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A—10 » WEDNESDAY, September 14, 1949

Slum Clearance in Sight The allotment to Washington of four

thousand public-housing units under the

new national housing law assures a start

on a slum-clearance program that promises concrete results within the next two or

three years. The slum-clearance possibili- ties arise from the requirement of the

legislation that there must be “equivalent elimination” of substandard housing coin-

cident with new construction. Housing officials interpret “equivalent elimination” as covering both razing of condemned structures and repair of dwellings worth

the trouble and expense. Thus there seems

to be a good prospect that some of Wash-

ington’s more notorious alley shacks will be

eliminated, as the new public-housing pro-

gram advances. Under a tentative agree-

ment, the District Commissioners will do

the eliminating. According to jonn imuer, eictumc w-

flcer of the National Capital Housing Au-

thority, the agency designated to carry out

the project, some eighteen thousand low-

income families are in need of the type of housing relief to be provided. To be

eligible, veterans’ families must have an

income of not over $3,000 a year, while

nonveterans must earn from $2,350 to

$2,700, depending on number of children. Rents will be set low enough for such low-

income groups to meet readily. With its

restored site-acquisition powers, NCHA is

In a position to buy land to augment the

sites it already owns in the Northeast and Southeast sections of the city. The resto-

ration of this authority leaves NCHA in the

same status as when Congress deprived it of land-purchasing powers in 1946, when

the District Redevelopment Land Agency was created.

The land-redevelopment program con-

templated by the latter agency remains

stationary. Congress again has failed to

provide the funds which it earlier author- ized for slum clearance and redevelopment under the special District legislation. As

a result, the Marshall Heights, Barry Farms

and other plans of the agency are still on

paper only. However, there Is hope that this program, too, eventually will get out of the blind alley into which Congress has allowed it to go. For the new housing law authorizes the Redevelopment Land

Agency to apply for funds, too. The only hitch is that, to get any money, a special appropriation bill must be passed—and the

agency’s experiences in trying to get ap-

propriations in past years have been very

discouraging. Perhaps the inclusion of

redevelopment in the national law is an

augury of better things to come. There

is still need for a redevelopment program here of the type planned by the agency.

Malta as Portent The current dispute between the Maltese

and British governments illustrates both

the financial troubles within the British

Empire and the tendency to involve the

United States in their handling. Malta is the larger of two small islands

get about midway in the narrow “waist”

of the Mediterranean Sea between Sicily and North Africa. This position, together with a fine harbor, has given Malta great strategic importance throughout history. Its earliest possessors were Phoenicians, and even today the bulk of the population is of that ancient stock speaking a lan-

guage of Phoenician origin despite modifi- cations by Italian. Britain acquired the islands in 1800, and Malta thenceforth became the chief base for the Royal Navy, the pivot of its naval ascendancy in the Mediterranean. Its value as a naval and air base was demonstrated during the late war, when Malta withstood terrific Axis air bombings. The fortitude of its people under that terrible ordeal earned Malta a Royal citation for valor.

Nevertheless, Malta is becoming an un-

easy member of that empire which it has done so much to preserve in the past. The difficulty is economic. Malta is acutely overpopulated, with no industries except a few handicrafts to eke out an insufficient agriculture. It literally lives off the British garrison and the big naval repair and supply installations. When British appropriations for those services are re-

duced, economic depression and distress at once ensue. That was the cause of the present dispute. The Royal Navy decided to cut the native working force in the interest of economy. The Maltese government protested, coupling this with a request for permission to apply for American aid. When London turned that down, Malta demanded a share of Britain’s Marshall Plan funds, and when that move

likewise got nowhere, the government decided on drastic action. It delivered a

virtual ultimatum to London threatening to offer the United States naval bases in

return for material aid. This is a grave challenge to the legal

relations existing between Britain and Malta, together with the larger question of the imperial fabric itself. Besides the Dominions, which are independent of all British control since the Statute of West-

minster a generation ago, the British Commonwealth consists of a large number of territories throughout the world where Britain continues to exercise varying de-

grees of authority and responsibility. The tendency, however, has been to grant increasing autonomy, in Malta, this has

A,

resulted in virtually full self-government,' though with a retention by Britain of the island's foreign relations. This proviso the Maltese government’s threatened offer to the United States clearly contravenes, yet a British crack-down on Malta would do nothing to deal with the basis of its

unrest and chaffing at the imperial tie. The Maltese are an intensely self-conscious people who feel a genuine grievance at

what they believe to be British neglect. And what is true of Malta holds for other parts of the dependent empire as well. Thus do the bonds of imperial union fray under the stress of economic crisis. And Malta is probably not alone in turning to America as an alternative.

