Indianapolis Times, Volume 43, Number 52, Indianapolis, Marion County, 10 July 1931 — Page 6

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Lawyers and Courts Trust th lawyers for finding a way to nullify the Constitution when they do not like it. The Constitution says in language that to the layman is quite clear that any citizen of good moral character may practice law in the courts of the state. That may be a bad provision. But it has been there for many years. Until very recently the lawyers and the courts acted as though they believed the Constitution meant what it said. Twice, at least, the lawyers sought to amend the Constitution by the orderly processes of the Constitution. The people, de s pite the urgings of the lawyers and others who believed that a lawyer ought to be educated in the law, very consistently refused to wipe out this provision. They might have preferred to wait for anew Constitution, lust as vigorously opposed by the lawyers who now nullify. Now we have the rather amazing spectacle of the supreme court of the state and the lawyers of the state going ahead with a program that for three-quarters of a century was commonly believed to be illegal and disorderly and anarchistic. Through the rather specious reasoning that any man who tried to practice law without going through h, regular law school is of immoral character, the supreme court devises rules under which men may establish their “good moral character.” In the old days a barkeeper had to give bond. The lawyers will give no bonds for their good conduct. Just what the courts will gain in confidence through this rather violent method of getting rid of an objectionable part of the Constitution remains to be seen. Just what fundamental justice will gain is even more doubtful.

Local Government Going—or Gone Financiers, not the legislature, have decided that the people of cities, towns, counties and school districts need a guardian, and have accordingly decreed that no bond issues for local purposes shall be issued until the tax dictators at the statehouse consent. Inasmuch as these dictators, who, be it said to their credit, do not like the new job, have a very consistent record of curbing local ambitions in favor of lower tax rates for the big corporations, there is little likelihood of many such bonds being floated. The original theory of local self-government is thrown away. The significant thing is that it is destroyed by lawyers for the financial interests, who hold no offices, but do hold unlimited power. The last legislature passed a law intended to put a temporary curb on taxes. It never intended to make small communities vassals to the state tax board. The members of the tax board say that the law shows no such intent. No members of the legislature would father such an idea. But, nevertheless, the law of the state is now firmly fixed that the commission must investigate and approve all bond issues. Lawyers for those who buy bonds and sell them to widows and orphans with much profit to themselves have decided not to buy bonds unless there is such an approval. Whereupon the state government abdicates its powers in favor of finance and the decree becomes more absolute than if decided by the supreme court. In that body there is always a chance of rehearing. The bond houses are always close to the. big corporations, the railways and utilities which pay local taxes. It is a fair presumption that these taxpaying monopolies were not at all ignorant of the bond-buying decision. Big finance runs both. The principle involved is important. Not many functions of government are in the hands of local offices. Snoopers from Washington tell us what we are to drink. Snoopers from Indianapolis tell us w'hen and how to spend our tax money. The people are lucky if left the chance to elect a stray constable or township trustee, both probably useless. When high finance openly supplants the legislature and the courts and swings the big stick it is time for those who still cling to the illusion of liberty to take stock of modern tendencies. It is only a step from dictatorship over cities and counties to dictatorship over states, and from there on the path of the financial Mussolinis will be easy. “Let Liquor Be Taxed’’ The experience of Canadian provinces with stateowned liquor dispensaries—which replace prohibition —is usually cited in arguments over the liquor problem in this country. Drys would have us believe that the system is a failure, that it has increased drunkenness and crime, and corrupted government. Wets paint a different picture in urging some similar plan for this country. Examination of official figures on consumption for last year 1s therefore interesting, and particularly so at this time, when legalization of 4 per cent beer in this country is being advocated to produce revenue, stimulate business and bring the liquor traffic under control. Gross sales of liquor in Canada were $130,000,000 in 1930. The various governments got $100,000,000 of this*in the form of taxes, leaving the per capita liquor bill at less than $3, or the equivalent of a bottle of Scotch. And this does not take into account the consumption of some five or six million Americans who visited the country as tourists. The dominion government last year got $56,000,000 as'lts share of taxation, or about 12 per cent of its revenues. It imposes a tax of $9 a gallon on spirits plus a 4 per cent sales tax, and then the provincial governments step in, charge up the cost of operation, and take a handsome profit for their own treasuries. And the liquor habits of the people are changing. Canadians are drinking only about a third as much spirits as in 1914, a little less beer, and five times as much wine. Per capita consumption of all beverages is half a gallon less, however. Thus Canada has a controlled liquor traffic instead of the bootlegging and racketeering we have here. Canadians get good liquor, in place of the gJIfiOD supplied Americans. They are

