Evening star. [volume], May 28, 1940, Page A-12, Image 12

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

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m* Pitting
WUb Sunday Morninr Edition
THEODORE W. NOYES. Editor.
WASHINGTON. D. C..
TUESDAY ..!..May 28, 194*
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Belgium Surrenders
King Leopold's unconditional sur
render of the Belgian Army to the
German invaders—a surrender nego
tiated against the advice of his
government and without consulting
France or Britain—is a disaster of
almost calamitous proportions for
the Allied cause.
Its immediate consequences are
obvious. Some 500,000 French and
British troops, who had been fighting
with the Belgians, are now put in
gravest jeopardy. Already threat
ened with encirclement, these forces
—unless General Weygand can cut
the German’s southern salient with
out delay—seem to be left only with a
choice between annihilation and sur
render.
But there is another and, so far
as Britain is concerned, perhaps an
even graver aspect of the King’s
capitulation. The Belgians had been
holding the defense line from Menin,
on the border between France and
Belgium, to Ghent, some fifty miles
to the north and east. Their sur
render removes the only obstacle
between the Germans and the port
cities of Ostend and Zeebrugge,
which must be regarded as lost. And
if the French port of Calais has
fallen, as the Germans claim, that
leaves only Dunkerque as a possible
avenue of escape for the trapped
Allied forces. No doubt the Allies
will strive to hold Dunkerque long
enough to evacuate some of their
surrounded troops, but there is little
hope that the city can long be
defended.
When Dunkerque has been taken,
the Nazis will be in undisputed com
mand of the Channel ports from
Abbeville to the Netherlands border,
and will be in position to launch
the long-threatened air attacks
against the British Isles. Whether
these attacks will be undertaken in
force while the main body of the
French Army is intact remains to be
seen, but there is no disputing the
fact that Britain must be prepared
at any moment to endure the most
destructive attack in the history of
the empire.
On the basis of known facts, it
would appear that King Leopold’s
decision to surrender his army of
some 500,000 men was not in keeping
with the tradition of a people who
fought gallantly, despite terrible
punishment, throughout the entire
course of the last World War. But
It would be well not to pass hasty
judgment on his act until all the
facts are known.
The Germans had broken through
the Allied lines just north of the
French border and had crossed the
Lys River, Belgium’s last natural
defense position. King Leopold was
on the field; his government in
Paris. It is possible that the Bel
gians were in such immediate peril
that the King felt there was no
choice but to surrender, and critics
far from the battlefield should not
be too ready to condemn his decision.
Capital's Preservation
Great credit is due the ?ark and
Planning Commission for the man
ner in which it recently has co-ordi
nated the demands of modern traf
fic with the preservation of the beau
ty of the Capital. Praiseworthy is the
approval of tentative plans for the
separation of the grades of Sixteenth
street and Massachusetts and Rhode
Island avenues. And equally notable
is the action of the commission in
blocking, at least for the near future,
plans to widen Massachusetts avenue
from Rock Creek to Wisconsin
avenue.
Original proposals for the develop
ment of the Scott Circle underpass
would have been efficiently modern
istic, but would have meant complete
changing of the character of the
circle as well as destruction of the
present beauty of the Hahnemann
and Webster memorials. Objection
had been raised by numerous citizens
and was echoed in a protest by the
Secretary of the Interior on behalf
of the National Park Service. Under
the revised plan, which as yet is
tentative, although funds are pro
vided in the Senate’s amendment to
the District appropriation bill, the
monuments will be preserved, the
circle enlarged into an ellipse, the
shorter diameter of which will be
equal to that of the present circle,
and the needs of a motor age will be
served equally well.
So far as upper Massachusetts ave
nue is concerned, the necessity for
widening, while it may become press
ing in future years, is not now acute.
To carry out the plan, which was
conceived in connection with the
construction of the new bridge over
Rock Creek, would mean destruction
of hundreds of beautiful trees and
placing the facades of numerous line
homes, embassies and legations much
closer to the street. Certainly, such
sacrifices are not demanded by traffic
needs at the present time.
