Evening Star Newspaper, July 24, 1921, Page 26

" -] WASHINGTON,D.O. (IUNDAY eevee...duly 24, 1921 b NP G 1 Y s o110 emean é, THE EVENING: STAR, Wjth Sunday Wotning' Edition. THEODORE W. )}?YES .. .Editor £ The Evening Star Newspaper Company Jiusiness Ottice, 11th St. and Pennsylvan'a Ave. New York Qtfices_Tribune Buildin Chicago Offi et al Bauk 1 3 Tturopean Otfice: 3 Regent St., Loudon, England. The Evening Star, with the Sunday morning dvifvered by 4t 60 cents per month nduy only, Le sent. by Jlysonly, 45 cents pes cents per month, - mail, or telephone Main lection s made by carriers at the T morith, Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. . Daily and ‘Sunday.1yr., $8.40; 1 md,, 70c Daily: only.. 1yr.. $8.00; 1 mo., S0 ¥ rriers within the city | the government and its meaning to the people In the states; It is an in spiration to see the government af work, especially in time of congres- sional session. . A students’ home maintained here perhaps by the public school systems of half a dozen of the ‘larger gities, | would be in effect-an extension school. Teachers accompanying the - classes could- conduct their groups around the city, perhaps under special official auspices. Examinations could be held in the work of the government. their return pupils chosen for this ex- perience would be in a position to tell their aesociates of the mearing of Washington and how the government ‘| tunctions. . Suppose $60,000 should be required to acquire or build such a school home here for visiting ‘students? - Suppose five citles were to undertike the estab-. ' Sunday onlya. $2.40; 1 mo., 20c All Otber States. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo., 85¢ Dally only.. 211, 7$2.00; 1 mo.., 60c . Sunday _oniy {1 yr.. §3.00 1 mo., 25¢c Tax Revision. ‘With the tariff out of the way the House committee on ways and means is tackling the problem of tax revision, which the country at large has re- garded jas of more importance than the revision of the customs schedule. Hard as is tariff revision in any case, that of tax revision is much more dif- ficult. And it is especially difficult at this time, when there is an expecta- tion on the part of the public of a re- duction of the tax burden. It would appear, however, from the point of| view of the Treasury, that little re- duction is possible, that the govern- ment must have from direct tax sources practically as much money as it obtains from those sources at pres- ent. If reduction cannot be accom- plished can the burden be differently distributed, to cause it to rest less heavily upon those less able to bear it? Thus revision may be merely re- adjustment, not reduction. Virtually only one assurance can be glven regarding the ways and means < _of tax change and that is that the . Present excess profits tax will prob- ably be eliminated. To this tax is at- tributed, rightly or wrongly, much of the economic trouble with which the country now suffers. To it are ascrib- ed in large degree the high prices that &till prevail. It is regarded by the country generally as a multiple tax in that it forms the basis through capital computation of excess prices. H_w- ever that may be, the demand has ¥en expressed unmistakably for the #sin- donment of this form of excise anQ the substitution of another form waich will yield as much revenue witnout breeding high prices and thus bearing doubly upon the consumer. Income tax adjustments may be possible .without lessening the yield. But there is no prospect of the re- mission of income taxes from the low- er end of the income line upon which they now bear. Whether in this re- vision there will be & lightening of the load on the lower end and an increase at the upper, or a sharper pitch of ad- vance through the middle, is, of course, ‘merely a matter of speculation, as ap- parently these problems have not been -worked out ef by the committee. Much actuartal work ‘has’ been’ done during the past few months In testing out probable ‘yields of revenue from various formsg-of taxes. The House committee has no lack of information and statistics.” It is abundantly sup- * plied with advice. It is, as always in the case of figéhl legislation, subjected to pressure of influence by those who wish to pay’ less, by interests that seek relief through revision at the ex- pense, of course, of other interests. The position of the committee in this situation, therefore, is that of a court of equity seeking the fairest distribu- _tion of the load of taxation. Speed is an element in this matter. It is urgently desirable that the tax - bill be pushed as rapidly as the re- * ¢ b a = R 1 quirements of sound legislation will permit. For business is at present in u state of suspense, awaiting the set- tlement of the-tax basis. Not until the last stage of the legislation is passed can business know how to ad- just, how to buy, how to manufacture and how to sell. Whether the re- vision is up or down as pertains to a particular industry, uncertainty com- pels a comparative halt in production and vending. It would have been bet- ter, indeed, had tax revision.preceded tariff revision. But that stage of the case is passed, and, whatever may be the political effect of the republican party's choice of precedence in Con- gress, the urgent question now is to get the speediest possible results con- sistent with that fair balance between needs and supply which is the essence of good statesmanship. —_————— Occasionally a base ball fan is dis- appointed in being compelled to sus- pect that a player for whom he was rooting was not himself rooting the same way. —_——— Pacific islands have become the scenes of expert diplomacy, as well as of untutored simplicity/ Student Visitors to Washington. In a communication recently printed in the Boston Transcript a corre- spondent suggested that the graduat- ing puplls of the high schools of that city and vicinity should be sent to Washington for a course of study in American government. Subsequent . . communications on