Evening star. [volume], May 21, 1940, Page A-10, Image 10

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

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With Sunday Moraine Edition.
♦ _
THEODORE W. NOYES. Editor.
% ,
WASHINGTON, D. C.
TUESDAY....May 21, 1940
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Building Air Defenses
There was no “hysterical chatter,”
but there was a frank .facing of
facts and, withal, a fine display of
co-operation and determination at
yesterday’s conference between rep
resentatives of the aviation industry
and Government officials charged
with building up America’s air de
fenses to fighting strength. It was,
in a s§nse, aviation’s answer to the
illogical isolationist views expressed
over the radio by a pilot noted for
long-range flying and short-range
thinking on foreign affairs. The
meeting, of course, had no relation
to Col. Lindbergh's ill-advised broad
cast, but his “why worry?” senti
ments undoubtedly were fresh in the
minds of all present as they discussed
some of the things that every citizen
should be worrying about right now.
It was made plain during the dis
cussions at the defense conference
and in testimony before congres
sional committees that America has
cause to worry about the inadequacy
of plane production facilities, the
shortage of trained mechanics to
build 50,000 planes, the lack of pilots
to fly them, the obsolescent state of
our present air force as a result of
essential improvements demon
strated by the Germans. Industry
offered its full and unstinted aid in
working out such of these problems
as fall within its field. The produc
tion job is one that private industry
must tackle in co-operation with
the Government. It will take time
and money to expand factories and
to provide them with the skilled
labor necessary to operate them.
Fortunately a good start has been
made, thanks to allied purchases of
American planes in recent months.
These sales should be facilitated in
every way possible, for they are
helping greatly to solve the plant
expansion and labor training prob
lems which are so acute. Where
needed, the Reconstruction Finance
Corporation stands ready to aid in
financing further plant construction.
Meanwhile, the War Department
Is losing no time in arranging for
some mass production methods of
its own—in connection with pilots.
Four new flying schools are planned,
each with a capacity of 1,200 pilots
annually. They will increase pres
ent training capacity to 6,000 flyers
a year. These measures make for
Increased national security. They
will have the enthusiastic support of
all but shortsighted persons.
Vigilance Needed
Most Americans feel there is no
Immediate danger to this country
from “fifth column” activities. Rec
ognition of the fact that avowed
Communists and Nazis in our midst
are doing their utmost to undermine
our democracy is coupled with the
firm belief that they form too meager
a minority to do much actual dam
age today or tomorrow. Apparent
absence of immediate danger, how
ever, should not lull us into a false
sense of security. Recent experiences
of peace-loving European nations
which believed as we do that “it
can’t happen here” demonstrate the
need for constant vigilance.
Our greatest danger at the mo
ment is that ignorance and misap
prehension concerning vital national
Interests among some sincerely
peace-minded Americans may make
too many of them innocent but de
structive tools of the Communist
Nasl “party line” propaganda. This
propaganda now opposes strength
ening of our national defense or any
type of aid to the allies, constantly
striving to create the utterly false
Impression that sufth action would
constitute steps toward participa
tion In an “imperialist” war in which
the United States has no interest.
President Roosevelt and Secretary of
State Hull are working night and day
to keep us out of war, and they have
better information on which to base
their policies than any amateur
promoters of so-called “peace” or
ganisations possibly could have.
They know that the best and perhaps
the only way to spare us the horrors
of war is to make our defenses strong
enough to discourage an aggressor
and to help the allies by all means
“short of war” to halt the forces of
aggression in Europe before they can
grow powerful enough to reach out
toward the New World.
Every American should realize that
advocacy of any doctrine or
theory making for disunity in
this critical time, whether by
recognized "fifth column” front
organizations or by sincere and well
“ tntontloned persons misled by their
propaganda, Is a distinct menacs to
the national Interest. It Is not the
American way to deny the right of
free speech, even to those guilty of
the most flagrantly Inimical utter
ances. But they can be rendered
comparatively harmless if every citi
zen will apply to everything he hears
or reads concerning national defense
or foreign policy the test of a simple
question: Is its effect to the real
benefit of the United States or does
it conform to the “party line” of the
new Communist-Nazi axis?
