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; /•\' /•:•: i • ^ 5E **************** .* . * * '* Keep Potted on * * • .. * * HOME MATTERS * * # * By Reading Your * * if * LOCAL NEWSPAPER * **************** 9S I ^1 Doyoted to JUocal News arid TTofflu Xntaraste* PUBLISHED BY ADIRONDACK NEWS PUBLISHING CO. T ESTABLISHED 1887 **************** * 4 * * * 1UI1 Order Houses, * * EXIST BT ADVERTISING * « * * To Get Business * « » * Do Likewise, * * ' * * 4 ***************4 TERMS, $1.80 A YEAH VpL XLVH ST. REGIS FALLS, N. Y., APRIL 22, 1933 i\ NO. 20 The Fable of 1875 and 1925 By GEORGE ADE 0). B#1I Syndloatt.—WNU Stnrlo* O NCE' upon t time an esteemed Old' Lady who had been a reigning Belle during Grant's Second Administration, sat back watching the Antics of a re- formed and purified World, wondering what It was all about. 8he was like tvery other living Person beyond Six- ty. It seemed to her that all the hon- ored Traditions had been hit In the Head, that Civilisation was being ?amped by frivolous Innovations and that the whole Works had gone blooey. One of her Important Discoveries was that Young People are not what they used to be. She didn't suppose that any one else had noticed It but she simply couldn't get over the Way In which the Jimmies and Janes were taking it for granted that they owned the Universe. This honored Hold-Over had a Grand-Daughter and Namesake who was a mere Slip of a Thing 19 years old, who was endeavoring to estab- lish a World's Record for Speed and Endurance. Very often Grandmother would ask, \Haven't her Parents any Control over her?\ The correct An- swer to the above question was: \NO 1\ It happened that One Day the Old Lady couldn't stand It any longer. Lit- tle Genevieve, the Child Wonder, had oeen to an all-night Party. Along about 4 G. M. she had brought a Pack of Comanches Into the House and had shown the Icebox how to take a Joke. She came up.for Air at Noon and was propped up In her theatrical Pajamas, having the whole House wait on her, while she found Fault with the egjgs, the Toast, the Coffee, the Weather and all of her Relatives. For one thing the Service was not op to the RIU • and she didn't like to have the Cur tains lifted so high and her Name was mis-spelled In the Paper and every- thing looked dark for the Princess. Queen 'of the Flappers. The Old Lady sat In fixed A maze nent for a while, surveying the Eighth Wonder of the World, and then she said: \When 1 was a Girl and went to a' Party, I always came down to Breakfast next morning and, what's more, I came down early and helped Mother.\ The Queen of the Flappers gave her respected Grandmother the cold Once Over and then said, \You were a Simp.\ ( \Possibly so, from the Standpoint of a modem Snipe who has become so superficial and self-centered and sol flsh that she regards her Parents as House-Servants.. In my Day It was an Imperative Uule that Young People should respect their Elders.\ \Mebbe you had a better Bunch to work op,\ said little Genevieve. \When they were giving out Relative* I almost drew a Blank. I've tried* to put up with Mom and Pop, but you'll have to admit that they're a couple of Glflles. Both of them can sleep standing up. They don't seem to be hep to what's Transpiring. 1 told them a Month ugo I wanted a Roadster Just like Bernlce is driving. It Is one Dulk and the price Is only $4000. Do you think I can get those two Swozzjes to buy one for me? The old Tight-Wad* keep talking about the money. Don't they know that a Outle can't hold the Boys any more unless she has her own Bus? And you know how 'these flat haired Papas are. They don't tike to ride In a Lizzie. You can't blame them, <.tin you? No. I want some thing that will cut across Lots and climb a Tree and If those two KI oodles think they can work off a Fllv on me, , they've got another Guess coming.** All during this Rave the kind-faced Relic of by-gone Days stared at hor dainty little Grand-Daughter ard sighed Deeply. ' The Coy Debutante, and the Butt It. \1 am wondering,\ she said at biSt. \if there Is left, anywhere in the World, such a thing as a Chaperon. I saw one last Season and she was, If you wlM pardon the Modernism, a Pip. She was a Grass Widow, aged 28, painted aCreamy White, with a shingled Nob and she wore about elfcht Ounce! of clothing. As a Guardian for Young Gir4s I would say that the was hand-picked. In 1875, when I had my Coming Out Party, the Girls wore brought by their Parents and no Young Gentleman even asked for Per- mission to Call until he talked with the Mother and had flashed his Cre- dentials.