Evening Star Newspaper, January 11, 1921, Page 1

WEATHER. Cloudy. probably light snow or rain late tonight and tomorrow; no change | in temperature; lowest temperature toe night near freesing; variabie winds. mperature for twenty-four hours ‘ending 2 p.m. today: Highest, 46, at noon teday: lowest. 32, at 6 a.m. today. l Full report on page 14. 2 Closing New York Stocks, Page 23. he ‘ WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION bening Sfar. * ’ Ppaper and sl ¢ Entered as second-class matter post office Washington, D. C. CITIZENS CARRY APPEAL " FOR VOTE IN CONGRESS | DIRECT TO THE CAPITOL 28,016. Representatives of Virtually Every Civic Organ-| ization in District Plead Right of Enfranchise- | ment Before House Judiciary Committee. | CONGRESSMEN ASK QUESTIONS AS TO | EXTENT OF AUTONOMY PEOPLE WANT Representative Burroughs Opens Argument for Washingtonians. Request Only Same Voice in National Affairs Others : WASHINGTON, D. C, AERONAUTS NEAR END OF JOURNEY BACK FROM WILDS Mush Off From Skunk Island, Last Stop Before Reach- ing Mattice. EXPECTED AT RAIL HEAD LATE THIS AFTERNOON Indian Advance Scout Tells of Safe Arrival From Secluded Moose Factory. By the Assiciated Press. BUFFALO, N. Y.. January 11.— from Torento to the Enjoy, Says T. W. Noyes. Washingtonians today launched a concerted drive in Congress ntation. for national repres Headed by the citizens' joint committee, representatives of ! practically every civic organization in the District appeared be-' fore the House judiciary committee to urge adoption of the House joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment under which the District would be permitted a voice in Congress, | the electoral college and the right to sue and be sued in the fed- i | A wpeetal Evening News quotes the Toromto Telegram's Mattice correspondent e Ameriean naval balloonintx arrived there ut 2:30 p.m. MATTICE. Ont., Jamuary 11 Robert MacGuaxh, a younsg Indian, dashed into this xettlement today with word that the three Ameri- «an balloonists mearing’ thin point on the Tranxcontinental raliway | TUESDAY, I i 1 JANUARY 1921—TWENTY-EIGHT PAGES. 11, eral courts. That the petition presented already has elicited deep interest at the Capitol was evidenced by members and numerous inquiries directed by them as to the prob- | a large attendance of committee pressing on { were all in good health and were | teadily, with the hope ing here before even and a cariole, taking a turn at riding. able operation of the legislation sought. MATTICE. Ontario, January 1.—The Burroughs Takes Floor. ::‘l:! -\;T,lionu‘l‘ ]\“nritu ar -fil(i:l:;| iS|{hree American naval balloonists . S : ey shall have rej ation | | : A = The discussion carly developed | o™y "y, T MEOS ORI INION | Licut. Farrell, Hinton and Kloor—broke there was some doubt in the cummn-{mifl\os the laws under which they [camp at Skunk nd, twenty miles| te as to how far the suffrage advo-|live, and that anything less than that |north of this town, ecarly today and cates would go in extending political autonomy lo the District of Colum-| bia. Questions were repeatedly asked | s to whether Washingtonians want | jocal self-government and what means they would prapose for choos-! ing_their legislative representatives. Representative Sherman E. Bur- roughs, author of the resolution to grant national spresentation to the District. made the opening addre: for the citizens’ committee. outlining | in a general way the desire of Wash- ingtonians to be relleved from their yoke of un-Americanism. He was early u target for the judiciary com- mittee members as to how extensively the rights of locul self-government were desired im the District, but maintained that this was an issue which did not concern the joint com- wittee, whose only desire was to ob- tain for Washingtonians the rights of nationai Americans. Ask Only for Right Mr Burroughs vas foliowed byl Henry L. F. Macfarlund, who spoke| for nearly an hour, terminating his remarks shortly affer32i8d.o’elock. at which time Theodore- esi, chair- man of the joint comuiittee, took up the argument. He summed up the statements made by previous speakers in answer to the inquiries as to the desires for local self-government. He said: “All we ask from you today ix mere- ,ly that you make it possible for thej "District of Columbia to secure the full ;mittee in declaring only for the prin- fciple of national representation. with- representative rights, that are pos- sessed by other national Americans. “Our appeal is to get as national Americans the same voice in the na- tional councils on all national issues i as you yourselves possess. That is} our ultimate aim.” All United in Demand. Explaining the position of the com: out touching upon the issue of local self-government at this _time, Mr. Noyes stated the general principie ad- | vocated represented the united sup- port of men and women in the District who differed diametrically on every other political issue. z The men and women back of this amendment, he stated, include those who wish fo preserve the local gov- ernment as it is and those who would substitute for it.complete local self-| government. 