No Miracles The/ financial discussions just ended

here were not expected to produce any miracles or trick solutions of the British dollar problem, and they assuredly have not done so.

Reading the communique, one gets the feeling that the British, Canadian and American experts have discovered nothing that is new and have agreed upon few

consequential measures to cope with aspects of the problem that already were

well known. There is a certain emptiness to such

excerpts from the communique as this: “It was agreed that the common aim is to work toward an ultimate solution which will maintain employment and establish equilibrium of international trade on a

mutually profitable basis at high levels.”

What, one wonders, has been the common

aim since the Marshall Plan first went into operation?

The fact remains, however, that some

constructive steps are in prospect as a

result of the Washington discussions. The British will be authorized to buy Canadian wheat with Marshall Plan dollars, thus

easing somewhat the burden on their dol-

lar reserves. This country has already started to smooth out some of the customs barriers which needlessly hamper trade. The problem of expanding Canadian- American imports of such key commodities ^s tin, natural rubber and petroleum was

explored. And, perhaps most hopeful of

all, it was agreed to establish a continuing joint organization to work on these and other aspects of the trade problem.

Sir Stafford Cripps, the British Chancel- lor of the Exchequer, said that as a result of the talks “we have brought our (dollar) reserve problem into manageable condi- tion.” The implication of this is that

enough measures have been agreed upon to tide Britain over her short-term emer-

gency. If so, this is of real importance. There are two sides of the problem, how- ever, the short-term and the long-term. And the solution of the latter will be by far the more difficult.

The United States and Canada recog- nized their obligation to assist in working out the long-term difficulties. In their turn, the British representatives, acknowledging that “extraordinary aid” from North Amer-

ica would have to end in 1952, agreed that certain things must be done by the United

Kingdom. Among these are the creation of appropriate incentives to exporters to the dollar area and a “vigorous attack”

upon the costs of production to improve the competitive position of sterling area

products. There was, however, no mention or hint of devaluation of the pound, a

measure deemed essential by many, but

against which Sir Stafford Cripps has taken an uncompromising stand.

For the American citizen, it is important to recognize that there is a nebulous quality about this communique. Agreement upon measures which need to be taken does not

necessarily mean that they will be taken. It is also important, however, to recognize that the fortunes, not only of the British but also our own, ride upon the successful

carrying out of the major points of this

agreement. To that end, the best efforts of all of us in the free communities on

both sides of the Atlantic must be applied.

Our Arms in China Senator Tydings* sharp dissent from

Secretary of State Acheson’s statement regarding the loss of American arms fur- nished the Nationalist armies adds a

further complication to the already con-

troversial issue of our Chinese policy. Secretary Acheson had said that the

Nationalist forces had surrendered large quantities of American arms to the Com- munists, adding that the Nationalists lost no battles in their ill-fated campaign for lack of American armaments. Senator Tydings brands the Secretary’s first state- ment as “totally untrue” and goes on to dispute the accuracy of the second asser-

tion. The Senator says his information on these points comes from “reliable” sources and is the “best” available. He mentions Vice Admiral Oscar C. Badger, retiring commander of our Asiatic naval force, as one of his sources, though he does not specifically quote what the admifal told him.

Senator Tydings stand comes as a

distinct surprise, since only last Friday he cast the decisive vote against a Republican attempt to earmark $75,000,000 for China as against the administration proposal that this sum should be spent only as

President Truman sees fit for the con-

tainment of communism in Asia. Yet the Senator is in an excellent position to acquire reliable information on China, since he is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and likewise vice chairman of the special committee con-

sidering the administration's over-all pro- gram to arm free nations against Com- munist aggression.

