Evening star. [volume], June 12, 1948, Page A-6, Image 6

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

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With Sunday Morning Edition.
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* SATURDAY, June 12, 1948
The VA Hospital in Arlington
If the Senate follows the lead of the
House in approving use of the Nevius tract
in Arlington for a veterans’ hospital, the
way will be paved for an early start on this
too-long-delayed project. There is urgent
need for a large, new Veterans’ Adminis
tration facility in the Washington area
and the site favored for it just across the
Potomac on Lee boulevard was selected as
the most advantageous.
The tract, on an axis with the Mall, is
on an elevation commanding an inspiring
view of Washington. It lies at the south
west corner of the intersection of Arlington
Ridge road with Lee boulevard, near Ar
lington National Cemetery. The scene is
unmarred by commercial developments
and is only a ten-minute automobile ride
from the heart of the city.
There is one drawback—the cost of the
land. The Veterans’ Administration had
offered $850,000 for the twenty-five acres
In the tract, but the owners rejected this
offer. They had planned to build a large
hotel on the ground—a project which ap
pealed to the Arlington County Board
because of its tax-producing possibilities.
Arlington, like some other jurisdictions, is
troubled by Federal encroachment on tax
able properties. But the tract in question
is so close to Arlington Cemetery and so
desirable for Federal use, either for a hos
pital or for an extension of the cemetery,
that it would have been a mistake to per
mit commercial exploitation of it. That is
why Congress authorized its purchase, by
condemnation if necessary. Condemnation
proceedings early this year brought vary
ing estimates of the land’s value—from
$750,000 to $5,000,000. The jury settled on
$1,600,000, a tidy sum for twenty-five acres
of unimproved property.
The Government has pondered whether
to appeal this judgment. But even if the
United States in the end pays that large
sum, the land is worth keeping under
Federal ownership and control. The site
should not pass back to private ownership
for commercial development.
Italian Colonies Issue
Yugoslavia's , formal recommendation
that Italy be given a U. N. trusteeship
over most of its former colonies lends an
unexpected twist to an issue that has been
a source of contention between the victors
ever since the close of the late war.
In the narrower sense it could be in
terpreted as a Yugoslav bid to Italy to
concentrate on a return of its colonies and
go easy on Trieste. Yet it is unlikely that
this could be more than a minor factor in
the Yugoslav move. Belgrade’s voice will
not weigh much in the Italian colonial
settlement and thus, of itself, would not
offer much inducement for Italy to abate
its Trieste claim, especially since the return
of Trieste to Italy has the backing of the
Western Great Powers.
However, as part of a diplomatic game
engineered from Moscow, the Yugoslav
recommendation makes sense. Moscow
has been dangling the colonies as a bait
for Italian popular favor for the past year.
It played a part in the Communist propa
ganda campaign during the recent Italian
elections, and more recently still, another
Moscow satellite, Poland, took the same
line that Yugoslavia has now done. Mar
shal Tito, the Yugoslav dictator, is a faith
ful henchman of Moscow and has more
than once served as a spokesman for Soviet
policy. If the Italian public could get
really excited over the colonial issue, it
would be a feather in the Italian Com
munist cap. But what is still more im
portant, espousal by the Soviet bloc of
Italian trusteeships for the former colonies
would worry Britain, stir up the Arabs and
embarrass the United States. Indeed, the
disposition of Italy’s most important col
ony Libya, is a vital factor in the entire
picture of Mediterranean strategy.
The coast of Libya extends for fully 800
miles along the central Mediterranean op
posite the peninsulas of Italy and Greece.
In an air age, Libya's air bases are of cap
ital importance, while the vast desert
hinterland reaches to the heart of the
Sahara. The value of Libya to the Axis
during World War II was very great.
Libya was conquered by British arms
and has since been occupied by Britain.
London aspired to continue this control
through a U. N. trusteeship. But this aim
Instantly evoked strong Russian opposition.