The Indianapolis Times (A SCKIPP&-HOWARD NEWSPAPER) Owned nd ptibllebed dally (eacept Bunday) by The Indianapolis Times Pnbllshlng Cos. 214-220 West Maryland Street. Indianapolis. Ind. Pries in Marlon County. 2 cents a copy; elsewhere, 3 centa—delivered by carrier, 12 cents a week. BOYD GURLEY. BOY W. HOWARD, FRANK G. MORRISON. Editor President Business Manager PHONE—Riley ftSM FRIDAY. JULY 10. 19J1. Member of United Press, Scrlppa-Howard Newspaper Alliance, Newspaper Enterprise Association. Newspaper Information Service and Audit Bureau of Circulations. “Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way.”

Revenues which here go Into the pocket of bootleggers, in Canada find their way into the public treasuries. If we got 12 per cent of our revenues from liquor taxes, the federal government alone would collect around half a billion a year and other millions would go to the states. An Arms Holiday? Why is it that virtually the only effective disarmament proposals come from the allegedly mil), taristic dictatorship of Russia and Italy? Why should the Communist Stalin and the Fascist Mussolini be ready to move faster toward disarmament than Hoover If such is the case? Certainly no one understands the emergency better than Hoover. Twice within the last fortnight he has pointed officially to the armament race as a major cause of the world distress and danger. He closed his original debt moratorium proposal with these words: “I wish further to add that, while this action has no bearing on the conference for limitation of land armament to be held next February, in as much as the burden of competitive armaments has contributed to bring about this depression, we trust that by this evidence of our desire to assist we shall have contributed to the good will w'hich is so necessary in the solution of this major question.” And in his formal announcement of France’s adherence to the debt holiday plan, Hoover said: “I need not repeat that one of these causes is the burdens imposed and the fears aroused by competitive armaments.” Having stated a case that can not be disputed, the President should move to convert his words into action. The Silent Forests John D. Rockefeller Jr., patriotic Californians and the California legislature have joined to buy back for the people as a public park a temple of priceless value. It is famed Bull Creek Flat, a 13,000-acre grove of ancient redwoods, the oldest living creatures on the North American continent. The “murmuring pines,” we are told by scientists now measuring sound by acoustimeters, give forth only 8.9 “decibels” of sound. A noisy office generates fifty-seven decibels, an elevated train ninety, an airplane 115 decibels. These groves of redwood trees are almost completely silent. Carpeted, cooled, scented, dimmed, these and other forests are America’s refuge from a noise-ridden civilization of steel and concrete, holy sanctuaries from heat, glare and raucous sound. It is a commentary upon our forest policy that charitable private citizens must buy back from lumber interests these vanishing natural temples and then dedicate them to public use. Millions of acres destroyed by greedy timbermen, careless loggers, forest fires and insect pests; a few thousands salvaged through private charity! President Hoover has camped in California’s Bull Creek Flat, and knows its tonic, healing value. He might lead a movement to make the saving of such groves a public concern. He could create a conservation and reforestation program whereby the millions of devastated acres could be made into public groves all over the land. Meanwhile, all of us can do our part on weekends by being careful with matches, cigarets and campfires.

Hungry Children In the mountains of West Virginia 90,000 people are starving. Among them are many children. The fathers of these families are miners of old American stock. They have been forced to strike to get even a wage which will cover bare necessities. Hungry and exploited, their constitutional liberties are invaded by injunction judges and company gunmen. But whether their cause is just or unjust, their women and children are without food and must be helped. The National Red Cross has refused help. We publish in our news columns today an appeal for contributions sent out by the emergency committee, 112 East Nineteenth street, New York City. It behooves the college graduate henceforth to consider his vocation before his vacation. An Oregon man accidentally sent a sock containing $2,700 to a laundry. A roll in one, as it were. % A Chicago woman has been given a divorce because her husband made her ride in the rumble seat. Just to show him, perhaps, how it feels to be given the air.

