davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1934-03-30
Can a Nonresident Be
Corporation COunsel? :?

To the Editor OF The Star:
In Tuesdays Star Is a letter from
Joseph w. Cheyney. He asks: Can
nonresident be corporation counsel
of the District of Columbian" He Is
apparently of the opinion that the
Office can be held only by . bona
fide citizen Of the District. inasmuch
as the Legislative Assembly Of the
brief period Q871-74) during which
the District had territorial status
created certain local ofnces. among
them that of attorney in and for
the District of Columbia" whose
holders shall be residents Of the
District" Mr.. Cheyney has been un-
able to find that that creation by
the Territorial Assembly, In so far as
| anyway, has ever been repealed. Fur
thermore, he cannot find that sub
| sequent acts have done more than
change the name Of the ofdce.
OF course, there has been an in
cumbent, as city attorney, city counsel,
law officer, city solicitor, corporation
counsel or some other title, for more
than a century-since 1924, In fact
so it hardly seems reasonable to pin
the office down to the provisions en-
acted concerning it by the govern
ment Of the middle period, e. g., the
! Territorial government.
As q matter of fact, the acts Of
general legislation Gas distinguished
from municipal ordinances) Of the
Legislative Assembly Of the District
have been declared by the courts to
be imperative and void'-see Roach
ct al. VS.. Van Riswick washington
Law Reporter, Nov. 10, 1879. This
ruling, by the Supreme Court Of the
| District of Columbia, has not, so far
as I know, been reversed by the
Supreme Court of the United States
The argument at the time was that
Congress had no authority under the
Constitution to delegate its power Of
exclusive legislation to another body.
In one of the books Of Theodore w.
Noyes (his washington in General,
1888-1932," p. 34) Is an excerpt from
| a report made on June 1, 1874. by
the Judiciary Committee Of the House
of Representative. The report reads:
"In a strict legal sense there can be
| said to be no such thing as local
government of the District Of Co.
lumbia, for there can be no govern
ment within the District independent
of that Of the Federal Government.
and whatever local authority there
may be now existing, or which may
hereafter be set up within the District,
it can only be regarded legally as an
agency of the Federal Government.
and whatever authority this local
government may exercise, It must be
regarded as the act of the United
| States through their delegated repre-
sentative"
And five years later, the Supreme
Court Of the District Of Columbia de-
cided that CongSess could not dele
gate its delegated authority under the
Constitution to legislate for the Dis
trict of Columbia
However, in equity and wisdom the
corporation counsel should be bona
fide resident, whether or not any
weight attaches to the territorial
statute on the subject.
E. MELVIN WILLIAMS.
Evening star., 1934-03-30
Maybe So.
From the Chicago Daily News.

from the chicago daily news.
The McDufie -Tydings act. which
has just been adopted, gives the Phil
ippine Islands until october l to &C
cept independence on Americas terms.
We give up the right to keep military
establishments on the islands, but we
keep the right to naval establishments.
During the 10 years prescribed as
transition period from the present
status to full freedom, Philippine ex-
ports to the United States are limited,
but ours to the islands are to be
duty-free.
It is said the Filipinos will accept
this time on these terms. Maybe so.
1t Is said the economic provisions of
the act are a perfect repetition of our
boomtime heresy, that we can prof
itably sell abroad without buying in
return. Maybe so. It Is said these
economic provisions will effectually
prevent the natives from utilizing the
transition period to effect economic
independence and that political inde-
pendence will thus be jeopardized.
Maybe so. 1t is said that the presence
Of American naval bases In the islands
viii eventually leave the country about
as free as japanese protection makes
Manchukuo. Maybe so. And finally,
1t is said that Congress has no au-
thortty thus to ALLEVIATE American
soil, and that the act is, therefore,
unconstitutional. Maybe so, maybe 50.
But Of one thing we are quite sure.
Neither politically nor economically
does 1t settle in any important respect
the perennial problem of the Philip
pines.
Evening star., 1934-03-30
Otto H, Kahn.