Good Work
The House yesterday did a good
day’s work in the space of a few min
utes when it passed the McGehee bill,
liberalizing local unemployment ben
efits and lowering the outrageously
high pay roll taxes. The action of
the House was doubly gratifying in
view of the long delay in preparing
amendments to the District Unem
ployment Compensation Act that
would satisfy labor’s demand for lib
eralized benefits while reducing the
excessive rates of taxation. Mr. Mc
Gehee at one time had abandoned
hope of any action at this session.
The House District Committee de
serves credit for finally whipping
into shade the amendments that
could be agreed to now and piloting
them through the House.
In brief, the amendments aid the
unemployed by increasing the maxi
mum of compensation benefits from
fifteen to eighteen dollars per week
and by extending the period of pay
ments from sixteen to nineteen
weeks. At the same time the em
ployers’ pay roll tax would be reduced
from 3 to 2.7 per cent and would be
limited in application to the first
$3,000 of salary. The effect of the
tax reduction would be to save em
ployers an estimated $1,000,000 a year
and to retard the further piling up of
excessive reserve funds, which will
aggregate about $21,000,000 by the
end of this year under existing taxes.
The bill now awaits action by the
Senate. There appears to be little
doubt that this body will follow the
example of the. House in approving
this necessary measure. There can
be no excuse for voting this bill
down or for letting it die for want
of action. Washington looks hope
fully to the Senate for quick, favor
able consideration of the amend
ments which represent all that can
be expected this year in effecting de
sirable changes.
A Strange Doctrine
The Supreme Court, in its decision
in the Apex Hosiery case, has enun
ciated what is indeed a strange doc
trine of constitutional law.
Specifically, a majority of the court
is now on record as holding, in effect,
that the most wanton kind of law
lessness on the part of a labor union,
despite the fact that such lawless
acts directly and intentionally inter
fere with the free flow of interstate
commerce, is beyond the reach of any
Federal statute. But the implica
tions of the ruling are even more
significant.
As Chief Justice Hughes suggested
in a dissenting opinion, the majority
ruling has this anomalous effect:
First, it imputes to Congress an in
tent, through the medium of the
Wagner Act, to prevent employers
from engaging in unfair labor prac
tices affecting interstate commerce.
And, at the same time, the majority
decision contends that the legislative
body, by enacting the Sherman Act,
did not intend to curb similar prac
tices on the part of organized em
ployes, and that no such intent can
be read into that statute now. In
other words, with respect to the
practices involved in this case, the
majority opinion comes close to say
ing that employers must conduct
themselves according to high stand
ards while employes, so far as the
Federal Government is concerned,
may engage in lawless acts with
impunity.
The case arose out of a “strike"
called at the Apex Hosiery Company
plant in Philadelphia by a branch
of the American Federation of Full
Fashioned Hosiery Workers, a C. I. O.
affiliate. Only eight of twenty-five
hundred employes of the company
belonged to the union, but the latter
nevertheless demanded a closed shop.
When that demand was refused the
union called in workers from other
plants, the Apex factory was seized,
loyal employes were beaten, valuable
machinery was deliberately smashed
and the union leaders refused to per
mit finished goods to be shipped to
customers. Of this so-called strike,
the majority opinion, written by As
sociate Justice Stone and concurred
in by the five New Deal appointees,
said:
“The record discloses a lawless in
vasion of petitioner’s plant and de
struction of its property by force
and violence of the most brutal and
wanton character, under leadership
and direction of respondents (the
union heads), and without interfer
ence by local authorities.”
But, despite this lawlessness and
its concededly direct and intentional
effect on interstate commerce, the
majority of the court held that there
was no violation of that section of
the Sherman Act which makes pun
ishable every unlawful “combination
* * • or conspiracy in restraint of
trade or commerce.” The reasoning
by which the majority arrived at that
conclusion cannot be set forth in de
tail, but in substance the court held
that the Sherman Act was not ap
plicable because the unlawful re
straint of commerce by the union
was not accompanied by a monopoly
of the Apex firm’s product, price con
trol or discrimination between would
be purchasers. From that view the
minority, composed of Chief Justice
Hughes and Associate Justices Rob
erts and McReynolds, vigorously dis
sented. '
For practical purposes there is lit
tle point in debating the respective
merits of the majority and minority
decisions, for the former Is now the
law of the land. But that very fact
presents a serious and urgent ques
tion to Congress—namely, whether
existing statutes should not be re
vised to place reasonable curbs on
unlawful labor activity while retain
ing appropriate restrictions on the
conduct of employers.
