Evening Star Newspaper, December 4, 1921, Page 50

(%] THE EVENING STAR, With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SUNDAY......December 4, 1821 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company New York Offce: 130 Nassau Chicago Ofice: Firat Nationa) Bank European Office: 3 Regent St., Loadon, Engla: The Evening Star, with the Sunday morning edition, is delivered by earriers within the city t 60 cents per month; daily only, 43 cents per Sunday only, 20 cents per month. Or- ders may be sent by mail, ar telephone M: 5000. Collection fs made by ca t end of each month, Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Tally and Sunday..1yr., $8.40; 1 mo., 70c Daily only. .1yr., $6.00; 1 mo., Sunday only. .1yr., $2.40; 1 me., 20¢ All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo., 85¢ Daily only.. 1yr., $7.00; 1 mo., 60c Sunday only. 00; 1 mo., 25¢ Patent Office “Economy” and Cost. New light ia thrown upon the bad conditien in the patent office due to an inadequate salary scale by a statement Just issued by the American Patent Law Association. It is pointed out that in consequence of the inexperi- ence of the examining force in the office, which is constantly changing as men leave the service for private em- ployment at higher pay, many con- tests arise aver the validity of patents and over interferences. The courts are crowded with these cases. In five vears cases of patent litigation in the Court of Appeals have quadrupled. This is attributed to the lack of care on the part of the examining corps. The office is swamped with work. The force is too small, to begin with, and the “turnover” due to resignations is probably greater than in any other branch of the government. As soon as a man acquires any degree of ex- perience in a particular line he is like- 1y to be lured out of the service by the higher pay offered by large industrial organizations or by firms of patent at- torneys, and some newcomer must take his place and learn his specialty. In the matter of court expenses in- cident to this flood of patent cases the government is spending a very large part of the cost of patent office re- habilitation. There is no economy whatever in keeping the pay scale of the patent experts down to the pres- ent low level. Not counting the bonus of $240, the pay of patent office employes has been raised only once since 1848, a 10 per cent increase being the sole advance granted in seventy-three years., This is true of other branches of the gov- ernment, but no other branch of the government has meanwhile main- tained itself out of the fees:collected and returned a profit. The patent of- fice has in the course of its existence turned in a net earning of $8,000,000. ‘With 57,000 applications now await- ing action in the patent office, and with the court calendars choked with cases growing out of the hasty grant- ing of patents by the inadequate force, it is plain that an enormous loss has been entailed upon the peo- ple. The starving of the patent office is one of the poorest possible pieces of government ‘‘economy.” Horrors on Horrors! Reports of invention of gases more deadly and more terrible than those used in the great war are printed in the papers. A late item in the news from Paris says that a professor of chemical research at the College of France has discovered an asphyxiat- ing gas which would make future wars “more cruel than human imag- ination can concelve.” Nations have heretofore adapted to war purposes such inventions and dis- coveries as might help them to beat an enemy, and it is possible in the next war, if there should be a next war, that more destructive gases will he used than were used in the late war. There was a strong tendency in that war not to draw a line between the martial and the civil populations, and in that war the contest was not between armies, but between nations. Never before were whole nations so mobilized and concentrated upon war work. In the next world war, if fate should order such a thing, it might be tnat deadly gas would be used against the civil population, and that whole communities—cities of people— would be poisoned and smothered. An- other step in the evolution of horrors might be the promiscuous and stealthy release of germs to spread typhus, cholera or smallpox among nations. Scientists, inventors, discoverers might produce new plagues more ter- rible than ancient or modern scourges. Human ingenuity has not exhausted itself in finding ways to kill human beings. bzt L RN R 5 G L I B B i ol T 0 S B PR O B R o B AR R 0. 5,080, LAV 0 O . S0 AU 0 B 0 000008 A 5 0 S L o =B A0 G 0 o s L DL N SR ISR I el L R bl oo B e N Wt ol XM i The conference may not work as rapidly as was hoped for, but it will have its effect in public sentiment the world over. ———————— Bergdoll has managed to be highly expensive without heing very valu- able. ————————— Pennsylvania Avenue. Pennsylvania avenue will remain, as far as the Commissioners are con- cerned, as it was projected on the original map of the Capital city, run- ning in a northwesterly direction from the Eastern branch to Rock creek. Its name will not be given to another ‘street because at the western terminus that other street coincides and pro- ceeds at an angle westerly. The Com- missioners reject the proposal of citi- zens of Georgetown to make M street between 28th and 36th a part of “Pennsylvania avenue.” Their action is wise. If this change were made, as suggested, both streets would lose their present integrity. M street would cease to be beyond 28th street, and Pennsylvania avenue west of that point would be of a different char- acter and width. It the plan of change in street names because of coincidences were followed there would be no uniformity, and no fixity in the city's map. At present the avenues are the “angling” thoroughfares, the streets following the lines of “straight direction,” east and west, or - north and south. It would be a serious mistake to shift an avenye to one of the street planes. In. the case of Pennsylvania avenue and M street, just settled by the Commis- THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., DECEMBER 4, 1921—_PART sioners, continuation of the Avenue's|the barrier or the bell or watchman name west of 28th street might readily | provision may