The world is less colorful today,
lacking the presence of Otto H. Kahn
He was a figure grateful to know in
an era gray and mediocre. His per-
sonality was cosmopolitan, his tenn
permanent mildly Oriental, his manner
suave, his bearing curiously distinc-
tive. There was an atmosphere OF
Levantine aristocracy about him, an
air impossible to describe in words
To find his like it would be necessary
to 90 back to the Medici princes OF
Florence. Like them, he had the
grace, the fnesse of a counting
house noble. A banker statesman, he
radiated quiet power as Lorenzo the
Magnificent did. Wherever he went
he was the center of attention; when
he spoke all present listened. He
ruled the scene in which he placed
himself. But his dominion was exer-
cised with the reticence, the dignity,
the conscious discipline of mind and
tongue which few of his class ever
attain.
Perhaps his cultivated urbanity was
a defense. No other man of his time
exceeded him in his appreciation OF
the arts, and it would have been
easy for him to exhaust even his
abundant means by the facile
process Of unchecked obedience
to his instinct to help. Thou
sands Of writer's, painters, actors
and musicians came to his door for
Evening star., 1934-03-30

essary, it might lull the fear that
the bestowal of this power on the
President might be made permanent
and not an emergency matter. 1t
seems quite clear, however, that II
the new reciprocity plan works to the
advantage of the country and OF
American agriculture and business. it
will be continued, and If it proves a
disappointment 1t will be thrown
aside. AS to the three;year amend
ment, if the President continues in
office at the conclusion of three years,
without such limitation it might take
a two-thirds vote of the Congress to
repeal the plan. A majority cannot
override a veto of the President.
Hitherto America has stood on It's
own feet in tariff matters, fixing such
duties as it deemed necessary to PRO-
tect American products. So well has
it protected the American market that
foreign nations have, it is charged,
undertaken retaliatory tariffs and
other trade barriers to protect their
own industries.
II the new plan becomes law, as
now seems probable, Uncle Sam will
have to watch his step. Horse trading
and tariff trading are likely to have
much in common. And certainly the
reciprocal trade agreements now pre-
posed will increase the spirit Of inter-
nationalism-as opposed to national
ism-in this country. Just which
American industries are to be sacri-
feed. If any, to make possible recipro-
cal trade agreements is the question
which is causing much speculation
For it seems clear that If trading is to
be done in these agreements, America
will have to give something for some
thing.
Evening star., 1934-03-30
Tariff for Trade.
From the San Francisco Chronicle.

lOuI tiC Ohh dhSisSO SiA
Strict limitation of tariff trading is
demanded Of Congress by James A.
Farrell Of the Foreign Committee,
United States Chamber of Commerce.
Mr.. Farrell's view Is fairly familiar.
He believes the tariff should be used
to protect home industry rather than
to promote foreign trade when one Of
these alternatives must be chosen.
But one difficulty is that home in
dustry produces things that it desires
to dispose of in foreign trade. And
foreigners cannot buy our goods un-
less they can sell theirs.
The ideal solution would, Of course,
be for our customers to sell their
goods to others and use the money
to buy ours. The dimculty Is that
they cannot sell to others unless they
also buy from them, any more than
we can.
There is a point in tariff trading
that means destruction of home in
dustry, which Is not desirable. Also
there is . point in protection that
shuts our home industry out Of the
world market. As to just where these
boundaries are there may be differ
ences of opinion, but they both in
disputably exist.
Evening star., 1934-03-30

