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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (March 18, 1937)
SEEN and HEAR)' around the [$ NATIONAL CAPITAL A By Carter Field FAMOUS WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT J Washington.—It begins to look as though President Roosevelt’s Su preme court enlargement proposal might grease through congress something much more nearly ap proximating what the President wants in the way of a neutrality law than would probably have been the case otherwise. Interest in the Supreme court is sue has so completely blanketed the arguments over the neutrality measure that senators and repre sentatives so far have not really heard enough from back home. It was the hope of the extremists among the senators, notably Ben nett Champ Clark, Homer T. Bone, Gerald P. Nye, etc., that there would be a deluge of demands from the various states and congressional district* to the effect that their sen ators and representatives go all the way, allowing the President no dis cretion whatever. Fear of this demand, which most observers agree would probably have come had it not been for the public mind being so centered on the Supreme court legislation, actu ally played a considerable part in making the formal committee (Sen ator Key Pittman) draft more drastic than it might otherwise have been. This fear, by the way, had nothing to do with an appraisal of the merits of the case. It was based on the thought that it would be easy to convince the milkman in Omaha that this country could build a wall high enough to protect us from en tanglement in a foreign war. Espe cially as it is difficult to convince this same milkman in Omaha that stopping international trade is even seriously important — much more difficult to convince him that it would almost inevitably be taking sides Present indications are that the Supreme court fight will continue to hog the lion’s share of popular at tention for months to come. The entire administration publicity ma chinery is devoted to that. Every time an outstanding Democrat op poses the President it is front page news. Just to maintain the fiction of presenting all sides, the news papers have to give more space than the arguments are worth to speeches by those favoring the Pres ident's side. All of which relegates stories of the neutrality bill to the inside pages of the newspapers, and tends to prevent the inflaming of the very fierce but for the moment al most dormant desire of the coun try to do anything and everything to preserve peace. Peace at Any Price In fact, “Peace at Any Price” would not be an inaccurate descrip tion, except that the peace advo cates and the freedom of the seas champions are devoting most of their attention for the time being to preserving the ark of the covenant, as far as the Constitution and high nine are concerned, or blazing the path of progress over a road smoothed by a flfteen-man court, if they feel that way about it. All of which of :ourse is subject to change, almost without notice. It is just possible that there may come a week in which there are no de velopments in the Supreme court fight—possible though not probable. It is possible that in that week a few fiery speeches by such senators as William E. Borah and Hiram W. Johnson, on the freedom of the seas side, may shove perfunctory news less stories about the high court situation to inside newspaper pages. Or that blasts from Senators Nye and Clark against permitting the President to take sides in a Euro pean war by deciding which com modities are to be barred from ship ment in American bottoms will bring the homefolks up standing. In short, such a situation would bring about what everyone expected to happen before the President sprang his surprise message about enlarging the Supreme court It would produce such a storm of pub lic reaction that the extremists just might force amendments to make the act more drastic. It is scarcely likely that anything could happen to swing the measure the other way—toward giving the President more discretion—as be tween belligerents, for instance, especially as the entire strength of the President must be kept on his very tough fight to get his way in the court battle. He cannot spare any steam at the moment for much else, certainly not for so difficult a fight as getting more discretion would be in view of the extremist bloc in the senate. Quezon Popular Army and navy officers who have had much contact with Manuel L. Quezon, Philippine commonwealth president, either in the "days of the empire," or since, agree that he is an extraordinarily clever person. Hence all predict that