Evening star. [volume], July 25, 1940, Page A-12, Image 12

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IVItb Sunday Moraine Edition.
THEODORE W. NOYES, Editor.
WASHINGTON, D. C.
THURSDAY.July 25. 1940
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Unity Is Essential
The movement for District suffrage
has had no better friend through tffie
years than Senator Capper of
Kansas. Himself the sponsor in the
Senate, session after session, of a
joint resolution for amendment of
the Constitution in behalf of na
tional representation, he has con
sistently championed every effort to
put the ballot in the hands of
Washingtonians.
Senator Capper’s advice now is
valuable. In an interview printed
In yesterday’s Star, commenting on
the rising sentiment for action in
this session on votes for the District,
Senator Capper emphasized the
importance of unity on the part of
District residents. All factions, he
said, should agree on an objective
and work in harmony toward reach
ing it. ^
Everybody in touch with the suf
frage movement has recognized the
differences of opinion among the
most sincere advocates of votes for
the District. There are those who
would be immediately content with
what is known as “local suffrage’’
and others, including The Star, have
.felt for many years that purely local
suffrage without representation of
the District in the exclusively
controlling Congress, and the Elec
toral College, would fall far short of
the mark.
Without the necessary surrender
of any principles, however, there
should be and, happily, there seems
to be, agreement now that the prac
tical objective of everybody should
he the Sumners resolution. Its pro
visions are hostile to no specific form
of suffrage; its passage by Congress
and the ratification of the amend
ment it proposes by the States would
clear the way for whatever form of
suffrage is deemed most wise by
Congress.
It is to be recalled, in this connec
tion, that Chairman Sumners wrote
and introduced his resolution after
participating in four separate hear
ings before the House Judiciary
Committee, in the course of which
various forms of District suffrage,
and various methods of obtaining
it, were thoroughly discussed. His
resolution embodies his own belief
as to the best method of obtaining
the vote. If there can now be the
unified support of the Sumners
resolution in the House, which Sen
ator Capper so wisely suggests is an
essential element in the District’s
fight, the chances for success are
Immediately strengthened. Now is
the time for all good men to come
to the aid of the District’s right to
vote. There will be plenty of time
later on to express differences of
opinion as to the ultimate form in
which this inherent right of all
Americans is to be exercised in
Washington.
Deserved Rebuke
The attempt of the Wage and
Hour Division of the Labor Depart
ment to force compliance with the
Wage and Hour Act by concerns
doing business with the Government
properly has been rebuffed by Act
ing Controller General Elliott in a
sharply worded decision holding
there is neither, “legal authority”
nor “need” for such a provision in
Federal contracts.
Mr. Elliott ruled in a case involv
ing a highway contractor who was
obliged to agree to this proviso and
by his veto undoubtedly has pre
vented overzealous officials from
giving wider application to the
principle which they sought to read
into the law in this instance.
The question that immediately
presents itself is by what assumed
authority the Wage and Hour Divi
sion acted in promulgating the com
pliance requirement, and just who
was instrumental in its adoption.
The case is the first disclosed in
which Government contracts have
been used as a weapon to Insure
compliance with this law, but similar
efforts have' been made on behalf
of the Wagner Act in some agen
cies—and held illegal by the con
troller general’s office—and only
recently President Roosevelt turned
down a request by the Congress of
Industrial Organizations for an exec
utive order prescribing Wagner Act
compliance by Government contrac
tors, holding that this could be
accomplished only by legislation.
The President unquestionably was
right on that point, and the view he
expressed there applies with equal
force to the Wage and Hour Act.
Congress has prescribed the labor
standards it believes necessary for
Government contracts in the Walsh
Healey Act, and if this particular
field of regulation isjta be broadened, j
the task Is one for Congress and not
for administrative officers.
In addition to heading off an un
warranted application of the Wage
and Hour Act, Mr. Elliott’s decision
also serves the useful purpose of
emphasizing once more the impor
tance ot having in the office of
controller general an independent
official who refuses to interpret laws
to conform to the personal predilec
tions of those charged with admin
istering them. That point should
not be lost sight of in the impending
appointment of a controller general
to succeed Fred H. Brown.
