Chinese War Minister Honors Our Marines
For the first time a Chinese minister of war held a review and Inspection of United States troops on
Chinese soli when Gen. Ho Ylng-chlng reviewed the marines of the American legation guard In Peiping. He
la here seen presenting the first certificate for proficiency In the Chinese language to a marine “graduate”
•f the school which was started by Col. P. M. Itlxey, seen at the right.
Poland Is Growing
Aggressive Nation
Taking Its Place in Spot
light of World Affairs.
Washington. — Poland's strategic
position between Soviet Russia and
militant Germany brings this ag
gressive European nation more and
more Into the spotlight of world af
fairs.
"Twenty years ago the name of
Poland could not have been found
on any map of Europe," says the
National Geographic society. "To
day It is the sixth largest nation in
Europe, with a steadily Increasing
population that will soon reach 40,
000,000.
“Once before Poland was a great
power. In the Sixteenth and Sev
enteenth centuries Its territory ex
tended from a point within fifty
miles of Berlin to the meridian of
the Sea of Azov, and from the
Khanate of Crimea nearly to the
Gulf of Finland. In those days War
saw, next to Paris, was the most
brilliant city in Europe.
V Divided by Powers.
"Then came weak rulers and In
ternal dissension that paved the
way for Prussian, Russian, and Aus
trian expansion. In the three dis
astrous partitions of 1772, 1793, and
1796 these powers divided Poland
between them, then legalized the
proceedings by the congress of Vi
enna In 1815.
"The state had ceased to exist,
but the people never lost their fierce
nationalism. After a century and
• half of oppression came the proud
day in November, 1918, when Mar
shal Pllsudskl returned to Warsaw
to be acclaimed as chief of the
new Independent Polish state. The
treaty of Versailles established the
western boundaries of the new na
tion. and after a serious struggle
with ltussla, the eastern border was
fixed by the IUga treaty of 1921.
"Under Pllsudskl’s leadership Po
land has developed rapidly, despite
tremendous handicaps. Long years
of fighting had devastated the land.
Russia, Prussia, aud Austria each
left the stamp of Its domination,
different systems of government, ed
ucation, and law.
“The Versailles treaty left Po
land surrounded by nations jealous
of land that had once been theirs.
Today peaceful relutlons have been
established, particularly with Ger
many and Russia. It Is significant
that the last year these two na
tions. together with Great Brit
ain. provided the best markets for
Polish trade.
"Pllsudskl remains the arbiter
and hero of his country.
Economic Progress.
"Economic progress has kept step
with political growth. Devas
tated areas have been reconstructed.
From marshlands to mountains, ag
riculture has been brought hack
to pre-war levels. Factories Idle
or destroyed have been rehabili
tated. The currency has been sta
bilized. Railway mileage has been
Increased, and a uniform gauge
adopted so that rails bind Poland
together Instead of tearing It apart.
“The Pole, whose horsemanship
Shantytown Finds
Times Are Better
Seattle.—Times are better in
Hoovervllle, Seattle's suburban
shantytown.
“For sale, 2-room house, 2
bucks,” a sign posted at the en
trance to Dutch’s “realty bu
reau” proclaims the change.
Not long ago $2 would have
bought nearly all of the dwell
ings In town. Houses, of tin cans
and scrap lumber, are now a lit
tie more substantial than when
Hoovervllle was new. Mayor
Jesse Jackson has a radio and
seven Filipino residents, “auto
mobiles," though they bave no
gasoline.
Since the city of Seattle for
bade building any more shan
ties construction work has gone
to improving those already built.
a> ... " -
Is admired throughout the world,
has taken to the air with dash and
spirit. Captain OrllnskI linked War
saw with Tokyo, Colonel Itayskl
circled Europe In the air. Captain
Skarzynskl and Lieutenant Markle
wlcz made the tour of Africa In
1931. The Polish air line, Lot, cov
ers the whole of eastern Europe
from Tallinn to Salonika, and there
Is a regular Internal service be
tween Warsaw and all Important
cities. In 1934 direct service was
opened between London and War
saw and Warsaw and Moscow.
