Indianapolis Times, Volume 46, Number 191, Indianapolis, Marion County, 20 December 1934 — Page 17

It Seems to Me HEYWOD BROUN A NUMBER nf the r'l-tomer'- are cood and sore * *■ about a column which I rote recently concerning Santa Claus. I am not willinz to withdraw a line. M> amturie is adamant. The o.d gentleman is not only a snare and a delusion, bu* one of the most pcrenicious of all the faking phantoms. But I remain somewhat embarrassed since I. too, have been wearing whiskers and a false face and posing a - an idler. In all truth I nave been plunged into vast activity much against nr. will. Lazy men are. often prodigious worker 1 - since they haven’t sufficient energy to stop once you get. them rolling. It is my custom to go through the world with a stern and forbidding countenance Upon rare occasions I permit mvself a wry smile. That comes upon the receipt of a letter such as this from H. L. K.. who writes. So there isn't any Santa

Claus' I suppose you came to that conclusion la f e at night in some fancy speakea v where you and your companions vere plotting the overthrow of the American Government and the American home, our two most priceless heritages, a man like you shouldn't even be allowed to mention the sacred name of Santa Claus." Just the same there isn’t any Santa piaus and I have confirmed this fact within the last two days. It was nor [are at nigh? nor in a gilded den that I hit upon the discovery. The knowledge came in a

Heywnnrt Broun

sudden bean* of light like that which assailed St. Paul on the road to Damascus. Only I happened to he spending my 3fih or 37th hour follow ing the hearing of an NRA board in mv iob as associate counsel. And when I saw the "videnre which was seriously considered and that which was rejected it, came to me line a flash that there is no Santa Claus. And what is more I doubt if there ever will be. an a ,1 Double-Entry Columnist IN a previous column I believe I may have gone to thP length of advocating the shooting of Santa Claus. If so I take it hack. It will not be necessary. All that is needed is for somp one to give the old fpllow a vigorous push. He is dead. He has been that wav for many years. People are just beginning to realize it. His obit ought to give the gentleman full credit for his espousal of certain good causes during the days in which he walked the earth. Hp was perhaps the most, noted of all the liberals. Well, anyway, nnc of thp most noted I've always said. “Give me Walter Lippmann for the boys and girls of 12 or more and Santa Claus for the kiddies." Both leaders of the liberal cause were famous for their open minds. Each was a columnist. In fact Mr Claus was a double-entry columnist who put every little girl and boy alive into the red or black on Christmas morning. Os course. I have no desire to sneer at. the open mind Everybody should keep his mind open for some little, "hilo even after the skull knits. But not forever. Ihe perpetually open mind is not a mind at all, but merely a draft. We will have to get along without Santa Claus. In my opinion we will be better off, but that is merely an opinion. Gone, all gone:, are the reindeer of the giver and so are the ravens of the prophet. That pie which lies up in the sky is npver tossed into the watchful face of anyone. Man must learn to teach high above his head and pluck down those things which for him are necessary. Santa Claus is dead. u Old .Adamant Broun AND so Tam not moved by the letter from P. L. M.. who writes: “A recent column of yours filled me with disgust. You stated. The child of fi who stilt believes in Santa Claus I would set down as definitely backward.' My daughter is 8. in the 3rd grade in a good and well-rated school, receives the highest marks in her class and the teacher adds to her report. Shows initiative. She adds much that is of interest in our discussions.' Yet on Saturday after a visit to the stores she returned home and because the Santa Claus she saw said to phonp him at Iceland 0 0 0 0. she tried to do so. Is this the act of a dumb child, or the act of one having faith in herself and her world?" I hardly like to answer the query since Mr. P L. M. does not furnish all the necessary information. What I want to know is did she get him. I may add that in my opinion the little lady showed an excessive faith in the telephone company. No. Mr. M. your daughter isn't, dumb. She has initiative and will be bursting through the fraud almost anv minute, I would like to speak reassuring words above your head to the child herself. Believe me. Virginia, there isn't any Santa Claus. (Copyright. 13341

