Evening star. [volume], April 10, 1943, Page A-8, Image 8

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SATURDAY_April 10, 1943
The Hobbs Bill
The vote Dy which the House has
passed the Hobbs anti-racketeering
bill, 270 to 107, is a plain indication
that the people of this country are
determined to put an end to the
flagrant abuses which have been
practiced with impunity in the name
of unionism by a small and irrespon
sible segment of organized labor. Be
cause of the strength of this public
sentiment, it is all the more sur
prising that the responsible spokes
men for labor should have exerted
such strenuous efforts to defeat the
bill in the House.
An anti-racketeering bill was
passed almost ten years ago, but the
Supreme Court, in a much-criticized
decision, held that Congress had in
tended to grant immunity to union
members for acts that would be
criminal in character if committed
by any one else. To rectify the
damage done by this ruling, Repre
sentative Hobbs of Alabama pre
pared and introduced the measure
which now goes to the Senate. His
bill was carefully drawn to safeguard
all legitimate union activities, and
as a further precaution against in
justice, Chairman Sumners of the
Judiciary Committee offered an
amendment on the floor which pro
vided specifically that the Hobbs
bill wras not to be construed as taking
from labor any of the rights con
ferred under previously-enacted leg
islation. This amendment was
adopted by the House.
The acceptance of this protective
amendment did not bring about any
decline in labor opposition, however.
Spokesmen for the principal unions,
while not attempting to defend or
Justify in any way the practices at
which the Hobbs bill is aimed, never
theless insisted that they were un
qualifiedly opposed to the remedy
proposed in the measure. This is an
attitude which suggests that the
representatives of labor have learned
nothing from the experience of cer
tain elements in the industrial world
who. by refusing to put their own
house in order, merely brought about
the imposition of the most stringent
legislative restrictions.
In view of their record in the
House, it may be supposed that labor
spokesmen will continue to fight the
bill in the Senate, where it goes to
the Committee on Labor and Educa
tion. which has not been sympathetic
to any measure opposed by the na
tional unions. In this instance, how
ever, it is to be hoped that the
decisiveness of the vote in the House
and the temper of the people at large
will be sufficient at least to insure
an opportunity for a vote on the
measure by the Senate.
Return Engagement
"That grand old minstrel,” as Win
ston Churchill called him, is "doin'
It agin.” Americans who served over
seas in the First World War remem
ber him very well indeed, singing to
the soldiers "She's My Daisy.”
He carried his rollicking, whimsical
music so near to the front in France
that the Heinies could hear—and
applaud—him in their trenches. His
only son was killed in battle, his
wife died, the King who knighted
him and many other beloved friends
went to their reward. A niece took
care of his "big house” near Glasgow
for him. The years passed, and he
waited—for the work no other man
could do so well in this present
struggle.
His genius is peculiar. Born at
Portobello on August 4, 1870. he says
in "Who’s Who” that he was educated
"by Stumpy Bell as a half-timer in
Arbroath” and that his career was
"varied,” including labor in a flax
spinning mill, "then a miner, now is
what the people have made him.”
The best investment he ever made,
he still declares, was the seven shil
lings and sixpence he paid for his
marriage license. He was 30 years
of age when he attempted the music
halls of London in 1900. Within a
few weeks all England was humming
"Caligan, Call Again.” Even greater
was his success with “Roamin’ in the
Gloamin’,” “Just a Wee Deoch-an
Doris” and "There's a Wee House
’Mang the Heather.” His tours in
America brought him a fortune which
Andrew Carnegie helped him to keep.
But the “grand old minstrel” was
not spoiled by wealth. He never lost
his simplicity, his wit, his sense of
fun. In retirement, he found some
thing to amuse him “trying to hit a
wee gutty ba\” When the lights
went out in 1939, he was ready to
talk and to sing and to roam the
length and breadth of Scotland in
his kilt of the Maclennan tartan as
ft living symbol of the folk to whom
he belongs and whose most famous
interpreter he is.
A soldier from Washington writes
to his mother: “I can’t tell you where
I am, but I’ve seen and heard Harry
Lauder.”