Daladier's 'War Guilt'
Edouard Daladier, co-architect
with Neville Chamberlain of the
appeasement of Munich and Premier
of France during the first seven
months of the war which followed
that tragic deal with Hitler, is to
be subjected to judicial investigation.
Virtually a prisoner of the Petain
Laval regime, following his recent
return to Marseille from French
Morocco, M. Daladier faces an in
quiry and possible punishment with
respect to his alleged responsibility
for France’s entry into the conflict
which ended in the destruction of
her independence and conversion
into a Fascist state.
Among others threatened by the
same ordeal are two members of the
Daladier ministry which declared
war on Germany—Navy Minister
Campinchl and Colonial Minister
Mandel, Clemenceau’s famed World
War aide, known as the “tiger cub.”
M. Delbos, a one-time foreign min
ister who joined the Daladier cabinet
after the outbreak of war, is also in
the group about to undergo inquisi
tion for "war guilt.”
To what extent M. Daladier and
his associates are being made scape
goats by the Petain-Weygand-Laval
group, which signed the armistice
with the Nazis, is momentarily
obscure. Nor is it yet apparent how
much pressure was brought to bear
upon the captive government at
Vichy by its German masters. These
have never ceased to pillory M.
Daladier and the British govern
ment of last summer as the culprits
who “insisted” upon goading Poland
into resisting Hitler’s demands over
i Danzig and the Corridor and thus
precipitating war.
Evidently the new government of
France, voluntarily or otherwise, is
bent upon fixing upon the Daladier
ministry primary blame for leading
the republic down the road to ruin.
As to M. Daladier, while most
Frenchmen, as do most Britons,
today recognize the grave error com
mitted at Munich in October, 1938,
it remains a fact that the former
French Premier, along with Mr.
Chamberlain, eventually made up
his mind that appeasement had its
limits. Jointly they decided to have
done with it, once and for all, when
Hitler fancied he could intimidate
Britain and France into submission
over Poland, as he had done in the
case of Czecho-Slovakia. That was
M. Daladier’s supreme offense in
Nazi eyes and may well lie at the
root of the present plan to prose
cute him.
The French people cherish a
grievance against Daladier not only
on account of Munich, but because
of his slow motion conduct of the
war. Chamberlain fell from grace
for the same reason. To the last
Daladier remained an apostle of the
fatal theory of relying on the
defensive as the best means of
thwarting the mechanized might of
Germany. His departure from the
premiership presaged the dismissal
of General Gamelin, also an advo
cate of defensive warfare, and his
succession by Marshal Petain, expo
nent of the attack policy.
In case the procedure about to be
conducted permits fair and open
airing of the truth, the “investiga
tion” of Af. Daladier and his col
leagues should shed vital light on
men, motives and events at Paris dur
ing the year that preceded France’s
downfall. But, held under the armed
aegis of the conqueror and carried
on by the former Premier’s political
foes, it may be doubted whether the
inquiry will be marked by that
strictly judicial spirit which so emi
nent an affair of state calls for.
Suggestions f^om Vichy that the
“investigation” may be a prelude to
mass trials like those held in France
after the Revolution and Commune
have an ominous ring.
Restoring Jobs
Representative Wadsworth of New
York is following a proper course in
advocating that the compulsory
selective service bill be amended to
express the desire of Congress that
men drafted for peacetime military
service be assured of regaining their
jobs in private life upon completion
of the training program.
Such an amendment would have
no legal effect and it may be that
there is no way in which Congress
can compel the re-employment of
the trainees. But it does not follow
that adoption of the amendment
would be a mere gesture, or a “sop,”
as one member of the House de
scribed it.
Young men called away from their
homes and Jobs for purposes of mili
tary training would be making a
real sacrifice for the welfare of their
country. In most cases it is to be
expected that an employer would
have to engage some one to do the
work of a conscript while the latter
is in service, but as between these
two every dictate of equity requires
that the man thus called away from
a Job should have the privilege of
resuming his employment if he so
desires. To hold otherwise would be
to place a penalty upon service to
country which might undermine the
entire training program.