Your Health BY DR. MORRIS FISHBF.IN PROBABLY you know how to treat a cold but if you're like must person? the cold will get a good grip on you. regardless of what you do for it. Persons have tried to harden themselves against colds bv taking cold baths, but scientific studies do not indicate that this method is anywhere nearly certain in prevention. Vaccines, injections, and ‘shots’’ have been used under a wide variety of conditions. but the majority of physicians do not seem to indorse them. Ultra-violet rays and preparations containing the vitamins ha-e been widely advertised as especially useful in preventing colds, but carefully controlled studies do not indicate any unusual virtues in such methods. ana THE rules for protecting yourself against colds are fairly simple: Avoid contact with persons who have them. Look out for sneezing and coughing when you are in a street car. an elevator, a movie, or any similar inclosed place. Avoid getting your feet wet; avoid sudden changes in temperature; avoid chilling. Remember that most doctors are convinced that colds are caused by germs which seize the body when its resistance is lowered. Germs come from noses and throats of other persons, and we also have some germs in our bodies at all times. The ones we have will let us alone unless our resistance breaks down. Then they take hold. ana THE germs from other persons come to us not only bv contact, bv coughing and sneezing and kissing, but also by less intimate contacts—through pencils, doorknobs, and. it has been said, even on money. However, money is not a very serious hazard. The most important step about a cold is to take rare of it and not neglect it. In taking care of a cold don't try to knock it out with alcohol. While alcohol does give a feeling of warmth on the skin, and may make you feel better without actually doing you any good, it is perhaps doing you some harm. When you aie m bed after a long co’.d exposure. \our doctor may ailow you a small dose of alcohol to give you the warm, comfortable feeling that comes with such dosage Just about the same effect ran be obtained, however. oy a hot mustard foot bath, a drink of hot coffee or a drink of hot lemonade. Questions and Answers Q —Who produced the motion picture “Africa Speaks?" A—lt was produced bv the Colorado ifrican Expedition and released by the Columbia Pictures Corp , New York City. Q —Should one say "that cheese" or "those cheese'*" A—Cheese is a collective noun singular, and requires a singular pronoun. That cheese is correct. Q —Have Russia and the United States reached an agreement concerning the Russian debt? A—Negotiations still are pending. Q—What is the Jewish population of Palestine? A—The 1931 estimate was 175,000.

Full Leased Wire Service of the United Pros.* AssoctaMon

THE MURDER OF BABY LINDBERGH

Bruno Hauptmann Traced, Trailed and Then Trapped in Bronx

Thf ' hr**‘<" in th* I.indberih ra. anticipated quictlv for month* bv the dlifen t detectiie* lifr ork had horomr a solution of the rrime. came in the middle of -eptemner. 1331. 30 month* after Charie* A. I.indbersh. Jr., had hern *tnten from hi* rrib in Hopewell The *torv of the arrest is told in the following di*patrh. ninth in the *erie* bv Sidnev B. Whipple. a a a BV SIDNEY B. WHIPPLE United Press Staff Correspondent (Copyright. 1934 bv United Pressi ON the morning of Sept. 15. 1934. a blue Dodge sedan was driven up to a gas pump in a Manhattan filling station. The man at the wheel handed a $lO gold certificate to Walter Lyle, in payment for five gallons of gasoline. ' You don't see many of these any more,” Lyle remarked, fingering the note. No. I guess you don't," said the customer. "I've only got a few left myself—about a hundred of them.” Lyle gave the man his change and mechanically, in accordance w:*h Jimmy Finn's instructions, wrote the figures "4U-13-41" on the back of the $lO certificate. Within six hours, after the certificate had been deposited in a branch of the Corn Exchange Bank Trust Company, three co-ordinated groups of detectives, Federal, state and city, were hotly pursuing the trail of Bruno Richard Hauptmann, owner of car license 4U-13-41. They found him as he was emerging from the driveway of his modest home in the far Bronx, and they trailed him assiduously for five days brforp laying on his shoulder the hand of arrest. Unconscious of the shadow. Bruno Hauptmann went about the city, visiting the haunts in which it was his custom to sit for hours, over a seiriel of beer. On the morning of Sept. 18, he drove the blue sedan out of his garage as usual. But as he passed into a roadway, a police car edged

