Evening star. [volume], April 29, 1948, Page A-14, Image 14

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A—14 •_THURSDAY, April 29, 1948
Who Protects This Racket?
United States Attorney Fay says his esti
mate of a hundred million dollars a year
gambling racket in Washington is con
servative.
If he is even approximately correct in
his estimate, the suspicion is inevitable
that somebody is gStting paid to protect
the racket. It is hard to believe that a
racket of that size could continue to flour
ish without offleial protection in some
form.
There may be contributing reasons. Mr.
Fay mentions the growth of the racket
here as due in part to the interstate nature
of its operations. The money is collected
here, but the operations are directed from
headquarters in Maryland and Virginia.
That is one reason for the unusual resort
to a special grand jury, exclusively devoted
to investigation of the racket and with
Jurisdiction unlimited by boundary lines.
There may be official incompetence in
police work. The gambling laws may'need
strengthening. But none of these expla
nations for the creeping paralysis in
enforcement is adequate. The volume of
money wagered daily, with little or no
interference, points most strongly to a
system intrenched by corruption.
That is what makes this investigation
so important, with so much depending on
its success or its failure. Nobody is going
to be able to put a stop to gambling. But
an earnest investigation, backed by the
authority and the means requested by Mr.
Fay and granted by the court, should be
able to expose the operations of the system
and put somebody in jail.
The demoralizing influence of gambling,
insofar as the individual player is con
cerned, is a matter of personal opinion.
But there can be no debate over the
demoralizing influence of a system which
collects millions of dollars every week in
illegal operations with little or no effec
tive interference from the agencies set up
by Government to enforce the law.
Only a Dream
It is easy for a man like Dr. Einstein,
who has no responsibility for the safety
of this Nation, to denounce our armament
program and assert that our only hope of
peace and security lies with world govern
ment.
It is easy for him because he does not
have to tell us how we are going to achieve
world government. He does not have to
tell us how this world government is going
to function if it ever can be set up. And
he does not have to tell us how this coun
try, having thrown down its arms, would
survive under attack if the bid for world
government, once made, should fail, as
almost certainly would be the case under
existing conditions. •
Dr. Einstein has just been presented with
a One World Award for his efforts in be
half of world unity and permanent peace.
That he has sincerely dedicated himself
to these ends is not to be questioned. It
is equally obvious, however, that the course
which he would have us take ignores all
of the lessons of our experience. Once
before, after World War I, the United
States discarded its arms. We scrapped
our Navy, disbanded our Army and put
our faith in solemnly worded international
agreements. And in doing so we came
within a hair’s breadth of losing World
War II. We must not do it again. We
must not be soft-minded enough to give
another dictator a chance to strike us
down.
The world government of Dr. Einstein’s
dreams will have to wait until mankind is
ready for it. As long as we are confronted
with a threat from hostile arms, as we are
today, we have no rational choice except
to remain armecf and ready ourselves.
An Epochal Oleo Victory
It is reassuring to those who believe in
democratic legislative processes to see the
House, after full debate in public of all
the pros and cons, cast an overwhelming
vote in favor of repeal of all oleomargarine
taxes. The opportunity to vote on this
subject is something the House had been
denied for many years by arbitrary refusal
of its Agriculture Committees to report
any repeal bill.
But the House originally had willed it
that way. Butter interests, backed by the
powerful farm bloc, induced the House
long ago to take all tax bills affecting
oleo away from Ways and Means Com
mittees and send them to the Agriculture
Committees—where they would be assured
of ‘•proper” treatment. “Proper” treat
ment consisted year after year of consign
ment to a pigeonhole, permanently.
This year, however, new and stronger
margarine champions made themselves
conspicuous at the Capitol. Aroused house
wives, resentful of being forced to knead
color into white margarine in order to
avoid the ten-cent Federal tax, joined with
soybean and cotton seed farmers in the
fight to end the senseless and unjust dis
criminatory taxes on margarine. When
the House Agriculture Committee, accord
ing to custom, refused to report the
legislation so that the House could debate
It and vote on it, margarine defenders
circulated ^ petition and soon obtained
tnough signatures to discharge the com
mittee and bring the measure to the floor.
