Casper Daily Tribune Newspaper, March 11, 1923, Page 22

2,000 Wrangel’s Land- ing Was Signal to Kill Allin Jails Save Those Who Only Violated the Curfew Law OST of the persons accused M of being counter revolu- + Y + tionists are shot. No am- nesty applies to their cases. After the amnesty in honor of the third ary of the November revo- ion had been proclaimed sucn oners at the Yekaterinodar Che- Special Division were be- This, however, did stop the official Bolshevist scribes from publishing a number of leading esin the local Red Flag lying brazingly about the alleged cha ity and humanity of the § t € ernment in proclaiming an amnesty to all its end applying it extensively enemies, From August, 1920, up to 1921, about 3,000 persons were exe- uted at the Yekaterinodar prison Th st number were e the month of August, when t anding was made by Wrangel in the Kuban. The order is- sued on that occasion by the president of the Cheka reads: “The cells of the Cheka are to be shot.” The re- monstrance of one of the Cheka of- Is, Kosolapoy, that there were rs not yet examined, and iad been arrested ly for appearing on the fter 8 o’clovk in the evening, y to an ordinance, met with “Pick these out and shoot any of thes accidents streets the rest.” Witness’s Story of Prisoner's Emotions as Others Are Shot This order was promptly executed. Citizen Rakitianski, who was spared, furnished the following gruesome de- Is The prisoners were taken out of cells in gre When the st batch was we were told they to be only ex- nined, not feel wor- d. cond group was take ready that they were shot. They were butch slaughter- house As the official papers of the Cheka had already been packed up, prepared to be evacuated, no formalities could be observed in these executions, and it was due to this fortunate fact that Rakitianski was enabled to life. Each prisoner was asked what the charge against him had been. Noticing that those who were heid for violating that order against staying on the streets after 8 P. M. were be- ing separated from the rest, Rakitian- eki, although actually imprisoned on a charge of being an ex-officer, an- nounced that he had also been ar- rested on the street at a late hour, and thus he was spared. Nearly ail of the agents, with the president of the Cheka at their hi took part in the shoo! cutions at the prison w by a certain Artabekov. tions lasted whole day ériving the neighborhood f were ng and we did tt when the out we going to be d like cattle in a ings. The exe- re carried out These execu- and night, ntic with fear. About 2,000 persons were shot that day. Who they were, and why they were shot, remains a mystery. Executions were carried out in batches. October 30, 1920, they shot 84 persons, among them Morozov, Jaskov, Ganko and others, Novem- ber 6 more than 100 were shot, in- cluding the former member of the ada (local Parliament of the Kuban. anslator’s note), Engineer Tur- ishtchey, Bogdanoy, the Manevskis and daughter), r Kalishevski, (mothe Miss Dombray 2, who was cruelly tortured; four young Cossacks from the nitsa of Poltavskaia charged with having deserted from the army and o Dec rs. mber they exe- cuted 184 persons, among whom were Dr. Shestakov, sutjected to mental torture; the Baroness Maidell, C pulo, Lieuts Savenke Gen. Kossinov, the working- ko, the student Annenkov, ssack Dubroyvik, &c. January 24, 0 persons were put to death, these being the Rukayishnikoys man the ¢ (father and daughter) (the latter © d to conceal swallow po- tassium cyanide before she was exe- cuted), Ogane ntz, the Ishtchenkos (Cossacks), Yurehenko, Monastyrny Kutniak, Diachenko, Mak an- chenko, Zviagin, Officer and others. February 5 they shot 94 persons, among whom were Pads ‘Taray-Magura and others. How, it may be a , is the trial itself conducted if ¢ al punishment is dealt out so free this it must be answered that the trials are car- ried on ir st primitive manner renko, m and absolutely ignorant pe The tigator is usually a mere fledgling or a young girl. They op at nothir either extort a con- fession of gu: r to £ ed as to ca himself in his testimony. t the prisoner him to con- The 60 conf tradic following two rules are firmly estab- 1 followed consistently: first, ner is kept strictly isolated atside world so as to make »ssible for him to obtain wit- to 5 his innocence; and is presumed to be guilty can prove himself innocent. refore, practically the tvhole in- vestigation is restricted to the exam- by the inv unless he aminatic PRIS ONERS KILLED IN A DAY BY THE CHEKA merits*of the case, by the authorized representative and “collegium” (judi- clal tribunal) of the Cheka. The latter then affixes its stamp, “To be shot,” or “To be deported to forced labor” for five or ten years) all de- pending upon the opinion formed by a given investigator. And this practi- cally exhausts the whole equipment-of Bolshevist justice. It would be superfluous here to re- Peat that this primitive