Evening Star Newspaper, November 17, 1921, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1921.~ ’ - Editorial Digest 2l AR R. H. Long Company FACTORY BRANCH SHOE STORES ' - Mul EVENING STAR. With Sunday Moraing Editien. “APASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY. . November 17, 1021 a great tribute to the average hon-|ber of telephone calls comes - from esty of Americans that without any fevery part of the city, though nat- morsdl examinations Uncle Sam has|urally the Margest advance is in the secured as his workers the upright | business section. All Washington is men and women who constitate the | talking more, aver the phone, in short. That Conference Door. great bulk of the personnel of the It would be ihteresting to know some-| The American Secretary of State, In civil sarvice. Luck has beem with |thing about the average length of |8 brilllantly impressivd way, has pro- him, to use a popular phrase. the talks over the wire. If a test were , jected the American ideal of open Yet tile efforts of these very work-)made on that point it might throw |d!/Plomacy into the international cor- ers are endangered by the morally la light on the kind of use to which | ference: How far t:"; e weak; the very govermment itself is}the telephone is being put. The first |27y When negotiatlons ope course remains to be seen, and great threatemed by this lack of protection i suggestion from. the great increase In |, i tnis triumph it is an approach T R THEODORE W. NOYES. . .. Editor The £vening Star Néwspaper Company Busizess Ofice, 11th 8¢. New York Office. [ g0 Office: First Natlonal Bank Buildin European Office: 3 Regent St., London, Eaglai The Evening Star, with the Sundry morning edition, 4s delivered 'y carriers within the city only, 45 cents per iy ounly. 20 cemts per month. Or- dors may be sent by mall, or teleplione Mala 5000.” Collection' 1a’ mads' by carrlers at the end of each manth. . Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginis. 0c .1yr... $6.00; 1 m: 1yr., $2.40; 1 mo., 20¢ All Other States. N Daily and Sunday.1 yr., §10.00; 1 mo., $5¢ Daily only 1y 00: 1 mo., 60c Svnday oni : 1 mo.. 25¢ = China’s Aspirations. Delegates to the conference on armament and far eastern problems and the peoples they represent cannot fail to be sympathetically moved by the dignified and tempered proposals submitted to the conference by Min- ister Sze. He represents a civilization so0 old that its beginnings are lost in that twilight of antiquity where myth and fact so mingle as to be indis- tinguishable. ‘Decay begot of lethargy had so eaten into China's huge bulk that it jay prostrate and helpless before the avarice of the world. There is nothing that China asks which it is not right that she should have, and which the fair opinion of the world would not grant her in the fullest measure consistent with her own well-being and practical jus- tice to others. But a nation 80 huge and helpless as China has been can- not be lifted to her feet and told to walk alone on any path of her own election. She must be guided and assisted until bewilderment has cleared and exercise has flexed the cramp of centuries from her limbs. She should be guided and assisted, but that no longer should be interpreted to mean that she may be exploited and over- reached. ‘That China is not yet able to walk and play her part alone in the stress and competition ‘of twentieth century life is apparently recognized by Minis- ter Sze, for, in asking that existing limitations upon political, jurisdic- tional and administrative freedom of action be removed. he qualifies his “immediately™ by “‘or as soon as cir- cumstances will permit.” He knows, of course, that China cannot recover point to the great need for adequate character examinations for those within the service as well as those to {come in, and Mr. Bartleit is to be congratulaed on the stand he has taken, and upon his determination to make such examinations of future ap- plicants for the Washington pelice force. But this is only a starter. Com- gress should ghve the Civil Service Commission sufficient funds to make proper character and moral examina- tions of all appiicants for all civil service positions in the country. e An Inquiry Denied. A Senate news note: An_investigatior of the Shipping Board proposed in a resolution by Senator La Follette was voted down by the commerce committee by a unanimous vote on the ground that such action at this time was necessary and unwarvanted.” Probably the wisest possible dispo- sition of the proposition. The duty of the hour—the aim of most men—is to get a hold on the general situation—get an understand- ing of it—every feature of it—as it now exists, and them, with less re- gard for the mistakes and shortcom- ings of the past than for what should be done respecting the future, go ahead. Those mistakes and shortcomings ‘were numerous in every