this subject, which aroused general interest, dwelt on the ‘wiedom of providing permanent quar- ters here for the housing and enter- tainment of students who are sent thus from other cities, It may be that practical steps will be takén to this end by Boston. Perhaps if other cities ‘would take up this ‘question and co- operate with the Massachusetts me- tropolis a suitable home for the care of, students from all over the United States could be provided. .. Fronr time to time squads of school boys and girls of different ages visit ‘Washington. Some of them are given 2§ the trip as a reward for good work @ e 1 in school. Groups of farm club boys and girls also come. The pilgrimage to Washington is regarded as a meas- ure of practical education. No boy or |ance to the “master mind” or “gang girl can come here without gaining a |leader.”” Sometimes the whale broader conception of the nnung the leot is turned in lishment of such’a headquarters?. That would be $10,000. epiece, a very small sum to spend tor- the assured benefits that would be gained by the students, hundreds of them being accommodated in the course of the year. The main- tenance of such an establishment would be a simple matter. ‘The idea is well worth'consideration: - Perhaps Roston will start it as a result of the discussion in the columns of the Transcript. Battleship and Airplanes. Is the battleship doomed as a result of the tests off the Virginia capes, cul- minating in the sinking of the former German warship ‘Ostfriesland? That question s now animating military and naval circles, the former because the Navy wants to know whether its greatest unit is vulnerable from the air to a point that will make it a_us- less weapon in the future, and the lat- ter because the Army wants to know what it has to fear from the great floating batteries that form the chief menace to coast defepses. The Ostfriesiand was sunk in a few minutes in the course of a bombard- ment by 2,000-pound shells. Some of these made direct hits and some struck close off-board. It will never be known definitely whether the Jatter 'Inflicted fatal injuries, though there is evidence that at least one of the shots that struck the sea blew a hole in the hull. The initlal bombardment of 1,000- pound bombs had crippled the ship and would doubtless have inflicted heavy loss upon personnel and equip- ment. Taken altogether, the ship was an easy mark from the air. But the great craft was merely a target, an inert, defenseless mark in the sea. The airplapes could approach it closely with impunity. No anti- aifrcraft guns blazed at them. No smoke screens obscured their view. All conditions were ideal for the attack. Such conditions could not concelvably occur in war time. Planes could not appreach as closely or drop their bombs as steadily. To be out of range of defensive gunfire the aircraft must fly at much greater altitudes than those maintained in the tests, with conse- quent lessening of accuracy. Thdt they would suffer losses by gunfire is assured, save in extremely high flights. One of the questions tq.be determined is the probable ratio. of aircraft loss to battleship loss. And in considerin this question it must be borne in min that as a mere matter of expense i would be economical to sacrifice many airplanes, and. of course, their crews; in order to destroy a single dread:| . naught of the enemy. . Keep on Swatting! Health Officer Fowler gives warnin, that it is necessary to keep on fly swatting, for the pesky things wilt continue to breed whatever the tem: perature. Some folks may think that the flies are prolific only in hot weather, but that i{s a mistake. A single fly is potential of an enormous | progeny, and if that fly is swatted, be the weather, hot or cold, an imimense| succession is thwarted. It cannot be doubted that there are not as many flies in Washington as in former years. Constant slaughten has undoubtedly had its effect. The cleaning up of possible breeding places has kept down the propagation of the species and the public health has been bene-: fited consequently. Just because there are fewer flies is no reason for laying aside. the swatter and neglecting this important work of extermination. Sup- pose, for speculative purposes, that flies are only one-half as numerous ae before. That makes the job of elim- inating them altogether twice as easy. So that every fly killed now really counts for more than formerly. If the rate of the past five years .€an be maintained Washington will be a prac- tically fiyless city in another decade, and that is worth working for, surely. ————t————— Assurances by King Alfonso that Spain is not and does not desire to be imperialistic show a reéognition of the fact that monarchy, to be successtul, must be practiced in moderation. —————— A congressman when working on theé tariff must expect to find a large and varied quantity of advice urgently offered. * * The thermometer is never a consiat- ent optimist. The Wages of Crime. Professional crime is reduced to a definite basis in New York and per- haps othrer cities,where it is well estab- lished. Price scales prevail for spe- clalists. Maybe there is a union rate. Tilustration is afforded by testimony given by a man heid in New York for complicity in the robbery of two cigar stores. This man, it would seem, ac- knowledged that he was the gunman of the crew. He held the pistol while his employer rifled the cash registers. He was paid at the rate of §10 a job, thus getting $20 for the two robberies, while his companion netted $140. Per- haps. there iz a sliding scale, a per- centage rate:* That is not disclosed. It would be interesting if the police could get further testimony on_ this point of payments. Undoubtedly there are gangs at work on an evendivision basis; each member taking his “ Then there are gangs. that take only a minority rake-off and-turn in the bal- boty of and the gaugmen on| THE. SUNDAY " STAR, WASH < |POLATICS: AT HOMEICREDIT KEY MOST UNLOCK TRADE!HEARD AND SREN