Evening star. [volume], September 07, 1948, Page A-12, Image 12

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

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With -Sunday Morning Edition.
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A—H *TUESDAY, September 7, 1940
'Era of Fear'
President Truman would do well to con
•lder the admonition of his predecessor
In the White House, who told the country
fifteen years ago that all It had to fear
Jras fear Itself.
Mr. Truman sees It differently. In his
Detroit speech, a speech which will never
win him laurels as a statesman, he said
that election of a Republican administra
tion would usher in an "era of fear." 80
the President, one gathers, is afraid. But
.It Is not quite clear what it Is that he
fears.
It had been expected that Mr. Truman,
speaking on Labor Day in a predominantly
labor city, would go after the Taft-Hartley
Act. Presumably, he would point to the
record and cite chapter and verse to show
wherein the operation of this law would
Justify some of the absurd forecasts he
made In his veto message. But Mr. Tru
man did nothing of the sort.
The evils of the Taft-Hartley Act pre
sumably still lie In the future. This
statute has been In effect for more than a
year. A substantial record has been made.
But all that the President offered In sup
port of his criticisms were things like
these: Union men tell me that labor is
Just beginning to feel the effects of the
law. . . . The Republicans are preparing
stronger measures. ... Do you want (by
electing a Republican administration) to
carry the Taft-Hartley law “to its full
Implication and totally enslave the work
ing man, white collar and union alike?”
There is no great mystery about why the
President, after more than a year of the
law's bperation, still prefers silly gener
alities to facts. The answer is that the
facts are against him.
The best source of information on the
real effect of the statute is the interim re
port of the congressional committee ap
pointed to observe the functioning of tha
law. The latest report covers only the first
tlx months of the law’s operation, but it is
a revealing document. Strikes, both in
number and in man-days of idleness, have
fteadily declined since the law became
effective. Wages have increased. Many
unions have made substantial gains m
membership. Secondary boycotts and jur
isdictional strikes have markedly declined
In number. The law, instead of impairing
the rights of individual workers, has ma
terially strengthened them. The congres
sional committee publicly urged that any
case of inequity under the law be brought
to its attention. After six months, not a
single complaint had been received.
So it is not surprising that Mr. Truman
prefers to try to whip up fear of the future.
It is perfectly obvious why he does not now
try to justify any of his cries of alarm
of a year ago. He does not do this because
he cannot. The facts are against him.
U. N. Control for Antarctica?
In proposing that Antarctica be sub
jected to international control within the
United Nations, the State Department has
put out a kind of “feeler” to see whether
anything can be done to settle several rival
and overlapping claims to the area. Judg
ing from the claimants’ first reactions to
the idea, there seems little chance that it
will be acted upon for a long time to come.
Since the problem involved is a very minor
one compared with the many other issues
now troubling the world, nobody is in a
ereat hurry to solve-it.
Nevertheless, seven nations—Argentina,
Chile. France, Australia, New Zealand,
Norway and the United Kingdom—have
delegated bits'of Antarctica to themselves,
and in some cases the claims and counter
claims have stirred up a measure of bad
feeling. At the moment, because the region
seems to be little more than a vast waste
land and because its strategic importance
In the air age is much less than that of
the Arctic, it is hard to read much sense
Into the ri.riry. But within its 6.000,000
square miles the continent is believed to
have potential natural resources—possibly
including uranium—that may prove to be
of value in the future, enough so to war
rant active exploitation. For that reason,
in addition to the seven claimants, other
countries—notably Belgium and Russia—
have Indicated their interest in the area.
As for the United States, though active
In exploring the continent, it has long held
to the position that it has no official terri
torial claims in Antarctica, that the claims
of other powers lack validity, and that the
whole region is a no-man’s land whose
status has yet to be determined. The State
Department's proposal thus is in keeping
with well-established American policy.
What it favors is some sort of international
commission to govern the territory under
the over-all authority of the United
Nations. The department recognizes, how
ever. that a formal conference on the sub
ject ’would be futile at this time, and so
it is confining its efforts to informal
exploratory talks aimed at reconciling
differing views and laying the groundwork
for an eventual full-dress meeting to set
up U. N. control.