he will go back to the Philippines with the ba con cm the proposed reciprocal trade treaty with our former possessions. It was rather an astonishing thing to some observers, that Quezon should have been the chief speaker and guest of honor at the recent dinner of the Carabao—the famous organization of army, navy and ma rine officers who saw service in the Philippines either during or right after the Spanish-American war. Not only was he an old enemy, so to speak, but his political activities ever since have been for precisely the objectives that the great major ity of these officers think highly in imical to the best interests of the United States. Incidentally, freedom for the Phil ippines in a way cheapened what to these officers was an important part of the service they had rendered their country—made their own lives just a little less important. But Quezon in his speech to the veterans showed the same sort of political Intelligence that has char acterized most of his adult life. He made two strong points, one purely sentimental, the other very practi cal indeed, to these men who be lieve in adequate national defense. The sentimental appeal justified the importance of this chapter of the life of the United States army and navy. Pleases Army Men It was Just a little war, more like a game. Quezon began with a broad smile. It sounded like an insult, and many stirred uneasily in their seats. “Why should Quezon belittle what his hosts had done?" one whis pered to his neighbor. Whereas, look at the World war, and American participation—what it cost in lives and treasure. But every objective stated in ad vance by United States spokesmen as to the Spanish-American war is now attained, Quezon rushed on. Cuba is now free. The Philippines are en route to freedom. Whereas, what became of the ob jectives stated by American spokes men as the United States entered the World war—to make the world safe for Democracy, etc.? He really made quite a case for the glory and honor of the men who had participated in the Spanish American war—and for the place in history the results of that war would hold despite its military insignifi cance. Having warmed the hearts of the veterans with this tonic, Quezon played another string. He told them why he had forced universal mili tary training in the Philippines. When some other nation should come to those islands, the Filipinos would not only know how to die, which they had proved in the revo lution. but they would know how to fight, he stated, and the cheers were thunderous from his old enemies. He did not mention Japan, or that em pire's alleged ambitions to take over the Philippines, but he painted a picture which left no one in doubt what he meant them to understand. It was universal military train ing. however, more than the Japan angle, that appealed to the old sol diers and sailors. How they want to see it brought to this country, how helpless they are about accom plishing that at the moment, and how they loved his arguments for It! “We are teaching our citizens,” he said, “their duties to their coun try firs., before we teach them what are their rights.” The applause could have been heard at the White House, two blocks away! Amusing Situation When young Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., the thirty-four-year-old “baby” senator, was running against James M. Curley, Massachusetts’ political war horse, last year, Curley’s back ers were constantly insisting that Lodge was too young, and stressing the importance of age. Now Lodge finds himself involved in his first big senate battle, and the chief idea of his opponentc is that Supreme court justices are too old! All of which is amusing, but then so is the discussion of age of the justices at all in this connection. For, as senators opposing President Roosevelt point out, his plan would not remove the older justices—It would merely put additional justices in with them—and that there is noth ing to prevent a court of fifteen Justices, all of whom might be over eighty, at some future day. Not that the President desires this, but there is no legal way of forcing Justices—even the six new ones who may be appointed if and when the President wins his fight— to retire at any given age. The only way that can be accomplished is by constitutional amendment, to which of course apply all the objections the President has to solving the other problems by constitutional amendment—it would take too long and be too easy for a militant mi nority to block. One of Senator Lodge’s closest political advisers during his cam paign. inc.dentally, was more than eighty years of age. But friends, in snickering over the paradox pro duced by the attack on his youth during his campaign and the attack on age in the first big fight he en countered in the senate, point out that age is different in Massachu setts! Jrstice Louis D. Brandeis, the most liberal member of the court, is more than eighty, and was appointed from Massachusetts. Jus tice Oliver Wendell Holmes, the idol of the Progressives during the years he was on the bench, was also from Massachusetts. C Bell Syndicate.