What happened yesterday adds a new and
bright chapter in the dark legislative
history of margarine legislation.
Of course, the Senate constitutes an
other hurdle. But the Senate never
has made a regular practice of squelching
the subject by referring the legislation to
its Agriculture Committee. And there are
good indications that the Senate, too, will
vote to abolish discrimination. The fight
for margarine will not be over with final
repeal of Federal taxes, however. Twenty
one States still have laws making it illegal
to sell colored margarine. New Jersey
recently set a good example for these
States to follow. She repealed an old
law with ceremonies which were acclaimed
not only within the State but outside its
boundaries. It begins to look as though
margarine finally is to get the fair deal
it deserves as a cheap and nutritious
competitor of butter.
The UMT Compromise
Although the compromise combined
military training-selective service plan
faces a rough road in Congress, it has
military and economic advantages that
will have wide appeal. One year of train
ing in the regular forces will turn out
better potential soldiers than six months
of UMT instruction followed by reserve
service, military leaders believe. And
abandonment of UMT, for the present
at least, would save nearly half a billion
dollars earmarked for that purpose in the
next fiscal year and nine hundred millions
the following fiscal year.
The saving would result from the fact
that the one-year training program for
youths from 18 to 1SVi years old could be
integrated with the regular draftee-train
ing setup at slight extra cost. But the
training program would lose its “universal”
aspect, because only about one in four
youths of eligible age would be selected for
the course each year. Those not called
would become subject to regular draft
duty upon becoming 19»/2 years old, accord
ing to the latest plan.
Defense officials admittedly seized upon
the compromise proposal as a means of
salvaging what they can from what ap
peared to be a losing cause. As the
demands for a seventy-group Air Force
have increased in recent weeks, the oppo
sition to UMT has grown stronger. Gen
eral Bradley sized the situation up well
when he commented that it is “easier to
write a check than to lend our sons to
service.” He told a group of magazine pub
lishers in New York City that he doubts
the wisdom of a “checkbook plan of de
fense.” He said he fears we are “in danger
of convincing ourselves by wishful think
ing that we can purchase security by
building machines less painfully than by
calling on men and their spirit.”
General Bradley’s appraisal of what has
been happening with respect to the defense
program is not an unfair one. It is only
natural that Congress would prefer to
draft dollars rather than men in the cause
of security. But Defense Secretary For
restal and the Joint Chiefs of Staff con
tend that the decision is not that easy.
Men as well as money are needed by a
balanced defense organization, they em
phasize. The purchase of planes alone is
not a substitute for trained manpower.
But it is possible that more money would
be available for planes, at least in the
immediate future, if Congress were to
shelve UMT for the time being in favor of
the new joint training-selective service
expedient. Certainly the compromise plan
would be more effective militarily than a
watered-down UMT program—which would
probably be the only kind which would
have a chance of passage at this session.
Jerusalem and the U. N.,
Events in Palestine are moving far
faster than the United Nations’ efforts
to control them. Indeed, with the Arabs
and Jews apparently headed for a struggle
to the death, there seems little that the
General Assembly can do now beyond
acting to protect the holy places of Jeru
salem. But this little is of great impor
tance, and the U. N., operating through
the Trusteeship Council, should lose no
time in doing it. To delay would be to
risk the ruin of ancient buildings and
sites peculiarly sacred to peoples of three
great faiths throughout the world.
This is a matter that involves much
besides the preservation of the shrines
themselves. The holy places of Jerusalem
are intimately and fundamentally associ
ated with the origin and history of
Judaism, Christianity and Moslemism.
They are not mere stone. They are deeply
revered for what they mean everywhere
in terms of religion. Any damage done
to them, therefore, would be regarded as
a shocking sacrilege by great multitudes
in all parts of the globe. More than
that, it would further inflame the passions
already on fire in Palestine, making
harder than ever any effort to establish
peace there.
In the circumstances, the U. N. General
Assembly, since it seenis incapable at the
moment of working out a settlement for
the Holy Land as a whole, has done well
to instruct the Trusteeship Council to
give priority attention to Jerusalem’s
safety. As matters stand, there is not
much time left for this, but there is still
reason to hope that the French proposal
for a small international police force—
a force of not more than 1,000 men—
may be adequate to meet the emergency.