'We are presenting a proposition,” said Mr. Noyes, “that has behind_ it for its purposes only all the conflict- ing lines of opinion regarding other political issues, It would be improper for us to weaken our combined press- ure with respect to a matter that i!' vital to us and upon which we are all agreed. “We want a maximum of repre- | sentative right of national Americans. | but only ask for a minimum of leg- islative action.” It was found impossible to continue | the hearings this afternoon and ad- journment was taken at 1:30 o'clock | until 10.30 tomorrow morning, when representatives of the other organi- | zations present will be heard. | Explains D. C. Situatien. The first hour of the hearing today | was consumed by Representative Bur- soughs in explaining the situation in the District to the members of the committee, clearing away many mis- onceptions, and in answering ques- tions in which the members of the committee stated various opinions in regard to what the people of the Dis- irict xhould want. " In opening the hearing, Mr. Bur- roughs asked that if any opposition to his resolution develops, that the propo- nents should have an opportunity to reply. During the first hour there de- veloped considerable argument by sev- eral members of the committee, notably Representatives Gard of Ohio and Igoe of Missouri, democratic members, that the District should have government of its local affairs before It should be ziven mational representation. Repre- Sentative Igoe said he was in favor of ziving local government now. Representative Summers of Texas, after a categorical argument with Representative Burroughs, left the committee, saying that he was in favor of the Burroughs resolution. Representative Dyer of Missouri argued with Mr. Burroughs that a referendum ought to be taken in order that Congress might know just what ihe people of the District wanted in the way of suffrage. Anks E Representative Righ Burroughs told the n of the i that is un-American. Example of Despoti “Here is the only example on the western lhemisphere of complete des- potism,” he said. 1 am not saying _the people are oppressed or criticising the personnel of the Dis- trict Commissioners. [ am pointing | out that America is supposed to have here a democratic form of govern ment, and the fact is that, as far as the District is concerned, we do not have it. but in reality a despotic form of government. It makes no difference that the control is benefi cent. it is a despotism just the same Representative Burroughs said that the practical unanimity in support of his resolution among the citizens of; the District was shown by the gath- ering of great ci professional and commercial organizations _sup- porting the plea for suffragé. When Representative Dyer proposed that a referendum should be taken, Mr. Bur- roughs said: % “I know of no organization in the iDistrict opposing the proposal for na- | tional representation. We have here practically every o ization in the District ready to testify in favor of the resolution, and 1 know of no city throughout the country that is better organised for civic purposes. If there is any organized opposition I suppose it will appear. Theré has been no ef- fort to suppress it. But I do know that there is ‘very, very strong or- 8anized support from many quarters, which makes me confident that the wishes of the people are thus ex- pressed without a referendum vote. Asks What District Wants. Mr. Macfarland explained to ‘the committee ‘the brief submitted on be- balf of Washington civic organizations in their fight for representation: He called attention to the fact thut the organizations represented in the joint citizens' committee include the Board of Trade, with 2100 members; the Chamber * of Commerce,. with 1,1 members; the Federation of Citizens Associations, representing forty-one sectional civic bodies: the Central Labor Unlon, representing ninety local unions; the Merchants' und Manufac- urers Assoclation and many other or- ganizations. “We appear here as representatives of the citizens’ joint committee, which includes representatives of ull im- portant civic organizations in the National Capital” said Mr. Mactar- iand. “No organisation is opposing this resolution, as I know of. What we seek is that we shall have repre- sentation in a body that legislates for us and taxes us.” At this point Representative Dyer injected an observation to the effect that if Congress once knew what the District wants in matter of suffrage it would not be siow in granting ft. *“We are here today to tell you what we want,” said Mr. Macfarland. Represent Majority of Opinion. “Would you say that the organiza- tions which have voted in favor of the resolution include a majority of | the people of the - District? ask Representative Dyer. “No.: was® ine | reply from Mr. Macfariand, “but they represent a majority of opinion. This i% one question that we are united o ‘What are you agreed upon as de- siring g besides the representation urged in the Senate and House?" in- quired Representative Dyer. i Vvoice in the electoral coll 5 replied Mr. Macfariand. ellexs Representative Dyer—“Is that an2" | th):r;xiu'fir_nlz{;‘dt—"rnnt is all, with! ion i the federal courf‘s Gt naceasilo R"l am from