Indeed, during the early postwar nego
tiations, Moscow threw a diplomatic bomb
shell by itself demanding the Libyan trus
teeship. While the move was never taken
seriously, it tended to put Britain on the
defensive. Furthermore, Britain had given
assurances to the Arabs of Eastern Libya
or Cyrenaica that they would never be
returned to the hated Italian rule. Later
on. with the creation of the Arab League,
this new organization put in a strong bid
for the independence of Libya as part of
the expanding Arab world—a move which
aroused French fears for the safety of its
North African possessions just to the west
ward.
The upshot of all these controversies was
the growth of the idea that perhaps the
best solution would be an Italian trustee
4
ship, in place of its former sovereignty. '
Both the Soviet bloc and the Western
Powers have toyed with the idea, using it
as a pawn in their respective and opposing
Mediterranean policies. The current Soviet
emphasis upon thq proposal is thus the
latest diplomatic jockeying in a complex
game with wide ramifications. Whether
Italy will eventually profit remains to be
seen.
Curbing the Lords
The constitutional battle between the
British House of Lords and the Laborite
dominated House of Commons stems pri
marily from the Attlee government’s desire
to nationalize the iron and steel industry
before the next general election in 1950. In
that sense, according to its critics, the
Labor Party—in order to achieve a key
objective of its socialization prograip—is
playing shabby politics with a matter fun
damental to Britain’s free way of life.
Under the British system the House of
Lords has the right to delay final action on
legislation enacted by the House of Com
mons—a delay that can extend for as long
as two years. Unless it is reduced, this
right will enable the Lords to block* iron
and steel nationalization until the present
Parliament expires in 1950, at which time
the Labor Party conceivably may be voted
out of office. Accordingly, in anticipation
of that possibility, the Attlee government
is pressing its proposal to cut down the
Lords’ delaying power to one year.
The proposal, which was introduced last
October, calls for an amendment to the
Parliament Act of 1911. It has now been
rejected twice by the House of Lords, and
a third and final rejection is expected. But
the Laborite House of Commons still will
have the last word. In a special session of
Parliament in the fall, it is almost certain
to force the measure through, thus making
sure that the Attlee government, if it so
wishes, can carry out the nationalization
of iron and steel before the electorate has
a chance to speak in the .1950 general
election.
Wholly apart from the merit or lack of
! merit of such nationalization, the effort to
reduce the Lords’ delaying power has
created deep misgivings in Britain. There
has been nothing quite like it since 1914.
What it means is that the British are con
fronted with a “peers-versus-the-people”
issue, with the Labor Party attacking the
Conservatives for seeking to frustrate the
popular will, and the Conservatives accus
ing the Laborites of attempting constitu
! tional innovations aimed at setting up a
j single-chamber government and whittling
away individual freedom.
On the face of things, considering that
the Parliament Act of 1911 left the House
of Lords with little more than the power
to delay, it does not seem particularly
revolutionary to cut the delay from two
years to one. But more than a few Britons,
including some of Mr. Attlee’s strongest
newspaper supporters, do not like the idea.
They see it as something designed to tinker
with constitutional practice not as a mat
ter of high principle but as a political
maneuver to insure the passage of a na
tionalization measure before 1950—before
the voters are heard from.
Moreover, many Britons are naturally
hesitant about further reducing what little
power is left to the House of Lords. That
body—most of whose members are there
by virtue of heredity—has served well in
the past. It includes a large number of
exceptionally talented and experienced
men whose deliberations and amendments
have improved measures rushed through
Commons. Even the Labor Party has
acknowledged this. Although difficult to
judge from this distance, the curb sought
by the Attlee government has all the
earmarks of politicking at the expense of
principle.
Calligraphic Error
At the height of the British endeavor to
prevent the German occupation of Crete
in 1941, Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham,
commander in chief in the Mediterranean
area, received a message to the effect that
British warships engaged in the operation
had run out of ammunition for their anti
aircraft “pom-pom” guns. He therefore
ordered the withdrawal of all naval forces
for which he was responsible. The fleet
retired to Alexandria whither available
military aircraft had preceded it. Indirect
ly, the retreat led to the loss of the destroy
ers Kelly and Kashmir. The enemy, mean
while, completed the capture of “the first
island taken by airborne invasion troops.”