\ \I get you,\ said Genevieve. \You •re now going to pull a line of Chat ter about the Good Old Days of 1875, but you will never get away with It. I have studied Anclrnt History and 1 am wise to that Golden Age of Chlv airy, when every popular Bachelor had the map covered with Trailing Arbu tus alid the coy Debutante wore a Bustle which made It practically Im possible for her to sit down. You are panning me. because I. don't want to play the Melodeon and attend Lectures on the Holy Land. You think I am a Hussy been use I don't want to alt In the Hammock nil Day and read Tenny son. I will admit that I cannot get a Kick out of the One-Finger Exercise or the Herring-Bone Stitch. Probably 1 am Immodest because 1 do not wear a lot of steel. Harness. In the year 1875, which you are boosting so strong, you and the others couldn't take a Full Breath but you were Nice Girls. And you Were concealed within ruf- fled Walloons which trailed on the Ground behind you, kicking op the Dust and collecting 10,000,000 Germs every Duy.\ \I will admit that we tried to hide our Ankles,\ said the Old Lady. \At Least we tried to hide Something. It seems to me that People could And out In the Newspapers about you girls wearing Bloomers without you proving It to them. And Just because you have shed your Corset, Is that any Reason why you should be a Contortionist ev- ery time you dance? Is it absolutely necessary that you should attempt to crawl into the Gentleman's test Pock- et? And Is It because you are afraid of catching Cold that you make It Im- possible for any Draft to come be- tween you? 1 am a petrified Fossil, propped up on the side-Lines, and tol- erated because I own a little) Real Es- tate and I am 22 Miles behind the Parade, but I am asking Just the same.\ \There Is no use trying to explain It to a Has-Been,\ said little Gen- evieve, wearily. \I suppose we should all wear something with Lace at the bottom and sit by Ourselves, over In a Corner waiting for the Gentlemen to bring us some Chicken salad, but them Days are gone forever. . You can probably remember when.the principal Instrument In an Orchestra was the Flute and The Blue Danube was Hot DIgglty-Dog. Likewise the Lancers, which I would classify as the Zero of Indoor Sports.\ \Everything which happened before this year Is evidently Antiquated and N. G.,\ said Grandmother. \I will ad- roit that the Orchestra which used to play for our Dances did not have any Steamboat Whistle or Derby Hat But they made lovely Music. And when I say Music, I ,mean Music. I don't mean an imitation of a dying Pig or a busy Day at the Insane Asylum. Fur- thermore, any Gentleman who came to a Party all lit up like a Cathedral would have been given the Gate. Now- adays all of our Best Young People gather around him and give Three Hearty Cheers and then follow him to the Cloak Room. It's a terrible Sit- uation.\ grandma Takes the Count \It sure Is,\ agreed Genevieve. \Most of the stuff Is synthetic. By the way, Granny, now that you are all wound up, why don't you bawl me out for being a Bob? Go on and tell about the Good Old days when every Gal had a Horse's Tall hanging down her Back, and when she did It up she put In a couple* of Soft Pillows and then wore a Rhine-Stone Comb, Just to make the Whole Thing more blah. Then, after she got an 18-inch Hat, with a Kitchen Garden around the Terrace and a Velvet Bow on Top, and clasped on her Cameo Brooch and .pulled out her Puff Sleeves, If she wasn't a. Gawk you're crazy. A Wom- an had so much Junk above her Shoul- ders In those days, it gave her the Neck-Ache to carry It around. Yes, Indeed, the Snappy Days of Yore I Give the Sweet Young Thing a Buggy Ride and a Ball of Pop-Corn and she'd be contented for several Days. 1 figure that, to please the superanuated Fo- gies, all of us blue-eyed Bossies should go bock to playing Charades and work- ing Card-Board Mottoes. Also ride In Victorias, have a Taffy Pull once In a while and take Lessons on the Harp. We must be rather Rough House, as I lenrn that we are being criticized neverely by all those who are cheating the Old People's Home by running around on the Outside. They have talked Incessantly for a number of Years but they have not, so far as I can learn, headed off a single Petting Party. I must now leave you to play 18 hole^, attend a couple of Teas, take In a ehuke-up Party at a Man's Apart- ment, dine at a Road-Housje and dance all night at the Cross-Eyed Goose. If the Police don't get me, I'll see you Tomorrow at this hour.