The Price in the Pacific
Victories in North Africa and
prospects of assaults on the Axis’
European fortress should not lead us
to forget the twin war we are wag
ing on the other side of the globe
against Japan. The past two days
have given us three grim reminders
of the nature and extent of that
struggle. These are a statement from
General Douglas MacArthur, a speech
by an Australian cabinet minister
and the news of a big air battle over
; Guadalcanal
General MacArthur’s statement
yesterday was prompted by the sad
anniversary of the surrender of
Bataan, which marked the end of
organized resistance in the Philip
pines. His words are tinged with
bitter frustration. When MacArthur
obeyed orders to leave Bataan and
proceed to Australia, it is said that
he believed he was to organize
an immediate offensive which might
conceivably relieve his besieged
comrades. He had hoped to find
Australia in the process of being
built up into a gigantic spring
board by a flood of American troops
and supplies crossing the Pacific.
Instead, he found the commonwealth
itself in danger of a Japanese in
vasion, the cream of its own troops
far away in Africa or Malaysia, and
American aid a trickle instead of a
flood.
The ensuing year has not basically
changed that situation. Thanks to
brilliant leadership and prodigies of
j valor, the Japanese advance has
been held up, but MacArthur has not
been given a tithe of the aid neces
sary for the great counteroffensive
he had in mind. Our overall strategy
has been to concentrate on the
European end of the'Axis, so the Pa
cific and Ihe Far East have had to
take the leavings.
Indeed, it is not certain that even
the minimum of reinforcements
needed to contain the Japanese is
being sent. For months. American
and Australian leaders on the spot
have warned Washington of heavy
Japanese concentrations all along
the vast island arc above Australia,
and the large-scale Japanese air raid
at Guadalcanal last Wednesday,
precipitating the biggest aerial bat
tle since November, indicates their
dogged determination to strike at us
regardless of losses. Meanwhile,
I Japan consolidates her vast new-won
i empire, and MacArthur prays that,
: for the Philippines, ‘ the day of sal
vation be not so far removed that
they perish, that it be not again too
late."
Such fears, combined with frank
criticism, were voiced by Dr. Herbert
Evatt. Australian Minister for Exter
nal Affairs, on Thursday before a
San Francisco audience. En route to
Washington charged with a mission
from Prime Minister Curtin, Dr.
Evatt said that, when the "beat
i Hitler-first” strategy was determined
upon, "it was always recognized that,
although an all-out offensive against
Japan might have to be postponed,
she must be prevented from making
further gains and not permitted to
consolidate her enormous territorial
and economic gains." Yet Dr. Evatt
implied that not even this minimum
was being supplied, asserting: "Un
fortunately, it often depends upon
others ‘down the line’ to assess what
is needed.”
Dr. Evatt typifies the view held by
our own military and naval men in
the Pacific as well as by virtually all
Australians. It is likewise the pre
dominant attitude in China, which
has had a fresh disappointment in
its hopes cf larger aid by the break
down of the British campaign in
Burma. Such sentiments must be
taken into account. They indicate
a sense of grievance and latent re
sentment at what they deem unjusti
fied neglect which might have grave
consequences if the Japanese high
command should unleash fresh
j large-scale offensives either in the
! South Pacific or in China. A wise
i ratio between the two segments of
I the war must be maintained.
Whence Come the Books
A contributor who signs himself
"H. S.” writes for the Saturday Re
view of Literature. New York, an
editorial to the effect that: ‘ The fu
ture American historian of World
War II will find his greatest source
of information, aside from docu
mentary evidence from official Army,
J'Javy and Government sources, in
the flood of, war books written for
popular consumption by correspond
dents and men in the armed serv
ices. Publishers’ lists are crammed
with these informative, stirring
'books—books about the war in Ice
land, Burma, Russia, Egypt, North
Africa, the Philippines, China and
the islands of the South Sea; books
from men who have risked their lives
in the air, on hostile shores and on
and under the seas.”
It is the conviction of the sponsor
of these quoted words that "nothing
like it has ever been seen before,” but
perhaps he is mistaken in so believ
ing. The first World War also
brought forth a tidal wave of books,
many of them works of distinction.