The German Drive
The diminishing momentum of the
German drive into France, welcome
though it is, should not give rise
to undue optimism. It is a hopeful
indication that the defending forces
are improving their position but it
does not mean that the Germans
have been stopped nor that there
is any immediate probability that
they will be stopped.
When the mighty Nazi* war
machine first began to roll it was
able to advance thirty miles or more
a day. Its daily gains now are
reported to be seven miles or less,
but it is still moving forward, and
even at the present rate of advance
it could reach Paris or the Channel
ports within ten days.
From present indications, the Ger
man attack has split, with one unit,
probably armored divisions, heading
down the Somme Valley toward
Amiens and Abbeville. The other
force is continuing the drive toward
Soissons and Paris.
Greatest danger to the allied cause
appears to lie in the thrust toward
the Channel. This operation, if suc
cessful, conceivably might envelop
nearly 1,000,000 French, British and
Belgian troops fighting in Northern
France and what is left of Belgium.
Latest Berlin dispatches claim the
capture of Amiens and Abbeville,
which, if true, could only mean that
the Nazi armored column striking
toward the coast has made tremen
dous and virtually unopposed gains.
There is no confirmation of the fall
of either town, but if the German
claim is accurate, and if they can
consolidate these gains, it spells dis
aster for the allies.
As yet, however, it does not appear
that the French have made any
serious effort to counterattack.
General Maxime Weygand, new com
mander in chief of the allied armies,
is reported to be preparing a counter
thrust against the left flank of the
deep salient the Germans have
pushed into France. If it is humanly
possible, this blow must and will be
struck by the allies. Until it falls,
and until its consequences can be
measured, it would be premature to
conclude that the French and the
British cause is hopeless.
Summer Traffic
Following three months of a con
centrated campaign to reduce traffic
accidents, Washington established a
new record for safety in April. Dur
ing that month only one person was
killed, the first time since Decem
ber, 1928—when there were no fa
talities—that so low a figure had
been reported.
This record added to the hope for
greater safety on the streets built
up during the earlier months of 1940,
in which a reduction of approxi
mately 40 per cent in fatalities
had been recorded. But the past
week end demonstrated tragically
the danger of the coming summer
months with their seasonal increase
in pleasure diiving. Within the past
week five deaths have occurred, in
cluding the year’s first child victim,
a fourteen-year-old boy, who was
killed while waiting in a safety zone.
As the record stands today, twenty
three have been killed this year, as
compared with thirty-three for the
same period of 1939.
While public education in safe
driving practices, particularly as re
gards the advantages of patience
and courtesy, remains the prime
weapon of greater safety, recom
mendations of the Traffic Advisory
Council offer powerful additional
means of reducing accidents. These,
offered months ago and renewed at
the council’s meeting last week, in
clude concentration of enforcement
in sections most susceptible to traffic
dangers, provision of more accurate
information to keep police of each
precinct posted day by day on acci
dent conditions, and the assignment
of a single full-time judge to try
traffic cases.
But with all such projects, the ad
vent of summer, with its necessary
Increase in outdoor play and pleasure
driving, should serve as a warning to
every motorist.
War and Trade
This Is foreign trade week. The
attention necessarily directed by its
observance to the effects of the war
in Europe on our foreign trade and
economic life emphasizes once again
the impossibility of isolating our
selves from the rest of the world
and continuing to prosper as a Na
tion.
Much of our export trade is being
strangled to death by the war, al
though total exports have risen dur
ing the war period, last September
through April, to $2,607,000,000 as
compared with $1,952,000,000 for the
same period of 1938-9. The big in
crease was due to heavier foreign
buying of war goods, while our ex
porters of agricultural and luxury
products suffered. Great Britain and
France, normally important custom
ers for such things as American ap
ples and tobacco, are curtailing these
purchases drastically in order to
conserve their foreign exchange for
weapons of war. Our normally
profitable trade with Norway, Den
mark and the Netherlands was dealt
\
1/
a death blow by Germany’s Invasion
of those countries. On the Import
side, the war has made It Increas
ingly difficult to obtain some impor
tant raw materials, and other things
like certain types of precision in
struments that have been produced
nowhere but in Germany.