But now, after seven years, it has been
announced in London that the whole
disaster was occasioned by a “calligraphic
error.” The message handed Adfhiral
Cunningham was so poorly written that
he could not read it accurately. British
warships actually had plenty of ammuni
tion for guns to use against the Germans
flying into Crete. There was no authentic
need to call off the struggle. Sir Andrew
simply guessed wrong on the basis of
Information set forth in indecipherable
handwriting.
Of course, such things have happened
before. The only reason for commenting
on the circumstance may be found in the
hope that they may not occur again too
frequently. A careless attitude toward
penmanship conceivably may reflect a
careless attitude toward life in general.
The fashion which holds the calligraphic
art in contempt was rebuked as long ago
as Shakespeare’s time. He put into Ham
let’s mouth the words: “I once did hold
it, as the statists do, a baseness to write
fair.” People in the modern world ought
to care enough for accuracy to develop
practical orthography for its expression.
The schools should see to it, if parents
do not.
Woman's Work
According to a study made by the Gen
eral Electric Consumers’ Institute, 108,833
square inches of fabric have to be ironed
every week to keep a family of three
dressed up in more or less unwrinkled
clothes. Stated another way, this means
that the average housewife, if she does
her own work for herself, her husband and
their child, must press the equivalent of a
strip of cloth 250 feet long and 3 feet wide
fifty-two times a year.
Quite obviously that is a lot of ironing,
especially when the weather is hot and
the pressing involves things like pleats
and lacy flounces. Quite obviously, too,
the figure should impress and silence any
man who is ever tempted to suppose that
his maidless wife has a relatively easy time
of it. Coupled with things like dishwash
ing, vacuuming, dusting, polishing, etc.,
etc., it plainly indicates that housekeeping
is a job of the first magnitude, and it lends
strength to the old claim that woman’s
work is never done.
Besides, the General Electric study tends
to throw a new light on how fine must be
pie spiritual fiber of the unhelped help
mate who never complains. Week after
week, depending on the size of her family,
she irons 108,833 or more square inches of
fabric. This may include dresses with
ruffles for a little girl or fancy pajamas
for a husband; and almost as soon as the
perfectly pressed dress is put on, or the
pajamas, the wrinkles are back again and
a vista of endless ironing and re-ironing
still stretches ahead.
Confronted with such a repititous task,
the average male would be overcome with
futility, and he would be likely to throw
the iron out the window. Not so his hard
working wife, however. She carries on day
after day, waging ceaseless war against
wrinkles and the slept-in look. More than
that, she fights a never-ending battle
against things like dust forever returning
and dishes that are betimes clean and
dirty at least thrice daily. This is patience
and stick-to-itiveness on a truly heroic
scale, enough so to make a man feel some
what meek.
Hold 'er, Mother Nature!
The scientist who succeeds ’in prolong
ing the life of a cherry blossom by spray
ing it with some chemical mixture, catch
ing it at the height of its glory and
holding it there, may have added to the
sum of human knowledge. So much for
the scientist. What others may choose to
do with his discovery is not the scientist’s
business.
But the thought of what others may do
with this discovery is not without its
appalling implications. The immediate
thought, of course, is to have two, instead
of one, week-end cherry blossom festivals.
That would bring more people to town.
It might double the number who gaze with
professed enjoyment at the rare beauty of
the blossoms in their framework of the
Tidal Basin.
To others, however, it would appear that
we have missed the whole point about the
blossoms. The point is that much of their
beauty derives from the brevity of the
moment that finds them as they are.
When we devise some method of prolong
ing that moment, freezing nature in her
ecstasy $p that we may feast our eyes to
satiation, then we have missed the point.
Our appetites will be jaded, our zest will
fade as the embarrassed blossoms linger
on against their will, outlasting their wel
come.
While the sands of California are
thronged with lovelies in the latest bath
ing attire, an awed salute to the astron
omers on Palomar for resolutely looking
the other way.
A Texas town advertises for a bank
president. In the help-wanted columns,
however; not in the customary flier, listing
aliases, fingerprints and any identifying
blemishes.
’ One of those small, carrying voices in
the neighborhood-nursery school set tells
of being “promoted to regular -kinder
garten.’’
Of the dire eventualities, few have been
so long heralded to so little effect as de
flation. We don’t even detect a slow leak.
This and That
By Charles E. Tracewell
“It you must fall, fall gracefully.”