At any rate, the Arabs and Jews have de
clared that they are in favor of some
such setup and will co-operate with it.
If so, then we can be reasonably confident
that the shrines will be kept safe from the
ravages of the violent warfare now in the
making.
As for file warfare itself, it seems
virtually inevitable. With the British
scheduled to give up their mandate on
May 15, with the Zionist leadership de
termined to establish and defend a sepa
rate Jewish state against all comers, and
with the Arab League countries reportedly
intent on a full-scale invasion, something
like an eleventh-hour miracle will be
needed to prevent an explosion. This
is the more true because the Palestinian
Arabs have warned the General Assembly
that unless it Teverses its November vote
for partition they will regard the entire
Holy Land as an Arab nation and will deal
with the Jews accordingly. Apparently,
since they have no real force of/heir own,
they are counting on the help «*f outside
armies under the command of King Ab
dullah of Trans-Jordan.
Accordingly, unless there is some last
minute Arab-Jetoish agreement to try
again with the United Nations to work
out a peaceful settlement, unless both
sides are willing to explore the possibility
of creating the single binational state
favored by some Arabs and Jews, Palestine
will almost certainly be rocked soon with
warfare of a kind that could threaten
the general peace. In such a situation,
if it can do nothing else, the U. N. must
at least act to protect Jerusalem. In fact,
if successful methods can be found to
safeguard that sacred city, the same
methods conceivably may be fruitful in
eventually establishing peace throughout
the Holy Land as a whole.
To Save More Lives
It is gratifying to learn that Washington
stood first among the Nation’s large cities
last year in the campaign to make the
streets safer for pedestrians.' Those who
are co-operating in the continuing drive
against traffic accidents will be glad to
know that their persistent efforts are
showing tangible results.
Greater than the pleasure which nat
urally comes from receiving the 1947 grand
award of the American Automobile Asso
ciation is the satisfaction which comes
from realizing that human lives have been
saved. Just how many persons are alive
today because of the increasing alertness
of drivers and walkers can only be guessed.
But the accident figures show that traffic
fatalities among pedestrians have dropped
from seventy-seven to forty-nine in two
years—despite an increase in traffic and
hence a rise in hazards.
The AAA board of judges, after study
ing the statistics and reviewing the con
certed safety drive made by police, traffic
authorities, organizations and others, came
to the conclusion that the reduction in
deaths was not just a coincidence. The
judges were convinced that there was a
definite relationship between the decline
in mortality figures and the co-operative
municipal and community lifesaving battle
waged in the District.
That Washington does not intend to
relax one whit in this winning struggle
against death and injury is evidenced by
the new move by the Commissioners’
Traffic Advisory Board to concentrate on
protecting children during the coming
vacation season. It is a distressing fact
that fifty more children have been injured
in traffic accidents so far this year than
during a similar period last year. That is
a bad omen, calling for intensive action
if the Capital is to remain in the forefront
of cities competing for' national safety
honors.
When activated, a new type of burglar
alarm screams like a woman. This is for
homes with no woman who screams like a
woman.
Details of the latest atomic-bomb explo
sion in the Pacific are a deep secret, which
seems to set an entirely new high for hush
ing up a report.
This and That
By Charles E. Tracewell
“CARLTON AVENUE N.E.
"Dear Sir:
“Your recent article relative to birds and
music brings to mind an incident, as follows:
I was working in a downtown office building,
and heard a lot of short bird trills. In a
small tree were numerous English sparrows,
which were trying to imitate a longer, more
powerful trill coming from somewhere out of
sight.
“I stuck my head out the window to see if
I could identify the ‘bird’ they were imitating.
It was a man with water whistles, and he was
trilling on one as he went down the street.
“Yours very truly, H. E. J.”
* * * *
Ope of these whistles is a good thing to
have around the house, if you are interested
in birds.
Even in the suburbs, where there are plenty
of songsters, one of these whistles will cause
the singers to redouble their efforts.