Missouri,” epresentative Dyer, N wanted to be shown. T'am sta to saes) that the people of the District are fully agreed on the principles advocated by Yyour committee. If they are, I am in favor of giving it to them \‘I‘:: Ai‘ncllrllnd continued “We have no desire to disturb i slightest degree the !xchxslv:hc::;('r':)el of the District now exercised by Con. gress. We know the reason for this! control and that it is indispensable.” | Mr. Gard Asks Quentions. At this point Representative Gard: of Ohio instituteq a line of question- ing as to the exact political status the District would have if the pro posed constitutional amendment . os adopted. He indicated doubt copeern: ing whether &uch legislation wenid not give to the District . polition | status over and ubove that spectfically | S0ught to be acquired in the resele, | lon, Tn this connection Mr. Gard | quo Tom the langus e joi resolution as fo”fl"gi““ge L oE ! “Congress shall have pow. ! mit to the status of zi[‘l::l!toflfad; state. the residents of the Distiice responded committee that the populat District _is 437.571, of which 326,854 are white 109.967 colored and 750 of all Burroughs argued that should hav equal rights and privileges that are en- joyed by an equal number of people of similar intelligence in any other part of the country. Representative tard raised the question of how the right of suffrage might change the civil service status of government emplayes in the National Capital. replying to the inquiries of Rep- - tatives Summers,. Gard gpd Izol in regard to the people of the Dis irict desiring to run their own local affairs, Mr. Burroughs said his resolu- iion would not in any way change ihe exclusive right of legislation that omgress has over melmsn-m under i1e Constitution. that what / he people of He said constituting the seat of th. e { ment of the United States.” etp S0 "™ He suggested that this language might confer upon the District the i started on the last leg of tieir long trek | | back to civilization, according to r ports brought here by Indian runne If all goes well the trio should reach | this iittle frontier settlement by ! nigntfall, and a royal welcome awaits | | them. The men are reported to be | { in good health and spirits and eager | to return to their homes. The airmen and their Indian guides | reached the island last night after | traveling over a hard trail for nearly fifteen days from Moose Factory, i where the craft was wrecked in a| | forest after a wild flight from Rock- | |away. N. Y. No further details of| ! the men’s thrilling experience were | | received here from the runners early | this morning. Word of the travelers' safe arrival at Skunk Island was brought in by Earl Trowse, one of the Indian guides isent out on-the trail by mewspaper men. ) Eighteen Miles in Five mra. | Trowse learned of the aeromauts’ proximity from W. R. Clarke, who headed the advance party. Trowse started at once for Mattice, coi pleitig the eighteen-mile Journey ovee the snow-covered Missinabi river in frée hours. 3 An hour lxter Mr. Clarke and Basla Rooney, the third member of the ads vanee party. .followed . Trowse into Mattice. They had not seen the Amer- icans, but were told by an Indian runner, sent ahead of the Moose Fac. tory party to break the trail. that the aeronauts were encamped last night at Skunk Island. T Earlier in the eyening an Indian runner had retutned from: the trail with word that he had seen no sign of the travelers from_the ,northern wilderness: This gave rise to specu- lation that heavy snows had covered the trail and would deluy the ar- rival of the Americans until late in the week. Mattice Waits Hopeful Until it .was definitely established ! that the party reached the Indiun set- tlement at Skunk Island last night. anxiety was expressed by the tow! population and the corps of newspa- per correspondents and photographers that some accident might have be- fallen them. Special interest was at- tached to the report that the men were in gopd health, for it is known that Lieut. Stephen A Farrell, the oldest of the trio, suitered severely from frost bite and exposure. He is traveling by cariole, the others mush- ing through _treacherous snows on snowshoes. When the men arrive at the rail head here they will be met by town and Dominion offi¢ials and af- forded every courtesy. A special train has been provided for their convenience. Mattice is on the tiptoe of expec- tancy for what promises to be the biggest day_in its history. The pres- ence here of the small army of news writers and_photographers has whet- tea the natives curiosity and it is a { safe prediction that every able-bodied {man, woman and child will be at the end of the trail to greet the airmen in the hearty fashion of the north country. WRITES OF HARDSHIPS. By the Associated Press. CROWLEY, La., January 11.