REASON Ta”

WELL, fellow citizens, the monkey business has commenced at Indianapolis. Some days ago two men are brought to Indianapolis charged with the murder of Jackson, the owner of a string of groceries, and they both signed confessions. a tt This would have ended it in any other country, but in this country It is only a curtain raiser. The accused men then retained a criminal lawyer, who asked and was granted a change of venue from Marion county. This will be followed by the other dilatory tactics and the result will be what it has been in all other murder cases in Indiana in recent years—a washout, so far as justice is concerned. What we need in this country is a one hundred years’ moratorium on criminal lawyers! tt a A GENTLEMAN in Ft. Wayne had two bull snakes over four feet long and one of them left its happy home and was killed by an unappreciative citizen. A fellow that likes to fondle snakes may be all right, but we wouldn’t want him to cut any bread for us. tt tt A British statesman says that since President Hoover suggested moratorium the name of Shylock should be taken from the United States. We would tell this distinguished statesman that nobody but a crook ever called this nation a Shylock on account of its conduct during the World war. a a a When the treaty of Versailles was made we did not ask or get one dollar, one foot of land or anything else in the form of war indemnity, while our associates in that struggle grabbed everything in sight. And since that war we have been doing little but reduce debts and lend money to Europe. tt 9 a SPEED the day when our industries can be diversified to’the limit, when we can be made as nearly self-reliant as possible, when we can make and consume within our own borders almost everything we need. Our experience with Europe has been such that “Home Sweet Home” sounds better than ever before. tt a tt Italy has Just put into effect anew criminal code, and under its terms whoever “offends the honor or prestige” of Mussolini will be given Me to five years in prison. That’s what you call “hot dgpCL” 1 . , i T&-

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

M. E. Tracy SAYS:

Since When Did the Red Cross Confine Its Work to Situations for Which God Was to Blame? NEW YORK, July 9. Judge Payne’s explanation of why the Red Cross has sidestepped the problem of relief for women and children in the coal mine districts leaves us all at sea. If he had simply said the organization didn’t want to get mixed up in a labor row, we could have understood what he meant, though we might not have agreed with it. The logic of holding c-d responsible, however, is utterly beyond us. Since when did the Red Cross confine its work to situations for which God was to blame, while men were not. * The Red Cross has distinguished itself largely through the relief of suffering brought on by war. Does Judge Payne imply that war is an act of God? u u War Glorified FOR some inscrutible reason we have been taught to regard war as of divine right, if not of divine origin. It has been glorified above and beyond all other human activities. People have been trained to make sacrifices in its behalf which they are not called upon to make and which they would not make in behalf of anything else. The difference between the heroic way we prepared for battle fourteen years ago, and the unheroic way in which we have handled this depression, speaks for itself. The debt holiday which has just been declared includes everything but armament. The same thing could have been accomplished by cutting down military expenditures 40 per cent, or even less, but you haven’t heard about any government doing it.

Inconsistent OUR professed horror of violence on a small, or private scale, stands out in sharp contrast to our belief in it on a large, or public scale. Every nation has laws forbidding murder by individuals, yet every nation expends a large part of its revenue in preparation for wholesale murder. Poor as Europe is today, unable to meet its fixed obligations, or provide business with the necessary capital, it is spending five billion dollars a year on military establishments of one kind or another. Statesmen will tell you that this is a hangover of the recent conflict, that it will soon be corrected, but that just at present people can’t forget their horrors, hatreds and suspicions. a tt tt Fomenting War SUCH an explanation would be easier to believe if some of these same statesmen were not fomenting new causes of quarreling and alarm. One hundred fifty million Russians are being schooled to regard all other people as their sworn enemies, are being shown how to put on gas masks, just as though air raids were actually imminent, and are being told to interpret every major move on the part of other countries as part of a plot to attack Russia. Forty million Italians stand shocked, or thrilled, as the case may be, while Mussolini and the Vatican struggle for supremacy. tt tt a The Gang Fallacy EVEN here in America we strive to see the bright side of gang rule and racketeering by imagining that if left alone, the thugs will presently kill off each other. They are certainly doing all that could be expected to satisfy us, but apparently the “mobs’’ are being recruited too fast for the machine gunners. Five “big shots” from Brooklyn put on the spot in as many days, the last one being strangled, stabbed and partially decapitated to vary the performance, but not a clew as to who did it.