There was a blond salesgirl in a busy
downtown “dime store.”
She was having a lot of fun standing in the
doorway, attracting the attention of passers-by
with one of these whistles.
The sound was so powerful that it could
easily have been heard across the street
despite the traffic noise.
We got a whistle, of course. We fall for
most sidewalk gadgets, and this was almost
on the sidewalk.
Then there was that man with the dancing
cat. The cat danced like mad, and it was
easily realized that there must be some trick
to it, but it was not so easy to see the invisible
black thread that was affixed to the cat.
When we got the cat home, its rubber bal
loon head would not inflate, at least with
ordinary blowing.
A bicycle pump was in order, and this did it.
* * * *
If you like the birds, we recommend a water
whistle.
Any instrument of this sort will attract
birds, and cause them to sing louder.
Few devices, though, are as natural as one
of these whistles.
They even have played parts in symphony
orchestras. Nothing quite takes their place,
if a bird must be imitated.
Some of them manage to do a better job
than others, of course, but the birds are not
particular.
Their hearing aids take in the sound, not
the intent. They hear what seems a very
loud bird, and they try to outdo him.
If there is no competition (and it would be
difficult to prove it) the bird whistle just stirs
them up, let us say.
It is well known that when one wants to
make a canary sing that will not sing without
urging, nothing does better than a whistle, or
a violin, piano, or even phonograph or radio.
One would think offhand that a flute might
be even better.
Or a fife!
It is much to the credit of the birds that
they always recognize music as such, whether
it comes from the elaborate symphony or
chestra or the simple water whistle.
This is odd, since these feathered creatures
know nothing of the “appreciation of music,”
to use the silly phrase that has gained so
much credence nowadays.
Birds trouble their brains not at all over
melody, rhythm, harmony, composition, and
yet they excel in all of them.
Wood thrushes use double notes, real
harmony; woodpeckers understand rhythm;
mockingbirds create melodies, as do all birds
of course; and all of them compose, too; at
least to a certain extent.
We may feel sure that if they had known
how to develop a living language, universal
among them, they would have gone on to
create music far in advance of any they now
have, maybe even better than our own.
This universal bird music of the future
that never came—
Would it not have been thrilling to listen
to? And since we were never-fated to hear
it, may we not be perfectly satisfied with what
we have?
An old mocker on a limb, on a moonlight
night, or a beautiful thrush at eve, or a song
sparrow on a gatepost — these make music,
if not of the spheres, at least of this earth,
green_ and rolling in springtime to unknown
destinies.
Letters to The Star
Fairfax Co. School Board Criticized
To the Editor of The Star:
In Fairfax County we have a school board
which is appointed by a Circuit Court judge.
The Circuit judge is appointed in the first in
stance. Then he appoints a “school trustee
electoral board,” which in turn appoints the
school board. The school board appoints the
superintendent and he in turn appoints the
teachers—each year for a one-year term. Does
this leave a way open for the teachers to be
anything else than subservient?
The overseas veterans of Fairfax and vicinity
have had a post of the Veterans of Foreign
Wars for a little over a year. Last year, be
cause of the newness of the post, the annual
poppy sale conducted on a national scale was
not conducted in Fairfax County. However,
this year, with four new Veterans of Foreign
Wars posts in the county, it was decided by
the majority of them to have the drive. There
fore, a committee of the Blue and Gray Post,
No. 8469, of Fairfax directed a communication
to the school board asking them to allow the
sale of poppies in the county school system.
This request has been turned down.
It was pointed out to the school board that
the President of the United States had indorsed
the program, that the poppies are made by
disabled veterans and that the proceeds from
the sale of the same would go to the relief
funds of the Individual posts and ladies auxili
aries and the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ Na
tional Home (an orphanage at Eaton Rafcids,
Mich.). This made no difference, apparently,
to our school board. It is a sad commentary on
their part that they give the veterans no more
consideration than this. After all, the men who
will most benefit (the disabled veterans) made
it possible for these men to remain in compara
tive comfort during the years 1941-1945 and to
better establish themselves locally.
'It is interesting to note that in Arlington
County, an adjoining county where there is
an elected school board, the board co-operates
with the veterans’ organizations and allows the
sale of poppies in the school system.
