Indianapolis Times, Volume 41, Number 203, Indianapolis, Marion County, 3 January 1930 — Page 4

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S tH PP t -MOW AAO

The Courts and Politics Perhaps it is fortunate that the election of so many judges occurs on the same day that the people will pass upon the question of drafting anew Constitution for the state. The present Constitution, as a practical matter, is impossible of amendment. The provision that each amendment must have a majority of all votes cast has been a barrier to any improvement. Unfortunately only a minority of citizens vote on proposed amendments and they are defeated, even when there is a unanimous sentiment for change. That the courts should be removed from partisan politics would be admitted by even the most partisan of politicians. When candidates for the bench are compelled to parade their partisanship and to cater to those who make a business of politics, the brand of justice can be expected to be more or less corrupted by politics. This spring each party will nominate ten or twelve candidates for judges, ranging from two positions on the supreme court to a juvenile judge for the county. This means that perhaps four times that number of lawyers will compete in primaries for nominations. In very many cases the appeal by these lawyers will be service in political affairs in the past and loyalty to the party from which they seek the honor. It is not surprising that in very many cases, and this goes for all the courts, the successful candidates are not the best lawyers, not those with the most profound respect for substantial justice but the best politicians. The ones who win are those who can round up the most influences and balance themselves most easily on the tight wire that stretches between the prejudices and hate of different factions. Not the least of penalties paid for this system which ties up the courts to political parties is a growing lack of respect for all courts. No longer do the people believe that the founts of justice are pure and undenled. At times, there are bets, in places where men gamble, on the outcome of important cases, especially political cases, and it is history that those who are shrewdest in their understanding of the underground workings of politics usually win. Instead of devoting all attention to candidates for office, independent citizens who wish to save the traditions and the substance of our democratic institutions should organize to carry the proposal for anew Constitution. The spokesmen for bossism are against the movement. They are speaking openly when given a chance. The people, if for no other reason than that of divorcing courts from political machines, should unite for a new Constitution. Soldiers’ Bonus Approximately three and a half million veterans had applied for “adjusted compensation" certificates when the time for flimg expired at midnight Thursday. The applications had an ultimate potential lvalue of around $3,500,000,000. I The certificates are In the form of twenty-ye#? sndowmment insurance policies, based on credit for length of sendee. They have a loan value, which 1,500,000 veterans have used. Legislation to extend still further the time in which veterans may apply for their bonus is pending, but there is no great demand for its passage. Tire law has been in effect for five years, and few entitled to its benefits have failed to take advantage of them except through deliberate choice. ‘ Thus it appears that the much-mooted question of the bonus passes into history' as an issue, and it remains only to pay during the years to come. Few will complain about that. Churches Rick Labor Labor has won support of the churches in its efforts to obtain justice in the southern textile mills. In the midst of American Federation of Labor plans for an extensive southern organizing campaign and renewed demands for congressional investigation of anti-labor abuses there, the recognized social agencies of the Protestant, Catholic and Jewish churches have issued a statement condemning working conditions and violence against workers. At first the American public, confused by the conflicting charges and claims of labor and employers, was not sure of the facts in that industrial warfare. But the facts now are clear. There have been various nonpartisan reports on the situation. Official government figures prove the long hours and poor WKges. The neutral press has sent investigators and reported, almost without exception, in substantiation of labor’s charges. Now the organized investigating agencies of the churches add their powerful voices to the protest with the joint statement of the Federal Council of Churches, the National Catholic Welfare Conference and the Central Conference of American Rabbis. In addition, the Federal Council of Churches has issued a special report disproving the alibi of mill owners that Marion, N. C., strikes, in which six workers were killed by sheriffs, were caused by outside “agitators.” According to the churches’ joint statement: "The tragedies at Gastonia and Marion, N. C.. have appalled all thdl* who accept the respective ethical teachings of our religions. Rieht and wrong la such conflicts can not be decided by violence. To attempt to bring peace by bludgeon and bullet m