Senator Tydings does not deny that some Nationalist surrenders to the Com- munists have taken place, but he objects to the thesis that the Nationalist forces have “just surrendered willy-nilly without fighting,” which he deems “a great dis- service in the field of truth.” He intimates that these surrenders were often due to lack of equipment, and says that where proper equipment was present, the Na- tionalists “fought with a great deal of courage and a great many sacrifices * * *

These stories about fully equipped Nation- alist forces going over to the Communists have been exaggerated out of all pro- portion and in most cases are totally untrue.” _

Here, obviously, we see a notable di- vergence from the State Department thesis that the Nationalist regime fell because of complete internal moral collapse, despite ample American aid, and that no

■ addition to that aid could remedy a hope-

I,

less situation, unless we were prepared virtually to take over the conduct of the struggle against the Communists, which would involve commitments of gigantic scope and with dangerous implications. Senator Tydings has a record of reliability which renders any statement by him

worthy of respectful consideration. Yet it would seem that he should clarify his assertions by specifying the sources of his information. The issue of aid to China has become so controversial and so tinged with

partisan politics that ambiguities should be avoided in arriving at a just conclusion.

No Steel Strike Now The acceptance by the CIO United Steel

Workers of the recommendations made by the President’s fact-finding board lifts the immediate threat of a disastrous steel strike. It Is by no means clear, however, that this truce will be of more than short duration.

One of the big steel producers, Jones and Laughlin, has accepted the board recommendations as a basis for further collective bargaining negotiations. The

others, however, or at least the other major producers, seem to be balking at the board’s proposal for employe pensions paid for entirely by the employers. (The board

recommended against a wage increase, but advocated a 10-cent fringe benefit settle- ment which is estimated to be equivalent to an increase of six cents an hour for each employe for pensions and four cents for social Insurance.)

Spokesmen for the steel producers in- dicate that their objection is not so much to pensions as such, but to the non-

contributory feature. Presumably they are

afraid the board's recommendation would be merely a starting point for larger and

larger pension demands by the union, with the industry bearing the full cost.

This may be so, for union officials have hinted that their primary aim this year was to open the pension door. But even

if this be so,* the companies are going to find themselves in a very difficult position if they force this issue to the point of a

strike. It may be that some steel com-

panies cannot afford a pension plan, even

at the slx-cent-an-hour cost, and if so, an adjustment must be made in their cases. But the profit position of most of the industry has been such that it can

afford this cost, and 'enlightened indus- trial leadership will make every effort to come to satisfactory terms with the steel workers. Acceptance by the industry of

a strike over any fraction of six cents an hour is not going to make much sense

to the people of this country.

“Russian scientists,” says Moscow, “dis-

covered evolution before Darwin did.” When it is to get under way locally, the dreamy Muscovite has not said.

This and That By Charles E. Tracewell

A wonderful insect is the mantis, the only one able to turn its head squarely around.

A specimen found downtown was taken home and put on a rhododendron leaf.

After hours in a small box with holes

punched in the side the praying mantis did not readily come out.

He was a reluctant mantis. He refused to leave his box. This is what

Zoo officials says of their animals, that they are more at home in cages than out.

Well, since the mantis refused to come out, we tilted the box a bit and gave him a

gentle shake. Out he slid to the leaf, head pointing

away from us. And then it happened. That odd, triangular head, with its two

little eyes, swung directly jaround back- ward.

The look the insect gave us was full of meaning, not in the least what any one would expect from an insect, cousin to both grasshoppers and cockroaches.

* * * *

It was an intelligent look, a knowing look, a look filled with one part trepidation and at least nine parts curiosity.

If the thing could have talked, no doubt it would have remarked “Hello, Charlie!”

He held to his leaf, scarcely moving for many hours.

At dusk we went out to see if he was still there.

Sure enough, there he was, not on the same leaf, but upon one a foot down.

This time he refused to do any tricks with his head, but there was no occasion for any this time, because he was facing the yard.

A stranger to the habits of mantes (the correct plural) might have thought him injured by the trip in the box, he remained so still.

Nothing of the sort. That is the way nature had trained him

to catch his food. Not by rushing around, as most human

beings do (and as some insects) but by re- maining quiet.

He waits for his food to come along, and then, with those long arms (poised in what to humans seems an attitude of prayer), reaches out and seizes it.

And when he brings the blade part of one* arm down into the slot of the other, the unwary prey is done for. He is, in good insect language, a goner.

The blade of the mantis foreleg is both sharp and notched, and it fits so neatly into the other that the combined rasp and cut ends the life of the smaller creature.

* * * *

The mantis is no coward, though. He prefers easy prey, but is not at all

adverse to fighting for it. He even eats his mate, if hungry, first

killing her in a fair fight. Two mantes will duel with each other

in the most professional manner, using their “praying” fore legs as swords.

The loser, of course, does not just lose. He becomes food for the other.