him to the curb. Seven men. headed bv Acting Capt. James Finn, leaped toward him with automatics. "You're wanted at headquarters." said Finn. But it was not to headquarters, but to the old "bastille,” now* an automobile license police bureau, that the protesting prisoner was taken. Fnr three days they grilled him—and never once succeeded in hreaking down his stolid composure. a a a ON his person, when he was arrested Hauptmann and another of the Lindbergh ransom bills, a S2O certificate. He professed. for a time, not to know where it came from. Then the detectives began a stick-by-stick and stone-by-stone demolition of the little garage in E. 222nd-st. the Bronx, which they knew had been constructed by his own hands. Their pickaxes broke through the flooring and discovered a mine.

-T h DAILY WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND By Drew Pearson and Robert S. Allen

WASHINGTON. Dec. 20.—Behind Roosevelt’s sudden appointment of a commission to take the profit out of war were two significant factors. One was impending war in Europe. The other was pressure from the War and Navy Departments. With something in their eyes almost akin to horror, Army and Navy officers have watched the committee come closer and closer to some of their long-hidden secrets. A couple of these already have come

out—how the sale of powder improvements to Japan was approved by the War Department; how the Army also put its o. k. on the sale of anti-aircraft patents to Poland. The surface of all this has scarcely been scratched. A great deal more is yet to come, including reported collusion among shipbuilders in contracting for last year's naval vessels. Asa result, Henry Roosevelt. Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Secretary Dern. and other highranking Naval-Army officers have been camping on the White House doorstep urging a halt to the Senate committee. The President never was keen about the investigation, but. politically did not want to rome out against it. Now. however, his AntiWar Profits Committee tends to head off the investigation, and rertainly will make it difficult for the committee to get new Senate funds. a a a POSSIBILITY of impending war also was important. On more than one occasion President Roosevelt has had extremely pessimistic reports from his diplomatic observers in Europe. Asa result, confidential conversations have been taking place for some time between the President. Henry Roosevelt, and General MacArthur regarding a plan to take the profits out of war. The plan involves factory conscription much on the same order as the French plan. With the du Fonts for instance, Irenee du Pont would become a brigadier general, and all of the factory workers privates. There would be no profits except for a set return to the stockholders. Although these conversations had been under way for some time President Roosevelt didn't want to launch them publicly while the London naval discussions were in progress. The announcement would have been hailed as American mobilization. So he waited until last week. ana THE President was comparing notes with Steve Gibbons, forthright Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, who as a child also was afflicted with infantile paralysis. Both have the physical courage and the indomitable good cheer which seems to be one of the after-effects of this affliction. •Well. Steve." concluded the President, in a tone of self-con-gratulation. “at least you and I will never die of high blood pressure from running upstairs." nun MOST defeated Congressmen turn over their offices to their victors in a spirit of anything but good will. But not John E. Nelson, former Republican Representative from Maine. When defeated by young New Dealer Edward C Moran Jr., two rears aco. Nelson even gave him iis files on veterans, always one cf the most difficult subjects a Representative has to handle. Not long after getting Nelson's files. Moran received a letter from a Maine veteran asking for certain favors. The letter concluded with: “I voted for you. I've always

The Indianapolis Times

From sacks and wrappings tumbled thousands of yellow-backed gold certificates. Another hoard, cunningly concealed in window' casings, added to the pile. They counted $13,750, and every bill of the lot bore a number that checked with the serials of the ransom Col. Lindbergh had paid to regain the son who never came back alive. a a a TN the leveling of the garage -■-the officers came upon another cache, even more painstakingly hidden from prying eyes. The hoarder had sunk five small borings into a plank and each of the holes contained a roll of bills. The plank had been fixed into position with its smooth side outward, presenting an innocent appearance until it was tapped. The detectives added SB4O to their pile of recovered money. Joseph Perrone, taxicab driver w r ho had once carried a ransom