It is safe tfrpresume that employ
era as a whole will co-operate In any
program to safeguard the jobs of
men affected by the draft. Insurance
of national security Is as important
to employers as it is to employes,
and, with Congress setting an appro
priate example, it is not to be ex
pected that they will Impair the
training program by Imposing any
needfess hardship on recruits who
have completed their period of
service. -*■
Tuberculosis tests
In the past two.decades the United
States has spent well over $1,000,
000,000 for the hospitalization and
compensation of veterans with
tuberculosis. More than 11,000 men
with this disease were admitted to
Veterans’ Administration hospitals
last year.
The number who actually con
tracted tuberculosis in the service
probably was not great. By and
large, the likelihood was probably
less than in civilian life. There can
be little question, however, but that
many entered the Army and Navy
with the disease in an incipient
• form. It was augmented by the
rigors of the new ways of living
forced upon them.
In 1917-8 the diagnosis of a
subtubercular state was difficult,
time-consuming and costly. The
procedure necessary was impossible
where hundreds and even thousands
of men were passing the medical
examiners every day. Only the most
obvious cases were likely to be
detected.
Today it is possible, as was stressed
by Doctor J. A. Myers, past president
of the National Tuberculosis Asso
ciation, at the recent annual con
vention of the American Medical
Association to X-ray the chests of
masses of individuals at very low
: cost. Recent technical developments
have enabled city health authorities
to obtain such records for all the
children in public schools, thus de
tecting tuberculosis in its incipiency.
If this could be done for all men
of military age, the eventual saving
to the Government—to say nothing
of the benefit to the victims them
selves—might well be incalculable.
Every man entering the Army or
Navy is entitled to as thorough a
physical checkup as is possible.
Acceptance of recruits with hidden
diseases which are likely to become
acute during the period of service
not only is of no benefit to the
country and dangerous for the indi
vidual, but entails eventually an
enormous tax burden.
Message for Americas
The American denunciation of
Russia’s seizing of the Baltic states
amounted to a good deal more than
a simple reaffirmation of the well
known United States policy of non
recognition of territorial change
accomplished by force. It was
intended primarily to warn Germany
and to reassure our Latin American
neighbors.
The United States has a delicate
problem in its inter-American
defense and diplomatic effort. While
it works for a united New World
front, it must be careful to respect
the sovereignty of each of our south
ern neighbors. The German radio
propagandists’ Spanish and Portu
guese broadcasts to Latin American
listeners during the weeks before
the Havana conference criticized
the inter-American movement as a
cloak for Washington’s desire to
deprive the twenty other Western
Hemisphere republics of their
liberty.
Russsia’s action in swallowing
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania gave
the administration an unparalleled
chance for combating this German
argument. “The people of the United
States,” Sumner Welles, the Under
secretary of State, said in making
public the American denunciation,
“* * * are opposed to the intervention
on the part of one state, however
powerful, in the democratic concerns
of any other sovereign state, how
everjweak. These principles consti
tute the very foundation upon which
the existing relationship between
the twenty-one sovereign republics
of the New World rest.” We can be
sure that this observation will not
quiet the German radio broad
casters. But it will help allay the'
apprehensions of the Spanish, Por
tuguese and French speaking peoples
in the American family of nations
about the United States’ intentions.
Cruising College
The ordinary conception of a
college Includes a stately campus
ornamented with imposingly antique
buildings which have taken root in
the sod and become moss-covered,
staffed by a corps of professors who
have followed the example set by the
buildings. The whole atmosphere is
one of age-old dignity and perma
nence. The latest college, however,
is movable, consisting of a trailer
caravan for summer use. Students
get their education on the run.
When the dean sees a good-looking
spot, he establishes the university
there, usually staying three or four
days to let the students get the feel
of the campus and work up some
traditions concerning it. It is strictly
up to date, for a rolling college
gathers no moss.
