Evening Star Newspaper, May 22, 1921, Page 44

2 THE EVENING STAR, With Sunday Morning Baition. WASHINGTORN, D. C. SUNDAY..........May 22, 1821 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Bditor SR S e RS The Evening Star Newspaper Company Eusiess Offies. 11¢h 8t and Pesnsylvania Ave. e o e Nt Teak Bidi Eoropess Offce: S Begeat e, Londos, Eogland. Sunday moratng rered’by carviers Wihia the city moath; dally cely, 45 cents per The Bvenin, PLEY: Ges may : ot ek o ™A .'.lh by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginis. Daily and Sunday..1 yr., $8.40; 1 mo., 'foc Daily only . S :y"‘mqm.soc & + $2.40; 1 mo., 20¢ 0.00; 1 mo., 85¢ .00; 1 mo., 60¢ . 266 Government Experts. One of the speakers before the joint civil gervice comrnittee on the reclassi- fication bills Friday pointed out that during eight months of the year 1920 fifty-eight technical experts had re- signed from the bureau of chemistry, Department of Agriculturs, to enter private employment at substantially higher salaries than those paid by the government. This is not an unusual experience in the government service, though perhaps the expert “‘turnover” "in the period mentioned was high. The fact is the government does not pay enough to hold specially skilled work- ers. Reclassifioation as projected tends to establish & more definite recognition of expert values, and the adoption of one of the bills now pend- dng should lessen the loss which the public service constantly suffers in this regard. The sclentific government workers enter the service usually from the uni- wversities and special schools. They quickly divide into two classes, those who are bent upon passing through the public service as quickly as pos- sible into private employment, capital- izing their departmental experience, and those who find in the public serv- ice opportunity for useful work, the fruits of which are to them the equiva- lent of high emolument. There are today in the government ranks many seores of highly skilled men and wom- en who prefer to remain at lower pay because they feel that they are con- tributing to the public welfare. The situation of these people during the last few years has been deplorable. ‘They have received from the govern- ment barely encugh for a decent livell- heod. Meanwhile many of their com- panions have gone forth into private employment at two, three and even more times the public service pay, some of them of less ability and ex- perience. Probably the United States will never be able to compete with private corporations for thie services of ex- perts, but it will bave at least one ad- vantage, given the fair scale of pay for.the scientific class, in that these experts are inspired chiefly by love of theit work rather than by the mate- rial reward, and the government serv- ice offers & wide opportunity for con- tributions to the public good. Reclassification will, in any form now proposed, fmprove the condition ©Of these expert workers. At present they have, save in a very few cases, 1littié better than the status of clerks. fication of the oid definition of the low- est form of theft, “taking candy from children.” But retribution worked. ‘The long arm of the law reached out and lald hold of the miscreant. He ‘was arrested, the boys identified him and yesterday he was sent to jail for =sixty days. If the moral elements could have entered into this case in the determination of penaity he should have gotten six years. This will prob- ably be some satisfaction to the young- sters. But they did not see the circus. They bave the profound sympathy of the community. And the incident . teaches’ that circus box offices should be o arranged that the little fellows can make their own purchases without ‘being exposed to the enterprise of the crooks who have no respect for youth and its tnalienable privilege of enter- ng the *big top.” ——————— Explanations of the Einsteln theory invariably suggest that people who profess to understand it have for- gotten & few small but essential de- tafls. Benator Knox's peace resolution, hav- ing demonstrated endurance, is now cx- pected to show speed. ‘Nations are beginning to realize that 1t i3 not only wrong to fight, but that it s expensive. ‘The people, wa are told, did not elect the present Congress to shift taxes, but to lift them. Epigrammatic large amount of money—of which the government stood in urgent need. But when the war closed conditions changed. A large amount of money ‘was still necessary, but it was not col- lectable any longer from war sources. From certain of those sources collec- tions began to diminish. What has now to be considered, therefore, is abandoning dried up sources, and finding, and tapping, new sources. Taxes, in a measure, must be shifted. New assessments are im- perative. The matter cannot be post- poned. As to lifting taxes, that is a matter for time. In time taxes will be lifted. But it would be folly to suppose, and worse folly to act on the supposition, that taxes can be lifted while you wait. Burdensome as it is, the people must bear the tax burden, and should bear it with a consciousness that it can be lightened only gradually. For some years to come we shall be up against heavier tax assessments than we have ever known before in times of peace. The hearings now in progress before the Senate finance committee are ylelding interesting suggestions from business circles, and will help Con- gress to solve the problem. The Future of Russia. Developments in the affairs of Rus- sia are today exceedingly difficult to follow intelligently. This is true as a result of the censorship which ob- tains and of the consciousness on the part of the student of those affairs that much of the news which reaches him is of a surreptitious or frank prop- agandist quality. We have, from its birth, recognized the fact that bolshe- vism, abnormal in its conception and abominable in its processes, must sooner or later give way before the reaction it would arouse. ‘We have studied the scanty news that has