—WNU Service. BUSY BEES Bees at Work in Smithsonian Institution. Prep*red by National Geographic Society, Washington, D. C.—WNU Service. C C T X USY as a bee” has real I—^ meaning, for bees lit ) erally work themselves to death. Young bees perform manifold duties in main taining a colony, which, being a self-sustaining community, imposes upon each individual certain health, sanitation and protective duties. A temperature of about 93 degrees Fahrenheit must be maintained in that part of the hive where the queen lays her eggs and where all the young bees are reared. This is a concentrated area near the center of the hive, spherical in shape, its size depending upon the population of the hive and the season of the year. After a cell has served as a cradle for the birth of a young bee, it is thoroughly cleaned. Abnormal lar vae are not permitted to mature as deformed adults, but are re moved from the hive. Sick and ail ing bees are also encouraged to leave and to die outside. Any bees that die while at work are imme diately carried out and consigned to the winds. When they are from a week to ten days old, the bees venture into the outside world for the first time, usually on short flights of only a few feet in front of the hive. Dur ing these so-called play flights, they learn to use their wings and no doubt also note the location of their homes. Toward the close of their duties within the hive young bees appear more often at the entrances until they eventually take over the duty of defending the colony. Sev eral dozen may assume this re sponsibility. On their first trip to the field, young bees gather water or propo lis. The latter is a resinous, gum like material called bee glue, gar nered largely from the buds of va rious plants and trees. It is used to close the cracks in the hives, to smooth over rough places, to cement the combs securely in place, to regulate the size of the entrances the better to guard the hive, and to control the temperature. Work Themselves to Death. The next duty is that of gather ing pollen and. finally, nectar. In an emergency the field bees can re sume nursery duties again, but when a bee becomes old enough to work in the field it usually dies in its boots, literally working itself to death. A newly emerged bee ss covered with fluffy golden hair. After four weeks in the field it is darker, much of the hair has been worn from its body, and its wings are tattered and torn. Eventually it will no longer be able to sustain itself in flight. Thus its life span is measured large ly by the amount of work done. Whenever plants are in blossom and it is warm enough for the bees to fly, they go forth at daybreak and continue until nightfall, or un til it becomes too cold or rainy to work. Drop by drop the nectar comes into the hive. The storage of more food than the colony can consume for its own needs seems an incredible task, yet in a favor able locality strong colonies have brought in as many as 25 pounds of nectar in a day. In gathering nectar and pollen, the bees do not fly aimlessly, as butterflies do, from one species of flower to another. If a bee starts working on dandelions, for ex ample, it will continue throughout the trip to visit only dandelion blos soms, and in all likelihood it will continue working on dandelions as long as it can obtain a modicum of nectar or pollen. Effective in Follinizing. Such constancy makes the bee a dependable pollinizing agent. If it collected indiscriminately from the flowers, its work would be less effective. The pollen of the apple would not benefit the blossom of the pear, and vice versa. Changes in atmospheric conditions, or in the plants themselves, may cause a wholesale change in the work sched ule'. Some plants secrete nectar only a few hours a day, while other plants may continue throughout the day; and. since bees wisely seek the richest source of nectar, they may suddenly desert one plant for another that proves more tempting. The richness of this sparkling drop of nectar, which the blossom offers to the bee in exchange for the pol len from another blossom, causes the bee to accept the highest bidder. Although bees invariably effect pollination