The administration building, de
signed and built by a famous
Michigan firm of road architects, is
the latest thing in the modernistic
or Detroit style, stands out in lofty
grandeur against a desert setting of
cactus and fairly towers above the
picturesque old tin cans and broken
bottles of trailer camps all over the
continent. It Is thought, however,
that the peripatetic university ulti
mately will fail, owing to the imprac
ticability of carrying with it a two
million dollar football stadium ta
i be used five times a year. jl
Of Stars, Men
And Atoms
Notebook of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
By Thomas ft. Henry.
The size of lily blossoms has been in
creased one-fourth by United States
Department o? Agriculture scientists in
one of the most spectacular results yet
obtained from the use of the new evolu
tion elixir, colchicine.
This drug, obtained from crocuses and
formerly used as a gout remedy, has
the capacity of doubling or tripling the
chromosomes in the cells of plants.
These include the reproductive cells, the
seeds, from which come seedlings strik
ingly different from the parents. Thus,
new species are created, usually larger
than the species from which they spring.
When introduced about six years ago
by scientists of . the Carnegie Institution
of Washington the drug was chiefly of
academic interest, although its great
eventual potentialities were recognized.
In the past the production of new va
rieties has been a slow process of breed
ing. New species and genera occasion
ally appeared in nature through some
abnormality of the germ cells, the cause
of which was unknown. ’Thus, evolution
along any line was an extremely slow
process. The breeder had to work with
what he found and could not go beyond
the limits set by nature, although he
might combine desirable qualities.
Now, for the first time, the breeder
has an active agent of evolutionary
change in his hands. The most notable
results to date have been in the produc
tion of bigger marigolds and snap
dragons. The big lilies, just reported in
the Journal of Heredity, official organ
of the American Genetic -Association,
were obtained by Drs. 8. M. Emsweller
and Philip Brierly of the Department of
Agriculture and apparently it will be
possible henceforth to propagate them
from seed.
The lilies themselves may be of con
siderable economic importance. They
are more significant, however, as mile
stones along the way to drug-induced
evolutionary changes in vegetables and
possibly grains, which may increase the
world’s food supply enormously. Prog
ress has been hesitant, to date, because
it is necessary to explore the possibilities
of one species after another.
No results have yet been reported of
the use of colchicine on animal cells,
although several supposedly unsuccess
ful experiments have been carried out.
Once this barrier is crossed man will
have gone a long way toward taking
evolution out of the hands of nature.
The great majority of the hereditary
changes brought about in nature are
not perpetuated because they result in
the death of the individuals. The same
is true of changes produced by colchicine
treatment, but it is possible for man
to produce an enormous number of
such variations in the hope that one
will prove advantageous.
Gigantic birds shaped like loons with
teeth set in grooves in powerful jaws
swam in the salt waters of Western
Kansas approximately 100,000,000 years
ago when the great dinosaurs were ap
proaching the end of their dominance
of the earth.
These feathered creatures, the largest
of which was nearly 6 feet in length, and
must have been a veritable nightmare
of the long vanished seas, were hesper
ornithiformes—oldest true bird fossil
remains of which have been found on
the North American continent.
Through the milleniums they had
evolved out of reptilian ancestors and
finally had become warm-blooded,
feathered animals which no longer could
be considered as reptiles, although they
still bore many resemblances to the
ancient saurians. Primarily they were
water creatures. They had small wings
with which it was not possible to make
true flights.
These ancient creatures hold first place
In an exhaustive catalogue of the fossil
birds of North America Just prepared
by Dr. Alexander Wetmore, assistant
secretary of the Smithsonian Institu
tion. They lived in the upper Cretaceous
geological period. The dinosaurs still
flourished on the continent, but were
on their way to extinction. Some of the
first crude mammals were developing
out of a reptilian ancestry and, it ap
pears, the birds were also evolving out
of a similar stock to share with the
mammals the dominance of a new world
which lay just ahead.
The birds, however, left a much
scantier fossil record. Their evolu
tionary road was toward a light skeleton
adapted for flight. Their relatively
fragile bones were much less likely to
escape the ravages of time and be pre
served in rock than the heavy skeletons,
especially the skulls, of the emerging
mammals.