be, as long as it is lead to the proposal, and perhaps de- | physically possible to get upon the cislon, to call the road which follows | rails the crossing is a danger. Only the canal Pennsylvania avenue, and(by underpassing or overpassing the it would be as logical as to give the |tracks can the roads be really made Avenue's name to M street. safe. With such a heavy percentage In London old street names are|of casualties this subject should be Jealously retained, despite changes|taken in hand in every state by the and expansions. In the course of time, | utilities commissions and -highways as the city has grown, streets have |commissions and the automoblile asso- been prolonged beyond their old | ciations in an effart to secure a higher bounds, but in many cases have taken | percentage of safety on American new names, thus the continuous thor- | roads. oughfare that is best known as Oxford street has no less than eight different designations from its start to its terminus. ‘Bach section with its own Sixteen to Ome. Mrs. Helen Drexler has certainly name has its history, and a proposal |Peen @ swift worker. According to to change would be resisted vigorous- [her own story she has acquired six- ly and jealously. teen husbands in three years, and was Some vears ago an effort was made, | #bout to take her seventeenth when and for a time successfully, to change | the rude hand of the law was laid the name of ope of the central north-|uPon her and she was checked in her and-south streets of the city. But it wholesale matrimonial career. Mrs. interfered with the general system, and the old name was restored by act of Congress. It ib well to hold fast to Washington's street plan, with no experiments or surrenders to the pres- sure of local interests. If some day Pennsylvania avenue should be ex- tended in its own line through George- town it would, of course, bear its his- toric name, and that is the only way that the community west of Rock creek can be included on the line of that great axis. i Linking the Parks Together. In the course of its report on the development of the National Capital the Commission of Fine Arts calls at- tention to a feature of the park plan which has been forgotten by many in the course of the several years during which it has been in evolution. This is the connection between Potomac and Rock Creek parks. This connec- tion, the commission sets forth, was recognized as desirable by Congress as far back as 1893, was favored by the Washington Board of Trade in 1889, and was studied by the Senate park commission, which reported in favor of the open treatment of Rock Creek valley, the regrading of the| banks and the construction of roads and paths within the park thus| formed. Following legislation by Con- gress approving this project, the ac- quisition of the necessary lands began in 1915. From year to year appropria- tions have been made and land has been purchased directly or by con- demnation until now about 75 per cent of the area necessary to link up the two great parks has been acquired. ‘When Potomac Park was improved and opened to the public it became evi- dent that direct connection with the Zoological and Rock Creek parks would afford a continuous drivewa unequaled in the world. At present | the two spaces are distinctly sepa- rated. There will be in time, as this connecting system is perfected, a phy- sical park link which will make it possible to cover many miles without any retracing of the way and without once leaving the limits of the public reservation. In the solution of the problem of con- necting the two park systems much difficulty has been encountered. The space between the northwest corner of Potomac Park and the M Street bridge is occupied by business estah- lishments. The Chesapeake and Ohio | canal flows into Rock creek ‘within | this space. Large gas works are lo- cated within the area. But these obstacles are certain to be overcome. Probably the most difficult part of the task remains, and it may be the most | costly, but the advantages of a com- | pleted link between the two great parks are so obvious that it is not to! be belleved that Congress will hesitate about making adequate appropriations | to insure completion. Meanwhile the approaches to Poto- mac Park from the north should be improved. At present most of the traffic concentrates on 17th street. There are several other ways by which | the speedway may be reached, andi with proper paving these will become ! available. New Hampshire avenue es- pecially, as the Commission of Fine Arts urges, should be improved and connected with the park in a manner to permit easy ingress and egress by i that route. t Russian currency is now so cheap that it is difficult to understand why s0 many people should go,to the trou- | ble of counterfeiting it. * i As a world problem arms limitation | is necessarily complicated by smaller problems in various geographical; areas. | i The high cost of living is now re- ceiving less attention than the over- whelming expense of war casualties. A series of remarkable experiences has not interrupted Charles W. Morse's strict attention to business. i The Grade Crossing Slaughter. Recently an official of one of the main eastern raillway systems esti- mated that last year more than 1,500 persons were killed and nearly 4,500 wére injured at railroad crossings in this country in accidents which for the most part happened to motorists. The railroad official declared that in most cases the motorist failed to use ordinary precautions in crossing the tracks. This is the attitude generally taken by railroad authorities, and it must be said that in a large number of cases it is justified. Motorists do, in truth, drive upon railway tracks at crossings without- taking pains to find out conditions. But there are many who are careful and who get caught nevertheless. There are, moreover, a great many grade crossings which are not properly protected. In numerous instances the tracks are masked from observation save at close range. ‘Wherever the fault may lie—and it probably lies jointly with the rail- roads, with the local authorities in the location of highways and in the roads users themselves—this matter should be taken up without any further de- lay for corrective study and action. Here 1s a condition