
ditionalism is their end rather than di
rected objectivism their means.
No! Such weepers cannot be scientists,
nor psychologists. If they were, they
would know positively that there are
just as many, if not more, pioneers today
than there ever were. Only in different
wildernesses with other tools and tim
bers; for instance in the mechanics of
human behavior.
Two dimensions of man we know quite
well—his faculties in terms of space and
time, in cubic and planar aspects; the
matters of his department of “health,"
pleasure and pain, sensation, feeling, re
flexes, and those of his “wealth,” his pos
session, having, knowing. But, in his
third and fourth dimensions, in the pow
ers, functions and properties of his lines
of direction and end point, scientifically,
this territory is comparatively terra in
cognito. How little do we know of the
pursuit of happiness, of the will of man
and his cause for being! How incom
petent are we still in adjusting the af
fairs of man’s powers and his work!
Such jungles have always been in
process of exploration. For the hardy
there are thrills and adventure, and
dangers, too.
As the pioneer once went forth with
his ax and eating tobacco, so today ven
tures the true scientist. Not with bare
hands, but mechanized; with mathe
matics and language and reason as his
sharp-edged tools to clear the land of
the briars and brush of prejudice and
traditionalism, and of logs shaped and
measured by universal principles he is
building for posterity a home in ultimate
truth. (
As a postscript I cannot resist inject
ing here Principle Eight of the code of
Charles A. Dana, recommended by him in
an address before the Wisconsin Editorial
Association July 24, 1888, and as true
today as it ever was: “Above all, know
and believe that humanity is advancing;
that there is progress in human life and
human affairs; and that, as sure as God
lives, the future will be greater and bet
ter than the present or the pa$t.”
March 13. C. B. PHILIBERT.
Suggests World Conference
To Settle Differences.
To the Editor of The Star:
Now that officialdom in both Soviet
Russia and Finland have arrived at the
wise conclusion that an armed and un
relenting struggle between them gets
neither anything but loss of life and
property and as a solvent for their in
ternal Ills is as futile and as hopeless
as are all wars for that purpose, perhaps
official England and France, Germany
and Italy, and Japan and China will
see the light of this excellent decision
and also follow their example by settling
their arguments in as amiable a manner
as Is possible under the circumstances.
An armistice of, say, 90 days should give
all the nations and their reigning heads
and cabinet officials time to decide if
they want to solve their economic and
political differences across a conference
table. Within this period, reigning heads
and officials of England and France,
Germany and Italy and Japan and
China should be able to decide whether
they want the co-operation or partici
pation of the United States in that con
ference. Out of a world economic re
construction confab must come the solu
tion of the world’s chaotic problems.
March 12. p. p.
Grand River Dam
Visited by Washingtonians.
To the Editor of The 8t»r:
Reports from Oklahoma to the effect
that Gov. Leon c. Phillips has sent
National Guard troops to stop work on
the Grand River Dam serve to refresh
our recollection of a visit paid to the
“project” in October.
The dam is not easily found. Start
ing from Miami, Okla., in the center of
the lead and zinc country, we drove for
hours through a wilderness in search of
it. The roads are unpaved, most of them,
and great clouds of choking yellow dust
surrounded us as we bumped along over
the pits and shell holes. Occasionally
we passed through hopeless little vil
lages from which most of the inhabitants
appeared to have departed. Now and
again we encountered a cow or a don
key, a scraggly group of leafless trees or
a field of sunburnt cotton.
Perhaps the dam is supposed to cure
all this desolation. Meanwhile, it may
be wondered if it has any other prac
tical purpose. ’The power which it is
designed to generate must be sold some
where. In theory, we understand, it
will be distributed to rural settlements
in the approximate neighborhood. But
more than cheap electricity will be
needed to make Eastern Oklahoma a
garden spot.
The Grand River Valley, however, is
something of an exception to the rule.
It does have water in it, and once upon
a time, ages ago, it must have accom
modated a sizable stream.
We stood upon the observation plat
form on the west side of the "project"
and watched proceedings for an hour or
more. The dam is a monstrous big
affair, as might be expected, and boasts
a certain savage sort of architectural
beauty. Its cost has been estimated at
$20,000,000, and the taxpayers of the
Nation are meeting part of the 'expense.
Like many another enterprise of the same
general sort, it represents an investment
made by our generation in behalf of the
xwelfare of posterity, in theory, the work
is supposed to be finished next year. But
it would seep more probable that it will
not be completed for another decade. We
judged that not more than one-fourth
of the Job had been finished at the time
of our visit.
WASHINGTON TRAVELERS.
Much 14.
THIS AND THAT
By Charles E. Tracewell.
"SIXTEENTH STREET*
“Dear Sir:
“I have enjoyed your column very
much and I have seen how you have
solved some other bird lovers’ problems.