\ Saying which she departed, leaving Grandma on the Ropes. MORAL: Do not repress the Joy- ous, criminal Instincts of Youth. Government's Fixed Charges Boost Cost «> Florida Sponge Fields Controlled by Greeks The Greeks discovered Tarpon Springs, Fla., prior tot the discovery of St Petersburg, a neighboring city. They also discovered that the Key West spongers were harvesting the sponges with prong hooks from the bow* of a dinghy. Thereupon, they moved in with modern diving equip- ment and sea-going vessels, and made a cleaning in the sponge industry. Not only were they able to operate In the old beds more successfully, but be- yond; the depths of the hooker they found new fields filled with an un- limited supply and superior quality of sponge. The sponges.are now harvested by Greeks, cleaned of all animal matter before they reach shore by other Greeks, and sold by still other Greeks. After cleaning, they are strung onto fltrlngs about six feet long. The string Is called a \bunch\ and the day's catch Is tallied In number of \bunch- es.\ Before they are of service for erasing a deficit from a blackboard or mopping a windshield, the rough edges have to be clipped. ^ The sponges too large for commer- clul use are cut Into pieces and called \ruts.\ while those used In original form are called forms. Standing Expenses Exceed 100 Million Yearly, Washington.—The congressman tot- ing through a big appropriation bill glibly refers to them as \the perma- nents and indefinites.\ They don't ap- pear In the regular tabulation of ap- propriations for the coming year as reported by the house and senate ap- propriations committee, soys the Chi- cago Tribune. • . Yet they are going to cost the tax- payer this year the sum of $1,285,101,- 028 and in the next fiscal year of 1034 the bill will be $113,445,553 larger, or $1,808,586,581. They are indeed the \permanent! and Indefinites,\ for they are the ap- propriations which go on year after year on the strength of some past leg- islation and without the necessity of any annual affirmative action such as is required to authorise payment of the regular current appropriations. The biggest permanent and indefi- nite Items by far in these years of a public debt of more than $20,000,000,- 000 are the $725,000,000 to be re- quired In 1084 to pay interest on the debt and the $584,000,000 required to, be written on the books as the annual contribution to the sinking fund es- tablished Under the Liberty loan acts. Some Cost Nothing* Other items, unlike most items in appropriation bills, cost the treasury nothing. Such a one is the $71,000,000 to be taken from premiums on con- verted veterans' insurance and which are set aside for payment of losses and benefits in 1034. Then there are the Incomes from va- rious gifts and donations to* govern- ment and social enterprises which must be distributed each year. There are revenues from public lands and na- tional forests and Indian reservations. These may be distributed to states to compensate for taxes lost through be- ing host to nontaxable government property and enterprises* • In addition to these forms of perma- nent and indefinite appropriations, there are appropriations that go on and on just because their backers were once upon a time legislatively clever enough to get them put In this prlvl- Survey Reveals Speedy Readers Remember More Berkeley, Calif.—Fast readers are better readers than slow ones, an ed- ucational survey has shown. Evidence supporting this contradic- tion of common belief was reported at tjiei University of California by Dr. John A. Hockett, assistant professor of education, after a series of tests with his students. The fastest readers remember more of what they have read than alow readers, Doctor Hockett found. He asked 20 questions of his students, based on text they had read in two minutes. The group of students that read fastest answered an average of 12.7 questions correctly, the middle third answering lll.8 questions correctly, and the slowest reading third an- swered only 10.4 correctly. » The group tested by Doctor Hockett was composed mostly of graduate stu- dents In education. The students read at speeds varying from 510 to 220 words a minute, with the average 205 words a minute. The text dealt with educational problems. A group of teachers In an Oakland elementary school, given the same test, read at an average of 268 words a. minute, with Individual maximum and minimum of 185 and 360 words a min- ute. leged class of government' expendi- tures. There they hide, year after year be- yond the reach of economy drives. They ore seldom heard of. They slip through congress