dispensation of justice, with the whole country in a state of general outlawry and ter- rorization, affords unlimited scope to the most unbridied arbitrariness. Physical as well as mental torture is applied. The following method is in vogue at che Yekaterinodar Che- ka © victim is stretched out on the floor. Two ky Cheka agents strain at his and two others at his shoulders, stretching the muscles of his neck. A fifth agent keeps pounding his neck with some iron in- strument, mostly a revolver handle. The neck gets swollen and blood is streaming from mouth and nose, The pain is excruciating. It ought to be pointed out here that such tortures are inflicted only upon the more im- portant “counterrevolutionists” im- plicated in some dangerous organiza- tion which the Cheka is anxious to will saye your life.” The automobile passes beyond the city limits, down to the Kuban River. Here they compel Shestakoy to dig his own grave; prep- arations are being made for his ¢ cution, and at last a volley is fired at him, but with blank cartridges. Then again an automobile ride, again those diabolical suggestions, and again blank volleys, This is repeated several times. ‘The last time such a torture was in- flicted on him was when he was al- ready in the death cell. Half crazed, the victim finally yielded, naming some people; he did not sleep all night long, weeping spells alternating with laugh- ter, He seemed to believe that he would soon be set free, and wrote about it joyously to his wife, who was imprisoned in the women's cell. On the following evening, however, the 22d of December, he was shot. His wife also was shot, and even the owner of the house he had lived in, the Greek subject, Grammatikopulo, a man who had absolutely nothing to do with the Shestakoy case, except that hestaltov, in his capacity of physician mobilized by the Soviet Government, had requisitioned and occupied a room in his house, and that by official Soviet order! The conditions of the death cel! are in another form of this confinement in themselves but mental torture, THE CHIEF OF THE CHEKA ] unearth. This form of torture w: applied in. the case of officer Terekho who, by the way, was at that time al- ready insane, for he only kept laugh- ing during the ordeal, thereby incens- ing his tormentors to fury. Another Yictim was citizen Axlutin, afterward shot. Mixup Over Some Clothes Brings Torture to Woman Dombrovskala, a school mistress, was one of those tortured in a single cell. Her crime consisted in having been found, during a house search, in the possession of a valise of officer's clothes, left with her by a relative who had been an officer and happened to pass through the city as long ago as the Denikin occupation, To this crime Dombrovskaia confessed frankly. But the Cheka had also a report that she was concealing some articles of gold received from a relative, a Gen- eral. And that was sufficient for her to be subjected to torture. First of all she was violated. After that she was tortured to make her tell where the gold was concealed. First they slashed her nude body with a knife, pinched her finger tips with wed pine uffering agonies of pain, covered with blood, the un- fortunate girl named some spot in the barn of house No. 28 Medyedevskaia street, where she lived. At 9 in the evening November 6 she was shot, and an hour later a careful search was made by the Cheka agents at the spot she had indicated, with the result, it seems, that they re yered a gold bracelet and several gold rings. In the stanitsa of Caucasskaia th use an iron glove to torture the pris- oners. This consists of a heavy piece of iron studded on the inside with small nails, and is put on the I the victim. When this heavy is struck a blow it not only causes pain by its sheer weight, but also Incerates the hand with its numerous little nails, causing terribly painful sores which soon begin to fester. Among others, Jonas Yefremovi Leliavin was subjectee to this m ond of torture to make him disclose the hiding place of some gold and Czar rubles he was alleged to have con- cealed. In Armavir a head band is used for torture. This consists of an ordinary belt, with screw and bolt at the ends. It is put around the fore- head and screwed tighter and tighter, until the pain becomes unbearable. Apart from physical torture there mental torture . for instance, in the case of Dr. Shestakoy, In his note- book the address of an officer of the eral Staff in Moscow was discoy- 1, and he was then suspected of being a member of the counter revo- lutionary organization in the Red Army. Shestakov denied this. Th result was th torture, cons procedur t he was put to mental sting of the following On evenings when the weather was good, when Yekaterinodar was more lively than usual, when one of its main streets—Krasnaia—was thronged and everything wes hustle and bustle and making life attractive, the Cheka agents would take n nuto- mobile rides