Doherty Vs, Star OUR troubles are not all due to gangland, or the racket. Out in Kansas, Henry L. Doherty is going to court, with suits against the Kansas city Star totaling $25,000,000, to find out, if he can, whether one state commission is right in declaring that the gas rates charged by some of his companies should be lowered because the companies are making too much, or whether another state commission is right in asserting that stock in those companies should not be sold to the public because they are making too little. The Kansas City Star is being sued for libel, not so much because of what it has said, but because Mr. Doherty and his lawyers believe that neither state commission would have taken action if the Star hadn’t said it. Whatever else you may think, that is some compliment to the Star. And the Star not only continues to repeat what it has said, but adds a little more each day for good measure, and hires Ex-Senator James A. Reed to look after its case. With Doherty as plaintiff, the Star as defendant and Reed at the counsel table, a good time should be had by the audience.

People’s Voice

Editor Times—There is no surer way of hastening the day when Indiana will have an old age pension system than by exposing poorhouse conditions, and every citizen of the state intelligent enough not to be blinded by political Idemagogues says “Amen” to the effort of your paper to bring to the people the real conditions in the Marion county infirmary. It is not wholly a question of administrative personnel or policy. A poorhouse is exactly that—a poor house. It is futile to defend an institution founded three centuries ago or to expect that it will meet the needs of modern life. Nor is it a question of politics any more than patriotism. Decent care of the unfortunate, the old men and women who have helped build the community, is above any party. It is a call to all that is best in human nature to render an act of simple justice. WILBUR H. MILLER, 408 H. Forrest St* Indtanajinltfr Jnd.

BELIEVE IT or NOT

IfeAWED Fisrt ' A TROUT HAS &EEN TRAINED To JUMP J~Tf THROUGH A HOOP ON COMMAND are in the same Building LW poisonous x&v .IN PALISADE,NEVADA* * .SCORPIONS l © 1931, Ring Feature* Syndicate. Inc. Great Britain right* reserved. F"

Following is the explanation of Ripley’s “Believe It or Not,” which appeared in Thursday’s Times. The Hedgehog Cactus The hedgehog cactus, or Echinocactus grandis, of Mexico has been pro-

DAILY HEALTH SERVICE Summer Skin Infections Frequent

This is the third of a series of seven articles by Dr. Morris Fishbein on “Summer Care of Health.” 'ln the light of new data on the proper diet, dress and hygiene during the hot months, this series should prove particularly timely. BY DR. MORRIS FISHBEIN Editor Journal of the American Medical Association and of Hygeia, the Health Magazine. PHYSICIANS who practice in tropical zones insist that the constant high temperature has the tendency to hasten maturity and to stimulate the glands of internal secretion. It is pointed out by Stefansson, the Arctic explorer, that Eskimo girls mature very early. The reason for this is that living for six months of the year in huts which become so hot and so humid that the conditions resemble those that exist in the tropics. Men from the temperate zone who go to the tropics find very soon a stimulation of the endocrine glands.

IT SEEMS TO ME BY H S D

DOROTHY DIX, in the New York Evening Post, reports a discussion she had with “a very intelligent and thoughtful man” about marriage. It is his contention that if divorce were prohibited during the first five years of marriage young men and women would begin to fall in love wisely instead of too well. “Nobody can deny,” says this gentleman, “that nowadays boys and girls give less serious thought to selecting their wives and husbands than they do to picking out an auto or anew hat, for in the case of the auto they would at least consider the make and type of car and what horse power engine it had and whether they wanted to use it as a truck or a sport car, and in the case of the hat they would consider its suitability and whether it harmonized with their own personality and fired their fancies. tt tt tt • Five-Year Plan “X>UT they will pick out their life Jt > partners without giving a single serious thought to the background and character and habits of the men and women they are marrying or whether they are adapted to. each other or not, or even whether they care enough for each other to endure a lifetime of each other’s society.” It seems to me that even a tenyear marriage contract would not be sufficient to prove the feasibility of an eternal companionship. Marriage is and always was a gamble. The only difference is that the stakes vary. Once upon a time a man’s eligibility was measured primarily by his earning powers. u tt u Grandma's Career I DON’T mean that romance was entirely lacking. But a young woman of the ’9os was more prone to fall in love with the first likely male that crossed her path. After all, marriage was her career. She could not afford to wait until youth and beauty had passed her by. Hers was not to reason or question: “Is this man suitable for me? Do I care for him enough to endure a lifetime of his society?” She took him for better or for worse. In nine cases out of ten, once the honeymoon was over, she decided it was “for worse.” But, tradition being what it was, the disillusioned young wife couldn’t hop to Reno and free herself from an impossible situation. But the modern girl has a wide range of selectivity. She can earn her own living. She doesn’t have to choose ftfhusband for what he

On request, sent with stamped addressed envelope, Mr. Ripley will furnish proof of anything depicted by him.