emanated from the chaotic interior of the former empire with a view to finding evidence that that dis- integration of the existing form of gov- ernment is in process of accomplish- ment. And while we wait for what is held to be the inevitable outcome to an insane political venture, the query has presented itself to us as to what the collapse of bolshevism would portend, whether it would be followed by absolute anarchy, serving only to intensity the sufferings of the Russian people, or by the development of such governmental ingtitutions as would lead the masses from near demoraliza- tion to that ultimate national cohesion upon which modern happiness and prsperity depend. The question is not one readily an- swered. But there are certain favor- able factors which, weighed against the unfavorable, give fair ground for optimism, always assuming that bol- shevism is eventually to be relegated to that hell from ‘which it sprang. The Russian peasarit has progressed ma- terially in the bloody years which fol- lowed the overthrow of the empire. Isolated from the cities where bolshe- vism has held its principal power, the masses of Russia have been forced, in little, divided communities, to work out their own destinies. As a result an appreciation of the problems inci- dent to efficient government, industry and trade has been developing. Patient under adversities which would have broken less sturdy peoples, unenlight- ened, suspicious of strangers, slow yet withal sound, the individuals of which the masses are composed have been driven to a consciousness of the basic needs of any nation. With them are thousands of the better<lass Rus- sians who, seeking asylum from the bolshevist terror, have, through the resulting intimacy with the peasant, won their sympathy, understanding and respect. Upon these two factors, combined with the influence of the clergy and the new spirit of the former socialist revolutionaries today generally aban- doning their erstwhile socialist doc- trines for principles of a sounder char- acter, and all taken in conjunction with the general hatred of the soviet system, depends Russia’s fairest chance for an ultimate healthy reconstruetion. ‘The world is coming to recognize the fact that that reconstruction must come holding power by virtue of such inter- ference to eventual faflure. When bolshevism shall have passed the evo- tution of a stable Russian government will largely depend upon the ability of the little, divided communities into which the masses have assembled to effect through the centripetal force of economic necessity, enduring cohesion. It may take years, for the process must be worked out in the travail of experience. Yet it may be confidently antieipated that until that cohesion has been honestly effected no Russian government will stand, and that when it shall have been accomplished Rus- sia will march forward shoulder ¢o shoulder with her sister natioms of Europe. ~— It is not to be expected that George Harvey will attemapt to put as much rhetorical dash into his diplomatic papers as he put into his campaign articles. f Poland hopes that German remarks to the effect that France is a milita- ristic nation will be abundantly veri- fled. i Parental advice was not reliable or helpful in Bergdoll's case. f Government Pay Days. ‘There is no occasion whatever for lack of uniformity in the matter of paying off the government forces. In some departments, however, payments are made on the day before Sundays or holidays, and in other departments on the day after. This makes a dif- ference of two and in some cases three days, as, for instance, when a holiday falls on Monday, the 16th, ‘These matters are subject to depart- ment order, and unless there is agree- ment between the heads of the de- partments the lack of uniformity will prevail. The matter would be most and arresting, but somewhat mislead- | simply and certainly settled by statu- ing. Let us consider the situation. tory enactment providing explicitly ‘The taxes now on the books were|for payments on the 1st and 16th of levied in time of war, and, of coure,|each month, or on the Saturday pre- for war purposes. They served those|ceding when the 1st or the 15th falls purposes very well, They Yelded alen Sunday-or <n & holidsy following Sean” s THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MAY 25 1921 PART =. Sunday. There 18 absolutely no ad- vantage to the government in main- taining different schedules of pay- ment. It is, however, of some mo- ment to business Washington and it is of considerable moment to the em- ployes. An effort is now being made to secure uniformity by interdepart- mental agreement, failing which a provision of law should be Inserted in one of the appropriation bills now pending in Congress, covering all branches of the government service, at least in Washington. ————————— American Goods in Chile. A Santiago, Chile, newspaper hav- ing criticised imported American goods as of “inferior quality and badly pack- ed,” a contributor to a rival news- paper, signing himself *“Chilean Mer- chant,” says in reply: “It American goods are consumed by 150,000,000 Americans and Canadians —in fact, by nearly half the population of the universe—are you not able to be assured that American merchandise should be good enough for we South Americans?” The charge of bad packing has been made before, and the attention of ex- porters called to it. It may be that we have something to learn on that score. If so, we should learn it thor- oughly. Packing is an important fac- tor in the equation. The long sea voyage is to be taken into the calcula- tion, s0 that the goods may be de- livered to the distant buyer in the best condition possible. As for the quality of the goods, the Chilean merchants ought to know, and here is one of them who gives gratify- ing testimony. It is assumable that he speaks from experience. At any rate, his argument is sound. American goods are sold, and hold their place, in many markets, and are consumed by great numbers of