Evening Star Newspaper, December 11, 1921, Page 48

2 THE EVENING STAR,|cued the “Department of Compuny- With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SUNDAY......December 11, 1921 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor cations” untll 1t comprised sll the obvious methods of communicating in- formation and supplies from one place to another. If this is the ultimate aim of the recommendation it perhaps might be better to withhald the bestowal of a new name until the functions of the The Evening Star Newspaper COmpany | y. o tment are enlarged to take in Business Office. 11th B rk Of New Chicago Office: First Buropean Office: 3 K The Evening Star, with the Sundsy morning edition, is delivered by carriers within the city at 60 cents per month; daily anly, 45 centy per month; Sunday only, 20 cents per month. Or- siers may be gent by mail, or telephone Main 5000. _Collection fe made by carriers at the end of each month, Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunda: .l yr., $8.10; 1 mo., 70c Daily only. yr., $6.00; 1 mo., 60c Sunday oniy i yr., 3240; 1 mo, 20¢ All Other States. Daily and Sunday.13r., $10.00; 1 mo., $5¢ Daily only. 1yr., $:.00; 1 mo. Sunday- oniy. 1yr., $3.00;1mo., e — — Possible Park Areas. Yesterday Chairman Ball of the Sen- ate District committee, Chairman Moore of the Commission of Fine Arts, and Chairmen Gude and Coldren of the parks committees of the Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade, re- spectively, inspected the land which has been designated as desirable for ac- quisition for park purposes in the Piney Branch valley. A bill for the purchase of this land is now before Congress, and if passed would lead to the rounding out of the northern park system and virtually complete the ac- quisitions necessary for harmonious vark development. These four chair- men found upon a tour of the region that if this purchase is to be made at all it must be done quickly. Some of the lower sections are being filled al- ready by the dumping of refuse and: earth, and on parts of the area in- cluded on the proposed extension map houses have been built. Unless the government moves soon this space, so admirably adapted to park purposes and so desirable as a feature of the reservation system, will be beyond reach. The trees will have been cut, the picturesque ravine will have been filled and the surface will be covered with buildings. Condemnation then will be far too expensive to be con- templated, and. furthermore, the natu- ral beauties will have been destroyed. Impressed by these observations, Senator Ball announces his determina- tion to push vigorously for an early enactment of the pending bill. In the same category are other tracts that now are plainly indicated as desirable for park development, but are in the line of assured so-called impravement. These spaces cannot be held indefinite- ly awaiting slow action by the gov- ernment. It is unjust to the owners to impose upon them the burden of their reservation for eventual public purchase. Some of them have from publie-spirited motives kept their lands out of the market in the hope that they will be later taken for park usage, but they cannot indefinitely continue to pay taxes on unremunera- tive lands and to block building de- velopments. it would be well, in view of the dis- closure of the situation in the Piney Branch region, for Congress te adept 2 measure definitely designating this and perhaps other tracts for park ac- quisition, to be acquired on a system- atic” scale of annual purchases as rapidly as funds are available. There could then be no doubt on the score of the proper treatment of the prop- erty and no justification for its use for private purposes. In short, de- cision should be reached now respect- ing these lands, either to take them for park purposes or to release them definitely for private development. Another Cure. The cable tells that a cure for sea- sickness has been found, and an- nounces that the finder is the head of the Pasteur Institute at Paris. Won- derful? "And very important if true. - With all the cures for disease, mala- dies’and infirmities that are an- nounced it is remarkable that any- bhody: asks for sick leave or telephones the ‘office that he is detained at home . becausé of a serlous indisposition or sickness in the family. . Seast¢kness is a disturbing com- plaint. It completely upsets one. Con- tract an acute case of seasickness and éfle becomes disinclined to join in the festivitles of life or the gayeties of the world. The appetite weakens. A stong man will have no particular longing for a black cigar or his mel- low pipe. and he has been known to forego his cup of coffee. It was be- lieved that all remedies had been tried without avail, lemons have been sucked. champagne has been prescribed, cracked ice has been applied and the fresh, salt, cooling winds on deck have been sought. If the cure for seasickness will cure seasickness many men and women will offer up their thanks. ———e—————— ‘Women have been fighting in the Chicago riots. It is the day of political and industrial equality. Reduction of railway wages will suggest a few conferences-to consider limitation of costs. Let Well Enough Alone. Postmaster General Hays, in his annual report, makes the suggestion that the name of the Post Office De- partment be changed to that of “De- partment of Communications.” Sug- gestions to that end have been made to the cengressional committee reor- ganizing the government departments, and it is the hope of the department that they will' be adopted, the report states. “The Post Office Department is, as a matter of fact, the department of communications of the government,” says the report. While this may be true to a great extent in time of peace, in time of war the postal service dis- tinctly falls behind both the telegraph and the telephone as means of com- munication. The radio, in one sense, leads all other methods of communica- tion. Rallroads and steamships also are means of communication, and motor trucks are still another