vided by nature with pleats so it can fill up with enough water to last it for five years. It converts its stem into a great rounded barrel, which it fills with water during rains, guarding the precious

This wears off promptly, however, to be followed in several months by a depressive action. Most people notice a similar effect in the summer season. When summer weather first comes on, glandular action is stimulated but tends to be depressed later. Because of the constant perspiration and moisture of the skin, people are more likely in hot weather to have skin infections than in cold weather. These take the form of the ordinary blackheads and pimples, but there are also considerable amounts of what are called fungus infections, resulting in soft places between the toes, in the groin and similar places where skin surfaces touch, and also in the condition commonly called “athlete’s foot,” which spreads rapidly to other parts of the body. Any irritation of the skin in hot weather is best controlled by repeated washing and by the use of appropriate creams and powders to prevent irritation and rubbing of

can give her. If she falls in love with a man who doesn’t earn a great deal, it doesn’t matter so much. She can keep her job, and together they manage a fairly decent living arrangement. There are thousands of personable young women unmarried today who have passed the first flush of their youth. And it is not because love has passed them by or they have lacked opportunities. But they are not satisfied to marry just for a home. They don’t have to. They have learned that there are other things more important than economic security. u tt a Hurry, Hurry MRS. DIX goes on to quote this unknown critic of our modem marriage as follows: “Nothing is commoner than to hear young people in talking of marriage say, 'Oh, well, I’m a sport. I’ll try anything once.’ And even at the altar are privately thanking heaven that divorce is easy and has become respectable and a common thing in our best circles.” I don’t believe that. I think our

ROOT MISSION ENDS July 10

ON July 10, 1917, Elihu Root, chairman of the American mission to Russia, issued a statement declaring that the mission had accomplished its purpose after a visit of about one month. The statement follows: “The mission has accomplished what it came here to do, and we are greatly encouraged. We found no organic or incurable malady in the Russian democracy. Democracies are always in trouble, and we have seen days just as dark in the progress of our own. “We must remember that a people in whom all constructive effort has been suppressed for so long can not immediately develop a genius for quick action. “The first stage is necessarily one of debate. The solid, admirable traits in the Russian character will pull the nation through the present .crisis. Natural love of law and order and capacity for local self-government have been demonstrated every day since the revolution. The country's most serious lack is money and adequate transportation. We shall do what we can to help Russia both.”

§-€ Registered 0 A JLP V l atent Office RIPLEY

store with vicious thorns, as a protection against invaders. t Saturday: “The Man Who Could Repeat an Oration After Hearing It Once.”

adjacent surfaces. Irritations break the surface of the skin and make it easier for bacteria to enter. The use of porous clothing tends to keep the surface of the skin dry and in that way to prevent the maceration that comes with constant moisture. Because of the effects of various chemicals on skin that has been irritated, cosmetic preparations must be used with greater care in the summer than in the winter. Infants and small children must be kept cool In summer, but care must be taken to see to it that they are properly covered at night, particularly with changes of weather during the night. Colds are not frequent in the warm season, but the likelihood of catching cold is always present and resistance is certainly enhanced by proper protection. In days of excessive heat the small child may be clad merely in a diaper and allowed to lie in its crib in the shade n~ar the open window.

Ideals and opinions expressed in this column are those of one of America’s most interest! im writers and are presented without reran! to their agreement or disagreement with (he editorial attitude of this paper.—The Editor.

young people are more serious and idealistic about marriage than were their fathers and mothers before them. But they are frank to say that it is a chance. They know full well that the object of their affections today may become anathema to them in five years or one year or even six months. If we were to take too seriously the phrase, “until death do us part,” the institution of marriage would disappear for all time. I’m all for hastier marriages and easier divorce. I never could see any reason for prolonged courtships. If two persons fall in love and are free to marry I think they should do so while the flame of their love is strong and hot. And if it burns out what’s so terrible about embers? (Copyright. 1931. by The Times)

Daily Thought

Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.—Proverb 9:6: A learned fool Is more foolish than an ignorant fool.—Moliere. On what river is the United States Naval academy located? The Severn.

