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fjje fuenittg f&Iaf With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C Published by Thg Ivtning Star Ngwgpgpgr Company. FRANK I. NOYIS, Chairman at tha Board. FLEMING NEWIOLP, Frasident. B. M. McKELWAY, Editor. MAIN OFFICE: 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. NEW YORK OFFICE: 110 East 42d St. CHICAGO OFFICE: 433 North Michigan Ave. Delivered by Carrier—"Metropolitan Area. Daily and Sunday Daily Only Sunday Only Monthly -1.20* Monthly -90c 10c per copy Weekly —30c Weekly -20c 10* per cepy •10* additional when A Sundays are in a month. Also 10c additional Far Night Final Edition In these sections where delivery is made. Rata* by Mail—Payable in Advance. Anywhere in United States. Evening and Sunday Evening Sunday 1 month — 1 JO 1 month -- 90c 1 month d0< i months.- 7.30 4 months — 3.00 4 months 3.00 1 year_13.00 1 year_10.00 1 year —4.00 Telephone NAtienal 3000. Entered at the Pest Office, Washington, D. C„ as second-class mail matter. Member af tha Associated Pres*. The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the us* , far republication of all the local news printed In this newspaper, as well as all A. P. news dispatches, A_g TUESDAY, April 30. 1943 The Lewis Issue t There can be no doubt that Justice Goldsborough Is entirely right in saying that the conduct of John L. Lewis raises an issue which has to be met. It is an issue which, in its larger aspects, should have been met long ago. But it is better to meet it late than not at all. The Immediate issue is this: Should John L. Lewis, as the boss of a union of 400,000 coal miners, be permitted to flout the processes of democratic government and get away with it? The larger question, and the more disturbing one, is whether unionism on the model of the United Mine Workers is incompatible with the concept ; and the functioning of a free society. Justice Goldsborough has given his answer to the first question. By adjudging Mr. Lewis in contempt, he has served notice that the UMW president cannot safely trifle with the Federal courts, but will do so at his peril. This is a decision which is manifestly right and which de serves the wholehearted support of every thinking citizen. It is more difficult to see one's way through to a solution of the larger ques tion. Approximately one-third of the members of the United Mine Workers refused to return to work after Mr. Lewis was ordered to show cause why he should not be held in contempt of court. These men are still on strike and there have been indications that others may Join them, now that Mr. Lewis has been found guilty. It is all too plain that the purpose behind this is to coerce and intimidate the court. Apparently the miners think that, acting in concert, they can use their economic po-wer to stay the hand of the Federal Judiciary in dealing with the contemptuous conduct of their union president. Judge Goldsborough has mad* it. clear | that he cannot be intimidated, "but that does not dispose of the problem itself. For if the miners, or any substantial number of them, refuse to workip Protest against and in defiance of the court’s action, a very difficult problem will have been posed for the Government. It is difficult because the miners, as individuals, cannot be made to work if they do not want to work. There is no place in our system for involuntary servi tude, in the true sense of that term, and it has to be recognized at the outset that It is neither constitutionally possible nor desirable to proceed against the miners as Individuals for refusing to work, whatever their reasons. The alternative, if the miners are so foolish as to strike against the Federal courts, would be to consider ways and means of proceeding against their union, for it is self-evident that it is the tradition of union discipline and the spirit of loyalty to the union which are at the bottom of this problem. It is also self-evident, how ever. that loyalty to a union or union discipline cannot be put ahead of loyalty to the country in any industry which is vital to the national well being. To permit the United Mine Workers to use the strike as a weapon to coerce the courts, as the strike is used to coerce em ployers, means the substitution of anarchy for the orderly functioning of society. And Justice Goldsborough is correct in his warning that, in the last analysis, society will have to protect itself by destroying the offending unions. This is something that the unruly Mr. Lewis and his mine work ers had better think about, long and hard. Stamp and Coin Resolutions The Postmaster General Is swamped with demands for new stamps, and the Director of the Mint reports a tidal wave of requests for new coins. With regard to postal issues, the appeals are coming from the publicity representatives of different industrial organizations, tour ist agencies and similar pressure