Fairfax, Va. KARL 0. SPIESS.
Criticizes ‘Soft’ DAR
To the Editor of The 8t»r:
I am categorically opposed to the blind
super-nationalistic resolution passed by the
DAR Convention April 22 which attacks the
establishment of a world government.
This resolution desecrates the hallowed
memory of American Revolutionary Federal
ists who knew that peace between states
could only exist under a Federal Government
whose laws were backed by force. These Fed
eralists—Hamilton, Jefferson, Jay—fought to
establish the great democratic principle of
federation in America. Today we see this
same principle betrayed by their soft and
contehted descendants. The DAR fear of
being out-voted by the Asiatics badly dem
onstrates their puerile ignorance of the safe
guards of federation of which the States
within the United States federation are the
prime example.
If American democracy is to survive, it
must expand. It can only expand onto a
world level through the federation of nations
into a world federal government. If it fails
to do this, it will perish in World War HI.
The pre-Hiroshima thinking of the DAR
shows that 19th century people are trying to
solve 20th century problems with 19th century
political ideas—namely, power politics.
R. L. WHITEHOUSE.
Reform Policies in the Argentine
To the Editor ol The Star:
After having read In the American press
many stories about the alleged subservience
of the labor unions in the Argentine Republic,
I think the time is come to explain to the
public opinion of this great country the truth
about the referred to matter.
We Argentines believe deeply in democracy
and we understand by democracy the gov
ernment of the people, by the people and for
the people.
Therefore, when the Argentine people won
the right to choose its own government in the
cleanest elections of Argentine history (after
many years of civic corruption), the majority
of the people, that means the workers, made
themselves bound to support voluntarily and
thoroughly the government that has risen from
its own rank and flies.
The General Confederation of Labor, a truly
representative organization of the Argentine
workers, which has 3,000,000 members or
about 50 per cent of the country’s total em
ployment, with the sovereign assent of its
membership supports the government, because
the whole action of the Argentine government
is aimed to get the major goal, social justice,
through the threefold formula: humanization
of capital, dignifying of the worker, raising
of the social culture.
This support does not mean any subservience,
but the understanding between government
and workers in order to put the country ahead
in the road to industrial development, many
years delayed because of the lack of patriotic
and realistic sense of the previous government.
If this means I am able to improve the
knowledge of American public opinion, and *
especially of the workers of this country, re
garding Argentine labor, it will be most grati
fying to me since I feel certain that when
the workers of the world know and understand
each other the road to world peace will have
been found. AUGUSTINE A. MERLO,
Labor Attache, Embassy of Argentina.
Improvement in Aid to Greece
To the Editor of The Star:
Impartial observers have noted that one of
the most persistent shortcomings of American
foreign policy is its failure to utilize adequately
all of the potential facilities which it possesses
and which it actually might employ in the
world-wide struggle against communism. Two
such Instances in which America has failed
to make the best possible me of its facilities
are:
1. The failure to draw from the tremendous
reserve of able talent consisting of Americans
of Greek descent who could prove of invaluable
aid in the American-Greek program.
2. The failure t6 supply an adequate number
of radio sets to actually receive the increasing
number of American overseas programs beamed
to Greece and other lands.
Taking up the first item, American and for
eign diplomats know that one of the greatest
assets at hand are the numbers of Americans
of foreign descent who could be used as lead
ers in the reconstruction of their former home
land or the land of their fathers. Nowhere
is this better illustrated than in the case of
Greece, with many loyal Greco-Americans
available for diplomatic, economic and political
service in the Hellenic bastion of democracy
For some strange reason, however. State De
partment officials have shown reluctance to
draw upon this incomparable supply of talent
—men who know the language, who know the
economic, political and social problems at first
hand, who understand the people, whose al
legiance to America is absolutely unquestioned,
and whose interest in securing a peaceful, re
constructed Greece is greater than that of
many other groups of Americans.