walk of our governmental life. Affairs were being conducted under high pressure and in a dense fog. The adjusation—the necessity—was to do something. And yet what to do for the best was puz- zling the most experienced of offi- cials. The shipping problem today is like our other problems—very pressing and impertant, but surrounded by many dificulties. But a new board, carefully selected and in its personnel approved by the country, is in charge, and doubtless aware of and being in- structed by the much-criticised rec- ord of its predecessor. Why not leave matters im its hands and hold it responsible for its own acts? The revival of shipping will, in the nature of things, be slow. It cannot “un- from within. Common sense would|the number of calls is that conversa-|,n1y to the first half of that famous tions over the: wire are growing shorter. For a cull is a call, whether the ensuing tall lasts half & minute or half an hour. If the telephomy saves time—and it certainly does—the Increased use of it means an imnsense conservation of hours for the cammunity. Washing- ton making 418,000 phone calls in one day, November 10—a higher record than even in the war time—was put- ting its telephone system to a highly economic use, and was making more of the twenty-four hours than when it called 350,000 t¥mes a day, which was the average for several weeks previous. B e “Scrapping” for Peace. If the Hughes arms limitation plans are adopted a numbelr of costly ships will be scrapped. IMany millions of dollars are tied up o1 those naval con- structions. Cannot some of this value be salvaged? That question is now being thoughtfully conmsidered in an countries affected by the proposed naval holida; Naval constructors and engineers declare that there is no way to sal- vage a warship. In the first place, it is designed on such lines that it is not suitable for transformation into a merchantman. Its weight is so great that the cost. of propulsion would make it an ecohomic loss in the merchant service.” Even with the armor plates removed and the rivet holes of the fastenihg system closed, the hull is much Leavier than any commercial sea cprrier. A ‘trans- formed warship, in short, is an as- sured failure as a passenger or freight boat. Salvage work comducted since the armistice has proved so expensive as to net an actual loss. A warship is put together to stay and can be un- wrought only by the most expensive process. Certain parts, of course, are usable, being easily removed. The en- gines can be applied to industrial work with certain modifications. Fit- tings can be taken out and applied elsewhere, but the great mass of the material in the ship, put together by a process that runs into an immense ‘Wilsonian slogan, “Open covenants openly arrived at” The American press, on its part, is not ‘abating in Its insistence that the second half, as well, shall achleve the same triumph. Spurred on by the resolution Jjust adopted by the Senate requesting the admission of “representatives of the press to the meetings of the full con- ference, where the questions for which the conference was called are dls-| cussed,” those papers which have fought' for the fullest possible pub- uculy are making a final drive for that goal. On the other hand, journals which all along have opposed publicity be- cause of their fear of its effects on the success of the conference itself, and have advanced the opinion that the American representation is such that the people of this country can safely trust the entire proceedings to them, may feel that their position has been strengthened by Secretary Hughes' frank announcement of a concrete American program. It I8 not to be assumed, the Rich- mond Times-Dispatch (democratic) | maintains, that wide-open publicity Is the most vital phase of the con- ference. There is at least one thing more important than tha cess of the conference its ! paper finds Americans “n cerned over bringing the conferen to u successful conclusion than they are concerned over the openness of the conference’s proce: “whole world” now knows the aims of the conference and the ends toward Which it will work, #nd the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch (independent) b lieves, that “agreements so reached will fulfill all reasonable require- ments of the call for ‘open covenants openly arrived at’” while “to insist on more would be only to destroy the probability of arriving at any worth- While covenants at all.” The conference is being h or the purpose of obtaining definite r sults, not for the purpose of sup, Transcript (independent) somewhat tartly remarks, and “too much is at stake to justify placing any part of its program in jeopard by unwisely insisting that the public be permitted to participate by ap- proval or dissent in its procecdings. There will be time cnough for pu licitv. the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (republican) thinks, when