thr tell h to live, ain street it is You im how many ‘© offers man, only 25 year I was forced to go through that ex- perience, and it has left an indelible mark upon my memory, Among the prisoners Cell No, 10 was known by no other name but “ante-chamber of the grave.” We were brought to this terrible cell under heavy guard at about 7 in the evening. Scarcely had we found time to look around when the door bolt scraped, the hinges creaked and the prison authorities, accompanied by the keepers, entered. “How many of you are here?” the chief asked the starosta, casting a glance about the cell. ‘ixty-seven persons. ‘How, sixty-seven? The grave has been dug for ninety!” the chief drawled calmly, almost lazily, although in surprise, Then followed the nightmare of those endless, long hours of expecta- tlon of death. A priest among the prisoners had by some miracle suc- ceeded in retaining his pectoral cross; he put it on, sank to his knees and commenced to pray. Many of us, and a Communist among them, followed his example. Here and there some one was weeping. At the same time the sounds of an untuned plano reached us, playing some trite valses, iternated with sian songs, only adding to the burdens of our heavy hearts. ‘This was the music rehearsal of the proletarian cul- ture club installed in the former prison chapel alongside our cell. At 9 in the evening the attendant, Prokopenko, informed us through the loophole that we could calmly go to 1; there would be no executions that night, as President Kotlarenko of the Cheka, had left Yekaterinodar. ‘The only ones to be shot, and that only to-morrow, would be the prisoners of he Special Division, And really, at 9 o'clock the next evening, we heard in the corridors the tramp of a great number of feet, and from time to time there would be furious swearing and dashing, merry Rus-* Horrible Torture of Women and Men Testified ‘to by Socialists Who Were Held in the Kuban: Prisons general turmoil. Through the dirty windows of the second story we were able to see how the condemned pris- oners were led out by their arms, fol- lowed by Cheka agents with pistols pointed at their heads. In this way eight days dragged along. Practically évery one of us had weitten a farewell note! and man- aged, by every conceivable means, with the ald of the attendants, as well other. prisoners, who were not con- demned to death, to get these notes through to their desttnations, Still we had by no meaas gettled entirely with life. Every one of us had a spark of hope still glimmering in the depths of his heart. Perhaps this was the only thing that prevented us from dashing out our brains against those thick, somber walls of the prison. At times it even seemed to us as if all this was merety done to frighten us. Unfortunately, however, it only seemed so, At 8:30 in the evening there resounded through the corridor the sinister tramp of many fect. The rusty bolt of the door grated. Cheka agents ‘with a lantern and revolver in hand entered the cell. It is difficult to describe the feelings of the prisoners at that moment. Some became hysterical, crying like lttle children; others changed abrupt- ly; with ashen faces, sunken cyes, the tips of their noses sharp as those of corpses, they stood there staring va- cantly, like graven images, at tho Cheka agents, Soon, howaver, this state of torpidity, having lasted but a few minutes, gave way to the raven- ous hunger for life. ,One wants to live! And one is frantically trying to hold on to life, It seems as if one realizes during these minutes all the unfathomable beauties that life holds. One feels as if his heart were being clutched by tongs of fire and fear haunted looks full of the torments of hell are cast at the dark cell window, beyond which lies freedom, now s0 priceless and dear. Like an animai at bay one seeks escape, and the racked, feverish brain works rapidly. But the more one thinks of it the more one realizes his utter helpless- ness. After a few minutes of hellish torture one already feels tired, weary in body and soul, as if one had spent an eternity st hard, forced labor. No hope remains for salvation. And the mere realization that the end of life is near leads to a painful mental proc- exs, resulting in a state of complete apathy, almost paralysis, yielding, however, a few moments later to an- other paroxysm of feverish desire, but this time the desire for death. At this moment some one broke Into a gay, lilting song, and we heard laughter and joking. Some of the doomed prisoners concentrated all their attention on occupations that reminded but little of approaching death, Gen. Kassinov, who had never worried much about keeping his pipe clean, now commenced carefully to clean and to wipe it, as if he would have to smoke it for many more years, A Cossack, fully aware that he was going to be shot within a few min- utes, spread calmly a kerchief with some food, cut off a slice of bread and bacon and