groups. The method used by these promoters is to persuade members of Congress to intro duce resolutions making mandatory the “commemoratives” they want. Thus the cheese makers and the poultry raisers of the Nation are to be advertised, the volun teer firemen honored, the tourist camps in the neighborhood of Gettysburg are to be filled with customers attending a celebration of the eighty-fifth anniversary of Lincoln's famous Address, if bills calling for these adhesives are passed and signed. A few days ago President Truman vetoed a requisition for a stamp for the centenary of the arrival of Swedish pioneers in the Middle West. But the agitation for such labels is not ended by executive disapproval. When the President, last year, frowned on the manufacturing of half dollars for special purposes, the practice of asking for coins for limited circulation was not stopped. On the contrary, the number of requests has increased in the past few months. An eight-cent piece is desired by the subway companies in New York in anticipation of a raise in fares. Other suggestions now under consideration may result in new •even-and-a-half cent and twelve-and-a half cent tokens. Some thirty “commem orative" Items, mostly fifty-centers, are • bespoken. And some of the requests admittedly are meritorious. For example, a stamp has been proposed to mark a hundred years of unbroken peace between the United States and Canada, and the philatelic public has indorsed the project. So, too, the forthcoming Benjamin Franklin half dollar has been approved by numismatists. What both kinds of collectors object to is unwanted, unnecessary issues brought out simply to accommodate professional prop agandists. The Postmaster General and the Director of the Mint alike, they say, ought to be trusted to provide really im portant ‘'commemoratives” without being needled into action by anybody. Eniwetok and Secrecy It Is typical of our dangerous age that we can be told no more at this stage than that “an atomic weapon” has been tested at Eniwetok Atoll, the recently developed proving ground in the Pacific. In making the announcement, our Atomic Energy Commission has left every thing else to speculation. The nature of the weapon—whether an improved bomb, a radioactive gas or some kindred instru ment of mass destruction—remains a secret for th^ present. So, too, does the nature of the test itself. No hint is offered. Even the date of the event is blacked out. All this contrasts sharply with what happened in the summer of 1946. At that time the spectacular Bikini experiments were wide open to the eyes of the world. But the International situation has changed markedly for the worse since then. The times are much more suspicion ridden now. Peace hopes are considerably dimmer. And common sense makes it unpleasantly necessary to enshroud a place like Eniwetok in secrecy and to declare the waters around It closed to everybody but a small group of Americans with special credentials. As a free people accustomed to full and uncensored information, we may find these new restrictions distastefully novel and out of key with our traditions. But the atom is awesomely revolutionary, and it requires circumspection of the most careful kind in the world we have now. It obliges us, for our own safety, to delegate to a few among us the authority to decide what we should or should not be told about it. Although there is a check on it in Congress, this is a very great power to give to any body in a democracy, but it is essential from the standpoint of national security. For the simple fact is that if we did not impose censorship on ourselves regard ing A-weapons, if we insisted on being told everything about them, then a potential enemy, keeping his own atomic activities in the dark, would be receiving aid and comfort from us of a kind that could be our undoing. It is true, of course, that rival Iron curtains in this field serve to intensify suspicions and accelerate the nuclear armaments race. But it is folly to suggest that we should operate in the full light of day while the Soviet Union cloaks itself In secrecy and persistently frustrates the desire of every other power to establish effective world control. There are no two ways about it. As long as the Russians pursue their present course, we shall have to keep a veil drawn across what our country is doing at Eniwetok and elsewhere in developing the atom for mili tary purposes. This is sidSply making the best of a bad situation. Ho matter how bleak it may seem as a policy, our national safety makes it mandatory in a world of grim realities. Three Voices in France It is no coincidence that the three most prominent leaders of France’s opposing parties should have picked 8unday for public pronouncements on their respective attitudes and policies. And their common choice of that date was due not merely to the eventful electoral balloting in neigh boring