On the seconcl front, it seems foolishly short
sighted to be increasing appropriations for the
State Department overseas information pro
gram, and. at the same time, to do nothing to
overcome the grave shortage of sets which will
actually be available for receiving United
States broadcasts. Surely, American diplomats
have ^oted the woefully inadequate ryfijiber
of in«j>idual receiving sets in Greece, alao- the
Letters for publication must 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.
shortage of public sets for broadcast reception
in the public squares. At the same time,
American radio production here at home is
soaring to n£w heights. These radios, if they
were made available in sufficient quantities
and at right locations, could prove of immense
value in receiving American news as an anti
dote to the constant deluge of Communist
propaganda being poured into Greece from
Soviet Communist-dominated countries.
SOTERIOS NICHOLSON.
Supports Caution by the Press
To the Editor of The Star:
I want to commend you for the recent letter
printed in your columns entitled “Voluntary
News Censorship’’ by Jackson Brunson. That
letter “says a mouthful,” and mostly just what
a lot of Americans have been thinking for a
long time.
I am an aeronautical engineer. All through
the war years, and even since the war, I work
ed on and helped to develop many “con
fidential” or “secret” projects, so I know what
I’m talking about.
I love America and swear my allegiance to
her, but I sure would hate to see her sold out
by an irresponsible press that takes undue
advantage of and abuses our American priv
ileges of “freedom of the press,” “freedom of
speech,” etc
I think- that this letter, “Voluntary News
Censorship," ought to be required reading for
every Congressman and newspaper editor in
America. GRATEFUL READER.
He Fears Return of the ‘Pinks’
To ihe Editor of The Star:
It is amazing how editorial writers and col
umnists have failed to grasp the reason for
the clamor of the New Deal heirarchy for Gen.
Eisenhower to become a candidate for the pres
idency. In the days when Harry Hopkins,
Henry Wallace and a well-knj»wn lady were
riding high and dictating to the heads of the
Government departments in Washington,
thousands of very pink persons were funneled
into nice fat jobs from the radical colleges of
New York. These are the people whom the
Un-American Activities Committee and the
Department of Justice are having such a strug
gle to pry loose from the feed trough. These
people fear above all things a Republican
housecleaning in Washington.
What would be nicer than for them to have
in the White House a former president of their
dear old alma mater? They hope to trade
on the good nature and high reputation of
Ike, but they are not fooling anybody.
MONITOR.
Palestine Debate Again
To the Editor ol The Star:
I note in The Star of April 22 a letter
taking your newspaper to task for a recent
editorial opposing partition of Palestine. To
quote from that writer: “When the heroic
Jews of Palestine courageously refused to be
crushed, Ernest Bevin finally decided to turn
the Palestine question over to the U. N„
promising to abide by its decision • • * He dis
arms the Jews, arrests the defenders of the
Haganah and renders Palestine Jewry a help
less prey to the feudal Fascist overlords and
ferocious Arab mobs.” The main head on
Page 1 of the same edition reads: “Jews take
over control of Haifa, richest port city in
Palestine: Arabs beg peace in night battle.”
Which of these writers shall we believe—the
letter-writer or the headline writer?
Recently there has been a virtual bar
rage of such letters attacking either our own
officials or those of Britain. Elsewhere this
particular letter-writer says that: “He (Bevin)
is in an unholy alliance with some news
paper editors in our country as well as with
some high officials in our State Department
who are fed and nourished by the Arab
British propaganda campaign.” I think the
vast majority of readers of The Star have
confidence in its integrity and in its ability
to judge the truth and not to become the
victim of propaganda—Arab, British or
Jewish.
Still later in his letter, the writer suggests
that we “send in a token force of volunteers
aqd give partition a chance.” I believe that
many Americans seriously doubt the moral
right of the U. N. to determine sovereignty
within the borders of another nation. What"
would most citizens of the United States think
of a proposal to declare the lower half of
Louisiana, including New Orleans, a part of
France? Or to turn the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan over to Finland? How many be
lieve that “a token force of volunteers” could
settle the the difficulties in Palestine and
that sending in such a force would not
shortly require support and immeasurable
demands upon the United States? And, con
sidered objectively, why should such demands
receive priority over those of, say, China?