That is Templeton Jones’ advice, after four
falls in the past 20 years.
Graceful falling, however, is almost as hard
on the bones and muscles, he says, as any
other kind.
It all depends, he says, on whether you are
a good faller.
No training is necessary, according to Jones.
• One must know how to fall instinctively.
Another warning from our hero:
“Do not wear rubbers.”
Every one of his falls, he says, has come
about when he had on gum shoes.
And here is another bit of advice from the
ilever-ending font of the wisdom of Jones:
“Never go up a curb on a slant. That is, take
the curbs head on.”
¥ ¥ ¥ ¥
Failure to heed these rules led to all of his
falls.
But now, as a result of his last, he comes up
with the most startling advice of all.
It is:
"Never carry phonograph records under the
left arm!”
Templeton Jones, in addition to being forced
to limp for a few days, had to pick up the
pieces of three nice broken records.
This irked him considerably. Never once
before, in his many years as an enthusiastic
record collector, had he ever broken a record
outdoors.
And only two indoors.
One he sat on—a most uncomfortable feel
ing—and the other he dropped on the floor.
The one to the floor never should have
broken, for it hit the rug. But it did. (They
always do.)
* * * *
While Jones was on the ground, wondering
if he had broken any bones—the records com
pletely forgotten—two men stopped.
“Do you want to be picked up?” one asked.
"I would appreciate it very much,” answered
T. Jones, as he rolled over.
. It was then that he thought of his records.
Gingerly he felt the package. ,
It felt—well, rather flabby.
He suspected the worst.
Templeton Jones often buys novelty records,
frowned upon by his friends who never confess
to anything less than a liking for the symphony.
Jones believes that novelty records are a lot
of fun.
So now and then he comes home with an
armful.
* * * *
What were the records broken?
For the sake of record collectors, here is the
list:
"Nature Boy,” sung by King Cole, Capitol
record.
"The Maharajah of Magador,” by Vaughan
Hfnnrnp Vlrtnr
“There Ought to Be a Society,” Kay Kaiser,
Columbia.
Jones had tried to get Spike Jones’ version
of Ihe "Wm. Tell Overture,” but the man in
the store didn't have it.
• * * *
"Well,” grinned Jones, surveying the WTeck
age, "I guess it is better to break records than
ribs.”
For the benefit of collectors, Jones gives the
following advice:
Insist that the seller put a piece of card
board in the package, to buttress loose discs.
Preferably, a slab of cardboard at each side
of the package.
If he will not do so, try some other store.
Or bring your own cardboard.
But the best advice, he admits, is not to
fall at all.
"There ought to be a society” to prevent such
happenings, be even.
» - Letters to The Star f
Amateur Opinion on China
To th« Editor ot The Star: '
Superficiality in our Congress Is not the rule,
but some of the exceptions are certainly out
standing. Representative Frances P. Bolton of
Ohio recently read into the record a letter sent
her by a staff sergeant who has been with the
Army in Japan. Hie writer of the letter, in re
counting his experiences in the Far East, added
a few lines about China. He admitted that he
merely “took advantage ot a 10-day furlough to
visit China” and spent most of his time in
Shanghai. Yet Mrs. Bolton read into the record
his inexpert findings which were based on the
utterings of one policeman and a domestic
servant. Significant parts of the sergeant’s re
port on China are as follows: “There is, as far
as I could see, very little order in China. There
are many policemen and many soldiers, but I
don’t think they really believe in their govern
ment. One’local traffic policeman made it quite
plain to us that he would be much happier if:
(1) We went home; (2) the government was
overthrown; and (S) the Chinese Reds took
over. On the other hand, our No. 2 boy at the
YMCA • * * was quite sympathetic to us and
hoped to see the Oimo continue his govern
ment of Ghina.”
I don't think it is too much to expect that a
representative in the Congress should be en
dowed with sufficient objective judgment to
relegate a communication of the sort to the
nearest waste basket rather than consume valu
able space in the Congressional Record, a publi
cation already overburdened with meaningless,
extraneous matter.