You may be able to solve mine.
“I live at Sixteenth street and Park
road N.W. Our neighborhood is not
favorable for most birds.
“I have a feeding station but I have
not been able to get any other birds
other than the starling and English
sparrow, except for one pair of cardinals.
*1 realize that even the sparrows and
starlings need help in bitter winters
but I would like to see some other types.
"Yours truly, O. E. L.”
* * * *
One living in the crowded city need
not qgpect as many rarer species as
the resident of a suburban community.
But even in some of the suburbs in
recent years the number of species has
fallen off.
'This is a matter for speculation. It
has been discussed in Bird Lore, the
magazine of the National Association
of Audubon Societies, and in other
periodicals.
It is quite evident from a perusal of
articles printed during the past 10 years
upon the subject that the more one
knows about bird life the less likely he
or she is to have any hard and fast
theories upon the subject.
There are many factors involved, tied
up not wily with the mysteries of bird
life, but also with teeming humanity
and the many increased activities every
where.
The huge Joss in forest fires every
year in America must kill millions of
birds. Deforestation in its many aspects
has a great deal to do with it. Birds
love the trees, and gather strength from
them; when anything happens to trees,
something must happen to birds.
Increased number of tornadoes, sleet
storms, intense and prolonged periods
of cold—these all tend to cut down on
the number of birds and to keep away
certain species.
Then there are unaccountable factors.
About all the experts can say is that
"there are not as many birds as in the
old days.”
Inventions of many kinds may have
something to do with it.
There can be little question that the
great wars take a tremendous toll.
' * * * *
It would be better for bird lovers to
think candidly and honestly upon this
subject, than to select some "goat”
upon which to lay the blame for de
creased numbers of birds.
The cat, for instance, is a favorite
scapegoat with some.
A beautifully gotten up book recently
contained the preposterous statement
that cats In one State alone kill 50,000,
000 birds annually 1
If this were so, or In any degree so,
there would be no birds left In that
State at all Inside of a year
In fact, it Is a matter of doubt If
there are 50,000,000 birds in any one
State in the Union at any one time.
Fifty million Is a lot of birds 1
* * * m
Starlings and English sparrows are
two others upon which the blame for
decreased numbers of songbirds Is some
times placed by the unthinking.
This because they tend to drive the
smaller native birds out of their nesting
places.
In the end, this will mean a decrease,
but no one can say just how many, or
how long a time will be required for the
change to take place. •
English sparrows and starlings tend
to keep rarer birds away from suburban
and city feeding stations.
There can be little doubt about this,
but what can a tolerant person do
about it? Perhaps the best thing he
can do is to withhold from the feeding
places the particular titbits fancied by
starlings, such as bread, meat, suet,
coconut.
The hope is that the unwanted birds
will go someplace else. There i! no
cruelty involved here, even in a bad
winter, because thousands of persons now'
feed the birds, and many of them use
bread, so that none will go hungry.
Of course, if you do not use suet, you
may not get a downy woodpecker, and
so it goes.
Some persons find the mockingbird
far worse in driving away rarer birds
than starlings and English sparrows.
English sparrows rather prefer a
feeder at a distance from the house, so
that one on the windowsill is not so
likely to attract them.
The best way to get the rarer birds
is to move to the suburbs!
One way to enjoy bird life to the most
is to accept what comes and make the
best of it. This means that some persons
are able to get as much satisfaction from
starlings and English sparrows as others
do from chickadees and titmice.
Rarer birds will come, even where
the two are, but not so often. The per
son who accepts those that come will
have even greater joy when the rarer
birds do arrive.
Neither starlings nor English spar
rows chase away other birds. Mostly
they fight among themselves.
To do battle with certain species, to
grow red in the face, to trap and to kill,
even, is to miss the very crown of this
sport. There is too much killing going
on in the world today, as it, is; let no
one dare call himself a “bird lover” who
adds to the slaughter in his own back
yard.
Letters to the Editor
Seeks Information on
Nearby Street Chances.
To the Editor ot The Star:
The Star of this Saturday evening
contains the first informative article that
has been published concerning street
changes which the Maryland Park and
Planning Commission, under authority
of the Legislature, will make effective
May 1 in communities of Prince Georges
County adjacent to the District of Co
lumbia.
These changes are very sweeping. It
seems to some of us that such sweeping
changes may not be for the public in
terest, that the confusion, the loss of
old landmarks and the breaking down of
community boundaries may be a price
too big to pay for the benefits received.
We all realize that some change is de
sirable, but we think it need not be ex
tensive.
The plans for renaming and renumber
ing the streets will be put into operation
within such a short time that I doubt
if the individual citizen will have an
opportunity to learn what the complete
plans for his own town will be, or what
their relation Is to the project as a
whole unless a Washington paper, such
as your own, is willing to give us details
and is willing to study the matter thor
oughly and put their findings into print.