means. It is not pliin how the present postal sery- ice of the country could rightfully be*parks now is by pr ivate motor, many, -nd an orange‘ the above-named means of communi- cation. How this could ever be done is another question. For the present 1t would seam well to let' well enough alone. The Post Office Department is one of the oldest and most honored of American institutions. The name “post office” is dear to 100,000,000 Americans. Through the past offices come the lové letters and other mis- sives which play so large a part in the daily life of the people. There is romance there. But who would say, “Let’s go down to the communications office?” The Pacific Islands. Rarely does a speech opn a diplo- matic question present so poetic & picture as did that of Senator Lodge in the plemary council of the arms conference yesterday in reporting the four-power treaty. In a few para- graphs the speaker spread before the world a panorama of the islands of the Pacific which in their present situa- tion are potential breeding places of possible war. Their number, their va- riety, their only partially developed resources are indicated with graphic brevity in language that constitutes a remarkable contribution to the literature of diplomacy. Much has been written in the past few years about the islands of the Pacific, particularly those of the South seas. Perhaps it was Robert Louis Stevenson, of whom Senator Lodge speaks, who did most to stimu- late this interest. Later visitors and travelers more fortunate than Steven- son, in that they were able to return, have contributed volumes of works on the “languorous isles,” have eloquently described the injustices perpetrated upon the natives by exploiting voy- agers, traders and commercial agents, and have presented a composite record of the tragedy of an unfortunate race. Still, the area is so vast, the islands are so numerous, some of them so remaote from the lines of usual travel, that their story is not yet fully told, and they remain tg most people a re- gion unknawn. When the United States acquired possession of the Philippines Amer- ican interests were centered in the archipelago for the first time. But the ‘wastes of the Pacific lying to the east contained great numbers of islands that were to the average mind mere- ly tiny dots upon the map, without individuality and with but a faint his- torical significance. An - American warship sailed into the harbor of Guam and took possession there. Guam became an immediate peint of interest. Samoa had already been marked through certain complications and a great disaster. Farther to the north the Hawaiian Islands—known earlier as the Sandwich Islands—had been brought within comparatively easy range and were more familiar. Now, one by one the islands and the groups are coming into the pepular ken. In the world race of industrial and commercial development it is certain that the resources of these far-distant islands, great and small, Wwill be tapped and drawn upon and cultivated. Experience teaches that unless order is maintained, with just government extended over these islands and groups by the stronger powers, they will fall victims of adventurers, individual and national, who will eXploit them to the utmost. It has become a duty of those powers to preserve order in the Pacific, to insure that degree of protection gnd good government that the inhabitants need and deserve. The four powers that now approach an agreement which is designed to reduce the causes of war by assuring conference and consideration of mutual interest in all cases of possible controversy stand as trustees of these helpless people scattered over the vast range of the great Pacific ocean. ————————— Differences of language do not pre- vent people of all nations from ‘think- ing and talking the same way about ‘burdensome taxation. ! The spectacle of starving children in Russia is the more pitiable because of their country’s enormous but un- developed wealth. ————————— The day that Germany is now look- ing forward to with great interest is the day when a reparation instaliment comes due. Interest in the conference remains so strong as to place standing room at a premium for each session. The National Parks. More than a million people visited the national parks in this country dur- ing the fiscal year which ended in June last, The cost to the government of keeping up these parks was $1,402,- 200, of which $315,000 was for new road projects. Roughly speaking, the actual maintenance of the parks cost the United States about §1 for every person who visited them during the year. From time to time road im- prévements will be effected in these parks in a way to increase the attend- ance, and probably the maintenance cost will not increase in proportion, 80 that steadily the per capita expense will diminish. There can be no better investment of public money-than the comparative- 1y small sum that is required yearly i to keep these parks in order, to police them, to make them.safe, to protect them from mistreatment and disfigure- ment and to make them accessible. Their wonders were for a long while not realized and appreciated by the people. Until the war. in Europe checked foreign vacation travel it was exceptional for persons living east of the Mississippi river to visit the parks and view the great natural monuments. Steadily since the first year of the war the number of visitors THE SUNDAY BSTAR, WASHINGTON D. C. DECEMBER 11, thousands of persons touring them and camping op the sites provided by the government. Dgubtless this num- ber will increase. Year by year mare people are traveling about the country ‘sightseeing,” many of them with the national parks as objectives. The ef- fect of this touring is to make better citizens of those engaged in it. They are getting acquainted with their own country, and soon the averaga Amer- ican will have a direct persanal knowl- edge of the major part of the United States and, incidentally, will have had the advantage of the inspiration that comes from @ visit to the wonders contained within