World's Greatest Capital
Has Its Seamy Side Too!
J By BAUKHAGE
Vfui Analyst and Commentator.
WNU Servlee, 1616 Eye Street, N.W.,
Washington. D. C.
WASHINGTON ?A boy joined the
staff of a four-page paper of which
he was one day
to become editor.
The office was a
rattle-trap build
ing whose notable
characteristics,
he later said,
were "sewer gas,
rats, dirt, over
grown rowdy
newsboys who had
to be held in
check by a long
whip and fire
arms," and it was
"positively dan
gerous at times to go into the al
ley which they infested, leading to
the composing room."
The town as the boy had grown
up in it was a straggling over
grown country village "with zigzag
grades, no sewerage, no street cars,
no water supply except from pumps
and springs, unimproved reserva
tions, second-rate dwellings and
streets of mud and mire."
That doesn't sound like the na
tion's capital whose budget for the
coming year is $76,755,009?but that
was the way it was in 1858 as de
scribed by the editor of the Wash
ington Evening Star, Theodore
Koyes, who died early this month.
He joined the paper in 1877.
Except for the Australian capital
of Canberra which arose almost as
Camelot at a wave of Merlin's wand,
there is nothing to compare with the
bizarre history of a city whose site
was based on a political deal and
no city which has gone through
more vicissitudes than this Baghdad
on-the-Potomac.
No city was ever more magnifi
cently planned, or more discredit
ably neglected in its early days, as
Mr. Noyes' description indicates. To
day, as the undisputed capital of
the world, it still has to battle with
a grudging congress for its budget.
It remains the chief city of the
greatest democratic republic whose
938,000 citizens have no voice in their
own government and whose citizen
ship itself is a bar to the basic priv
ilege of a democracy?the ballot.
Mr. Noyes was, as Is the news
paper he served, a Washington in
stitution. He will be remembered
for his long campaign to give Wash
ington a vote in congressional and
national matters.
? ? ?
Rat* Wara Menace
Ta City* Health
Some time ago I had occasion to
mention the invasion of Washington
by rats and how the city hired a
modem Pied Piper who has done an
effective, if silent, job. This was
brought to my mind recently when
I encountered a fat, black cat on my
way to work early one morning.
The cat had a guilty look, and I had
a hunch he had spent the night in
riotous living and was merely
sneaking in to change his collar.
However, the cataclysm caused by
the rat-invasion in which, believe it
or not, a baby's hand was eaten,
brought hasty action and 1 see that
it was considered worthy of com
ment by experts, including the edi
tors of the magazine of the Amer
ican Museum of Natural History.
The campaign began when a case
of typhus which is spread by fleas
and mites on rats, was discovered.
Traps set in the neighborhood
caught a number of rats whose
blood was typhus-infected. The
United States Public Health service
got busy, shocked to learn that the
scourge of Europe two centuries ago
was a possibility right here In our
fair capital.
An expert was called in. He first
sealed up all points where commer
cial transportation entered the city.
Then 300 traps were set up in the
zone where the Infection had been
found. Pive days later the traps
were taken in and the area was
thoroughly dusted with DDT, the in
secticide which the army perfected.
Next red-squill bait was distrib
uted. It kills rats, but not pets or
children who might pick up tne can.
In places where there was no dan
ger to human beings the deadly
"1080" was distributed. The cam
paign was successful. Meanwhile, a
clean-up of potential rat-breeding
premises was started with court or
ders to enforce H. Today Washing
ton has a complete scientific rat
control program which will cost us
about $75,000 annually.
However, it still leaves a few rats
for energetic cats.
? ? ?
War Profiteering
Will Be Scandal
The juicy scandal uncovered by
the senate war investigating com
mittee in which "profiteering at its
worst," as Senator Mead called it,
was exposed, is, I fear, only the be
ginning.
Any moment I expect to hear an
explosion in connection with surplus
property. War breeds waste, and
the cloak of patriotic endeavor as
Samuel Johnson Indicated even
more bluntly, often covers skulldug
gery.
The same thing happened after
the last war, and on a smaller scale,
after all wars. But what is prob
ably making people squirm all over
Washington is the revelation of the
fact that telephone wires were pret
ty generally tapped, and heaven
knows what may be in the FBI files.