people. This would not be true if the goods were of inferior quality. Consumers would soon become dissatisfied, and buy else- where. Trade rivalry is sharp, and we may expect thrusts of this kind now and then. As little cause as possible, how- ever, should be given for them; and we may be sure that where the right goods are sold and delivered in the proper manner and condition, mere fault-finding, no matter by whom in. spired, will go for little. —————— Objection 18 offered in New York to a change of the name of Blackwells Island to “Welfare Island.” It is as- serted that a change of name creates confusion and does not serve any prac- tical purpose. This will discourage any effort to use peychological process to clinch prohibition by rechristening Broadway with some such name as “Teetotal boulevard.” —————— Samuel Gompers dares the judge to put him in jail and the judge dares Samuel to do something to give him a chance. As the joint dedate now stands it may be regarded as a draw. ———— The falling off in I. W. W. member- of the voluntarfly unemployed. It is predicted by commercial ex- perts that profiteering will go out of fashion and be regarded as no less absurd than hoopskirts or hourglass waists. The tariff is another of those great questions which no amount of able dis- cussion serves to settle permanently. ‘The Hohenzollerns have reduced their ideals to the plain old assump- tion that the world owes them a living. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Reliable Predictions. 1 pays no ‘tention when de robins sing A song dat sy you kin look foh spring, But 1 listens close when across de marsh Comes & vaice dat’s mixin’' de sweet ‘with harsh. T looks foh de sun an’ I waits foh de breeze DatTl join de chorus as it touches de trees. De sunshine’s dus, an’ dar ain’ no doubt, "Cause de frog he knows what he'’s talkin’ about. Dat frog ain’ pertendin’ to know a lot, But de little knowledge he’s somehow got Is of de mos’ reliable kind, An’ he ain’ a-skeart foh to speak his mind. So go way, folks, with yoh weather ways. s My heart is set on dem sunshine days Dat I know will sogn come a-gleamin’ out, 'Cause dem frogs, dey knows what dey’s talkin’ about. Hats. “So you want people to stop and saluté your hat,” said William Tell. “Certainly,” replied the tyrant Gess- ler. “I'm tired of having all the care and admiring attention devoted tb my wife's headwear.” Jud Tunkins says a man who wor- ries about what he can't help can buy a thermometer and keep himself scared two-thirds of the year. Literary Thrills. The books put forth are strange indeed. They make me hold my breath. If I believed all that I read I should be scared to death. Teeth. “They are going to put teeth into prohibition enforcement.” ““Well,” replied Uncle Bl Bottletop, “It'l be expensive. Good dentistry costs considerable.” lmprov;flon, “Can you sing ‘The Star Spangled Banner'?” 4 “There's a difference of opinion on that subject in my home,” replied Senator Sorghum. My daughter says I am all right as to the words, but when it comes to the tune I fall into my political habit of disregarding prec- edent and trying to substitute my POLITICS AT HOME|Participation by the U. S. In World Affairs Is Urged The Sphinx Now Vocal. The Sphinx in a slouch hat has found his voice. Likewise his pen. Promptly upon landing at Cherbourg— he has gone abroad upon what he describes as a “‘vacation"—Col. House | expressed himself for publication about |the European situation, and since then, over his signature, has enlarged upon the theme. The public is still expecting, and will not be content without, a full story from this interesting man, not war, but what led up to America’s entrance into the struggle. He knows the story as no other man does. A good deal of what Mr. Wilson knows was gathered from Col. House, who had gathered it on visits abroad which had brought him into close personal in the drama then unfolding. The role was new for an American. The experience was new for the coun- try. Much depended on the reports the special commissioner should make to his chief. He played his part, it is generally agreed, with rare discretion. He moved about freely in the allied countries. He met on terms of intimacy soldiers, sailors, statesmen and diplomats en- gaged with the most colossal affairs of recorded time. He made by pen and word of mouth long reports to Mr. Wilson, and largely on the strength of them momentous action was taken. Books have been written, and still others are in preparation, about what took place at the peace conference, and they are all valuable and enter- taining. Lawyers, financiers and ex- perts of every kind and degree have had, or are having, or will have, their say. But what Col. House could tell the world, if he is at full liberty to speak, would possess an interest all its own; and for this reason the world would like very much to hear from him. ————— The President and Patronage. There is some fretting here and thers about patronage; an occasional complaint about the neglect of an old friend, and the too great coddling of & mild assertion that “things are not going as they should”; a not unamiable reminder that there may be & “hereafter.” As yet, however, there has been no commotion resembling that that shook the dominant party in the time of Hayes, of Garfield, of Cleveland, of Harrison. Mr. Hayes came in under circum- stances that, in the very nature of things, embarrassed him. He had been & compromise nominee. He had been accorded the certificate of election by a tribunal until then unknown in our affairs. He was certain not to stand for a second term. The distribution of patronage by him, therefore, was on every account difficult. Gen. Garfleld, with Mr. Blaine at the head of his cabinet and Mr. Conkling the dominant republican figure in the Senate, could not escape entanglement in the old Blaine-Conkling feud. Mr. Cleveland, a professed civil serv- fce reformer, had been steered to the closest of victories by Mr. Gorman, a trank and aggressive spoilsman, who, as