unquestioned and nnpruned. Only a repeal of the orig- inal authorizing act can touch them. A special house committee in the last congress was delegated Id-search out these hidden appropriations and drag them Into the light As chair- man Anthony J. Griffin of New York explained In his report at the close of the session, he and his committee had been too busy passing annual ap- propriations to do anything much in the way of cutting the permanent ones. At least they performed the service of getting these appropriations out in a group where they could be seen and considered and the ground work was laid for hearings at which department heads may be summoned, In Mr. Grif- fin's words, \to show cause, if any, why the permanent appropriations over which they have jurisdiction should not be repealed or converted to the status of regular annual ap- propriations so as to be annually sub- ject to examination and review.\ Might Review Some Expenses. More than $60,000,000 of the perma- nent and indefinite sums annually ex- pended might so be reviewed and the department heads who spend the money mode to show cause why it should not be put on an annual basis. In the economy amendment added to Boys to Seek Gold. on Haitien Estate J3utte, Mont.—The \pointers\ learned by Hiram Marceyes, twen- ty, and Walter Bakke, twenty-one, on gojd mining in a prospectors' short course at the Montana School of Mines In Butte this winter will he applied by the pair in far-off Haiti. Marceyes and Bakke plan to pla- cer-mine for gold on land owned in Haiti by Marceyes' aunt, Mrs. Rose Miller of Missoula. Hundreds of streams course through the 100,- 000-acre estate and gold hunters of the past found many indications of rich deposits. the 1034 post office and treasury ap proprlatlon bill an attempt was made to bring the permanents and indefi- nates Into line by a simple order that all such appropriations should here- after be on an annual basis. But be- fore the bill reached its final approval that order was stricken out There Is, for example, the perma- nent appropriation—in the sum of $6,636,460 for 1084—to be paid but in state subsidies for vocational educa- tion. Part of it goes to pay teachers of agricultural subjects, part to teach- ers of industrial subjects and homo economies, and part to that happy body of bureaucrats, the federal board for vocational education. Another permanent appropriation Is the $8,000,000 for meat Inspection by the bureau of animal industry. No- body knows why this service should be placed In the permanent category. All in all, there are promising pas- tures for an economy committee to graze in In the field of the \perma- nents and indefinites.\ Big Fortune in Spanish = Gold Revealed in River Mississippi Gives Up Coins 800 Years Old. Icicles 60 Feet Long Sequoia National Park, Calif.— Icicles 60 feet long, three feet thick and visible nine miles away, were de- posited on the side of Moro rock, here during a winter snowstorm. The huge columns of ice were the largest ever seen in the park. McLain, Miss.—Rising from a his- torical background of pre-Clvll war days, a fortune of Spanish gold minted 800 yeara ago has been discovered in southern Mississippi. The discovery has awakened new. Interest in the early history of the state, and has caused historians to delve deeper ln£o some of the legends. It also has thrown an in- teresting light on early accomplish- ments of Gen. Andrew Jackson and others. Only a short distance from the boarded up shack of Ab and West Syl- vester, discoverers of the glistening Spanish coin, can be found the skel- eton of a swinging bridge said to have been built by Jackson. Choctaw Indians once Inhabited this land, and according to an old folk tale, the chieftain's daughter fell in love with the property owner and they la- ter married. When the government sent the Indians to a new reservation the Indian woman left her \husband and went with her tribe. The land was left to the white ban, who later married an American woman. As a vast sum of foreign money had come Into his possession, he was compelled to bury it in five different locutions until after the Civil war. La- ter thieves stole a map of the money locations from him and dug up three of the caches. Forrest Lea, a farmer, still later unearthed a fourth chest, which contained Spanish gold coins; jewelry and a gold pocket knife. It Is believed that the tree marking the location of the fifth chest was cut down; thus, until a few weeks ago, nothing more was known of the miss- ing treasure. The vast sum comprising the fifth fortune has