Another type of primitive bird, with
toothed jaws and perhaps a superficial
resemblance to present-day gulls, shared
the scene. These were the ichthyorni
formes, also water birds and presumably
fish eateijs, but with some powers of
sustained flight. Doubtless there were
other types no trace of which has been
preserved.
Primitive as they were, these winged
creatures were far from the beginning
of their race. One fossil bird is known
from the Jurassic geological period, mil
lions of years before the appearance of
these North American families. There
are no traces of it, however, in North
America.
These ancient birds cannot be con
sidered as related, other than aS spring
ing from the same general ancestral
tree, to any existing family. Any real
or fancied resemblances to loons and
gulls are due to the fact that nature
tends to devise similar forms for similar
environments.
The bird race in the upper Cretaceous
was struggling for a place in the sun.
It did not come into its own until that
remtfrkable period in the history of the
planet, the Eocene geological period. This
was about 60,000,000 years ago. The great
reptiles had disappeared. The birds
and mammals found themselves jointly
masters of the earth and proceeded to
expand in all possible directions. Then
for the first time appeared winged crea
tures from whom it is possible to trace
tenuous genetic relationships to the
birds of today. Then, for example, the
first bird songs were ‘heard in forests
with the first blossoming .trees and
jhrubs. £
THIS AND THAT
'» -*-—
( By Charles E. Tracewell.
Sometimes the back yard takes on the
appearance of an animal fair, as the
dogs, cats, birds and squirrels, with one
or two wild rabbits, make merry to
gether.
Perhaps just a little Imagination Is
used, In saying that they play with one
another, for mostly they strictly let each
other alone.
The situation Is something along this
line:
Two dogs by the gate, hoping for a
handout of salmon. Most dogs love this,
but seldom get it at home.
Two cats, lying lazily, as Is the habit
of the species, on the porch steps.
Three squirrels, eating sunflower seed
from the birds’ feeder. ^
Two dozen birds, mostly English spar
rows, eating behind the squirrels.
Four pigeons and one rabbit.
The dogs, upon this particular oc
casion, were a speckled bird dog, liver
and white, and a Scottie.
The bird dog ia a very well behaved
fellow, whose one aim in life seems to be
to get salmon.
He never rushes the cats, but waits
patiently until they get through.
In between he drinks out of the small
bird bath set flush in the ground at the
west gate.
He makes a slop-slop-sloppy noise
which can be heard for many feet.
The Scottie is a patient, well-behaved
fellow, too, one which has Just been
clipped, except for his legs, and now the
hair is beginning to grow out again.
This gives him a most interesting ap
pearance, allowing the dull red of the
black to show through. This is an in
teresting combination. One Is likely to
think of the Scottish terrier as not only
black, but pure black, as only black, but
the fact is that he has this dull dark
.red, too.
The Scottie dog, as he Is often called,
Is a solemn one. Some specimens seem
rather inclined on the nasty side, espe
cially when cats are involved. They are
said to be stubborn, and hard to manage.
This particular specimen shows up
every morning on the back porch. He
wears a collar and tag, and shows that
he is well cared for; at times, when a
bare spot shows up in this coat, it will
be covered the next day with ointment.
The clipping made him look for all the
world like a plush dog. His coat has
seemed very much better.
He is patient beyond words, as he waits
for the cats to get through their meal.
Some mornings, however, he will not
touch salmon. Then he seems to prefer
meat. If he finds nothing to his liking,
after sitting solemnly around for a time,
he pokes off down the steps and disap
pears beneath the east gate.
This gate deserves a word. The ground
goes down sharply there, so that the
bottom of the gate is perhaps 8 inches
from the grass.
This space permits even the large dogs
to enter, which they do by sinking their
belly to the ground and dragging them
selves through.
With the larger specimens, this must
be seen to be believed. You would not
think, off hand, that they could do It.
* * * *
Dogs which once come to a yard have
a regular routine they go through with.
It is almost as If they belonged to a
lodge, or Something, in which certain
signs and actions must be performed ac
cording to the ritual.