that has taken 1,500 lives and caused injury to 4,500 others, a total of 6,000 casualties in a year, and the number is rapidly grow- ing as the roads are more fully used by motorists. There is not an absolutely safe grade crossing in this country. Such a thing is impossible. No matter what Drexler had specialized in soldiers and sallors, and by shrewd manipulation of reports and returns she has ac- cumulated a government allowance subsidy, it is estimated, of about $500 a month. It must be said for Mrs. Drexler that she has been no “Blue- beard.” She disposed of her succes- sively surplus husbands by the simple expedient of moving on, if they did not move on themselves. She adopted no lethal method of divorce, as did Landru, the French specialist, just convicted at Versailles. Soldiers and sailors, especially the latter, are ap- parently easy to lose, and Mrs. Drex- ler seems to have had no trouble 4t all with her almost endless chain. Now that she i3 checked in her career she is having u hard time remember- ing all of her comrades in near wed- lock. The wonder of all this is that she could get by so long as a bene- ficiary of government bounty without detection. It seems that there have been suspicions, but she moved too fast from place to place for the fed- eral agents. Yet eventually the net closed upon her, and now she will probably have to pine in her accumu- lated widowwood in seclusion for a period. ! Grapes. The vineyards of California are not growing up in weeds. The vines have not been pulled up and ruin has not come upon the vineyardists. Thus, has another prophecy gone wrong. It is related in one of the large and influen- tial newspapers of California that “‘nearly 3,000 cars of California grapes were shipped to New York in Octo- ber,” and that ‘“most of these grapes brought around $15 a hundred pounds and were purchased for wine-making in the home.” It is said that al- hough there were many profits be- tween the producer and consumer the grower received about $100 a ton, whereas in the old days he received about $25 a ton from his nearby winery in prosperous seasons. It is estimated that if all the California grapes shipped to New York in Octo- ber were converted into wine they should have produced about 6,000,000 gallons. The thought of the California newspaper is that most of the grapes were turned into wine by theé foreign population of New York ity and nearby territory. L \ The Chinese public is breaking away from the ancient and more or less comfortable idea that nothing which happened in the rest of the world was of great importance. } Creditors of Ponzi are to receive a dividend during the holidays, but not | enough to keep him from being re- garded as a total failure as a Santa Claus performer. } Having tried lis fortunes as an economist and a militarist, Lenin's versatile ambition now yearns for a career as a financial expert. § War is no longer depicted as a glorious enterprise. Its possibility is contemplated only as a threat of dis- agreeable necessity. ? ‘There may at least be in store for ‘Wilhelm Hohenzollern the historic dis- tinction of mention as the last of the German kaisers. The discourse of the Washington conference tends to become less rhetorical and more arithmetical. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNS( Good Omens. A man once sang a mournful song. He said the world was in all wrong. He told about a winter drear— And yet the skies are warm and clear. All prices would still higher go— We're glad to find it isn't so. Of truth mankind was losing sight— And still we struggle toward the light. He has a sorrowing tale to tell, Yet on his words I like to dwell, Even when he in language terse Asserts wars will be more and worse. ‘When I observe his lengthy list Of threatening ills that we have missed I call him “Mascot,” though he thinks He was ordained to be a “jinx.” Severe Lessons. ’ “Do you believe the world is grow- ing better?” “I haven't a doubt of it,” said Sena- tor Sorghum. “After what it has been going through it is inconceivable that the world should not have learned something from experience.” Jud Tunkins says his wife is so exacting in her ideas of political re- sponsibility that since she got the vote he has given up all notion of trying to run for office. The Endless Problem. Though tariff experts ne'er relax There efforts wise from day to day, There never yet has been a tax That everybody liked to pay. “In spite of all de compliments foh a good loser,” said Uncle Eben, “I has noticed dat he's no great social faverite after he ain’ got no moare to lose.” Perilous Mechanisms. “Turning battleships into “flivvers would lessen the dangers of the deep.” “But,”” suggested Miss ~Cayenne, “wouldn't it increase those qg land?” o Politics at Home|English-Speaking Race Still |Heard and Seen|Fifty Years Ago Owes High Duty to Mankind Republican Hospitality. The republican party has a record for hospitality. It harbors men who differ sharply about one thing or an- other, but join hands and act to- gether upon the broad proposition of republicanism versus democracy. We shall see this conspicuously exempli- fled In two campaigns next year. Henry Cabot Lodge 1s' classed as a conservative—is probably the leading conservative in the country. He has enjoyed many honors at the hands of his party. He is today the dean of its senatorial corps. He took his seat in the Senate Marche4, 1898, and hes oc- cupied it ever since. He wants an- other term, and seems likely to get it. Massachusetts is not fickle in the mat- ter of favor, as the genatorial careers of Webster, Sumner, Dawes, Hoar, and now Lodge, testify. Mr. Lodge is ap- proaching his seventy-second year. Hiram Johnson is classed as a pro- gressive—is one of the most aggressive members of that faction, sharing honors with Mr. Borah for convictions and the eloquent courage of them. Mr. | Johnson is nearing the end of his first | term in the Senate, and next year will pass up his platter for another. At present he seems likely to get it. Mr. Lodge has never been disturbed by the presidential bee, although his name has not been unknown in presi- dential gossip. His friend and chum, Theodore Roosevelt, once formally suggested him for the republican nom- ination. But the compliment, while doubtless much appreciated