the great national veservations. The Vanderlip Debt Plan. No more interesting, and probably no more important, contribution haes been made to discussion of the vital and perplexing problem of the debts owed this government by the govern- ments of Eyrope than the article by Frank A. Vanderlip, written in re- sponse to a request for details of the proposal he outlined recently in a public address, and published on an- other page of today's Star. There has been a tremendous output of sugges- tions and theories on this subject, but Mr. Vanderlip's project has the merit at least of being the first thought-out and comprehensive program offered for consideration of the public. The Vanderlip plan aims at two major things. First, it would for some time so use interest payments in de- veloping Europe’s ability to pay that eventually the principal and part of the interest might be met. Second, it would save this country from the eco- nomic and industrial disasters which surely would follow any early at- tempt to collect either principal or interest of the debt in goods. And col- lection would have to be in goods, of course, if there was collection at all, for the United States already owns about all the available gold in the world and does not want or need any part of the small holdings of other nations. Public sentiment both in this coun- try and abroad will have to be ascer- tained before it can be determined whether the plan is practical and pos- sible of realization, but its hugeness and possibilities of great accomplish- ment make a stirring appeal to the imagination. It is not often, either to men or nations, that opportunity comes to confer such vast benefits upon the vorld, and at the same time reap a profit from it. And the Vanderlip plan not only holds the possibility of profits, but it may be the way, and possibly the only way, to prevent lasses amounting to billions of dollars. ——te——————— The annual interchange of views by representatives of Japan and the United States might do much to allay the pernicious gossip sure to assert itself in the absence of guthoritative speech. ——————— A large number of the Irish people are inclined to sympathize heartily with the present world movement for peace based on honorable understand- ing. ————s——————— Diplomats, like other officlals, have to take counsel with their constituents in recognition of the fact that they are the servants of the people. —————————— As a step toward world peace, China is now looking for some means of straightening out her numerous jecal political feuds. ———— The profession of bage ball umpire has been elevated to its highest pos- sible plane of responsibility by Judge Landis. —————— The great interest manifested in his utterances does not tegpt Secretary Hughes to eny effort to monopalize the floor. SHOOTING STARS. z I BY PHILANDBR JOHNSON. The Luck. The pines that sway where the skies are gray Are hpoeful, each, to be 'Mid laughter and warmth placed on display As a beautiful Christmas tree. And some will show 'mid the lights aglow A splendor that's fair to see. But some must linger out in the snow And envy the Christmas tree. And you never can tell, though you ponder well, Why the difference great you see, That leaves a pine in the cold to dwell ‘When he might be a Christmas tree. Mnemonics. “Here is a wonderful book on how to train the memory,” said the private secretary. “I don't want anything to do with it,” protested Senator Sorghum. “Aft- er having made speeches on all kinds of subjects for fifteen or twenty years I em more interested in something that will teach people to forget.” “One thing that complicates the problem .of unemployment,” said Jud Tunkins, “is the anxiety of a number of people to make it pay dividends.” 1 . Problems Everywhere. ‘World problems got him growing gray. They left him puzzled sore. { The game of golf he tried to play. He merely found some more. “Education don’ do nuffin’ foh some folks,” said Uncle Eben, * 'ceppin’ to teach 'em how to bother deir friends wif a lot o’ long words.” Tangibility Preferred. “Was yur boy Josh disappeinted when you told him there wasn't any has grown, until now, it is stated, Santa Claus?” more than a million—the precise num- ber being 1,171,797—went parks last year as against 856&!7 five | depend on his flad, years previous. “Not & bit,” said Farmer Corntossel. into tht|“He stated frankly that he'd rather , who' can’ write checks, than on a myth, who can get Much of the travel through thelby if he leaves a handful of gn(y ! ! | w|Politics atHome‘Prayer and Christ’s Spirit |[Heard and Seen| Flft Years Josephus Daniels. One hears talk these days—much of it frlendly—about former Secretary Daniels. What s his game? Does he desire a seat in the Senate? Or is his objective the vice presidency? For a time the Senate had the eall. ‘When upan leaving pffice Mr. Daniels retgrned home and took personal charge of his newspaper opinion was general that he would lay the founda- tions for a senatorial contest. Let Mr. Simmons take notics. There is @ suggestion now that Mr. Daniels may have his eye on the vice presidency. He has of late been de- livering addresses here and there out- side of North Carolina, and extending his personal acquaintance, as Mr. Bryan did for several years prior to the Chicago convention of 1896. And Mr. Bryan, by the way, is one of Mr. Daniels' warmest friends. He stood for him at the time of his selec- tion for & place in the Wilson cabinet, and is as cordially his well wisher now as then. The Daniels vice presidential boom booms like this: The North Carolinian as a candidate would command the support of both the Wilsonites and the Bryanites. He was a Bryanite before he became a Wilsonite, and remains a Bryanite after eight years of Wilson- ism. Somgq feat, as politics go these difficult and confusing days. Before taking national offiee Mr. Daniels had cultivated the pen rather than the tongue. Sinee then he has made himself an effective public speaker, and is remembered by his party friends here and there when they are arranging public