proceeded imperturbably to munch it, as if he had not eaten any- thing in an eternity. Lieut. Savenko was singing, All this, however, was done only in a state of pathological excitement, automatically and uncon- sciously. Only now, having myself gone through all this, can I under- stand why some victims of the French Revolution mounted the scaffold jest- ingly. The victims were taken from the cell in batches of ten. Each wi grasped by the arms by two Cheka agents and a third followed behind, a loaded revolver leveled at the head of the prisoner. The slightest attempt at resistance was cut short by a shot, 'The shootings took place on the brink of a pit, at close range, so that the hgad would be mangled beyond recog- nition. The victims were shot in their underwear, their upper garments being appropriated by the execution- ers. Bridge Divides Society Into 3 Parts They Either Play Game Well or Badly or They Sit Around and Refuse to Learn. All society these days is divided into three parts—those who play bridge well, those who play bridge badly and those who sit around saying they're not interested and don’t ever want to learn to play. And among those who play for love or for money or just for prizes, there are again three divisions. First come those who play In com- parative silence, obeying every written and unwritten law and rule of etiquette, gravely announcing the bids, slapping down the cardw systematically, taking the whole proceeding as the most geri- ous in the universe. Second is the scrappy, noisy group, usually consisting of husbands and wives or sisters and brothers. “Why did you do this?” “Why did you do that?” “You know hearts were trump.” “Why didn't you take me out?” and such expressions compose the popular refrain as the tricks mount up. The third subdivision is the group, a wome but. be know Marian § yes, What a affairs are discussed until finally some one notices the cards and the chatterers drift back Into bidding. So the ever ready topics of servant- itis and food formulas and fashions take up long intervals between deals and the game moves along indifferently until it's time for refreshments. So, surely it's the» persons who do play bridge and not the fascinating game itself that drives the third group of serious objectors to keep on object- ing to being drawn into the clique that draws up nightly, or weekly, to the spindly, green feit covered tobles. in rooms where cigarette smoke draws a kindly vell over features that look less lovely than they are as women frown and pout and men appear anxious as they shuffle and gort the cards. ad Reason REASONS FOR SCRAPPING THE REPAR ATIONS BO ARD Flat Heeled and Rounded Shoe HE Reparations | must go. Instead of President Wil- son's “Peace Without Victory,”. Eu- rope welters in a victory without peace, The stormy petrel of this situ- ation is the Reparations Commissioner It is a cause and a symbol of disorder. To many persons who share with me a sympathetic feeling for the French people in thelr great perplexi- ties, the radical proposition just stated will at Arst seem unfriendly. Yet, if one believes that the interests of France, as well as those of Europe, are to be served by a reversal of policies determined amidst the pas- sions of 1919, then he should espouse such reversal, while setting forth the faith that is in him. From time to time we severely criticize our own governmental action. Do we, there- fore, cease to be pro-American? Ana must we then be blind to all possible errors of judgment on the part of those statesmen, who for a season control the political destinies of a peo- ple whose welfare we desire, To me It seems that something like the following program must be foi- lowed if France is to be delivered, in part, from the snares in which she and the whole of Europe have fallen. First—An amount of war indemnicy must be fixed with respect to the amount of wealth which can be sup- plied as an exportable surplus result- ing from Germany's general interna- tional commerce, plus an amount tha’ may be due to special reconstruction measures, if France ‘s willing to open this special field of exportation to Ger- man goods and labor. Second—The determination of this total indemnity should not be based upon calculations of allied claims un- der the various headings appearing in the Treaty of Versailles, but upon Germany's capacity to pay annuities in gold values. The payment shoul probably be extended over periods longer than that fixed in the treaty. ‘Third—The division of the whole sum thus fixed among the various claimants is a matter with which Ger- many has nothing to do, but is to be agreed among the claimants, About German Bonds And Their Employment Fourth—In witness of the German indebtedness, bonds should be directly delivered to the creditor Governments, these bonds being of untform rank and character, unless priorities and differ- ences be established by their own acts among the