“A new railway from Upper Si
lesia along the Polish Corridor to
the new Baltic port of Gdynia as
sures Poland's economic freedom. In
less than a decade a dowdy Ashing
village was turned Into a modern
city whose harbor can accommodate
50 vessels at a time.
"More densely populated than
Pennsylvania, Poland Is still an ag
ricultural nation; und the conse
quent elasticity of Its labor sup
ply, the economic Independence of
its peasants, and the modesty of
their needs give It social stability
In spite of the rapid growth of
urban and Industrial life.
"Monotony Is the keynote of Pol
ish geography, ltolllng plains that
connect the lowlands of Germany
with the Russian plains form the
main part of the country. Through
the central portion Aows the slug
glsh Vistula. Yet In the south there
are Idyllic mountain retreats of rare
beauty. Through the unusual Kra
kow Protocol, Poland and Czecho
slovakia agreed to turn the whole
Tatry mountain region Into one
splendid International park—a buf
fer park instead of a buffer state.”
Indian Gods Defied
by Medicine Man
Omaha.—Denle- Chili - Iietusa,
youngest medicine man in the
Navnjo nation, dared the wrath
of the gods of hig fathers and
allowed a photograph to be taken
of his sacred sand-painting dur
ing a recent appearance.
According to Berton I. Staples,
director of a tour in the Interests
of the Navajos, it was the first
time in the history of the tours
that such an act bad been per
mitted.
To the Navajos, the mere ac
tion of taking a picture robs the
subject of some mysterious sub
stance. The taboo applied par
ticularly to rellgiou# ceremonies.
The medicine man paints by
dribbling brightly colored sand
on a neutral background. De
signs are conventionalized repre
sentations of spirits, natural
forces and natural objects, each
conveying a Navajo myth.
Patent Granted for New
Variety of Peach Tree
Washington.—A patent for a new
variety of peach tree, said to be
drouth and cold resistant, has been
issued to Donald B. Byers, horticul
turist, of Clyde, Ohio.
It was the first patent granted
for a plant specifically grown to
combat drouth nnd cold. Byers will
be afforded the same protection as
a person with a patented mechani
cal Invention or chemical formula.
The new peach tree Is know’n as
the “Hardee” variety. It was de
veloped from a species found in
northern Ohio near Lake Erie.
Widespread attention was accord
ed the trees last summer when they
bore a full crop after the severe
winter of 1033-34 had wiped out vir
tually all of the Michigan and Ohio
peach crop.
U. S. Exposes Ring of Jewel Thieves
Moat Extenaive Racket That
Turned Up in Yeara.
New York.—The Department of
Justice Is seeking to break up an
organization of Jewel thieves, whose
operations were described by J. Kd
gar Hoover, chief of the division of
Investigation, as the most extensive
racket “turned up” by his men in
recent years.
Rhea Whitley, chief of the New
York bureau, announced that the
Department of Justice Is inquiring
into tlie $185,(XX) gem robbery at
the Miami (Fla.) Blltmore hotel, In
which Mrs. Margaret Hawkesworth
Bell, former dancer, was the princi
pal victim.
The ring of Jewel thieves, Hoover
said, appeared to have operated all
along the eastern seaboard, with
members of many prominent fam
ilies among their victims. The pro
cedure of the ring, according to
first reports to Washington officials,
nppeured to have been to steal Jew
els, which were later restored to tlie
i owners after payments of substan
s tial rewards.
I In tlie Miami development of the
case, Mr. Hoover charged that the
i gems stolen from Mrs. Hell were
recovered In a lock box In Miami.
The earlier story that tlie Jewels
had been placed in a police automo
bile by an unknown person was
branded a hoax. The key to tlie
lock box, and directions how to
reach It, according to Hoover, were
supplied to the Miami police by
Noel ScafTa, New York private de
tective who lias figured in the re
covery of the loot of other jewel
thefts.
Sea (fa, against whom no clinrges
of wrongdoing were made, spent
four hours recently before the fed
eral grand Jury here, and his nttor
i aey, Isidor Rreguff, commented
that It was strange that the private
detective, who frequently repre
senta Insurance companies In their
search for stolen Jewels, “should
have b«en called Just before the
Miami trlaL”
This referred to the triai of Nich
olas Montone, alius Nick Marlowe,
and Charles Call, both of whom
were said by police to have cou
fessed to the robbery of Mrs. Bell
nnd a friend, Harry Content, after
they had returned to their hotel
from the race track. A Jury was
chosen In this case, and some testi
mony taken from Mra Bell and
Content.