There are now pending in Congress
the so-called Smith Committee
amendments to the Wagner Act,
which, with other things, would re
quire employes to observe certain
reasonable standards of conduct in
their relations with employers. The
Apex case, and the implications
which flow from it, are excellent
arguments for adoption of the Smith
amendments.
Closing the Gap
The move in Congress to tighten
the alien laws serves to draw atten
tion to the gaps that exist in Ameri
can defenses against “fifth column”
activities.
Our Government has limited
peacetime authority to deal with
espionage and sabotage that auto
matically would become more ef
fective if a state of war existed,
but the program being shaped in
Senate and *House is designed to
strengthen control of subversive
activities while the Nation stands
in the role of a neutral. These
measures include provision for
registration and fingerprinting of
aliens and for lifting the ban on
wire-tapping.
The current statute on espionage
is a holdover from the World War
which has been strengthened in re
cent months. It punishes by im
prisonment up to twenty years and
maximum fine of $10,000 illegal at
tempts to get information about the
national defense for the advantage
of any foreign power. If, in time of
war, such information actually is
made available to another country,
the penalty is death. Sabotage of
vessels and passport frauds also are
covered in this law.
In peacetime, sabotage of war
material is punishable under a sec
tion of the criminal code, which pro
vides imprisonment up to ten years
and a fine of $10,000 for destruc
tion or theft of Government prop
erty. There is, however, a special
wartime act under which willful de
struction of material, or action tend
ing to cause a faulty product to be
manufactured for the Government,
is punishable by thirty years’ impris
onment and a $10,000 fine.
Registration and fingerprinting now
proposed in the Senate Judiciary
Subcommittee bills would reach ap
proximately 3,600,000 aliens who are
in the country legally. There are in
addition, it is estimated, some sixty
or seventy thousand here illegally.
Non-compliance with the law would
bring deportation.
The subcommittee proposes also
legislation for the compulsory de
portation of aliens advocating over
throw o£ the Government by force,
or for aiding other aliens to enter the
United States unlawfully. Convic
tion of possessing arms and certain
other crimes would bring the same
punishment.
Representative Celler of New York
is proposing to legalize wiretapping
by the Federal Bureau of Investiga
tion, discontinued in the wake of
two Supreme Court decisions holding
interception and divulgence of any
wire communication to be forbidden
by the Federal Communications Act.
Attorney General Jackson favored
the use of this weapon for crime de
tection in extreme cases, but perhaps
actuated by the recollection of recent
widespread charges that it had been
employed indiscriminately, he has
signified that he would not press for
its legalization to combat “fifth
columnists” at present.
The measures now projected prob
ably represent the maximum limits
to which the Nation will go to safe
guard its internal defenses. They
embody policies which may be ex
pected to be challenged as extreme,
in some quarters, but which are
responsive to apprehension caused by
developments abroad.
Napoleon's Itch
At a medical convention in At
lantic City Dr. Reuben Friedman of
Philadelphia broke something of a
record in delayed diagnoses by stat
ing that, in the light of recent medi
cal knowledge, it is now sure that
Napoleon Bonaparte used to have
dermatitis herpetiformis. His per
sonal physicians, unacquainted with
the ilteans of proper treatment, could
do little to help him, so he contin
ued to suffer from Napoleon’s itch,
while Europe suffered from Napoleon.
British statesmen of the era were
intensely interested, made quite a
study of Napoleon’s itch and had
better luck than the doctors, al
though it was a long, tough struggle.
Plainly its most dangerous symptom
was a swelled head, and they set to
work to reduce its size to a point
where it would fit more comfortably
into Europe, using any means at
their disposal, such as battleships
and artillery. In time encouraging
results were obtained by Moscow
scientists, who persuaded him to
come there and then burned every
thing behind him, and he was also
improved by a brief residence on the
Island of Elba. It was not, however,
until Waterloo that the right treat
ment was administered and a per
manent cure effected.