If Mrs. Bolton is sincerely interested in ob
taining a picture of the tragic situation in
China she could easily turn to the long list of
experts on the subject—men like Gen. Chen
! nault, Gen. Wedemeyer, Ambassador Bullitt,
and others. EMMANUEL S. LARSEN.
Single-Tax Point 'of View
To the Editor of The Ster:
All material needful to a building operation
is taxed and retaxed as it changes shape and
hands on the way to construction. The owner,
after paying all these taxes in the price of sup
plies, exorbitant wages to craftsmen and a
fancy price for the land, is subject to an an
nual tax on the building proportioned to its
value, though he may have only an equity In
it under a mortgage on which he pays interest.
This annual penalty on his enterprise forces
him to pay for the property over again and
continue paying so long as the building stands,
unless he has a tenant upon whom to shift the
burden.
So we are up against a serious shortage in
decent shelter for a growing population and a
persistent slum problem. But in the face of or
ganized interests opposed to legislative en
croachment on their privileges, all our Solons
dare do is to spread more of the people’s money
around.
There is a vast fund steadily increasing with
the growth of population that derives from the
value given to land by the presence and activi
ties of organized society. Though clearly ear
marked for public use, the great buljc of it now
goes unearned to private pockets. Were our
legislators, Federal and State, elected to serve
during good behavior, or for much longer and
single terms to offer a greater continuity of
policy, they might get together on a means of
gradually substituting that fund for the multi
plicity of antihousing slum breeding taxes
and other levies on everything bearing the
mark of labor. These levies are a constant
hindrance to the production and equitable
distribution of wealth, costly in collection and
the cause of much that is disquieting because
of the general aversion to their imposition.
With such change in terms of service as here
suggested, our lawmakers at least would be
under no compulsion to bow to privilege or
make a virtue of serving their constituencies
at the expense of the rest of the country to
prolong their stay in office, and would find less
if any advantage in acting contrary to public
opinion without good reason, which would be
a notable improvement over present conditions.
WALTER N. CAMPBELL.
British Sacrificing Jewish Friends?
To the Editor of The Star:
The wise public of late has been treated to a
thorough analysis of the issues involved in the
Palestine crisis. It would be rash, one may ven
ture to say at this stage, to attempt to predict
the outcome of so delicately balanoed a situa
tion as we have here.
However, a few plain observations are in
point, as follows:
The long association of the Jews with the
land called Palestine has been dismissed by the
present British government as of small import
ance. The British debt to the Jews and its con
sequent expression in the Balfour Declaration
has been dismissed as a scrap of paper. British,
and mayhap, American, morality now is ex
pressed in terms of oil. The British have chosen
to sacrifice the only friends and dependable
allies they ever had in the Middle East to their
new deity, Petroleum. OBSERVER.
An Earlier Nisei Hero
To tho Editor of The Star:
Now that The Star and other papers and
various radio news programs have informed the
public that the two Nisei soldiers buried in Ar
lington last week are the first two United States
soldiers of Japanese ancestry to be interred
there, please note that in 1930 Private James
T. Ida, a soldier who had been an elevator boy
in the Detroit Athletic' Club and enlisted as a
volunteer in the former Polar Bear division,
was buried in Arlington with full military hon
ors. He gave his life in North Russia in action
against the Bolsheviks. Services for him were
conducted by the VF.W. at the time Colonel
Harvey L. Miller was department commander,
and the Japanese Ambassador also took part in
the exercises. His casket was draped with the
flag of the United States with a chrysanthe
mum thereon, representing Japan.
A check with Army records will prove this to
be right. JORDAN C. PATTERSON.
Somebody Is Wrong
To the Editor of The Star:
On June 5 I read in the Haskin Service
column on your editorial page that the Latin
American “Good Neighbor Policy” was begun
in 1927 by Franklin Roosevelt.
Every one in Washington should know .that
John Barrett with the help of President Teddy
Roosevelt and Andrew Carnegie began this
idea with the invention, building and dedica
tion of our wonderful Pan American Union
before this century began.
SUSAN GOOOIN8.
To the Editor ol The Star:
If the name “Good Neighbor Policy” was
coined by the late Franklin D. Roosevelt, as
stated In the Haskin Service column on
June 5, it was based, I think, not on President
Coolidge’s action in 1927 but on the treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848 between Mexieo
and the United States in which the parties
thereto referred to the desirability of living
together as "good neighbors.” This treaty is
in a number of collections, including the widely
circulated Harvard Classics.