the work of the conference is com- pleted; in the meantime, “let us at least give the delegates the benefit of any doubt that may arise in our minds as to the genuineness of their intentions.” Full publicity, declares the New York Times (independent democratic) be the surest the conferenc complete failuré,” since unde such a system “the delegs 1 omen’s and Growing Girls’ Nut Brown and Ma- hogany and Bal Strap $9.50 Oxfords . Strap Smd-h, plain and per- forated, medium heels, $3.W and 33.50 Black and Brown Vi Oxfords, rubber heels . From Our Factories at Fram- ingham, Mass., Direct to You Through Qur Own Stores SPECIAL BARGAIN THIS WE New Light Brown and $9) .50 Mahogany Sport Boots, New Fall Boots, black and brown vici kid,.9-inch $4.50 LOPS | wrvumerenmsangean wan Mahogany and Gun Metal Boots, ior {all and win- 34«) ter . = R .e Black and Brown Vici Kid Comfort Shoes, rubber heels, $ 400 and § 4.50 Mahogany and Gun Metal School Shoes, $9 and 33“ New Brogue Bals, black and brown, rubber heels... .. $4.50 Brogue Oxfords, all leathers: fully perforated ..$4.50 Black and Brown Oil Grain Work Shoes. ... Black and Brown Vici Kid, rubber heels............. $4.00 Gun Metal Shoes, all lasts. all patterns...... $3.00 and $3.50 precede a general revival, and that closure of which the success of th Mahogany Bal and Blucher Shoes, rubber heels. .. ....$3.50 from her present deplorable plight without financial assistance from the outside world, and he understands that this assistance cannot be had until there is better guarantee for the safety of past loans and invest- ments. China must have help, sym- pathetic but practical, to put her house in order and to make her an asset instead of a liability to the world. This necessarily will involve some measure of outside control, but the controls should be removed as rapidly as China gains strength tc pack her burdens alone. There is one safeguard which Minis- ter Sze proposes shall be thrown about necéssary controls which should be adopted - promptly and without question and faithfully adhered to. It is that there shall in the future be no secrecy either as to compacts or clajms _affecting China. When the powers have committed themselves to that policy an end will have been made to unfair and harmful exploi- tation. —_—————— Steel Trade Approves. ‘The steel industry of the United States does not “view with alarm™ a cut in warship., armor-plate and ord- nance construction. When the news of the proposed naval holiday came out the prices of steel stocks had a little set-back in their slow recovery from a lingering fiilness, but high authorities in the steel trade gave a welcome to the armament reduction plan. Ship and ordnance work, they said, was a very small part of the steel industry of the United States, and the reduction in that part of the trade would be compensated for by in- creased demand for steel for peace uses. The armament cut would allow a cut in taxation and in other ways would stimulate general business. Heads of important steel companies and the journals of the steel trade say that, while the first effect of armament reduction will go hard on somé - shipbuilding plants and armor and ordnance plants, ““the steel indus- try as a whole will profit by the release of labor. and of tax money for merchant ship building and other peaceful pursuits.” If events progress as they have started, President Harding might have made. his Thanksgiving proclamation even stronger. 1 ———tee—e ‘A diminution of military care and expense will increase the time and re- sources of individual nations for set- tling their internal problems. ' Protecting the- Scvernment. Recently The Star called attention to the need for more critical examina-~ tion of the character and morals of gpplicants for positions in the postal service as a vitally necessary step in the movement to protect the mails. Now Chairman John H. Bartlett of the Civil Service Commission, in an address at Detroit yesterday before the National Civil Service Reform League, - points out that failure to investigate the moral character of persons certified for government serv- 4 ice is a fault of the whole service. According to the dispatches, Chair- man Bartlett believes that employes of the -federal service at large are certified, - with the recent exception of postmasters, without regard to their character or moral record. The “rating,” he says, does not take into account ‘‘even a fraction of 1 per cent the fact of good character, in- different character or bad character.” “So the. matter is seen to be im- menaely larger than the postal service ajdne. It concerns the whole realm of :the civil service of the United States, with its nearly 600,000 em- ployes. Upom the honest effort of these civil sgrvants depends in large part the mmecess the govern- . ment “of - the United States. It is also will, in