Once again an aggravated case of
Napoleon’s itch has broken out in
Europe. It seems that the best medi
cine for it now is a device Invented I
by Doctors Orville and Wilbur Wright
in 1904 at Kitty Hawk, N. C., and It
is earnestly to be hoped that there
will be no dearth of medical supplies
for those in charge of tha ease. I
Of Stars, Men
And Atoms
Notebook of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
By Thomas R. Henry.
It requires as much as 10 per cent
more energy to grow than to stand still.
This finding, which accounts for the
prodigious appetites of children at some
ages, has just been reported to the child
development section of the National Re
search Council here by Drs. Charles B.
Davenport, Olive Renfroe and W. L.
Hallock of the Carnegie Institution of
Washington.
The standard measurement of the rate
at which the body is burning fuel is
that of basal metabolism—the ratio of
carbon dioxide breathed out to the oxy
gen inhaled. It is greatly increased
when a person does any physical work.
Even just sitting still and thinking
brings about a slight increase, for it
means that the brain cells are burning
more fuel than is necessary merely to
keep the fire burning. Now Dr. Daven
port and his associates find that the
mere unconscious process of growing is
at times very hard work. This may ex
plain in part the apparent laziness of
children at certain ages. They are al
ready doing about as much work as
their elders.
Tne tests were carried out at Letch
worth Village, a community for children
near New York, on both boys and girls.
A series of basal metabolism measure
ments were made and any changes
shown were compared with changes of
growth at about the same time. The big
jump in metabolism, the scientists found,
came at about the time of the so-called
"adolescent jump,” the big spurt of
growth which comes around the twelfth
year for girls and approximately two
years later for boys, although there are
great individual differences in time.
Curiously, Dr. Davenport found, it
seems to be harder work to grow taller
than to grow heavier. Putting on fat is
a lazy kid's job.
"The change in rate of basal metab
olism," the scientific report says, "prob
ably slightly precedes the spurt of growth
in stature. There are basal metabolic
processes concerned in growth of the
body that, during the period of adoles
cent spurt, amount in selected cases to
at least 10 per cent of the total basal
metabolism. Increasing obesity is not
correlated with increasing basal metab
olism although increasing weight of the
body as a whole is.
"The point might be raised that in
creased metabolism is not due directly !
to the demands of increased growth. It
is well known that the thyroid gland of
adolescent girls tends to become en
larged. A more active thyroid, it is true,
means higher metabolism. But matters
are not so simple as this. First, boys
also show increased metabolism without
showing larger thyroids. Also, in girls
increased activity of the thyroid without
any accompanying increase in growth
would tend to slenderness of the body.
But despite increased activity of the
thyroid, or perhaps because of it, these
girls grow exceptionally rapidly in '
stature and weight at adolescence.
"Increased growth is associated with
increased oxygen consumption. The in
termediate processes involved are doubt
less many and varied. Very likely thy
roid metabolism is one of them. Involved
also are the secretion of the pituitary
gland. The correlation between stature
departure and metabolic departure from t
individual base lines are the same for the
sexes.
“The big spurt of growth occurs at a
time of life when the plateau of basal
metabolism has been reached, except for
the adolescent spurt. The infantile pe
riod, with its restlessness, is passed.
Even the slight and variably juvenile
acceleration is finished. The general
curve of basal metabolism is well estab
lished on its declining slope. So evidence
of an increase of metabolism associated
with the adolescent spurt of growth is a
measure of the extra metabolism which
is incurred in the vital activities of
growth.
me correlation between increase in
size of body and of basal metabolism
during this period that yields the highest
value is obtained in the cases of boys and
girls who gained in weight 2.5 kilograms
a year, or over. This is, remarkably
enough, somewhat greater than in the
case of boys and girls to whom the devia
tions in stature change were about 10
millimeters a year.
“Also the correlation with weight is
greater in girls than in boys as 67 is to
44. That is to say, girls who increased
unexpectedly in weight consumed more
nearjy a corresponding excess of oxygen
than did boys. The increased weight of
the girls demanded an increase of oxygen
consumption greater than that of the
boys. A corresponding difference be
tween sexes is found in the correlation
between body build and oxygen consump
tion. It is more than twice that found
in the male. We may also conclude that
the increase in basal metabolism may
precede, as well as occur at the same
time as the increase in stature.