WHITE SUEDE “SET”
Hr CIIKRIK NICHOLAS
A polo white suede ascot scarf, a
Jacket also of white suede plus a
sunburst-stitched suede hat com
pletes a threesome ‘‘set” than which
nothing smarter is shown tills sea
son in sports togs. Jean Harlow
wears this attractive trio In white
suede over a brown and white cot
ton dress. When it's too warm off
goes the Jacket which, by the way,
is smartly fitted, while the scarf re
mains over the swank cotton dress
j with amber polka dots.
SEEN---'HEARD
around the
National Capital
car -Si By CARTER FIELD--——
Washington.—A new gold strike
In Alaska, ohl-timers who know
that territory insist, is the only
thing that will save the pioneers
who are now being taken to that
distant land by the benevolent gov
ernment In the hope of giving them
a fresh start In life and making
them self-supporting.
For the wimple truth is that
Alaska, while a most interesting
part of the world for tourists, is not
precisely the sort of Canaan that
our forefathers came over In the
Mayflower, or earlier with John
Smith, were seeking. Nor Is It the
agricultural paradise that the later
pioneers found along the Ohio and
Missouri rivers. There is plenty of
evidence to support this contention,
but It is an old saying tiiat no one,
much less any government, Is will
ing to profit by another’s experi
ence. The cruel facts have to be
discovered afresh for each genera
tion.
Warren G. Harding dreamed the
same sort of future for Alaska that
the Relief administration envisages
for the down and outers it Is send
ing to the frozen North. When a
small boy In school, he read about
the acquisition of this marvelous
territory for only a few million dol
lars. He had read how more gold
than the purchase price had been
taken out. Yet there remained mar
velous natural resources, coal, lum
ber, furs, water power without end
—and salmon. Not to mention
an agricultural domain so rich that
its products, put up in glass Jars,
has played an important part in
inducing congress to vote $50,000,
000, in the early Wilson days, for
the construction of a railway to
open this marvelous territory up to
one and all.
The railroad was built, but the
expected results did not follow. The
population of the territory was ac
tually declining Instead of Increas
ing. Harding was told what was the
matter. It was that governmental
red tape snarled up every effort for
advancement. Everything had to be
transacted via Washington, which
was a long way off, both In miles
and time.
Herbert Hoover, then secretary of
commerce, was also impressed. He
grew fond of the story of the three
hears, one variety being under the
Department of the Interior, another
under Commerce, and the third
under Agriculture! He made
speeches about the absurdity of It.
What Harding Found
So Harding took the three secre
taries to Alaska intending to listen
to the various problems and difficul
ties by day, and sit around the
table each night with the three cab
inet members Involved, snipping
away the red tape. Beautiful! But
what did he find? That If he cut
away this red tape, and the red tape
winders went back to the states.
Alaska would lose its chief indus
try—red tape winding! The clerks
and officials whose Jobs depended
on this same red tape would re
turn to “civilization" and the white
population of Alaska would be re
duced by Just that number.
Which Is no joke at all when it
Is considered that the total popula
tion along the flfty-million-dollar
government railroad, from Seward
to Fairbanks—longer than from
Washington to Boston, Just the dis
tance from San Francisco to Los
Angeles—Is 6,000, Including Esqui
maux !
Secretary of Agriculture Wallace,
father of the present Incumbent, dis
covered that the rich agricultural
land so much boasted about has a
normal rainfall of less than that of
eastern Colorado. It would grow
good crops the first year after the
frozen lands was plowed, and after
that would really need irrigation!
Secretary Hoover discovered the
salmon Industry was suffering
from too much activity. They were
killing off the fish.
Secretary of the Interior Work
was distressed to learn that the
coal, which had been thought so
valuable It hail been protected Into
a naval coal reserve, was of such
poor quality and cost so much to
get on shipboard, that down through
the panhandle, including Juneau
and Sitka, they bought coal from
British Columbia Instead!