The Indianapolis Times (A SCKIPPS HOWAKD NEW I’APF.Rt Owo'Ki and pnbUb<l daily ifxeept Sunday) by Tfc* Indianapolis Publishing Cos., 214 Maryland Street, Indianapolis, Ind. Price In Marlon County, 2 onts a copy; el-owhere. 3 cents- delivered by carrier, 12 cents a week. BOYD C;r;KLKY, ROY W. HOWARD, FEAXK G. MORRISON, Editor President Business Manager PHOXFI —It 1 ley 5.~51 FRIDAY, JAN. 3. 1930, Member of I nit*d Press, Scripps-lloward Newspaper Alliance, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Newspaper Information Service and Audit Bureau of Circulations. “Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way”

such conflicts is contrary to every rule of morality. We condemn such a course unqualifiedly. “We urge employers and public officials not to suppress by force the protests of the workers in their efforts for the redress of manifest evils, nor to employ legal action, backed by force, save in the keeping of peace. “The unrest in the textile industry and the tragedies in some mill centers have arisen not only because of the economic confusion in the industry as a whole, but also because of the faulty relations between employer and employe, “That the hours are longer and the wages lower than the standards which public conscience deems right generally is acknowledged. “Employers in the industry have failed to recognize organizations of labor and to show a willingness to allow labor that freedom to organize for which our three bodies stand." Congress should act on the recommendation of this and other newspapers, to which the specific demand of the churches is now added, for a federal investigation. Aviation Progress Aviation leaders, as usual, predict the brightest and balmiest year in the industry’s history. The year just passed wasn’t an especially bright one, and there is little doubt that 1930 easily will outshine it. Aviation just has passed through a year quite miserable with growing pains. It has suffered a series of disastrous crashes, and there has been a severe readjustment in the manufacturing industry. Some call it a depression. Several thousand more planes were built than could, be sold. Tins was a natural predicament for a young and booming industry to get into. Aviation’s growth from now on promises to be sane and firm. Despite this depression, aviation really has gone forward. Mileage flown by mail and passenger planes over scheduled routes has increased tremendously, and is nearing ICO,OOO miles daily. The outstanding development has been the vast increase in number of passenger airplanes established. Almost equally outstanding is the fact that none of them yet is making money. Fares on airplanes have been cut drastically in the last few months, removing one of the greatest obstacles against general use of the airplane. The other obstacle is an ingrained fear of flying. The air mail still is the backbone of America’s commercial aviation. A few new lines were established during the year, but the most significant development was the determination of the postoffice to cut down payments to contractors. The postoffice faces a loss of about $3,000,000 yearly under present contracts. Anew agreement is being worked out, and within the year rates are likely to be so adjusted that both postoffice and the contractors will come out even. The navy is fairly well equipped. The five-year program stipulated that the navy should have 1,000 planes by July 1, 1931. On last July 1, with two years yet to go, it had 529 planes. As for the army, the five-year program stipulated that there should be 1,345 planes at the end of the second year. The army had 1,273 planes and 201 on order. This apparent discrepancy is in training planes, and will disappear next year. There is a serious shortage of planes for tactical units. The air corps budget for the coming year has been sliced several million dollars by the budget bureau. The arm of the national defense ’•'presented by the air sendees is bound to be seriously impaired unless congress keeps its promise and furnishes sufficient money.

REASON

WE are C' lighted to have Colonel Fuller, the celebrated English military critic, declare in his book on General Grant that the hero of Appomattox was “the greatest strategist of his age, of the war, and consequently, its greatest general.” This praise, coming from an English authority, is the more acceptable since his countrymen have long insisted that Lee and Jackson were the outstanding figures of our Civil war. a a tt In recent years there has been a disposition to disparage Grant, the same being but an incident of the epidemic of character assassination which has claimed for its victims Washington, Lincoln and other indispensables, but for a longer period Grant has suffered at the hands of many who have extolled Lee at his expense. a a a TANARUS: ere always is a disposition to deify the leader of a lost cause. It is much the same emotion which waters the stock of the young man who goes wrong, a tendency which you have witnessed many a time. Always we paint, marvelous pictures of what the dissipated youth of ordinary brightness might have accomplished, had he walked the straight and narrow path. n a a THE jobs of Grant and Lee were essentially different and in their respective fields both were masters; it was the job of Grant to pursue the offensive in a hostile land, to watch all the jumps his adversary might take, while the job of Lee was to defend in a region where every human being, every read, and every ford was his ally. Lee found the offensive a vastly different piece of work, as witness his one and only effort which culminated in defeat at Gettysburg. tt tt tt The distance from those days is so great we can not appreciate the sendees of Grant, we can not visualize the sense of helplessness which pervaded the north when the south won victory after victory, neither can we hear the cheers which rent the northern sky when Grant hurled his raw troops against Buckner at Ft. Henry and Ft. Donelson and won victories which dispelled the gloom and gave the north the mental attitude, indispensable to success. a a a Nor can we rebuild the long, heart-rending campaign before Vicksburg when a thousand liars fanned the nation's impatience with stories of Grant’s incompetence and intoxication, but all those evil tongues were silenced when his superb strategy compelled the surrender of Pemberton and made the Mississippi free. In that campaign Grant had the sublime audacity to turn his back upon all the tradition- of war and cut himself loose from his base of supplies and the end justified him. HIS campaign against Lee was assumed after all his predecessors had failed, bearing with them into failure the illusion that Lee was almost superhuman, but Grant did not believe in fairies or in supermen and he held Lee in his grasp until Sherman and Thomas in the rear could make the cefeat of the south absolutely inevitable. And Grant did this in the only way it could have been done, by terrific fighting.