Agrees With Law far *
Preservation of Parks.
To the Editor ot The 8ter:
During the past few days I have
read many items in the press concern
ing the enforcement of the law per
taining to short-cut trespassing in public
parks in Washington ordered by Secre
tary of the Interior Ickes. Mr. Ickes
and I are far apart on many things,
but we agree on this issue.
I have been a resident of the National
Capital for over one-half century. I
have never seen our beautiful parks
in such condition as they are today,
due to lazy people and vandals.
In some of the downtown parks I
have noticed initials cut in the benches
and the trees, as well as paths made by
careless persons.
As a boy, I was taught by my mother
and school teacher not to cross the
grass and to help keep our parks beauti
ful.
Washington Circle, In particular,
named for our First President of the
United States, is an eyesore and a na
tional disgrace. Short cuts run from
every angle in this park, and the sand
boxes add tremendously to the dirty
condition existing there. They should
be removed.
May 33. ANDREW K. REYNOLDS.
THIS AND THAT H
4 ___________________________
By Charles E. Tracewell.
“TAKOMA PARK.
"Dear sir:
“It la pouring rain; I have Just finished
reading your last night’s This and That,
and outside there is a perfect symphony
of bird songs.
"Indeed, it seems that the bird that
does not sing in the rain is the excep
tion. I can clearly distinguish chimney
swifts, goldfinches, blackpolls, yellow
warblers, tufted tits, wood thrushes and
song sparrows.
“No robins, at least at the moment, but
then they had their main innings around
4 this morning. The only times I have
ever heard the migrant olive-backed
thrush sing were during showers, while
the rain-singin’est bird I know is always
the song sparrow.
"Since finishing the above the robin
has begun and the familiar wichltity
motif of the Maryland throat has
emerged from the chorus, and a glance
out of the window shows him, with his
wife, busily threading in and out of the
wet weeds along the railroad track. And
it is still raining.
* * * *
“Since I have always maintained that
the robin recites or chants instead of
singing, I may be pardoned for reading
so many words into his offerings.
“It is very interesting to follow the
different meters in the 4 a m. outburst,
and they really seem to have words,
silly as they may sound.
"The silliest was noted in May, 1939,
and the other day I heard a mocking
bird repeating it verbatim! Here it is:
“ ‘Wee-ap, Sweetheart, Virgie, wee-ap,
"‘Wee-ap, Virgie, wee-ap, Sweetheart,
“'Wee-ap, Sweetheart, Virgie, wee-ap,
ecc.’
Then, chanting all in and around
Virgie's ‘commender’ was anxious Peter,
and Peter is about again this year, as is
Chubbies swain. Peter always says:
“ "Will you-cherish-Peter? Cherish
Peter-dear?
“ ‘Will you-sweetie-cherish Peter-cher
ish Petie?
‘"Will you-cherish-Peter-sweetie, Peter
Petie?’
“This can keep up indefinitely, while
a little farther away:
“ ‘Here-Chubbie—Here-you-Chubbie?
“'Here-cherries—pretty cherries, Chub
ble?
“ ‘Cherries-millions-cherries Chubbie.’
“And, of course, Julie Tealeaf is al
ways with us. also Julius Caesar and
‘Wake up, Juliet!'
* * * *
“Our thrushes always say, not Marv or
Clara Lee, but WRC.
“And they are consistent in the radio
vein by singing very acceptably, this
year, ‘The Wind and Rain in Your
Hair.’ Have you noticed the similarity?
And for once the title is appropriate.
“Right now is, as you know, the be
wildering period of migrant warblers,
and from my window, with just an ordi
nary opera glass. I have seen nearly all,
excepting, of course, the water birds that
Jane paid college fees to see!
"Besides the usual blackpoll, black and
Letters to the Editor
Treachery First Principle
Of German Policy.
To the Editor of The Star:
Doughty Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun
said: "Give me the making of the
songs of a nation and I care not who
makes its laws.” Similarly, one may
imagine Adolf Hitler saying: “Give me
the making of the war songs of the
world and I care not who makes its in
ternational laws.” For he perseveringly
strives to represent his form of war as
primarily a “blitzkrieg” (lightning-stroke
war), whereas it is fundamentally a
“verratkrieg” (treachery war) instead.