* * * *

Yet the mantis is no more fierce in his daily relations with his kind than most in- sects.

Especially the solitary insects, so-called. The social insects, such as wasps and bees, have the sense of the hive to keep them from killing each other too freely.

The mantis, on the other leg, listens to no voice of the hive.. He is a downright regular fellow who, when he feels the pangs of hunger, looks around for something to eat, all in the best natural tradition.

These natural acts combined religion and education have been trying to curb in human beings, with what little success every war shows.

The mantis, having no history, and no religion, and no education except what in- stinct gives him, perches on his leaf, look- ing very much like a part of it, with his hands folded as if in prayer. (The French, with their genius for language, call him a “pray God.”)

The mantis is not praying. He is simply waiting for food to come along. While waiting, he shimmies slightly, adding to the deception of his very presence. He is about to die, but he doesn’t know it. The first real frost will get him, and those of his relatives he hasn’t already eaten.

t

Letters to The Star How a Piece of Canvas Grew In Britain’s Fertile Soil To the Editor of The 8t»r:

I enclose a cutting from the London Ex- press in case it has escaped your notice.

It illustrates this government’s extrava- gance. I hope your generous country will not lend any more until this country puts Its house in order. C. LEA-COX.

London. England. The following is the article which Mr.

Lea-Cox inclosed in his letter: WANTED—CANVAS

The size of the biggest scale waste in sick pay malingering and hospital management has still to be computed. As an instance of the lesser follies—which, repeated a thous- andfold, are bankrupting the (health) scheme—this letter from a Midland doctor tells the whole story:

“A woman patient of mine has gone shop- ping for many years in a specially strength- ened invalid chair. At other times her hus-

band takes her out in one of his three cars.

Chair required new canvas; I gave her a

certificate. “She returned to the shop and was told to

go to the local Health Ministry offices. There she was told her chair is out of date; she must have a new chair. ‘Get a note from your doctor.’

“I, in ‘What’s the use of worrying’ mood, gave her a note that she requires an invalid chair. This necessitated being vetted at the local hospital; so I gave another note for the hospital. Hospital issued certificate that she qualifies for a chair.

“Some weeks later she was summoned by the medical officer. He said, 'Does Mrs. X not think an electric chair would be more

suitable?’ "Mrs. X was adamant, insisted that she

did not want to be flying along in the road amid the traffic. ‘Ah well, perhaps you’re right. But you must have a garage with the chair we are giving you.’ In spite of Mrs. X’s protest that she has ample garage room, in due course a surveyor and two men arrived to select the best spot for the garage.

“Mrs. X now has her chair and its garage, but all she wanted was permission to buy a piece of canvas.’’

York County Fair Held Not Near As Big as Allentown’s. To the Editor of The Star:

I noted with considerable indignation and astonishment your correspondent’s gulli- bility that York (Pa.) County Fair, or Inter- state Fair, as it calls itself, “is by far the largest fair in either” Pennsylvania or Mary- land (Robert J. Lewis’ article, Page B-0, The Sunday Star, September 11).

What of the great Allentowq Fair? If Mr. Lewis should ever find himself in Allentown’s Big Thursday crowd, moving with glacial speed down the Midway, he'd hesitate before making such rash statements again.

ALLENTONIAN.

*

Cross-Burners Likened To Nazi Terrorists To the Editor of The Star:

So those self-satisfied bullies who attempt to frighten decent human people (because they are Negroes), and have the effrontery to put the blame for their un-Christian doings on Christianity (the symbol of which is a cross), now are busy in the Capital city.

If these cross-burners would but use, as evidence of their hatred, a different type of cross, a crooked one, the swastika, how much more typical of the late. un-lamented Nazis, than democratic Americans! E. M.

Approves Suggestion for Bringing Kiplin Hall to Maryland To the Editor of The Star:

I was interested to read of Sir Shane Lesslie's suggestion in your paper on Sep- tember 7, that Kiplin Hall, the Yorkshire seat of the first Lord Baltimore, should be given to the State of Maryland, where it could be re-erected in a suitable setting and used as a Governor’s residence.

This house, built by Inigo Jones, has been open to the public for a number of years, but owing to the difficulty of meet- ing the overheads required to maintain a

house of this size, it has now been marked for demolition.

Inigo Jones, born in London in 1573, was

the first great English architect to break away from the mediaeval provincial style, starting the epoch of more comfortable do- mestic building and introducing the grace and dignity of the Italian High Renais- sance, and thereby establishing building tradition as we very largely know it today. It therefore would seem singularly appro- priate if this particular example of his work were to find a home in the United States.