FREDERICK By LANDIS

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

M. E. Tracy SAYS:

If the World Imagines It Can Stop War Just by Making Another Agreement It Is Chasing a Rainbow Up an Alley. PATRIOTISM suggests support for our state department in its contention that the Kellogg pact does not need to be strengthened. History suggests that, satisfying as such an ic.ea may be, it is dumb. From the dawn of consciousness, men have dreamed of solving their problems by negative action, by merely agreeing not to do things. In the end, they have found it necessary to take a positive stand. aba Who supposes that our statutes against murder, theft, or arson would amount to much without a police force to back them up? Who supposes that we could regulate traffic without cops on the comer? Or, to cite a more important example, who supposes we could have disestablished monarchy without republican government to take its place? tt A tt Gets No One Nowhere PROGRESS is not based on repudiation. The idea of refraining from something gets nowhere, unless it is followed by the idea of doing something better. This is particularly true when it comes to the abandonment of agencies on which men have learned to depend. Take the frontier community, for instance, that has learned to go armed because of lack of effective law enforcement, and who supposes it would disarm without being promised adequate police protection? a a tt The present day world is analogous to such community. Nations remain armed because they can see no other way to protect themselves, yet our state department contends, that a mere agreement to outlaw war is enough to warrant them in disarming. France takes an opposite view and no sane man will deny the logic of her position. a a u Just Another Rainbow IF the League of Nations, the world court and other agencies designed to promote peace do not imply co-operative action to maintain it, even to the extent of establishing an international police force, they imply nothing. If the world imagines it can stop war by the simple process of making an agreement, and without assuming any responsibility in case that agreement is broken, it is only chasing another rainbow up a blind alley. a a a Outlawry cf criminals is dreaded because of the threat of punishment that goes with it. That, and that alone, gives it force. Without including something of the sort, how can the outlawry of war mean much? tt a a Mockery and Sham W'HILE it is hardly to be expected that people could be persuaded to take such a revolutionary stand as this involves over night, the time has come to admit frankly that it can not be avoided in the end, unless the gestures being made in the interest of world peace are a mockery and a sham. Either we are going to provide punishment for those who disregard their obligations, and ignore the agreements they have signed, or the whole movement will collapse. At present, most nations are trying to get the benefit of reduced armaments, arbitration treaties and agencies designed for the peaceful adjustment of disputes wuthout assuming the necessary obligations, or making the necessary sacrifices. To put it bluntly, they are trying to have their cake and eat it. a a The French not only reahze the issue, but face it frankly. Instead of playing the part of obstructionist, as many charge, the French really are telling us what the movement implies, and what we must expect if we see it through. Their insistence on regional agreement, such as they now are asking in the Mediterranean, and such as they tried to obtain from Wilson at Versailles, should be regarded as trading propositions, and not as comprehending their ultimate aim. tt a a France Is Right WHAT France is after for herself, and what she rightly believes all nations will demand before we are through with this movement, is such guarantee on the part of subscribers to the various covenants and agreements as will justify nations in reducing their military establishments. Who supposes that such guarantee can be furnished, without a promise of positive co-operation on the part of signatory nations to punish any government that violates its agreement, or disregards its obligations?

Daily Thought

Ye can not drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of the devils.— I Corinthians 10:2L a a a He must have a long spoon who eats with the deviL—Marlowe. When and where was the Grand Army of the Republic organized? Decatur. 111.. April 6, 1866. What percentage of the population of France are Roman Catholics? The majority of the population is Roman Catholic. There are only about 1,000,000 Protestants there. Who was Tacitus, and when did he live? He was one of the greatest historians of the Roman empire, who lived about 55 to 129 A. D.

