Evening star., 1933-01-29
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

sentative John w. Summers, Republi-
can. of Washington, who by all-arounc
experience in life and by extensive re-
search at home and in foreign lands 1,
eminently qualified to pass judgment
Representative Summers speaks out
positively at this time because he be-
lieves that the people generally are
being deceived and misled. He has beer
progressively farm hand, clerk in q
village store, school teacher in Indiana
and Texas, practicing physician fol
more than quarter OF century, lieu
tenant colonel in the medical section
and member of Congress for IA years.
The United States conducts research
for three purposes, he. explains. First
to promote general welfare; second, tc
determine how to administer the laws
most efficiently, and third, to increase
the efficiency Of the country in war.
The research work of the War anc
Navy Departments and Of the National
Advisory Committee for Aeronautics l.
primarily intended to satisfy the third
purpose. Studies Of methods for crime
detection and Of food and drug adulter-
alton and much of the work of the
Tariff Commission are examples Of re-
search of the second class. The first
kind Of studies includes investigations
Of human, animal and plant diseases
insect pests, soils and fertilizers, dust
explosions, Standardization Of all sorts
of commodities, utilization Of Industrial
wastes and development Of our natural
resources.
"The Government has no research
projects the solution Of which will bene-
At only single industries or small groups
Of people. The development Of CONNER
cial articles or processes Is left to pri-
vate enterprise" declares Represents
tive Summers.
Most of the problems attacked by the
Government, he points out, require a
large organization to offer any hope OF
complete success. These organizations
are Of two kinds: First, those where q
number Of different kinds Of scientists
work on various phases Of q single prob
lem under the direction Of an ofiicial
who co-ordinates their activities, and
second, those where several agencies
work together simultaneously on the
same problem.
"A survey Of detailed appropriations
indicates" says Representative Sum-
mers. who Is member Of the Appro-
priations Committee, that the total
spent for all kinds of research in the
present fiscal year will be less than l
per cent Of the total budget, and only
about Is cents year per person of the
total population"
He warns his colleagues in Congress
that "if the United States should aban-
don research the other countries of the
world by continuing research would
quickly outstrip this Nation in eff
cheney. The result would be that we
should in a very short time not only
be unable to compete with England
France. Germany or Holland for world
trade. but we should actually be unable
to compete in our own home markets
in spite Of any tariff we could impose
THE United States would cease to be
self-supporting and its industries and
workmen would be forced to emigrate
to countries where modern methods and
progress remained the rule. A research
holiday, like disarmament, must be
worldwide or else the nation continuing
research will reap an easy advantage
over the nation that suspends her re-
search activities"
In our daily rush we overlook tina,
history is being made each day anc
that the record must be kept straigh,
for future generations.
The Congress in overriding the
Presidents veto on the Philippine In.
dependence bill has written an impor.
tant page in history, which prompt.
review Of important events in Amer.
ican history that wsre enacted 81
years ago.
Representative Anthony J. Griffin
Democrat, New York;, who, aftel
being an engineer, studied law under
Gen. Daniel E. Sickles, was prize es.
sayist at New York Univer ity, organ.
lied and commanded company In the
69th Regiment. New York Nstione
Guard. during the Spanish -Americer
War. has just written into the C-n.
gressional Record "A Bit CT History"
"On August l. 1892 recalls, "tht
Filipino- prcmug gated to the work.
their declaration CT Independence
Aguiraldo had the Spaniards hemm- {
in at Manila. end there wa hardly
sn American soldier on the islands ex.
cept th-se placed by Admiral Dewey
in the dcckyar's at Cavite.
"Aguinaldo had established q pro-
visional government. The Filipino arm,
had completely surrounded the City o
Manila and its fell was only a mattel
of time The Filipinos maintained tn,
siege until Gen. Merritt arrived. 4
plan was then conceived to save tn,
face of the Spanish general. who pro-
feSsed to believe that the Spanish honol
would be debased if the Spaniard
yielded to the native a-mv.
The understanding was that tht
city would yield if the American Arm,
went through the motions Of an at
tack-a sham attack-wfich was to b.
without bloodshed The advance wa.
accordingly made. but. through som,
misunderstanding. the attack took OF
the appear ance Of real battle and tn,
defense the appearance of real re.
Sistance. There enSued some delay.
Then suddenly. few Americans ap
peared on the wall-they had been le
in by the back gates-and began signal
ling to cease firing and to enter tn,
city peaceably. This they did, but tn,
Filipino Army was cunningly kept IL
their trenches. not allowed to enter tn,
city. and denied the honor Of joinini
with the American Army in the cere
monials attending the formal cepitula
tion Of the Spanish Army The Who'll,
transaction was opera bouffe OF thl
most farclal nature and reflected littl
credit on our Army. our flag, or ou
Nation
Admiral Dewey. who had committee
himself to Aguinaldo, as far as gentle
man was able to do so, was disguised
Our tricky acquisition of the island
brought on rebellion lasting five years
involving the loss of thousands of lives
Dewey expressed the opinion, short
ly after the battle of Manila Bay. tina
the Filipinos were more capable of self
government than the Cubans. II tina
were true in 1898, surely it is no credi
to our tutelage, after a third of a cen
tury of American domination, to sug
gest that they are less Cultured, or les
able to govern themselves now thar
they apparently were then"