To date the informal talks apparently
have served only to show that there is little
enthusiasm among the claimants for an
International Antarctic authority. But
rivalry over the disposition of the con
tinent's territory, though not a burning
Issue right now, conceivably may lead to
serious trouble in the future unless some
thing is done in the meantime to bring
about a meeting of minds and establish a
satisfactory control system. The State
Department’s proposal is a promising move
to that end.
Another French Cobinet
After eight days of almost chaotic
uncertainty, France again has a govern
ment. A new cabinet has taken office,
headed by Robert Schuman. However, his
leadership is apt to be misleading, because
the cabinet he now heads is notably dif
ferent in character from the one he headed
some weeks ago. And few informed
observers can deem the change an im
provement.
The first Schuman cabinet, together
with its evanescent successor headed by
Andre Marie, did its best to grapple with
the crucial dangers which beset France’s
economic lifd. They both tried to halt
the driffctoward uncontrolled inflation and
financial insolvency by such measures as
trimming the budget, holding wages,
reducing prices, encouraging private in
itiative, and putting the socialized indus
tries on an efficiency basis.
In the long run, this drastic program of
economy and deflation would presumably
have lifted France out of its economic
slough of despond. But it would have
involved short-run sacrifices from nearly
all classes. And Frertch organized labor,
especially, would have none of it, On this
issue, Communist, Socialist, and Catholic
unions united in demanding measures
which would at least partially close the
gap between wages and prices. Since those
measures would be inflationary in char
acter, thereby tending to defeat the stabil
ization program, the Popular Republican
and Radical members of the first Schuman
and Marie Cabinets declined to sanction
them. But these refusals entailed the
defection of the Socialists, the third mem
ber of these coalition cabinets, and ih each
case resulted in their downfall. And the
Socialists made it clear that they would
enter no government which did not meet
labor’s demands.
uoviousiy, tne socialists were responsible
for the ensuing parliamentary deadlock.
And It Is equally obvious that,- in the
new Cabinet, they are going to have their
way. All the key domestic posts are in
their hands. The change is best exempli
fied by the replacing of Paul Reynaud, the
champion of economy and private enter
prise, by a Socialist as Minister of Finance
and National Economy. Premier Schuman,
by taking Foreign Affairs as his province,
virtually washes his hands of responsi
bility for what ensues in the domestic field.
And it should be noted that the new
Cabinet’s first act was to vote a cost-of
living bonus to labor. Reynaud's program
is obviously out the window.
The logic of the new situation thus por
tends Socialist experiments for a controlled
economy, special consideration for labor—
and more inflation. This is causing deep
pessimism in financial and business circles.
It is likewise beclouding the prospects of
a projected large bond issue, since the
confidence of investors is shaken by Rey
naud's fall. Last but not least, it may
compromise France’s ability to qualify for
further American aid under the European
Recovery Program.
Since all this does not sit well with
either th» Radicals or the Popular Re
publicans, the new cabinet does not start
under good auspices. The Socialists have
called the tune. They must now pay the
piper. And beyond the halls of parliament
stands the figure of Charles de Gaulle,
saying: "I told you so!" to an increasingly
irritated and disillusioned French people.
Despite Schuman’s name and prestige,
therefore, his second cabinet inspires
neither confidence for the present nor
much hope for the future.
G. 0. P. Looks Southward
It is reasonable to suppose that the
Republicans have at least two motives in
their announced Intention to put up a
serious fight in the South this year.
One motive grows out of the fact that
they have a real chance to pick up some
electoral votes there, notably in Virginia
and Tennessee. The other may be ascribed
to a wholehearted desire to deprive the
President of as many Southern electoral
votes as possible.
In Virginia, for instance, Mr. Truman
is in serious trouble. Eight years ago
President Roosevelt beat Wendell Willkie
in the Old Dominion by a margin of 126,
000 votes. Four years later his lead over
Governor Dewey was only 97,000, the vote
being 242,000 for Mr. Roosevelt and 145,
000 for Governor Dewey.