—Lieut. Louis Kloor, jr., in a letter mailed at Moose Factory, Ont., and received b: his father here told of the hardships encountered by the three naval bal- lonists in their efforts to reach a trad- ing post from the point where the: landed in the Canadian wilderness. Text of the letter follows: “Snow was all we had to drink. We lived on_two_ carrier pigeons, which Juckily 1 did not send back with messages. This misery lasted for three days, lost and no signs of hope or habitation in sight. Friday, after having followed a small river from vhere we first landed in the balloon, { ; 1;|scovemd sled. tracks -in lh;r ice we | ! had not found these sled tracks we and we set flo to follow them. would not be living today. "We followed the tracks for at least five miles. They led into a large lake of ice at least two miles wide. After walking along for about an hour on ihe lake, in the direction the tracks Jed, we spied a man about a mile ahead of us. After many wild shouts and signals of distress, I managed to Stop him and got to him to tell him to help us find a town or some house, food and clothing. Used Sigm Language. “Much to my dismay, 1 found that he could only speak in his native In- dian tongue, but after many signs I made him understand the conditions of myself and my companions. Lieuts. Farrell and Hinton were played out. The Indian led me for two hours through snow and ice to this place, Where, to my joy, I found a settlement of white traders and Indians. “Afted dispatching a rescue party for my friends, I ate ferociously for about an hour, to satisfy the craving of my famished self. We are now doing well status of statehood without im and recuperating at this post, being : pos- oy ing any of the duties taken care of by the manager of the of statehood. or obligationg | 175, n Bay Company post. Mr. Macfarland declared that this was not the purpose of the legislation, and that the joint resolution limited the extent of which the status to which the citizenship would be con. ferred. Tells What “What we desire.” said Mr. Macfar- | land, “is a voice with power in (hl:l Desired. exercise by Congress of exclusive leg- islation for the District: a voice in (Continued on Page 14, Column 2.) ] “Moose Kactory is located at the mouth of Moose river, which runs into lower James bay, part of Hudson bay. I figured today that by direct air line 1 was about 825 miles from Rockaway and about 1,500 miles by rail. “I never conceived, when lost in the woods, that we were so far north. The settlers tell us that this is the mildest winter they have had in twenty years, so, you see, God was with us and saved us from death, as last year at this SK OFFICIAL VIEWS | OF DISARMAMIENT! House Naval Committeemen Question Cabinet Members on the Subject. | Views of officidls of the S\alel and Navy departments as to world isarmament were sought today by the House naval committee. Chairman Butler only recently held a conference on the subject with President-elect Harding at Marion. Acting Secretary Davis of the State Department told the committee, when asked as to his Views regarding thel sincerity of the nations in their ef-| forts to bring about reduction of arm- aments, that he could only say that the powers, which had subscribed to the covenant of the league of nations had manifestly indicated their sincere desire to reduce armaments. The secretary added that he beliayed President Wilson felt that in his ad- vocacy of .the league, of nau?n;“ )u.‘ taken all necessary steps toward disarmament, and that this accounted for the fact thut the Ptesident had| not_called a. dfearmament conference. as he was authorized to &o by act of Congress. Secretary Damfelas’ Viewns. Secretary Daniels told the, commit- tee that if President-elect Harding sought his advice he would urge him to ‘call such . conference on Marclr 6. ] Unless that conference produced a| permanent disarmament _agreement by all nations, Mr. Daniels said, the United States should continue to build a Navy second to none. He characterized various naval holiduy proposals as “baif measures.” Mr. Davis Questioned. Secretary Davis was asked whether he had knowledge that any nations had_approached President Wilson re- Garding, the reduction of disarma- ment. His reply was that “only on the occasion of the league of nations invitation to the President to send a representative to the league commit tee on reduction of armament.’ H “Have vou any knowledge (hntl would justify a belief that the na- tions of the world are seriously ready to discuss disarmament at a confer- ence at an early date?”’ asked Chair- man Butler. “I have no official knowledge of any such desire. except through the league,” was the reply. Mr. Davis told the committee that the only way it could obtain such knowledge would be to communicate with the other governments. Asked if the State Department could make such inquiries, he said: & “In view wof the fact that Comgress ihas authorized the President to call {4 conference to discuss the subject, I | Yeel that any such action on my part ! might he construed as coming under { that authorization. Of course, 1 could inot take such action without direc- i tion from the President.” | “Would vyou consider taking t natter up with the President to see if it is his wish that such & conference be called?” asked Chairman Butle | "“1"would not care to unswer tha was the reply. “The President has i tuken all the steps he feels he should itake, und if he wanted such a con- ference he would direct me to take the necessary steps to call it” Mr. Davis, in conclusion, said