on the personal score, produced no effect on the recipient’s political walk. The bee early invaded Mr. Johnson's bonnet. He was scarcely warm if his seat in the Senate when a presiden- | tial boom carrying his name appeared, and it boomed steadily until silenced last year by the Harding boom. As Mr. Johnson is still @ young man, an- other boom—say about 1928—may sound for him. The Texas Senatorship. A senator s to be elected in Texas | next year. There would be no contest ; it Mr. Culberson were in health. Un-| fortunately, he has not recovered his strength, and on that account does not figure in the calculations. He deserves his popularity at home. An earnest and able man, a sound lawyer, a good debater, while in kelter he was conspicuous in his place in the | Senate and served his people well. There would be no contest if Joseph W. Bailey enjoyed his former popu- larity. He was at one time a toast in the state—in request at every impor- ant party meeting, easily his party's | most effective speaker, and eager and | expert in the political game. He has rare talents for public business. It is to be doubted, indeed, if his superior has ever held the commission of the Lone Star state. Mr. Bailey, at the time a leader in the Senate, retired from the body in a sort of pet, and has not been able to recover the influence he once exerted. He offered last year for the demo- cratic nomination for governor, but was defeated by a man unknown out- side the state, and today his name is | not mentioned among those figuring in senatorial gossip. So with Mr. Culberson, on account of the loss of health, and Mr. Baliey, on account of the loss of popularity, | out of the equation, there is much} puzzlement over the senatorial prize. Mr. Blanton's candidacy is not taken seriously. He is on the stump, pleading his case as well as may be, but not in a way to suggest success. He has had a stormy time in the House, and while his experience there has advertised him widely, the adver- | tisement has not been of the kind to help in a campaign for promotion tul ! | i such a body as the Senate. The State of the Union. What is the state of the Union? We shall soon know. The annual reports of the departments are now due, and when they are all in it will be possible { to tell the conditions existing in Uncle Sam’s huge establishment. Ordinarily, these reports make any- thing but exciting reading. packed with dry statistics. As the phrase is, they are passed up by the public, which contents itself with the summaries usually embodied in the President’s annual message to Con- gress. This year, however, it would pay | Mr. Average Reader to take time and | “read, mark, learn and inwardly di-| gest” these documents. They will carry a wealth of information about the country. America has her troubles. She has never before experienced their like, and they apply all along the line.| Turn where you may, you are certain | to find something that, on its face and at a glance, looks a little discourag- ing. But, for all that, she is better off, by and large, than any of her sister | nations. She has more money than| the most fortunate of them. Her raw | materials are abundant. Her finished proGucts are at least the equal of any found in any market. Her industries are intact, and the wheels of such as are not now turning can be set in mo- tion on a moment’s notice. All this and more will appear in the reports thgt will go to Congress this week, As gloom-dispellers they will be worth the perusal of even the busiest men. They will show what we have, and what we should do to hold our place among the leading nationg at a time of extraordinary difficulty. —————————— | An attempted suicide by means of bichloride is attributed to the use of bootleg whisky. The unfortunate did not get hold of the kind that works fast enough to make the employment of other poison unnecessary. i The arms parley has at least defined | the viewpoints of different nations in a manner that will be enlightening* to future historians. i It is not known just what a grand goblin has to do, but the rivalry indi- cates that the position is regarded as desirable. 4 Very few statesmen succeed in being as much in demand for confer- ences as Lloyd George. ! | Neces- | the nations of the whole earth to a sarily, they are long, and some are |peace conference in Washington,” the i historic mission of the United States |a BY THOMAS R. MARSHALL, Former Vice President of the United States, LOOMY GUSSES are al- ways with us. Things never were right and there is no hope of mak- ing them right. Eternal law de- crees that nations are to be born, Brow to manhood and pass into decay. The holy alliance failed, therefore all effort to get nations to act sensibly in their relations with each other inevitably must fail. It is to be true to the end of recorded time that every great war, instead of being a war to end all war, is merely a training school to teach warfare and to make it ever more awful. The main object of government Is to devise means to'destroy other governments. The discoveries of science do mot dis- close that those who made them are the sons of God. The Arcana of nature, when opened by science, are found to be filled with imple- ments of the devil. Great inven- tions of slight use and benefit to mankind inthe peaceful pursuits of life find their main value as in- struments of destruction. So croak the critics and pessimists” of the day. * k% % S Men of English-speaking tongue, if they have read a-right the his- tory of their race, cannot but real- ize that they have never made war in their thousand years of wars unnumbered willingly, but only and always in the hope of enlarg- ing the rights of mankind and of bringing the world under the sway of law, rather than under the power of force. Yet, many now are uttering doleful cries. For four years and more they proclaimed that they were mak- ing their fight to stamp out a military system of government, that they were fighting that jus- tice and fair dealing might gov- ern the world around. But some of these same men toduy pionting out what they d. be conclusive facts of history in an effort to prove that the world must go on from frightfulness to greater frightfulness until it ends in_chaos and black night. They would show how the sporadic