Evening star., 1932-05-02
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Somebody ought to take the House of
Representatives by the hand and ex-
plain in words Of one syllable what rela-
tivity means. This observer is not a
candidate for the job. but there's one
phase of the economy legislation now
perturbing the lower branch Of Con-
gress, which can be stated in terms of
simple relatively. The House is fuming
and stewing over the problem OF Slictng
5000 900 900 from the budget. The bud
get aggregates roundly $4,000, ,000, 900.
The sum of 5000, 600 900 is exactly per
cent Of $4,000, 600, 900. The House there
fore Is squandering almost 100 per cent
Of its time, energy and wisdom on the
task Of saving a mere 5 per cent OF
Uncle Sans money. According to the
Einstein relativity, that is a frightful
disproportion. A business man, firm or
corporation that fiddled and frittered
on such lines, to the simultaneous neg
lect of mountain of momentous mat
terS clamoring for consideration, might
find bankruptcy just around the corner.
The stockholders Of a big company
probably would be satisfied to know
that the chairman Of the board had
been clothed with full power Of attor-
ney to tackle a 5 per cent economy job
nesslike, and there is>no such word in
the lexicon Of politics.
Ask the ordinary man of affairs in
the United States today what is prob
ably the most far-reaching single thing
Washington could do to restart the
wheels of business and he would prob
ably answer: Amend the antitrust
laws" He would be referring to the
Sherman act forbidding so-called COM
binationS in restraint Of trade. Until
industrial concerns are permitted to
merge for output restriction, price reg
ulation and other purposes designed to
prevent cut-throat competition, big
business insists its outlook-amid exist
ing conditions-is bleak and hopeless.
1t Is said to be an open secret that
many concerns, in one way or another,
are actually finding ways and means OF
pooling their interests and cutting the
corners of the Sherman law. Aren't
they afraid of conviction and punish
ment?" a magnate was recently asked.
YES" he replied, but they seem to
think they might as well go to jail as
to the poorhouse."
Will Herr Wilhelm Won Hohenzollern,
the fugitive of Doom, be permitted 70
pitch his tent in the Virgin Islands?
The State Department apparently has
no objections. At least, when the In
terror Department recently passed along
suggestion that the ex-Kaiser might
be invited by the st. Thomas Chamber
of Commerce to live In the islands, Col
Stimsons spokesmen indicated that as
William is now a private person, the
United States had no official or diplo-
matte interest in his movements. It
appears that his physicians think that
the 73-year-old one-time war lord ought
to live in Caribbean climate. News to
that effect having reached the Virgin
Islands, its enterprisipg go-getters
thought up the bright idea of bidding
the discredited monarch to take up his
domicile there. The late DR.. Maurice
Francis Egan, when American Minister
to Copenhagen, persuaded Denmark to
sell the Virgin Islands formerly the
Danish West Indies TO the United
States IN 1915. just about the time the
Germans, then at war, were said to be
for their acquisition.
President Hoover got a big laugh