But H. S. is at least partly in error
in a more important respect. The
people of America, he says, "have a
passionate desire to find out about
this war in which they are so totally
involved.” As to how they may
"make these discoveries,” his theory
is: “Not in listening to the news on
the radio or from commentators
or from the daily accounts in the
press” can the desired information
be obtained. Only “from books, the
true literature of the war,” he insists,
“you will find nearly everything you
want to know.”
Doubtless, the matter is not worth
argument. It is worthy of emphasis,
however, that the best books about
the present conflict, like those of its
"curtain raiser” in 1914-1918, are the
productions of practicing newspaper
men and women who, long before
they took to broadcasting or publish
ing between cloth covers, earned
their bread and occasional straw
berry jam in journalism.
Ineffective Policy
In a recent address before the
Academy of Political Sciences, Gren
ville Clark, author of the Selective
Service Act and the pending Austin
Wadsworth bill, said that the Gov
ernment, lacking any kind of na
tional service legislation, has been
driven to “disjointed, confused and
ineffective methods” of coping with
the manpower shortage.
The use of the Selective Service Act
as a club to drive men from non
essential to essential employment, he
said, is wrong in principle and de
ficient in results. “It is wrong in
principle,” he declared, “because it
degrades and discredits military duty
by holding it up as a threat or pen
alty, whereas it should be treated as
a privilege and an honor. It is in
effective because the threats can
apply only to able-bodied men of
military age, and virtually all of these
are already in the armed forces or in
vital war work.”
It is interesting to note the rela
tion between his comments and the
new's of the past few days.
| The Maritime Commission says that
! the high turnover rate in the ship
| yards—11.2 per cent of the total
working force per month—has left
i the yards with 71.000 fewer employes
j than are needed to meet building
I Quotas. It simply has not been pos
| sible to enroll enough new workers
{ to meet expanding employment
! needs and to compensate for the
| turnover loss, which is due more to
5 housing and transportation condi
I tions than any w^age question. Unless
i this situation changes, the commis
! sion says, we will have to content our
selves with fewer of the ships which
are most urgently needed—tankers,
aircraft carriers, troop transports
and escort vessels.
Congress and the Manpower Com
mission have been trying to en
courage a back-to-the-farm move
pient by holding out the prospect of
c.raft exemption to agricultural
workers. Here, obviously, is a hit-or
mi*s proposition which is difficult to
conirol and easily capable of doing
more harm than good. Consequently,
it is not surprising to learn from
State selective service directors and
the Manpower Commission that in
dustry is beginning to complain of
its loss of workers because men who
want to avoid the draft are drifting
back to the farms.
Indicative of mounting official
concern at this trend is the dis
closure that Undersecretary of War
Patterson has been in communica
tion with Manpower Commissioner
McNutt to prevent “wholesale” labor
turnover in industry because of the
back-to-the-farm pressure that has
been applied. Meanwhile the Man
power Commission has no statistics
on the extent of the movement, and
apparently, no definite plan to cope
with it.
These are by no means all of the
instances in which the absence of
any real manpower program is cut
ting into the effectiveness of the war
effort, but they serve as illustrations.
It is a pressing and increasingly
serious matter which cannot be dealt
with through such stop-gap measures
as the President's direction to Mr.
McNutt to prevent workers from
changing jobs to obtain higher pay.
The only real solution lies in national
service legislation along the lines of
the Austin-Wadsworth bill, and the
only real question is how much worse
the situation will get before the
administration comes to the support
of such a measure.
Rustlers' Return
The cattle rustler of the old wild
West, however short on morals, was
at least long on romance. With his
ten-gallon hat, leather chaps, high
heeled boots and thousand-dollar
Mexican saddle, astride a lively cay
use with six-shooters blazing, he
made a spirited figure as he rounded
up other people’s little dogies in
trainload lots and shepherded them
to Dodge City or across the border.
The odds were against him, and he
knew it; yet he chose to look fate
in tt^e face and deliberately swap a
long life for a gay one. Even those
who adjusted the inevitable hemp
necktie about his throat often re
gretted the necessity.