We would like to know if the project
is practical and to our advantage. What
will be the effect on postal and delivery
service, what will be the standing of
deeds and insurance policies issued on
old addresses?
If one studies a map of this section
he is immediately impressed with the
entire lack of uniform street arrange
ment. It would seem as if the layout for
the most part does not permit of sys
matic numbering and naming. Are the
proposed changes really advantageous or
do they simply satisfy the whims of
comparatively few persons?
Various newspaper articles from time
to time have told us that the Park and
Planning Commission was at work on
this project and all of these write-ups
have stated that communities were
being consulted I am one of the com
missioners of Cottage City and I wish
to say that to my knowledge no one in
this town has been approached for ad
vice. In fact as secretary commissioner
I wrote to Mr. Smith of the Park and
Planning Commission asking what the
proposed changes were for this com
munity and the letter was not even
acknowledged. I believe the changes
are the work of a few and that the
majority have not been considered.
A few years ago The Star Investigated
the so-called Maryland City project for
us, pronounced it not good and nn«d it
alone and single-handedly. I personally
feel that these projected street changes
are being made by the same people with
the idea of breaking down community
barriers and that the Maryland City
project may soon be with us again
I am not asking The Star to take one
side or the other, but would it be willing
to study the matter and give us the
facts before it is too late for us to do
anything, if it turns out that anything
should or could be done to oppose the
schemes outlined in your paper of today.
Brentwood, Md. ALAN LEIGHTON.
March 9.
"Make Work” Plan
Suggested for Trial
To the Editor of The Star:
It was with consuming Interest that I
read yesterday in The Star of the latest
proposal, 100 per cent political, aero
scientific, which Senator O’Mahoney,
Democrat, of Wyoming intends to intro
duce in Congress.
At a technocrat meeting last night I
Letters to the Editor must
bear the name and address o)
the writer although the use of
a pseudonym for publication ts
permissible. Please be briff!
L————
was informed that this proposed bill was
advocated by a group of New York econ
omists. It is not surprising, for it has
an odor which is strongly reminiscent of
certain charms, composed largely of
snake bqpes, fish bladders, etc., peddled
by voodoo priests and worn by natives of
Haiti as a cure-all. It is regrettable that
the Senator has lent his name and pres
tige to such voodooism.
May I add my humble suggestion to
supplement and improve the Senator's
plan? While offered in all modesty, I
am sure that it contains the germ which
will cure our economic miseries. It is
this:
During the forthcoming census, let
there be taken a complete record of all
power shovels in use in this country.
Let us then ship these mischief-making,
subversive devices to Europe (gratis)
for the purpose of digging trenches for
the armies of the warring nations. This
will release men for the front lines, where
they will doubtless be needed, and soon.
All of these power shovels shall be re
placed with men using picks and hand
shovels. To help spread re-employment,
horse-drawn wagons should replace as
many trucks as possible. After this pro
cedure has been tried fairly and thor
oughly, if the reduction in unemploy
ment has not reached encouraging pro
portions, the picks and hand shovels are
to be then discarded and spoons issued
to the workers: wagons and trucks sup
planted by wheelbarrows.
I make no claim to originality in offer
ing the above, as I faintly recall hearing
of identical measures being advocated
before. There is a vast field of oppor
tunity in the exploitation of this idea
Think how far back we all can go, tech
nologically, until we again will be
privileged to drudge and sweat for a
mere existence, a la 1492 AD. Think,
also, of the many things we can learn
to do without. TECHNOCRAT.
Arlington, Va.
March 13.
Suggests Submitting United
Labor to Membership.
To tbo editor of The Star:
As a member of a trade union not af
filiated with either the A. P. L. or C. I.
O. but a loyal advocate of organized labor
and with its best Interests at heart, I
move that the question of uniting the
A. P. L. and C. I. O. be submitted to a
vote of the membership of both organiza
tions, such vote to be final and binding.
The proposed ballot should be conducted
by some neutral authority, some onfe from
the Department of Labor preferably. If
a majority favor union, then a conven
tion could be called to carry it into effect
and elect an entire new set of officials
for the combined body.
If the present foolish and selfish course
of these two organizations is not soon
arrested, it will not be long until organ
ized labor, annulling its own influence
and power and discredited by the public,
will be a thing of the past. Since we have
reached the day when little can be ac
complished except by mass movement we
believe this Nation needs and desires a
strong and effective organization of the
working classes; but at present the pub
lic is confused as to who represents
whom. Is it possible that the enemies of
organized labor are using these organiza
tions to demonstrate the logic of the
“bundle of sticks”?
DAVID A. TAYLOR.
March i.
Haskin's Answers
To Readers' Questions,,
By Frederic J. Hatkin.