There is every indication that the trend
away from the Democratic national ticket
will be more pronounced this year. Presi
dent Truman does" not begin to have the
personal following in Virginia that his
predecessor enjoyed. He has at best luke
warm support. But in addition to that/a
goodly number of Virginia Democrats who
voted the Roosevelt ticket are not going
to vote for Mr. Truman. Some, but prob
ably not a great many, will switch to the
Republican column. Probably a substan
tially larger number will vote for the
States’ Rights ticket headed by Governor
Thurmond. Henry Wallace can expect to
get a few thousand votes, mostly in the
Norfolk and Hopewell area. Beyond this,
an appreciable number of old-line Demo
crats in the State, outraged at the Presi
dent’s and the national party’s advocacy
of the “civil rights” legislation, are simply
not going to vote for any presidential
candidate.
What result the combination of these
factors will produce on election day is
anybody’s guess. But there can be no
doubt that the 1944 Democratic margin of
97,000 votes is going to be drastically
reduced, and it is entirely possible, if not
probable, that the Republican presidential
candidate will carry the State.
Farther South, the Republicans cannot
hope to win any electoral votes Hence,
from their point of view, the next best
thing is to keep Mr. Truman from get
ting them, and their chances in this
respect are good.
In South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama
and possibly a few other States the Thur
mond-Wright ticket will be on the ballot,
and in those States the Truman pros
pects are anything but bright. So the
obvious strategy for the Republicans there
Is to do what they can to throw the
ejection to the Dixlecrats. If in that area
they can keep even a few electoral votes
from the President, their national pros
pects, already good, will be materially
enhanced.
In any event, the latest pronouncement
by Herbert Brownell, jr., the Dewey-War
ren campaign manager, indicates that the
Republicans plan a serious effort in the
South this year. And they have good
reason to believe that their effort will
not go unrewarded.
Sovereign Ideals
On her eighteenth birthday anniversary
and just a week before her coronation,
Wilhelmina Helene Pauline Maria, Prin
cess of Orange-Nassau, heir to the throne
of The Netherlands, issued a proclamation
to her people which is as interesting to
day as it was half a century ago. The
text, as published in The Star of August
31, 1898, read in part as follows: “I am
ready to accept the splendid though
weighty task whereto I have been called,
and I feel myself supported by your
fidelity. * • * My dearly beloved mother, to
whom I am immensely indebted, set me
an example by her noble and exalted
conception of the duties which henceforth
devolve upon me. * • * True to the con
stitution, I desire to strengthen the re
spect for the name and flag of The
Netherlands. As sovereign of possessions
and colonies east and west, I desire to ob
serve justice and to contribute so far as
in me lies to the increasing intellectual
and material welfare of my whole people.”
The sentiments thus expressed were not
a casual gesture. Rather, the world now
knows in terms of history that they were
a solemn pledge, courageously fulfilled
during fifty years of peace and war.
Queen \Vilhelmina, as she declared last
week, has kept the faith.
Her daughter, Juliana, yesterday re
placed her as leader of the Dutch nation
and empire. She, too, made use of mean
ingful words In dedication of herself
to the service of the people. “Many
good intentions are expressed, many plans
laid,” she said. “Shall we carry them out
in striving for social justness, cultural
development and economic prosperity?
* * * Yes, we can and shall carry out, we
can and shall realize what is in our power
to do.” With respect to how, by what
procedures, these objectives should be
achieved, she told the congregation as
sembled in the cathedral at Amsterdam
that she knew of no better way to com
bat the evils of the world than "by bring-,
ing up our children to be free people with
a spiritual foundation, a strong sense of
responsibility for their fellows, with re
spect for all that lives and grows and for
the innermost convictions of others.”
Such testimony to the high ideals of
free civilization is timely. It contributes
to the confidence of believers in demo
cratic principles and tested constitutional
routines. The monarchy of The Nether
lands, surviving an age of drastic change,
deserves its popularity when it is personi
fied by sovereigns capable of not merely
expressing such thoughts but likewise of
striving successfully to translate them into
action.
This and That
By Charles I. Tracewell
"D STREET, 8. E.
“Dear Sir:
“I too, am a bird lover.
“For a good many years I have maintained
a ‘two by four’ feeding station.