PHILIP E. SIGGERS.
Favors Congress Choosing President
To the Editor of The St»r:
If, as President Truman is reported as hav
ing said, the present Congrefc is the worst
in the country’s history (a proposition which
may be open to some doubt, in particular by
those who recall the abject surrender of its
powers by certain Congresses to Mr. Truman’s
immediate predecessor), the fault may lie not
only in viewpoint but in the absurd situation
which results when an Executive is not re
sponsible to the legislative branch of the
Government.
Britain long since has solved the problem.
It is high time that we should do so.
_ Instead of amending the Constitution to
provide that the Chief Executive should be
eligible to serve but two terms of four years
each, let us amend it so that the Congress will
elect the Executive—and oust him at will
when he no longer has the confidence of the
Legislature.
The "spurs” are on the wrong feet.
HARRISON TILGHMAN.
Tribute to Mr. Schwellenbach
To the Xdltor of The Ster: *
The death of Secretary of Labor Lewis B.
Schwellenbach removes from office a man not
only truly devoted to public service but one
who gave his all to achieve better relationships
between the conflicting forces of our society.
He came to his cabinet poet when the ad
ministrative burdens were enough to break
anybody’s health. The world was entering its
difficult postwar readjustments. Labor and
management could not resolve their dif
ferences.
Secretary Schwellenbach worked endless
hours to bring* about solutions that would be
lasting and beneficial to society as a whole.
As a member of his staff during those critical
days, I know how deeply he believed a com
mon ground could be attained, even though
the road to that goal be a rocky one. I be
lieve that he helped to pave the way by his
patient, unremitting efforts. He had a su
preme confidence that in the long run a free
society could solve its problems through demo
cratic processes. That alone is a legacy worth
leaving in times when the impulse is toward
extremes. LESLIE EICHEL.
I -
Arabs Withoqf « Leg?
To the Bdltor of The Star:
I wonder if it ever has occurred to Duval
Jordan that the reason we don't hear "a little
propaganda” for the Arabs is that they don't
have a leg to stand on.
WILLIAM B. SWITKES.
Political Concessions to Zionist*
To the editor of The Ster:
The Arabs, while apparently mdke than hold
ing their own in the Palestine fighting, seem to
be taking a fearful beating on the propaganda
front in the United States. This situation is
dangerous. It prevents the American public
from making a realistic appraisal of a situation
to which this country’s welfare is closely tied.
It seems to me that the real issue in Pales
tine is whether the Arabs or the Zionists have
better claim to the territory now designated as
Israel. Historians state that the Arabs have
been in uninterrupted possession of the area
for well over 1,000 years. Only about 50,(XX)
Jews were inhabitants prior to World War L
But since then, under the British mandate,
and over Arab protests, more than 500,000 Jews
have migrated there. Certainly, under these
circumstances, it is presumptuous for either the
British or the United Nations to carve out a
part of Palestine and give^lt to the Zionists,
who are, in reality, aliens.
Despite this background we have the spec
taeje of the Truman administration commit
ting this country to support the Zionist objec
tives. Before the 1946 elections, both Mr. Tru
man and Republican leader* vied in ottering
to the Zionists. Now history is repeating.
Meanwhile, the American public is being
stuffed with propaganda. The wording of dis
patches from the fighting area would have us
believe that the Zionist struggle for Israel is
closely akin to our own battle for independence.
The terroristic and communistic Stem Gang
underwent a euphemistic change and over
night ■was referred to as the “Stem group.” An
unfounded charge that the Arabs were planning
to use gas to attack Tel Aviv gained front
page prominence in United States newspapers.
Substantiated reports that the Zionists seized
Christian holy places in Jerusalem as forts re
ceived less recognition. Seizure of 41 Ameri
can Zionists from an American vessel by Leba
non made almost every front page, but the fact
that most of these people had left the United
States under false pretenses was almost ig
nored.