functions and speakers of note are a feature. Last year the Old North state pre- sented the name of Mr. Simmons to the democratic national convention for the presidency. Will she present the name of Mr. Danlels to the con- vention of 1924 for the vice presidency, yoking him with an eastern man, say a New Yorker? —————— New York Next Year. Gov. Miller of New York does not desire a second term. He has given notice. Election s next year. He entered politics reluctantly. Edu- cated for the bar, he had seen service on the bench and developed a strong taste for the law. But his party called, and, like the good citizen and party man that he is, he obeyed. At its command he accepted a gubernatorial nomination, and was elected. In office he has shown contrivance and resolution. He has ideas of his own, and insists upon them. Some of those he has applied to affairs have not pleased some of the republican politiclans, and criticism has been open. But there are other politicians who love him for the enemies he has made, and are prompt with their protest againat his announcement. They want him to stand again. Gov. Miller has not said he cannot be drafted again—has not warned his friends against using his name in any circumstances next year. Henoce there is curiosity as to whether they will turn to somebody else, or stick to him d put him up for the second term he does not desire. Politics in New York does not often show a case like this. As a rule, men ‘who enter the game become fascinated with it, and play as long as possible. And New York politics was never more fascinating than at present. Tammany's smashing victory last month has forced a recasting of all calculations on both sides, and opened up a fleld of speculation almost be- wildering in its possibilities. Seasoned politiclans are in their glory. Chairman Hull. Enter Chairman Hull of the demo- cratic national committee into some interesting speculation about the fu- ture. He was a victim last year of the re- publican national landslide. After a service of six terms straight in the House he gave placs to a republican. His detachment from office was a consideration that entered into his se- lection for his present post. The need ‘was for a man not only competent for the work in hand, but free to give his ‘whole time to it. This is a question under friendly discussion in democratic circles: Will Mr. Hull retire from his present office next year and try to re-enter Con- gress, or forego further congressional honors, stick to his chairmanship, and 1921—PART 2. At the Armament Conference BY THOMAS R. MARSHALL, Former Vice President of the United States, URING the world war and before the United States had entered it, the great- est of French philose- Phers remarked to me, when I was deploring its awful devastation, that the conflict was worth all that it was costing France. Upon my expression of amazement at such & view, he explained that the war had made a real democracy of ‘France, in that the humblest peas- ant at last knew that the govern- ment was his government, and. moreover, that the war had revivi- fled God in the French mind. Following the close of the great tragedy, I thought I noted on the part of Americans a renewed tend- ency to delve into the mystic and unknown. Many seemed to he pinning their faith to the ouija board and listening to table rap- pings. This, however, was not un verull Greater than this tendency Isr waa g revival in the study of the Scriptures. The vast ma- Jority of Americans withhold their assent to the statement of an Eng- lish writer that there is nothing now helpful in the old Bible. Upon the contrary, most of us believe that, like the effort which estab- lished the league of nations, the ¢onference at Washington finds its genesis in the principles enunci- ated in the four gospels. * % ¥ % Even the newspapers of this country, omniscient as they ordi- wmarily are, sometimes fall to fur- nish desired information. Those journals which I could reach after the opening of the conference made only slight reference to the prayer with which the session be- gan. 1 found the stirring address of the President, the world-start- ling and soul-gratifying program of the American commissioners as presented by Mr. Secretary Hughes, but I was left in doubt Wwhether the proceedings were pres ceded by prayer. Not until 1 res ceived a private message In ree sponse to one I sent to Washington was I assured. And I make bold to assert for these of us who are not yet so scientific to feel competent to hold a post-mortem on God, nor so utterly egotistic as to believe that mankind is sufficient unto itself, that nothing promises a greater hope for the successful termina- tion of the conference than the puhllc recognition of the belief of the American people in an over- ruling Providence. When the wis- dom and strength of man fail, there is a source of supply opened through the medium of prayer. The President and the American commissioners have the grateful ;l\lnkl of those of us who so be- ieve. * % x * The view of Napoleon that the oord was on the side of the heav- iest battalions is not sustained by the facts of history. He was not on the side of the heavy battalions at Thermopylae. And, humanly speaking, He was with Charles Martel. He was with Joan of Arc. He w with Washington when his foot-sore soldiery incarnadined the snows st Valley Forge. He as with Joffre on the Marne. Stonewall Jackson was a devout Presbyterian, which fact spells faith in prayer. Heras found fre- quently at his devotions during the civil war. Some one said to him: “The way you pray, the south must surely win.” To which he answered: “Remember there are Chtistian men praying on the other side. and I know not how many of them.” William of Ger- many undoubtedly prayed, but his whole life and conduct disclosed that his praying was more of a consultation with a junior partner and less of a presentation of 2 | cause for decision to inerrant Justice. Though men have had their faith in God, their prayers in war time have been national and sel- fish in their