FIRTY YEARS AGO IN are paid off according to their agree- ments. A It has frequently happen gangsters have broken with fol- lows over the question of the spoils, turning state’s evidence, when caught, in pique and revenge. The police de- pend to a large extent upon thé gang quarrels for the uncovering of ofgan- ized crime. The shrewd criminal pre- fers to work alone because he knows that he is dealing with frail materials when he takes others in as partners. Much has been written and said Two Senatorial Raoes. Thirty-two seats in the Senate—six- teen now occupied by republicand, and sixteen by democrats—will be in the scale next year. The contests for them will be vigorously conducted. The republicans have already perfect. ed their organization. Two of the ‘contests will stand out from the others by reason of the fact about the remarkable loyalty of crook.l:thlt what is called Wiisonism will en- lsm. Only rarely does the subordinate gangster actually stand by his clan through any genulne sentiment of fealty or affection. A common dread of discovery and punishment drives the members of a gang together. Per- haps reduction of gang crime to a definite pay schedule will tend to break up this form of lawbreaking. For the fixed rate worker against the law is almost certain to become dissatisfied and to demand higher wages. And then the trouble starts. Gorky Asks for Auns. Maxim Gorky, the Russian writer, is said to be on his way to Berlin to appeal personally for help for his famine and disease stricken country. Gorky is a good missionary for such & purpose. If he can talk as he used to write he can paint the scenes of suf- fering in the most vivid colors. In those days when Gorky was merely a prolific literary producer, ofte of the “intellectuals” of Russia under the czar's regime, known to the western world as a realist who spared no sensi- bilities in his depiction of life, he was gifted with a remarkable power of narration and description. Whatever they may have been in the original, his translated storles made western readers see Russia In terms of abase- ment and suffering, fiith and squalor, lgnorance and mental and moral stupor. Much of the western world's conception of the Russian people was gained through the medium of Gorky and others of his school. And it was not a ‘pleasant conception. Decidedly the reverse. Gorky had then—per- haps he has still—the power to make a single sentence glow with meaning. If he talks now to the Germans as he talked before through print he can undoubtedly make them feel the ter- rible Bufferings of the Russian people. But can he get help fiom them? The dispatch from Berlin that tells of his coming indicates that Gorky's mission will be fruitless. For Germany has nothing to spare for the starving and the disease-stricken Russians. Ger- many's present particular aim is to rehabilitate herself. She is going to work vigorously to restore her eco- nomic health. She {s, indeed, setting the world an example in industry and thrift which, much as she may be dis- liked and distrusted, must:be admired. Gorky will perhaps find Germany much like the turnip from which it is said no blood can be obtained. A New York policeman in killing a mad dog.wounded hlm-m 1 . A pmigtlistic.champlori, how rageous in the ring, may shudder he ‘fades the ‘fnéome tax collectar, ."Anxiety' as to_cost of_the wipter's cou- en BY PHILANDER JOHNBON. By Request, It's fine to hear a robin sing Up yonder in the tree— ‘The mocking bird a joy will bring From any discord free— Yet there's one singer who is hid, But not forever lost. I'd like to hear the katydid A-singin’ 'bout the frost.. The summer's ever genial ray Briggs forth full many = trill, Until as daylight fades away ‘We hear the whippoorwill. But of them-all we'll well be rid When August counts their cost; I'd rather hear the katydid A-singin’ 'bout the frost. Jud Tunkins says mebbe after all there's people in base ball harder to depend on than the umpire. Difficult Audiences. “Why don't you make a ringing spéech on this subject?” o “I'm afraid to,” replied Senator Sor- ghum. “People have gotten so they class fancy oratory as a species of en- tertainment, along with jass.” ‘Whoppers. Where substance fades and - goes .. astray ~ The shadow still will thrive; The largest fish all get away, The biggest yarns survive. “These automobiles is great {nven. tions,” remarked Sheriff Honker. “Didn’t know you liked 'em.” “Yeasir. They enable a conselen: tious officer of the law to do his duty and arrest & lot of people who live too far away to pull ag’in him when he's| comin’ up &g’in “Charley, dear,” said young Mrs. Torkins, “do_you understand’ Tels- for election.” - . sl “Nos* “I am very much dissppointed. Of course, I didn't ‘expect you t6 under- stand it, but the way you admit. your | to their pals and leaders. As a matter | ter conspicuously into both, in one of fact, it is the loyalty of fear, the |against the democratic candidate, Qbedience that is enforced by terror-|the other in his favor. v in The leggue of nations, when hefore | #&: the Senate, had no more eargest or aggressive opponent than Mr. Reed of Missouri. Indeed, at times he seemed to show the way. As a result, he was blacklisted by the administration, and through its influence was denled a seat’ last year in the San Franciscc convention. Nothing daunted, Mr. Reed continues to express himself against Wilsonism, and will have to meet it next year in his efforts to suce ceed Mvuelf in the Senate. He has g republican coligague, and Missouri last year gave the republican national ticket & hundred and twenty thousand plurality. On the other hand, the league had no more earnest or aggressive cham- plon than Mr. Hitchcock of Nebraska. As chairman of the foreign relations committee he stood out against -the whole republican program of .reserva- tions, and indorsed Mr. Wilson's final action in that matter. As a result, the Nebraska senator was then, and It 1s understood still is, in high favor with