wars of an_early day when chieftains and their retain- ers had to return home from the fields of conquest to plant and harvest their crops had been con- verted into indefinite campaigns by the solid highway of McAdams and the steam locomotive of Ste- phenson, which divided the popu- lation into combatants and non- combatants. These inventions made possible the carrying of sup- plies to the soldiers and permit- ted the armies to remain con- stantly in the fiold. And now they point to the submarine and airplane s modern instruments of warfare. They show that chemists, by the discovery of | deadly gasses have remdered pres- ent-day war comparable only to the anti-chamber of hell. The: admit the correctness of the dec- laration of the German general- staff that in modern warfare there is no non-combatant. Neither the old man in dotage, the infant in its mother's arms, the Red Cross nurse nor the hospital surgeon is immune from the dangers of war. * ok % ok Many men of English-speaking tongue who lent their voices, gave their money and sacrificed their sons to the end that never again till the stars grow cold and the leaves of the Judgment Book un- fold should a son of God or a son of man be compelled to offer his life as a libation upon the altar of a military system of govern- ment, have turned themselves into gloomy Gusses. If the doubts, 1 say with full confidence that I these men are to become realities, if force really is to rule the world. I say with full confidence that I shall not be deemed unpatriotic that money and life might have been properly saved by letting the Germans win. Digest of the Are we o let timid souls who believe that evil once existent can never be destroved, guide the des- tinies of mankind? Tuberculosis once was looked upon inevitably as an Incurable disease. It then was called consumption, A per son seized with it was at once sured that sooner or later death would intervene. When certain pathfinders in medicine declared their belief that the dread disease could be not only prevented but cured, they were laughed at. What would have been the result to hu- manity if that laugh had been grystallized into fixed medical con- Bo_close 1s glory to our dust, 8o near s God to man, When duty whispers The youth replies Peter did not walk upon the water because Peter's faith failed him. Men rise above themselves only when they have the faith that they can. That man is already delfeav,ed who thinks he cannot win. * ok * I can understand why those who do not speak the English tongue and have not the traditions of the English race may become pessi- mistic and doubt the goodness and the good intentions of man- kind. But 1 cannot understand how men who trace their language to Chaucer, their love of liberty to Hampden and their sense of jus- tice to Blackstone can be dis- mayed. For ten centuries the never-ending fight of men of Eng- lish tongue has been a fight not for the supremacy of force, but for that approximate justice which may come under laws adminis- tered by right-thinking men. The fight has gone on from John at Runnymede to the ragged Conti- nentals at Lexington and to Haig and Pershing on the fields of Fance and Flanders. It has not been a tight for personal glory or self-aggrandizement, for the put- ting of the conqueror's foot upon a conquered neck. It has been a fight that majorities and minori- ties, rulers and subjects, all might be subservient to the reign of law and order, that all might dwell in peace within a friendly realm. * ok k k There are two great nations one of which, 1 know, has all she wants and the other of which, in my judgment, has just a little more than she cares to have. These na- tions are the United States of America and Great Britain. Our own history, notwithstanding some errors that have been made, is a history of national unselfishness. We desire no further territory. We seek to rule no alien people. The British empire if it could but ad- just the grievances held by Ireland ind could gracefully getrid of Mes- opotamia, would still have all that it desires of this earth's surface over which to rule. The people of these two nations have made the great fight for the rights of man- kind. They have safely established themselves as the governing bod- ies of all that portion of the worid which they seek to control. They are alarmed about neither assault nor treason. If the Gloomy Gusses who speak our tongue would only quit talk- ing for a little while! If they would only allow the loud. clear voice of duty to be heard! Having won for the world by arms and by example the rights of people to govern themselves men of English tongue now owe it to their race and faith to start upon another career of high adventure, to be- come the vanguard in an onward movement having as its object to teach the duty of mankind to man. In spite of all dogma and all doubt. in spite of fear within and fighting without, in spite of history and original sin, England and America will not have measured up to that high position until they shall have done more than simple justice in an effort to_promote the peace of the world. Their men have writ- ten their names high on the scrolls of warriors, statesmen scholars and scientists. ~May God grant that they shall complete the record by writing_their names high on the scroll of those who love their fel- low men. (Copyright, 1021, by Thomas . Marshail.) Foreign Press { | America's Example to Europe. COLOGNE.—The Pheinische Repub- lic, published here, chides those who would mock at the idealism of peace peace conference in ‘Washington,” the ference. It also says the United States has solved its own problems in a way that Europe should profit by. “When President Harding invited | paper says, “he acted according to the political traditions and the world of America. The United States have given old Europe the example of in- ternational justice. By means of a| free union of states she has solved | race and state difficulties of a whole | continent, which can only be likened | to Switzerland. with her system of | cantons. The German empire of 1870 | is sometimes compared to it, but this | was no confederation of states, but only a military organization auto-| cratically led by Prussia. | “The United States has shown that | whole continent of united states | is possible. In this way she has| pro‘v’ed to European pacifists that, their aspirations are not hopeless, and for ':he whole world they have made a great step nearer to the aim of the peace organizations of all peo- ples. 