character. The faith of mankind has been lessened be- cause each nation has demanded an answer consistent with its own desires. While now and then the saint-like souls of time have had the sublime confidence to think God's l‘hnllihu after Him, and to repeat in sincerity the Nazarene's cry, “Thy will be done.” aggrega- tions of men in nations hitherto have thought God's thoughts be- Curbing Balky Delinquent foreign debtors have been raising havoo with commerce and must be forced to pay. That is| the verdiot of the division of commer- | cial law of the Department of Com- merce. After giving the situation | gerious thought, after conferences with exporters of wide experience, A. J. Wolf, chief of this division, out- Zines some suggestions for instant and effective relief. The federal bureau has ample evi- dence that unserupulous customers in fore Him and have beaten their puny hands against a brassy skv, demanding that their will be His. * ok ok k ‘Whether any one else shall deem fit 80 to record it or not, I record the opening prayer at the Wash- ington conference as an epoch in human history. For the first time when men were considering war and its horrors, nations and their rights, peoples and their aspira- tions, divine guidance was sought in opening up a highway to hu- . man peace and the binding of the nations together in faith and not in distrust. It was worthy of our President and our commissioners and the conference. The reflex action upon the peaples of Europe cannot be otherwise than helpful and hopeful. * k ¥ ¥ Another good omen was the re- turn to American soil in the na- tional cemetery at Arlington of the ashes of the unknown Ameri- can soldier who fell in the great .war. While the burial ceremonies were going on I chanced to be reading in my Wordsworth. My eye fell upon his translation of the inscription upon the tomb where rested the body of ah unknown Greek soldier. It is so worthy of newspaper record that I repeat it: “My name. my country, what are they What, ‘Wiether procd or bare my pedigree? e I far surpass all other men; Perhape, 1 fell below them all.What t en? Suflice it, stranger, that thou seest a tomb, Thou kuowest it’s use. It hides—uo mat- ter whom." As I re-read these lines anpther scene in the history of this people, which for art, literature and law has never been surpassed, rose be- fore me. .1 saw a hump-backed Jew standing upon Mors Hill and gazing at the various shrines which had been erected to the gods and goddesses of a people who, however learned they were, felt that there were mysterious powers they could not see and over which they had no influence save through prayer and sacrificc. 1 saw his eye fall upon the one erected to the unknown God, and heard him say to the assembled group “Whom ye ignorantly wor- ship, him declare I unto you.” And then my mind came back across the long centuries. 1 saw them as they passed in swift review. I saw the never-ending conflict be- tween right and wrong. I gazed upon the ever-increasing horror and fearsemeness of war. * x % % The same day 1 picked up the Chicago Daily News and studied its cartoon, “Why Not Scrap the Pi- lots, Too?” and there I saw in an- gry seas the vessel which held the world’s destiny being piloted. by Hate and Fear and Greed and Race Prejudice. And back it took me once again to Arlington, and in my mind's eye I stood with uncov- ered head and reverent mien be- fore the tomb of America’s un- known hero. In spirit I was lifted up and heard a voice saying unto me: “The inscription upon the tomb of the unknown Greek soldier is not the one for me I am the spirit of the man whose ashes are here entombed. It does not mat- ter what my name has been. It little counts whether 1 came from the highest or the lowliest in the land. Whether I was wise or ignorant is of no moment. What needs to be remembered is that T am the spirit of the great war. I paid the last full measure of my devotion to an ideal upon the altars of constitutional liberty. From out the vast spaces Where now my unfettered spirit soars T call to America and to the world, ‘Hate no man. Fear no p{oplc. Envy nobody's prosperity, & re- member that in the genealofy o good there is no such thi superior and inferfor races. hern are nineteen millions and more of us, named and unnamed, upon this war-stressed world who plead with the men assembled in Wash- ington that as they revere our memory, love the living and hope for the unborn, they will sink personal and national selfishness in the larger work of saving hu- mankind, of making mankijnd dem- ocratic, of blending into the gov- ernments of the future both aris- tocracy and_ democracy by the adoption of thoee principles \lhlch fell from the lips of the greatest aristocrat and the greatest dem- ocrat the world has ever known, Jesus of Ni lrz(h Son of God and Son of Man. (Copyright. 1921, by The Washington Star.) Alien Debtors ice which may be installed without much cost and which will surely be self-supporting almost from the be- gining, and effective if skillful use be made of credit control as a weapon of moral suasion. All that is necessary is to separate those delinquent debtors. who remain in business and hope to receive credit in ‘the future from those who are lost | (well lost, one might say) to Ameri- can exporters. It is suggested that {some national association having the | confidence of the American bullness community install a collection | service for overdue accounts abroad. small registration fee could be take chances on & cabinet portfolio in | ' ion oguntries thoroughly realize |charged for every claime accepted, 19257 He likes the House, and had a grati- | fying measure of success there. His constituents like him, as his twelve vears in their commission testify. A cyclone was necessary to uproot him. It is assumed that conditions in Ten- nessee will be something like normal again next year, and that if Mr. Hull { wants to come back then he can do so. ‘ i On the other hand, if Mr. Hull re- tains his chairmanship, and his party under his guidance comes back next year, and