been for you. And my twelve children got out and worked their legs off for you.” Democrat Moran went to the files to look up the veteran's past record and found a letter addressed to Republican Nelson. It concluded: “I voted for you. I’ve always been for you. And my twelve children got out and worked their legs off for you.” Moran wrote back that he had Nelson's files and was looking into the case, immediately the veteran wrote back: "Have you got all of Mr. Nelson's files?" Moran replied in the affirmative. He has never heard from that veteran again. (Copvrißht. 1934. hv United Feature Syndicate, Jnc.) ARCHEOLOGIST TO TALK Former .Student to Lecture at Tech Before Science Club. Members of the Social Science Club at Technical High School will hear Glen A. Black, field director in archeology for the Indiana Historical Society, on "Let's Dig a Mound,” Jan. 8. Mr. Black, a former Tech student, has been conducting excavations in southern Indiana. Norval Jasper, club president, will introduce the speaker.

SIDE GLANCES

|P- ~‘j / jpA : ' ■: j; fts, Ql np' L s*|i' M ! |S rzr , i H ~ -n

“But you don't understand. This is a Christmas gift, and absolutely MUST be delivered by the 25th.”

INDIANAPOLIS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1934

xggr x 4. •*",'■ - -.*.*" . jsgsgL ~jr Jrf -.m*. k ~•-' Up ■:•&*.' ,-. |'ij : ,j|rr).rif iijiw'T $ x • ■' . s % '■■ ' ■ —— ——— ——

The true carpenter’s ingenuity was exhibited by B uno Hauptmann in making this place of concealment fm- SB4O of the Lindbergh ransom money found in his garage. This rioseup picture shows how bills had been hidden in holes drilled into one nf the garage timbers. The little .25-caliber automatic was concealed in he slot at the left, made hv joining three auger holes.

note to Jafsie at the behest of a man who approached him in the darkness of a Bronx street, was bidden to headquarters. He walked up to the prisoner, standing with a group of detectives and. putting his hai}d on Hauptmann's shoulder, said. "This is the man.” Jafsie. himself haled from his lecture room, was not so positive. “He doesn't look exactly like the man to whom I gave the $50,000. he said. "This man appears much heavier.” a a a COL. LINDBERGH, disguised in dark-rimmed glasses and a large cap, listened attentively to the prisoner’s voice as he responded to the questions of the authorities. “It is the same voice I heard calling, 'hey, doctor, over here, doctor,' ” he said.

RAPER COMMANDERY TO INSTALL SLATE Granville A. Richey Is New Commander. ! New officers of Raper Commandery. No. 1, Knights Templar, elected Tuesday night at Masonic i Temple, will be installed in public i ceremonies Jan. 5 at the temple. They are Granville A. Richey, commander, who succeeds Floyd L. Kresge: Bert R. Cordle. generalisjsimo; Arno G. Siefker, captain genjeral; Daniel G. Coates, senior warden; John M. Rotz. junior warden; The Rev. Lewis Brown, prelate; Charles N. Fultz, treasurer Oscar L. Pond, recorder; Gold E. Beall, | standard bearer; Guy L. Roberts, | sword bearer; Oren T. Owen, senj tinel; Lewis Bray, and the Rev. Lewis Brown, directors. OUSTED POLICEMAN SUES CITY FOR JOB William Gillespie Brands Trial Evidence Perjured. William F. Gillespie, former Indinapolis patrolman, began yesterday a legal battle to be returned to his , post in the police department. He was discharged by the safety board March 20 on charges of conduct unbecoming an officer. Superior Judge Joseph A. Williams heard oral arguments on Mr. Gillespie's plea to be reinstated, against which James E. Deery. city attorney, contended that the Safety Board ruling was final. Attorneys for Mr. Gillespie claimed that the testimony offered at the trial was perjured and that Mr. Gillespie had not accepted S2O ; a month for six months in 1933 as i "protection money,” as was charged.