Charges of British failure in Palestine do
not constitute proof of wrong action. And
certainly the losses of British lives to the
extremists of Haganafi or, the Irgun are not
encouraging to other nations nor an induce
ment to them to send troops to Palestine.
CONSTANT READER.
Minimum Sentences for Sex Offenders
To the Editor ol The Star:
What is the matter with our courts here in
the District? Over and over again minimum
sentences are given to sex offenders, then they
are released before their sentences end.
The last is the case against a man charged
with indecent assault of a five-year-old girl.
I do not know what the maximum sentence
is for such an offense, but surely it is more
than one year and $500, the sentence imposed
by Judge Raedy. I cannot imagine a woman
judge handing down such a mild sentence if
it were possible to impose a greater one. If
it really was the ultimate she could give, then
we need to revise our whole District code of
laws, sentences, etc. If there were a house
cleaning in our courts, crimes would be less
frequent. Of that I am sure. G. B. W.
Editor’s n^e: The District attorney’s of
fice says thar Judge Raedy gave a maximum
sentence in the case referred to.
Give Them Lights—Traffic Lights
To the Editor of The St»r:
Here we are again!
This time on behalf of the long suffering
portion of this voteless-vale, residents in and
around Connecticut ave. and Devonshire pi.
N.W.
At this point we have (morning and late af
ternoon) a mill-race of north and south auto
traffic that beggars the classic charge of the
Light Brigade, with nary a traffic light to
protect the poor, put-upon pedestrian, who
in their flight to get home (to stove and oven)
must run the risk of life and limb, in their mad
flight to get across.
This writer has addressed the Traffic Bureau
on the matter—but has not been accorded even
the scant courtesy of a reply.
Maybe you, kind sir, will go to bat for us
out here in The Stix—with editorial, news
story, or if elevated to the highest common
denominator of communication, print this as a
letter to The Editor. .
Please give this thWreen light.
JOSjrf’H D. KAUPMAN.
The Political Mill
I
Latest Stassen Victory l
Held Difficult to Assess .
Small Eisenhower Vote Indicates
Result May Mean Little
By Gould Lincoln
Harold E. Stassen of Minnesota, newest star
in the Republican galaxy, has demonstrated
a certain popularity in a big industrial State of
the East—Pennsylvania. In the presidential
preferential vote there on Tuesday, Mr. Stassen
led his nearest opponent, Gov. Dewey of New
York, by approximately 5,000 votes. All the
votes in this Republican presidential primary
were written in by voters; the names of none
of the Republican candidates and possibilities
were printed on the ballot. Under the circum
stances, it is difficult to estimate how much, if
any, work was done by supporters of Mr. <
Stassen, Gov. Dewey and the other candidates
to get out a write-in vote.
These political “beauty” contests produce
strange results sometimes. Gen. Elsenhower,
for example, has been considered much more "
generally popular than Gen. MacArthur. Gen.
Eisenhower has repeatedly declared he is not a
candidate for a presidential nomination. Gen. 1P>
MacArthur has said he was "available” if the
country wanted him. In the Republican pri- *
mary in Pennsylvania about three times as
many voters wrote in the name of Gen. Mac
Arthur as wrote in the name of Gen. Elsen- ~
hower.
If Gen. Eisenhower is as popular as has been
reported, the primary result means little. If
it means little so far as the generals are con- ■>
cemed, it might mean little with respect to .1*
Mr. Stassen and Gov. Dewey—for the vote in
the primary was very light when compared to
what may be expected on election day next
November.
Stassen Bested Only Once.
Pour years ago in a similar Pennsylvania
primary, 146,706 voters wrote in the name of r
Gov. Dewey and only 1,502 favored Mr. Stassen,
who was the last of seven Republicans for
whom votes were written in. Obviously there
has been a great growth of sentiment for Mr. ..
Stassen duing the interval. The Minnesotan
is far more widely known. A Nation-wide
organization has been working for him and
with him. His victories in the Midwest against
Gov. Dewey, Senator Taft, Gen. MacArthur -
and the rest have added vastly to his prestige.
He is tickling the imagination of the voters
everywhere. If he finally wins their imagina
tion, he will be difficult to “stop” in the Repub
lican National Convention.