Take the setter, or pointer, or what
ever he is. A kindly fellow, with good
eyes and plenty of space betwMn them.
Not like some dogs, with cIom Mt eyes,
giving them a mean appearance, which
scarcely ever is belled. Beware of dogs
with eyes Mt too close together.
This big dog enters at the east, and
makes a ceremonious approach to the
aforementioned bird bath on the west.
Here he slops—there is no other word for
it, unless slup—until about half the con
tents of the bath is gone.
A * A *
The squirrels do not bother much with
the other creatures.
They have become so used to the cats
that they seldom notice them until the
latter approach within 10 feet or leu.
Then they run lightly up the maple
tree close by, remaining on the trunk,
on the far side, about three feet up.
This is one of the squirrel’s great
tricks. But these rodents are curious
animals, and are not content to stay on
the other side of the trunk forever, or
even 30 seconds, as far as that goes;
they begin to peer out, cautiously, as soon
as they can stand the strain no longer.
This is a regular peek-a-boo perform
ance, which they play with human or
animal.
It is interesting, when a squirrel
scampers up a tree, to stand stock still,
as the saying has it, and wait for it to
look out. You may be sure that this
will be only a few seconds. There comes
that big eye, bright and interested.
If you have a peanut in your pocket,
here is the time to make a friend for life.
Not all specimens will come down to
the ground, then, but now and then one
will, and cautiously proceed to get the
goober.
It seems to work out, however, in most
such cases, that one never has a peanut
in pocket when the right squirrel comes
along. This is one of these queer little
quirks in life about which one wonders
why must they happen. It extends, of
course, to ay walks of life. One never
seems to have just the right approach at
the right time.
* a a *
One fine bird, which never comes to
the seed feeder, but which has been
coming daily to the meat feeder, is the
wood thrush.
We think we may say that feeding
ground beef in an elevated feeding sta
tion will attract this bird.
Certainly anything which will attract
this thrush is a good addition to the
nome yard, for there is positively no bet
ter or prettier songster.
Ground meat will lure the brown
thrasher, too, which some observers call
the ‘‘big thrush,” but which is no thrush
at all. although a very good bird in its
own right.
Letters to the Editor
Says Election of Two From
New York Possible.
To the Editor of The 8t»r:
A number of correspondents and col
umnists have been discussing the con
stitutional and practical limitations on
nominating New York citizens as the
Democratic candidates for President and
Vice President. It seems to be assumed
that in this case the entire electoral
vote of New York would be lost to the
Democrats. Such, however, is not the
case.
A primary assumption is that the elec
toral votes for 1940 will continue to total
531 with New York being entitled to 47
votes. This may be changed before the
election as a result of the recent census.
The twelfth amendment to the Fed
eral Constitution provides that—"The
electors shall meet in their respective
States and vote by ballot for President
and Vice President, one of whom, at
least, shall not be an inhabitant of the
same State with themselves ..
Let us agree, for the sake of an exam
ple, that President Roosevelt had been
renominated, with say, Postmoster Gen
eral Farley, also of New York, as the
nominee for Vice President. It is now the
day after the November election. Disre
garding the electoral vote of New York
State, which we assume has voted Demo
cratic, the Democratic electoral vote
total is 243 and the Republican total is
241. But the majority necessary for
election is 266 votes! When the New
York electoral college meets several
weeks later to vote for president and
Vice President, 24 of the electors could
vote for Mr. Roosevelt for President and
distribute their votes for Vice President
among Democrats of their own choice
who are residents of other States. Mr.
Roosevelt’s total electoral vote would
then be 267, one more than a majority,
and he would be elected. The other 23
electors for New York would vote for
Mr. Farley as Vice President. These
votes along with his 243 from the re
mainder of the United States would con
stitute an exact majority of 266 votes.
These same 23 electors would have given
their presidential votes to some Demo
crat from some State other than New
York.