By George Clark

The detectives “interviewed" Anna Schoe filer Hauptmann, the suspect's wife. How did her husband get all this money? How was he able to live without working? "He has always been thrifty. He made good wages. He saved a lot. And he won money playing the stock market,” Mrs. Hauptmann explained. Investigation of his brokerage accounts showed Hauptmann had lost $7,000 in less than two years. "Well. I'll tell you." said Hauptmann. “I got it from a friend of mine named Isidore Fisch —a man who used to work with me in the fur business. He owed me money, about $7,500. So last winter he took a trip to Germany, and when he left, he asked me to take care cf some of his belongings. In the lot was a shoe box. I didn't know what was in it, but I put it in the bedroom closet. Later I dis-

I COVER THE WORLD a a a ana By William Philip Simms

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20—A five-power, if not a six-power, naval conference—with Russia the possible sixth—is virtually inevitable lor 1935. according to diplomatic circles here. Termination of the Washington and London limitation posts, the Japanese say, is only a first necessary step, a clearing of the table preliminary to the real conference next year. French sources admit the danger of a naval race between France and Italy, Italy demanding equality with France and the latter being unwilling to accord it. France ;

wants a two-power navy—a navy as large as that of Italy pnd Germany combined. Great Britain is bent on a cruiser strength of 70 instead of the 52 allowed her under existing treaties, and will make use of the “escalator clause" in the 1930 London pact to boost her tonnage still higher if Franco-Italian rivalry justifies it. Nippon, notice of whose abrogation of the 1922 Washington treaty has been given the State Department, not only insists on a free hand to build a navy second to none, but is increasinglyalarmed over reports from the Soviet Union. a a a FROM Vladivostok last winter this writer reported that submarines, manufactured in European Russia, were being shipped overland to the Pacific port and assembled secretly there. This news has since been repeatedly and amply verified. The Soviet Union is now said to have a sizable fleet of underseas craft in the Sea of Japan, and Soviet heavy industry is equipped to turn out many more in the next few years. Russia may be invited, therefore, to take part with the other five powers America, Britain, Japan, France and Italy—in the next effort to limit naval tonnage. That Russia would accept such an invitation, however, is by no means certain. She is developing hqr air fleet more than her sea power at this time. She may prefer not to manifest too great an interest in naval matters for a while. a a a MOREOVER, should she participate, still more complications would be added to the already seemingly hopeless naval situation. She would not be satisfied with less than equality with Japan —and Japan demands equality with the biggest. Thus, on the eve of the important events' at London and Washington—the collapse of the London conversations and Japan’s formal denunciation of the limitation treaties—the great sea powers stand between the devil and the deep sea. ’ Unless the 1935 conference is called, and an agreement reached, the powers face a situation filled with chaos and menace. Yet few accord such a conference more than one chance in 10 to accomplish anything. Japan, nowever. has something to gain merely by insisting. America's view is that there is no use holding a parley unless agreement is possible. And the futile efforts at London only too clearly indicate agreement is unlikely. But if Japan insists on a conference. and America refuses to attend. Japan might use that fact, to help her sidestep some of the world blame for terminating the Washington treaty. Rabbi to Deliver Sermon Rabbi Maurice M. Feuerlicht will deliver the sermon at the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation Temple. 10th and Delaware-sts. at 8 tomorrow night. His subject will be. “Can Jew and Christian Unite in the Christmas Spirit ?"

covered—l guess it was three or four weeks ago—that it contained money. And knowing that he owed me money, I helped myself to it. I've spent two or three hundred dollars of it.” o a a WHILE Hauptmann was telling his story, the detectives searching every square inch of his Bronx flat came upon a panel on which were penciled the address and telephone number of Dr. John Condon—Jafsie. “I don't Know' who wrote them there or why." said Hauptmann. "Perhaps Fisch did it." “And W'here,” the officers asked, “might this Isiffor Fisch be at the present time?" Unfortunately, Isidor Fisch died in Germany of tuberculosis, in the spring of 1931. TOMORROW—The Bad Boy of Kairtenz.