then, still under his guid- ance, wins a second, and a complete, victory in 1924, would he not be justi- fied in expecting as a reward a seat at the next President’s cabinet table? | & There is the case of Mr. Hays for sug- gestion and inspiration. It would be a sort of gamble for Mr. Hull. He would be taking a risk. But there is the old saying—almost shout- ed at one at race meetings and at county fairs in a raucous but cajol- ing tone—"Nothing risked, nothing gained.” Will it be Chairman Hull for three years, or Representative Hull again after next year? —— R People who undertake to float bad checks shohld emigrate to parts of the world where people have become ac: customed to manufacture theiy own money as they happen to need it. —— e As leaders of a soviet nation Lenin and Trotsky insist on standing at the head of any bread line that may be organized. ‘ If the ex-kaiser has any reasonsble success with his new saw mill be is likely very soon to have @ larger in- !-lr!!-d JJzlans the lines -of acollection serv- come than the President of Germany. the helpless condition of their Ameri- can creditors in attempting to enforoe the collection of minor accounts. '1'nere is litle doubt that the boom | n export trade drew into the foreign hullneu many oconcerns which failed to give due consideration to the risks | and hazards of selling abroad on credit. In numerous instances these exporters did not exercise care in ascertaining the reputation, ch.,r;g nancial strength or length o |agter B asiness experience on the part of their foreign customers. Unsati tory foreign collections are due largely to the era of great inflation-in prices, the veritable orgy-| of speculation in 1and and in national roducts, and the recklessness in pmln‘ 'orders abroad at the high prices then prevailing that marked the close of the war. The bubble burst while much of the merchandise ordered was on the way. Prices in the producing countries dropped rap- idly, and the goods ordered were due o arrive at & time when their value in the world market had diminished. A ud scramble to cancel ensued. hen the rush to cancel orders had reached some degree of seriousness ’:c ensued among the exporters. Th} state of the American market wag none too reassuring at the time. Credit granters who were uardest pr d for money made the ratal mistake of ylelding indiscriminate concessions. Among the debtors abroad there were, and are, many firms of tha bllllal! standard of in- tegrity, and these were faced with the fact that t.holr less scrupulous competitors were reeflvln' impor- ates. uxftter:blt appears cer!lln that th foreign debtor will not pay, the American creditor must exhaust all resources of local law before using government aid. Only’ when the Kmerican is denied the full and prop-: er use of local remedies can his dip- lorbatic and consular nprennlluveu remonstrate with the foreign govern- ment. A constructive plan to deal with the situation is out by the federal bul it is, in & way, an extensien ® tnrelrn credit interchange plan perated by an ation of credit n-num 1t is an extension with a commission of 10 per cent on claims up to $500, 7% per cent up to $1,000, 5 per cent up 0 42,000 and 23 | per cent on amounts above that sum. The ivision of commercial law wili gladly aid such an agency to make connections with attorneys abroad. The association would as a first step write the debtor a letter explain- ing that if he has any hope of future credit favors from American export- ers he should avail himself of the opportunity of making a settlement in the manner most convenient to him, but within reason. - If unsuccessful in this first effort the collection service would employ its agents or attorneys. Now, while attorneys abroad as a rule object to the receipt of minor claims, the col- lection service would mean such a constant volume of business, which in the aggregate will amount to an important sum, that they will find it profitable to take even petty claims. The Department of Commerce feels that a service of this character can be conduoted entirely on a business basis. The association can act in ways that are not open to an agency of the government. An investigation of similar services furnished by a trade body some years ago and by another national institution, even at the present time, demonstrates not only the feasibility, but the impera- tive necessity of this idea. It may even be carried out by individual chambers of commerce in co-operation with a central credit clearing system. It i3 needless to say that all United States consuls, commercial attaches and trade commissioners will gladly co-operate in such an enterprise, not indeed as collection agents—an ac- tivity which is not open to them— but by giving advice, -by supporting local counsel, and by helping in every other le in which they can serve. This is the answer of the Depart- ment of Commerce to numerous re- quests for help and intervention in the deplorable situation now existing: ‘l‘ha active business of collecting lore.:,tnrll‘l::ou‘nu 'v:mut’ be undertaken eat national body en: the fullest confidence of th}; bn’:l;‘:: and suggestion in all tbou are open to govermment broad.