'l"flu! the last terrible war is scareely past, scarcely has this in- human and stupid murdering stopped, in which the most wonderful brains, the noblest characters, the most per- fect examples of human beauty were slaughtered, than new, greater con- flicts begin to threaten and the ghost of a new war is staring at humanity. The mission of the Washington con- ference is to banish these differences | and to make a settling of them pos- Sible by peaceful arbitration. “It is quite wrong,” concludes the writer, “to mock already now at the idealists who believe in world peace. It is ideal, for example, to think of 2 complete extirpation’ of ~disease. Should then the work of students dnd Tesearch workers be stopped? Every- body who mocks at the efforts to Keep peace poisons the moral atmos- phere and brings war nearer. Every- Dody who believes in the final vic- tory of reason and of the idea of peace brings this victory through his belief alone nearer to suffering hu- manity.” British Bold Conference Fate. MILAN.—The fate of the Washing- ton conference has rested in the hands of England, according to a writer in the Corriera Della Sera of Milan. His argument is as follows: “Today the parts have been re- versed: In 1918 Europe invited America to Paris; in 1821 America in- vited us to Washington. The divorce between the two worlds did not last long. ‘and the new meeting involyes the recognition of two important facts. The nations are realising that the whole world is henceforth a moral unity and that even the United States cannot boast of being a closed eco- nomic system. In vain she hastened to establish the clauses of the sep- arate peace with Germany and to rat- ify this treaty to make it quite clearly established, before the opening of the conference, that the United States would not meddle in our affairs and that we were not to meddle in hers. But the coincidence of the opening | session of the conference and the an- niversary of the armistice is a _clear symbol of America’s return to Euro- pean things; it is an indication that America recognizes her European past. til now it has been understood that the Pacific question would lead to military disarmament. But is it possible to disarm in Europe if the reparations question has not been se- riously solved”? And is it possible to talk of reparations without speaking of debts? And ean disarmament prom- ises count for anything without an international authority which controls the execution of them? This is the point where the problem of the league of nations is concerned. We Euro- peans do not wish to give it up and the Americans won't hear of it. They will have nothing to do with a system which would be harmful to the par- ticular sovereignty of the states, and they accuse us of having created a syndicate of conquerors. “We accuse them.” continues the writer, “of having changed the char- acter of the league of nations by re- signing. The truth is that in Europe we construct an instrument, which is weak and complicated at the same time, for the solidarity between the (P! nations, and too often while working out the means we lose sight of the end. America accepts energetically the end, but she will have nothing to do with the means which we offer her: and she does not suggest others. “The fate of the conference is, first of all, in the hands of England. Will she give guarantees on the question of China and of the peace between America and Japan? We must hope ®0. When this first phase is over the French and Italian/ delegations will be able to act. It is everybody's in- terest, but especially the interest of continental Europeans, that the vic- tory which was mutilated in Paris should not again be mutilated at ‘Washington. By this we mean not the victory over the Hohenszollerns and the Hapsburgs, but the victory over ourselves, over our passions, our untruthfulness and our selfishness. “Three years ago the world was saved by America. May the first se- rious words relative to the recon- struction of the new world be pro- nounced at Washington! The new world must not be made up of white and yellow, conquered and conquerors, but of all humanity conscious of its greatness and of its sufferings.” Too Clean. The ancient peoples had a warning woman has D trong English” on the procedure h{ crying, “Too clean, too clean,” of her hus- band's idlosyncrasies, and asking a divorce, according to the correspond- ent of the London Express. She al. leges persistent cruelty by undermin. ing of her nerves because, she alleges, her husband, & barber, has a mono- mania for washing his hands. When he rode a bicycle the grips must be wrapped in paper which had not been touched on the inside. He would use a handkerchief only once, and then throw it down. He would use his towels only twice, oncg on either side: If anything fell to the floor it had to be washed or scalded. Despite these patience-trying habits, however, the court found no case of persistent cruelty, and dismissed the effort to secure the divorce. Crowded stores and streets every afternoon these days point unmis- takably to the coming of Christmas. Once again the joyous season wiil be with us, a time when most people will be more or less happy, even the weary letter carriers, who will be loaded down with gifts for other people. If there were anything needed to give Washington business streets the holiday alir, it is supplied by a Santa Claus who holds forth in front of an enterprising store on 14th sifeet. ‘This is fine; but how will they ever explain a Santa Claus on every block? Suppose the idea of a Santa Claus is taken up by other stores—what will happen when mamma takes little Johnnie for a stroll through the shop- ping district. “And what do you want for Christ- mas, my little man?" asks the genial Santa in front of the 14th street shop. “I want a gun and a sled and some books and some candy and oranges,” says Johnnie, his eyes big with the sight of Santa Claus in the whiskers. Santa makes a mental note of the desires of Johnnie, and the party moves on. Now, suppose the other stores have Santas out in front, too. “Oh, mamma, look! There's Santa Claus again!” shrills Johnnie. They turn a cormer, and there is Santa Claus befor# them. The old gentleman has th® speed of an air- plane, evidently. And, last of afk a truly horrible thought, suppose .