campaign manager, had issued a £0od deal of campaign *‘paper.” When Mr. Cleveland began repudiating this “paper” Mr. Gorman angrily protest- ed, and *a pretty howdy-do” resulted. Gen. Harrison had a like trouble with Mr. Quay, and the trouble was at the base of the fight at Minneapolis in 1892 over the renomination. Mr. Harding, it is true, was a com- promise nominee. But the defeated leaders—Wood and Lowden—fell at once into line, and are giving the President full support without condi- tions. As for the “original Harding man,” he was lost in the Harding man at the polls, who turned out to be multitudinous. Public Service and Servants. Miss Robertson of Oklahoma made her debut in Setate in the House a few days ago with a eulogy of Orville H. Platt, long time a senator tn Con- greas from Connecticut. He was, as she described him, an able and most éxcellent man, and tn his high office rendered the country many valuable services. But he was too little known to the general. public while he lived and served, and as a result is almost wholly unknown' to the great majority of men and women interested in public matters today. Outside of his native state, his memory survives with only a few. The reason is simple, but not credit- able to our public life. Mr. Platt had nothing in his intelfectual or physical make-up that stimulated curiosity or appealed to the superficial. A homely and ungainly man; a student by na- ture and industrious beyond the or- dinary, he cared little for the lime- light of general company, and seldom appeared in it. The result was that the public had small knowledge of a man who, in quiet, and unobserved, ‘was doing work of great public value. The lawyer of large gifts and the coun- selor of proved sagacity was less lmv‘wn than many a politician equip- ped’principally for the routine of party management. ——— Worrying About the Family. Premising that the “fall of the Ro- man empire was produced by the lax- ity and Iottenness of the laws of marriage,” Bishop Burgess tells the clergy of the Long Island diocese that society i8 now endangered by easy divorce. Novels are “prurient and immoral,” dances “ve; on the dangerous,” modern dress latks “dig- nity propriety,” the low moral standards of Roman matrons ‘“seem to be fast approaching in America.” 80 the patristic writers, and such good pagans also as Juvenal and Lucian, wrote in their day; only they compared Roman _conditions = with those of Persia and Egypt. .Yet the Roman empire fell from a variety of causes, of which divorce may or may not have been one, but marriage did not fall. Nor did family relations, nor will they. From biologists. as well as his- torians the clerical critics of morals might learn that the family is the oldest of human institutions and the most invulnerable. Marriage laws, and customs potent laws, may change and change again, but the more they change the more they be- come the same old thing. Divorce will not destroy the family, nor will dubious literature, suggestive dances and immodest dress. If they could it would have been destroyed centuriés ago.~New York World (democratic). Y only about America’s part in the world | communication with the leading actors | | i | BY C. FRED COOK. EPRESENTATIVES of natlons, including ambassa- dors, ministers, charges d'af- faires, counselors, commer- cial attaches and secretaries of lega- tlon, have just returned to this city from attendance at the first Interna- tional conference on world trade ever held in the United States. They assembled in the Waldorf- Astorta Hotel, New York city, last Tuesday morning, at the invitation of the National Association of Manufac- turers, to give their views and sug- gestions as how best a general com- mercial good will might be builded between the United States and other countries. It was the purpose of those that conceived the assembly to bring the foremost representatives of other lands into close and personal touch with the leaders of industry in this country, so that they might help to move commerce to fulfill what is noblest in its mission—good-will and friendship. * % ¥ % The conference of ambassadors and ministers on world trade, as it was called, was not to be a convention on foreign trade, In its precise limita- tions, but to bring home to manu- facturers who have heretofore not been interested in the outer-world de- velopment of their businesa a fuller appreciation that since the termina- tion of the great war the United States must take into proper con- sideration the effect of trade and pros- perity of other countries on our own country's. Before the war attention was given to foreign trade in its di- rect application; since the war every single manufacturer in this country 18 more or less affected by the trend in other oountries. We, of necessity, must maintain the outer contact that was established during the war, and which has been augmented by hun- dreds and thousands of those men who were overseas and thus obtained their | the direct guidance of the National first-hand impressions of the inter- dependability of all the nations of the world in trade and commerce. From the very first speech, which was made by Ambassador Jusserand of France, and whose knowledge of American commercial ideals is very wide because of his long residence here, to the very last speaker there ‘was entire agreement among the dis- tinguished speakers on the necessty of material participation by the United States in the economic reorganiza- tion of the world. Probably never before has any group of accredited representatives of other spoken so frankly regarding the needs of their countries and their knowl- edge of the importance to the United States of prosperity throughout the rest of the world. Time and again the speakers referred to the dangers which they believe lurked in the emergency tariff measure, becaust they explained, it threatens to erect a barrier about the United States which will close it as a market for foreign products. This would mean, T0O WELD TRADE AND DIPLOMACY