Now the cattle rustler is back
again, spawned by the black market
in meat. Clad in greasy overalls, he
rides by night in an old jalopy
truck, the worse looking the better,
and his armament is an ax, a knife
and a few stolen gas coupons. Fur
tively he sneaks up on a steer,
butchers it on the spot, loads it and
sneaks off to Joe’s Hotte Meate
Shoppe, where cash talks and coupons
keep silent. Thus does the glamour of
the old West return in shoddy, syn
thetic form. To keep it with us, by all
means patronize Ptomaine Joe and
his crowd; to eliminate it, give up
that extra steak on the table, in ex
change for a stake in America as it
ought to be.
The house rat is the world’s worst
animal pest, yet brushes for the
finest of art work have been made
from a single whisker of this crea
ture. B Mussolini is not that useful.
“Kaswa” was the name of Mo
hammed’s favorite camel, but history
does not record how far the prophet
would walk for him.
Invasion Threat
Holds Nazi Reserves
Major Eliot Sees Hitler
Forced to Strike in Russia
Or Shorten Front There
By Maj. George Fielding Eliot.
As the African campaign draws to its
bloody but inevitable close, the question
in every mind is, what are we going to
do next?
That this should be so is of itself sig
nificant of the change which has come
over the whole character of the war, for
not so long ago the question in every
mind was, what is the enemy going to
dp next?
The latter is. however, a question
which must not be altogether forgotten.
The enemy has not yet wholly lost his
freedom of action, though it is becom
ing more and more restricted. In gen
eral we have the initiative and we seem
likely to use that initiative to make him
conform to our moves instead of being
J compelled as we used to be to conform
| to his. The enemy is compelled to keep
: in hand strong reserves to deal with
j whatever attacks we may launch against
him. He cannot know the place, the
time, or the strength of these attacks
until they are actually launched, or at
least until the preparations for them
are so well advanced that they can be
no longer concealed.
Under these conditions, the margin of
usable strength left to the enemy for
enterprises of his own is sharply reduced.
This marginal force is the first element
to feel the drain of a general reduction
in the enemy’s fighting power, because
he must provide for security against our
attacks before he can allot forces to any
contemplated offensive. If he can make
that offensive serve the purpose of up
setting our plans, he might be able to
1 isk some part of his security reserve
for such a purpose since that very fact
would give him a certain measure of
security. For this purpose, however, he
W'ould require very large forces and his
gieat handicap is the fact that so much
of his fighting power is pinned down in
Russia. His hopes of being able to knock
out the Red army as an offensive force
and disengage the greater part of the
Wehrmacht from the Russian grip have
not been realized.
As long as the present conditions on
the Russian front endure, with two
thirds of the German Army and at least
half the Luftwaffe held fast and the pos
sibility of another great Russian offen
sive ever to be kept in mind, the Ger
mans cannot find the marginal strength
necessary for any considerable offensive
elsewhere; or if they do attempt one,
it is a desperate affair, a gambler's throw
in which failure means irretrievable
disaster. It is for this reason that we
hear persistent reports that the Ger
mans are going to try again in Russia;
that they are going to make one more
attempt to free themselves from the
Russian grip by launching an offensive
against Moscow before the Allies can
land in force in Western or Southern
Europe
According to this line of thought, the
desperate German fight for time in Tu
nisia is intended to stave off the invasion
of Europe by American and British
forces while the preparations for this
Moscow drive are underway. The alter
native would seem to be for the Ger
mans to reduce their commitments in
Russia by shortening both their front
and the length of their lines of com
munication. This would mean at least
a withdrawal behind the Dvina and
the Dneiper, or even farther back to a
position covering the Vitebsk-Odessa
Railway.
But it is certainly open to question
whether a Germany which could not
take Moscow in the fall of 1941 in the
full tide of her power and the full flush
of victory can hope to do so in the
spring of 1943, after the terrible losses
of the past 18 months, with the Allied
air offensive in full swing in the West
and Allied armies crouching for their
spring all along the shores of Africa.