“ohnnle meets two Santa Clauses side by side! * * 3k The Parlis of old, who presided at the first beauty contest between Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, was a bold gentleman, Indeed. According to the records, these ladies promised him various things if he would pronounce in their favor. Hera promised power; Athena said she would give him wisdom: Aphro- dite promised him the most beautiful woman in the world. Well, Aphrodite won. and that was how Helen got into world history. < Recently in this city a young man was made into a sort of modern Paris. Two Young women, to one of whom he is” engaged, purchased fur coats. It seems that women are mighty proud of fur coats. Anyway, when this young man was over one day to visit his lady love, what should the two girls do but sud- denly appear in their fur coats, and | demand that he pronounce judgment as to which was the prettier, Now there was a dilemma to stump Paris himself! This modern young man got out of it in a rather diplo- matic fashion, however. He decided that each young lady looked best in her own coat! * * % Ever since Laddie Boy became the President’s Airedale, these dogs have become more arrogant than ever. 1f one is searching for a dog that holds its head up in the air, he can do noth- | ing better than get himself an Aire- dale. The bulidog is known as an inde- pendent sort of fellow. but the Aire- dale is fast superseding him in this respect, judging from the haughty de- meanor of several seen on local streets last week. The beasts are positively arrogant. * Recently Postmaster Chance put a “no smoking” order into effect at the Washington city post office, at the re- quest of the Post Office Department, and when his clerks and carriers had to give up smoking in the building the postmaster did the same. You'll see little, if any, smoking at the city post office. But men who are used to smoking et nervous without the weed. So they have taken up chewing over there. Wherever you go may be seen the wagging of jaws as men “chaw.” Maybe they had better let them smoke. CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. in The Star Many people have doubtless noted over the main entrance of the old building of the govern- A Bust of ment printing office, at : the corner of North Franklin. cupi001 ana 1 streets, o bust of Benjamin Franklin, but doubtless few know its origin. Thix information is given in The Star of November 28, 1871: “The employes of the government printing office, shortly before the completion of the new wing to that building, decided to purchase a bust of Franklin to be placed over the main entrance. The contract for pro- ducing the work of art was given to Mr. Lot Flannery, a Washington sculptor of merit, and the completed marble will be put in place tomorrow morning and unveiled with consider: - ble ceremony in the afternoon. The Marine Band will be present fo en- liven the occasion, and as this 1s con- sidered a, press reunoin an enjoyable time may be safely anticipated. The bust is pronounced to be a work of much merit by all who have seen ii. and reflects credit on the skill of the artist and the taste of the hands at the printing office.” - i * Mrs. O'Leary's cow. charged with !the respongibility of starting the great Chicago Mrs. 0'Leary’s Cow fire of fifiy and the Fire. years ago, has been a subject 1 ofimuch controversy since. She figur- ed in the current discussion of the catastrophe at the time. In The Star of November 29, 1871, is the following | "he Chicago commission to in- ! vestigate the origin of the recent fire and the responsibility for its exten- sive spread has so far only developed these facts: That Mrs. O'Leary went 1o bed at half past eight o'clock on the night of the fire, on_account of her ‘sore fut’: that Pat McLaughlin. the fiddler, resided in the front part of OLeary's mansion; that Mrs O'Leary heard Mrs. White say that McLaughlin had a party and the party wanted oysters and the oysters wa ed milk to be ‘shtewde,’ and that t went out and milked her (O'Leary cow. The McLaughlins admit | they were having a little jollificat over a ‘greenhorn’ just arrived fro ! Ireland, but deny the oyster ‘shte or having milked Mrs. O'Leary’s cow after Mrs. O'Leary had gone to bed All the witnesses seem agreed that there was a gila of shavings in the barn and that the fire was first ob- served on the sidel of the barn where {the shavings were stored, but nene of them has any idea how it came there, or how long it burned before the engines got there.” * William Douglass Wallach died at Culpeper, Va, on the morning of December 1. 1871, {The Death of and The Star of that day printed W.D. Wallach. et 527, "0 brief dispatch, with a biographical sketch.and an appreciative survey of Mr. Wallach's career. He was about fifty-nine years of age, having been born in 1912, in this city the eldest of four brothers. His father, Richard Wallach, was a_prominent lawyer of Washington. He first entered th newspaper business in Texas at th age of twenty-six, publishing 1t | Matagorda Gazette. After the admie- gion of Texas into the Union he re |turned to Washington and engaged jactively for a time as correspondent of northern journals and contributor to magazines. 