All discovered that the boys who
had gone to war from Alaska did
not come back. They stopped off
somewhere In the states where op
portunities looked better. So let
us hope for the sake of those now
pilgrimaging up toward Skagway
that a new gold field Is discovered!
New Commerce Head
Despite the fact that the Chamber
of Commerce of the United States
has picked a new president who
happens to he a very close personal
friend of President Roosevelt—a
classmate at Harvard, both of old
upstate New York families, and all
that sort of thing—prospects re
main that the chamber will continue
to have Just ns little Influence In
Washington ns It has since Hoover
left the White House.
If anyone could be calculated to
"get somewhere" with the White
House, it would be Harper Sibley.
In the first place, the personal re
lation of the two families is so close
that Mrs. Roosevelt, who stopped In
Rochester with Mrs. Caroline O'Day
last fall, stayed at the Sibley home.
In the second, Mr. Sibley’s economic
views are by no means as far re
moved from those of the President
as the news dispatches about the
chamber’s meeting would have one
believe. A very close friend of
many years' standing tells the
writer that he is one of those rich
men who regard the rich as being
"trustees," not "holders” of wealth!
Which sounds very New Deallst, in
deed.
There Is another angle, however,
on which Iiis fellow members of
the chamber. In picking him for
president, relied, rather than on
their misinformation about his eco
nomic views. This is his ability to
work out a compromise, and to in
duce those with whom he Is work
ing to co-ordinate. He is said by
those associated with him, either
in his lines of business, charitable
or church Interests, to be marvel
ously persuasive, though no one
claims that he Is an orator.
But the whole picture Is wrong—
meaning the picture viewed hy
those who think that Mr. Sibley is
going to be able to steer the Presi
dent tactfully away from the New
Dealers and brain trusters, and back
into safe and sane economic chan
nels. President Roosevelt Is Just
not that kind of person, and there
is no club, whatever, in Mr. Sibley’s
hands which rouses any fear, what
ever, In political minds.
Can’t Scare ’Em
It Iff not possible for an organiza
tion like the Chamber of Commerce
of the United States to frighten
politicians. It Is a collection of very
potent figures, In business, but their
potency Is too dlffiuse, too scat
tered, spread out too thin, to both
er men running for the house or
senate. Or even for President.
Two accomplishments very dear
to business hearts have been put
over In he last few months, but
the machinery that accomplished It
was not the chamber, nor any other
huge aggregation of widely diversi
fied and spread out business inter
ests.
One of these was repeal of the
pink slip publicity for Income tax
returns. This was done by two agen
cies, working independently. One
stirred up the newspaper editors of
America. Practically all of them
began writing editorials against In
come tax publicity, many of the edi
torials advising people to write to
their senators and representatives.
Later they carried extensive stories
about the effect of letters and tele
grams on congress, which naturally
provoked more.
The other was the Pitcairn organ
ization, which circulated repeal
slips, and worked up the people to
write to Washington. It was this
resulting avalanche of letters which
did the trick.
Then there was the modification
of the public utility holding com
pany legislation. This was made
possible, despite the power of the
President on Capitol Hill, by the
utilities Inducing their stockholders
to write to their senators and rep
resentatives. Most of the legisla
tors were amazed to find how many
utility stockholders were among
their constituents. And when they
saw these stockholders were watch
ing the legislation, the picture
changed.
Bailey’s Big Fight
Two generations ago Arthur Pue
Gorman, senator from Maryland,
won undying fame, and nearly at
tained the Presidency by conducting
a filibuster which killed the famous
so-called Force bill.
Today North Carolina’s senator,
Joslah Bnlley, is conducting a fight
Just as dear to southern hearts—
the battle against the anti-lynching
bill.
The cleavage Is along practically
the same lines—almost strictly geo
graphical. The chief difference is
that in those days northern Demo
crats and western Democrats—
though there were mighty few of
them in office—stood shoulder to
shoulder with the southern wing of
the party. Today the bill so obnox
ious to southerners Is netually
sponsored by a New York Demo
crat, Senator Robert F. Wagner.
Both Kentucky senators are voting
with Its advocates. (Kentucky has
a lot of negroes voting!)