Italy, but also to the fact that the French National Assembly is reconvening after a longish recess. Indeed, two of the speakers did not even refer to the Italian elections, while the government spokesman limited his reference to a gesture of friend ship coupled with a prediction that Italy would return to true democracy. As might be anticipated, that govern ment spokesman was Premier Schuman, the others being Charles de Gaulle, head of the French People’s Rally (RPF), and Maurice Thorez, top man in the French Communist Party. Furthermore, there was nothing novel in their respective mes sages. Each was a reaffirmation and underscoring of their familiar platforms. Premier Schuman stood stanchly on his record, which can be epitomized as that of the ‘‘Third Force,” standing between the militant extremes to Left and Right, averting violence and furthering France's economic recovery with the aid of the United States and the collaboration of *the sixteen European nations working for the success of ERP. He therefore pleaded for nation-wide support of a government whose aim was to be “neither a syndicate of interests nor a coalition of partisans.” In short, he asked for national union based on constructive moderation. Interestingly enough, both his rivals also asked for national union—but one based on their respective versions of what that unity should mean. Charles de Gaulle reiterated his familiar thesis that new elections should be held to give France a government strong enough to deal with the mounting threat of communism. And | he deliberately flung this challenge in pro verbially “Red” Marseilles while strong cordons of troops and security police : averted trouble from the local Communists. As for Maurice Thorez, he harangued a gathering of workers’ youth organizations in Paris, castigating American Imperialism and urging the French people to “throw off United States domination for the ideals of the Soviet Revolution.” From all this, it is evident that, politi cally, France, like ancient Gaul, is “divided into three parts,” even though the De Gaullist movement is not adeqifetely rep I resented in a National Assembly elected j before the RPF had taken formal shape. I Yet there is enough Gaullist sentiment in i Parliament to make difficult the course of the Schuman cabinet in some controversial issues, notably its proposed lengthening of compulsory military service and the ever burning question of lay education in the schools. The French Communist Party remains compact and militant—a standing argument for De Gaulle' and his un compromising anti-communism. All of which means that the Schuman “Third Force” has its work cut out for It in its endeavor to keep France on an even keel. Shortage of Doctors News reports of the recent comments by two Maryland physicians—Dr. Charles S. Maxson of thd University of Maryland faculty and Dr. Richard J. Williams of Cumberland—are somewhat confusing. Both men seem to agree, however, that doctors themselves are helping to bring closer the day when this country will adopt some form of socialized medicine. Dr. Maxson was reported to have said in Baltimore that a public which finds it difficult to obtain physicians may lean toward socialized medicine. He was quoted as going on to say that doctors of today “take their week ends and their evenings. Some refuse to make any night visits and make it impossible to get a telephone connection with them in the evening.” Dr. Williams took this as being a slap at general practitioners, and retorted sharply that the few doctors in his com- , munity who do general medicine are over worked and keep on the go day and night. He blamed organized medicine for the shortage of general practitioners, assert ing that the profession encourages young men to specialize because of the high fefes to be obtained. Calling for a “grass roots revolt against such incompetent leader ship,” Dr. Williams added that “unless you men at the top very speedily mend your ways and stop trying to shift the responsibility onto the shoulders of the few of us who are doing general medicine, then the public will rise up and give us 8tate medicine whether we like it or not.” The layman is not in a position to know, and is not going to be too greatly con cerned, with the rights and wrongs of the clash between these two physicians. He is very much concerned, however, with the scarcity of general practitioners, especially in rural areas; the apparently Increasing trend toward specialization at the expense of general practice, and the high costs of modern medical care. If something is not done to bring more ade quate medical facilities within the financial reach of the average person the public is going to insist upon and bring about some | kind of State intervention. A Pittsburgh genius announces develop ment of a marvelous new machine which mines coal continuously. Assuming, of course, that it is not stared