Salaries and Local Budget

Partial restoration of Government
salaries should not prevent a balanced
budget for the District of Columbia.
Last Fall the Commissioners Econ
omy Committee submitted estimates.
based on 100 per cent restoration of
salaries, which totaled approximately
$39,400,000. This, the committee told
the Commissioners, represented a
well balanced" budget.
Later all estimates we're revised to
provide for the restoration of only
fve per cent of the pay cut during
the fiscal year 1895. The District
budget sent to Congress by the Budget
Bureau totaled approximately $685.
100000 While an additional five per
cent restoration Of salaries, plus auto
matte promotions for iremen, police
and school teachers, will, of course,
increase this total, the District still
has the necessary revenue, even with
the inadequate Federal payment of
only s5,700.000. to finance a balanced
budget" approximatirg the total first
submitted by the Commissioners.
Paradoxically enough, the danger
that the District budget will be
thrown out of balance does not lie in
increased expenditures, but in failing
to provide for spending the money
that will be yielded by existing
sources of revenue. The Commits
sioners sought to prevent an unneces-
sary surplus Of revenues by submit
ting supplemental estimates of addi-
tional expenditures to the Budget
Bureau, which has held them without
comment for about two months. The
salary increase might lessen to
some extent the revenue available to
finance all these supplemental re-
quests. But revenues from the liquor
licenses, which have not been in
cluded in estimates Of revenue avail
ability, will in large measure Offset the
cost of the salary increases
If the House committee now exam
ming the 1895 estimates proposes to
dangle the enticing bait Of tax re-
duction In cutting down local ex-
penditures, an answer must at the
same time be furnished to the ques-
tion Of how to provide essential munic-
ipal needs. Every local budget should,
while meeting current expenses, look
forward to the years ahead. The
Budget Bureau estimates provide for
little beyond current maintenance on
an economy basis.
Evening star., 1934-03-30
Roosevelt Tariff Wins.

The House voted overwhelmingly
yesterday to try the latest tariff
wrinkle-reciprocal trade agreements
with foreign nations. Under the bill
passed by the House President Roose-
velt is authorized to seek to extend
American commerce abroad through
negotiations with foreign govern
merts using the tariff duties as a
means OF bartering for acceptance Of
our goods abroad. This system, which
has been built up abroad, the Chief
Executive has told Congress the
United States must follow If it is to
have an opportunity to compete on
even terms with other nations seek
ing foreign markets. The tariff bill
divided the House along party lines.
Only two Republicans supported the
measure and mere handful Of
Democrats opposed it, eleven in all
It was a foregone conclusion that
the bill would pass, since it has been
made one of the principal demands
OF the President in his effort to aid
business recovery. However, it was
with some misgivings that number
Of the Democrats placed this un-
precedented power in the hands of
the President.
The measure now goes to the Sen
ate. which, like the House, is strongly
Democratic. The resistance there
threatens to be more serious. Many
amendments will be offered Some
Of the Republicans may offer amend
ments increasing some of the tariff
duties, declaring that If the Presi-
dent is to be authorized to lower
them by fifty per cent in making
the projected trade agreements it
would be advisable to raise them at
least fifty per cent before the dick
ering begins.
The House adopted an amendment
limiting the powers of the President
to three years. The amendment was
offered by the Ways and Means Com
mittee, whose chairman announced
That while he did not consider It nee
Evening star., 1934-03-30

Reports Of an international spy
syndicate operating in the United
States, France, and Great Britain for
the benefit Of Germany and Russia
cause little but amusement on this
side of the Atlantic. Some observers
cynically call attention to the Stavisky
scandal in France and suggest the
necessity for a sensation to divert at
tention.
"The spy story coming out of Paris
may be calculated to raise French
blood pressure, but looks like melo-
drama from this side of the Atlantic"
the Houston Chronicle remarks
"Just what valuable secrets have We
that Germany and Russia, of all ma
tions, should pay large sums to get
them?"
Perhaps the French government
has something it doesn't want Ger
many. or the Soviet to find out, or
even England" says the Port Huron
Times Herald, ''but If Mr.. Roosevelt
wants to do anything of any particu-
lar moment he will have to tell at
least five hundred and thirty five men
and women in Congress, and Ger
many and Russia would be foolish to
pay spies to find out what they are
likely to see these same five hundred
and thirty-flve men and women
scrapping overland perhaps turning
thumbs down on it." The San Fran
cisco Chronicle adds "as to the others
we can not speak But if there has
been much ferreting done in the
United States, it Is largely q waste
Of time"
1t is the opinion of the New Haven
Journal Courier that "the reports
emanting from French police authori-
ties concerning the biggest espionage
plot since the war constitute as grand
. yarn as ever flowed from the pen
Of the late E. Phillips Oppenheim."
This paper points out that "all the
proper apparatus is present-in the
reports: Beautiful women Turing re-
sponsible officials to betray their
country, secret codes, mysterious
sources of ample funds, far-flung sys-
TENS of secret intelligence, and adds:
"The whole fits too neatly together,
sounds too pat, too reminiscent Of a
dime thriller to inspire more than q
genial skepticism. The fact that the
French police are at present suffering
bitter criticism in connection with the
Stavisky scandal might be cited by q
cynic.''
"While It would probably be unfair
to suggest that France has staged this
story for any ulterior motive" the
Manchester Union observes, "there
have been occasions In the past when
weird espionage tales have been used
craftily to promote war scares and to
shift the responsibility for extensive
war preparations to the other fellow"
"The syndicate Is said to have COL
lected secrets Of national defense in
Great Britain, France and the United
States for conveyance to Germany
and Soviet Russia" reports the
Watertown Daily Times. However, it
is difficult for any one to conceive
of Stain of Russia and Hitter of Ger
many acting together and pooling
their information"
It seems to the Cincinnati Times
Star that people in this country will
take the news pretty calmly, for they
are well acquainted with rackets, and
this looks like Just another one" This
paper adds: "The spy business, as
commonly practiced, has atanities to
Evening star., 1934-03-30
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