Maryland, though Its percentage
of negroes voting Is as great as
that of Kentucky, stands firm by
the Gorman tradition. There Is a
reason, too. Remember what hap
pened to Governor Ritchie?
Boosters of the anti-lynchlng bill
Insist the spirit Is entirely different
from that of the bill talked to
death under Gorman’s filibuster,
despite heroic attempts to force it
through by Henry Cabot Lodge.
They say anyone who opposes the
bill condones lynching. Southerners
point to the statistics, which prove
that lynchlngs have decreased nmaz
Ingly, and ask why the federal gov
ernment should trample state rights
to intervene In a situation which is
fast correcting itself.
The object of the present anti
lynching bill is to prevent mobs In
terfering In the administration of
justice—avowedly. Actually Its chief
purpose is to curry favor with ne
gro voters in the northern, western
and border states of those fighting
for the bill. It Is as purely a lo
cal Interest bill as a tariff measure,
liked In communities where prod
ucts are protected, hated In com
munities which as a result may have
to pay higher prices.
Copyright—WNU
Swedish Castles
Vadstena Castle on Lake Vattern.
Prepared by National Geoirraphlc Society.
□Washington. D. C.—WNU 8ervlce.
\VEDEN is still a land of cas
tles. although tiie owners of
many large estates have felt
the effect of world depression and
have been forced to curtail sharply
their living expenses. Yet "modern
housing" has made few inroads, ex
cept in the large cities; and the
country gentlefolk, as a rule, ad
here closely to quaint traditions of
homeliness Inherited from their an
cestors.
It is not so easy to know the
Swedes well, especially the dwell
ers in the country, who for the most
part stay at home on their prop
erty. Foreigners are often led to
think that they are stiff and re
served, sometimes a little sullen or
even haughty. But this should be
interpreted rather as a sign of their
northern shyness.
They are in reality full of fun
and of warm feeling; but when it
is a question of showing the lat
ter, their shrinking from impulsive
gestures and emotional or grandilo
quent language is both comic and
touching.
Certainly the fetters are loosened
somewhat when they are in a fes
tive mood and have drunk a lit
tle wine. But it is not then that
one gets closest to them. To know
and value them fully, one must ob
serve them within their own four
walls, in their daily life and ac
tivities. Only in Intimacy, free from
alien, disturbing elements, does
their charming individualilty come
to full flowering. Swedish home
life is a cult and a culture unlike
anything else, the product of cen
turies of tender polishing and re
fining. And nowhere lias it at
tained such perfection as in the
old country houses.
There still were families which
can maintain to some degree their
former luxurious standard of liv
ing. Some had the good fortune or
the prudence not to invest their
fortunes in the securities which had
later been affected by the crisis
and the Kreuger crash. Others had
all their land leased on old and
profitable contracts, so long as the
tenants could keep up their pay
ments. But these were compara
tively few and privileged excep
tlnna
Big Landowners Suffer.
If the situation is serious for near
ly everyone nowadays, it is often
catastrophic for the great land
owners and territorial magnates.
Not a month passes but some of
them have to leave home and prop
erty.
And where they stick to their old
estates despite all their difficul
ties, they often do so less for their
own sake, but more in order not
to abandon their retainers to un
employment. In the case of en
tailed estates there are of course
no bankruptcies and forced sales,
but it Is not much more pleasant to
be placed under the management
of banks and creditors.
For Swedish agriculture can no
longer pay its way. There is the
same conilict between agriculture
and industry as in most other coun
tries; and it looks as if the former
were getting the worst of it.
A series of relief schemes has
been started to try to aid agricul
ture in Sweden, as elsewhere. But
there has been no visible result so
far. An intensive educational cam
paign has been set on foot: state
advisers and controllers have been
provided for every branch of for
estry and agriculture.
An active agitation Is carried
on for “buying Swedish" and for
burning Swedish wood in the heat
ing apparatus of public institutions
to reduce the importation of coal.
Most of the medieval castles in
Sweden are situated on heights sur
rounded by water or otherwise in
accessible places. Such placement,
needless to say, was not due to
any considerations for natural beau
ty, hut because it afforded the most
advantageous defense.