In the proposed reorganization of the government departments, to which President Harding has Consolidation &iven most earnest, personal support, the Proposed. grouping of State Department activi- ties, as recommended to the joint ex- ecutive and congressional committee on. reorganisation by the Institute for Government is: “The creation within the State De- partment of a bureau of foreign com- merce to take over the duties now performed by its office of foreign trade adviser, the bureau of foreign and domestic commerce of the Depart- ment of Commerce and the division of foreign markets of the bureau of markets, Department of Agriculture.” Emphasis is lald on the point ti no question of the proper location de- partmentally of the performance of a special fumction has given rise to more _acute differences of opinion than that of which department should have charge of the promotion of the foreign trade interests of this coun- try. Nor is there at the present time any one case where there is greater need for action, having for its pur- pose to eliminate dupli! lon of or- ganization and work. * % There is practically no difference of opinion that these three services represent duplication Duplication of organization and work, a diffusiéon of m‘m responsibility and an unnecessary ~expenditure of public funds. There is consequently an al- most unanimous opinfon that, if fea- sible, the work of these three serv- ices should be consolidated in a sin- gle service. A difference of opinion develops only when the question is presented of determining the service and department under which this func- tion should be located. Upon this point opinlon is widely divided. Strong arguments have been brought in favor of each of the two alterna- tives that are presented: Location of the service In the State Department and location of it in the Department of Commerce. o After a detailed review of the his- tory of these three agencies and their development, the Institute for Govern- ment Research summarizes the pres- ent conditions. It points out that not- withstanding repeated efforts to elim- inate duplication of organization and work, in respect to securing and dis- tributing information regarding for- eign commercial conditions and the protection and promotion of the for- eign trade interests of the United States, conditions are now more un- satistactory than at any previous time. Not only are these three agen- cies at work, but the factor of du- plication has become still more pro- nounced due to the fact that the bu- reau of foreign and domestic com- merce and the division of foreign markets, as well as certain other services concerning themselves with foreign trade matters, are inaugurat- ng the policy of building up fleld services of their own in foreign coun- tries. * ** ‘This latter phase of the duplication of organizatior. and expense, which tends steadily to become nem ‘more marked, is vividly in 1919. brought out tn a memo- n * randum submitted by the consul general in London to the Sec- retary of State n 1919, which has been laid before the reorganization com- mittee. The adoption of the recommendation to concentrate in the State Depart- ment complete responsibility for the very important function of protect- ing and promoting the foreign trade ln{amm of the United States is ex- pected to result in the consolidation into a single strong bureau of Sasuign commerce. It is not suggested-that any changoe v hy forty |debt to this country would be un- nations | After trying out his hand at pitch- Ing horseshoes, City Postmaster Chance had a hankering last week to see what he could do with a pistol. Accordingly. he accompanied a Eroup of twenty-one of the clerks of the city post office to the rifie range at Congress Heights, where postal workers are practicing with Dvistols furnished by the Post Office Department. Although about the first time in his life that he ever had a pistol in his hand, the postmaster surprised him- self and the others by finishing sec- ond in the day's scoring. The postmaster led the fleld with a score of 46 out of a possible 50 n the slow firing, but fell down siight- 1y in the quicker firing. when he se- cured 33 out of a total of 50. Postmaster Chance's score for the day was 79. J. C. King. a clerk. took first place with a score of 4 He got 45 in the slow firing, and 39 in_the quick firing. So postmaster and all at the city post office are daily at the range, making it evident that any person who longs to be a mail robber will get a warm welcome if he attempts to begin at the city post office. * * The presentation of the “Electra” of Euripides one afternoon last week brought home to many the difference between the tastes of men 2,000 years ago and now. As a work of art the old Greek tragedy is as great as of old, but as an afternoon’s entertain- ment it is a trifie boresome, to say the least. The modern dramatist would inject a little “pep” into the plot and “specd up” the action a trifle, cutting out| many of the long “speeches” which they said, that nations heavily in able to liquidate that indebtedness, because they could not sell here the products with which they could realize the necessary gold. P In view of the present depressed condition of the world’s economic machinery, there Was something grimly humorous in the repetition by aambassadors, ministers, charges a'af- faires, commercial counselors. and our own financial and industrial experts of the necessity for the immediate application of basic remedies that were urged upon this country imme- diately following the armistice. There was no dissenting voice in this gos- pel of necessity. Severally the speak- ers urged: 1. Long-term cre@tts, which will enable solvent enterprises to purchase the necessary raw and manufactured materials with which they may oper- ate and thus furnish employment to idle thousands. 