This latter is not to deny to the German
war machine great efficiency in organi
zation and direction. But one may well
inquire as to what extent the “blitz”
could have shown itself had there not
been the “verrat” first. The whole course
of events in all the countries that Ger
many has overrun glaringly illustrates
this fact. But for this fundamental ele
ment of “verrat” (treachery) the Ger
man war machine likely would be con
fined largely to its own territories today.
This distinction between “blitzkrieg”
and "verratkrieg” is of very great im
portance. The well-wishers of democracy
do democracy a great disservice, and
Hitler and his Germany a very great
service, by accepting and giving currency
to the name of “blitzkrieg” in place of
the less dramatic but much more accu
rate and fundamental “verratkrieg,”
which Hitler and all apologists for him
and his foul deeds desire to overlook or
obscure.
There is another factor of great im
portance involved in this distinction be
tween “blitz” and “verrat.” If this were
in reality, on the part of Germany, mere
ly a "blitzkrieg” the non-belligerent na
tions might remain substantially neutral
in fact. But since her war is primarily
a “verratkrieg,” she is really making war
upon the whole commonwealth of na
tions; and Germany herself thus has
destroyed the basis and Justification for
any real neutrality toward her, on the
part of non-belligerent nations.
A number of small countries adjacent
to Germany have listened all too atten
tively to this terrifying but false song of
“blitzkrieg,” and have trusted to an im
possible “neutrality” for salvation. But
all have been treacherously and destruc
tively overrun by a system of war on the
part of Germany that was "verrat” be
fore it became “blitz.” Other countries,
our own among them, still listening to
Hitler’s false song of “blitzkrieg,” and
basing a false and precarious neutrality
upon it, may well look to their dangerous
situation at once.
May 22. JOHN G. THOMPSON.
Price of Slackness
In Defense Is High
To the Bdltor of The Star:
Hie mighty men are waking up and
all the men of war are drawing near.
Paces gather blackness and the lights of
freedom are burning low. At such a time
as this we are reminded “eternal vigil
ance is the price of liberty”; not too high
a price to pay, yet we are far in arrears.
Time and opportunities gone no doubt
are responsible for this unspeakable
thing that strides the earth. A strong
and honest nation, better equipped to
keep the peace than aggressor nations
are to destroy this priceless gift we call
liberty, could have prevented this catas
trophe.
But peaceful folk have been otherwise
-—_ !
Letters to the Editor must
bear the name and address oj
the writer although the use 0/
a pseudonym for publication is
permissible. Please be brief!
occupied during the years immediately
gone, building up gold reserves unpro
tected. Mighty altars to mammon have
reared their domes high on the horizon
of human events; while the antiquated
sinews of defense, by immediate com
parison, have suffered deterioration. Ag
gressor nations were building instru
ments of death and destruction hereto
fore unknown, employing all their man
power to create these things, while peace
ful governments curtailed production
along all lines! Many seven years of
plenty came and have gone, but there
was no laying up in storehouses of the
prime values (viz, food and clothing) for
the days and years of famine to come.
During this unprecedented era the
machine replaced the man to an extent
alarming to any thinking mind, and while
bread lines increased and allotments for
relief mounted higher, we have fiddled
and danced toward that dismal abode,
oblivion. Yet, I believe, there’s room in
which to turn—if no more time is lost.
Men are dying because they love free
dom more than life without freedom.
Mothers, together with their infant chil
dren, are being massacred to destroy the
morale of the defenders of freedom.
"There’s a-going in the trees.”
What are we doing, standing here?
MILO ELSON EMMERSON.
May 24.
Allies Likened to the
Five Foolish Virgins.
To the Editor ot The Star:
“Gentlemen, I am but a weak and ail
ing mortal. But by my arm has the
Almighty been pleased to subdue the
kingdoms of Austria, Bohemia, Poland
and Norway; of Luxenbourg, Belgium,
the Netherlands and Denmark. I am
not a man of blood, and God is my wit
ness that in all my undertakings I have
never been the aggressor, and that my
enemies have always been the authors
of their own calamity.”