LIONS CLUB TO GIVE DAY NURSERY PARTY Members Will Hold Annual Children's Christmas Event. Members of the Lions Club will visit the Indianapolis Day Nursery at 4:30 Monday afternoon for their annual Christmas party there, j Donations for the party are now be- ! ing collected from among the Lions' ! membership. Yesterday, the Lions heard Dr. Charles P. Emerson, former dean of the Indiana University Medical School, state that Japan had ambitions to become the Great Britain of the Orient, a vast world power in the Pacific. Dr. Emerson, a member of a laymen’s group which visited Japan on a tour of inspection in 1931 and 1932. said that the Japanese peo- : pie and their leaders harbored an I I intense resentment against the United States for this nation's pol- : icy of excluding Japanese. Ralph V. Roberts presided. ACCOUNTANTS GROUP STUDIES TAX RULING Indianapolis Chapter Meets for Dinner at Washington. A recent Treasure.’ Department ruling that depreciation claimed by ! taxpayers on property must be “reasonable" and that the burden of proof as to this rests with the tax- i payer was discussed here last night i by F. W. Jackson. Cleveland, at a i dinner of the Indianapolis Chapter. National Association of Cost Ac- : countants. at the Washington. A “German band.” composed of Ray Cork. C. E. Gaumer, Andrew Zix and Ray C. Teeter. Hagerstown, provided entertainment. Leo W. Rassow presided. PRATHER MASONS TO SEAT NEW OFFICERS John Berk Becomes Worshipful Master at Ceremonv. Installation of officers of Calvin Prather Lodge. No. 717. Free and Accepted Masons, will be held at the temple. 42nd-st and College-av, at ;7:30 Saturday night, it was an- ; nounced today. Officers to be seated are John S. Buck, worshipful master; A. F. Thomas, senior warden; Hubert I L. Wann. junior warden; Omar L. Farthing, treasurer; J. Lewis Bray, secretary; Carl G. Winter, senior deacon: Karll V. Ammerman, junior deacon: the Rev. S B. Harry, chaplain: W. Kenneth Shirley, senior steward: David C. Pyke, junior steward, and Harry W. Boetcher. i tyler. METHODIST CHURCH TO HOLD YULE PARTY Songs Stunts. Gifts and Santa Claus to Feature Program. The annual Christmas party of the Central Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church. Twelfth-st and Cen-tral-av, wil be held at the church at 7 tonight. Songs, stunts, and th arrival of Santa Claus with gifts for the children. will feature the party. The party will be preceded by the regular church dinner at & 4

Second Section

Il’it r-<1 a (TfU- Matter Tt I’nstolTlre. Inilt inar.Jf*. fntl

Fair Enough WESTBROOK PEGLER THE whirlwind visit to New York of Dr. Allan R. Dafoe, the country physician who delivered the Dionne quintuplets, has set in motion s great deal of rubbish which will settle back when he air quiets down. The doctor's visit was made an occasion fo r all the professional baby-kissers within scrambling distance to hop up. ogle the spotlight and the cameras and shower themselves with new-mown rose petals because they don't make a regular practice of punching babies on the jaw. Moreover, the purpose

and character of babies has been lost sight of in the confusion, the idea seeming to be just now that they are intended only for jouncing and mugging and are uniformly sweet, whereas many of them are quite precocious and soon begin to evince the unpleasant character of their parents. The virtue of parenthood has bpen greatly exaggerated, too. and an impression created in flimsy minds that there is arbitrarily something laudable about propagation even though the parents are persons of a type whose reproduction can hardly be regarded as a boon to