not been estimated, but it is said to represent many thousands of dollars, besides, probably heavy premiums that will be paid on coins bearing old dates. There are 1,100 coins, all very thin yellow gold, pre- sumably doubloons. So great was the shock to the Syl- vesters at finding the fortune on the creek bank near their home that the older man was confined to his .bed for several days, with an attending phy- sician. Three bodyguards were placed at the shanty in the desolate thicket to protect the family. Hundreds of residents from Forrest, Greene and Perry counties have vis- ited the farm, and mineral rods, picks, shovels and implements of every de- scription have been In constant along the placid stream. \MISS HUNGARY\ Miss Rose Tyukody, eighteen-year- old beauty from Passaic, N. J„ who was selected from thousands of Hun- garian girls living in the United States as the most beautiful of them alL She was crowned \Miss Hungary.** The prize that went with the honor is a free trip to the World's fair In Chi* cago. First Woman Typist in Celebration I Old Habit Justified That old habit of a woman looking under the bed for a male Intruder has produced results. When a woman re- turned to her rooms In !/>s Angeles and switched on her bedroom light she started to look under the bed She saw a man's shoes and heard a muffled cough. Frightened but with presence of mind, she ran to another room and telephoned for police. Two policemen <*ntne nnd dwtred the Intruder from his biding place * Mrs. Charles L. Portler of Milwaukee, daughter of Chris- topher L. Sholes, inventor of the typewriter, and the first woman typist In the world, participated in the celebration marking the sixtieth anniver- sary of her father's invention. Mrs. Fortier, although now near eighty, Is still, an expert typist and has never been without a machine since 1866. Hunter Explains His Method of Taking Lions Kingsburg, Calif.—Kingsburg today knew just how to capture mountain lions. Jay Bruce, famous California hunter, told the citizens. Here's how he captured moro than 600 of the big cats during his career as official exterminator: First, you take a pack of dogs, get on the trail of a Hon, and chase him for miles and miles. Finally, yon chase him up a tree. Then, you take\ a long pole, fix a noose to the end of It, and try to slip it over the lion's head. The lion, of course, resents that and jumps from branch to branch in his tree, and from tree to tree. However, yon persevere. Finally, you succeed In slipping the noose around the lion's neck and tie the rope to the trunk of the tijee; Then, yon tie MP your dogs (bees use they prob- ably ' would attack the ' cat when he came down) and yank: the Hon from his branch and onto th^ ground. After that, all yon have to do Is to slip a sack over the lion's body, tie the sack to a pole, get some help, and carry the lion away. Quite simple, Bruce says. Ex-Army Aviator Pilots j Chinese Airmail Plane Fresno, Calif .—An air mall plane whiten makes regular trips np the Yangtze river in China has at Its con- trols a Fresno (Calif.) man, until re- cently a United States army flyer. He was 1 Lieut. Hewitt F. Mitchell, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Mitchell of Fres- no. He took a three-year mail con- tract in China after concluding his army training at Cr-lssey field at Baa Francisco. Our Government — How It Operates By William Brucksrt ++*+*****+, *—af—m9m—+m* DEPARTMENT OP INTERIOR •»»*•• U NDER our system of government, predicated on alignment of the citizens into two major politics 1 par- ties, changes are effected very slow- ly In the matter of expanding, or ac- complishing a shrinkage, in any es- tablishment or its functions. Some po- litician rises np and makes \in Is- sue* of every proposal of that kind, and quite obviously he has his fol- lowing. Thus, oftentimes functions of government go on long after! their necessity has ceased. . * J Bat I am going to discuss chaflges that have come about whether the political parties desired or! not, changes that were accomplished in a manner comparable in reverse to the history of the memorable character, Topsy, who \just growed.