While there are a number of buildings in this country by his successor. Sir Chris- topher Wren, there is none, as far as I know, by Inigo Jones and even in England actual examples of his building art are com-

paratively scarce, although a large number of his drawings and designs have been pre- served, principally at Worcester College, Oxford.

It would be a great pity if a building, having such close associations with the United States and Maryland in particular, should be allowed to crumble into dust. I sincerely hope that- means may be found to implement this, to my mind, inspired suggestion of Sir Shane Lesslie’s and have no doubt that the plan would be most sympathetically considered by a great num- ber of those of us, on both sides of the Atlantic, who wish to see all such evidence of our common heritage preserved.

C. M. INIGO JONES.

Still Opposes Building Of ‘Roving Flying Field’ for Navy. To the Editor of The Star:

Your correspondent from Vallejo, Calif., September 10, is quite right in his major premise that infantry (the queen of battles) is essential in war because of “the unavoid- able fact that it takes men to capture other men and to occupy the land of the enemy.” To put it succinctly, wars are won by the last man on foot or on his knees gripping the last enemy by the throat.

Quite secondarily and unimportantly, your correspondent was wrong, however, in stating that I said “that the Navy Air is dead and that the Navy should not produce any more carriers.” I said no such thing, nor thought it. I had merely protested against David Lawrence's too repeated drumming for the projected super carrier "The United States” as a roving flying field from which to launch bombing planes against a continental enemy’s heart. The effect of such bombing from such a base would be infinitesimal com-

pared to what could be dealt from land bases. And the searching out and sinking of such a super carrier might well be the pre- liminary act to jany declaration of war, so

that it might never launch a plane. J. T. ROGERS.

Thinks Work Is the Solution Of British Financial Crisis To the Editor of The Star:

I publicly should like to commend Sena- tor Malone of Nevada for the plain good sense he showed in his recent discussion of Great Britain’s financial crisis over Mutual Network. But I would attempt to go one

step further. Europe should learn to stand on its own

feet financially. At the risk of being “po- etic” I should like to point out nature's way of pushing the young out when the time arrives. Now who's the parent—Great Britain or the United States?

1 ■’

Letters for publication must bear the signature and address of the writer, although it is permissible for a writer known to The Star to use

a nom de plume. Please be brief.

I feel strongly that there is only one solution and that is honest hard work—eat and sleep to work and work to eat and sleep. Ask no favors of anyone. It's tough, but it's worth it.

Personally, I should hesitate to give credit where the credit rating is poor. Maybe twice I would do it, but I would be careful the third time to be sure that there was

someone waiting to pull me out in case I. too, meshed in the grasp of a man madly struggling for self-preservation, might be pulled under also.

As to presenting a gift with no strings, that I gladly would do, provided I had a surplus over and above my own necessities. With one exception—and I have never heard a GI who saw duty abroad say any- thing to the contrary—I should give un-

reservedly to the children food and warm clothing. But I should be quite certain that they received my gifts to the extent that I personally would supervise such action. They didn’t ask to be born into such a

situation, and if their parents are unable to provide, someone must.

There is one thing, however, I can do— if I wish to be nasty (an eye for an eye). I can refuse to buy goods exported by na- tions whose credit is not good.

FRANCES TOWNSEND TRAMMELL.

Help From the Sidelines In Meeting Britain’s Crisis To the Editor of The St»r:

The British economic position seems grave Indeed. Is the government respon- sible? Even partly? The Hoover Commis- sion haS had significant experience in gov- ernmental analysis. I suggest that the Hoover Commission conduct the same type of analysis there. It would be unique and historical. RALEIGH DANIEL.

Want* Congressional Approval Of Genocide Convention To tfa» Editor of The Star:

The public was horrified, and properly, over the Indiscriminate killing of 12 persons on the streets of Camden, N. J. Of course the person responsible wilj be dealt with by the authorities.

Such a tragedy we can grasp and action is prompt. Yet mass murder seemingly has produced apathy and a wish to avoid the responsibility for doing something. I refer to genocide, the horrible crime of destroying whole peoples or groups, often only guilty of representing a race, color or religion dif- ferent from that of the wholesale murderers.

A subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has responsibility for dealing with the genocide convention. If the conscience of America is still alive; if memories of Nazi extermination of 6,000,000 Jews and more than 2,000,000 Poles have not died with the victims, then many voices should press now for immediate approval of the genocide convention in the 81st Congress.

This is not a “party” matter calling for votes along party lines. It is a simple ques- tion of America taking its stand before the world for human dignity and security against the repeated barbarism of some future Lidice. L. D. MacINTYRE,

President, Washington Ethical Society.

Insists Upon Acceptance of the Book Of Salvation In Toto To the Editor of The Star:

F. B. J.’s “reply” to Charles Allen Rentfro suggests strongly that F. B. J. is at least slightly mixed up.

First he challenges Mr. Rentfro's position which supports clearly and ably the Bible story of the Flood. Then he concludes with the statement, “In our study of the New Testament, we neglect the Old Testament too much.”

In between he observes, “It could not have been a worldwide deluge.”

The inspired answer to that is found in Genesis 7:19, 20: "And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the ’mountains were covered.”

Of course, this is very much too simple a statement to be considered scientific by the savants. But that is not important. The savants as yet have done nothing, and will continue to do nothing to save us. But this book has given us salvation. There is abiding satisfaction to be found also in accepting all the rest of its message.

DONALD F. HAYNES.

"Policy of Harassment” Criticized As a Misuse of the Court To the CUtor of The Star:

The statement of Major Barrett revealing his “policy of harassment” aroused some little amazement in me. I somehow had the notion that a function of the court was to protect the citizen from injustice. But the police evidently are using the court and the expense involved in defending oneself in court as means of combating crime. “The harassment keeps gambling down,” says Major Barrett. “Even if we lose him in court we stick him for a bondsman’s fee and a lawyer’s fee.”

If this means of punishing crime is allowed to be used against gamblers, it also can be used against innocent citizens arrested on like flimsy or invalid grounds. The only difference is that while the average

gambler takes such matters as part of the risk of his business, it often causes serious embarrassment and expense to the average citizen. The harm done in the misuse of the court certainly is more serious than the

good accomplished in preventing gamblers from pursuing their business, unless of course one considers the fees gained by the bondsmen and the lawyers.

WILLIAM LEE.

Selfishness and Greed Seen as Motives Of Politicians As WeU As Other People To the Editor of The Star:

Tb* politicians constantly denounce self- ishness and greed, and yet, if it had not

been for those qualities in people, where

would America have been, and, also, where

would the politicians have been? Whether it is realized or not, selfishness

and greed, in one form or another, and, of

course, in varying degrees, are the chief motivating influences behind a large part of

civilized man’s activities. Surely, no one

believes that the great industries of America

were created purely for unselfish reasons, or

that the farms of the Nation are tilled with no thought of personal gain, or that the

laborers of the country toil merely for the

bare necessities of life. If we were entirely devoid of selfishness

and greed, we would have a way of life simi-

lar to that followed by the American Indian

when the white man first came here. No one

would own anything; no one would seek

political office; no one would create anything for profit, and no one would toil, other than for the bare necessities of life.

• xhe truth is: There are no people among us who are more selfish, and, yes, more

greedy for either fame, authority or fortune, than the politicians. And yet, as is the case

in so many similar instances; they are the loudest denouncers of the selfishness and greed in others. J. J. SPERRY.

J

100,000 Mice to Be Used In Radiation Experiments

Oak Ridge Scientists to Study Ray Effects on Heredity

By Thomas R. Henry OAK RIDGE, Tenn., S^Jt. 14—More than

100,000 mice will be used in a 10-year experiment started at the Atomic Energy Commission's laboratories here to determine the effects of radiation on heredity of warm-

blooded animals. The geneticists expect to obtain as much

information as could be gotten in 5.000 years from the study of human beings, whotfollow about the same hereditary laws as mice. The little animals produce five or six gen- erations a year. The average length of a

human generation is 25 years. At present, according to Dr. A. H. Hol-

land jr., director of biological research at Oak Ridge, very little is known of human or mammal genetics and much that is supposed to be known may be all wrong. Very little actually is being learned from study of the survivors of the Japanese bomb- ings who were subjected to very heavy radiation which theoretically might be ex-

pected to produce many abnormalities in their descendants. Every birth in this group is being watched carefully, but the Japanese birth rate normally is high and there is a

tendency to destroy malformed children. Thus bad effects of the bombings never

might become known. All Types Of Radiation.