“Result is, my back yard is filled with sun
flowers. What I would now like to know is
some method by which I can save the seeds
for the coming winter.
“Yours truly, C. D. M." I
• • • •
Sunflower seed from home grown plants
should be placed in the sunshine for a few
hours, or days, according to the strength of
the sun and the relative humidity.
A little attention to the sunning place is in
order, so that one is not caught as was a
certain person,'who brought guests around to
see his sunflower seed ripening. *
When they went out into the yard, they
discovered that squirrels had been there before
them. Just a few seeds were left, along with
many fine husks.
Squirrels like them moist or dry.
These rodents do not mind the seeds un
ripened. We have watched them clean up the
seeds from growing plants, when the seeds
were in a condition Scarcely good for eating.
The squirrels ate them, anyway.
So it is essential, in putting the seeds out to
sun, to establish a squirrel watch.
A good place Is on a window sill, provided the
rodents are not in the habit of jumping up.
Do not forget that squirrels can climb almost
any brick wall.
Inside a sunny window will do, since it is
the combination of heat and air that does it.
Tanning rays are not essential.
After the seeds seem dry, place them in
paper bags, or tin cans with good lids, or wide
mouthed glass jars with secure tops. *
ALBUQUERQUE, N. Mex.
"Dear Sir:
“Have enjoyed your column through the
kindness of a neighbor, but nowhere did I
read how and what to feed hummingbirds,
“Have tried several things—am now trying
honey and water in a test tube—but no luck.
Have you any advice to offer?
“Please send me anything you have on the
subject.
“Thank you, your friend, W. C. H.”
There are on the market colored tubes, with
flared mouths.
These are designed for attracting hummers,
and usually do a pretty good job, if suspended
in shrubbery.
Those colored red and pink seem to offer the
most lure.
The bait is either sugar and water, or honey
and water.
This sweet offering in not so much to the
hummingbirds as it is for tiny insects. The
insects crawi in, and these attract the hum
mers.
All bell-shaped flowers, particularly those
in red and pink, draw hummingbirds. The
petunia is one, and the gladiolus another.
Trumpet vine flowers are great favorites.
The mimosa tree in flower is another hum
mingbird lure.
There is nothing nicer, in the nature line,
than a window box of Rosy Morn petunias.
Then one will have hummers at the win
dow all day long. If the box is outside a
dining alcove, birds and humans eat side by
side, to the good of all.
If the glass tubes are used. • care njust be
taken not to keep them too clean. Sometimes
people resent the crawling insects, but these are
exactly what the hummers want. »
Despite their fragile appearance, the hum
mingbirds are very much birds. They feed
their babies on insects and the smallest worms.
The “bugs” that like sugar and water may
include ants. These are so much grist to the
hummer mill. Though the smallest of our
birds, the hummers are brave and fearless,
and have been known to pierce larger birds
with .that long bill, thereby losing their own
lives, but often saving the nest from a ms
urauder.
Western Texas, New Mexico and Arizona
have several other species of hummers, in ad
dition to the ru bythroat, the only one that
comes to Washington and vicinity .
Cure for Epilepsy?
Operation Invented to Relieve Patients Suffering From
Convulsive Seizures Described
By Ted McDowell
New hope for the Nation's 700.000 epileptics
is offered by a brain operation recently done
at Doctors Hospital in this city.
Traditional treatment for the convulsive
seizures is a drug which depresses nervous
activity. Doctors point out that this is no
permanent cure and must be taken con
stantly.
The violent convulsions of the more serious
cases last about three minutes. During this
time the epileptic loses control of his body
and may bite his tongue. After the shaking
has ceased, a half-hour period of semicon
sciousness frequently follows.
There are more than 75,000 epileptics in the
Washington area and the disease has directly
caused 38 deaths from 1943 through 1946, ac
cording to Public Health Service records.
Nationally, the death rate averages about two
in every 100,000 of the population.
Realizing the seriousness of epilepsy. Dr.
Arthur A. Morris, a member of the District
Medical Society, studied the brain operation
for four years under Dr. Wilder Penfield at
McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He
has performed 15 of the operations in the
past year and a half, and in "most” cases,
there has been no recurrence of the seizures.