Mr. Wilson. Mr. Hitchcock has a republican colleague, and last year | reduced Nebraska gave Harding and Coolidge a plurality of a hundred and thirty-six thousand votes. It is for these reasons that the sen- atorial races in the 8how Me state and the Blackwater state next year will fix an unusual amount of attention, ‘Wilsonism being in action in both. Col. House and Disarmament. Among those present at the garden 8o, ! the Herbort Hoover, Becretary of Com- merce and of wide world experience, says shat wise solution of the credit problem resujting: from tremendous ex- pansion of production power and our sudden-born creditor position will in- sure the continued flow of United States commrerce. ‘Thotee who seek the solution, he cau- tio) must - keep always before thelr mind’s eyes the real picture of what distinguishes - this country from all others, ‘e -are not a nation .of machines, houses, factories and raillways,” he lyS, “we are a nation of men, women and children, Our industrial system and our commerce are simply instruments for their comfort and happiness. When ! we deal with these great problems of business and economics we must be in- spired by the knowledge that.we are increasing and defending the standards of living of all our people. Upon thia soll grew .those moral and intellectual’ forces that made our nation great.” * % . under the Hoover administration, problem of world trade is to be humanized and the solution figured on the greatest happiness of the people rather than in millions upon the credit! side of the ledger. And yet sound busi- | ness and economic principles are being | employed in seeking the solution. Hoover, who today has the best op- portunity of any in this country, if not in the entire world, to view the real world trade situation and to estimate the future of our forelgn ‘commerce, does not ee at all with those who entertal feelings of uneasiness and even pessimism. He says confidently that *““we have already turned the er of_this period of dej fon."” Emphasizing the importance of culti« vating foreign trade, Mr. Hoover points out that ‘‘unless we find a market for roduction of our indus- continue to keep some twenty-five milllons of our people in buying power, We might even drive them into erty during the ma yu:r-'lhn woul ttse requllnd to dhm hole. basis of our Internal pro- duction.” e * »x i 8ecretary Hoover has a very sane view of the credit problem as a key to trade readjustment. He argues that “attempts to bring exchange to parity or to create international securities of any kind are open to the objfection that they involve an element of inflation and that they practically open the gates of and party given by their British majesties cr.dlrld hlvomH (:m(un,:!ed ‘imu wlthm;l regal 0 risk, to how rpose - the other day was Col. House. .He has|fects us, or whether it ru‘fixy b-neofiu been making what may be called &n unofficial tour of Europe, and has everywhere been cordially received by persons of consequence, both in and out of office. The days of his earlier activities, when he was scouting for President Wilson, seemed come again. This insures, of .course, that the colonel 1s right up to date concerning conditions in Europe, and what Euro- pean statesmen and captains of In- dustry have in mind respecting re- habilitations. He has talked business, politics and everything else Wwith nfen now promirient in affairs and likely tc remain so for some years. And this suggests a thing or two. Col. House will have returned home long before the disarmament congress assembles in this town. The European members of that body will be person- ally known to him. Naturally, he will take a keen interest in_the business, and smight - with all gropriety yisit Washington as an observer while the business {s in hand. . Could he become more than an ob- server? Could he make a suggestion now and then as to what should be done? It is a safe guess that the colonel. is in favor of disarmament. Practically everybody is if the policy can be generally applied. The President may hardly be ex- pected to name Col. House among the American delegates to the congress, al- though he can hardly hope to find & democrat more competent for the serv- ice. And it is to be remembered that Col. House, while a member of the Paris peace conference, was not in agreement at the end with the way his chief, t Wilson, had concluded the American part in the proceedings. 1024, This democratic inquiry comes out of the west: If the Harding adminis- tration fails to make good, who will head the republicah ticket in 19242 A little previous, is it not? The Harding administration has begun in & businesslike way. Congfess was called at once to take up its burden— a very heavy burden. The President buckled to his work—to more work probably than any of his predecessors faced at the start. Congress is plugging along with many vexing problems on the card. Tt is not escaping criticlsm and prob- ably did not expect to do so. But it is not stalled on any question. The com- ing three months should show some very important business disposed of. ‘The President bas made a fine im- pression on all. He is accessible, con- ciliatory, patient, and industrious. He. Bives himself generously to his duties. He borrows no trouble.” He evades no responsibilities. He shows full knowl- edge of the situation.from every angle. ‘Why, then, speculate about failure at this early stage of the game? Why, indeed, speculats at'all when the ad- ministration is only & few months old? But 1f speculation must be indulged, why not ask this question: - If the ad- ministration does make good, /what will the democratié nomination in 1924 be worth? Today only two men seem to have their eyes on it, and to be sup- ported by organized work—Gov. Cox and Mr, McAdoo—and both are hang- overs, %o to say, from 1920. ket S8peculating about 1924 seems almost ' 5 as useless as about 1944 would be. Bridges are never safely crossed uhtil reached. e . ‘The questionnaires prepared by Mr. ' Edison ‘will be harder than ever when the bog'émuhlnmnuhtoulltor ac- curate comprehension of the Einstein the borrower. loans from our govern- ment direct to lorel"n governments,” he explains, ‘“or to foreign merchants have a hundred objections and disagree. able entanglements which we learned well enough during the war. In all this maze of difficuity and the unsettle- ment over credit and debts I would sum up that wisdom consists in knowing what to do next rather than in debates upon perfection. *‘AS necessary as the continued estab- lishment of foreign credits is," Secre- tary Hoover emphasizes, “if are to maintain eur large volume of export trade, we should not overestimate the amount needed for legitimate trade, for refinance and for reconstruction pur- poses. The amount {8 not so great as popularly supposed and will decline an- nually. . I Qelieve all trading states of uence in the world can even now finance their imports of food supplies. The stronger of them can finance their im] Branch Libraries i made that a second branch of the publig library will be erected during the coming year- at 7th and D streets southeast, just off Pennsylvania ave- nue. The description of the pew East- ern High School buliding in TheStar of July 16 {ndicated that a branch of the public ifbrary is to be housed in a fine reom on the ground floor there, aThe people_of Southeast Washington - Thz aknouncement has recently bun.t residing morth and west of the Ana- D costia and Pennsylvania avenue bridges are from two to three miles from the central building of the public library on Mount Vernon Square, but when these. two new branch libraries are in opera: tion, & year hence, they will have easier access, without expense for car fare, to public library faollities than is enjoyed by any Washingtonians except those ‘who live in the vioinity of the central library. Indeed, they should in certain respects be better Off even than those located gear the main lbrary, which has for many years been 3o congested by readers as to make it difficult for the library staff to give the best service. These branch libraries will have thelr own stocks of books, and in addition ‘will be able to draw on all the rich re- sources of the central tibrary. If by ap- propriations adequate permanent stocks of books and staffs sufficient in aumbers and properly pald are furnished, these new branches will speedily become lessons, for they will show what ?’nt facilities and lofvl’ ice should be suppl to other sections of the Dis- trict bl{ means of separately housed braries or by means of branches D e bile senos! bulldings. . s That Washington is in a most unen- wiable condition in the matter of Ubrary facilities Within easy access of homes as compared with other cities may be Illustrated by the experience of ome of Washington's - distinguished pew resi- dents. Because the case is belleved to be typical the cirrumstances are ‘worth relating. Dr. Edwin E. Slosson, one of the editors of the Independent, a pro-. fessor in the Schoel of Journalism of Columbia University and author of sev- oral books, tncluding ‘his noteworthy “Creative Chemistry,” recently moved to this city to take an important execu- tive position with one of the numerous non- tal foundations, 80 many 'of which are being established in ‘Wash- ington. Both Dr. Slosson and Mra. ‘ashi that I had bought na her first guestion was the ne e nearest her that I’ not moticed, " but J | be slower than some expect, nothing can ports of raw materials. We are, in- | neighbors."’ By, GEORGE F. BOWERMNAN, Librarias, Publie Library. deed, Importing very much larger quan- titios of erapieal produce than before our own consumption of these-conimodities will continue to grow. o margin e war, an imports in prder to keep commerce alive for the present are, first, compara- tively short-term amounts to cover part of our exports of raw materials and the distribution period of our manufactured s, and, second, constant reflnance of debts or Interest already o'td‘ to us.” * . ¥ ¥ After taking an extensive and at the same time carefu]l localized survey of world trade problems, after revolving the problem in his well trained mind for months, after summarising in con- ference ‘with specialists the result of his |observations and deductions, Secretary Hoover gives the business interests of this country and the human beings who afe to be of first concern in this read- justment solution & very optimistic vision of the commercial future: “In summary, on the production and marketing side of our commerce.” Sec- retary Hoover says, “We can say that our food exports should remain on a greatly enlarged scale; that the de- mands for our raw materials should slowly increase l.g'lld vn-w;r -(mounu; that In respect to our manufactures we 'should be able to hold special flelds of repetitive produc#on - and ingenuity; that we will need to make a fight to hold the markets for - manufactured goods, where we come more directly into competition with the Europea® manu- facturer, but that we can do it if we ‘work and apply our brains to it. “On the financial side of our situ- ation I do not belfeve our world credit situation fs at all so insurmountable or that it requires extraordinary solutions. “We need to realize above all things ‘we lower our vision of that even If this crisis solely to that clvilization in of our o are mightily eoncerned in the recuper- atfon of the entire world. There is an economic interdependence in the world that recognizes no national boundaries. The greatest jeopardy to the standard of living of our people is the lowered standards of Europe. Now that we have become a great creditor nation, we must learn that this great debt must be wise- 1y directed, so that we do not stifle both our own growth and the growth of others. * * ¥ There are, indeed, many perplexities arising out of our great expansion of productive power and our sudden-born creditor position. We are confronted with & hundred difficulties. We must be