The Arabs certainly have every reason to dis
trust the United States. Zionist youth groups
have been permitted to hold military drills in
this country without interference, although
their avowed objective was to fight the Arabs in
Palestine. Recently I read in The Star that
recruiting of Jewish fighters was being con
ducted in Baltimore. On several occasions
Zionists here have been caught preparing to
ship arms to Palestine, but to date, so far as I
am informed, there have been no convictions,
and the illegal activity continues.
' Even in the United Natiohs meeting at Lake
Success, Arab delegates must feel as if they are
in a hostile land. These sessions have been
well attended—if not packed—by Zionist sup
porters who frequently have demonstrated their
sympathies.
And certainly the establishment of an inde
pendent Jewish state cannot be regarded as
setting up an outpost of American democracy.
For besides the Stem Gang, Irgun Zval Leuml
has shown its true colors—appealing to the
Soviet Union for help. These extremist groups
might well gain wide support for their pro
Russian policies in an independent Israel.
Meanwhile, other glonlsts are attempting to
create discord between the United States and
its natural ally, Great Britain,
I submit that it is time to reappraise our
stand on Palestine. If selfish interest must be
the deciding factor, let it be for the selfish
interest of America this time, not of political
parties intent on winning a presidential elec
tion. C. L. A.
More on ‘You AH’
To the Editor ol The Star:
Reading the editorial, "In Behalf of You
All”, in The Star of June 7, brings to my mind
the fact that I have never read an explanation
as to how this controversy started in the first
place.
I grew up in the "you all” country. The
most illiterate Southerner would not use "you
all” in a singular sense. When he meets a
friend or neighbor, almost invariably he will
say, "How are you all?" The person addressed,
if he is also a Southerner, knows that the in
quiry is made not only of himself but of his
spouse, his children, his, hired man, anyone
within his gates, and possibly of his live stock
on the farm. Likewise, in taking leave, the
Southerner is likely to say, “You all come to
see us,” the “you all" and the “us” both being
plural in meaning as well as in form.
The Northerner, overhearing such expres
sions will not understand them. When he
meets a neighbor, he is likely to pass him by
without saying anything, like they always have
done, for instance, in the “Cal” Coolidge
country. Knowing but little of courtesy him
self, especially as practiced in the South, when
he gets communicative enough, he will tell
his Northern neighbor of this strange use of
“you all.” Thus, the "you all” story spreads.
8. MARCUS BUTLER.
The Political Mill ^A
Undercover G. 0. P. Race
On for Vice Presidency
Candidates and Geography Figure
In Choice of Party Ticket
By Gould Lincoln
Running for a vice presidential nomination
—out in the open—isn’t done. However, there
are a large number of gentlemen who would be
delighted to have second place on the Republi
can national ticket this year. Their undercover
candidacies for such preferment may have a lot
to do with the nomination of a GOP presi
dential candidate. Geography enters the pic
ture, too, since it is not considered wise to
nominate both presidential and vice presidential
candidates from the same section of the
country. m
Two Eastern Governors and one Eastern
Senator who was formerly Governor of his
State, any of whom might conceivably become
tlje vice presidential nominee, look askance at
Gov. Dewey of New York for the presidential
nomination. Gov. Driscoll of New Jersey,
whose friends have already started a drive to
have him placed 'on the Republican ticket in
second place, will control his State's 39-strong
delegation. He might throw a major part or all
of this vote at a psychological moment to a
Midwestern candidate. Geographically speak
ing, his friends say, Gov. Driscoll would team
up well with Messrs. Taft, Vandenberg, Stassen
or Warren. So far it does not appear that Gov.
Driscoll has aligned himself with any of the
presidential candidates—although at one time
(before the Oregon debate and primary) Harold
E. Stassen appeared to be making great strides
with both Gov. Driscoll and the Jersey delegates.
Duff in Strong Position.
Take another Eastern Governor who may be
in an even more important position to “make’*
a presidential nominee—Gov. Duff of Pennsyl
vania. The Pennsylvania delegation is the
second largest in the convention—73 in all.
Gov. Duff has never made any bones about
his lack of interest—to put it mildly—in Gov.