\ They art centered in the Department of Jhe Interior, and I say without fear of contradiction that no department of the government has experienced such changes with respect to Importance of its several units. It was not so many years ago, leas than half a century, that the country looked to the Department of the In- terior in connection with the grave Indian problem; it looked to the same agency concerning disposition of the vast public lands, and the same agency was In charge of all veterans' pen- sions, though the number was small as compared to now. In the meantime, the West was de- veloping. Public lands were being ab- sorbed and the number of Indians was decreasing and the blood was being diffused. Far-seeing statesmen recog- nised that conservation of the beauty spots respired early action, and pres- ervation %f them as national parka got under, way. The ccfirse of the timet carried with It. tht constituent elements of new problems, such as administration of Irrigation projects, as the arid states received the overflow of population. Reclamation of lands was the premise from which the movement had to pro- ceed. Thus, the Department of tht In- terior saw its Influence want In some sections of the country and on soma matters of national Import, and ob- served it expanding In others. The public domain has declined in size and Importance until the general land office Is only a fraction of its former self, though still an office of conse- quence, and the office of commission- er of Indian affairs, once among the powerful offices of tht government, has declined In importance corre- spondingly with the shrinkage of In- dian population and problems.. Through the years, of course, tht department has received additions,' such as the office of education, and tht national park service haa been built up as the nation sought to conserve for the future the beauty spots and recreational grounds naturally pre- sented In virgin form. Tht develop- ment of the great resources of Alaska to a large extent la under the di- rection of the secretary, of the interior who has the Alaska railroad under his administration. There is also the geological survey, an agency for study of the nation's geologic map. As to the changes that have come In the department since its Inceptioa however, none stand out more than does the expansion of influence through construction and management of fo ligation projects. Actually, none bear more Importantly on the economic and physical-well-being of what was the West of yore. *fhe director of reclam- matlon has been exerting this influ- ence of the fedtrjBl government for 80 years, and if one may use the constant calls for additional legisla- tion as a criterion, the limit of power and Influence of that office is yet afar off. Irrigation is only In Its Infancy. As the work In connection with educating the Indians and providing for their future welfare and protec- tion of their funds grows less, and as the area of the public domain declines, the functions of government decline there, but in another part of the great building that houses the department the* functions of government are ex- panding that the national parka may be protected and preserved for future generations. And so it is, too, with -the commissioner of education who is the llason between the state school systems and the federal government, as well aa serving in co-operation with all educational institutions through- out the country. • , , It Is not Intended in this discussion to depreciate the value of the work done by any of the units making up the Department of the Interior. The purpose la fo ahow how a changing of conditions, resulting from growth of the nation itself, has brought about modification of the work and the de- mands upon government None can say that the general land office, for example, lacks consequence when It Is recalled that every day and every- where there is some one or group clamoring to gain a leasehold on pub- lic land to exploit mineral resources of oil, of> copper, of a dozen other things. These are owned by the federal government and proper ad- ministration of them Is just as vital- ly Important aa sound construction of .the gigantic project headed up In Hoover dam and the Colorado river basin. a lift. W«e^ra Ktw«p«Lp«r UtaUft. j i Washington.