Evening star., 1933-12-08
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

The Democratic Digest. sprightly
monthly magazine Of the Woman's Ma
tional Democratic Club, reports that
you have to be over 60 to Join San
Francisco's newest Democratic club, Or
ganized by DR.. Lillien j. Martin, g.
year-old consulting psychologist, who
has started Democratic clubs exclusively
fcr old people" because she believes
the oldsters, as well as the youngsters,
are needed to help put over President
Roosevelt's program" A Vassar alumna
OF the class Of 1880. DR.. Martin. who
taught psychology at Stanford until she
reached the retiring age of 65. an.
nounces that "old Democrats" on the
Coast have taken up her idea eagerly
and are forming groups in many dis
tricts. Among DR.. Martins octogenarian
achievements is the driving Of her own
car. A year ago. at 81. she took a
l0,0OO-mile motor trip through the wilds
OF Mexico and brought back q wicked
looking knife which she took from
bandit.
To one of the subdivisions Of the
Roosevelt professoriat has come a re-
print OF recent letter to the London
Times, Indicating that many of the
experiments now being tried in the field
OF American economics had their paral-
lei In China something like q thousand
years ago. Even the Roosevelt brain
trust Is apparently copy of q some
what similar organization brought into
being by the Emperor WI Ii in 1l0
3. c: for the purpose Of restoring i'm
perlal finances. The Times corre-
spondent wrote: "Wu tt had three ad-
visers-two capitalists and q brilliant
young mathematician. They perpetu-
ated the salt and iron monopolies I'M
DER codes which decreed: Whoever
fabricates his own implements or makes
salt shall carry an iron ring on his left
loot and his utensils shall be confis-
Gated Forty years later another ruler
asked his economists to account for
the misery Of the people. They pre-
sented him with so different answers:
but agreed that the monopolies and
the omcfals should be removed Prices
were still higher. About A. D. 10,
Emperor Wang Mang established six
monopolies In China. Prices were con-
trolled by officials who held slrplllses
bought when the market was low"
Russia In the Past and Present" Is
the title OF q series Of monthly lee
lures to be given in Washington dur
ing the Winter by group of distin-
guished Russians of the old regime now
living in the Capital The program is
being arranged by Nine. Paul Scheffer,
formerly Russian noblewoman and
wife Of q well-known international
journalist, and Nine. Mishtowt. wife
of the last naval attache of the Rus-
sian Empire In Washington and
great-niece of two famous musicians
Tschatkowsky and Rimsky- Korsakoff.
Army officers In Washington are
looking forward to q visit from Gea
Joseph Haller, commander in chief of
the Polish Army on the allied fronts
during the World War and afterward
hero Of the defense of Warsaw against
the Bolsheviks. Gen. Haller has lust
come to America as the guest Of the
Polish War Veterans Association of
the United States. On arrival in New
York the other day Gen. Haller said
that about 100000 Polish Americans
served in the war, and 24,O00 of these
were in his own army The ex-Polish
generalissimo doesn't expect a new war
in Europe. not even between his own
country and Germany. He thinks the
Far East Is now the worlds chief dan
ger spot. Gen. Haller is anxious to
pay his respects to President Roose-
welt and Gen. Pershing.
tCopyrisht. 1933)