There is a blackness of the spirit
darker than a storm at sea.
Physical dawns have their counter.
parts in the flushes Of mind which
come to all Of us, upon receipt Of
good news, merited gains, or we'll.
deserved praise.
Spring, then, is in us, as well a.
around us.
Let the praise of this little, this
ugly, man, be precisely that he has
kept perpetually in mind the need fol
the Springtime of the heart, wherea.
greA and handsome fellows remem.
bered it not, and suffered accordingly
Let the praise of this sunshine
bearer be that whereas some mer
Sneered at him, their wives read him
and did not read them.
If you were to look at this sun
shine bringer, you would seem TO SCI
gnarled Winter.
Appearance oft are deceptive.
Spring itself is.
One day it is here. the next you
see it not
therefore,, WndU can II really be
but what we think 1t is?
Our thoughts about it, esteemed
readers, 60 deeper than the green
grass, because they lie whereto all
green must go at last, If it is to be
really green.
Those who find mysticism in this
statement are looking down the wrong
alley.
There is no mystery here, but plain
honest fact. Every statement, on the
surface, has an inner statement. Tha,
is why no two readers get the same
thing from any statement, here OF
elsewhere, why one sees "the bunk,
as he calls it, another something help
full, even great at times.
One idea often tends to make Win.
ter out of Spring:
you must practice what you
preach"
Nothing could be farther from the
truth.
Often 1t is impossible to practice
what one breaches, so far ahead OF
fact is theory, so far in advance oi
conditions are ideals.
The steady demand that one prac.
tice what one breaches has led
through the centuries. to squelchine
of initiative, as many found it i'm
possible to live up to what they
dreamed.
1t is first expedient that We dream
if We propose to create Spring in oul
own hearts and In the hearts OF other
human beings.
Every one Will agree to this, but al
the same time demand that we prac.
tice what we preach.
X X
The thing is not possible, gentle
men.
There is no reconciling preaching
and acting, until many years shall
have rolled by.
Every one realizes that, too, that Is
why they resent being preached at
no doubt.
II it is impossible for you, it is
impossible for them.
No demand is made upon them
however, that is the point. A high
estate is set before their eyes. it is
theirs to take it or leave it. He who
creates it, we are sure, asks the same
privilege That is why no one ever
should want to see an author face
to face. 1t isn't his face that counts,
it is his mind and heart, and you
can't see those, you can comprehend
them only in the sunshine of an
eternal Spring.
Evening star., 1934-03-30
Credits and Debts.