—It Is seldom that In the abort space of a few weeka there have been two court Two Important decisions of such Decisions far-reaching c 0 n a a- quenct as tht to- called coal agency case, decided by tht 8upreme Court of the United States, and the determination by tht United 8tatea District Court for Vir- ginia that the federal water power act la constitutional In each instance, tht court finding appears on Its surface just to be a mine-run\ opinion. But It happens, however, that each of the opinions di- rectly tffecta you and me. Besides that rttiult, the coal agency decision la of vital Importance to business. With respect to the coal agency case, Jho^facta art that a .group of coal mint operators banded together In tht Appalachian Coals, Inc* for the purpose of distributing their output It Is a salts agency, purely. Its pur- pott is to reduce tht cost of market- ing the product Also, it appears like- ly that formation of such a selling or- ganisation may have the effect of con- trolling production to tome extent at least, although that phase of the busi- ness did not show op in the organiza- tion program. It would appear on the surface that such an arrangement would be in vio- lation of tht anti-trust laws, but the Supreme court found otherwise. By the stamp of approval which the high- tat court in tht land gavt to tht organ- isation, it can be classified almost,. If not quite, aa of tht same type aa a farmers' co-operative. , But tht ruling given rise to broader atgnlflcance. Other industries based on natural resources of the country art expected to follow in the same pathway In order to accomplish re- duced telling costs. Lumber, gas, oil, lron,*stttl, copper and fertiliser Inter- ests are'said-to be looking longingly at tht plan aa one which will enable them to operate with some assurance of a return on huge Investments. Tht Supreme court considered that tht plan maintained tht necessary ele- ments of competition, and if that con- struction be proved in practice, then you and I, at a natural atsult should receive some direct aa well as indirect benefit I mean we would be benefit- ted, If we lived in the territory where coal furnished through the selling agency It distributed, by somewhat cheaper prices on tht samt grades of toai. From the standpoint of business, the coal operators have worked out the first Important program that Is accent- able to the courts when viewed under magnifying glass of the anti-trust laws and at the aame time permits of that co-operation which agriculture so long has contended was vital to It Other Industries probably will follow the lead. If they do not abuse tht privileges, we have entered upon a new era in Industry. If there art abuses, then industry will have killed the goose that laid the golden egg. The decision by the United States District court at Norfolk, Va^ which held tht federal water power act to be constitutional opens the way to complete federal regulation of utili- ties. Wt will hear for some years to come that tht \New River 0800\ affords- the basis for many pieces of legislation of direct benefit to tht users of electricity for power and light Of course, it is yet to be de- cided by the Supreme Court of tht United States where the litigation will be carried without doubt but the ma- jority of constitutional lawyers enter- tain ho doubt as to its validity. £© the electric, user, therefore, tht decision stands of broadest Impor- tance. By\ holding the law constitu- tional, the court removed a serious ob- stacle to effective government control over many of the tricks, to which great corporations devote themselves to es- tablish a cost oasis for their product which warrants the highest possible rates. I make no comment aa to the legality or Illegality of these practices. It remains as a fact, however, that every Industry subject to regulatory powers of government whether na- tional or state, seeks to protect its In- vestments by creating for Its product a book basis of high cost This la done obviously In order to meet the ever-continuing demand from utility commissions for rata reductions. I • • • j There Is another angle to the \New River case.\ Superficially, it appears likely to be of somt Interests value to investors in. Investors stock companies tan gaged in devetopj ment of water power for electricity] It works out in this way: The corl poration which has established a high, cost basis for its electricity quite net, orally issues its stock on that Consequently, it is seeking a ret on an Inrestment that In too mai Instances, Is not justified by the fa In other words. It results In watered stock. Having watered the stock bo yond sound judgment the corporation fights every move that appears if thi result is a lowered schedule of «lee trie rates. Hence, It Is fighting direct Igrat the users of electricity wbelthei for lighting purposes In a small nouM or for power purposes in a gigantic factor Of course, this decision applies only to hydro-electric planta. It does not affect tht plants producing electricity by steam. There art those, however, who say th|k decision will have a bear- ing on those rates, too, for tht reason that Unless the steam plants maintain reasonable rates, water-powered plants will find openings to enter