recipients. Fifth—The costs of military occu- pation of German territory, if con- tinued at all, must be fixed or sur- rendered entirely. Sixth—No sound: German obliga- tions can be obtained unless, after ful- fillment of their requirements, Ger- many should be left with external re- ceipts and payments at least balanced or running slightly in her fayor. Oth- erwise no permanent reform of her currency can be effected, Without such reform her commerce will decay, thus destroying her “capacity to pay. I say this deliberstely and emphati- cally, in spite of tue recognized tem- porary advantage given to export trade by depreciating currency, Seventh—No outcome of the Ruhr valley movement can yield valuable financial results to the Allies on other bases than those indicated. Even if there be actual confiscation of physl- cal property no considerable payments can be realized save on the theory of subsequent profitable use for the bene- fit of the Allies of such confiscated property. And again, in this case tho problem of transferring values across a currency frontier would still remain, plus a thousand political compli¢a- tions. Highth—The bonds above contem- plated should be payable to bearer Commission and preferably sold everywhere, “from China to Peru,” thus causing the maintenance of Germany's credit throughout the world to become an essential element in her foreign and domestic policies, Ninth—Coincident to the delivery of these bonds to the creditor Govern- ments, all vexatious rights of inter- ference in Germany's jnternal affairs, as now vested in the Reparations Com- mission, should be withdrawn and that body cease to exist, This can be brought about withdfit revision of the treaty, as will be shown below. The Powers That Lie in The Reparations Commission Events have already proved thatthe continued functioning of this commis- sion under the treaty will be accom- panied by dissensions among the Al- lies. A painless death, by agreement, will be better for all partiés than an gonized demise with bitterness at the bedside. ‘This body, has been more in the limelight than any otker of the many commissions which sprang from the womb of the Great Pact. From Tokio to San Francisco, across. the conti- nent, its decisions have detonated into disturbances of the first magnitude. This commission possesses the power of displacing the German Gov- ernment—or giving command to that Government—in many of the most vital functions of the State. It can make sudden demands for huge pay- ments. It can order changes in the tax laws of Germany. It can insist upon changes in the whole natlonal budget. If it were concelvable that the members of the commission could continuously act with complete inde- pendence of the Governments which they represent, then this body would in effect dominafe the finances, and hence the politics, of central Europe, If they be pliable to the wishes of those who Fave named them to their office, then they become a useless ex- ponent of international policy among the Allies. If there be agreement concerning these policies on the lines of executing Uterally the exactions of the Versailles treaty we must cor template continued resistance, passiv or active, on the part of the’German people, since it is now admitted by all Copyright, 1023, by The New York Herald, Program of Nine Points Offered as a Solution to Deliver Europe from the Snares That Hold Her A Painless Death for Commission Recom mended by Crosby, Who Points Out Dis- turbances It Has By OSCAR T. CROSBY. that, in some important respects, the treaty must be modified. If the al- led councils are divided, as at pres- ent, we must have a continuation of the present strain. The Treaty of Versailles in general seems to contemplate an uninter- rupted exercise of abnormal func- tions’ by the commissions wkich it created, but, in this case, as if pre- scient of the future, it points the way, toward a destruction of one of Its most powerful progeny. In paragraph 2, Annex II, Chapter VIL, we read: ‘Each Government represented on the commission shall have the right to withdraw therefrom upon twelve months’ notice filed with the com- mission and confirmed in the course of the six montks after the date of the original notice.’ Here is a charter of dissolution. It is in the same subdivision of the treaty which describes the organiza- tion of the commission, an organiza- tion which, by the way, has never been strictly completed. We were to name one of the full powered dele- gates. The other States thus priv- ileged were Great Britain, France and Italy. Japan, Belgium and the Serb-Croate Serbian States were au- thorized to name delegates having Umited voting powers. The child was born minus the American fraction of its body. And now the defection of Great Britain and Italy would para~ lyze the organism for general pur- poses. Indeed, mere abstention from yoting by a single delegate would pre- vent positive action on a number of important matters for which the treaty requires unanimity in the commission, In Eaaye Out the TreatyIt_ Has efeated Interests of Allies During its short Ife the commis- sion has done much to defeat the true interests of its clients, the allied Powers having claims against Ger- many. Yet, save in one particular of tragic consequence, it is difficult to see how this overworked body could have seriously modified its action with- out violating conditions imposed upon it by the treaty. In that instrument we find the basis of claims which the commission was bound to take into account, Broadly speaking, these are divisible into, (a) restitntions in kind, as of locomotives, live stock, &c.;. (b) delivery of com- modities through long periods, as of coal, and (c) money payments cover- ing the value of materials not sup- plied in kind, and also covering pen- sions and allowances to civil persons, all these being payable in money by the allied Governments to thelr own citizens. The controversy which raged over the intrusion of the claim for pensions and allowances has been so often given in print that it needs no repetition here. It is sufficient to say that the Reparations Commission had nothing to do with the row. Their work on pensions and allow- ances is largely one of computation, easily accomplished by any account- ant, One important element, however, was left to their discretion, namely, the fixation of the gold value of French francs. They were required to accept, for all future labilities on this account, the scale of pensions and allowances appearing in French stat- utes applicable to the dato when the treaty became effective. At that time the French franc was not convertible into gold except through foreign ex- chi es, Its value thus determined was equi to about one-third of the amount of gold in a German gold mark. But obviously this value might change. It would!go up and down, following the good or bad situation of French currency. An educated guess had to be made as to the future. It will bea comfort to those ardent intervention- {sts who cry out for American de- cision of all vexatious questions in Europe to be told that this very im- portant guess was left to Mr. Boyden, American unofficial member .of the commission. The figure fixed by him for conversion of French paper franca into gold added a huge sum to the German debt compared with the amount that would have resulted from fn application of the gold value of the franc at the date mentioned, Nor has the exchange market since that time shown a widely different result. The bookkeeping charge on account of this item has thus far been, in- creased about 50 per cent, over the amount which would have been reached upon the basis of the gold ylue of the franc when the treaty went Into effect. Yet ne critic can reagonably find fault with the ratio fixed, since he wh would peer into the yelled future of @ paper currency cannot know just what vision would appear to him im the moment of responsible action. Under the heading of pensions and allowances. the French Government has reported expenditures approxi- mating 50,000,000 francs, That is, at Mr. Boyden's ratio, roughly $5,500,000. Reflecting that the claims of the other allied Governments made a. total pras- tically three times as great as the French claims, and that the payments to pensioners have still years to run, we are led to the conclusion that un- der this sole caption, the commission was automatically led to the in- clusion of an amount exceeding the ten or fAfteen billion dollars given by several American experts in the peace conference as limiting the German capacity to pay. The Sum That Was Left For Us in Reconstruction If we assume that these easily cal- culable claims were allowed by the commission substantially as rendere] by the claimants, we find for all true reconstruction claims a balance of only 40,000,000,000 gold marks (roughly $10,000,000,000) out of the total of 183,000,000,000 marks, fixed by the commission in April, 1921, In this part of thelr inquiry, the commission had a wider range of discretion than in that treated above. Who could really know what it would-cost to re- construct the devastated areas in France, Belgium and Italy? Nobody. It was due to the homeless populations that the work should be done as rap- idly as possible. That would add to its normal cost. It was necessary that it should be largely done through governmental agencies; that also would add to its cost as compared with usual construction rates, There is no solid ground for sup- posing that an American member of the commission couid have largely and justly diminished the amount set in the commission's calculations for re- construction work. It mugt be particularly remembered that in making the original assess- ment of Germany's debt her ca- pacity to pay was not in question, Tho commission had no right to consider that ‘clement of the situation, save as it might