2. Investments of American capi- tal In enterprises abroad, including the development of mines, land and water transportation, of industrial enterprises and of public utilities. Backing their assertions by official facts and figures, the representatives of other nations sketched glowing portraits of the mighty opportunities for profit and for service which await America—opportunities which, it was agreed, America must seize if she and the world are not to suffer. 3. Participation by Americans in the aectual conduct of private and public enterprises. 4. Establishment and investment by Americans in indigenous indus- tries, with the application of Amer- ican methods of organisation and operation. 5. Establishment by Americans in other countries of permanent exhibi- tions or commercial museums, under the action. The average spectator would enjoy reading the admirable Gilbert Murray translation a great deal more than he did seeing the play. This admission, of course, if one is honest. No doubt the hundreds of high school girls present spoke in glow- ing terms to one another after the performance as to their enjoyment of the tragedy. was a trifle belied by what one y: girl was heard to say to another. Members of Menandros, the local Greek dramatic society, had just taken their seats in the first row be- fore the curtain went up. They were attired in Greek festivmal costume, making a bright picture. One of the girl spectators turned to another. “Are those the only living Greeks?” she asked, solemnly. . = * I think some of the boys at Walter Reed Hospital must have been “spoof- ing” those kind men who took them out for an automobile ride recently. Probably the wounded men thought marvelous stories were what were ex- pected, and tried their best to ac- commodate those who were helping them. Maybe they did it just be- cause they happened to think of it. Any way, the citizens were told a story about two “pals” at the hos- pital, one with. both eyes put out by gas. and the other with his right leg and arm gone. “And the doctors say that they can graft an eye on Bill pretty soon.” went the story. Then came the mas- ter stroke: “And Jifa, who already hes an arm Association of Manufacturers. 6. The better development and ex- tension of the American merchant marine, so that it might afford a direct means of "transportation and commercial contact. ‘Withal, the gathering, which ran for five sessions, was a coming to- gether of the members of the diplo- matic corps, without the reserve of diplomacy. Frank and free expres- sion was invited, and it was given with a remarkable degree of truth and absolutely devoid of even a touch of the bitterness on some sub- Jects that might be expected in such a commingling of the great number of representatives from all nations. At the closing banquet Wednesday evening Secretary of Commerce Hoover made a plea for the open door and issued a warning against what He pointed out as the tendency of other countries to shut the door. One of the features of the confer- ence was a trade advisory section where literature from almost every first step in the re-[p, m country on the globe was available. | and leg off, is going to give one of his eyes to Bill.” Thrilling, indeed, but medical offi- cers at the hospital say there is “ab- are used in the tragedy to carry on| But such enthusiasm | HEARD AND SEEN|FIFTY YEARS AGO IN THE STAR. The new territorial government off the District of Columbla was inau- gurated Monday. istrict” May 15, 1871, and D The Star of that Government. ,4,. contains an account of the proceedings, Alling more than a page, the great part be- ing taken up by the text of the mes- sage of Gov. Henry D. Cooke and the report of the board of public works. Gov. Cooke had designated “Metzer- ott Hall building” as the Dhcu'r:( meeting for the new legislature. The Rouse of delegates assembled on the second floor and the council on the third floor. William Stickney was elected president of the council an C. L. Hulse was chosen presiding of- ficer of the house of delegates. Gov. Cooke opened the session of the councll and Secretary Chipman that of the house of delegates. each pre- siding until the respective presiding officers were chosen. Regarding the governor's message, which was sub- mitted through his secretary. Dr. Wil- liam Tindall, The Star editorially sald on that day: “Elsewhere will be found the mes- sage of Gov. Cooke to the territorial legislature. Both in its data and in its suggestions it is a document of great interest and weight. and it would demand a careful perusal. “Gov. Cooke points out that it is Im- perative that provision be made for the creation of offices and the ap- pointment of officers to perform the !functions expiring with the several | corporations. superseded by the terri- | torial organization. Certain general |laws also are demanded to carry into effect the provisions of the act of Congress reorganizing the govern- ment of the District. This legisla- tion will occupy the attention of the legislature until the expiration of the existing municipal and county gov- ernments, and the governor recom- mends that special local legislation shall not be cntered upon until such legislation 1is rendered absolutely necessary by the extinction of all other legislative authority in the Dis- trict. “Gov. Cooke proceeds to refer to the more important questions requir- ing consideration, viz: Matters of finance, internal improvements, the schools, sanitary regulations, the sys- tems of charities and corrections and the revision and codification of the laws of the District. “The funded debt of Georgetown is atout $250,000, and that city is 8o for- tunate as to have no floating debt. The indebtedness of the county is in- considerable, but the exact amount has not been ascertained. The funded debt of Washington is stated by the city register to be $2,099.124.22, and by the city auditor to be $2,058,899.83, showing a considerable discrepancy in the accounts. The amount of the floating debt of the city is estimated by the city auditor to be $1.000.000, but in the opinion of Gov. Cooke this stimate will not cover the actual mount. “The governor makes some