A reader can get 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. Please give the amount of money
spent for newspaper, radio, magazine
and other kinds of advertising in 1939.—
8. T. M.
A. Printers’ Ink estimates the total vol
ume of advertising in the United States
in 1939 at over $1,600,000,000. The fol
lowing classifications make up the total:
Newspapers. $525,000,000; direct mail,
$300,000,000; radio, $170,000,000; maga
zines, $150,000,000; outdoor, $50,000,000;
business papers, $50,000,000; farm pa
pers, $17,000,000; miscellaneous, $340,
000,000.
Q. What instrument is heard at the''
end of certain lines on Guy Lombardo's
recording of “Confucious Say” and other
songs?—J. K.
A. The instrument is a spinetinno,
the only one in the United States.
Q. Who said, “God will pardon me. It
is His trade”?—W. N. S.
A. These were the words of Heine,
the great German poet.
Q. From what source does Mexico
City obtain its water supply?—6. M.
A. A $5,000,000 municipal water worka
system utilizes mountain springs for an
abun^-nt fresh water supply.
Q. What became of the wreck of the
Graf Spee?—M. B. N.
A. It was purchased by a junk dealer
in Montevideo for $17,500.
Q. When were alarms first used on
clocks?—M. M. C.
A. The origin of the alarm attach
ment to the clock is not definitely
known. One authority attributes its in
vention to the monk Gerbert, as early
as 996. Simon Willard, one of the noted
early American clock makers, who lived
from 1753-1848, obtained a patent on
an alarm attachment.
Q. Is there a strawberry tree?—Y.
8. C.
A. The strawberry tree is a beautiful
ornamental tree of the heath family,
native to Southern Europe, Southwest
ern Ireland and widely planted in warm
countries. It grows from 10 to 30 feet
high and has smooth, red bark and
glossy, dark-green leaves. The white
or rose-colored flowers, arranged in
short, drooping clusters, are borne in
autumn intermingled with scarlet gran
ular berries.
Q. Who is Lord Haw Haw who broad
casts from Berlin?—L. T. M.
A. He is said to be William Joyce, a
graduate of London University and
formerly active as a British Fascist.
Q. Please give some information about
the Slumbering Ground Hog Lodge —
W. J. H.
A. The Slumbering Ground Hog Lodge
of Quarry ville, Pa., was founded 34 years
ago by George Washington Hensel, jr.
Prospective members must be on proba
tion for seven years and membership is
limited to 65 men. The lodge’s out
standing session of the year is on Feb
ruary 2, ground hog day, when mem
bers scout the country to observe ground
hog holes. Among the organization’*
distinguished honorary members ara
Vice President John N. Garner and
Mark Sullivan.
Q. What is the name of the famous
food market in Paris?—K. G. M.
A. It is called Les Halles.
Q. Who were Ellen Terry’s hus
bands?—W. N. S.
A. The actress was first married at
the age of 16 to G. F. Watts, the artist.
She next married E. A. Warden, whose
stage name was Charles Kelly, in 1907
she married James Carew, an American
actor.
Q. How many accidents occur while
people 'are at work?—H. M. N.
A. It is estimated that there are
1,400,000 occupational accidents an
nually, resulting in a loss of (650,000,000
in wages, medical expenses and over
head costs. Slipping and falling alone
account for about 25 per cent of the
loss.
Q. Does Germany have any wartime
regulations about the production of
beer?—D. N.
* A. New regulations have recently
gone into effect whereby production of
ordinary beer is to be reduced by 25
per cent, while production of the popular
Pilsener Urquell brew is to be reduced
by 50 per cent.
Q. Who originated the "$30 every
Thursday" bill?—G. I.
A. Senator Sheridan Downey of Cali
fornia sponsored the ‘‘$30 every Thurs
day" plan.
Q. What percentage of materials origi
nating in the United States is ex
ported?—J. T.
A. It is estimated that 10 per cent of
the materials grown or manufactured
in the United States is exported.
Forecast
When springtime wakens, misty-eyed,
Upon these mountain tops,
The way of countless living streams
Will lead to mills and shops.
There will be those who will not see
Wild geese in ordered flight
Nor hear their valiant trumpet calls
Re-echo through the night.
They will not see wood violets
Lift faces sweetly shy
Nor trees show lacy filigree
Against an orchid sky. '
They will not hear the whippoorwill
Sound his pathetic note—
Where traffic roars, the voice of spring
Is stifled in her throat.
But they will know by certain signs
When she is really near; >
The poignancy of her return
Is there as well as here.
She gives her smiles impartially
To country and to town;
In alleys, as on grassy lanes,
Her sudden tears come down.
The lingering fragrance of her breath
Will mark the path she takes;
Her wistfulness will flood the heart
With longing, till it breaks.
ANNA M. PRI2BTLEY.