These destructive effects of the
war are not felt by a few foreign
traders alone, but filter down through
our economic life to work hardship
on our farmers, laborers and busi
nessmen generally. Consideration
of the whole problem leads inevit
ably to the conclusions expressed
by Secretary of State Hull in a radio
message last night—that permanent
and stable prosperity for this country
is possible only in a world at peace,
with • expanding economic activity
everywhere, and so we have “an ob
vious and essential stake in the estab
lishment and preservation of stable
peace and of orderly international
relations.” As Secretary Hull em
phasized, “it is our duty to ourselves
to make every appropriate contribu
tion to that end.” Although Mr. Hull
did not say so in so many words, its
accomplishment obviously involves
defeat of Germany, since, as he did
say, world dominance by “totali
tarian autarchy” would plunge man
kind into “a period of chaos and
impoverishment.”
Straw in the Wind
Italy remains a big questien mark
in the European war picture. The
best guess is that Mussolini will
throw his Fascist legions into the
fray to seize some of the spoils if he
becomes convinced that Hitler is
going to win, but will stay out if the
allies manage to turn back the Ger
man offensive and agree to terri
torial concessions for Italy. Reports
from Rome to the effect that Mus
solini had invited President Roose
velt to co-operate in securing allied
recognition for Italian territorial
aspirations in return for staying out
of the war may indicate which way
the wind is blowing, although there
has been no confirmation of those
reports here.
British action in letting the Ital
ian liner Rex pass by Gibraltar on
her way home from America last
week without stopping her for con
traband control examination may be
another straw in the wind, indicat
ing possible allied efforts to appease
Italy.
The fact that the British prob
ably would not have let the Rex go
through if its cargo had not been
covered fully by navicerts does not
destroy possible salutary effects of the
gesture. Navicerts are certificates
issued by British and French authori
ties before a ship leaves port, guar
anteeing that its cargo does not con
tain goods destined for Germany
and thus facilitating its passage
through the allied blockade. Ap
parently all the Rex cargo was cov
ered by navicerts, so that the British
had nothing to gain by stopping it
for examination at Gibraltar, and
nothing to lose by action that might
be Interpreted by Italians as a bid
for their friendship. There may be
significance, however, in the fact that
the controlled Italian press did not
publish the fact that the Rex had
not been stopped.
The United States has a vital in
terest hi Mussolini’s decision. Spread
of the war into the Mediterranean
area would endanger the lives of
thousands of American citizens liv
ing there and would cut off our chief
remaining avenue of commerce with
Europe. More important still, of
course, is the likelihood that Italian
entry in the war would Increase the
odds in favor of a German victory
and a German victory would be to
the distinct disadvantage of the
United States.
“Doing Something"
Reading newspapers and listening
to radio broadcasts, the average
American family during the past
eight months has been educated to
want to “do something” about the
destruction of civilization.
True, the people of the United
States have not yet decided that they
wish to Intervene in the struggle now
raging in Europe. Memories of
near a quarter century ago still
prompt a great number of citizens to
avoid participation in the battle. But
even professional pacifists are indig
nant over the reports of such bar
barism as has run wild at Rotterdam
and at Louvain. The Instinct to re
pair such damage, to restore such
loss, is as natural as breathing.
It is obvious, then, that the appeal
of the Red Cross for funds for war
relief purposes needs no apology.
The ten million dollars requested is
a small sum, when measured against
the demand for the goods and serv
ices which money can buy, but it
would be a large amount to raise
without co-operation stimulated by
the emotions of sympathy and fel
low feeling which are the normal re
actions of the American community.
Each contribution to the Red
Cross in the present emergency is a
deed, not merely a thought. A gift
of mercy, as Norman Davis has said,
may be considered as an “action
that gives life and hope and cour
age.” The friends of human freedom,
old and young, rich and poor, re
gardless of any other condition than
that of love, can and gladly should be
“doing something” for the innocent
victims of the “blitzkrieg” gangsters.
