Evening star., 1928-03-16

Have the Democrats sprung the lat
est oil scandal-~the unholy alliance
between Sinclair and the Republican
national committee~-toO early in 1928
to do them any good? Have they. in
other words. committed the same tacti-
cal error they made In 1924, when they
sprang the Teapot Dome In February
nine months before election? Seasoned
Washington politicians think this Is
about what has happened. They are
persuaded history VIII repeat itself. and
that sensations of March will be old
stuff In November. Old hands believe
the Hats-Mellon Butler Sinclair affair
Just aired before the Senate oil COM
mittee might have proved high eXplo-
sive Of annihilating content II the
Democrats had let It Off. say, week
before election day Now. politicians
assert. priceless ammunition has been
fired months ahead of time. sRum,
Romanism and rebellion" the dead
Grafton. was thrown on the very eve OF
the first Cleveland election In 1884. and
turned the tide OF battle.
Edward Prentiss Costigan. Democrat
who has Just resigned from the United
States Tariff Commission In a state OF
high dudgeon. Is Virginian. though
he's been identified with Colorado poll
tics Tor nearly 80 years. He got his Alb
at Harvard In 1899 and opened Il
law Office In Denver In 1900 Previously
Costigan had been admitted 10 the bar
IN Utah, He's been crusader all OF
his mature life. so that belligercncy In
The tariff commission came naturally.
For many years Costigan was an hon
est elections" uplifter IN Colorado, an
Anti-Saloon League leader IA civil serv-
Ice reformer and enforcement
apostle. Costigan ranks as a Democrat
nowadays and was appointed to the
lafiif commission under such colors by
President Wilson In 1917. But only
| five years previous to that he was a
| Roosevelt Progressive and ran for gov
| er1or on the Bull Moose ticket IN Col
| ofado In 1912.
Seventh street Is Washington's prin-
| cipal furniture mart, The other day IA
woman, who hasn't yet finished her
| course In Americanization, Atrolled into
| one of Its Well known shops and asked for
| General Pershing rug" The salesman
1 Who was waiting on her called for help,
| 1t developed that the customer was
looking for II genuine Persian rug"
II
II Uncle Sam should go into the
| power production and distribution on
| country wide lineA~as contemplated by
| the Norris resolution tor Federal opera
| ton of Muscle Shoals he has the tidy
tota! OF 1896 900 horsepower to trafIic
III, Ihat was the developed water
power" IN the United States on January
| !, 1923. according 10 an announcement
| Just Issued by the Geological Survey.
| The survey makes two other interehting
statements, IL says that the total
| amount Of potential water power avail
| able DO per cent Of the time IL 80 | o 900
horsepower. while 30. loo. 900 horsepower
Is available 30 per cent of the time,
II IL were fehaible To develop all the
| water" power resources nf the United
! States the total capacity OF water
wheels Installed at all water power
| plants would amount 10 about 30 .OO0. 900
| horsepower.
Representative Charles Brand Re
publican. of ONO, who came 70
previously H~tf0ppef this week IN the
Hoover duel with his fellow Buckeye.
Representative Burton proudly records
IN Who's Who" that hs was u member
Ut the Butter and MIX Commission
under Herbert tio0ver during the World
| War" Brands failure 10 remember
that lie once boosted iinnVer for The aeo~
retarYbhip 0t Agriculture n tha prize
congressional bull Ut The era. There are
parliamentary hystems Ia the world
which would make II impossible fof IL
public man ta make Il break like
Brands aud politically survive. Already
It's whispered that II The Hoover psople
carry 'ha tIfbana district IN the Ohio
primaries, ihey'l go after brother
| Brands scalp nionla In his nom
pallltfal ncafnAtion. The man who iors
sgt u y mllkmsn. being pfinelpHl owner