he did not believe President Wilson would consider calling a conference, because Such action might embarrass the} Harding administration. | Presents “Only Alternativ ! An international agreement “with all, or practically all. the nations which will guarantee an cnd of com- petition if Navy building” was pre- { sented as the only alternative to the ilding by the United States of a the_respect and fear of the world v ary Daniels. BT, Secretary dismissed us unworthy of discussion a tiird pro- posal for an American Navy less than | Pqual to the most powerful sea power n " the world, “because it is u waste to spend money on an agency of war| Which would be helpless if needed.” Mr. Daniels in outlining the advice which he would give to President- ~lect Harding, should he be asked for counsel on naval matters, sai “If President-elect Harding should do me the honor to ask my advice on the subject, I would unhesitatingly say to him 5%%¢ ‘the United States is not to be- come a member of the league of na- | {fons 1 believe some plan should bo adopted to secure an agreement for a reduction of armaments. You will have the authority to call such a con- forence. You can act on March § and hasten the coming of the day when taxpayers of this country and of all | countries may be safely freed from the great burdens of war prepara- tions. Until that conference secures World agreement let there be no ces- sation in building the ships author- ized by Congress.” Naval Holiday “Half-Way” Measure. Characterizing_the ‘naval holiday” between the United States, Great Britain and Japan, provided for in the (Continued on Page Z, Columb 5.) (Continyed on Page 2, Column 3.) ; IPERIL T0 REGORDS | o Senators Discuss Commerce | hicles Baughman has asked At- { torney General Armstrong for ruling on the points involved. | The question is: Shall an euto- ‘ mobile used by the Siamese lega- tion ut Washington pay the usual | fees for Maryland license tags? Edward H. Loftus, first secretary of the legation. thinks the car should travel gratis over the Mary- land roads, and has so informed the commission of motor vehicles. The latter's office has transmit- ted the correspondence to Attor- ney General Armstrong, who has written to Commissioner Baugh- man, asking him whether Mr. lLoftus ix a citizen of the United ates. I | IF LAW PERMITS ! raxive precoaT | AY PROVE NO BAR BALTIMORE January 11.—The au- } tomobile laws of Maryland are com- @ question of doplomatic privilege, ‘ and Commissioner of Motor Ve- | |nayguration Economy Plea Is Expected. President-elect Harding may make personal requests that his inuugura: thut end the matter? Congress has | already appropriated funds, and mnot- a handful of men in both the Senate and the House actually voted against Mr. Harding has placed himself squarely on record. but the responsi- | ceremony the United States shall bave does not really rest with any indi- the people 3s'a whole. Wit} the sug- ze Fone. hat econo: o practiced MARYLAND ASKS l By the Associated Presas, ing in contact, if not in conflict. with ! Reaction in Sentiment Over BY DAVID LAWRENCE. tion be as simple as possible, but does withstanding the volume of talk only ' the appropriation. | bility for the kind of an insugural vidual, but with the Con and 'i8 @ uniform Sympas here, but < it iggld l:“ DO‘ anrgrlll‘le‘ to find a sentiment when mat- ter.is further canvassed. N r. Harding feels msney should 2ot be spen{'-hufllamo ou to be thrifty. But should this fla“m the nution of its opportunity t6 en- thuse Mr. Harding was elected by an enormous majority, and with his ¢lection went the hopes of multitudes that economic conditiéns might some- how be bettered. ‘The question which j tolks here are asking is whether the next administration shail be started with faltering notes,, of - depression, of the. silence “of utter simplicity, or with confidence and optimism and a bright look forward. Cosxt of Inangural. If enthusiasm cost much maoney ~ AN OBIECTLESSON Department Fire in Plea for Archives Building. The fire in the Dapartment of Cnm-l merce building, which destroyed valu- able census records last night. was| used as an, object lesson by Senator Poindexter of Washington in the Sen- ate today to demonstrate the neces- sity of erecting a great archives building in Washington to house the priceless records of the government. people here would probsbly sympa- thizh with the desire for economy, but the citizens of Washington put up a sum relatively trivial compared to | the amounts f money raised in other jcities for civic celebrations of various inauguration The whole Senator Smoot of Utah, chairmankinds. of the public buildings committee,| 30880t ‘cost the citizens much more 4 = Started the fire discussion in the Sen- | teimeine oecuiia o Lo the cost of te. He sald that it had been sus-| gested that the fire started because scme employe had dropped a lighted | past looked forward to inaugurition cigarette. He declared that there|as a holiday. as an impressive cele- should Le rules about smoking in the | Rration which-stirred patriotism and S did more to spread knowled, government departments and that|American democracy than any‘:xheolt' they should be strictly