Ways and means of tested efficiency
are provided. All that is asked is
that they be used. The Star counts
it a privilege to transmit funds com
mitted to its care for sufferers whose
present plight is pitiful and whose
future is dependent entirely upon
such aid as Americans can furnish
liMHWily and quickly.
I, «
Of Stars, Men
And Atoms
Notebook of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
By Thomas R. Henry.
A hitherto unopened record of the
vicissitudes of the earth through thou
sands of milleniums, obtained by shoot
ing holes in the bottom of the sea, now
is being decoded by geophysicists of
the Carnegie Institution of Washington.
Undoubtedly the best preserved
“manuscript” of the past before man
appeared on earth, the floor of the deep
ocean under more than a mile of water
remained impenetrable until four years
ago, when Dr. Charles S. Piggot of the
Carnegie staff invented a depth gun
which fires automatically when It
reaches the bottom and plunges a hollow
cylinder into the debris of ages. The
cylinder closes automatically. Attached
to a cable, it is hauled to the surface,
bringing with it a long core every inch
of which contains, if it can be read, the
story of many centuries.
Narrow strips of sand and sharp peb
bles in these cores constitute a record of
four long ice ages. These must have been
brought originally from the land. The
only way such heavy terrestrial ma
terial could have gotten so far to sea
was in icebergs broken oft from glaciers.
Strips composed of closely packed fine
dust indicate two or three periods of in
tense volcanic activity on land. The
dust was blown to sea by the winds.
Tiny specks of iron in the deposits
give a continuous story of the direction
of the compass millions of years ago.
Each particle acted as a miniature com
pass needle. As it sank very slowly
through the water it was oriented to
me norm ana soutn magnetic poles.
When it reached the bottom and became
part of the ooze it was no longer free to
move and became frozen in its position.
While this particular record is quite
difficult to read, it contains evidence of
a shift in direction of nearly 100 degrees
in a few hundred million years. This
may be intimately associated with the
profound changes in the climate of the
Northern Hemisphere, of which evi
dence has been uncovered by geologists.
Remains of animal life thus far have
been very scant in the cores. All the
fossils necessarily are very tiny.
In the shallow waters close to the
shore deposits washed down from the
land build up very quickly. During rela
tively short periods of a few million
years they disturb the equilibrium of
the earth's shell and are pushed up as
mountains. The process of mountain
building is a violent one. Various layers
of sediment, rich in fossils of shallow
water creatures, are churned into an
almost inextricable confusion.
In the deep sea, beyond the range of
sediments from the land, conditions are
different. The bottom is built up very
slowly from the remains of sea animals,
dusts deposited on the ocean by the
winds, sands from melting icebergs, and
possibly minerals actually crystallized
out of sea water itself. A foot of deep
sea deposits may represent a time lapse
of 100,000 years, whereas in shallow
waters within a hundred miles of a coast
such a thickness might be built up in
1,000 years, or less.
Once laid down, the deep sea deposits
never are disturbed. They are not sub
jected to the churning action of moun
tain building. Temperatures and pres
sures remain constant through the ages.
It now is generally agreed by geologists
that the great oceans have been in ap
proximately their present positions since
the cooling of the earth about 2.000,000
years ago. The deposits are laid down
on a floor of hard, glasslike basalt, which
is tte true shell of the earth. A com
plete cross section through the sea floor
to this underlying basalt might consti
tute a record, however sparse, of the
history of the planet since the beginning
of time.
The longest of the cores obtained by
Dr. Piggot measures 10 feet. It prob
ably contains a record of close to 60,
000,000 years. Carnegie Institution ge
ologists are working on a method by
which It may be possible to determine
the time lapse with some accuracy. It is
thought the sea floor is rich in radium,
the amount of which varies at different
depths; and the probability is that a
greater part of this radium has been
formed in the sea floor itself by the
breakdown of uranium. If this turns
out to be true it will be possible, since
the rate of radium formation is known,
to make fairly reliable calculations of
the age of the deposits.
One problem in the study of Dr. Pig
got’s cores is to determine the origin of
the so-caHed “red mud” which covers
the sea floor at the greatest depths. It
cannot be accounted for as the product
of slow sinking of wind-and-wave car
ried sediments, nor as the final debris
of dead animals. A close chemical study
is being made of it to determine if it
may not be a distillation from sea water
itself.