down by John L. Lewis. Dining car tables without vibration or sway are something new in railroading; and needed, as nothing so unsettles the squeamish traveler as a high surf running in the soup. For the GOP Old Guard the Stassen sweep in Western parts is an equivalent of the hotfoot. It hardly expected a prairie Are in the off season. An old man tells us he went along for seventy-five years thinking Bogota was accented on the second syllable, and felt fine. - ... ... i > ■ This and That By Charles E. Tracewell Thirteen an unlucky number? Not ft ,*,brown thrasher and a beautiful oriole show up in your yard on April 13, as they did in ours. Two better birds it would be hard to find. The thrasher was eating bread on the drive way, and the oriole was perched high in a locust tree. The best thing one can say for locusts is that they support birds. Trees are the real homes of songsters, not the nests, as popularly supposed. A nest is the cradle, a tree is the home. Unless, of course, one decides to call the air, itself, the home of the birds, as-it properly is. • * * * * Mockingbird, catbird and brown thrasher belong to a bird group called mimic thrushes, though none of them is a thrush. They get the group name because they are fine singers. Scientifically, the mockers are closer to the thrushes than to the wrens. The catbird and brown thrasher resemble ! neither group. The thrasher often is called the "big thrush," | but only the first part of this term is true. He is large, about 11 inches long. The name comes from his manner of thrash ing his tail around. The song of the bird is closer to that of the catbird than the mocker, but clearer and without any of the harsh notes. No doubt many suburban dwellers cry, "Oh, listen to the mockingbird!" when what they hear is the brown thrasher. The bird eats both insects and fruit, and is to be regarded as wholly beneficial. In the old days he kept mostly to secluded areas, such as swamps and groves, but today, along with the brown thrush, he has become a suburban bird. He is a nice bird to have around. Starlings sometimes make life miserable for him, at nesting time, but generally he is able to hold his own. The nest is large, flat, made of leaves, roots, feathers and some hair, if available. The eggs number from three to five, pale green, speckled with brown. "The song of this thrasher is one of the most musical and delightful of American bird utter ! ances," wrote an expert. j There are other thrashers, notably one I called Sennett’s, but the brown thrasher is the ' only one we have around here. He is enough. The bird lover could ask for no better j creature, nice to have in the trees, friendly, ! beautiful to watch. * * * * The oriole is much smaller, not more than 8 inches long, but he makes up for it by a georgeous combination of black and orange, i famous the world around. The female is not so colorful, being plain, j olive, with a bit of dull orange, but she more j thap makes up for it by being one of the ' cleverest of all nest builders. That hanging nest she constructs is an en gineering feat, really, with its swinging char acter, its long pieces of cord used to tie the whole to the limb. It is said that the lady oriole somehow man ages to understand all the stresses and strains the nest will undergo, as it swings from the end of a long branch hanging over the garden. Unlike some birds, notably swallows, which build according to ancestral ways, and use materials now out of date—at least for them— the lady oriole today dispenses with long grasses and utilizes cord, twine and the like, whenever she can find it. This is perhaps the only instance in which long cords should be placed out for, the birds, since robins and other twine-using birds are likely to hang themselves with them. Ordinarily, only short lengths, not more than four Inches long, of wool and string should be put out for the birds. The mother oriole wants them longer, and usually manages to find them, somewhere. She is a craftsman. The male bird is the singer, the beauty of the family. His whistle is famous throughout the land. Together, they make a wonderful team. I Letters to The Star * >Vants Law Against It ' To the tar of Th« Stir: I have noted with Interest the several let ters appearing in favor of radio installation in our streetcars. May I venture to make a few comments? The first announcements of this feature mentioned only soft music and I venture to say that 90 per cent of those voting in favor of this Installation thought that was all that was intended. It has only been Tecently that anything was said about commercials and commentators. Yet as I stood on the platform at Fourteenth and East Capitol streets (which is halfway down the block) my ears were as sailed by the loud raucous tones of some com mentator as the car left the bam around the corner. I refused to get on that car. We now are told the programs will