In only one of these primary contests has
Mr. Stassen been bested this year—in New
Hampshire, where Gov. Dewey won six of the .
eight delegates to the party’s national con
ventlon. Mr. Stassen goes up against a sterner
test next Tuesday, when he seeks to wrest 23 .
of Ohio’s 53 delegates to the national con
vention away from the State's favorits son.
Senator Taft.
It is unfortunate that only slightly more
than one-fourth of the States of the Union
hold these primary tests. If every state held
a presidential preferential primary for presi
dential nominations, the influence of the pri
mary would be of tremendous and probably final
import. The people would, indeed, have a real
voice in these nominations.
As it is, however, a candidate wins a few
primaries and then has to face perhaps the
opposition of a large number of delegates
elected to the national convention via the
district and State convention route. Or it is
within the bounds of possibility that the candi
date who ljas shown vote-getting ability in a
few States might not be the choice of the
voters in a large number of other States.
Tests Disastrous for Taft.
It would have been interesting to know, for
example, how Mr. Stassen would have fared
in a primary contest this year with Gov.
Dewey in New York—and how Gov. Dewey
would have fared in a similar contest with
Mr. Stassen in Minnesota. If all the States
should adopt a presidential primary system,
and enter the names of the most widely dis
cussed candidates, the people would have their
say. In one State this year, Nebraska, this
idea had a real tryout. The results there gave »
Mr. Stassen first place, Gov. Dewey second
and Senator Taft third, with Senator Vanden
berg of Michigan running fourth. The write
in race in Pennsylvania came nearer to the
Nebraska primary than any of the others,
since it gave the voters a free choice.
The primary tests so far have been dis
astrous for Senator Taft and for Gov. Warren .!
of California. Senator Taft has run no better *
than a poor third, and Gov. Warren has been
far in the ruck. Yet both are highly regarded
and will have considerable blocs of delegates
to support them on the first ballot in the
national convention. Both are announced
candidates for the presidential nomination. On
the other hand, Senator Vandenberg, who has
sought in many ways to remove himself from
consideration for a nomination, has done re
markably well in both the Nebraska and Penn
sylvania contests.
questions ana Answers
A reader can let the answer to any question af
fact by writing The Evening Star Information
Bureau. 316 Eye street N.E., Washington 2. D C
Please inclose three (3) cents for return postage.
BY THE HASKIN SERVICE.
Q. Which is the largest baseball park In the
United States? Is it lighted for night games?
—W. R. ,
A. The Yankee Stadium, New York, Is the
largest baseball park In the country. It was
built in 1922 at a cost of $3,000,000 and has a
seating capacity of 75,000 persons. The stadium
is illuminated for night games and the new
lights are reported to equal the light of 5,000
full moons.
Q. In what part of the world are whales
chiefly caught?—D. R.
A. The most important whaling grounds ’
today are in or near the Antarctic waters, ;
especially near Ross Sea; off the southern •
coast of Korea, off the Azores and in Alaskan '
waters.
Q. Are the markings on the wings of Insects
blood vessels?—L. D. R.
A. The wings contain a framework of minute ’
veins. They are not blood vessels, but serve
only to give rigidity to the wings.
_j_
Q. What are the qualifications for appoint
ment to the Border Patrol?—R. R.
A. Appointees to the Border Patrol are all !
subject to Civil Service. Not only must they
take written, oral and physical examinations,
but they must undergo a searching investiga
tion of their character. On the Mexican
border the applicant must be able to speak
Spanish. The appointees on the Mexican
border are given special courses in Spanish to
meet the special work requirements. The men
selected must acquire a thorough knowledge
of our immigration laws and of elementary
criminal law and court procedure.
Winds
Blow winds,
Sweet with the breath of the rose
And strong with the tang of the pine;
Salt with the spray of the sea
And moist with the damp from the mine
Heavy with scent of the soil
And the sweet of cattle and men,
Acrid with breath from the swamp
And fragrant from ferns in the glen,
Out of the sweet and the sour,
Out of the foul and the fine
Give as only winds can
An attar sweeter than wine. k.
LALIA MITCHELL THORNTON. *