Dr. Morris uses an electric brain wave
machine (electroencephalogram) to locate the
brain area causing the seizures. He then maps
the brain with lettered markers. Using the
markers as a guide, he removes the affected
brain area, usually about a cubic inch. Dr.
Morris is conservative about claims for his
operation, but the results speak for them
selves.
“It will take another 10 years to determine
if the new treatment is completely successful.
Right now the results look fairly good," he
said.
One of Dr. Morris’ patients was a woman
who had been having as many as 10 to 12
attacks a day for 18 years. The other was a
man who had suffered a brain injury in an
automobile accident. The injury resulted in
epilepsy. Since the operations, both patients
have been free of attacks.
Epilepsy seems to doctors to be caused by a
faulty discharge of nerve impulses from a
small area of the brain. This condition is
brought on either by injury to the brain itself
or by other causes such as fatigue, worry and
changes in metabolism. Epilepsy itself is not
inherited. But as in the case of mental dis
order, a particular type of nervous system
might be Inherited which could lead to the
seizures under certain conditions.
In many cases, convulsions start with a lo
calized twitching—in an arm. for instance.
This local seizure, if present, is the first clue
to the location of the affected brain area. If
it is the right arm, the left side of the brain
is sending out the faulty discharges, since the
left brain lobes control the right side of the
body and vice versa.
The examination by the doctor includes
placing electrodes on the scalp and watching
the electrical discharges from the four brain
lobes being recorded on a roll of graph paper
of the brain wave machine. In the case of
an epileptic, one of the lines will show a
periodic flickering, the rolling waves becom
ing like sharp spikes. During the spike per
iod, the height of the waves sometimes jumps
to six times the normal. By placing the elec
trodes at numerous points on the scalp the lo
cation of the abnormal area is determined.
The meticulous operation, sometimes lasting
for hours, comes next. With the patient under
a local anaesthetic, the top of the skull is re
moved. As a double check against the graph
plotting, the neurosurgeon begins to map the
exposed portion of brain with his markers. He
takes an electric needle and stimulates a par
ticular area. If the hand twitches, he knows
that the spot controls hand movement, and so
on.
In mapping the brain in this way, incident
ally, inconsistencies have been uncovered in the
brain-area diagrams now used by psychologists
and doctors.
During surgery, the operator not only checks
the impulses on the brain wave machine but
periodically uses his stimulating needle to
make sure removal of the section will not im
pair an important center—say one controlling
speech or sight.
Following removal of the brain tissue, the top
of the skull is replaced. It takes about six
months for the brain to heal. The edges seal
up and the cavity fills with fluid. The skull
mends and there are no visible signs of an
operation.
Letters to The Star
Southern Revolt on Principle
To the Editor ol The Star:
In your editorial of September 1, you criticize
Chairman McGrath of the National Democratic
Committee for his failure to recognize the
Southern revolt as a genuine political move
ment. It is true that from the beginning he
has ignored the revolt and has acted as though
it did not exist. But you are equally in error
when you say that, although the revolt is real
and substantial, it nevertheless is not rational
but based upon emotion.
Actually, it is based upon principle. There
was within the Democratic Party a Northern
wing which holds that the national Govern
ment has full jurisdiction over the civil rights
of individuals, and a Southern wing which
holds that the jurisdiction over these rights
under the Constitution is the exclusive concern
of the separate States. The difference between
these two groups is fundamental. The chasm
is so wide and deep that no bridge can be built
across it. The one group fights for national
stateism, the other for States rights. In con
stitutional theory, they are diametrically op
posed. The recent Philadelphia convention
clearly revealed this cleavage.
Such is the stuff out of which new political
parties are born. Fielding L. Wright, bearing
his responsibility as Governor of a sovereign
State, saw early in January, 1948, after Presi
dent Truman's Message bn the State of the
Union and prior to his Civil Rights Message,
that the time had come for those States which
cherished their integrity to break with the
national planners and return to the constitu
tional doctrines of their forefathers. In early
February Gov. Wright led his State of Mis1
sissipDi as the first in the revolt, and the
political revolution was on.
CHARLES WALLACE COLLINS.
