Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-19
y TAR-BULLETIN, Honolulu,-The

n TAR-BULLETTN, Honolulu.-The
fact that Connie Mack, manager
Of the Philadelphia American
~ League base ball club, has been
given the $4,000 Edward W.
Box award, for having rendered the
most outstanding service to Philadel-
phia" during 1929, opens the way for a
| bit of meditation.
Rendering a service to your home
town can be done in lots of ways, and
probably there is no reason why a base
ball pilot isn't just as eligible as any
one else. Yet one cannot help wonder
ing Just what sort of service did Phila-
delphia's people give their city during
1929 II, at the close of the year, a COM
mittee of serious, intelligent men found
that the victory of professional base
ball club was the most noteworthy of
the lot?
There is Just little bit more to this
than you may think. We get little
| confused in our sense of values every
so often, and this Philadelphia incident
illustrates it perfectly. Opportunities
for improvement in every American city
are numerous. A judge could make law
more respected. A politician could make
the city government more responsible to
the people. A police official could make
the city safer for honest men and
women. A school offlcial could give
children better preparation for the life
ahead of them. A business man could
make industry more stable and EN-
cient. An artist could add to the beauty
and color of a city. The press could
support and encourage the better tend
encies of the times, instead of criticiz-
ing or deriding different movements OF
reform.
When an American city names a pro-
| feSSional athlete as the man who served
| 1t best through an entire year, 1t is
quite obvious that either performance
of Judgment has gone slightly askew.
Either way, the situation Is a trtf1e
discourasing'
| Requirements
DiScOuraging 10 Police.
Ell TELEGRAPH, Guayaquil.-It has been
an unsatisfactory procedure on the part
of some of our commissioners of police
that Immediately upon assuming Office
they effect the removal of some who
have shown themselves faithful and
energetic in the service on the pretext
of filling their places with others, in
| whom they assert still greater conn.,
! dence. Such action is very disturbing
and discouraging to members OF the
/ force, who feel little incentive to work
| for promotion If they can be summary
! dispossessed of their positions upon the
| entrance of new commissioner upon
| his functions. While officers who have
shown themselves incompetent or un-
scrupulous should be removed in every
| case, those against whom such defects
of character cannot be alleged should
be retained in their positions as long
as they desire them. Too often 1t ap-
pears that commissioners relieve Valu-
able men of their places to I'LL the va
cancies with personal friends or rela-
tives not nearly so competent. How can
such an important organization be sub
| iected to such constant uneaSiness re-
| garding the tenure of their ONCE and
| still operate for the public good? Chiefs
| in other departments too often show
the same sort of partiality, but the ef-
fects are evidenced TO the greatest det-
riment of the public in the police de-
partment. These subalterns should feel
secure in their employment, for the bet
terment of the service.
Scratching Of Horse
Part of Risk, Court Rules.
Neues Wiener Tagblatt, Vienna.-A
court in Budapest has just handed
down an interesting decision in con-
nection with a race-track bet. A fol-
lower of the turf brought suit against
a bookmaker for the restitution OF the
amount he had wagered upon q horse,
upon the complaint that this horse did
not start in the race. The court dis
missed the plea on the grounds that
bets made on race horses are valid
whether the animals participate In the
running or not. It is suficient that q
horse he announced tn take mart It's