If it comes to a question of reducing
commitments, it would seem far more
logical for Germany to give up Italy and
perhaps Greece. By so doing Germany
might still contrive to retain the pro
tection of distance in the east by main
taining the present line in Russia and to
keep off the Anglo-American forces in
the West by retaining the German grip
on France. On the south mountains
would still stand between the Allies and
Germany’s vitals. So much for logic,
but Hitler has not always been logical
and he seems still to be in control of
German w-ar* plans. It is impossible to
forecast what effect may be produced on
such a. mind as Hitler's by the mounting
tide of despair.
(Copyright, IP4.T, New York Tribune. Inc.)
A Lost Opportunity
From the Winnipeg Free Press:
Looking back over the past few years
it is apparent that Canada missed a
great opportunity when the question of
ferrying bombers across the Atlantic
came up practically for the first time.
Looking back it is easy to see that what
we should have said was that we would
be glad to take over the job ourselves.
Canadian bases had to be used for the
ferry. There was no reason at ail why
Canada should not have taken over an
operation which, we can now see, is
developing into a gigantic and perma
nent world function. Transocean and
transpolar air traffic must use Canada
and its northern bases. What steps are
being taken by us to safeguard this
national asset? The question is not
an academic one. It is eminently prac
tical and important. What is happening
is that we are in wartime hending over
rights which in all probability we can
never get back. This is badly put, but
it is in essence true, and looked at
properly it need not be a bad thing.
A postwar world based upon narrow and
rigid concepts of national rights is un
thinkable. But it is essential that, in
giving up these rights, we demand a quid
pro quo; a,nd what we should demand is
that global air traffic should be properly
internationalized, that some scheme
should be devised which will open the
way to all nations sharing fairly in this
most Important development.
Radio Speakers Blamed
For Mispronouncing Word.
To the Editor ol The Star:
Believe it or not, seven out of ten
speakers on the radio, including an
nouncers, news reporters and Congress
men, very distinctly use the word “EX- •
cept” for the word “AC-cept," which has
the effect of making their statements
appear ridiculous. J. C. H. J.
THIS AND THAT
By Charles E. Tracewell.
“BETHESDA, Md.
"Dear Sir:
"Looking out. »t my bird feeding sta
tion the other day, I was horrified to see
a rat.
"I have been feeding the birds for
many years, and had never seen a rat
before. Just why he chose to come at
this time I do not know.
"My first instinct to kill him I put
aside for the time being, as I wanted to
study him. After all he is a living crea
ture.
"I proposed to myself to study him
for a time, and then to get rid of him,
and his mates, if any, because rats are
*ad citizens, and especially in these
times, when food is at a premium, we
must, get rid of all rats, two or four
legged.
"This rat was a small one, probably
a young one. He evidently had come in
and made a home for himself beneath
the garage, for I later discovered a run
beneath the garage.
* * * *
"There was something rather amus
ing in the way this animal scurried out
from his hole, ran to the feeding sta
tion. which is on the ground, and then
ran back again.
"This entire operation took about 40
seconds, with 20 seconds given to run
ning out, eating and the running back,
and 20 given to remaining in the nest.
"I timed this many times, and found
it did not vary a second, time after time.
"It is often difficult, at some distance,
to tell a rat from a squirrel, when one
does not see the tails.
"I have no doubt there are many per
sons who have rats in the yards without
knowing it.
"It is possible for a rat to scurry into
a group of squirrels and birds at a feed
ing station without attracting too much
attention to itself. Neither squirrels nor
birds seem to mind the rat very much.
A few pigeons at my feeder lined up,
when the rat appeared, and looked at
it curiously. »
"There was no comradeship between
♦ he rats and two squirrels, but the latter
did not seem afraid of it, and kept on
eating.
♦ * * *
"I later discovered the rat had a nest
inside mv garage, beneath a pile of old
wood which had not been disturbed
much.
"If cleaning out rats, it is a good idea
to look over all old piles of stuff such as
accumulate around a yard.
"I have not harmed this rat yet., as T
would like to know the best way of get
ting rid of him, and besides I find him
rather amusing, but at the same time I
realize I should not treat him in any
other way save as a pest and real danger.
"Very truly yours, V. C. L."
* * * *
The best and safest way to get. rid of
rats is to use some form of red squill.
This is the material recommended by
the Department of Agriculture.
It does the work, and at the same time
offers little danger to pet animals.