alert, to steer our commercial policles against the winds of the world in an economic storm. We are suffering greatly in this immediate world-wide industrial depression. This depression e e ora with e apec. due to our post-war boom, W - ulation, “lv‘:xlrlvll’lnce and its slack- ening of effciency. ““The government. can help recovery by removing the -obstructions to com- merce and industry. But the real cure for all depression is courage and ap- plied intelligence and the return to primary virtues of -hard, consclentious foil and economy in living. On every side there is evidence that the vast majority of our whole nation is making again an effort in those directions equaled only by that of 1918 and the day, some months ago, when we entered this effort to fundamentally turn the corner of this depression. While our recovery may ent the prosperity of a country :r!:e'n the pegple ‘have enlightenment, where they wish to work, wish to pro- duce and wish to do right by their ,Urgentlf Needed stationary tubs in the laundry, or such similar questions, but the proxiriity of the nearest branch library! Now she must go two and one-half miles to the central library to have public library facilities. To her and to the many thousands of educated women, children and men in the Columbia Heights sec- tion it is hoped to give a favorable an- 'swer in the near future. The various citizens' associations in that - section baye for some time been urging that a branch library be supplied for them After the southeast branch library should ass! . Now that Congress in the ond deficiency bill has appropriated '$10,000 for: the site for this southeast branch, thus making it a certainty, the board cf trustees of the public library have included in their estimates for the coming year a sum for the purchase of a site for a branch library in the Colum- bia Helghts section. Because of the large and highly intelligent population of that section it is believed that a branen library established there would serve & reading constituency almost as large as is now served by the central library. It will, therefore, be necessary to secure a large site and erect a large bullding properly to serve such a community. An inquiry made a yeAr ago showed that American cities above 200,000 lation have an average of fifteen ranch libraries and an ave: of more than eight such branch libraries housed in separate bulldings. Several cities r than Washington have branch libraries in excess of these averages. For example, Indlanapolis has sixteen branch libraries, nine of which are In separate bulldings, and Minneapolis has sixteen branch libraries, eight in sepa- ‘ashington has but one Now that ‘Washington at branch library develop- ment, it is hoped that the efforts pat forth will succeed in supplying ‘tne branch library facilities that Washing- ton so much needs, and that in this respect Washington will not much longer be compelled to lag so far behind much smaller cities. 5 * * ‘The program for branch library exten- sion here includes, in the case of separate branches, in addition to the one estab- lished several years ago at. Takoma Park, the assured branch in Southeast ‘Washington, branches in Columbia Heights, Georgetown, Northeast: and Bouthwest Waskington, and one in the neighborhood of Dupont circle. ‘The program for the establishment of branches in public school-buildings 1s now a’matter of discussion between the superintendent of schools and ‘the gublic librarian. The library board, the school board and the Commissioners have on ‘various occasions committed themselves in principle to the establishment of branches of the public library in: sehool buildings. Such branch libraries would naturelly render large: service to the and children of these schools— can be rendered by the of public library books sent dnk.'houmo! veniently be convenie! | by central library or by any of the the Ca :‘n‘cw e Carnegie: -Cor- of the flllllu.: offer of Andrew ©of money suffi- was of credits needed beyond ! selfish economic Interest, we | But it is never closed for those who use the wrong word. Two people who evidently had heen at-the seashore recently were discuss- ing the delights of surf bathing. What one woman was thinking of was the 1 rooms for s0 many | projec bor-. union. Of course, wcrved | taken hich may lead to industrial con- Karl May Turn Up Agein. Onée of the great hardships worked upon visitors to the various govern- ment departments results from the almost universal practice of officials placing the chalrd accorded guests in positions directly facing windows. Only those who have been so seated, waiting for some time, while staring |helplessly into a glaring light, can appreciate just what this hardship is. Then when audience Is obtained with the official, the blinded visitor finds himself again seated with face to the light. The reason for this is, of course, thatsthe chief wants his own face in shadow, 50 that he may adequately study the countenance of his visitor. Also, perhaps, by making the situa- tion physically uncomfortable for his guest, the latter may be induced to jeut his visit short. If the present administration, how- ever, s really sincere in its efforts to “humaniza” it might generally glve s thought (o this problem, as au- ! ible criticism has been expremsed of | the arrangement by recent visitors to | departments. ! What visitors characterize as a par- | ticularly bad case is that prevailing | {in the office of the firat assisiant post- | | master general, Dr. Hubert Work As head of the American Medical Asso- ciation, Dr. Work would soon realize the sltuation -if but once he would] jassume the role of visitor to his own | office. i In this office’ visitors are seated on | chairs across the room opposite the windows, so that looking across the | room they are greeted by the glare of light. Only by looking at the ceil- ing or In @ siamel.ced way at tie floor can the visitor escape. When his turn comes to be seated with the official, often his