the nature of things, be slow. The effect of such an upset as the world has experienced is bound to show measurably in all affairs for a very long time. Roosevelt at Panama. A cable from Panama states that “a monument to Theodore Roosevelt is to be erected on Ancon hill over- lcoking the canal.” It ought to be a very handsome one. Mr. Roosevelt was so long in pub- lle life, so active there, and in one office or another achieved so much, the list of his performances is in- spiring for- §8 variety and conse- quence. As civil service commissioner he greatly strengthened the cause of civil service reform. As assistant secretary of the navy he early saw the danger of the controversy over Cuba, and helped put the country in condition to meet Spain on the water. As colonel of the Rough Riders he made an attractive figure in the Spanish war. Am Governor of New York he served with such distinction he was nomi- nated for Vice President and, suc- ceeding his chief in the White House, he crowded into his seven and a half years as President many acts of merit and wide distinction. But the act topping all the others was his service in the matter of the Panama canal. He was the over- shadowing figure in what proved to be “the realization of the dream of centuries,” and he will probably be longest remembered for the prescience and courage he showed in clearing the way for the inauguration of that monumental enterprise. The canal was 'completed and opened for traffic at a time when the world's attention was fixed on the world war, and since then the world's shipping has been depressed. Never- theless, that waterway, assessed in its true relation to the world's good and uses, is the most notable thing of the era, and the man who did the most tcward bringing it into being was Theodore Roosevelt. —————————— After reading some of the dialect writers, the visitors from England may be justified in wondering whether the assertion that “‘we speak the same language” is fully warranted. l If fighting cannot be eliminated from human affairs there is at least the possibility that it may be limited to fighting of a half-way decent de- scription. t No statesman has nerve enough to face his tax-paying constituents with a declaration that he is in favor of collecting unlimited money for the purpose of shooting up humanity. ’ Germany does not assume to indi- cate the precise value in gold of its paper money at the hour of going to press. { Keeping the Wires Busy. Figures that have been printed in The Star regarding the daily use of the telephone here in Washington in- dicate a remarkable increase in the number of telephonic communica- tions. Nobody has edvanced a theory of reason for this exceptional jump in calls. The city has not grown greatly in population, the few hundreds of delegates and onlookers of the arms conference not being suf- ficient to account for the remarkable advance in phone use. When the United States entered the war and many thousands of people came here t> help the government win it the telephone system was swamped and had to be wholly reorganized. But that condition has passed and the cause of the remarkable increase in phone communications i< to hr ssught elsewhere than in gre i e akian, It appears that ti. ..couove ou [ sum for labor, cam be disassembled only by use of the melting torch, for the sake of the steel, and it is a question whether this maiderial can be thus obtained at a rate less than the cost of manufacturing new material. ‘While it seems a terrible waste, yet after a battleship has been strip- ped of everything easily removable, the best way to “scrap™ her may be to take her out into the ocean and sink her. A naval holiday, if undertaken by the powers. will be observed in perfect good faith, perhaps insured by a close mutual observation. If the surplus ships over the agreed upon are thus utterly de- stroyed there will be:no possibility of their restoration as fighting units. A great ceremonial assamblage of these surplus ships of all the *“scrapping” powers and their sinking simul- taneously, perhaps in the deepest part of the Pacific ocean, would be a most impressive binding of the compact of peace. i A suspension of hostilities among nations would give time for attention to the pressing economic questions within their own borders. f The gratification with which Secre- tary Hughes' statement was received would indicate the publicity is not necessarily pitiless. f The submarine was originally con- ceived by an American inventor, but America never took any particular pride in the contrivance. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Back to Earth. I dreamt I had a golden harp: I dreamt I had a heavenly crown; And as I sought for flat or sharp, Upon a weary world looked down. I trod the streets that gleamed afar, In garb expensive, though not gay, And murmured, “This is bliss! There are . No taxes here for me to pay! And then I felt a cruel touch Upon my shoulder. And I saw An angel clad in garments such As signify the Might of Law. “‘On harps there is a tax,” quoth he. “On crowns, likewise, a tax is laid. For golden pavements which you see The taxes also must be paid.” And then I heaved a bitter sigh— It woke me; and with honest mirth I laughed and realized that I ‘Was back again on Good Old Earth! Limiting the Sorrow. “Did you never say anything you were sorry for?"” “No,” answered Senator Sorghum. “I admit that I have been compelléd to repudiate something I said. But that only left me in a position to be sorry for the chap who said I said it.” Jud Tunkins says that what con- vinces him that the world is goin’ on calm an’ comfortable is findin’ a cou- ple o' fellers playin’ a comfortable game o' cribbage within half a dozen blocks of where the arms parley is goin' on. Happy New Year! If all on armament agree And solve these problems which seem tough, e Next January First will be s A HAPPY NEW YEAR sure enough. Unmistakable Evidence. “‘Bliggins expresses a profound con tempt for money.” N ““Which is a sure sign,” commented Miss Cayenne, “‘that he hasn’t any.” “‘Always speak de truth,” said Uncle Eben, “but remember dat no one man knows enough ‘truth to keep him " all de time.” limits | conference depends.” and, the Times adds, “much information will leak so that, as the Rock- Star (independent) says. “In the aggregate we will know what we should kno: But it is that vel 3 supplied only by “leaks™ that the Spring- field Republican (independent) wishe most earnestly to avoid, for it only no substitute for adequate ized statemen is positivel harmful in of which the world has had more than ample experi i IS, an experience which public very distrustful of licit publ ting implicitly to our ! concerned, Akron | Beacon-Journal (republican) points ou that “the same old crowd” that d feated Woodrow Wilson's dream of ope: diplomacy “is arriving at Washing- ton.” * Perhaps. the Oregon_ Journal (Portland, ndependent) not too hopefully suggests, these diplomats “iwill Lecon; magnanimous. Possibly they will ac- complish the purpose for which the: fo be a game of secret diplomacy, with delegates bartering be hind closed *doors for advar will amount to no more than i ational conferences of the past,” it is needless to say, have been fail- ures so far as limiting arms and pre- venting wars is concerned.” Without publicity the New York Globe (independent) feels that “the chances for any practical progress toward a limitation of armament are regligible, The American “want neither secrecy nor censorship, the New York World (democratic) d clares, “and until they are assured th: the conference will not be held in the dark they will continue to express their opinion.” Military Caste. . Throughout ‘the recent discussions in the Senate and House as to the treatment of enlisted men by officers in the American forces overseas runs an yndercurrent . of resentment against the caste system in the Army and Navy, which requires that the enlisted men shall render a salute to the holder of a commission. In defense of the system, nothing more need be said try managed unde velop a very efficient Army and in a short time, and to appl s force to’the solution of a military problem with extraordinary success. Whether this success could have heen achieved by other means is something to guess about. The chief want of those who were embittered by the system during the war is a sense of humor. The plain American saw in the formalities of the salute and other Army trimmings a theatrical and rather picturesque survival of ancient da; The mu- tual respect which the d-working enlisted man and the hard-working officer held for each other was not threatened by the formalities imposed upon both by a higher authority. which neither cared anything abos as long as the war was being succes: fully “conducted. The lino of the Army and Navy was made up of such men and such officers, or the war would never have been won. The em- bittered fault-finders compose a small minority. They are entitled to_a hearing, but to nothing more.—In- dianapolis News (independent). Not a Home-Owning People. At the present time even our ad- mirers would hardly call us a_home- loving nation. We do a lot of gadding about. Family life, once a major factor in our existence, is now rather at a discount. Many family groups in our day frankly concede that the various members bore each other. And millions of people nowa- days bore themselves. An evening out is far better than an evening spent in reading a book. Since we are not home-loving, above everything else, it follows naturally enough that we are not a home-owning _clan. Fifty-four per cent of our families live in rented homes. That would indicate that it was either cheaper to rent than it is to buy, or that our economic situa- tion is such that our people cannot own homes. However, the rent payer gets less space for his money than the home owner. Millions of him are satisfied with less space. Millions of renters would not take a little space with a garden and a yard on a bet. Gar- dens bore them and yards tire them. The other side of the picture is the fact that the man who acquires a home is a man who establishes him self. He gets his feet on the ground. He sets his hand to a task and sees that task through. We would be a atronger, better people if ninety per cent of our families owned their homes.