Dr. Niebuhr on Communism
To the Editor o( The Star:
An Associated Press dispatch datelined Am
sterdam, August 28, opens with a statement
whioh discloses a genuinely consoling promise.
“Communism will abandon use of force when
it has gained its ends, Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr,
a consultant of the World Council of Churches,
said today.”
Does fhe dear doctor wish to comfort the
millions of American Christians who will be
“humanely and gently’2- murdered (because .
they prefer Christ and His church to Karl
Marx) in the event that atheistic communism
should overthrow the American form of con
stitutional government?
This apologist for the Kremlin recalls an
example of the distorted thinking of the crimi
nal mind.
A gangster visits the district attorney and
says, "There’s a guy in the city who has a
nice home and a very good business. Now, I
would like to have all that he owns because
I’m sure I can run his affairs much better
than he does. I haven’t the money to buy
from him, and even if I did, I think 'he'd be
stubborn about it and wouldn’t want to sell.
So, just to get what I want, -I’m going to
murder him just once, and you shouldn’t prose
cute me, because I’ll bury him and become a
good citizen. And because I can run his busi
ness better, the city will be better off. because
I will produce more for practically nothing for
everybody. See?”
Dr. Niebuhr, a minister of the Evangelical
and Reformed Church and a member of the
faculty of Union Theological Seminary in New
York, continues with this diabolical "gobble
degook” in this further astounding proposal
to a council group on "the church and the
disorders of society.” Quoting again from the
A. P. dispatch: “Niebuhr said be proposed to
the group that it should regard communism
-as both better and worse than fascism on the
basis that communism was a Christian heresy
and fascism and nazlsm were anti-Christian
paganism.’ ’’
This statement cannot go unchallenged.
Karl Marx’s brain child is neither Christian
nor heretical, but is the most brutal kind of
nihilisfh ever devised by an inhuman mind.
Space does not permit a lengthy analysis of
the sophistry and double-talk contained in
arguments of this type, but this statement
must have made Lucifer laugh with diabolical
glee:
“Communism is morally utopian—it believes
in universal justice and truth.” O tempora,
O mores!
Permit me to quote from the book. “Odyssey
of a Fellow Traveler,” by J. B. Matthews (1938),
who was one of the principal witnesses before
the Dies Committee: “In an address to the
students of Union Theological Seminary,
Browder said, ‘You may be interested in know
ing that we have preachers, preachers active
in churches, wh» are members of the Com
munist Party.’ It is not of record that any
of the theological students who heard this
remark challenged its factual accuracy. Nor
is it conceivable that
demanded
Letters tor 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.
tor his remarkable statement. The tactual
accuracy of the statement is too well known
to all, but unless the statement is made by
the proper persons under proper auspices and
with proper party intentions it is received by
surprisingly large sections of the press and
public as just another sample of horrendous
red-baiting.”
As a clincher to the truthfulness and ac
curacy of Mr. Matthews’ analysis of Marxian
ethics, made 10 years ago, the following ex
tremely pertinent quotation from the same
volume is presented: “A distinguished pro
fessor in Union Theological Seminary, Rein
hold Niebuhr, has given this Marxist ethical
code at least a partial theological respectability
among a large group of younger Protestant
clergymen in this country over whom his
influence is significant. In his book, ‘Reflec
tions on the End of an Era,’ Prof. Niebuhr
holds that the capitalist world is possessed
by the ‘demon of hypocrisy’ and that the
communist or radical world is possessed by the
‘demon of vengeance’ because it is, in his
opinion, capable of ‘purer moral insights.’
Under this theory of deliberately taking one's
stand with the demon of vengeance, a signifi
cant clerical group under Prof. Niebuhr’s in
fluence is able to rationalize and to some
extent at least justify the perpetration of
almost any crime because it serves, as Lenin
said, ‘the interests of the class struggle of the
proletariat.’ ”
Yes, indeed, there are demons in the world,
and many people who claim to be expert on
this subject can find them by looking in
mirrors." H. M. P.
Israel a Sovereign State
To the Editor of The Star:
The mess in the Near East created by the
hot-cold war between the Jews and Arabs can
be ended and settled overnight by the applica
tion of the simple and logical principles of old
and established international law.