-- Saenties, at homie sad Street car types of the disagreeable sort abound in Washingtorm street cars. Probably they are relations of the old “end seat hog,” of whom we used to hear so much. Anyway, they are a nuisance, one and all. As far as memory serves, there are seven distinct varieties of disagree- able street car rider. First, there is the man—or woman—who blocks the aisle. Pleas of conductor and motor- man to “move up front” fail miser- ably. No power on earth can budge this person from the place where he takes up his stand. Let us leave him there, since nobody can move him. Second comes _the individual who sits sideways in the long seats, taking up almost twice as much room as necessary, thereby depriving some one else of a seat. This type usually may be conquered by a:resolute show of sitting down upon him. Equally disagreeable is the man—it is usually a man—who sits on the in The Star The building known as Wall's Opera House, at the corner of 9th an® C streets and Wall's Opera House Louisiana avenue, was Destroyed by ‘Fire. gogeroveq by fire on the early morning of December 6, 1871. The fire originated in an adjoining bullding occupled as a junk shop, and quickly spread into th- theater, which could not be saved from the flames. In connection with the account of the fire The Star of December 6 said: “The opera house, a three-story brick building, was originally buiit by Messrs. Haslup & Weedon, about the year 1850, as a coach factory and subsequently as a gymnasium. About fifteen years ago the building_was purchased by Messrs. Thomas Berry and Francis Mohun, and, after the long seats with his hands in his pockets, his elbows thrust out akim- bo, whatever that means. Sometimes he secures the same effcct hy poor manipulation of his paper while read- in, "Fhen there is the bird who insists on keeping his knees crossed while he sits on the short seat at the end of the car, where everybody must stumble over him as they pass out. Little it troubles him if you giare at him. He is getting a free shoe shine from the trousers and gkirts of the passengers. On a par with the above nuisance is the small child, whose parents allow it to sit with its feet sticking out, these same feet continually kicking and threshing about in the joy and abandon of childhood. “Blessings on thee, little n. but mama should ee| our feet qui k'l‘l{'eyman uh(l.‘ sitting behind you. insists on putting his knee into the back of your seat and pushing the back of the seat forward. giving you a sliding-down-hill feeling, ought 1o e restrained by law. \'1‘:;: scene of all, {o end this fittul comedy, comes the person—usually a woman—who invariably gets up to Jeave the car just as the vehicle is rounding a curve at a good speed. Even a conductor would be bowlcd t. So over if he attempted the styn his nuisance is 1);((111\1.\1(1! St s lap, or has to ma CL T ‘est arm desperate clutch at the ned or_head. "The forezoing are but a_few types met in local street cars. N is made of the loud talke tertain the car with thei nor of that opposite type, the co faced person that acts as if he w the only human being in the world. * * ¥ Perhaps the most human crowd of passengers to be encountered on‘any local street car is that made up by the employes of the bureau of en- graving and printing. Persons who come from sthall towns, and some- times miss the jovial types of neigh- borhood greetings prevalent there. will be encouraged by bureau crowd. The cars are always very :-mwgro.d e 1d- 1 l but nobody is angry about it fime is early in the morning, the {people all have had warm hreakfasts, zood old {and Washington place, after all. man thaws | out. greets the familiar faces with a grin, and informs the crowd on his platform that he “had a litte nip this mornin “Hot cofiee, 1 suppos one. says some it wasn't coffes,” the motorman, positively. There is a laugh all around at that, and then the bell rings for the start Anybody who happens to be aboard Who is not going to the bureau, but must get off at the next corner, has no difficulty in getting to the door. “Going to leave us?" asks some bureau worker. “Yes, got to go.” you reply. honest, vou feel like staying aboard. * * % There may be some skilled typists who can handle every word in the dic- tionary with unconcern, but most people have some pet word that trou- ble them in the mere writing. One; man I know has difficulty with the name “Ohio.” This man invariably writes it “Ohion.” Why his finger jumps down and puts that “final “n” on the word he | does not kno’ Probably the finger ldoesn't know. either. But it does it. | One man confesses that he has to islow up on “anthropological.” An- {other. that he has been | “archaeological” for many vears, but says has to slow down to nothing an hour | {every time he writes it. Nor can u blame him Try it yourself, |¥ou are inclined to CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Digest of the But | t writing | if | gymnasium had disbanded, it was used for several years as a storeroom and for other purposes. During the war it was fitted up and run as varieties theater, but was closed after the war, and Messrs. Berry and Wall the latter gentleman having secured Mr. Mohun's interest in the premisex used it as a storergom for furniture About six years ago. these gentlemen thinking it could be used to bette: advantage, made ceriain necessars improvements and repairs, and it wa< opened under the name of ‘Wall'x Opera House” The theater was leased to H. B. Phillips, who opened the place with Rosetta and a full dramatic company. Wallack and Davenport came next. and_under the management of Humphrey Bland, now dead, a round of the characters pecuiiar to th eminent actors. assisted by Rose Eytinge, were played It was leased to Sanderfon & Barton during the season of 1568-1869, and after that Mr. Thaddeus Barton was. up to the ciosc of the seasom of 15701871, the principal leasee. While he was manager very eminent his- trionic names appeared upon t boards of Wall's Opera House, amon;: them Mme. Marie Secbach, Mrs. Scot! Siddons and Mrs. Fred W. Lander also the Mrs. James Oates and Lisa .cver burlesque operatic companie Kelly and Leon, the Walhalla troup:. etc. At the b son it was leascd Mr. J. G. Saville, leasee of th. ional, and has only been occupicd about three weeks in that time. Ar- rangements, however, had been coni- Bryant's minstrels, ginning of this se by pleted between Mrs. Saville and Manager Risley for reopening next Monday A new building was erected on the site and was later taken under tl management of John T. Ford, who had been without a theater in Wasl ington since the closing of Ford's Theater on 10th street whem Presi dent Lincoln was shot in 1865, B3 * % The waste of aqueduct water in tie government buildings here, which has been the subject of complaint for many years, was Departments. ,;ceq in The Star of December 7, 1871, in connection with a warning by Gen, Babcock. chief engineer of the aqueduct, that householders just use the water i more carefully. 