be mostly music and a few well chosen commercials. Well, does even the simplest of us believe that the head of this radio outfit will refuse any commercials offered it? Who is to rule on how much time will be given to music and how much to commercials? No; the whole proposal is an outrage. I do not listen to this sort of thing in my home, but I am going to be made to listen to it on the street cars. In,a taxicab, I can ask the driver to turn his radio off; if he does not, I can get out. I say this proposition is a violation of my rights as a citizen in that I will be made to listen to what I don't wish to. There surely is some law against it or should be. JUST A WORKING SECRETARY. Russia’s Aggressions Appraised To the Editor of The 8t»r: The Russian government has been insisting that the United States is guilty of aggression and that Russia is not doing and has not done anything to disturb us; and also that the United States should stop aiding countries like Greece which are struggling against the fate that overtook Czechoslovakia at the hands of Rus sia’s stooges, the Communists, Naturally Rus sia, though she herself has universal military training, does not want the United States to be strong militarily. Consequently, her faith ful followers in America, the Communists, are opposed to the draft and to universal military training. Mr. Wallace, as the "peace by appeasement” candidate and the candidate backed by the Communists, naturally could be expected to echo Russia’s position precisely, although he tries to have us believe that he does not know what the Communist position is. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, he said that universal military training con stituted aggression and that Russia was not guilty of aggression or even guilty of anything that would cause us alarm. Apparently he thinks that Russia's attacks on Poland in 1939 and on Finland in 1940; and her swallowing | up of the independent Baltic nations since the end of World War II were just friendly ges tures. Also, I wonder how he could explain Russia's refusal to permit any powers of in spection and control to an international atomic energy authority. It is a widely held belief that only those who have something to con ceal try to avoid investigation. ALFRED BAKER LEWIS. A New Planned Economy To the Editor of The Star: To assure continued prosperity, avoid further inflation, and promote the general welfare, Con gress should: 1. Repeal the war taxes on amusements, furs, transportation and jewelry. 2. Liquidate the Maritime Commission, cost ing millions of dollars and fostering Harry Bridges and the Red unions. 3. Cut the cost of Government to 27 billions of dollars for 1948-9. This is three times the amount spent in 1939. 4. Repeal both the Taft-Hartley law and Wagner act. 5. Increase the exemption on Individual in come taxes to $1,000. 6. Stop pouring billions of hard-earned American dollars down the bottomless rat holes of Europe and Asia. 7. Provide the people with more information and debate on the financial conditions of the Government corporations, such as the Export Import Bank, the World Bank, R. F. C., Com modity Credit Corp., as well as tell why the 90 billions (cost prices) in war assets at the end of the war were not used to make a substantial debt reduction. So far, the present Congress has been the best one in nearly two decades, but due to the New Dealers in it, its accomplishments have not been as great as those of the 1920s, when in single years, more automobiles and more houses were built than in any year since, de spite a great increase in population and need. After all, cars and homes give more real hap piness and better living than does the 1946-7 record production of radios, movies and baloney. ANTI-HOOVER REPUBLICAN. Modern Art ‘Stuff* To the Editor of The Star: Years ago I remember attending exhibitions of the Society of Washington Artists, where Harold McDonald—from whom I took lessons in 'portrait painting; James Henry Moser, a line landscape painter; Max Weyl, another painter of landscapes, and others made the | exhibitions worthwhile. Now I have seen the present exhibit of the Society of Washington Artists being held in the National Museum. Almost all of the paint ings in the present exhibit are ’way off in draw ing, perspective and color. One picture near the entrance shows figures scattered around in the air, and as flat as paper dolls. It looks as if made by a 6-year-old. There is a painting of a boy s head which I looks as if it were done in tomato Juice—neck j and all! In a front face it shows one nostril ' above the other. Some of the paintings of figures show the worst looking hands I ever saw. J There is very little, if any, flesh color shown in the paintings—one man's face is colored green! I can’t see the reason in exhibiting such stuff. ! Certainly no sane person, who knew anything about art, would have such