Evening star., 1936-06-13

tween Japan and Western powers, says
Mr.. Snow.
England, he says, cannot avoid being
involved. But he adds that "it is
possible that We can. Historical and
geographical endowments, and not
any special virtue on which we have
monopoly, make it unnecessary for
us TO engage in a scramble for colon
les. We have only one empire to
lose-these United States-and there
Is none We need to win"
And he goes on to argue that our
stake in the East is not economically
worth our participation in a war there
The key country, he says, Is China and
1t will be on Chinese soil that the
conflict will be fought, whether it
opens directly between Japan and
China, or between Britain and Japan,
Russia and Japan or some other peo-
Pile" Our move, therefore, is TO with
draw from China before trouble be -
gins. 1T is" says Mr.. Snow, "tll
logical development of our Philippif
decision, as well as our withdraw,
from Cuba. Haiti and Nicaragua"
Meanwhile, as the delegates {
Cleveland make history, the New r
public comes forth with a special SUI
plement go pages and 8 pictor.r
charts) wherein it offers a "balanc
sheet of the New Deal"
Classifying administration measure
roughly under the heads Of recover,
and reform, it offers these ccnclu-
SionS:
"Recovery-From the point of view
Of alleviating the crisis, the emer-
gency action on the banks must clearly
be given the plus sign.
THE policy as to prices and wage
was confused, and probably was mega l.
tive, taken as whole Profits
showed big jump; industrial produc-
ton recovered not at all under the
N.R.A. and but slowly thereafter; un-
employment remained large. A rem
edy that does not boost production
and employment is not a remedy at
all.
Coming to Government spending
(baSed on credit) for recovery, the
balance sheet" remarks, This va.
contrary to the Democratic platform
promise to balance the budget; but
1t was necessary simply for human
tartan purposes of relief, and even
Hoover would probably have been
compelled to resort to it. Gov
ernment borrowing and spending wa
probably as effective in increasins
economic activity as any measure !
undertook. 1t, therefore, deserves
plus sign in recovery"
EXAMINING reform legislation un-
dertaken by the administration.
the article finds that The list Of re
forms attempted is long; com
pared with what any other admin
tration has tried, it is impressive III
''The number of these reforms ar
the intentions behind them are mcI
impressive, however, than the laws
which they are embodied or the II
suits so far achieved"
Perhaps" concludes the articl.
the most useful way to Judge it I'll
New DeaD is as a necessarily blundo
ing, but we'll intentioned attempt
find way out Of enormous difficu
ties an attempt which may h
of real educational value If its impel
fections are clearly understood. -
In the accompanying issue of til
New Republic, Malcolm Cowley de
votes page and quarter TO Edmun
Wilson's Travels in Two Democra-
cies." Last week he also wrote elabo-
rately and at length about this work.
But his final paragraph, he remark
did not satisfy him, so he has donr
a page and a quarter more 70 rectify
his unsa atisfactoriness.
One can not but wonder why all
the pother. The Wilson book is un-
remarkable. One can not but feel
that the critic, in his own admiration
Of Russia, is trying to read some
thing into the text which is not there
Or to make it a vehicle for express
ing his own opinions on Russia. But
what an uninspiring vehicle!
With the presidency the subject
of universal attention, The Pleas
ures of Publishing" the bulletin of
the Columbia University Press offers
the following figures about the men
who have held our highest Office:
John Adams was 81 years old when
he died and Thomas Jefferson 83. A
further coincidence is the fact that
these two were the longest lived Presi-
dents we have ever had. The average
age Of Presidents of the United States
at their deaths has been 68.6 years,
and the average number of years
Presidents live after leaving the White
House is 7.8. The average age OF
Presidents at the time of taking the
oath has been 54.8 years.
THE youngest man ever to enter
the White House was Theodore
Roosevelt; he was 43 We have
had only five Presidents who we're less
than so when they were inducted into
office: Franklin Pierce, 40; U. S.
Grant. At; Grover Cleveland, 48: Gar
field. 49, and Theodore Roosevelt. Il
is interesting to note that the average
age OF death OF these five youngest
Presidents was 6l.8 years-a survival.
on the average, of IA years OF the
duties Of the Chief Executive.
William Henry Harrison
was our oldest-he entered the White
House at the age of SO. And not only
was the oldest when elected, he also
was the one who lived the shortest
length of time after his Inauguration:
he died Of pneumonia just a month
after entering on his duties.
Five Presidents have been more
than 60 when they took office and
they lived to an average age Of rs
years, which compares Interestingly
with the 6l8 years of the Presidents
who were less than SO when they took
office y