eyves are so blinded that he cannot see for quite a while. by | * % It's so easy to talk economy’ and uncohsclously practice extravagance. | In one of the government depart- ments last week officials gathered for a round-table discussion of ways ‘THE STAR. ‘ All doubts of the successful flota- tion of a district ‘territorial loan for publiic improve- Improvement ments. which were Loan Floated, SXPremed by som fifty years ago when the new Jocgl government wis snstalled and adopted & program of important works, were set at rest, The Star of July 22, 1871, saye: “It will be good news to every per- son interested in the prosperity of) Washington and the District to know that Gov. Cooke has succeeded in negotlating in New York, $1,500.000 of the improvement bonds of the trict at the exceedingly favorabl rate of 973 cents. with the furth advantageous condition that the bonds are only to be delive ot $500,000, as the progr lic improvements may bonds, of course, only drawing interest from the time they are delivers Under the provisions of the act i sum negotiated i all that was ap- propriated for this ybar's expenditures, and Gov. Cooke only made positive ar- rangements for that sum, but t Vew York parties agrec to take the balanc of the four-miilion-dollar loan on th: same terms whenever it is needed after this year. “The negotiation of the loan on these favoruble terms and with the provision by which the money is only to be used as needed and draws interest anly from the time jssued is most creditable to * the financial ability of Gov. Cooke, but the feature last named effectuaily’ dis poses of the last vestige of the clamor about the illegality of the bond made by the Tammany crowd and by the brokers who dread to see their occu- pation gone of ShaWng &Fsessments, i business upon which they have fattened under the old order of things, but which must necessarily be broken up by the economical cash Daying System now 1o be inaugurated. * “It cannot be claimed for a moment that the sum negotlated, $1,500,000, i in excess of 5 per cent and means to economize. s As they talked, the breeze of -nllnlunchon ;lvon zro;:;rty. :.lna lh‘en[a; electric fan swept comfortably over ore e attemp! their heads from the top of a fine Sought. i made to push the in- pedestal. ‘That pedestal, installed that morn- ing, cost In the neighborhood of $18, whereas @ shelf bracketed on the wall perhaps might have cost §3. £l * % This is the open season for bathing. word balance,” but was: “If you got somebody to hang onto, you can banish each other.” | - * & One of the most delightful places in Washington these days is the United States Botanic Garden, under the su- pervision of Director George W. Hess. Although everybody in Washington knows the garden is there, just west of the Capitol, but & small proportien of the populace visits the grounds Snce a season, and thousands perhaps | have failed to do 80 in years. ' Yet there is no prettier place in the city, a garden in the best sense of that word, filled with grass and flow- ers, shady naoks, comfortable benches | and a fountain and pool. Director Hess has plans to carry forward the work of the garden and make it even better than it is today, | and in lhla he asks !l‘l’w fo-openuon‘ of everybody in Washington. TEHARLES B. TRACEWELL. | CHA! DIGEST OF FOREIGN PRES® what she said|, junction it will be demonstrated most unmistakably that the purpose is purely factious and to the end of crippling all improvements. The parties to the in- junction, should they now persist in their course, will be held solely re- sponsible by the public for the other prostration of all branches of busincas tnat is sure to follow upon a stoppag« of the contemplated improvements. The community i8 not in a temper to stand patiently this prostration of business ‘“hile the injunctors proceed to avall themselves of all the technicalities ofy the law by which they hope to prevent iroke §f work being done for years. ‘whil !hi suit drags its slow cours. through e courts, the court & ban: and the United States Supreme Court We hear that already some of our citi zens who were misied by the interested Qamor against the improvement lan and have sympath'zed with the injunc tion party have today expressed them- selves entirely satisfied with what ha: been done by the board of public works and are eager now to have the goud Work of improvement commenced ut onc: “We have no doubt that now that tl facts are known concerning the advar tageous nature aof the loan, and th fears of the most timid are dispelled & to its legality, the injunction move ment will receive so lit'le cncourag, ment that it will be abandoned. N« citizen who wishes to stand well in thi community can afford to be idend! further with a movement which have no other effect than 0 top ev business enterprise in the District, u terly ruin trade now stagnant and d prive our mechanics and laborers of tI opportunity to earn a livelihood =n provide comfortably for their families ' A Franco-German Trust. A Franco-German steel combination now being discussed by the French minister of reconstruction, which con- templates a union of the Krupp works and its affliations and the French ore resources, would, it is predicted Sni the Muenchen Augsburger Abend-| zeitung, be able to undersell America | in steel rail and other products. “The negotiations which have re- cently . taken place” says the Ba- varian paper, “in Wiesbaden between Loucheur, French minister of recon- struction, and his German colleague, Rathenau, are regarded as the most powerful contrivance in the Indus: trial world—e union of the great in- dustries of France and Germany In which they will help each other mu- tually by the exchange of raw ma- terials and by the sale of their prod- ucts according to common agreement. “This plan would produce formi- dable competition to American foreign commerce, the effects of which would be felt in all branches, but particu larly In the metal industry. The Krupp factorles, for