The only method of obtaining sam
ples of the deep sea bottom in the past,
Dr. Piggot says, has been by means of a
primitive pincerlike instrument which
could take small bites out of the ooze.
Study of these has furnished the only
Information available up to the present.
Would Declare War
On Germany.
To th. Editor of The Star:
Permit me to urge your earnest con
sideration of these suggestions:
1. Declare immediate war upon Ger
many and any allies she may enlist on
her side.
2. Use all idle ships in our ports, In
cluding Norwegian, Dutch, Belgian and
Danish vessels, to hurry forward all
needed supplies, particularly airplanes, to
our allies on the other side, and tell them
the first few billion dollars' worth are at
our own expense so long as they are to
be used for our common cause, send
them across under escort of our Navy.
3. Tell the whole wide world we are
in this fight to the hilt. If we act before
Mussolini commits himself irrevocably,
Italy’s adverse action will stop and may
even swing to our side. Turkey, the
Balkan states, Sweden, Spain, Switzer
land and Portugal will be encouraged to
enlist with us on the side of human
decency. We still retain the respect of
Japan, and may win her active co-opera
tion. Best of all, we shall unite our own
people aa never before.
MM II. A GLAMOM TOMB.
4
THIS AND THAT 1
By Charl»$ E. Traetwell.
If you wort to pass by a certain locust
tree in nearby Maryland, the chr.ices
are 1,000 to 1 that you would not notice
anything unusual.
Just an old tree, with some of the roots
lying rattier close to the ground, grass
growing up to the trunk, and some gray
woolly matter, such as is often seen
around a tree base.
But if you were to lift that wool,
you would see a nest, and in it five baby
rabbits, squirming when the light is
let in.
These are the wild brown bunnies with
the famous cotton tails, which still
abound in the suburban areas around
Washington.
* * * *
It is a marvelous job of camouflage.
Only the person well versed in such
matters ever would realize what that
patch of gray meant.
That dogs and cats do not is attested
by the health of the small creatures,
well and hearty while their mother is
away getting her own meals.
They made no noise while the mouth
to their den was opened for a few sec
onds. There was only a squirming of
the tiny creatures, a ripple of move
ment in the mass of soft brown.
Once the gray wool was put back in
the opening, the den was so well con
cealed that it was difficult to realize
what lay below.
* * * *
The life of rabbits in suburban areas
seems to have an unusual number of
hazards.
Just how they manage to ‘‘get by”
points to the success of nature in taking
care of her own. If you were to ask a
naturalist, he might murmur something
about protective instinct and coloring.
He would say that these were evolved,
and that because they were evolved
there are rabbits today. All of which
explains little. How did the creatures
ever know, in the first place. Just what
to do, and how to do it?
Answer, there is none, despite the re
search of centuries. Animals developed
along certain lines because they did cer
tain things, that is about all we know.
But it still remains a mystery how they
knew, especially in the developing, be
fore they had worked out their various
protections.
a * * *
In a few weeks, provided fortune is
kind to them, the five rabbits will be out
in the air.
They will be about as large as a big
human fist, but their running and leap
ing powers will be amazingly good.
One of these young rabbits can jump
over a row of flowers as easily as it can
walk through the row.
Their grace in doing so is perfect, the
very poetry of motion, as light as a
ballet dancer in any of her famous
steps.
The young are instinct with protective
urges at all times. They freeze into po
sition when a dog is a block away.
Cats which think to stalk them have
very little chance of success, for the small
wild things art wilder still, and far
ahead of them in running and Jumping.
Their running is by jumps, of course,
with those hind legs furnishing the mo
tive power. Even the smallest specimens
can outrun any cat. Dogs seem to do
better, through their greater staying
powers. Here we have another instance
of the psychology of the cat, that is,
the way he uses his mind. He is willing
to try for a rabbit, but not to continue
after it. Something tells him that he
has very little chance to catch it, sq
why try? The dog, on the other foot,
keeps right on trying. It is because he
has less Intelligence, and therefore some
times succeeds? The race is not always
to the swift, as we have been told, but
sometimes to the persistent.