stuff hanging in any part of his house! H. B. BRADFORD. Still Critical of AAA To the Editor of The Ster: In Walter W. Hubbard's explanation (April 14), is it not unfair to place full responsibility of the police co-ordinator in the merely accidental selection of sons of only commis sioned officers to represent the Boy Safety Patrols? Surely a large organization such as the AAA, which does an excellent job of school traffic control, at least outlines broad, general policies and checks on any work which it backs. Then why did such an unrepre sentative as well as undemocratic result follow? As the wife of a reserve officer, who rose from the combat ranks, and the daughter of a Regular Army officer, I can well agree that “an officer’s blood is just as truly Ameri can and just as red as one of the under privileged." Also I reiterate my former state ment of the respect due the six boys selected and their fathers who gave outstanding serv ice in the last war. However, in a democracy we need to practice democratic selection and actual representa tion of the whole city, not just one section. In all my experience in the public school system, the teachers and officials were most careful to make selections representative of the whole group, not a topheavy one. Especially in these days, we need to be Letters for publication ir.ust bear the signature and address of the writer, although it is permissible for a writer known to The Star to use a nom de plume. Please be brief. aware of and give democratic principles actual practice, not merely lip service. Can AAA afford to do less and keep Its faith with the school children? ONE WHO REMEMBERS. Sees UMT Hearings as Comedy To the Editor at The Ster: It was time for a laugh, even if the high salaried authors of the crisis drama didn’t write it into the script. We’d been bored by the slow-moving early acts of the play for universal military training, although some of the threads of the plot had been amusing—the attempt to delete ‘‘military’’ from the title and the Fort Knox deodorizing experiment, for instance. We’d also been im pressed by the perfection with which the "brass hats” had memorized their parts. And we'd been amazed at the director's ability to control his “prima donnas.” Then came the unexpected climax as the Commander-in-Chief read his fearful lines. Suddenly we were on the brink of war. Not only UMT but also the draft (and Mr. Tru man) are a one-package national necessity, he recited. The audience became tense. The strain was relieved for some by the spectacle of Senator Gurney (Republican) in his red, white, and blue toga, striding to the side of his com mander (Democrat). Other Republicans, and Democrats, refusing to be stampeded by a synthetic war cry, waited for the facts. Crafty Taft dangled a few planes before the cast. The command performance mutinied. A bigger air force was the No. 1 defense requirement, the Secretary for Air now testi fied. It was more important than UMT or the draft. It was time for a good laugh to dissipate the tension. The Navy was the pet of ex-Assistant Secre tary of the Navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Army is the pride of ex-Captatn of Battery D, Harry Truman. And naturally air power is the first love of the Air Corps. The drama peters out and the truth emerges: It's a matter of prejudiced opinion that UMT or the draft or a bigger air force is essential. And the cry of "Crisis! Johnny get your gun!” is only a line in a carefully staged drama. Now let’s get back to the tough Job of in telligently working out the world’s problems. Grabbing a gun is only an infantile approach, as all but the "infants” among us know. E. R. P. Confidence in ‘Ordinary People’ To the Editor of The Star: In reference to the revised Washington home rule bill, just introduced in the House by Rep resentative Auchlncloss, may I say that there are many plain citizehs who are not in the least frightened "by the so-called ‘‘minority blocks” or "radicals” who a few alarmists claim will rule the District were the bill passed? But instead we have faith in ordinary people, like ourselves, who have managed to .elect pretty capable representatives in other cities in the United States. VIRGINIA C. STREET. What Has Become of Good Manners? To the Editor of Th* Stei: Can any of your readers give a satisfactory answer to the following pertinent questions? What has become of noblesse oblige in men and fairness in their dealings? ■ What has become of the oldSflme confidence and respect we had for one another? What has become of the gift or woman who understood and appreciated a^jpcerely meant compliment, not taking it aimss, but being grateful for it? • • What has become of the man who knew how to pay and did pay such compliments? What has become of the old-fashioned family physician and friend of the family? What has become of the old-time minister who visited his parishioners