For these strong stone houses
has developed direct from the pre
historic fortifications whose founda
tions are still found here and there.
Fortresses Made Into Dwellings.
When Sweden, in the Sixteenth
century, ceased'to be disturbed by
civil war, the gloomy and inhos
pitable fortresses were gradually
converted into dwelling houses. As
time pussed these grew more and
more comfortable, and esthetic con
siderations became more decisive.
Many of the most beautiful cnstles
in Sweden date from this Interest
ing transition period. From the be
ginning of the Seventeenth century
v
Sweden was a great power, and
remained one till Charles XII’s un
lucky campaigns impoverished the
country and put an end to its doml
natioiWn the Baltic,
Among the medieval Swedish
castles touching the early Renais
sance style, Skarhult, Vlttskovle.
and Torup are the most character
istic and best preserved. They are
in Skane, and were rebuilt in the
Sixteenth century.
Vlttskovle and Torup are laid
out on a similar plan, with four
wings round a courtyard, towers at
diagonally opposite corners, stepped
gables and tiring passages; and
both were surrounded for defense
purposes by moats, over which
drawbridges were lowered in olden
times.
At Torup these moats have been
tilled since the Eighteenth cen
tury along two of the facades, and
replaced by gardens laid out in the
old style, with sculptures, rose per
golas, and box hedges. But the
charmingly weathered brick walls
are still reflected in quiet waters,
among water lilies and proud swans.
The courtyard at Torup, with its
Gothic cloister and pointed arches,
i* one of the most remarkable in
the country from the standpoint of
«rt and history. A stone tablet
is set into the wall over its gate
way. Its Latin inscription is dated
1032 and was composed by the
owner of the property at that time,
Ktgvard Grubbe, a scholar and a
friend of the king, lie calls upon
Ills successors, ‘‘whoever they may
be,” to do all in their power, as
lie did, to preserve and beautify
the ancient building they have in
herited.
Baroness CoyeFs Estate.
Probably none of them has been
better equipped to carry out this
Injunction than its present owner,
Baroness Ilenriette Co.yet. On terms
of close friendship with most mem
bers of the royal family, she loves
to surround herself with eminent
personalities in various branches of
art and science, and she is a com
prehending friend to them.
Nobel prize winners and other
foreign celebrities are received at
Torup when they visit Sweden. The
Swedes in general, the people of
Skane in particular, have felt them
selves secure in the knowledge that
no on# could represent them more
worthily than this lively, highly cul
tured lady.
Of course, so energetic a person
does not content herself merely with
social life and the management of
her great house. Her keenness for
the promotion of local home indus
try and the preservation of local
treasures has benefited the whole
province. The same may he said
of her experience and taste in all
that concerns gardening and the
cultivation of flowers. The exten
sive park of Torup, surrounded by
luxuriant beach woods, the differ
ent beds, with old-fashioned roser
ies and herb gardens, are favorite
goals of specialists and laymen for
purposes of study.
Fine Country Houaes.
Big country houses lie all along
the seacoasts of southern Sweden,
and still thicker In Vastergotland,
so rich in ancient memorials, south
of Lake Vanern. On the northern
side of the lake is Varmland, whose
old family legends and traditions
have been made known far outside
the boundaries of Sweden by Selma
Lagerlof’s poetical descriptions.
But most of the great country
houses of central Sweden, and the
finest, are to be found In the prov
inces which abut on long Lake
Malaren, at whose exit to the sea
Stockholm lies.
It was there especially that the
primeval people of Svea lived;
thence sprang Kurik, who laid the
foundations of Russia, and the Vik
ings who ravaged the Mediterra
nean coasts; and it was there that
Christianity was first introduced
into Sweden.
Foundations and a few massive
stone houses still survive from this
long-vanished tiipe, and in certain
cases the same family has lived on
the same property for three or four
centuries. There are estates, which,
for 500, or even 000 years, have
been handed down ltom one genera
tion to another vflthout ever be
ing sold, though these, of course,
are rare exceptions.
Many lie far fretn the towns, so
that none of the modern thirst for
superficial, exciting pleasures lias
yet found its way to them; that
ts why the old Swedish traditions
in all classes of society are more
firmly rooted there than anywhere
else.