JSudi- cious recommendations in regard to the mode of providing for the settie- ment of the indebtedness of the out- going government and also suggests the necessity for prompt legisiation covering the immediate wants of the new government. It is recommended that the tax levy for the current year should be made due and payable on the 1st day of July and that author- ity should be given to anticipate the revenue by a temporary loan. “Not only the matters of finance, | upon which Gov. Cooke might be dis- | posed to have a particular attitude, but the various other questions em- braced in the message are handled with perspicuity. The message can- not fail to make a good impression. “The board of public works in their report make a number of important recommendations, and if the grand work of improvement they have out- lined is carried out, the city will soon solutely nothing to it.” CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. be made at this time in respect to the organization or activities of the other services having to do with foreign commercial relations, such as the United States Tariff Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, etc. It is believed, however, that should the ureau of foreign commerce, as sug- gested, be created, special pains should be taken to establish the working relations between it and the United States Tariff Commission upon an effective basis. * * ¥ The fact that the tariff commission has adopted the policy of sending agents of its own to foreign German Ingratitude to Italy. The Independance Belge of Brussels believes that since the armistice Italy has shown unmistakable signs of desir- ing to renew her former cordial rela- tions with Germany, but that the Ger- mans have harshly repulsed these ad- vances, notably in the Tyrol matter. The paper says: “Italy has played her part loyally dur- ing the war and contributed with all her A Question countries for the pur- {might to the common victory; but her of E‘F ense. pose of securing infor- | war was a war against Austria, and she mation desired by it has raised the question whether such information could not be secured at much less expense by the regular fleld force of the Department of State.” Par- ticularly is this so in the event that the bureau of foreign and domestic com- merce is transferred to the State De- partment and consolidated with the of- fice of foreign trade adviser, since that office in 1ts new and enlarged form will then have a fleld force of specialists in trade matters to supplement its regular force of consular officers, members of Wwhich can be assigned to special tasks either for it or for other services of the government. The principal reasons for the advo- cated consolidation are boiled down as follows: (1) That the protection and promo- tion of the foreign trade interests of the country mnow constitute, and al must constitute, one of the prime func- tions of the State Department; that, in fact, the great bulk of the work of that department in normal times has to do with matters which are almost wholly of a commercial character or ones af- fecting commercial interests. (2) That, due largely to changes brought about by the recent war, gov- ernments all over the world are, as gov- ernments, concerning themselves with matters of industry and trade and by governmental action seeking to control only accepted war with Germany as an inevitable consequence of the other. When it was a question of organizing peace & large number of political men of that country thought it wise to re- establish relations with their former ally, some of them for political, others for mic re‘ml.‘hl‘. Nl"{,mcgulmt this tendency to the utmost, and intro- d I:y the negotiations at San Remo with an ardor and & petulance which almost upset everything. “His without showing so much’ enthusiasm, had ‘the same ideas in negotiations concerning the fate of , and Count Sforsa, while al- ways behaving correctly toward a main- tenance of the entente between the al- lies, nevertheless always showed invin- cible repugnance for military sanctions which would create between Italy and Germany a serious obstacle to political and_commercial reconciliation. “But the Germans, and especially the pan-Germanists, who have learned nothing from the last war, paid no attention to the Italian tendenct and have adopted an aggressive pol- icy with regard to Italian interests near the Drenner, which has aroused lively protests throughout the king- dom. The Tyrol plebiscite, favorable to the union with Germany, is a warning_from which Italian wisdom has profited, and in which a threut was to be seen concerning the state of things created by the St. Germain and direct the production and distribu- er Adige, attributed tion of important classes of products, :;”1[(, ;'“ t‘hl:d“p:here several large and that, consequently, the industrial in- | o/, 5g ‘of German subjects are now terests of & country are to an increasing | STOUP® [10)jan rule. The agitation extent concerned in the policies and ac- tions of other governments in the fleld of industry and le—matters which, perforce, must be handled by the de- partment of the government having in charge the conduct of relations between governments. the pan-Germanists in the %‘;‘:?I?a‘;};l the gpeecheu held at Inns- bruck. as well as some press articles, have aroused a feeling of indignation and of lively irritation, because the intention was observed of creating dissension among the newly annexed populations, and of not considering the treaty of St. Germain as definite, though Italy sees in this treaty the * % (3) That the Department of State just recompense for the sacrifices and must continue to have the direct control 2 108! sustained in ating the SE5 the dipicmetia) and Hapsburg empire. Control Is consular officers which| ~] can only say that the nngnke Ttalian press, except & few who ;’n::mupeehl reasons for not chang- ing their tone, it not so friendly today as it has been until now, and evidences a great change of avity of events f-:\ly neoocnr:::gl. an-Ge! to roate thers & ubject of dis 5 constitute by far the Essential. 