in the blossoms from which they obtain either nectar or pollen, the latter is so indispens able to the welfare of the colony that the bees are compelled to visit countless numbers of flowers which secrete little or no nectar but which do furnish them with pollen. Thus the bees pollinize numerous vari eties of plants. The worker bee is particularly adapted to gather pollen. Almost every part of its body is covered with hair. Many of the hairs are long, lacy, and branched; spikelike hairs even grow between the facets of its compound eyes. When a bee alights on a flower that has abun dant pollen, the pollen grains be come entangled in its numerous hairs, and in gathering a load to carry back to the hive, the bee brushes over the stigma of the blossom, inadvertently transferring to its sticky surface grains of pollen. For this act the blossom lives and offers its alluring per fume and enticing nectar. Pollen Stored in Cakes. Upon reaching the hive, the bee inserts its hind legs into a cell and pries off the two pellets of pollen. There a young bee, with its head, rams the pollen into a compact cake into the bottom of the cell. Pollen is not mixed with honey. It is stored in separate cells close to the brood nest, where it is readily available to the nurse bees. The pollen furnishes the fat and protein in the diet of the honeybee, while the nectar supplies the car bohydrate. Early in the spring, when the al ders and willows are putting forth their fuzzy catkins, the bees go forth to search for food so that the queen may start egg laying. From then on, progress depending upon the weather and the amount of food available, brood rearing con tinues at a constantly accelerated pace. Within a few weeks the hive becomes so populous that there is no more room where the queen can lay and no more space in which to store honey. With food available from myriads of flowers, but with no place to store it, the bees prepare to relieve the congestion. The time has come when some must go. The first indication that swarm ing may be imminent appears when thousands of bees cluster at the en trances, literally loafing. The hive boils over with bees. Inspection within reveals the presence of sev eral pendulous peanut-shaped queen cells, an almost infallible indica tion that the hegira is about to take place. Each queen cell holds a prospective heiress, possible suc cessor to the old queen. How the Bees Swarm. The reigning queen and her daughters do not wait until the heir ess actually arrives, however, but on the first bright warm day after the queen cells are sealed a mighty commotion heralds the issuance of the swarm. This usually takes place from 10 to 12 o’clock in the morn ing. Most of the bees that have attained flying age (and this in cludes virtually all the field bees) rush out of the hive, tumbling over one another in their eagerness to taste the thrills of the great adven ture. Back and forth in front of the hive, in sharp straight flights, they take wing until thousands are in the air, the queen with them. Likely as not, this flying entanglement will shortly move toward some tree or fence post. A few bees settle, and then a few more, until within 10 to 15 minutes all have alighted in a tightly packed mass. Shortly after the swarm settles, scout bees fly in all directions to search for a new abode, or, being foreminded, they may have attend ed to this duty several days be fore. If a place already has been located, the bees may take to the air again within a few minutes. As suming a formation that looks like a hazy smoke ball 10 to 20 feet in diameter, the swarm gradually works its way through the tree tops and, clearing all obstructions, seems to float like an enormous soap bubble, making a “bee line” toward its new home. If the scouts fail to find a hollow tree or a cozy nook in someone’s attic, the bees will continue to hang at their first stopping place for sev eral hours, or even for several days. Should the scouts fail entire ly in finding habitable quarters, the bees may decide to “camp out” and build their comb in the open air. Spring - Fashions - Sewing A RE the robins showing interest ** in real estate out your way— and have the kiddies been hinting that it’s about time to go bare foot—have you been trying to get a little house cleaning done—and have you noticed a few of the town’s rabid sportsmen out poking around on the fairways—have you had any knights of the road stop by for a hand-out or seen any gyp sies—in short, is it Spring out your way? That, of course, brings us to the omnipresent subject of fash ions, and this in turn to the ubiquitous topic of Sew-Your-Own. One in