It is a strange thing about the tele
phone. People have just come to
take for granted that because you
can't see anybody on the line, no
body is there.
I wouldn't be surprised to learn
that telephone conversations with
most of the government departments
are being recorded right now. I
have reason to believe that when
the question of installing these re
corders in the White House was
brought up, it was flatly turned
down. White House employees have
a long and excellent record for fidel
ity. Of course they are carefully
screened, and when the campaign
to get everybody fingerprinted (an
excellent idea if you have nothing to
conceal about your past and no plans
for an over-adventurous future) was
begun, the White House employees
voluntarily came forward and of
fered their thumbs, fingers and
hands for the ink-pad.
? ? ?
'When the People
Vote, They Win'
The June "Economic Outlook,"
published by the Congress of Indus
trial Organizations, contains an ar
ticle entitled "When the People Vote
?They Win." That might be in
terpreted in more ways than one.
The article points out that an "off
year" is so designated politically
not only because the presidency is
not at stake, but because the poli
ticians know that general apathy on
the part of the voter has marked
those elections in the past: 1836 (off)
thirty million voters went to the
polls; (1940 (on) fifty million votes;
1942 (off) twenty-eight million; 1944
(on) forty-eight million.
The CIO takes the attitude that
what the people as a whole want is
what they (the CIO) want, and that
the people get what they want when
they vote for it. They say: "Haas
registration and mass voting is the
best guarantee of liberal progres
sive government."
They might also add that If you
want conservative rather than lib
eral progressive government, you
have to vote for it, too. In any
case you can't get what you want un
less you go after it. The "Out
look" prints a table showing how
the vote shifted in certain districts
in off-years. The table showed that
when the vote fell off. It was the
Democratic vote. Districts which
swung from Democratic to Repub
lican candidates in most cases shift
ed with a decrease in the total vote
. . . "the Republican vote remain
ing relatively stable, while the Dem
ocratic vote dropped sharply."
Does this prove that Democrats
are sleepier than Republicans, or
that the Republican is a creature of
habit?
la lMt, M milliea nUm; 1MI, It mUlioa; IM4. U milliaa.
BARBS ? ? ? by Baukhag*
.1
The Mg battar-and-biacuit man
fttm Texas who knew how to say
It with floor, ?ot tired of saying no
?o OP A.
? ? ?
mm a? M fl.ianlati nrrn, ?? I
TbtfC If AB old optniin provoid
that says: "Make a bridge of aihrer
lor a flying enemy." Maybe the
' Watio? cyM g?jrld^rf
These days, prices rise with the
sun.
? ? ?
Wan *i(1 ruf? art forecast by
Buiina? Weak. Anything to maka
lite lass rugged.
? ? ?
Tha tobacco pianto in Mnjiltod
look aajpratiea and jdnun M Ibay
WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO MEAT . . . Meat shortage? They evi
dently never beard of a meat famine down Rocky Mount, N. C. way
where porkers part with plant hams like the one above, which tipped
the scale at sixty pounds or three times the weight of SaDy, who looks
at it with disbelief or "something." Bather a large sixe ham to put
in the oven, meat shortage or no meat shortage.
ITALIAN PRESIDENT GAINING FAVOR . . . Benedetto Croce, fa
mous philosopher, Is shown, left, as he congratulated Enrico de
Nieola, who was recently named provisional president of the Italian
republic. President De Nieola enjoys enormous personal popularity
in Naples, a monarchist stronghold, and his election by the Italian
constituent assembly, won some ardent monarchists over to "De
Nicola's Republic."
THE ABMY GOES BACK TO THE HORSE . . . The bene has come
back into bis ewa with the U.S. constabulary ferees bow on duty
patroU&f some l.W* miles at German border along the Csech and
Bnsstsn frontiers. Here Pvt. Manuel Ward, standing, is inspecting
the pass at a etrllian from the Ukraine, while Pvt. Gene Bobbins sits
an bis horse. Both GI's are tram Tray, Ohio. Maj. Gen. Ernest Her
man, who rides a grasshopper plane commands the unit.