Seems to Bea Hitch Somewhere!

Fat Person Target of Blood Pressure

BY DR. MORRIS FISHBEIN, Editor Journal of the American Medical Association and of Hygeia, the Health Magazine. INSURANCE companies consider the fat man a less suitable risk than the thin one. Considerable numbers of policy holders beyond middle age are found to be overweight, and overweight is generally associated with the onset of the degenerative diseases which are today responsible for the vast majority of deaths. Studies made by J. W. Larimore showed that fat people are likely to have high blood pressure more often than thin ones, a factor which has also been established by investigations covering hundreds of thousands of people. In order to find out what relationship exists, if any, between the

IT SEEMS TO ME

IN addition to all the other more familiar complexes there should be listed one which is almost universal. It could be called the Dr. Johnson complex and it consists of a passion for assuming the airs of an intellectual arbiter and making up lists of the ten best this or that. Listology is peculiarly an American complaint. We forever are setting down somebody’s choice of the ten greatest men or the ten greatest women, the eleven most effective football players, and the twenty-nine most practical ways to win a lady’s love. In apology for my list about to be unfurled I can only plead that it is very short. Instead of ten I purpose to give but three names and in so brief a compass include what seems to me the year’s high point in fiction, drama and in music. Fossibiy to round it out the best piece of acting seen this season may be added. If Ernest Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms” is not the best book written by any American this year, what is? For this selection, at least, I am ready to lay down my life. Not only does “A Farewell to Arms” seem to me the absolute top point in current fiction, but I would, add gratuitously that I do not believe any living American ever has done as well. If asked to name its greatest rivals, I would suggest “Arrowsmith” by Sinclair Lewis and Willa Cather’s “A Lost Lady.” a u a Three Americans “TJ ERKELEY SQUARE,” by John -D Balderston is the best play shown to New York this year and Jerome Kern’s score for “Sweet Adeline” the best of the moment's native music. And, to return to “Berkeley Square,” this play also furnishes the

Questions and Answers

Why did George Washington refuse to accept a third term as President of the United States? Because he thought it savored of monarchy, the very thing which had been a grievance to the colonies in their dealings with George in. Where was Ninevah? Ninevah is an ancient city on the Tigris river, founded by Nimrod, and later the capital of the Assyrian empire. Who plays the detective role in the motion picture “Street Girl?” There is no real detective role in the picture. Ned Sparks played the part of the violinist, of whom it was said by the pianist in the picture “You’d make a good detective.” Who was the “Mad Empress”? Marie Charlotte Amelie Auguste Victorie Clementine Leopoldine, wife of Emperor Maximillian of Mexico and daughter of Leopold L king of the Belgians. She died Jan 19, 1927, at the age of 86, in the chateau Eaude Bouchone, not far from Brussels. What is the highest altitude to which man has ascended in mountain climbing? About 27,441 feet, was attained by the Mallory, Somerville and Norton expedition in 1924, which climbed * within 1,700 feet of the summit of Mi. Everest.

.DAILY HEALTH SERVICE-

body weight and blood pressure, H. R. Hartman and D. G. Ghrist studied the records of 2,042 persons who entered a medical clinic in recent years. Their studies prove quite certainly that there is a steady rise in th systolic blood pressure from the point of underweight and overweight both for men and for women, and that in women also there is a steady rise in the diastolic pressure for overweight. The two readings of the blood pressure are taken at various phases of the heart beat. These studies prove that one of the most important steps in controlling rises in the blood pressure after middle age is the contrdl of the diet, which should be reduced so as not to place undue stress on the digestive organs, as well as on the tissues generally. Among many leading physicians