Silk; One in Cotton. If you’re a devotee of trim lines and real comfort make this new all-occasion dress for yourself (Pattern 1973) in two versions: a silk print in which to greet the bright new season; a cotton one for day in, day out service. There’s no daytime occasion too auspicious nor a household task too menial for one or the other of these versions. For completeness, then, and simplicity as well, there’s no substitute for this styl ish number. It is designed for sizes 36 to 52. Size 38 requires 3% yards of 35 inch material. Two Versions From One Pattern. And see what the Chic Twins have, two lovely blouses with but a single purpose—to make you look your very veriest. They’re combined to make Pattern 12fl the biggest hit of the season. You can wear the notched lapel model with casual sports outfit* and the ruff-collared style with the more tailored suits. Puff sleevae and saucy peplums are particu larly intriguing features of both blouses. Either is available for sizes 12 to 20 (30 to 38 bust). Size 14 (top model) requires 2 yards of 39 inch material or 214 yards for the other. Remember, both are included in Pattern 1271. Sewing Easy; Frock Charming. Pattern 1259 is truly an Ode to Spring—one that’s fit for print, too. A bright nosegay, for in stance, will be just the thing to promote your charm and grace. The far-reaching collar and gro* grain ribbon tie will indeed be come your pretty face. The puff sleeves and smart cuffs fairly snap with chic. Simple to make, delightful to wear, this frock de serves to be called an Ode to Spring. It comes in sizes 12-20 (30 to 40 bust). Size 14 require* 514 yards of 39 inch material plu* % yard contrasting. The bow re quires % yard ribbon. In full length size 14 requires 614 yard* of 39 inch material. New Pattern Book. Send for the Barbara Bell Spring and Summer Pattern Book. In teresting and exclusive fashion* for little children and the difficult junior age; slenderizing, well-cut patterns for the mature figure; afternoon dresses for the most particular young women and ma trons and other patterns for spe cial occasions are all to be found in the Barbara Bell Pattern Book. Send 15 cents today for your copy. Send your order to The Sewing Circle Pattern Dept., Room 1020, 211 W. Wacker Dr., Chicago, IB. Price of patterns, 15 cents (in coins) each. © Bell Syndicate.—WNU Service. TRADE^L }T MAJIK Glad news indeed for the millions and millions of people who like the famous Smith Brothers Cough Drops:— Smith Bros. Couoh Drops are the only drops containing VITAMIN A This is the vitamin that raises the resistance of the mucous membranes of the nose and throat to cold and cough infections. <5twey look too blamed happy/ ■?* ^ARE Wfe GOING) TO STAND FOR ITj^J S>'H ONf is.. r SB *1 what's that? You want to get MARRIED? WELL—I SHOULD SAY NOT/ GRACE —GO TO YOUR ROOM / AND YOU, > YOUNG MAN —GET OUT AND STAY J/ --- ED MERRILL, DO YOU REALIZE \ THAT you'VE BECOME ) / THE MEANEST OLD / GROUCH /N SEVEN / V COUNTIES? / HUH'Z what's 'THAT'? SAY IF YOU HAD MY INDIGESTION AND COULDN'T < SLEEP NIGHTS/ \ YOU'D BE GROUCHY, ^YvToqY/ YOUR INDIGESTION AND SLEEPLESSNESS ARE CAUSED BY COFFEE-NERVES, And you know it-— because THE DOCTOR TOLD WHY DON'T YOU \ QUIT COFFEE AND 1 Switch to postum ) FOR 30 DAYS, L LIKE "THE DOCTOR. 7~^ ySAlD ? / /^alaTright^X All. right/ \ HAVE IT VOUR- / OWN wav/ y 30 DAYS LATER* T-i-r-'iiT1 /well-- I've S /DECIDED TO 1 GIVE YOU TWO J i LOVE-BIRDS my/ /BLESS/NG'/A ^/hSsachanged^ u MAN SINCE HE \ GOT RID OF HIS X INDIGESTION AMD 'YSLEEPi.ESSNESS/j p£yep.~i )/SWlTCH/NCn > TO POSTDM SURE WOPX£D WONDERS. ^FORHiwjj f YOUR MONEY BACK - - - \ IF SWITCHING TO POSTLM J DOESN'T HELP YOU/ y7" If you are one of those who cannot safely ""■* drink coffee.. .try Postum’s 30-day test. Buy a can of Postum and drink it instead of coffee for one full month. If...after 30 days...you do not feel better, return the top of the Postum container to General Foods, Battle Creek, Michigan, and we will cheerfully refund Copr. 1987, Kina Feetaies Predicate, 0. F. Corp. Licensee the full purchase price, plus postage! (If you live in Canada, address General Foods, Ltd., Cobourg, Ont.) Give Postum a fair trial...drink it for the full 30 days! Postum contains no caffein.lt is simply whole wheat and bran, roasted and slightly sweetened. Postum comes in two forms...Postum Cereal, the kind you boil or percolate...and Instant Postum, made instantly in the cup. It is economical, easy to make and deli cious. You may miss coffee at first, but after 30 days, you’ll love Postum for its own rich, full-bodied flavor. A General Foods product. (This offer expiree June 30,1937.) _j