enforced. Dur- | single celebration in the National ing their working hours, he said, the L‘}f Al o e government employes should not be | untaved ‘by the Impreeng anCeen permitted to smoke in the govern-|favored u lot of fuss and feathers and ment buildings. He would ask for|he has been hurt by some of the out- u thorough investization of the affair{bursts in Congress about extrava- that is naturally expected. On the whole, the peopie have in the bringing orgunizations to Wushing- | ton to parade, some modification of | !drawn from the fire in the |and of preservation of in the Commerce buiiding. said. Senator Poindexter's 5 “In addition to the on to be Commerce suggested Ctates o Tes building which has been from the senator from Senator. Poindexter. “I_wish to tall the attention of the Senate to the advantage of the government erect. ing .an archives building in Wash- ington. “In 1914, six years ago, Con- gress passed an act authorizing the construction of a fireproof archives building to safeguard the priceless records of the .goyernment and to permit their scientific arrangement. It also made a preliminary appropria- tion for the drawing of plans. “But nolwithstanding this author- ization, Congress has failed to make the immediate appropriation for the construction of the building. L wish to 11 this matter to the attention of the chairman of the Senate appropria- tions committee, and to express the wish that in the interests of economy the govern- ment records an archives building may be provided.” Argues for New Bullding. Senator Smoot, who is a member of the appropriations committee, said that the erection of an archives building would 10t only permit the safeguarding of the government's records, but would permit the use of much space in government buildings which is now occupied by records, and would make it unnecessary to con- tinue to rent some of the buildings now leased by the government here. e e oy TWO DEAD, EIGHT INJURED. Several Reported Missing in Chest- nut Hotel Fire, Cleveland. CLEVELAND, January 11.—Two men are dead from burns and suffo- cation and eight persons were in jured in a fire which swept the Chest- nut Hotel, 12th street and Chestnut avenue, early this morning. Several persons are said to be missing. Fire- men and police are searching the still blazing building for additional bodies, three hours after the fire started. The injured, including three women, were hurt in wild leaps from second- story windows. Life nets were spread by firemen, but in the smoke and darkness sev- eral of those injured were hurt when they missed the nets. Polico say the iron fire escape col- lapsed after a few persons had used it to reach safety. { gance, but he himself has had no more | Fesponsibility for what the citizens of Washington want to do in an { inauguration ceremony than any other | President. i Charge of Meney Making. | The country, moreover, has given the impression that Washington merchants make a great deal of money {out of inauguration. The hotels are crowded and the restaurants do a. flourishing business, but all the stores lure closed and yet the merchants are the ones whe put up mest of the money. , ! Indeed, as an advertisement for of { Washingion itself. the affair doubtful value. The crowds are so | busy’ watching the parades and the is’lrce(fi are so full of souvenir venders that the really beautiful parts of the | city are rarely seen by most of the tors who arrive and depart the } sume day. y Nevertheless, Washington has al- {ways felt that it had a duty to per- | form in welcoming the next Pres ! dent. Congress, however, has app; | priated the money for the ceremonies !at the Capitol and President Wilson will sign the bill. It is not unlikely that there will be an inaugural cele- bration of some kind. . (Copyright, 1921.) Today’s News in Paragraphs Central Labor Union supports Bur- roughs-Chamberlain bill for District representation. Page 2 Many old records in fire at Commerce building. Page 2 Two checks for $500 each start final week of campalgn for destitute chil- dren of Furope. Page : for unexpended surplus for schools. Page 3 Suft. Ballou savs schools need larger board of examiners, better pay for substitute teachers and larger build- ings, in address before Federation of Women's Clubs. Page 3 Vice President and Mrs. Marshall are chief figures at Children's Hospital benefit bail Page 9 Prof. H. S. Hering lectures here on Christian Science. Page 13 Polls for voting on national tree will open tomorrow. Page 13 Body of Joseph Leiter, jr, who was accidentally shot dead near New O leans, will be brought here at once. Page 13 been Piney Branch citizens to urge Congress | TWO CENTS. HARDING'S PLEA 'PUTS INAUGURAL PLANS IN DOUBT Personal Convic- tions Prompt His Appeal. | |ASKSTHAT MONEY | | BENOT EXPENDED| Is Dazed by “Fuss” as| March 4th Draws Near. | BY ROBERT T. SMA l MARION, January 11.