Israel has been recognized as an independent
sovereign state. As such she is within her
sovereign rights to determine without consul
tation with any other state who and how many
persons she will admit to her shores. She is
withirf her sovereign rights in determining
what she requires in her judgment for her own
defense and security. Therefore, the United
States should withdraw objection to the emi
gration to Israel of any and of all Israel is
willing to admit and the United States should
immediately revoke the arms embargo at pres
ent in force against that nation.
If it is true that 40 per cent of the world's
oil reserves lie in the Middle East, the settle
ment of the differences between the Jews nad
the Arabs, as the Jews are now entitled to have
it settled, will not drain away one cup of this
oil.
These Arab kings have had a taste of the
millions in subsidies from American-British
Canadian oil companies and one can depend
upon it that these kings never will be content
to return to the “Tobacco Road” standard of
living they themselves were accustomed to be
fore the discovery of oil in their dominions.
One can confidently rely upon it that such
Arabs who are left within the boundaries of
Israel will enjoy a standard of living many
times higher than they have known ever be
fore. EUGENE C. POMEROY,
Haircuts, Complete and Parti-!
To tilt Editor of The Star:
A small news item in TOie Star recently fives
indication that Washington barbers soon may
start a campaign for $1.35 haircuts. This cm
the ground that haircuts in some other cities
cost that much.
The truth, as I see it, is that the barbers
have been getting $1.50 (not $1.35) for about
six months or more because they only give you
two-thirds of the clean trim they used to give
and they charge a dollar for it They attempt
to' cover this up by “fussing around” but it is
all very crude and deceives only a few.
A complete haircut for $1.35 will be cheaper
in the long run than what we are now paying.
A. C.
One Old-Timer About Two Others
To the Editor of Tbo SUr:
You cannot realize what a shock it was to
me to read about the death of Joe Harrington.
I drove a Black and White Cab in the old days
before the cabs started hauling "refugees from
a streetcar.” We were "rugged Individualists”
So was Joe. He was tough, rough and always
ready to beat the brains out of a "tough guy”
or to give his last dollar to help somebody who
needed it.
ANDREW W. LARMAN
A
Th» Political Mill
Truman Opens Campaign
In Appeal to Labor Vote
Seems To Forget, Conveniently, Why
Taft-Hartley Act Was Passed
By Gould Lincoln
President Truman has launched his cam
paign, with his chief issue repeal of the Taft
Hartley Labor Act. His special appeal is to
the labor vote, based on the ground that ha
vetoed the Taft-Hartley bill, and that a Re
publican Congress passed the bill notwith
standing. Aside from the fact that more
Democrats in Congress voted with the Re
publicans to override his veto than voted to
sustain his position; the President seems to
have forgotten, conveniently, why the Taft
Hartley Act was necessary and why it was put
through Congress.
Under the one-sided Wagner Labor Rela
tions Act—and particularly through the man
ner in which that act was administered uncier
the Roosevelt-Truman administration—labor
leaders had virtually taken over in this country.
The health, safety and employment of the
American people had been threatened and
jeopardized. A strike to tie up the railroads cf
the country—which if it had been carried
through would have caused untold injury to
millions—was broken only when Mr. Truman
himself went before the Congress and De
manded he be given authority to draft the
railworkers into the armed services. The Taft
Hartley law was not then in existence. On
more than one occasion during recent years,
the coal miners of the country were called out
by the United Mine Workers president, John
L. Lewis. Whether the people starved or
froze seemed to make no difference so long
as the union leaders were able to enforce their
will. With them it was the whole loaf (their
entire demands upon the employers) or tha
people could take the consequences.
High Handedness Brought Art.
It was this high handedness on the part
cf the leaders of organized labor, and their
support by the rank and file of the union mem
bers. that forced the passage of the Taft-Hart
ley bill. Since the enactment of the new law,
Mr. Truman has used its provisions several
times to deal with this kind,of high handed
ness, and used it effectively.