Dewey's candidacy. On the other hand, he
has been friendly to the idea of nominating
Senator Vandenberg of Michigan. He was
at pains not so long ago to have publicized a
speech he made against the selection of any
standpat or reactionary standard bearer for
the Republican Party. This was Interpreted
as turning thumbs down on Senator Taft, and
placing Gov. Duff in line to favor a candidate
like Mr. Stassen.
The Pennsylvania Governor, however, out
side of his own possible hankering for a vice
presidential nomination, has one major de
sire—to make Pennsylvania's vote count in
the final showdown on the presidential nomi
nation. He does not want to see the Pennsyl
vania delegation and himself left back of the
starting post when a presidential nominee le
chosen—as has happened to other Pennsyl
vania delegations and Governors. So strong
is this desire that he might even go along
with Gov. Dewey in a final pinch, if it seemed
the New York Governor was going to win.
Senator Baldwin of Connecticut, former
Governor, will be* his State’s favorite-son candi
date for the presidential nomination, at least
on the first ballot. That means 19 delegate
votes. Senator Baldwin has been friendly to
Mr. Stassen. He, too, would fit in as a vice
presidential nominee with Messrs. Stassen,
Vandenberg, Taft or Warren. He has, however,
been a leader of the Republican freshman
Senators in their demands for greater recog
nition—which might align him against Senator
Taft.
westerners nine uewey.
There are Western vice presidential possibili
ties, on the other hand, who might very much
prefer to see Gov. Dewey or another Easterner
nominated for President. Take Gov. Green of
Illinois, as a case in point. Gov. Green will
head the third largest delegation in the con
vention, 56 all told. He is somewhat on the
spot, since one of his own principal backers
in the past, Colonel McCormick, publisher of
the Chicago Tribune, is favorable to Senator
Taft for the presidency and does not like
Gov. Dewey. However, if it appeared that
Gov. Dewey could be and nrobably would be
nominated if he had support from Illinois,
Gov. Green would be in position to do some
thing about it.
“Charlie” Halleck of Indiana, majority
leader of the House, is another who would
be a natural to name with Gov. Dewey on the
Republican national ticket. Not only does he
hail -from a State which is usually a political
battleground in.national elections but he is
representative of the Republican Congress, on
whose record the campaign will be fought out
in large part. In the national convention,
Mr. Halleck could wield influence not alone
with the Indiana delegation, but with other
delegations when it comes to a showdown.
Decidedly, he is in a good bargaining position.
It was Mr. Halleck who placed Wendell Willkle
in nomination in 1940—and then worked like
a beaver for his nomination. He is friendly to
Gov. Dewey this time.
Questions and Answers
A reader^can ret the answer to any question of
fact by writing The Evening 8t»r Information
Bureau. .SIH Eye street N.E., Washington 2. D. C.
please Inclose three t3) cents for return postage.
By THE HASKIN SERVICE
Q. How many suicides occur in the United
States in an average year?—T. R. G.
A. Between 15,000 and 20,000 persons kill
themselves each year.
Q. Why is it considered unlucky to break a
mirror?—A. V. B.
A. Superstitions regarding the mirror go
back to those primitive times when it was th«
prevailing belief that the reflection of a person
in water or any other shiny surface was his
soul. When the mirror came into general use
this superstition was carried over.
Q. Is there danger of tularemia In handling
wild rabbit}?—W. G.
A. The commonest cause of tularemia in
humans is the handling of the carcass of an
infected rabbit in the process of preparing it
for cooking. Eating the undercooked flesh is
another cause.
Q. What is the population per square mile
of New York City and Chicago?—L. P. R.
A. In New York there are more than 21,000
persons for every square mile and in Chicago
16,000 persons.
Q. When speaking to the President of tha
United States, what form of address does ona
use?—E. McK.
A. One says "Mr. President” and usually
“Sir’ later in the conversation.
Shadow—Substance
My shadow walks before me
Tall and thin and steady;
He watches every breath 1 take
And moves when I am ready.
e
At noon he strolls beside me,
Rather squat and funny—
As though he’s overnourished,
His pockets full of money.
In evening light he follows,
His hand upon my shoulder;
I cannot once escape him
And he gets ever bolder.
But when the darkness settles
And covers everything,
He disappears as quickly
As a puppet on a string.
ALICE CRAIG REDHEAD.
*
9