HOWARD HCGHET8 MAHOCTI PLANE WRECKED . . . Wreck
?P ft Hewmrtl Bafhet'e larcest (rest plaae lc km alter it kak hit
teieyhaae wtree, eraahek late a keme aH tkea Ma Reeeatary De
y>'? r?ra<e.na?^gy MWafMifta tm< ka Beverly HiU>. Calif.
HONOR CAMP FIRE LEADER ,
. . . "Edith M. Kemptborne Ex- >
tension Fnnd" has recently been I
established in honor of Edith
Kempthorne who has served the
canse of Camp Fire since its be
ginning. Fnnd will carry on her
work.
WAR PROFITS PROBE .. . MaJ.
Gcn. William N. Porter, retired
chief of chemical warfare service
is shown as he appeared before the
Senate Mead committee as it was
investigating Rep. A. J. May and
war profiteering.
PAPOOSE-PACKING PAPA
The morning beach stroll and
baby-tending chore are easily com
bined by this papa at Nag's Head,
N. C. He took the baby's anto seat
ont of the ear and h'isted It onto
his shoulders. The idea was
copied from packs brought to
America by war brides.
BELGIUM WILL REMEMBER 1
. . . Aa urn holding blood-stained
earth from the battle of Bastogne
was presented to President Tru
man at White House by Belgium
Ambassador Baron Silvereruys,
right, as a gift from Belgium in
hoaor of U. S. GI's.
NEW TENNIS QUEEN . . . Pu
?> lih. CUIwW cter. wfca took
NEWS^jX
By PaULMALLW^^
Utkuxl by W??t*rn Newspaper Unloo. 1
SPANISH ISSUE IS JUST I
RUSSIA'S 'RED HERRING'
WASHINGTON. - The British 1
handled the Communist-pushed i
Spanish questions in the security
council ? and deftly, they worked <
affairs around so no important
sction was taken, and the United i
States merely went along. Behind t
their energy was their knowledge
that installation of an unsympa- 1
thetic regime in Spain would threat
en Gibraltar, still the rock or at t
least the pebble of empire.
The seven to four vote against 1
the Polish resolution, urging a
break of relations of all nations with 1
Spain, was about as good as the 1
Communists will do in the security
council. On the CP side were Soviet
Russia, Poland, France and Mexi
co, while the British got Australia,
the Netherlands and Egypt and we
may have helped some in lining up <
Brazil and China for the majority i
af seven. I
The division showed that as
long as the U. S. and Britain t
stand together In the council,
the free democratic side is not
in much UNO danger. But if
they ever break and either sides
with Russia, there may be
trouble. The difficulties of Com
munism are dne to Russian
joint antagonism of the British 1
and Americans, driving them i
together. This is not unnatural
because of the common associ
ation of ideals, our joint favor
ing of the parliamentary sys
tem, and corresponding Chris
tian ideals.
In this case, the British had an
easy opportunity. The whole Lange
Russian case was founded upon the
assumption, as stated, that Spain
"is a serious danger to the main
tenance of international peace and
security" ? which everyone knows
is not a fact. You can see it. She
borders on only two countries,
neither of which considers her
actually a threat. She has not in- ?
vaded anyone. She is not a world
power. These things are evident.
The council's own investigating
committee found only that Spain "is ]
not an immediate but a potential
threat to peace," according to Dr.
Lange, although the British do not
agree with this interpretation. No
body said when she might be a
threat.
BRITISH ON DEFENSIVE
But the first Lange resolution
hoped and expected "the Spanish
people will regain the freedom of
which they have been deprived."
The same hopes and expectations
could be expressed about the Rus
sians. All free people would like to
see other people free also, but no
proposal was made to have every
nation sever diplomatic connections
with Russia.
So the Communist proposition
was rather absurd. The truth is
it was cooked up by the Rus
sians, who put the Poles up to
it, in order to make the western
world stop debating Iran, the
Communist revolution in the
north province there, and to put
the British diplomatically upon
the defensive. The Russians
themselves vetoed one move
to send the problem to the large
assembly of nations, where they
can expect to fare worse than
in the council. About the only
thing the Russians achieved
was the putting of the British
on the defensive and sub
mergence of Iran for a time.