The reason for this is that pets can
vomit it up, whereas rats, lacking the
vomiting reflex, have to keep it down.
Every precaution should be taken, how
ever, to keep pets from getting any of it.
The best way is to poke a bit of the
proper mix back into the hole, if this
can be found, and it usually can, if a
little time and observation are put on it.
A bit of the mixture should be placed
as far back as possible in the run. A
long-handled spoon is best for this pur
pose, since a rat bite Is nothing to be
desired. Even if the animal is cautious,
no hand should be thrust back into
the run.
A bit of the red squill mixture should
be placed inside the garage, beneath a
pile of wood, or outdoors in some natural
crevice in a dry ‘wall, or any sort of
opening where a rat naturally would
take refuge.
Rats are fond of culverts and the like.
The bait should be put on at dusk,
after all the birds have left.
Care should be taken to get up early
the next morning and to inspect the
runs and other places where the bait
has been placed.
If it has not been touched, it should
be taken away for the day and kept in
a safe place where no one will find it.
The dose should be repeated each
evening. Usually the bait will disappear
the first night.
After that there will be no more rats.
We have found that rats will appear
in a yard about once a year. They prob
ably come whether bird feeding is car
ried on or not, since they live in sew
ers and come out at nights to scurry
around the neighborhood.
Ordinary rat poisons are very danger
ous and should not be used by house
holders, since they are Innocuous in
appearance, but terribly poisonous.
Rat traps, too, have their dangers.
If the old-fashioned catch-em-alive sort
is used, one has the disagreeable task !
of killing the rodents later.
If the spring sort is used, the danger
of getting a finger broken, or even an
ankle, is very large.
The householder will be wise to stick
to the use of red squill. It may be pur
chased ready mixed, in food, or as a
powder.
The rat is no desirable guest in the
home yard and should be eradicated'as
soon as found. It is best, we believe, to
resist the temptation to study its habits.
; It is one form of natural interest which 1
even the lover of nature's creatures
should be willing to pass up. The house
holder should not be ashamed of finding
rats. There are a great many more of
them in resident neighborhoods than
most persons suspect. With the tight
ening of food restrictions, more of them
than ever probably will come out of the
sewers.
Letters to the Editor
Praise for Senators
As National Leaders.
To the Editor of The Star:
Wednesday night we listened to the
talks of Senators Wheeler and Taft on
the National Radio Forum from Wash
ington.
It is most gratifying to hear members
of Congress who still speak with pride
of our United States of America and its
interests.
Our boys on the fighting fronts look
to Washington, D. C., for sincere leader
ship and guidance, and we must not fail
them. With men like Senators Wheeler
and Taft in the lead, our country cannot
fail. They stand with Washington and
Jefferson as truly great Americans.
MARGARET V. DOYLE.
Philadelphia.
Maj. Eliot’s Views of German Defenses
Challenged as "Error in Policy.”
To the Editor of the Star:
Much as I admire and profit by the
military knowledge of Maj. George Field
ing Eliot, I must take exception to his
article in The Star, in which he belittles
the fortifications being constructed by the
Germans in Europe. His underestima
tion of these works is not only an error
in military judgment, but also an error
in policy, tending as it does to create
a false sense of ease in his readers.
Maj. Eliot compares these powerful
defenses, cleverly constructed and stra
tegically distributed in depth, with such
farcical contrivances as the Great Wall
of China and the Maginot Line, but
these modern German defenses (it ap
pears from the published maps) are
not thin ribbons of forts or walls. They
are a deep series of concentric strong
points. These points are situated so as
to take the fullest advantage of com
munications and terrain. They are de
signed and manned by a clever, re
sourceful enemy, who is thoroughly ac
quainted with all aspects of stable de
fenses, because he has broken through
so many of them.
These defenses are not rigid and
brittle, as Maj. Eliot contends them to
be; but extremely flexible because of
the splendid transport facilities behind
them. These facilities will enable the
Germans to concentrate troops at will;
while the attacking Allies, once they
have landed, relatively will be immo
bilized by the necessity of preserving
their bridgeheads.