* * * *
The wild rabbit is one of the best
adornments of the suburban garden, but
unfortunately many householders do not
realize this.
Instead of thinking of the wealth of
interesting observation which the crea
tures bring them, they concentrate on
the few plants and blossoms which the
rabbits will devour.
It is undoubtedly true that half a
dozen rabbits will eat some one’s pre
cious plants, but this merely points to
the plain fact that one ought to have
more plants than one has.
Every gardener knows that, but often
times fails to carry it into effect.
The remedy for rabbit depredation is
not death and destruction to the ani
mals, but more and better food for them,
so that the toll they take will not be
missed in the wealth of plants.
* * * *
This is the simple solution of a much
mooted suburban problem.
Rightly viewed, the wild creatures of
the yard, coming in from the nearby
forests, are among the most pleasing
ornaments of the suburban garden.
Quail in winter, rabbits in spring,
squirrels the year around—these are but
a few of the wild things which come to
the suburban yard, but which seldom,
if ever, wander into the city.
How much better off, therefore, is the
suburban householder, who almost any
morning may look out and see some
thing new! ,
These are chances for nature observa
tion which should not be passed by.
Nature observation is so universally
liked because it is so eminently natural.
One does not have to be a scientist, nor
a poet, nor a writer, but solely an in
terested human being.
This, of course, is not common. To be
interested, is to have a depth of mind
not given to all.
Be glad, then, when wild animals
come to your yard. Track them down to
their lairs, not to harm them, but to
find out “how they do it," how they
manage to stay alive with so many ene
mies seeking them.
Man. tracked by man, may take heart
from the animals, and gather pointers
from them on how to protect one's self
in a hostile world.
Letters to the Editor
unmeouK amoargo Against
Japan Urged.
To th» Editor of The Star:
It does not take a military training for
one to appreciate the great advantage
which accrues to that army which is able
to take the initiative. Again and again
this has been demonstrated but never
with more convincing evidence than dur
ing the present European war.
Germany promises a “blitzkrieg,” but
where will it strike? Armies are being
massed, transports are waiting, a vast
air force is ready to hop off, but what is
the objective? Opposing armies cannot
be massed on all fronts with sufficient
strength to repel the enemy wherever he
strikes. The "zero” hour comes, the
enemy plunges forward. Not for some
hours—not perhaps for some days—can
the defenders build up resistance. In the
meantime vantage points have been
seized, air fields bombed and the enemy
thoroughly disorganized. Certainly this
partly explains the allied loss of Scan
dinavia, to which Holland and Belgium
may be added.
This same principle appears to be true
in the diplomatic field. Italy will join
the Germans when and if she sees a
reasonable probability of victory, in the
meantime she is tying up a large English
fleet in the Mediterranean and otherwise
greatly aiding the cause of the Germans
without losing a man.
Two causes have contributed to place
the allies in this very embarrassing situa
tion. First, is their unwillingness to in
vade the territory of neutral nations, and,
second, diplomatic opportunism. The
first reason is highly commendable, but
the second is due to lack of foresight.
It is well known that when Japan in
vaded Manchuria Mr. Stimson, the then
Secretary of State, tried to get Great
Britain to join the United States in an
attempt to stop the Japanese; she re
fused on the ground that Manchuria was
too far north to affect her Interests at
Honk Kong and Singapore. But Great
Britain’s refusal did not settle the mat
ter. Now she is engaged in a life and
death struggle with Germany. Japan
has seized on the occasion practically to
blockade Hong Kong, and Great Britain
finds herself powerless to prevent it. In
the same way she played a weak hand
in the Ethiopian incident and now she
is faced with a possible war with Italy.
But the United States can ill afford to
point the finger of scorn at British diplo
macy. It is true that Secretary Stimson
was far-sighted enough to see the conse
quences of a weak policy in the Pacific,
but the present administration has
lapsed into the British opportunistic
policy.