and prayed with them in their homes? Why can we not now, as formerly, sit down together and In frank, heart-to-heart talk adjust our misunderstandings? Why Is there now so much surface polite ness and so little genuine courtesy and con sideration for our neighbors? T. S. KEY-SMITH. English-Speaking Union To th* Editor of The Ster: Seeing that the United Nations (with Com munist Russia and her perpetual veto inside) gives far less promise of preserving freedom and -peace than we earnestly had hoped, we should think about the following: The effec tive strength of the United Nations is, as far as the democratic world goes, simply the strength of the English-speaking world. Take this strength from the U. N., and it will fall more utterly than the old League. But there is no reason why Russia should hold any veto power whatever over the effective unity of the great English-speaking world. This English-speaking world can, and should, find effective unity entirely outside the neces sarily cumbersome U. N., where nobody's veto could break it up or render it sterile. Such unity need not conflict with the U. N. But if there must be a choice between the United English-Speaking Peoples and the nominally United Nations, which would do most good for the cause of world freedom? Assuredly, the great English-speaking peo ples, who certainly have done most to cradle and extend human liberty, and to defend it in its times of direst peril, are the peoples whose unity would mean most to all freedom in this hour. BOLLING SOMERVILLE. Auchincloss Bill a Step To the *ditor of The 8t»r: Your support of the revised Auchincloss Bill for Home Rule and Reorganization in the District of Columbia Is a welcome addition to the voices calling for the return to the people of Washington of their right to participate in selection of their governors and of their form of government. You have helped to show how difficult it would be, with the new provision for submitting the proposed charter to a referen dum, for any Washingtonian who appreciates the principles of representative government, to which as a people we still fortunately are committed, to Justify opposition to enactment of the bill. Let us hope that we no longer shall hear the specious arguments of those who, unwill ing to admit that they oppose any form of home rule, seek to forestall it by Insisting that national representation should come first and that without national representation we would not have "true home rule.”" The people of the District, of course, should be represented in Congress in proportion to their numbers. The Capper bill which would start the long, ar duous process for the necessary amendment to the Constitution should be enacted. But to in sist that we must wait for that long process to run Its course before we regain the right to govern our local affairs is a sorry form of standpattlsm. The Auchincloss Bill gives us, in the form of a delegate in the House of Rep resentatives, the greatest degree of national representation possible without waiting for a constitutional amendment. This is a half-loaf which is Immeasurably better than no loaf at aU. MARSHALL HORNB LOWER. The Political Mill ***■ Ohio Stassen Votes Seen From Labor, Democrats Minnesotan ‘Cutting It Pretty Fine* In Primary Politics, Saye Writer By Gould Lincoln Stassen leaders are counting seriously on organized labor and Democratic support for their candidate in the coming Ohio primary tor the election of delegates to the Republican National Convention. Labor, they figure, will go all out to defeat Senator Taft—co-author of the Taft-Hartley Act. They are counting cm Democratic labor as well as Republican— and other Democrats who do not like Mr. Taft —to help Mr. Stassen win delegates in 8enator Taft’s home State. All's fair in politics. Tet this reliance on organized labor and Democratic votes to defeat Senator Taft in the industrial districts of Ohio —for the sake of another Republican who has given his indorsement to the Taft-Hartley Act —is cutting it pretty fine. Certainly it is not calculated to win the support of any 100-per cent Taft leader or delegate in the national convention—if and when Senator Taft no longer has a chance for the presidential nomination. The Ohio Senator is not taking this assault upon him in Ohio lying down. He has already started hammering at the former Governor of Minnesota and will continue to do so until the primary, May 4. Mr. Taft, except for on# day, will campaign continuously in the dis tricts where he believes it is most needed. First Clip at Stassen. His first clip at Mr. Stassen's chin was de livered Sunday. He said that the Minnesotan had chosen to campaign for the presidential nomination and to work for two years instead of getting himself elected to the Senate to fight the New Deal in Washington. In other words—that Mr. Stassen had put his own per sonal ambition ahead of the good of