—In calling off | all the propoged inaugural festivities at Washington, including the time- honored parade and ball, Senator Warren G. Harding acted on his own personal convictions. | { | tion first was broached to him, more than two months ago, he said: “If I}| could have my own way about it, I would walk to the Capitol on March 4, take the oath of office, speak my little piece and then ride back to the | White House on a street car.” & | When _Senator Borah, _therefore. proposed recently in the Senate that inauguration expenses be limited to $10 to provide a taxicab for the new President, he had actually far more extravagant ideas about the cere- mony than the man most concerned in it. Subsrdinated Own Wishes. Senator Harding was prevailed upon, ‘ however, to subordinate his own | wishes in the matter. He was told {that a return to normalcy carried with it a return to the impressive in- sugural ceremonies of the days of Taft, of Roosevelt and of McKinley. He was told that while the festivities attending the actual inaugural cere- { monies might be irksome to him, they | would bring pleasure to thousands of { Ted-blooded Americans who wanted to see the change of administrations made an occasion for rejoicing. So at last Mr. Harding consented, but hardly had he done so when he was made aware of the fact that a serious controversy was threatened among the republicans in Washington as to which one-of-them should have the honor of serving as chairman of the civic inauguration committee. Mr. Harding disposed of this Gor- dian knet by forcing the chairman- ship on his warm personal friend. Ed- ward Beale McLean, publisher of the ‘Washington Post and the Cincinnati Enquirer. to take the place, but when it was put before him in the light of & personal service to the senator, he accepted. ¢ Dased With “Fuss,” ‘When Mr. McLéan and Seaator Knox, the . latter chairman -of ihe congres- signal inaugural commitiee, were in F @ays ago it wis gtated in tches that Sendtor Hard- ly was @aszed that “so much fuss” should be made over him. He interposed no objection to the plans at that time, however. Later, when he realized that Con- g-r-n ‘was being asked to appropriate 50,000 of the people’s money for the mere purpose .of erecting a stand at the Capitol and to provide pelice pro- tnction, the President-elect became wortied at the possible total of the entire inauguration outlay, despite the fact that he was told the celebrations in_the past aiways had paid for them- selves. All of this was followed by an out- break of criticism in the Senate and ‘House. Senator Harding has been reading this criticism with a great deal of care. It has been apparent to all who have hag contact with him the last week ‘or more that his wor- ries embraced more than the mere making of a cabinet or deciding upon {a plan for a mew association of na- tion: Seads the Telegrams. The senator hesitated a long while ‘before finally dispatching his telegrams of cancellation to Senator Knox and Mr. McLean. He was afraid his mo- tives might be misunderstood. He was afraid he would hurt the feelings of many of his old friends in Washington who were looking forward to the cele- bration and who had accepted respon- sibilities in connection therewith at his own suggestion. He wanted, however, to g0 back to his own inclination of merely taking the oath of office in the simplest pos- sible way, making the expected inaug- ural address, which is likely to be shorter than most inaugural addresses of the past, and then returning to the White House to g0 to work. { _Just what the particular straw was !that broke the camel's back has not i been dirclosed. Some are inclined to believe that the dromedary’s vertebrae gave way when ! the senator discovered that one of his |closest and dearest friends here in i Marion was being “held up” for $750 for three rooms engaged at a Pennsyl- vanta avenue hotel. The bill for this amount actually arrived here, and it is believed it was shown to Senator Hard- ing himself. It was necessary to take | eatn room for 4 week, whether desired that long or not, and the charge was $250 a week per room. ! Disappointed at Marion. ! The Marion home folk naturally are | somewhat dicappointed that ail the fes- tivities at Washington have been thrown into the discard. They wanted to march in the parade. many of them had planned some unique features for “the big show.” The Harding Marching Club had ordered 200 special suits of clothes. There had been some trepidation about the hotel rates, but hopes were expressed that the Marlonites might travel by special train and be allowed to occupy the cars while | in Washington. i " geveral score of the home folk will go to the capitol anyway to see r Harding sworn in, and to call later at the White House and wish him God- speed. The calling off of the inaugural cere- | monies has in no way affected Senator | Harding’s plans for a vacation in the south, which_ will begin the latter part is month. et (Coprright, 1921.) ! | SHIP CALLS FOR HELP. Ontaneda, 1,200 Miles From New York, Sends Out Distress Message. NEW YORK, January 11.—Wireless distress signals, calling for help “at the first possible moment” were icked up here early today from the Rorwegian steamship Ontaneda, which Jeft this port for Vaksdal, Norway, on January 1, carrying a general cargo. The message gave her position as between 1,200 and 1,500 miles from New York. A message picked up later from the British freighter Philadelphian said she was rushing to the assist- ance of the Ontaneda. 