Charleston was in a dither. The gray old town by the Ashley had two visitors--with cameras. Charleston has had many visitors, and if one ever came without a camera since the day of Daguerre, there is no mention of it in the annals. More than that, if such a one had ever actually come, he ought, we agree, to have been forthrightly locked up, even in a town which regards the Chamber of Commerce very much as it regards its fertilizer plant. Ah, but these were Japanese visitors. Well, but there had been Japanese visitors in Charleston before, and very distinguished ones. But these--one of them was a naval officer and the other an attaché of the Japanese embassy in Washington.

And so the dark rumor ran through the town. Presently, no doubt, the Japanese armada, having traveled the 18,000 miles across the world and around Old Cape Stiff, would come pounding into the estuary and Charleston would go the way of Shanghai. Spies, our friends and foes, spies! Then the sheriff's office heard and out marched a copper, brave and shining, to seize the nefarious persons and hail them before the sheriff for two hours' quizzing, which revealed--that they were photographing Charleston’s fine old houses, like any other two tourists! And Charleston’s fine old houses must have preened themselves and giggled at that.

Can any bright boy in the class tell us what kind of offer Hungary made a few days ago to settle its debts to this country? All right, Johnny. That's correct. It was to wipe out all interest and to apply against the principal all payments, of both principal and interest, previously made. For the rest, Hungary would resume installment payments on the 15th of every June and December.

And does anybody know what Hungary is paying now? Practically nothing is right, Mary, only they call it a token payment. So would be better to take the principal, if we can get it, and let the interest go, wouldn't it, Mary? Be quiet, Hiram; this is Mary's question. So it seems to us, Mary; that something is better than nothing.

Now, Hiram Johnson. Oh, you do, do you? You think it would be a problem to adopt Hungary's offer because it might encourage larger debtors to ask for the same terms? But Hiram, we aren't getting a penny from them now. What's that--it's all or nothing with you? You wouldn't take $7,500,000,000--you'd have to have the whole $12,000,000,000 or you wouldn't take a dime? And you suspect that the reason they are struggling to bring their accounts up to date is so that they may be eligible to borrow more money from us, which they aren't now according to the Johnson Law?

Well, maybe so, Hiram; but we could certainly use those seven and a half billions, or any part thereof. And we can always turn him down for new money, Hiram; we can always turn him down.

Genrikh G. Yagoda, until recently chief of the dreaded Russian OGPU, yesterday took the stand in Moscow to confess that he had conspired to become "a Russian Hitler," and that he had ordered the murder of his predecessor OGPU chief, of Maxim Gorky, of Gorky's son, of the first chief of the five-year plan.

They invariably confess, these Russians who are shot for high treason and this and that. Of the more than 1,200 executed last year, not one, as we recall, failed to tell all on the stand. Why? That surely is not the general custom of accused men.

The Dostoievskian spirit? Because there's something childlike and innocent in the soul of the Russian criminal that casts him under the spell of his crime and makes 'em yearn to unload it, as Dostoievsky's hero in "Crime and Punishment" did?

Maybe, but it sounds nutsy to us. How to explain it, then? Well, there was a little Dr. Levin, with "a prim white beard," who confessed yesterday, too, and who may have thrown some light on it. He was explaining how he came to execute the murders of Gorky and son at Yagoda's request. And what he said was:

"I loved Gorky and his family. ...That is why Yagoda lies when he says I did what I did without orders. I'm not afraid of death. I'm 68. But he threatened to annihilate my family..."

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