The President in his campaign trip to Michi
gan asset ted that "the Republican Party is
controlled by special privilege and the Demo
cratic Party is responsible to the needs of the
oeople.’' It is Mr. Truman who is controlled
by "special privilege" in this drive of his
for the repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act—a
apecial privilege which he considers has enough
votes to put him into the White House after
January 1 for another four years. As a‘matter
of fact, a majority of Mr. Truman's own
I«rty members in Congress thought more of
the people and less of this "special privilege’’
than did Mr. Truman when the vote was taken
to override the President's veto of the Taft
Hartley Act.
The Truman veto message to Congress deal
ing with the Taft-Hartley bill, had all the
earmarks of an earlier document emanating
from CIO quarters. At the White House it
was vehemently denied that the CIO had a
hand in the President's message—neverthless,
the message was on all fours with that docu
ment.
Trying to Turn Back Clock.
Does Mr. Truman believe that a majority
cf the American people want to go back to
the days when the whole people and the ad
ministration jumped through the hoop when
certain leaders of organized labor cracked the
whip? The election of 1948, when the Truman
party was decisively beaten in the congressional
e’ections because it was known that only go
would it be possible to do anything about tha
Federal labor laws, seemingly has been for
gotten.
The American people rose against the dom
ination of railroad barons, and against
monopoly's tyranny. Federal laws were enacted
to put these other special Interests in their
place. Now Congress, representing the people,
has undertaken to put the arrogant leaders of
labor unions in their proper place. Mr. Tru
man, allied with some of these leaders, is
trying to I urn back the clock, to reverse a
decision of the people taken In their own
interest.
The Taft-Hartley law is not perfect. No
law is. It may need amendment. But Mr.
Truman and the labor leaders with whom he
has allied himself are not asking for amend
ments. They ask the repeal of the whole act,
denouncing it in general terms as vicious,
ar.d a “slave labor" law. Where is the slave
labor, under this law, in the United State*?
Mr. Truman will look in vain for it.
Questions and Answers
A reader can (et the answer to in; aueetiop of
fact by wrltint The Evening Star Information
Bureau. SIS Eye street N.E . Washington 2. D C.
Please inclose three (3) cents lor return postage.
By THE HASKIN SERVICE.
Q. Is the orchid a rare plant?—S. N.
A. Although orchids are considered rare, the
orchid family is one of the most numerous
groups of flowering plants. Some 140 species
occur in America north of Mexico and they
include many common wild flowers. The
orchids sold by florists are among the rarest
and most expensive of cut flowers.
Q. How long have Holy Years been observed
by members of the Roman Catholic Church?—
R. D. J.
A. Holy Years or Jubilees have been observed
every 25 years since 1475, and sometimes also on
special occasions. Hie special rite which then
takes place is the passage of the Faithful
through a special door called the Holy Door,
which exists In the four great basilicas, 8t.
John Lateran, St. Peter’s. St. Paul's-Outalde
the-Walls and St. Mary's Major, in Rome.
These doors are always walled up except in the
Jubilee Year. The Door of the Vatican basilica
is opened and closed by the Pope in person.
Pope Plus XII has proclaimed 1950 a Holy
Year.
Q. Who delivered the invocation at the Re
publican national convention of 1948'—E. B. T.
A. On June 21, 1948, the opening day of the
Republican national convention, at Philadel
phia, the morning invocation was given by the
Rev. Pred Pierce Corson of Philadelphia,
Bishop of the Methodist Church. The evening
Invocation was given by Cardinal Dougherty,
Archbishop of Philadelphia, Roman Catholic.
Q. What is the membership of the National
Association of Real Estate Boards?—C. K.
A. The National Association of Real Estate
Boards says the membership of the association
is 42,383, with 1,030 boards.
Borrowed Vision
We took a walk this morning
Down an ordinary ttreet.
All I saw was sidewalks
And your questing, little feet.
But you found a shining crystal
In a bit of broken glass,
A rainbow in a puddle,
Deio-drop jewels on the gross.
A fuzzy Caterpillar, •
Breakfasting upon a leaf,
A butterfly a-flutter . . .
Wonders far beyond beliefI
Let me use your eyes, my dear;
With them, this world could be
A vision and a wonderment. •.
A miracle to me!
—GLADYS LAWLER.