2 ‘ g When the subject of the inaugura- | Mr. McLean was reluctant | Future Course of Committees Undecided. MEETINGSCALLED FOR LATE TODAY Congress May Be Asked to Pass on Problem. Preparations under way for an i elaborate ceremony in connection jwith the inauguration of Presi- jdent-clect Harding were held in abeyance today until the local and congressional committees in charge of the plans could act on the request of the President-elect that the ceremony be the sim- plest possible. The District of Columbia com- mittee on inauguration met for ten minutes this morning, but the President-elect’s request was not discussed. The executive committee was to meet later in the day to take up the subject. 3 §enator Knox, chairman of the Joint congressional committee on {arrangements at the Capitol. [ca]lcd the committee to meet | late today to consider Mr. Hard- ing’s request. Senator Knox in- dicated that the committee might lay the whole question before the Senate and House, placing upon Congress rather than the com- mittee the responsibility for de- cision regarding the Capitol cere- | monies, Citizens’ Committee Adjourns Following Reading of Telegram After listening to the telegranm: from President-slect Harding eus- gesting “complete abandopment »* all plans for an jnsugursl celebru- tiop,” the cilizens’ inaugural commii- ‘tee adjourned toddy without any dis- cussion or action. ThS eeinilttcs was in session hard- ly ten minutes. Chalrman Edward B Molsean called it to order and im- mediately asked Secretary Jess W Smith to read the telegram from Senator Harding: As soon as this was flmnll;legtga!révjoflulkley moved that the con: adjburn subject of the chairman.’ s call Action on ‘the motion was delayed while Milton k. Afles, chairman. of the fihance commfittee, reported thut subscriptions to the inaugural fund now totaled $160,680. of which $115,022.56 had been received in cash and the rest had been asked for not later than 5 motion of Colin H. Livingston~ it was agreod that the committee should send a lctter to President- glect Harding. signed by the chair- man, expressing the kindest feelings toward the President-clect and thani- ing him for his courtesy in dealing with the committee. n effort was made to set the tim: for adjournment thirty minutes later. but Edward F. Colladay pressed motion for immediate adjournment and it carried viva voce. Though so little was done at the formal meeting of the committes, which was held in the red room of the New Willard, the position taken by Senator Harding was the subject of many informal conferences held by some 150 of the leading citizens of the istrict of Columbia, both before and after the meeting. A What appeared to be the opinion of the majority was expresed by Mr Smith, a close friend of the President- elect, who said: “When Senator Harding asks tha: all plans of his inauguration be abar- doned there is nothing we can do bu: abandon them. It is inconceivable thut he would today ask that preparation- be dropped and tomorrow suggest thar we might Zo ahead with them.” Others were of the opinion that the citizens of Washington might well organize a demonstration en their own initiative, without_the aid of the federal government. Col. John McElroy, commanding the Depart- ment of the Potomac of the G. A. R. was of the opinion that the prece- dent followed during the period since the civil war called for a_procession or parade of some nature, but he was ruled out of erder when he attempted to bring up the subject while the committee was in session. _ Chairman McLean would aed noth- ing to_the telegram he had ;eceived from Senator Harding, excep! to say that he did not believe that the opro sition to an inaugural ball and parade which has developed in Congress wasx what induced the President-elect te cal] off those events. . “I know that the senator objected to being made the central figure of a great inaugural crowd,” he said. “Per- sonally he did not desire to be con- spicuous, and, furthermore, he fel: that it was not a good beginning for an era of national economy.” A meeting of the executive com- mittee of the inaugural committer will be held this afternoon, and on it< action may depend what the full committee will do. Chairman McLesn could not say when he would call the full committee together. Illuminations Suggested. Several of the members of the com- mittee were of the opinion that the citizens of Washington might make the occasion of March 4 a local cele- bration, and a group of them discussed the feasibility of illuminating the White House, Capitol and other public buildings that evening. It seemed assured, however. that there would be no time off for gov- ernment employes on the day of the inauguration. = So far the committee has expended not more than 5 per cent of the sub- scriptions it has received, in the opinion of Mr. Ailes, and if all cele- bration ie abandoned, as seems prob- able, the rest will be returned to the contributors shortly. Several mem- bers of the clerical force of the com- mittee were allowed to go today. Nome of the members of the inau- gural committee showed a disposition to_criticise Senator Harding for the (Continucd on Page_ 2, Coiumn 2.) o