the Republican Party and the country. This is a new way of looking at the Stassen candidacy and Mr. Stassen's early anouncement he in tended to run for President. It has been obvious for a long time that Senator Taft and.Gov. Dewey of New York also had their personal ambitions for IMS. But, as Mr. Taft pointed out, he was working in his official position to defeat the New Deal Democrats and their policies—and did not have the same freedom to move about the country in his own personal interests as dfd Mr. Stassen. Mr. Stassen is entered in only 11 congres sional districts of Ohio—one-half of the whole lot. These 11 districts either lie in an in dustrial center or contain one. The strategy, of course, in this selection is the labor vote. Also Mr. Stassen has entered only one dele gate-at-large candidate—although nine dele gates-at-large are to be elected. It would have been fairer, of course, as a test between Sena tor Taft and Mr. Stassen, to have had nine Stassen delegate-at-large candidates placed in the field. What the Stassen people are count ing on is “single-shot" or “bullet" voting to help their candidate for delegate-at-large win. In other words, that they will vote only for one delegate-at-large candidate when they mark their ballots. Reports from Ohio are that some Stassen ites already are urging Democrats to go into the Republican primary and vote against Senator Taft. Yet this is supposed to be a contest between two Republican leaders. Stassen Aides Confident. Stassen leaders speak confidently of winning five or more delegates in Ohio. Their best chances are to pick up one in a Cleveland district, one in the Akron district, two in the Youngstown district, and a delegate-at-large. Whether Taft can stem the tide—or whether the tide for Stassen is as strong as it is made out to be, the next two weeks will tell. The Stassen delegate-at-large is Carrington Mar shall, who was formerly Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, an office to which he was elected. Marshall is a good-running name in Ohio. The Taft people have one recourse to halt Democratic voting for Mr. 8tassen, if it develops. They may challenge any voter at the polls who they believe is a Democrat. When challenged, the voter must take an oath that he voted for a majority of the Republican candidates on the ballot In the last election. There is nothing they can do about Mr. Stassen’s appeal to the labor vote—except to keep it constantly before labor’s eyes that Mr. Stassen has approved the Taft-Hartley Act. Mr. Stassen, having insisted that Senator Taft is far more conservative than Is he, also will be requested to state his own views on public housing, public health and other social issues in comparison with those of Senator Taft. The race is a severe one, with Mr. Stassen standing to win much or lose little, whichever way the primary goes. Mr. Taft must win or lose a lot of prestige. Questions and Answers A reader can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Evening Star Information Bureau 31S Eye street N E . Washington 2. D. C. Please inclose three (3) cents for return postage. BY THE HASKIN SERVICE. Q. What is the chief source of the funds which support public schools? I. J. M. A. Funds for the support of public schools are derived from taxes. The National Educa tion Association says that the following figures represent, sources of funds to support public schools: Local taxes. 65.63 per cent; State taxes, 32.99 per cent; Federal taxes, 1 38 per cent. These figures were collected in 1943 and 1944 and are the latest available. q. When a tree is cut down, how much of it actually goes into lumber and how much is waste? C. I. M. A. In general, about one third <33 per cent,! of a felled tree gets into lumber. Wood waste (tops, limbs and stumps) takes 25 per cent, mill waste (bark, sawdust, etc.) 37 per cent, while seasoning waste represents 6 per cent, Q. How can palladium jewelry be readily distinguished from platinum? O. A. N. A. Palladium is much like.platinum in ap pearance and hardness. It is. however, much lighter in weight than platinum and is also lighter than gold. Q. Are weeds an indicator of good soil for a garden? M. M. A Places where weeds flourish are likely to have good soil. Dark green foliage and large size of plant and leaf are good indications of abundant nitrogenous plant food in the soil. Yellowish foliage and sparse stringy growth show lack of this material. Old Wives' Cure From the darkest corner of a musky bin, Choose the smoothest apple; cut the skin Toward the blossom-end, and pat it on the wart; Or select from summer’s tallest sort Of marigolds in flower. Where the leaves are fewer Is the stem’s bright water made to cure. ■But if you would hasten any wart to go, , Bury seven toad-eggs in the new moon s glow. This an old wife told me. I do not deny it . . . n r hud a wart, surely I would try it! ROSE MYRA PHILLIPS * I