Have You Said ‘Yes?* Or, if he hasn’t popped the question yet, are you prepared to say “Yes?” If so, you’ll be interested in our Washington Bureau’s latest buIIetin—ETIQUETTE FOR ENGAGED COUPLES. It tells all about engagement announcements, formal and informal- announcement parties, engagement presents, discusses the question of long and short engagements, tells how the engaged couple should act in public: has suggestions for reaching mutual understandings that should clear the way to a happy marriage; has a section on planning the honeymoon; the contents of the “hope chest;” the trousseau and other information essential to the bride and groom to be Fill out the coupon below and send for it: CLIP COUPON HERE Dept. 128, Washington Bureau, The Indianapolis Times, 1322 New York Avenue. Washington, D. C. I want a copy cf the bulletin ETIQUETTE FOR ENGAGED COUPLES, and Inclose herewith 5 cents in coin, or loose, un canceled United States postage stamps, for return postage and handling costs. Name Street and No City state I am a reader of The Jftdlanapolls Times. (Code No)

JULY 10, 1931

SCIENCE BY DAVID DIETZ—

Mercury Is Molten and Frigid —Certainly Uninhabitable; but Venus May Support Life, Scientists Discover. /'ANE side of the planet Mercury probably is red hot, while the other is as cold as it is possible for anything in the universe to get This is the strange situation brought to light by measurements of ita surface temperature by Dr. S. B, Nicholson and Dr. Edison Pettit of Mt. Wilson observatory. “Our observations show that the surface temperature on Mercury directly under the sun’s rays, that ia at the point where it is noon on Mercury, is 790 degrees Fahrenheit.” Dr. Pettit said. “This is the melting point of the metal zinc. "If there were any tin, lead or zinc on Mercury at the spot where this temperature obtains, they would exist only in the molten form.” These observations give Mercury a still more unique position among the planets revolving around the sun than it formerly possessed. There are eight planets revolving around the sun. of which, of course our earth is one. Mercury is the smallest of the eight, the closest to the sun and the one which possesses the most eccentric orbit, that is, the one whose orbit is most flattened or distorted from the shape of a circle.

Lacks Atmosphere T'XUE to the fact that Mercury la closer to the sun than the earth, we do not always see all of its lighted side from the earth. Consequently, in the telescope, Mercury appears to go through phases like the moon. When it is a crescent, it means that part of the lighted side and part of the dark side are turned toward the earth. “A measure of the temperature at the crescent phase gives an average of 260 degrees,” Dr. Pettit says. “We are convinced from this rapid decline in the temperature measurement that the theory that Mercury always keeps the same face turned toward the sun, just as the moon always keeps the same face toward the earth, is correct. “We believe, therefore, while the face toward the sun may be red hot, the temperature of the other face’ Is that of the so-called absolute zero, that is, the temperature of empty space or 459 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. “We are also convinced that there is ( no atmosphere upon Mercury. “It goes without saying that life as we know it would be impossible on Mercury.” Dr. Pettit and Dr. Nicholson made their measurements of the temperature of Mercury with a device known as the thermocouple. This consists of a juncture of two different metals within a vacuum cell. This cell is placed at the end of a telescope and the image of the planet focused on it. This heats the juncture and generates an electric current of less than a billionth of an ampere. A delicate ammeter measures this current and the temperature of the planet is calculated from it. The two scientists also have measured the temperature of Mars and Venus and come to the conclusion that conditions which would support life are more likely to exist on Venus than on Mars.

Venus Clouded "0 UR study of Venus indicates a temperature of 15 degrees below zero on the planet Venus,” Dr. Pettit says. “But we know from direct observations of the planet with the telescope that we never see the surface of the planet Venus. The planet is covered with a thick layer of clouds. Occasionally we see darker spots which may be mountain tops poking through when the clouds are a little thinner. “Therefore, the temperature which we measure on Venus is the temperature of the upper side of the clouds. Furthermore, we get the same temperature readings for all parts of Venus, whether we measure the side of Venus where it Is day or night. “Consequently our temperature reading must be for what is known as the isothermal layer, that is the layer of the atmosphere where the temperature is the same all over. “Our earth has such a layer. It is seven miles above the surface of the earth. Its temperature is 67 degrees below zero or four times as cold as the temperature we get from what is evidently the same sort of layer on Venus. “This makes things look ‘pretty good for Venus. Os course we can not say with certainty what temperatures on the surface of Venus might be. But since Venus is clouded, the temperature must be high enough at least to permit the existence of water vapor in the sky. “It is also of interest to point out that Venus is about the same size as our earth, having a diameter just a little smaller than that of our earth. “So while it is impossible to make any positive statement about life on Venus, it is not unreasonable to say that if any planet is inhabited, it probably is Venus.”