This is not Hitler orating to the
Reichstag. So, ■ in substance, spoke
Tamerlane, the Tartar chieftain, to the
assembled wise men at Aleppo, when re
ferring to his conquests of “Iran, Touran
and the principalities of the Indies,”
1400 A.D. And while the conqueror
made this gesture of good will to all
men “the streets of Aleppo were stream
ing with blood and re-echoing with the
cries of mothers and children” (Gibbon).
It was always thus. In any case, the
Allies, who are no saints themselves, re
mind me of the five foolish virgins, who
were too lazy to have their lamps ready.
And yet the price of liberty has ever
been toil and blood. As the world is
constituted, great nations, in the finals,
have to depend on their own strength.
Their dignity demands it.
This everlasting hiding behind “the
wooden walls of England” gives some of
us here a pain in the neck. Anything
that is worth preserving is worth lighting
for. And this is what Europe’s united
democracies are fighting for now—but,
practically, under war-created dictator
•hip*. FRED VETTER.
May as.
white warbles, the myrtle and yellow
warblers, and Maryland yellow-throat, I
have recently seen from my studio win
dow the chestnut-sided, Canadian, blue
winged, yellow and Nashville warblers,
and the redstart.
“Also red-eyed and warbling vireos,
purple and gold finches, scarlet tanagers
and Indigo buntings, great crested fly
catchers, Baltimore and orchard orioles,
veery, olive-backed thrush, chewink and
hummingbird.
* * * *
“I, of course, have not mentioned the
regulars, of which we seem to have all
except the bluebird this year. '
“These familiars include six kinds of
woodpeckers, though the hairy is less
frequent than flickers, downy, red
headed sapsuckers and red-bellied, which
I prefer to call Zebra, as I can never
see the red anywhere but on his head.
"I have even had Zebra on my window
feeding box. Regular boarders there are
cardinals, nuthatches, titmice, black
cap, and, in winter, juncos.
“I keep sunflower seed there winter
and summer, varied by cantaloupe seeds,
and it is the one place that, as yet, the
squirrels have not invaded.
“Robins, thrushes, mockingbirds, cardi
nals, jays and wrens all nest regularly
within sight of my windows, yet we
always have cats—seldom less than two,
and always have plenty of birds about
in baths, feeders and trees.
“I have no patience with the mis
guided ones who say with such superi
ority: ‘We never keep cats—we prefer
birds.’
"With best wishes to your continued
success in awakening Interest in our
mutual friends,
“Yours most sincerely. M. J. R. R.”
* * * *
Our correspondent possesses, among
her many gifts, a wonderful imagina
tion!
Pretty soon she will be hearing her
wildbirds calling WMAL, WOL and
WJSV.
It ought to be easy, for such talented
creatures.
By the Fourth of July a chorus of
them will be doing “The Star-Spangled
Banner,” we feel sure, music and words
Complete.
Nothing should be impossible for birds
which can say, and distinctly, such
words as "million,” “cherries” and "cher
ish!”
* * * *
Friends of birds will understand, of
course, what our correspondent means.
She knows what they say to her, and
that, after all, is the big thing.
To many of us, they say a great deal,
too, but they do not say it in words.
What they “say” is said in a tongue
all their own, the language of Birdland.
It comes fresh from the heart of na
ture, which is just another way of saying
from the hand of God.
To some persons, the birds will seem
to say something in words. To others,
just in tones. But we can all feel sure,
no matter how we hear them, that what
they tell us is precious.
Answers
To Questions
By Frederic J. Haskin.
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 Where was the first airmail line?
J. W. 8.
A. The first airmail line was the one
from Nassau Boulevard Airdrome, Mln
eola. Long island, N. Y. The mall was
flown from September 23 to October 1,
1911. Earle Ovington was the first air
mail pilot. Fifty thousand pieces of mall
were carried that week. The first reg
ular airmail service In the world was
established between New York and
Washington, D. C., May 15, 1918.
Q. Who founded the Sudetic German
party?—K. K.
A. Konrad Henleln was the founder of
the Sudetic German party In Czecho
slovakia in 1934. On April 24, 1938, In a
speech at> Karlsbad, he laid down an
eight-point program demanding the
totalitarian organization of the Germans
in Czecho-Slovakia under the official
Nazi ideology.
Q. Is Gertrude Atherton related to
Benjamin Franklin?—C. H. B.