a struggling human race or any great ad for that which the irreligious, in their hedging phrase, describe as the great force. Even when I was studying my catechism, as early as that, I used to ponder the sweeping proposition that people are made in the image and the likeness. This seemed a pretty boastful statement for me to make as to myself, quite aside from other exceptions which I might have noted. nun A Carbon Copy of the Awful THE baby-lover of the ostentatious type is a severe trial to persons who regard babies, in the mass, with a decent respect and treat them with due consideration a course of conduct which must be more agreeable to the babies themselves than the mauling ana the fulsome goo-goo which they receive from their fans. It should not be necessary in order to avoid a reputation as a baby-hater to bring up the subject of babies by main strength every time the conversation lags and then attempt to outmaudlin all hands present. Women, of course, may be granted a little more latitude than men for obvious reasons. But there are extremists on beth sides of the cradle who woifid do better by their bairns if they resolutely strove to raise them as unlike themselves as possible. The criticism rests not against the babies, of course, but against the colossal vanity of parents who have the gall to believe that a child brought up to resemble themselves can possibly turn out other than a nuisance tc itself and society. In a very short while, the child of such parents develops into a familiar, pernicious brat type and the eventual result is a grown carbon copy of its progenitors, mistakes and all. There is ground for resentment against the assumption that he loves babies most who loves them loudest. And my own feeling for the child of a notoriously disagreeable parent is not only the normal human regard for an infant. There is an extra ingredient of pity for a helpless apprentice in life so unfortunately situated. tt tt tt Just Hope Against Hope ADULTS use parenthood as a racket in many cases ranging from that of the European peasants who breed for cash bounties from the government to the familiar appeal of the predatory American politician who excuses his vicious conduct in office or in the political gang on the ground that his Home life is above criticism. This kind will cheerfully rob a whole generation of babies within his zone of influence, depriving them of the advantages in government which should be theirs in years to come, and cherish his own with all the warmth which human nature and his religious teaching dictate. Then, if he tax his conscience to the extent of a few Christmas baskets or toys for the poor kids, bought with money he has stolen out of their future, he not only satisfies himself but vindicates his dishonesty with the parents of his victims who decide that, for all the newspaper talk, he must have a heart of gold. Babies are too young, of course, to assume any responsibility for their future, but if it is possible to obtrude thought into the subject, they should be regarded with a certain degree of skepticism in view of the past performances of babies. It seems almost brutal to mention it, but in every crecheful of innocent newcomers there is to be a certain proportion of potential bankers of the type whom Mr. Roosevelt so neatly bundled up with kidnapers and bandits, a certain proportion of tin-box po'iticians, a contends for the title of best-dressed woman in a suffering world. People can only hope against the probabilities. (Ccpvright. 1334. bv United Feature Syndicate Inc.l Today s Science BY DAYID DIETZ SO delicate is the balance of life that it can be influenced by the effect of a single wave leng-.h of light. This fact has been demonstrated by periments under w'ay in the division of radia and organisms of the Smithsonian Institution. This division was organized some five years aeo to study the relations of life and living things. It is a well-known fact that light is at the basis of all life since photosynthesis, the fundamental process bv which plants turn the carbon dioxide of the air and the water of the soil into suvars and starches, can be carried on only w'ith the aid of sunlight. Such phenomena as the relations between rickets and ultra-violet deficiency and the germicidal effects of certain wave lengths of ultra-violet light, convinced the Smithsonian scientists that here was a field worthy of intensive research. One of the phenomena choseri for investigation was that of phototropism. This formidale name denotes a familiar occurrence, the bending of a plant toward the light. But while common, this phenomenon was, nevertheless obscure as to cause and it is only recently that an understanding of it has been reached. It is now known that this bending is due to an inhibition of growth on the side toward which the piant bends. B B B FOUR years ago. the Smithsonian scientists began experiments in which oat seedlings, which show the phototropic effect to a marked degree, were submitted to various wave lengths of light. The intensity of light was kept the same in all c&ses. It was discovered that led light had no effect upon the seedlings at all. Yellow light caused some bending but it was greater when shorter wave lengths of light were used. Blue light caused 30.000 times as much bending as yellow light. Encouraged by these results, the scientists began to cut down the size of the band of light used, until finally they were working with only a single wave length of light at a time. a a a DR EARL S. JOHNSON of the Smithsonian staff has found that the maximum phototropic effect on oat seedlings occurs with a wave of blue lieht. An An' TC trom unit is approximately four-billionths of an inch.) He finds a secondary maximum at 4750 Angstrom units which is toward the region of green light From this fact he concludes that the effect must in some way be photo-chenvcal. He thinks that particular wave lengths of light must disturb the etarnic structure of some chemical compound in the seedlings What this substance r.iaj be is not yet known although Dutch scientists believe that they have found an acid substance in plants which is sensitive to UfihL

Westbrook Pcg'cr