The commercial treaty of 1922 has
been abrogated to make way for an em
bargo on goods to Japan used in her ag
gression against Chlnq, yet no embargo
has been placed. Embargo bills have
been introduced into both houses of Con
gress, and referred to the Committees of
Foreign Affairs and Foreign Relations,
but have never emerged. Why? I am
convinced the people of the United
States want an embargo, our Representa
tives and Senators are largely in favor
of an embargo, but the administration as
represented by the Secretary of State
refuses to give the word to go ahead.
Millions of dollars' worth of raw mate
rials essential to her war with China are
going to Japan every year from Amer
1
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!
she will use China as a vast reservoir of
raw materials and man power for her
next conquest. Few well-informed people
in or out of Japan have any doubt as
to Japan's intentions in this matter. The
next conquest will come when Japan
believes she is strongest and America is
weakest. We have deliberately given her
the initiative. She need not fight until
she is ready and we are unprepared. At
any time the United States may become
involved in war. Hie cause of that war
is not yet apparent, but we have fought
four major wars in about 100 years.
When the next one comes Japan will be
waiting to make her demands in the
Pacific.
But all is different now. We can take
the initiative. We can impose an em
bargo on Japan, stop her aggression in
China by that one act, win the gratitude
of the sister republic, save the lives of
thousands of youths "in both China and
Japan. All this would be done at a
time when Japan cannot attack us be
cause of her exhausting war in China.
Which is best, to keep the Initiative or
give it up and thus permit the nations
to “gang up” on us in our hour of weak
ness? Above all how shall we escape the
moral consequences of helping Japan to
destroy one of the most rapidly advanc
ing and yet the oldest cultures in the
world—a democracy of 400,000.000 souls!
May 14. DUDLEY P. BABCOCK.
Says America Needs
Allies as They Need Us.
To the Editor of The Star:
What the President knows and hints
at but scarcely dares say—what every
candidate for President or Congress
knows and dares not say at all, or wily
in whispers—is that the deadly conse
quences of ultimate German victory
would be so detrimental to America that
America must prevent it by every means
short of war if practicable—by war if
necessary.
Next to our oceans and our fleet the
allied forces of Britain and France have
been and are the greatest barriers
against war coming into America. They
are our first line of defense. Though
battered and sorely pressed they still
are the most important link in delaying
the enemy until we can arm. Recent
events and changes in war equipment
have so narrowed our oceans and weak
ened that line of defense as to make
this doubly true.
Unless by the promptest help of which
we are capable the British and French
forces can be maintained as effective
fighting units between us and Germany
we may not have time to fully arm
for modem war before Hitler and his
allies make impudent demands for the
exploitation of South America, Canada,
Mexico or even the United States, that
no self-respecting Nation can permit.
The “have nots”—Hitler, Stalin, Japan
and possibly Mussolini—have ganged up
(m the "haves” to take what they want.
If Germany wins the war Hitler and
his allies will never forego the ex
ploitation of the rich Americas.
We need the allies and the allies need
us as never before to combat the most
dangerous, ruthless forces of aggres
sion that ever threatened the world.
HENRY E. COLTON.
Nashville, Team.
May 17,
Answers
To Questions
By Frederic J. Haektn.
A reader can get the answer to any
Questions of fact by uniting The Eve
ning star Information Bureau, Fred
eric J. Haskin, director, Washington,
D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply.
Q. What Is the largest diamond ever
discovered In this country?—H. K. 8.
A. Science Digest says that the largest
diamond found In the United States was
uncovered by a laborer In 1855 at Man
chester, on the James River, opposite
Richmond, Va. It weighed 24 carats,
half of which was lost in cutting.
Q. When did Calvin Coolidge say "I
do not choose to run”?—A. L.
A. On August 2, 1927, at his summer
White House In the Black Hills of South
Dakota, President Coolidge said, *1 do
not choose to run for President in 1928.’* *
Q. How large was the Oraf Spee?—
J. E.
A. The Oraf Spee was a 10,000-ton
pocket battleship.
Q. Which is larger, Houston or Dallas,
Tex.?—A. S.
A. On January 1, 1938, the population
of Houston, Tex., was estimated at 390,
000 and that of Dallas at 360,000.