Europe will be conquered only at
the price of terrific slaughter. It is
best that our people realize that fact
and steel themselves for it. No one
should paint a mild picture of the im
pending invasion, least of all Maj. Eliot.
FRED DENNEY.
Elections Objected to
Because of National Danger.
To the Editor of The 8t»r:
I hear about the preparations for the
election campaigns, and it is a wonderful
thing that we are citizens of a country
which permits us such freedom of opin
ion; but, as the very sad mother of two
boys in the Army Air Corps, I sincerely
believe that this is a disastrous time for
an election. It is true that normally we
should be approaching the new elections,
but never in tho history of our country
have we been in a greater war, never
have we been in greater danger. Because
of this, I believe that today any time
given to campaign purposes, any time
devoted to debate or political wrangling
is valuable time wasted. Each of us
should stop to think that by devoting
even a few minutes of our time to petty
Letters to the Editor must
bear the name and address of
the writer, although the use of
a pseudonym for publication is
permissible. The Star reserves
the right to edit all letters with
a view to condensation.
politics, it means a prolongation of this
war, that it means the death of our sons
and thousands of other sons. Our Presi
dent is doing a marvelous job. He is
devoting himself whole-heartedly toward
effecting the end of this great world
struggle. Why then cannot we all be great
patriots and, by laying aside all political
jealousies, give our entire strength to
the winning of this war?
LUISA ANDRE WHIPPLE.
Third President Interpreted
As Supporter of Henry George.
To the Editor of The Star:
Were Thomas Jefferson living today
would he be a single-taxer? There is
much to support such a belief. It is
true that he never advocated, in terms,
the appropriation by the people, through
their Government, of the value their
presence gives to land—what political
economists term “ground rent.” About
the only value attaching to most land
In his day consisted of improvements
made thereon. There was little site
value; in fact, none so far as the vast
public domain was concerned. The need
for economic safeguards was not appar
ent in Jefferson's day.
But Jefferson did declare that "the
earth belongs in usufruct to the living”
and believed with his whole soul in the
political philosophy, as he expressed it,
of "equal rights to all, special privileges
to none.” Were he living today, is it
reasonable to suppose that he would fail
to see that economic slavery could exist
side by side with the political freedom
he prized so much and render it almost
a mockery? Deadly opposed to special
privilege, and an especially keen ob
server. would it have escaped his ob
servation that all other forms of special
privilege appeared dwarfed in compar
ison with the power to privately appro
priate the huge values created by the
presence of population, especially in our
great cities and places possessing notable
natural advantages, so that vast fortunes
could be amassed without the rendering
of any useful service?
Jefferson was convinced that each
generation would have its distinctive
problems and, so holding, was averse to
laws, constitutions and institutions that
tied the hands, so to speak, of the future.
He welcomed new light from any and
every source, keeping in touch with im
provements made in almost every field,
as his wide correspondence reveals. That
an institution was traditional was in his
eyes ground for suspicion, since, being
man-created, it was almost bound to
represent, more or less, the darkness of
the past. His test regarding the merit
of an Institution was the opposite to
that of Hitler, being: Did it operate to
afford the greatest good to the greatest
number?
The working philosophy of this man,
which governed his entire life, may well
justify the belief that, were he alive
today, he would be an ardent advocate
of an economic system whereby values
created by the public would be appro
priated by the public, thereby permitting
the lifting of the burden from productive
industry, leaving to each person, as far
as possible, the results of his labor. This
system is known as the single tax.
GEORGE A. WARREN. '
Haskin's Answers
To Questions 1
By Frederic J. Haskin.
A reader can get the answer to any
question of fact by writing The Mve
ning Star Information Bureau, Fred
eric J. Haskin, director, Washington,
D C Please inclose stamp for return
postage.
Q. What State has the highest birth
rate?—P. M.
A. New Mexico, where the rate is 27.8
per 1,000.
Q. Where are the two commercial
spider ranches in the United States lo
cated?—L. H. G.
A. They are located at Redlands,
Calif., and Predericktown, Ohio.
Q. What was the longest-priced win
ner in the Kentucky Derby?—E. L. H.
A. The longest-priced winner was Do
nerail in 1913, $91.45 to $1.