A. The writer is a great-grandniece of
Benjamin Franklin.
Q. What tribute did the late Senator
Hawes of Missouri pay the dog in a
speech in Congress?—F. P. B.
A. In 1923, as a member of the House
of Representatives he said: "Wherever
civilization has advanced to the act of
painting or printing, the dog finds a
place. He has not been neglected by his
tory or forgotten by poets. The religious
books of all pagan nations find a place
for him, and he is mentioned in both the
Old and the New Testament. • • • He is
the delight of the poor man's hovel and
the rich man’s mansion. * • • Wealth,
caste, social distinction are all one to
him. * * • But he knows the just from the
unjust, the kind from the unkind, the
charitable from the uncharitable, the
true from the false, and the man from
the hypocrite.’’
Q. Who were the parents of the pres
ent Queen of England? Was she a com
moner?—R. w.
A. Before her marriage to King Georee
VI, Queen Elizabeth was Lady Elizabeth
Bowes-Lyon. daughter of the Earl and
Countess of Strathmore. She was a
commoner, and while she comes from a
long line of aristocracy, she had no title
of her own when she married the fluke
of York.
Q. What are the papal colors?—M. D.
A. They are gold and white.
Q. When is National Hotel Week’—
H. T. M.
A. It will be observed from June 2-8.
Q Why is the famous circus gorilla
named Gargantua?—E. J. H.
A. Gargantua was a giant of monstrous
size and enormous appetite in the satir
ical tale of Gargantua and Pantagruel,
written between 1533 and 1545 by
Rabelais. The adjective gargantuan has
thus come to be applied to anything
enormous.
Q. What is the chief source of power
in the United States?—M. M.
A. The Federal Power Commission
says that coal is the leading source of
power in the United States and in the
world.
Q Is Ted Malone the real name of the
conductor of the “Between the Book
Ends" radio program?—L. M.
A. Mr. Malone's real name is Frank
Alden Russell.
Q. Who won the marble championship
last year?—W. S. R.
A. The United States marble shooting
championship at Wildwood. N. J„ was
won by Harry De Board of Landenberg,
N. J„ who defeated J. Will Disney of Lake
City, Tenn., in the final round.
Q. Is it correct to refer to a letter as
a favor?—M. D.
A. Favor should never be used as a
synonym for letter.
Q Who was the man who rode a bi
cycle at the rate of a mile in 57 seconds
in the 1890s?—R. s.
A. In 1899 Charley Murphy rode a mile
in back of a Long Island Railroad train
on a bicycle in 57% seconds.
Q. When was electroplating first done?
—H. B.
A. The first description of the process
of electroplating was published in 1838
by Jacobi of St. Petersburg (now Lenin
grad), Russia. Soon afterward Thomas
Spencer of Liverpool, England, an
nounced the discovery of a similar
process.
Q. How long would It take to count a
million dollars in pennies?—J. p.
A. The Treasury Department estimates
that it would take eight hours a day for
35 days to count that amount in pennies.
Q. How does Texas compare with
Prance in area?—T. M. W.
A. Texas has an area of 265,896 square
miles and France has an area of 212.659
square miles.
Q. How tall is Mel Ott, outfielder of
the New York Giants?—P. R.
A. He is 5 feet 9V2 inches tall.
Q. How fast did the Los Angeles travel
on her first trans-Atlantic flight?—E. N.
A. The Los Angeles left Friedrichs
hafen, Germany, on October 12, 1924,
and arrived at Lakehurst, N. J., about
10:30 a.m. October 15, 1924. She cruised
about 5,100 miles in 81 hours at an
average speed of 61 miles per hour.
An Egyptian Doll
Two thousand years ago a mother gave
This plaything to a little dark-eyed
girl.
And still its stiffly-carven wooden curl
And wondering stare a tender notice
crave.
Since it was found in an Egyptian grave
Held closely in the little mummied
hand
Of her who would not enter death’s
dark land
Unless she had her doll to keep her brave.
I wonder if its nearness comforted
A wistful whisper breaking through the
night
Prom all the endless wrappings of the
dead
That kept her innocence in bondage
tight. ***
Who, century on crowding century
Remains a child for all eternity '
CHARLOTTE Bttrarwn