that field If water is available anywhere near. This latter possibility is cited be- cause It shows better than anything else how far-reaching a dry old court opinion may turn out to be. The .opin- ion In each of tht cases mentioned was written in tht usual style, but eachj one may be looked upon, tea years from now, as a landmark. \• • • It Is actually ridiculous how every part and parcel of a national program develops a camp fot- Unemployment lowing of new Ideas Program for expansion of that plan. Most of them art just Ike a parasite. They art put forward by some one with an ax to grind. They set a peg upon which they can hang their pet hope and proceed to spread all kinds of argument in support of that hops or Idea. Such Is tht cast with President Roosevelt's unemployment program. He, as everyone else, obviously wants to provide work for men who must have food and are willing to work to obtain it Washington has seen a doz- en proposals offered to expand tht un- employment program, Most of thorn art actually silly in tht view of ob- servers hero, but tht proponents of tht several additions to tht relief policy seem to take them seriously whether they deserve that consideration or not The latest proposal—and it has be- come a demand of somt proportions— is to go ahead with expansion of tht United States navy as an unemploy- ment relief measure. That I may not be misunderstood, permit mo to say that I favor a'much larger navy than wt now have. It It nccVoaary, as I conceive the situation, that the \first line of defense\ be made Into a power- ful unit There art plenty of authori- ties in Washington who are not too optimistic concerning world relation- ships. Construction of the navy to the limit allowed by the London naval treaty, therefore, appears to many as being justified and necessary. But tht point sought to be made, however, it that a program for devel- opment of the navy should stand 00 Its own merits. It has no place in the unemployment relief program and adoption of it aa such, according to the best judgment 1 can obtain, would cheapen tht ideal of a groat defensive organization and make it susceptible later to unjustified attacks from op- ponents of a big navy for the nation. In other words, demands for naval ex- pansion aa a part of, the program for putting men to work makes it hard to decide the question of naval do-' fense on Its true base, namely, the question of whether a need- for it ex- ists, and results In confusion of tht Issues of relief and naval expansion. • • • Washington observers, and some of the \faithful\ Democrats, as wtU, have been having a Patronage 'quiet laugh at the aa a Club discomfiture of pa- tronsge • seeking members of the senate and house who have been held in,line by the fast po- litical thinking of President Roosevelt The President having said be would do little about major patronage—the real plums—until he had been able to -«*olvt some of the grant financial and economic problems, was in a fine po- sition to swing the political lash on any member of the legislative branch who showed signs of stubbornness. And, It may be added, he has done so. While maneuvers of this sort obvi- ously art not made the subject of pub- lic pronouncements, certain facta have developed showing that on several oc- casions ambitious senators or rtprt- ttntativet have deemed It decidedly advisable to stand hitched to the Pres- ident's programs. They may or ma/ not have liked bis proposals, hot they went along with him just like good little hoys. They heard the master's voice In a way that made them decide quickly what they should do. Of course, some of tht major ap- pointments-hare'had to be made. Cab- inet selections are what are known as personal selections by the President Such Is not the case, however, with what la known as the \Little Cabinet\ that long list of undersecretaries, as- sistsnt secretaries, and the like. These jobs sre used ordinarily to help somt of the Individuals nail solid planks on their political fences in the home com- munity. Such appointments might help in another election, you know, and consequently they are much sought after by the faithful. There have, been some of the \Little Cabinet* posts filled, and there art others for which the appointments art near. But, the President and Jim Far- ley, who runs the Democratic party from his job as postmaster general, have not overlooked any bets. It Is my conclusion that they obtained what they wanted In the way of support be- fore the selections wort definitely con- cluded. t> it**. W«eun Mtwteeptr Vatot, i « ^r r-