develop later; and even then, it could not cancel any part of the indebtedness, first established, without consent of the interested Goy- ernments. Having thus presented very briefly an outline of the commission's action, as determined by ‘treaty stipulations. I now desire to call attention to a sin of omission which was above referred to as having had tragic consequences. When the commission made particular demands upon the German Govern- ment for payments of specified sums at specified dates it was their right, and I think their duty, to know just how their demands would be met. If, as claimed by Berlin, there was no other way of obtaining the required gold payments than by the sale of uncovered paper currency, then the commission, In my judgment, should have so notified its clients. It is well known that the German Govefnment did resort to this fatal measure, not only for the purpose of meeting repu- ration demands but also for other purposes. In doing so they became committed to the most dangerous ex. pedient which any government can utilize in difficult financial situation: Space does not permit me to give in detail the many indirect consequences of this fateful act. Based upon personal contact with German bankers and officials last year, I feel justified in stating that practically none of them appreciated at that time all of the effects that must flow from the prostitution of a currency system In a highly developed industrial country. I am constrained to believe that the members of the Reparations Com- mission were themselves far too neg- lectful of this grave question. Much more jmportant to their clients would tt have been to use all thelr vast power to prevent the debauch which has oc- curred, than to make bold gestures of demand without advertising to the world just what the fulfillment of these demands would mean. Even it they had been more successful than they were in the collection of small fractions of the total German in- debtedness, they would yet have been responsible for passing over in silence, or with slight emphasis, the inevitable effects upon the debtor's future ca- pacity to pay, when he adopted cur- rency measures which were bound to weaken him. Perhaps the bitter lesson has at last been learned; but certainly no considerable payments can in any way be extracted from Germany until she shall have set her face toward sounder methods in the vital question of giving legal tender quality to the general currency of the country. If, through the hardships that will befall both parties for a time as the consequences of the Franco-Belgian advance into the Ruhr, it shall be ac- cepted by all concerned that a radical reform of German currency is the first requisite for the satisfaction of allied claims, then the Ruhr invasion shall not have been in vain. Radiator’s Steam Keeps Boy’s Toy Engine Going. ‘The Inventive genius of Henry Sub- bubs came to his assistance again the other day. Henry's small boy had been confined to the house with a cold, and many were the means and ruses em- ployed to keep him content. When a kindly netghbor gave the youngster a small stationary steam engine Henry rejoiced no less than the child. But by the next noon he had changed his mind. Fire for the small engine was pro- vided by an alcohol burner, which, as the child kept the engine constantly running, necessitated Henry's rising often to keep the flame replenished. entually his idea took birth. Unscrewing the valve of his sizzling house radiator he connected by means of a small rubber tube the engine to the escaping steam. Results were satisfac- tory, and Henry was leit to read his paper in peace. Womanhood Regains Foo Is Now Giving Her Sex Freedom of Toes. Trily ts coming back. Do you re- member Trilby? She was the girl with the pretty feet—the one who was not amed of them. Folks used to say t George du Maurier invented her— sort of made her up out of his head and his experience in Paris studios— and just put her feet into his celebrated novel as Shakespeareare did Falstaff or Poor Tom—for what modern writers call “comic relief.” Yet there is no doubt that after the publication of “Trilby” in the early ninetles there was a greater stretching of feminine toes and a greater consciousness of the feminine foot than had been felt at any previous timo baci to the time of the First Napoleon. Before that time a woman's foot was considered something mysterious, some- thing'to be spoken about as the Eliza- bethan poets did speak about It (or was it Bobbie Bucns who wrote of his lady's foot “like a little mouse runs in and out"), or somethng frankly ugly like the foot of a peasant woman tomed to wooden shoe: or Polynesian woma: barefooted all her life. ‘The latter part of the last century ‘nas probably the height of the craze for small feet among fashionable women, and therefore probably the nadir of the beauty of the ten little pinks toes. It ‘was it time of pinched toes for both