o HEYWOOD y BROUN

high spot in acting. Leslie Howard gives the most moving and completely rounded of all current performances in the role of the comedy’s hero, Peter Standish. Os the four men named, three are Amßricans. Leslie Howard is the lone Englishman, although John Balderston has lived for many years in London, which saw his play months before it was introduced in New York. In the matter of “A Farewell to Arms,” it is possible to cite the bulk of critical authority. Few books have been reviewed so enthusiastically and while there may be scattering dissent no other novel of rhe day looms up as a challenger. I think that nationality in the arts is more properly a thing of the spirit. It is difficult to imagine a Frenchman or a German writing “A Farewell to Arms.” Its sophisticated sentimentality is typical cf our temper. a tt a No Strain JOHN BALDERSTON’S fine play, “Berkeley Square,” is a comedy in its form, but that should not deceive you into expecting a happy ending. Here, too, the frustration imposed by fate is celebrated, but again the characters go down fighting. Probably this is one of the few romances of the world directly inspired by higher mathematics. Einstein himself may have been one to suggest the framework of the love story, for Balderston has built his play around the philosophic conception that all time is co-exten-sive. It is easy to see the comic possibilities in the scheme which Balderston has devised, and these are well realized by the playwright and by Leslie Howard, who is magnificent in the role of the hero. But tills is a play in which the laughter is wholly incidental. At least for me the tragic Idve story overshadows everything else.

Times Readers Voice Views

Editor Times—l wish to call attention to a profitable field lor investment. If there is a crying demand for public service it is for a better means of heating houses. We are making no progress in this direction. The great advantages to health and cleanliness in a substitute for coal fires needs no argument. / The distribution of steam heat is so wasteful that producers are not extending their service. They frankly admit that it is not practical for long lines. I would suggest that since natural gas formerly was serviced over large areas, that artificial gas could be so distributed. If coal lands were acquired and gas plants installed at the mines, so that the same machinery which brought out the coal could carry it to the gas-producing equipment, there would be no railroad or rehandling expense. This would be especially applicable at strip mines. The gas could be delivered to consumers by means of pipe lines and pumps at nominal cost. With coal stoves and furnaces, the larger part of the heat is wasted. In the production of gas and byproducts much of this waste would be saved. It is also safe to say

there is developing some question as to Just how much significance should be attached to gradual rise in blood pressure after middle life. Apparently some rise may be considered as the normal reaction of the tissues to the changing nature of the body. Hence we have the form of high blood pressure known as essential hypertension, of which the definite cause is unknown, but which seems to be associated with the changes that come on with advancing age, increased weight and similar factors. The treatment of such conditions Is usually to reverse the associated process. Thus, for overweight and high blood pressure, it is customary to reduce and to rest. Almost invariably a reduction in weight and rest will bring about a decrease in the blood pressure.

Ideal),’ and opinions expressed in this column are those of one of America's most interestlnjr writers and are presented without regard to their agreement or disarreemeni with the editorial attitude of this paper.—The Editor.

By now I’ve seen “Berkeley Square” several times and there are certain scenes at which my tears rattle down with regularity. Nothing in the theater this year has moved me so much. In fact, it would be no strain for me to make “Berkeley Square” the high point even if several other years were added to the field. In New York now there is nothing fit to stand beside it for the season has given hs just this one play which deserves a place in the rank of truly first-rate things. Nor is this a very meager allowance of first-rate plays. There never have been very many. m m tt Now’s the Time TN the matter of music the task of awarding a palm is somewhat simplified by the fact that no piece of so-called serious music has risen during the year. There have been no native symphonies of any consequence or any opera whatsoever. Yet even if there had, I think a case might be made for the composer of the lighter type of American music. The leader this year in the making of hits Is Jerome Kem. Hi 6 “Old Man River,” of course, does not fall within the year, since it is several months older than that, but it may be mentioned as a piece of music based upon native models of which anybody who had written it would have a right to be very proud. But Mr. Kern’s “Show Boat” falls outside the span of time allotted to us, his “Sweet Adeline” fits in very neatly and it is among the most tuneful of light opera scores. It is well enough to regret the passing of such masters as Victor Herbert and De Koven, but we are a dead folk if we insist upon waiting until Jerome Kern is dead before we recognize the fact that he stands high and handsome among the music makers of the world. Here, then, is my quartet all over again: Hemingway, Balderston, Howard and Kern.

that a thoroughly up-to-date plant wolud produce gas under the proposed plan at much lower cost than at present. The great body the people gladly would take advantage of the chance to rid them?elves of the coal nuisance. Moreover, the present equipment of stoves and furnaces could be adapted cheaply to gas, although betteT devices would be offered. If this service were started at most any of our mining regions, enough customers could be found within twenty-five to fifty miles to keep a large plant busy. Eventually this supply would reach the larger cities, even if it met opposition from present gas producers, because the fittest will prevail. There is evidence that good gas has been produced as low as 10 cents a thousand feet, even where coal transportation was necessary and with little attention to byproducts. With a proper system and equipment, I think it could be produced at the works for half that sum. Furthermore, the Increased supply of low cost by-products would be of great advantage to other American industries and help to make our country a greater factor in world commerce. AL B. HALL. 212 Liberty building.