Q. Which extends farthest west, Vir
ginia or West Virginia?—H. T. R.
A. Virginia. The southwestern end of
this State extends many miles farther
west than any point in West Virginia.
The Children’s Book—Compiled
especially to provide entertainment
for the younger members of the
family, the grownups also will enjoy
the stories and verses chosen from
some of the best-loved classics of
childhood. Por rainy day fun there
are riddles, paper folding, scrambled
names and lots of other Interesting
things to do. To secure your copy of
this attractive little publication in
close 10 cents in coin, wrapped in this
clipping, and mail to The Star In
formation Bureau.
Name
Address
Q. What happen* to a bill after H la
signed by the President?—C. V.
A. It is sent to the office of the Secre
tary of State. That official give* It a
number as a public law and publishes It
as one of the laws of the land. At the
close of each session, these laws are con
solidated in a bound volume called
United States Statutes at Large.
Q. Are there any railroads in Liberia?
—D. T. S.
A. There are no railroads.
Q. What is the principal cause of air
plane accidents?—R. M. J.
A. More than 78 per cent of all plana
accidents are caused by personal errors,
such as judgment, technique, careless
ness, maintenance and the like.
Q. What famous painter was also an
Ambassador of his country?
A. Peter Paul Rubens.
Q. What is the average salary of a
Governor?—D. D. E.
A. The average salary is approxi
mately $8,000 a year.
Q. Was Cleopatra red-headed?—P. D.
A. According to popular conception
she was a brunet, but historical sources
supply no evidence. Cleopatra has been
portrayed upon the stage with red hair,
and Shakespeare alludes to bw as
tawny.
Q. What is the longest time that hu
man beings can go without sleep?—K. D.
A. The longest sleep fast on record, ap
parently, is that of human guinea pigs in
scientific study who went as long as 114
hours without sleeping.
Q. Why does the word "iota" mean
"something very small ’?—A. G. B.
A. Iota is the smallest letter of the
Greek alphabet, corresponding to tha
English "i.”
Q. What was Mark Twain’s rule about
smoking?—D. M. K.
A. The famous humorist said that he
made it a rule never to smoke but one
cigar at a time.
Q. What became of Gavrllo Prinzip,
whose assassination of Archduke Francis
precipitated the First World War?—P.
N. S.
A. Gavrilo Prinzip was sentenced to a
term of 20 years in an Austrian prison,
because he was only 18 years old, and too
young, under Austrian law, for the death
sentence. He died in a fortress near
Prague May 2, 1918.
Q. Has a Vice President ever resigned?
—R. D. G.
A. John C. Calhoun is the only one. He
resigned on December 28, 1832, to become
Senator from South Carolina.
Q. What building was called "the cen
tral building of the world”?—S. R. V.
A. Frederic Harrison in his book "The
Meaning of History” so termed the Par*
theon in Rome. It is the parent of all
structural domes which have been creat
ed since the date of its erection in the
year 124 A.D.
Q. Please give some information about
the republic of Stellaland.—D. M. F.
A. Stellaland was set up as a republic
by the Boers in 1882. It was in a territory
clearly outside the Transvaal by terms of,
the recent convention. Cecil Rhodes was
then beginning his career in the Cape
Parliament. The capital of the republie
fcas Vryburg.
Q. Lord Louis Mountbatten is said to
be the youngest admiral. How old is he?
—M. B. P.
A. Lord Louis was bom in 1900 and Is
now 42 years of age. He is the youngest
admiral in the modern navy.
April Sun
Hold dear this April sun. Insatiate,
Lean near and let slow warmth
sifting deep
Pour down electric rain and punctu
ate
The sluggish, tepid pulse, prick'
sharply, steep
Remote, sun - famished crannied?
shadow-filled.
Be pervious to molten drops that
wear
Away, Turn under shabby things and
gild
Cold crevices with gold. Sun
hungry, bare ,a
Thy mortal house to flooding rays
and feel
Soft moth wings of an April sun
brush clear
The inner air and gently, kindly, deal
With doubt and tiny, vaunting
roots of fear.
Hold dear this April sun and keep in
store
This gold for days when suns shall
come no more.
ELOISE 8. BLOCK.