The final vote for President might
then be something like this: Roosevelt,
Democrat, 267; Willkle, Republican, 241,
and Hull, Democrat, 23. For Vice Presi
dent the final vote might then be some
thing like this: Farley, Democrat, 266;
McNary, Republican, 241, and Byrnes,
Democrat, 24.
This hypothetical case illustrates that
under the present circumstances It Is
possible for a party to choose both
nominees from New York State and elect
both, provided that it secures a mini
mum of 243 electoral votes from the
remainder of the country. The other
party or parties may secure as many
as 241 electoral votes and still lose the
election. RALPH W. DONNELLY.
July 19.
Warns of Surrender
To Expediency.
To tht Editor of The Star:
In the long run justice pays better
than expediency. When Japan invaded
Manchuria the signatories to the League
of Nations chose expediency. When Italy
attacked Ethiopia, a fellow member of
the League, they again chose expediency.
When the Spanish civil ^ar broke out,
Letters to the Editor must
bear the name and address of
the writer, although the use of
a pseudonym lor publication is
permissible. The Star reserves
the right to edit all letters with
a view to condensation.
instead of expelling the Italian and Ger
man troops from Spain—and war with
both of those powers at that time would
Undoubtedly have been successful—Eng
land, and France chose expediency.
And we see the results today. Had they
been just in each of these cases at what
ever cost, in the sum total the price
would have been cheap.
At the present time we ourselves are
confronted with a similar situation. For
three years Japan has been carrying
on an absolutely unjustifiable war with
China, and she has been conducting it
very largely with American munitions.
China has our sympathy, and Japan
has our munitions. In view of this lat
ter fact one might suppose that Japan
would be our friend. She is, on the
contrary, as much of an enemy as she
dares to be. She is an enemy because
of our adverse criticism and particularly
because she knows that it is just, what
ever her claims to the contrary. In
spite of our sympathies, however, our
munitions keep on flowing to Japan and *
our legislators will not stop them, evi
dently for the same reason that England
and France would not interfere in the
cases of Manchuria, Ethiopia and Spain,
because it is "inexpedient.” Whatever
measure of “appeasement” we venture
with Japan, our relations with her in
the future are certain to be worse so
long as she is dominated by the princi
ples of her present rulers. If we now
go ahead with our present stupid policy,
we effectively will destroy a potentially
powerful friend in the Interest of an all
too-powerful enemy, and we will not
have the consolation of right conduct to
support us. On the contrary we will
have the bitter recollection of criminal
damage inflicted on one of our best
friends In defiance of reason, justice and
our own national self-interest.
July 19. JOHN R. 8WANT0N.
Says England Should
Sue for Peace.
To the Sdltor ot The Star:
Because some of us favor an English
acceptance of the Hitler peace offer we
are called "enemies of England.” This is
far from the truth. It is love for Eng*
land, the England of Shakespeare and
Wordsworth, of Dickens and Thackeray
and George Eliot, that makes one wish
to see it preserved from the horrors that
a continuation of this conflict is sure to
bring. The English people, I greatly
fear, are resting under a delusion
of invincibility from which they
will have a most horrible awakening if
peace does not come soon. Is England
justified in this stubborn refusal to con
sider peace suggestions when this per
sistence means the killing of hundreds of
thousands of its young men, the crip
pling, blinding, or life-long disfigure
ment of hundreds of thousands more,
and the destruction of most of the be
loved old landmarks of London and the
countryside? Is the retention of the
former German colonies worth so much
as that? BEN M. CONNELLY.
July 38. i
Haskin's Answers
To Questions
By Frederic J. Haakin.
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. How long la It necessary for a
lawyer to be a member of the bar before
he may practice before the Supreme
Court?—P. P. O.
A. The Supreme Court admits t«
practice only those who for three years
have been members of the bar of the
highest courts of their States.
\ __ ...
Q. What Is the finest allegory in
literature?—J. L. X.
A. John Bunyan’s "Pilgrim’s Progress"
Is regarded as the greatest of all
allegories.
a _
Q. Is Tallahassee, Fla« west of At
lanta, Ga.?—W. T. E.
A. The center of Atlanta, Ga., Is ap
proximately 6 miles west of the center
of Tallahassee, Fla.