Q. What was the mischianza?—M.
I. H.
A. The Mischianza (also spelled
Meschianza) was the complimentary fes
tival given to Gen. Howe by the British
soldiers in Philadelphia May 18, 1778,
before his departure for England.. The
name, Mischianza (Italian for “medley”)
was chosen because of the variety of the
entertainment. The fete included an
elaborate regatta, a tournament, a ban
quet and a ball arranged by Maj. John
Andre. The spectacle was an over
powering demonstration of the artistio
resources of the British camp.
Q. Under what circumstances was the
hymn “Rock of Ages” composed?—G. S.
A. According to Julian's “Dictionary
of Hymnology,” the hymn was probably
written about 1775 by Augustus Toplady. -
Walking along an English coast town,
near the sea, he was caught in a terrific
storm which threatened to dash him over
the cliff. He found refuge in the side of
the wall in a great cleft rock and com
posed the hymn, which has proved one
of the best loved of all time.
Q. When were the first boys’ camps
established?—F. T. D.
A. Porter Sergent’s “Summer Camp
Guide” says: “Charitable and social or
ganizations early took up the summer
camp idea. Life’s Fresh Air Fund since
1887 has provided short farm vacations
for boys and girls. But the Y. M. C. A.
boasts the oldest existing camp. Its
Camp Dudley has been on its present site
since 1891, although Sumner Dudley had
taken boys camping as early as 1885.”
Q. Who plays the part of Horace in
the radio program “Big Sister”?—R. E. T.
A. The role is played by Oscar Polk, a
well-known Negro actor.
Q. Please give the origin of the expres
sion “Tell it to the marines.”—L. M. J.
A. Pepys’ Diary records that Charles
II said: “Mr. Pepys, from the very nature
of their calling, no class of our subjects '
can have so wide a knowledge of seas
and lands as the officers and men of our
royal maritime regiment. Henceforth,
whenever we cast doubt upon a tale that
lacketh likelihood we will tell it to the
marines. If they believe it, it Is safe to
say it is true.” The tale that had tested
the King’s credulity was one about flying
fish, which his colonel of marines assured
him was true.
Q. When did Harry K. Thaw marry
Evelyn Nesbit?—E. A.
A. They were married ‘in Pittsburgh
on April 5, 1905.
Q. What is the life span of a goldfish?
—T. W.
A. Goldfish may live as long as 30
years.
Q. Please give examples of hackneyed,
stereotyped and trite expressions.—H.
T. S.
A. These adjectives apply to idioms
and expressions which repeated use has
made ineffective; as the fair sex, the
light fantastic toe, fit as a fiddle, sadder
but wiser, sigh of relief, last but not
least, wended tljeir way, doomed to de
struction, intestinal fortitude, favor with
a selection and herculian efforts.
Q. Where was John Nicholas Emerick,
associate of John Jacob Astor, buried?_
D. M.
A. John Nicholas Emerick died on De
cember 16, 1816, and was buried at Ebem
Church in New York City.
Q. What officials are empowered to call
out the National Guards?—V. L.
A. Either the President of the United
States or the Governor of a State has
the power to call out the National
Guard.
Q. How long have artificial legs been
used?—J. H. M.
A. In the museum of the Royal Col
lege of Surgeons in London there is an
artificial leg exhumed from a tomb at
Capu, Italy, in the year 300 B.C.
Q. What was the St. Valentine’s Day
massacre?—T. C.
A. On February 14, 1929, seven Chi
cago gangsters, members of the George
(Bugs) Moran gang, were trapped in a
garage on North Clark street by mem
bers of a rival gang and killed with
sawed-off shotguns and machine guns
fired at close range. All of the gunmen
made their escape.
Q. Do stars have five points?—B. L. H,
A. The stars do not in reality have five
points. The apparent points of stars
when seen by the naked eye are due
merely to scintillation which arises from
inequalities of the earth’s atmosphere.
Return
A warbler sang In the silver wood
Soft-flecked with spring,
He sang and my heart sang too,
Remembering
Your smile as you waved good-by*
Prom the foot of the hill . . ,
Now it Is dusk with call of jay
And whippoorwill
And once again X hear your step,
I call and you reply—
A man come home at close of day
Beneath a soft spring sky I
MARY B. CA8TLXS.
A