1mogt important agents of the government for securing infor- mation regarding foreign economic and trade conditions. (4) That representatives of the gov- ernment in foreign countries can do far more effective work if they have the official status of representatives of the department of the government intrusted with the conduct of foreign affairs. (5) That it is imperative that the State Department shall have in Wash- ington a service and personnel fully in- formed regurding foreign trade condi- tions to assist it in handling the many questions affecting foreign commercial relations that are constantly coming be- fore it for settlement. (6) That, due to the foregoing, it is impossible to secure that centralization of responsibility and work in respect to the protection and promotion of Amer- ican foreign trade interests and the elimination of the existing duplication of organization and work which are held to be desirable in any other way than by intrusting this function to the State Department. 7) And, finally, that if this policy is deliberately adopted, and the precau- tions indicated are taken, there is no reason why this function may not be as eficiently performed and the same prompt service rendered to the interests sad fate, bat. Count Sforza A New Terror. Travel, it has been said, would be pleasant enough but for the travel- ers. The inventor of that dogma may have been a misanthrope, but we com- mend a study of his philisophy to the directors of the United States Mail ship Company, says an editorial Is!:.:l: lfi’ndnn Dt Telegraph. Most of us are at tim jubject to misan- thropy, and It is observed that most frequent cause of the most viru- lent attacks is the attempt to be fa- petious. The merchant of anecdotes, the dealer in funny stories, have been responsiblé for much of the hatred, malice and uncharitableness which poison human life. Now, it is com- as is_now secured m(mh knowledge that (thel: ’nneg’mn ‘which It is shall be | of the human race are found in abun- SSolianea: e dA50e and at their Ereatest Vigor on make itself conspicuous in the path of progress.” DIGEST OF FOREIGN PRESS board ship. The conditions of a voy- age are favorable to their activities. Their victims cannot escape. It has long been recognized that Sea air stimulates the spinning of yarns. Not to investigate farther that grim sub- Ject, the psychology of the confirmed raconteur, we may take it as common knowledge that the supply of his species on liners is far in advance of the demand. Yet we have before us the report that “the United States Mail Steamship Company is planning to équip each vessel with a profes- sional entertainer, who must have an inexhaustible stock of good stories.” This, is, indeed, to give a new terror to the lot of those who go down to the sea in ships. The robust and brazen courage which is required of the first sailor is but timidity com- pared with the fortitude to endure as shipmate the * sional entertainer, with an inexhaust- ible stock of good stories.” We know too well that thers is no such person. We can feel no confidence in the capacity of the United States Mail Steamship Company to decide what is a good story. One man's ‘ meat is ever in this matter another man’s poison. In practice it is too clear that the test must be not qual- ity, but quantity; not the goodness, but the inexhaustibility of the stories —an awful thought. The chosen torturers “will be required to occupy the lounge every afternoon and even- ing and spin salty yarns which will rival any of those told in the fore- castle.”” The salt is plainly not to Attic. The lounge on the ships thi equipped is not likely to be a popular resort. What the motives of the United States Steamship Company may be for their rash act we can only conjecture. It is possible that the directors may have sailed, like the rest of us, on ships where the lounges and the smoking rooms were in pos- session of amateur entertainers, whose flood of conversation, like Tennyson’s brook, though men might come and men might and did go, went on forever. Therefore. they sought to provide an antagonist, a profes- sional counter-poison. The expedient seems desperate. Or we may fancy that they had an ambition to relieve the dryness of ships sailing under the American flag by furnishing an inexhaustible supply of another sort of stimulant. Thus are the bitterest foes of prohibition justified. De- | prived of alcohol, desperate humanity seeks consolation in the consumption of things ruinous to_the mind, de- grading to the soul. — A Healthier France. Sport has now had sufficient prac- tical application in France to have had its effect on the physique of young manhood, says the Paris cor- respondent of the London Sunday Times. It is now considered to be established that the results are equal to all that was prophesied and that the benefit of games to the race is as great as in the pattern-country of Great Britain. Exhaustive examin: tion of the 1921 class of conscript: which was recently incorporated, shows that the standard of physical development and general heaith is particularly good. While some little Influence is accorded to the practical abolition of alcoholism during the war years when these lads were in their teens, the main credit is given to sport and games, which became “fashionable” as well as popular, from the example of the British sol- diers scattered through France. er fact in connection with the incorporation of the present class which has created much satisfaction is that the proportion of recruits compared with the number of births in the year when these lads were registered had reached the remark- able figure of 75 per cent. It had been down as low as 66 per cent. That is taken as an indication that infantile morality has been constant- ly decreasing during the past twenty years, a matter of immense impor- tance to France, where ulation is the most vital preblem the Dnation. = 1 /] »