men and women. ‘The chiropodists of to-day are reaping tho harvest that was sowed along about that time. In those days even boys wore the shoe of the period. It was called generically a “toothpick,” and scant regard waq given to the position of the toes in thelr close confines, With girls it was worsq and it is mo wonder that the Jeu feminine of that generation would neves think of such a thing as going bathing without stockings. Modesty was sup- posed to discourage it; the conventions did discourage it, and any one who.had ever seen @ beautiful foot positively for- bade it. How different {t is now. In this de- cade young women of America, and even of some countries of Europe ‘to which American shoes have percolated, run about on beaches almost shamelessly in thelr bare feet. Their mothers might have dared it in some Instances, but thelr grandmothers never would have so ventured. “Their grandmothers were too mod- est,” some one says, “and thelr mothers were less modest. and thess girls were not modest at all.” ‘ot a bit of it—it you want the her bare feet because her toes wet sands because she was wearing the tortures. of martyrdom when they In those days the chfropodist had town in the community, alongside of oline flared nostrums. before the Americans began to under- member the Russo-Japanese war, but Russia. not win,” sald the wise- men who will wear nothing but straw What happened? “To win this war all of my soldiers made in Chicago, U. 8. A. It is an or- {t, and the downfall of Russia began canned beef ts problematical. At any It has often been said that South would get there. It is a notorious fact It'ts also a fact that @ barefoot army the wearers. to sts well fitting footgear. At any rate, as our men wore. in the dear, forgotten play. It is to the little girl with the bob There was an old man who MveA would have liked to see one. And th! ‘And the death of ye be alsys Little sister with her flat heels, her of the parlor down below {s the one so emphatically that it can no longer shoe that will give her foot a chance Too Busy to Read, Girl —Not a pif of it. Grandmother did not,run the beach in knotted Into all sorts of shapes by the shoes she wore. Mother did not run the pumps of the period. Both of them were virtually crippled and suffered the danced with the Prince of Wales (after- ward King Edward VIL). never been heard of, but corn salve was sold under flaming lights in every small Wizard Oll, Kickapoo Oil, Tapeworm Eradicator and all the rest of the gas- Everyone had corns or buntons or chilblains in those days, because it was stand wearing shoes. Most of ts are old enough now to re- very few know what decided that con- filct. The betting was all in favor of ‘Japan acres." The Mikado has an army of sandals on their feet and put nothing but fish in their bellies.” ‘The Japanese Emperor issued an or’ der something to this effect: will wear shoes which are made in New England, U. S, A., and eat corned beef der from your Emperor.” ‘They did wear ‘em, and they did eat from that minute. How much of ft was due to sole leather and how much to rate, they both come from the same country and the same critter. America would be the greatest country in the world if the right shoe salesman that the peasants of most of the South American countries do rot wear shoes. never won in the face of an army who ‘wore shoes—especially if the shoes fitted There are those who say that much of the success of the A. E. F. was due there was never an army in the world which went Into action with such shoes But this fs a long ery from Trilby, even though she wore eoldier’s coat The point is this—the Flapper has brought the foot back to womanhood. hair and the felt hat that milady owes the freedom of her toes. once far out in the West. Probably ‘:e never saw a Flapper—but certainly ne was his orite toast: ‘May the Iife of ye be long And may each of your toes Give birth to a daisy, pug nose, her swinging shoul and the heels that knock all the pli © off who has rediscovered the female foot. Little sister has put this foot down be squeezed into a “toothpick” shoe. She wants a broad toe, a low heel and a to wiggle a bit id she ts not only go- ing to get it but she has got It. Gets Predigested News For some time the filing clerk noticed that one of the men in the of: always clipped the morning papers. H: did it so methodically and so regularly that it made the clerk curious. So he asked him about it. “Why? he repeated. ‘Well, I'll tell you. A young girl friend of mine seldom reads the papers. She's usually #0 rushed when she gets up in the morning that she doesn't have a chance. Sha works in a bullding not from home and fo doesn’t ride in the subway, As she has a responsible job she doesn't have time to read the papers during the day. So she asks me to cut ovt any- thing that might interest her, As our tastes are in comunon, the things I evt out usually are what wu wavis in matter of n: 3