Q. How many policemen are there la
Washington, D. C.?—H. K. 8.
A. The District of Columbia police
force consists of 1,433 uniformed men.
Q. Were concrete vessels used by the
United States Shipping Board at the
time of the World War?—G. M. H.
A. No concrete vessels were used by
the shipping board during the World
War. Twelve had been authorized and
were completed after the armistice. Four
of these were cargo ships and eight were
tankers. The first concrete ship was
delivered in October, 1919, and the last
one in April, 1931. These were vessels
of 73,500 deadweight tons each. Most
of them were never used and were sunk.
Q. When was Independence Hall at
Philadelphia built?—H. C. A.
A. Independence Hall was begun In
1732 and completed in 1747.
Q. What famous actor died soon after
uttering the words "I commend my soul
to God”?—J. 8.
A. Sir Henry Irving was on tour at
Bradford, England, where he was play
ing "The Bells.’’ His last words spoken
in the role of Becket were: "I do com
mend my soul to God • • •. Into Thy
hands, O Lord—into Thy hands.’’ He
then collapsed on the stage, but was
revived sufficiently to speak a few words.
He returned to his hotel suite where he
died soon afterward.
Q. What is the salary of an educa
tional adviser in the Civilian Conserva
tion Corps?—R. P. V.
A. The salary of educational advisers
is (2,000 a year.
Q. Did Max Baer win the fight with
Galento in the seventh or eighth round?
—H. B.
A. Baer won in the eighth round. Ac
cording to a recent National Boxing As
sociation ruling, when a fighter is unable
to answer the bell for a round the fight
is declared in that round.
Q. What proportion of the cost of
cigarettes and soft drinks is spent for
advertising?—J. M.
A. According to the Distribution Com
mittee of the Twentieth Century Fund,
the average advertising cost for ciga
rettes selling at 14 cents is a little more
than half a cent a package. The ad
vertising cost for a widely advertised
soft drink is less than 0.016 cent.
Q. How high is Mount Borah?—M. O.
A. Borah Peak, located in Custer
County, Idaho, is 12,655 feet in height.
Q. Is the Rosetta Stone in the Smith
sonian Institution the original one?—
W. B.
A. The Smithsonian Institution says
that the original Rosetta Stone is in
the British Museum. The example (No.
130118) in the United States National
Museum is a replica of the original, and
described as such on the accompanying
label; it was acquired by the Smith
sonian Institution in 1898.
Q. Were real animals used in the mo
tion picture "One Million B.C.”?—W. P.
A. The animals were imported from
the jungles of Central America and bear
the closest living resemblance to the
monsters of pre-historic times. They
are, of course, made to appear much
larger. For example, one monster was
a baby alligator with a finlike structure
tied on its back.
Q. Where was Edith Cavell buried
immediately after her execution?—I. P.
A. The body of Edith Cavell was
buried near the scene of the execution
in the vicinity of the prison of St.
Gilles. On May 15, 1919,, her body was
removed to Norwich Cathedral, after
a memorial service in Westminster Abbey.
Q. Has the United States ever recog
nized Saudi Arabia?—B. F.
A. The growing importance in inter
national relations of this vigorous Arab
state was recognized officially by the
United States last summer, when Bert
Fish, American Minister to Egypt, went
to Jidda to present his credentials to
King Ibn Saud. The assignment of Mr.
Fish as Minister to the Kingdom of
8audi Arabia was dated August 7, 1939.
Special Service
For Star Readers
Last year nearly 50,000 readers of The
Evening Star took advantage of the serv
ices of the Information Bureau in one
way or another. This means that about
one in every three readers either had a
question answered or sent for a booklet.
It is open to all.
Red-Letter Testament
This unusual volume has all the say
ings of the Savior printed in red. It
contains 254 pages printed on thin Bible
paper and is bound in a flexible black
cover. It has a special section giving
B*mee of trees, waters, mountains, mu
sical instruments and birds that are
named in the Bible. To secure your copy
inclose twenty cents in coin, wrapped in
this clipping.
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