Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-12

The chronic depression in the
bituminous coal fields is reported to
have recently engaged the Presidents
serious attention. Mr.. Hoover Is said
to be prediSposed to call conference
or create a commission TO survey anew
the troubles of the coal industry, in
which wage cuts, Shut-downs. overpro-
duction and cut-throat competition all
play a part. The failure of past COM
missions and conferences and congress
Sional inquiries to produce a solution OF
this subject does not daunt Mr.. Hoover.
The engineers approach to every prob
lem is ito ascertain, marshal and cor
relate the facts and constructive
remedies can then be evolved. Since
moment, public demand for govern
mental action" has slackened. The coal
operators in the main are not pressing
for q conference; labor, however, de-
mands that something be done, and the
President requires little urging. Any
subject which pertains to the physical
and material well-being OF our citizens
enlistS his enthusiastic attention. The
coal industry offers Mr.. Hoover glori-
start toward that idealistic attainment
which he referred to several times
during the campaign as his most
cherished purpose, 1.-The abolition OF
poverty"
Secretary Of Interior Wilbur Is dis
covering how easy 1t is for public OH
cial to be misunderstood and misquoted.
Commenting on the task Of the Child
Welfare Commission at q recent press
conference the Secretary offered some
incidental remarks which intimated that
the preliminary data on child health
disclosed that New England had been
backward in dealing conStructively with
this problem-that the South outranked
Massachusetts, and other Northeastern
States in setting up child health clinics.
His remarks were widely reported IN
the New England press, which rose as
one man to denounce the "unwarranted
slur." Columns upon columns have been
printed there portraying what the New
England States, and particularly the
Bay State. has done for child health, and
in criticism of Secretary Wilburs as
suYned "lack Of information and bias"
Now it appears that the tall Californian
never intended any such imputation.
n &,k
Representative Fiorello La Guardia.
the short and Stocky and agile-minded
italian, who Is to try and wrest the New
York mayoralty crown from Jimmy
walker, will meet the honorable Jimmy"
on his own ground when 1t comes to
wise-cracking repartee. Not so long
ago q very pompous colleague OF La
Guardia's in Congress was showing on
his ability to converse In French, an
accomplishment Of which ne was very
"Yoil do not parleZ vous francais?" in
uuired the pompous member OF La
Guardia. The latter shot back, II have
st0ny,ed doing so since Congress put @
tariff on nuts"
Sans profit and loss account, Is now
released to the press every day pune
tually at $50 am. in the form OF o
photostatic copy Of the original The
hour when the statement In printed
form is available at the Treasury De.
partment has been so variable and
newspaper requests for an early and
certain time Of release so insistent that
the Treasury Is trying out the 1nnova-
ton Of supplying the photostat. the
statement contains mass OF 1nforma-
ton, unintelligible to the average man,
but of high interest to the banking fra
ternity. One item, however, the daily
Treasury balance figure, proves OF
enormous popular interest. Certain
digits in this figure determine the WIN.
ners in lottery. pools being conducted
and Federal, to stamp them out. Some
such pools employ the New York clear
ing house balance figures, others the
Treasury balance figures. Treasury
oficials think this helps explain why
there has been such daily impatience
in the recent past when the statement
has been delayed in release.
y 4 \ 4
In a hot and tiny ONCE in one Of the
temporary finder boxes which have
housed sections Of the Customs Bureau
sits the man who Is to all practical IN
tent the final arbiter in the customs
book censorship activities. He IL j. -.
Corridor, an attorney, who handles all
of the bureaus book ban cases. In Q
large steel cabinet ut his elbow - ~
- 81 nonsfaFt2y tiznH IT,