1In 1852 Mr. Wallach, in connection with W. H. Hope, purchas- ed The Evening Star from Col. Josepi: B. Tate, who had started the paper about nine months before. After u few months Mr. Wallach purchased Mr. Hope's interest and remained its | sole proprietor until he sold it 1o | the organizers of the present company in October, 1867. Hoover Trade Plan in Practice Hoover's drive for world trade is now well started with 600 trade representa- tives in all parts of the world, with commodity experts directing the inten- sive campaign from the Washington headquarters and with the industries mobilized for the strongest possible co- operation. Commaodity div ns were organized by Secretary Hoover, in charge of prac- tical experts with experience in foreign selling and a thorough knowledge of the American exporter's problems, to develop the closest possible co-operative relationship between the respective in- dustries and the government organiza- tion. This has been done largely through trade associations. The textile division has analyzed and interpreted export and import move- ments of textile merchandise in a way to give more complete information as to particular markets. This division has co-operated with other governmental in saving large amounts to agencies : American exporters of textile goods. Something like $6,000,000 worth of goods had been snipped to consignees in Cuba ugainst orders. but had been placed in warehouses and remained un- paid for. The cotton piece goods industry is organized for co-operation With this division on a practically 100 per cent basis. The industry has ap- pointed a committge and appro- riated a substantial sum of money for the necessary expenses in con- nection with their work. The knit goods, cordage, woolen and worsted, silk and jute interests are already substantially organized, and their committees co-operating with the di- vision represent more than 75 per cent of the trade. The rubber division is in touch with about 90 per cent of the rubber industry through the rubber asso- ciation. It has co-operated with the association in preparing and publish- ing a booklet showing the advantage of straight-side tires, the use of which the American rubber industry is anxious to promote throughout the world. The division will issue an outline monograph in loose-leaf form Covering the market for all classes of rubber goods in different countries, and additions and ‘corrections to this will appear at intervals. * ¥ The automotive division has organ- jzed 73 per cent of the entire auto- motive car and truck industry to co- operate with the division in further- ing foreign trade interests; induced the Motor and Accessory Manufactur- ers’ Association to seriously consider the possibilities of the export field, laid out its foreign sales promotion plans, and assisted in the formation of a committee of co-operation; se- cured 100 per cent listing of the Manufacturers’ Aircraft Association and arranged for a committee for co- operation; secured a reclassification of export figures on a price and ton- nage basis, so that manufacturers can now intelligently gauge the class of exports comparable with their own production. The electrical division has placed & large number of American sellers in contact with definite foreign buyers, in some cases by furnishing names of personally known reputable fereign firms, in some cases by submitting definite pecifications for foreign projects, and in other cases by callin, attention :3 rropo-sa foreign proj- ects. This division has built up a flle of world-wide technical information regarding electrical projects contem- , under construction, or com- Pl pleted. The fucl glivision is assisting coal exporters to find the requirements of | foreign markets, competitive condi- | tions and_opportunities for business |abroad. The friendly co-operation of the trade and its associations has al- | ready been arranged for. A complet: survey of American and foreign oil ts throughout the world is i process of accomplishment. The agricultural implement divisior has formed direct contact with 75 per |cent of the implement industry !through the trade association. With the aid of the division of statistics it {has made a reclassification of imple- | ments, especially tractors, for pres- | entation in statistical tables of export and import figures. It is prepared to show the exact article, quality, value and destination of all implements ex- ported, by months, series of months and years. - * % The industrial machinery division has established contact with some of the many groups of machinery manu- facturers and is co-operating with them to perfect their organization for handling foreign business. Jt is in touch with about 4,000 machinery manufacturers who have never been organized. but can be reached in part through about three dozen associa- tions. The foodstuffs division is represent- ed by a large number of commodity and trade organizations. Arrange- ments have been made with the Cot tonseed Crushers’ Association and vegetable oil consuming interests, principally the soap and margarine manufacturers, for investigation and development of the foreign field. The Natiopal Canners' Association has ap- pointed a_co-operative committee and the principal work for the next year will be along the line of attempting to overcome tariff and trade relation difficulties in those countries where American canned goods are now pra: tically barred. The shoe and leather division has perfected a_co-operative program witl the New England Shoe and Leath Association, the National Boot and Shoe Manufacturers' Association and the Leather Belting Exchange, which is the national organization of leather belting manufacturers. The govern- ment's foreign representatives have been informed as to the charactes of the information wanted from the fleld, and this will be transmitted to the in- dustry. The iron and steel division has as- certained the kind of information which the trade ix most interested in securing from foreign countries through government representatives. The division is arranging to securc fuller participation on the part of American manufacturers in all foreign tenders for iron and steel produc ice of American as to tenders abroad; to ascertain what competition must be met in the markets of the world: to inform the trade as {0 pro- duction, new processes, imports and exports, current prices, stocks on hand, movement toward centers of consumption, important tenders, changes in tariff, discovery and devel- opment of resources of iron ore, etc. The Jumber division has condueted an active campaign to enlist the co- operation of lumber associations and individual concerns. 1t is also inves- tigating certain specific problems in foreign markets; bringing trade op- portunities to the notice of American exporters; endeavoring to make those lumber concerns who are not in the export business realize the importance of export markets; revising lists of foreign lumber dealers; preparing a . manual on exporting for our lumber exporters, and also a manual and questionnaire for government repre- sentatives abroad.