—Johnstown Democrat (demo- cratic). *Smooted_question, this sales tax.— Arkansas. Gazette. : 1t is a conference of the big guns of the world on- the big guns of the world.—Nashville Banner. ‘How in the world did men get to be great before headlines were Invented? —Hartford Times. As the Natural, Safe and Easy Way to Aid Digestion, Strengthen Internal Organs, Increase HEALTHY POSTURE BREATHING HOLLOW CHEST WEAK STRONG HEALTH, IGHT INDICATES vo“kwiElYOU GAINING OR LOSING? t to quickly 5.!17?,‘11‘.‘:[::.. ‘that try taking two of Mastin’s Yeast VITAMON genuine yeast-vitamine tablet. There is nothing else like it, so do not accept Tablsts with anch moal for a short time a2d | mitations or substitutes. The name Mastin's on the vellow and black DOUBLE SOLE SHOES Misses’” School Shoes Of black vici kid and mahog- any leathers; Nature Last, in- suring a correct fit. welted sole: YOUR HEALTH. h and Erea"heah “pupt which and foal 100 por cont. Batter, just Gun metal and mah¢ kid. brown ri Youths’ School and In black and brown lea on Men's Style Lasts and welted soles. 52.50 and 53.00 All with Sizes 11 to 2. 3250 and 33.00 Boys’ Sizes, 2, to 6..... .$3.00 and $3.50 ¢ 1345 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. fiosite District Buildin (Op| AT Now Used By Millions Energy and Clear the Skin Instead of dosing themselves with treacherous cathartics and violent drugs, millions of chronic suf- ferers from indigestion and constipation have now turned to the simple, easv and economical corrective provided by Mastin's Yeast VITAMON Tablets. By supplying in concentrated form not only yeast but ali three of these precious health-giving raw food elements—the vitamines—Mastin's VITAMON Tab- lets help to feed and nourish the shrunken tissues, strengthen the entire digestive and intestinal tract an- act in a natural way as a general conditioner. of the whole system. Pimples, boils and disfiguring skin eruptions seem to clear up as if by magic and the com- plexion becomes radiantly fresh and clear. Weak, thin and run-down folks who have becn ailing for years—the victims of undernourishment brought on by a lack of sufficient vitamines—are often amazed at their astonishing improvement in weight, energy, appearance and mental alertness after only a short course of Mastin’s VITAMON Tablets with their meals. . But the best way to satisfy yourself in, your own case is to make this simple test: First weigh and measure ILL HEALTH PERFECT tell their own sto! are easy and eeonomical to take. c anteed t%igrry urchaser or the trial costs you nothing. stipation, ing and a generally weakened used by anyone who OBJE hvsical and mental condition, to having their weight ine Be sure to rememl good You Can Get Mastin’s VITAMON i Tablets e ey At All Good R rA BPE SR Druggists AND VITAMINE GENUINE TABLET leathers and black and Sizes 11 to 2. ) nuummmmmmnmmulmmmlulnmlmlfi:u|mnuummnmnmmmnnnmmmmmnnmuummnmmmmmumlmmmmn To Correct Constipation Without Cathartics—Mastin’s Yeast Vitamon Tablets take Mastin’s VITAMON—two tablets with everv meal. Then wg\rfh and measure yourself each week and continue taking Mastin's VITAMON regularly until you are staified with your gain in weight, "pc%.: energy, and flmved appearance. It is nat only a question of how much feel, or what your friends say and think—the scales and tape measure Mastina VITAMON Tablets do not upset the stomach or cause that bloated feeling—they are in no way -distasteful—they keep indefinitely and Complete satisfaction is positively guar- ber the name—Mastin’s VI-TA-MON—the original and ¥e is your dfummtee and protection. You can get Mastin's VITAK;SN ‘ablets at druggists. gany s @ A va- Dress Shoes thers, with Why not have the graceful. shapely, welle rounded figure that wins admiration—the “pep” and clow of perfact bealth—instead of being thin, undeveloped. scrawny and ing in energy? It will pay you well in £o0d looks and better health vourself. Next, ‘ablets ter you look will IM T! While the amazing health-building value of Mastin’s VI- TAMON Tablets has been clearly and positively demonstrated in cases of con- tion, skin eruptions, poor complexion, lack of energy, anemia, it should not be to normal. Are Positively Guaranteed to Put on Firm Flesh, Clear the Skin and Increase Energy When Taken with Every Meal, or Money Back.