_JAN. 3, 1930

SCIENCE By DAVTD DIETZ—

Interferometer Will Be Usedin Measuring Diameter of Stars by Nation’s Scientists A POWER FIT, engine of astronomical research, capable of throwing Important light upon theories about the universe, will be put into operation at. the Mt. Wilson observatory in California tins summer. The instrument to be known as the 50-foot interferometer, will be used in measuring the diameters of stars. Its construction now is under way in the observatory’s machine shop in Pasadena. The Instrument was discussed here at the annual exhibition of the Carnegie institution of Washington by Dr. Walter S. Adams, director of the observatory. The observatory Is one of a great group by the Carnegie institution. Five years ago astronomers at Mt. Wilson startled the world of science by succeeding in measuring the diameter of a star. The instrument used was a form of interferometer, the invention of Professor A. A. Michelson, famous American scientist, and research associate of the observatory. At the time, however, it was possible only to measure the diameters of the very largest stars. The work showed that the giant star, Antares, had a diameter of 415,000.000 miles, w'hile Betelgeuse had a diameter of 215,000,000 miles. a a tt Confirmation Astronomers were elated by these results, because from theoretical reasons they had calculated that these stars must have diameters of approximately the size which the measurement showed. The interferometer, therefore, not only gave direct measurements of these stars, but served also to confirm the theoretical reasoning upon which astronomers were basing their researches. The interferometer used in measuring the giant stars was a form of the instrument which first had made Professor Michelson famous in his youth. It had been known for a long time that when two rays of light were admitted into a dark room through two small holes in a screen that the resulting spot of light took the form of concentric circles of light and darkness. This pattern, known as an interference pattern, is the result of the effect of the two streams of light waves upon each other. Professor Michelson built an instrument in which a system of mirrors was used to split a light wave in two and then recombine it into an interference pattern. This instrument at once was useful as a measuring instrument, because a motion of one mirror equivalent to less than a millionth of an inch would cause easily measured changes in the interference pattern or fringes. Professor Michelson next built, a large interferometer in order to seek differences in the speed of light in different directions. This instrument was used by Michelson and Dr. Edward W. Morley for the i famous ether-drift experiment, upon which the Einstein theory was based. a a m Girder THE interferometer used to meassure the diameter of the giant stars consisted of a steel beam twenty feet long. This is mounted across the top of the 100-inch telescope at Mt. Wilson. There is a small mirror at each end of the beam. Each mirror catches an image of the star. These images are reflected to other mirrors and finally are combined in the eyepiece of the telescope, forming (die interference pattern. Professor Michelson showed that the interference pattern changed when the distance between the two mirrors was changed and that at a certain critical distance the interference fringes disappeared. He showed further that this critical distance had a direct relation to the diameter of the star and that the star’s diameter, therefore, could be calculated once this distance was known. The smaller the star, the larger the distance between the mirrors at which the fringes disappear. Thi3 was why the twenty-foot interferometer could only measure the largest stars. The fifty-foot interferometer will not need the aid of the big telescope. It consists of a great fiftyfoot bridge girder mounted on a telescopic mounting of its own. It contains all the mirrors and optical parts needed for measurements. The stars measured with the twenty-foot interferometer are all giant red stars, known to astronomers as Type M giants. The fifty-foot interferometer, according to Dr. Adams, will enable the astronomers to make measurements on the next class of stars, the Type K stars, thus opening up a whole new field of study.

lsjTH£ ia -

MAINE JOINS UNION Jan. 3 ON Jan. 3, 1820, congress passed a bill to admit Maine as a state. The struggle over the admission of Missouri into the Union had brought about the necessity of admitting a northern state to preserve the balance of power, and on March 15, 1820, Maine Joined the Union. Today also is the anniversary of President Taft’s announcement of his candidacy for re nomination, on Jan. 3, 1912. On Jan. 3, 1898, the United State* treasury recalled all SIOO silver certificates on account of counterfeits. And on Jan. 3, 1861, the Delaware legislature refused to Join the Confederacy.