The mice will be subjected to all known

types of radiation of various intensities. Then they will be crossbred in different ways and the effects of each mating carefully noted.

A great deal of present information about heredity, Dr. Holland points out, has been obtained from studies of fruit flies which have the advantage of producing many gen-

erations each year. Thus the effects of

any change in environment will be reflected almost at once In the new generations. This has been an excellent procedure for

obtaining fundamental data, It is stressed, but there is increasing evidence that men do not follow the same rules as fruit flies.

They do, by and large, act genetically about the same as mice.

The mice are of several strains which

carefully have been bred for many genera- tions. There are no unknown factors in

their heredity so that any demonstrably genetlc changes logically can be attributed to the radiation to which they are subject.

At the outset of the experiment the Oak

Ridge biologists tend to a somewhat optimis- tic view of the danger that radiation seri-

ously damages the heredity of warm-blooded animals. There doubtless will be some "mon- sters” among the progeny and there may be some beneficial changes.

Competitive Affair. But, as Dr. Holland explains, mammal

conception is a competitive affair. First there is what amounts to a race among the

sperm to reach the ovum and any that have been weakened or otherwise damaged by radiation are almost certain to lose out.

Second, the ovum also usually dies when

damaged sufficiently for heredity to be af- fected. Obstetricians now believe that this is the reason for most spontaneous abortions. Nature is highly conservative and has pro- vided these safety factors against too rapid charge in the pattern of a race.

The majority of the genetic changes brought about by radiation, the Oak Ridge experimenters believe, will be what are known as "recessives.” They will have no effect on

offspring unless the same changes are com-

mon to both parents, which is quite unlikely. There is a common opinion that all the

changes which may get a foothold in the race will be damaging. This is by no means

justified by past experience, the experiment- ers claim, and it is quite within the cards that a very superior breed of mice will be

produced. No definite conclusions will be formed,

it is stressed, until the ten year period of the experiment is over.

Questions and Answers A reader can get the answer to any question

of fact by writing The Evening Star Information Bureau. 31 fi Eye at. n.e.. Washington 2. D. C. Please Inclose three (3 > cents for return postage.

By THE HASKIN SERVICE. Q. Where are eels found in the Atlantic

Ocean?—M. G. L. A. All of the eels of the Atlantic Ocean

are born in the deep Atlantic, south of Ber- muda. They hatch as minute, transparent larvae, gradually rise to the upper layers of the ocean and make their way to the shores from which their parents came. Eels oorn of parents coming from European shores return there, while eels born of parents com-

ing from American shores return there. This is true although the two species of larvae are

mingled to some extent on the spawning grounds. American eels are confined to the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and the streams which descend to them.

Q. Please name some of the men who became wealthy as a result of the discovery of the Comstock lode—C. P. B.

A. As a result of the discovery of the Big Bonanza in the Comstock lode John W. Mac- kay, James G. Fair, James C. Flood, William S. O’Brien, William Sharon and William C. Ralston became multimillionaires. The term bonanza was applied to the large ore body which lay in a vertical rift of the hanging wall of the Comstock lode.

Q. Did the Civil War affect Miami, Fla., in any way?—L. N. D.

A. From earliest times settlers were at- tracted to the site of Miami. Indians and Spaniards lived there but there was no

town at the time of the Civil War. It was

not founded until severe frosts, 1894-5 in Central Florida drove fruit growers further south. Miami received a charter in 1896 when it was made the southern terminus of the railroad.

Q. How much fresh water is carried on

the Queen Mary for a trans-Atlantic voyage?—B. B. S.

A. The Queen Mary carries on the round- trip voyage an average of 1,200,000 gallons of water.

Q. How can a town in the United States find out about adopting an European town? —J. W. U.

A. Information about how a town can be- come affiliated with one in Europe may be obtained by writing Operation Democracy, 369 Lexington avenue, New York City.

Apples From the Hills Give me a hill for apples, let the suns

And chill of mountains blend such hearty fruit.

These are the ruddiest, tart Jonathans And best for winter keeping, best to suit

Also the taste, for winey dews and rain Make of aw apple such a luscious thing!

And would I knew such flavors once again, And would I knew alike their harvesting.

For one had brought them in the autumn weather,

Returning weary from those misted heights

Right brave the sound of creaking wheel * and leather

On coming home upon those frosty nights. *

And good the lamplight was upon the trees,

And good it was to store such fruits at

these. _

JEANETTE SHELLEY HEFLIN.

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