Plainly, an embarrassing situation
has arisen In connection with exten-
sion of American credits to the Soviet
Union. The facts are being frankly
discussed at Moscow by Ambassador
Bullitt, who believes that if the
Johnson bill recently passed by the
Senate becomes law the Soviet can
expect no financial aid in the United
States pending settlement of the old
Russian pre-Bolshevist debt.
Mr.. Bullitt, who is accustomed to
speak by the book, says the Wash
ington Government "unquestionably''
will consider that the johnson law is
applicable to the present Russian
government, Notwithstanding that the
Communist regime itself did not con-
tract the obligations in question.
The Ambassador expresses the per-
sonal opinion that the newlyformed
Russo-American Export Import Bank
at Washington can not do business
with the Soviet until a debt agree
ment is reached, provided the john
son proposal banning further Ameri-
can financial aid to defaulting coun-
tries is finally enacted. 1t is obvious
ly the expectation of the Treasury
that it will become law, for Secretary
Morgenthau has just invoked its spirit
in placing an embargo on new French
financing in New York.
Probably, as things go in the subtle
art Of diplomacy, Ambassador Bullitt's
statement can be interpreted as a
gentle hint to the Moscow authorities
that their aspirations for American
trade credits will remain ungratihed
unless the debt question Is arranged.
1t is quite apparent that the United
States does not accept the Moscow
position that the "Czarist" and "Ke-
rensky" debts were automatically
Cancelled by the Bolshevists' simple
disavowal of them. There may pos
sibly be more basis for discussion
Of the claims the Soviet has advanced
against the United States for dam
ages" caused by the American inva-
sion" of North Russia without dec
laration of war during the interven-
ton period.
When Mr.. Litvinoff was in Wash
ington negotiating for American
recognition the debts were left over
for future consideration. The time
has now come for a showdown. The
desire for trade with Russia is wide
spread in this country, but the admin
istration can count confidently on
public support in demanding that
there be a proper adjustment Of past
advances before we agree to make
new ones.
In enacting the Roosevelt tariff pro-
gram on Thursday the House of Rep
reSentatives once again went firmly
on record against any reduction or
cancellation OF existing war debts,
under the terms of a trade agree
ment. That action applies very di-
rectly to the current Soviet-American
situation.
The next move is up to Moscow.
Evening star., 1934-03-30

tunity to punish the powers which
have denied them a bigger cut Of
Federal pie.
* 4
Out in the wide open spaces where
certain United States Senator is up
for denomination his opponents are
charging that, though an absentee,
he drew mileage and full salary for
the special session of the Senate in
/ the Summer of 1880, summoned by
President Hoover for ratification Of
| the London naval treaty. They de-
mand that he explain why he accept
ed public funds under the circum-
stances The Senator, 1t is alleged,
instead of attending the special ses-
sion, spent the Summer at his lake
side cottage in an adjoining State.
The law says that salary of a mem
Der OF Congress is deductible for
absence unless he Is detained by
illness of himself or some member
of his family.
\ X
Herbert NJ. Bratter of the Bureau
OF Foreign and Domestic Commerce
in the Department of Commerce Is
en- route to Japan to become assist
ant commercial attache of the United
States embassy in Toxic. He ranks
as an authority on silver in its world
aspects. Previously Mr.. Bratter had
business experience in the Far East
and South America. He is one of
Americas up and coming young
economists.
The secret has leaked out as to
why the President decided to 20
deep-sea fishing in the South. All
Winter he has had staring him in the
face from the walls of his White
House Office an 87-pound Florida
tarpon mounted on mahogany
plaque, with a brass tablet attached
attesting that there are just as good
fish in the sea as that magnificent
specimen. F. D. r. surveyed the
bait longingly for months and finally
Succumbed to its silent lure.
While defending the constitutional
ity of the Roosevelt reciprocal tariff
program in the House the other day,
Representative Hatton w. Summers
Democrat, Of Texas, chairman of the
Judiciary Committee, sprang a phrase
of which he claims to be the patentee
He said that one of the chief diff
culties, or diseases, of the day lies
in our economic circulatory system u
and explained: 1--WE and the rest of
the world have about all the things
We need, plenty of everything, but
they do not circulate"
When the Senate, during the
next few days, disposes of the Dis
trict of Columbia appropriation bill
it will have established an all.time
record for speed IN the dispatch of
appropriation measures. The calen-
dar will show that the nine regular
supply bills were put through in three
months, as compared to the five or
six months commonly consumed In
the disposal of that routine business
Credit for the step-hvely pace be-
longs to Senator Joe T. Robinson OF
Arkansas, Democratic majority leader.
(Copyright, 1934)