instance, Jower prices than anywhere eise in the world, for carrying out large orders, because, on account of the low rate of exchange, said to be arti- ficially produced, they are able to {nsure big orders to Germany. The industry of this country is showing a feverish activity In certain branches, while French industry has little to do. The French begin to realize now that German competition may bring about the ruin of the two industries. France has large quantities of iron ore, Germany large quantities of coal. In this way they have become fbr the first time great rivals in the same branch. “Why should we not try our strength? the French industrials are asking. Ger- many would guarantee to France the coal that she needs and France would arantee the necessary iron ore to the Westphalian founderies. It would only Dbe necessary then to agree on the sub- Ject of prices, offers, etc., and Germany, which is now obliged to sell at lower than France, would be able to them up to the same level. Ger- ask prices iny ?n':n.)" could even go below the minimum French price, and the consortium ‘would share the profits and the losses. “It is clear,” says the writer, “that such a union, tne policy of which would be directed by France, would be able to sell cheaper than America; for instance, in railway conmstruction, in hydro-elec- tric factories for South America, etc. This union might become very werful in competing with or even absorbing the English steel Industry. Although thi: t has no political character, it tical consequences which mllhs hIV;. poli eq! Tical there are many ele- in the country in oppesition to e ‘many of which are caused this solution, iderations of home licy; but it by comml R e miesa’ ata_being Bx-Kaiser Karl and the province of West Hungary, where he resided during his abortive Easter attempt™to regain the royal Hungarlan crown, are again engaging attention in anti-monarchist circles, says the Vienna correspondent of the London Daily Chronicle. known {been circulsting, principally~from Ber- lin; that Karl intended returning to the attack on August 20, which is the na- in Hi , and that all g’;?u fete day lmnm A2d te for his departure from has a new asylum been nmmmorlwrl-munl bility that Karl will not renounc. crown without ano‘her attempt for and colored by little incidents such & that of Karl having bestowed the Orde of ‘the Golden Flecce upon Gount Ap ponyi during his recent visit to the roya exile, it is easy enough to build up sen sational rumors, but it is certainly right that attension should be directed towarc West Hungary. Those who were in authority when the ex-kaiser suddenly appeared at Steina manger are still there. It is loudly as serted in Vienna that they, and thos supporting them, intend refusing to sur render the province to Austria, as dc creed by the peace treaty, and using as a center for Hapsburgian intrigu: and probable *‘puisches” (revolts) Quakers in Germany. Work of the American Quakers i Germany receives enthusiastic prais ! from a writer in I'Oeuvre (Paris) who finds in the German children’ friendliness a denial of “hereditar: hate.” He says: “The Anglo-American Quakers hav organized assistance in nearly all th countries which have suffered fror the war: Poland, Austria, Jugoslavia nd even Ruseia. They have helped it he reconstruction of our villages in France, especially in the Verdun dis- trict. But their greatest effort at th present time seems to be in Germany Their central office in Berlin is the head of these help organizations es tablished in 1,597 different towns of Iocalities, chiefly in industrial cen- ters. They. feed the children, adults of less than eighteen years old, and nursing mothers with food imported from America, which now amounts to the value of eight million dollars. “Miss Norman, a young Américan. who directs this work with great activity and competence, was Kind enough to explain to me how it was worked: ““We thought it necessary’ she said, ‘to help the children of the great towns and industrial regions, because during the war they really suffered from hunger, and many of them ar~ in a terrible state of health. We are feeding about 160,000 in Berlin, 1,000,000 in the whole of Germany. This s last week’'s report, it shows a number of 984,389. This includes the mothers to whom we give milk, for at the price of four marks a litre, big familles of the working classes are scarcely able to buy any. But we give food mostly to the school children. The doctor points out the weakest, and during the recreation they eat what has been prepared in our kitchens. “Miss Norman then took me to a school in a poor quarter where the children of all ages were seen devour- ing enormous portions of rice with milk. Most of them seemed wide- awake and well; but those under five years were~obviously weaker than the older ones, they were often badl™ developed and looked ill. They ar war children. “‘You should see also; sald my guide, ‘those whom we sent to the country. The town of Berlin has property in the suburbs, and we have given funds to increase the number of children sent there.’ “I joined a number of Amerieans ‘who were going to visit one of thege establishments, conducted by the wife of Municipal Chancellor Weyl, who looks after the service of assistance of the town of Berlin. A few miles from the town, but some di from the railway, we came to house in the midst of a park with & pond and pine trees. Boys and girls ‘were playing or occupying themselves in different ways. On this occasion the brightest of them had disguised themselves and were playing in the | open air ‘Cinderella’ and “The Sleep- ing Beauty' and suchlike stories, which always delight children whether in_Paris or Berlin, ~I cquldn't help thinking that these childrén are much the same &s our little ones in the suburbs. When they heard that I was French they ran to shake hands with me. So this is tue hereditary hate which in twenty 'years perhaps is to make all these children go against ours!” N ) f|