Thus the status quo of Spain is
likely to continue, with only in
creased Communist agitation with
in its borders where strikes are re
ported, and the usual Communist
methods developing.
You must remember Communism
does not really recognize free dem
ocracy as a proper philosophy of
government. They like to think of
the world as divided into two parts,
one Fqpcist, and the other dom
inated by themselves. This does not
happen to be the case. The two
great parts into which the world
is divided is free and slave. On one
hand are we, believers in freedom
of the individual, parliamentary
systems, elections for all parties,
even the communists. On the other
are the Russians who do not believe
in the freedom of the Individual, but
in his subservience to the state,
have no parliamentary system of
government, and hold only one
party elections which are not elec
tions at all, but popularity con
tests in which anyone who
votes against the government had
better start for the border.
In that conflict, Spain or the Fas
cists do not measure much. Fas
cism (Fasces) means group control
?like they have in Russia. The dif
ference between Spain and Russia
to the citizen thereof, is that Spain
is nn by an army man while Rus
sia is operated by "Generalissimo"
Stalin (the generalissimo having
originated In civilian life).
We do not behave in either kind
of dictatorship. But if we allow our
selves to become immersed in argu
ments over little Spain, we may be
come ohUvkwe of Russia, which is J
ASK ME 7;
ANOTHEK [ \
A General Quiz '
.(C(W(wNn-A-n-NI^<k-<^A-A-n>A.?uli.N
The Questions
1. How many capitals did the
United States have since the Dec
laration of Independence?
2. Where did Portland cement
gets its name?
3. Did spaghetti originate hi It
sly?
4. The walls of what city came
tumbling down because of the
shattering effects of sound waves?
5. What former President was
:hief justice of the United States?
6. Who made the comment by
song, "I'll never, never find a bet
ter friend than Old Dog Tray"?
7. Where does ambergris come
trom?
8. What did the Greeks worship
inder the name of Boreas?
9. The name given the steers
nan of a racing shell is what?
10. Submarines spend mOre time
>n the surface than submerged,
sven in wartime. Why is this?
The Answers
1. Nine.
2. From "Portland stone" which
tomes from England. It bears a
:lose resemblance to Portland ce
ment.
3. No. Marco Polo introduced
spaghetti to Italy from China.
4. Jericho.
5. William Howard Taft.
6. Stephen Foster.
7. It is yielded by sick whales.
8. The north wind.
9. Coxswain.
10. To conserve and recharge
heir batteries, which must be used
when submerged.
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FARMS AND RANCHES
SEVERAL VERT ATTRACTIVE FARMS
and Homes on the Eastern Shore of Mary
Land. Let me know your requirements.
G. L. WILSON Ridgely, Maryland.
FARM MACHINERY St EQUIP.
NEW RUBBER TIRE high speed farm
wagons. #185. Manufactured by
GARBRICK WELDING A MACIHNE CO.
H. H. Horning A Son
R. 1 Fort Royal. Pa
HELP WANTED?MEN, WOMEN
NURSES, PRACTICAL.
Female and male.
?00.00 month registered.
?85.00 month unregistered.
Uniforms and full maintenance.
Modern Chronic Disease Hospital.
Fare refunded after 60 days.
HOME FOR INCURABLES
ISSrd Street and Third Avenae
Bronx New York.
LIVESTOCK
FOR SALE: All kinds of cows: purebred*
ind grades Guernseys, Ayr shires. Jorseys.
Holstetns. 2 herds Guernseys. 1 herd 25.
10 springers. 10 cows in full milk. 1 herd
11 shipping 40 gal. daily, 1 springer. AH
k-accinated. Horses, mules, riding horses.
D. H. WOOD A SON. White Hall. Md.
Ph. Parkten 25FS1 or JarrettsvlUe SIM.
MISCELLANEOUS
MOVIES?SONJA HENIE, 100 FT. 1SMM
?3.50: 8mm., 50 ft. $1.75. (Free with every
purchase Rudolph Valentino photo 40-page
synopsis "Son of the Sheik "fireside booklet)
FIRESIDE FILMS
145 W. 45th St. - New Yerk City.
A Safe, Sound Investment?
Buy U. S. Savings Bonds!
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