1t was pointed out that whereas vigilance was exercised to prevent leaks and waste by the citizens, in the government depart- Water Waste in ments a tremendous waste was con- stantiy going on. due chiefly to the use of the water for running ma- chinery. At the Treasury Department it was noted a turbine wheel was ruu by aqueduct pressure; Aat the Navy Department a condenser Was |used and the aqueduct water was f allowed to run waste all day through n inch-and-a-half pipe, “saving to the government by the use of water over the use of coal a pitiful doll or two a day.” The Star xuid that, of course, the government had the first {right to the use of the Potomac water. “but it never could have e templated to bring it he n con- at suc { heavy to be used in running | machinery to the deprivation of halt the city of water and at the risk |of the sacrifice of valuable gover ment property by fire through in- adequacy of water suppiy. Great vigilance has been used by the | water department to stop leaks and to {prevent waste by the citizens, but at the government offices, where the water flicers have no control, the waste is essive and the aqueduct water is as though it were as free us alr. And this waste of water is mainly for running machinery and to effect a 1 in~ expense of motive 4 ing with a vengeance when Mdcprives all the upper nart of the city of water and puts all the city at the merey of a conflagration.” Foreign Press World University for Workers. LONDON.—Details of & plan for ex- tending facilitles for ‘higher educa- tion to the working classes of the wide world are discussed by Lord Haldane in an intervidew with the | London Chronicle correspondent con- | cerning the scheme which is produc- | {ing, and will continue to produce in | increasing numbers, men who know { the joy and comfort of learning. “The World Association for Adult { Education, whose headquarters are in lnndon. has no commercial aims. It is not intended to equip men with weapons that will make them more valuable in the labor markets of the world. It exists for the purpose of |Elving a new meaning to the whole of life. Its end is to enrich the minds of men and to give them those de- lights of scholarship inseparable from | university training.” says the writer. 1'% e World Association is really| world-wide,; Lord Haldane told me. “It is not confined to English-speaking lands, but to ail countri The Brit- ish branch, of which I am president, is known as the British Institute of Adult Educatlon. “'Our object is not to administer, but to inspire. In this country there {are several admirable educational or- ganizations which teach the adult student, but tae field which we now occupy has not been previously occu- pied. The organizations to which I have referred are doing great work, but what has been urgently necessary is a -central body to press for and maintain the highest possible educa- tional standard and hold it up for all who are trairing the adult mind. “‘We want to give strength to all these organisations. The first essen- tial is that this standard should be established. Our ambition is to get the university atmosphere into every industrial town and into every remote village. By the university atmosphere 1 mean, 80 far as it can be defined, the love of learning for its own sake. “Lord Haldane believes that people would much rather kave high educa- tion than ordinary education. “errgveling about the country, I find a great desire for the higher edu- cation, he said. ‘And this desire comes not only from industrial workers, but from shop assistants, postmen, clerks and agricultural workers. This desire for learning is not the monopoly of any body of ‘workers. It is common to "Dord Haldane went on to Eive some remarkable examples of this search for knowledge in places where one would not have expected to find' it widely developed ““In Lincoln the unemployed' have filled the library. They have-spent their enforced freedom in ‘study, reading serious books. They have been glad to take the opportunity of turning_their hours of leisure into howrs of learning.’ “In this Qellllls(llon of knowledge democracy as the fundamental ideal of every political party. “Here is an ideal which offers shel- ter to all. We want better local gov- ernment and better national govern- ment. These things can be secured {only if the best possible education is {at the service of every adult persou | who has laid upon him or her the task of choosing those who shall rule.” { The Botching of Peace. | ROME.—Signor Nitti, the Itallan cx- {premier, is bublishing a book: mpon | “Europe Without Peace” whici. |apart from its other qualities, is « slashing attack upon all the peace work done hitherto by European {statesmen, declares the correspondent {of the London Observer. “On the subject of indemnities Si< gnor_Nitti approves the attitude of | Mr. Keynes, but finds that he places the sum possible of payment by Ger- many too high. He criticizes the atti- tude of France in insisting on a huge indemnity, as having for its only ob- jeot an excuse for retaining the left bank of the Rhine. “Signor Nitti is sarcastic about the" ‘ridiculous Danzig corridor’ and the league nations without prestige. .H recognizes that Germany should pay a reasonable indemnity—else she would be superior to the victors, as issuing from the war without debi. He thinks that England should re-. new her guarantee to France im case of an attack. He notes that France has lost her position in Europe as the light of democracy and gdvocates the early admission of Germany to th. league of natlons and the nduafion. of Rer indemnity 20 a reasonablc sum The Feathered Homebreaker. LONDON.—The moving ploture camera has been resorted to in an endeavor to portray the life and habits of English birds and has re- vealed the cuckoo in the role of what the London Express indicates is the irdland, or the “feather- | | discovery that it is possible to fore- tell the date on which the female cuckoo will return from northern Af- rica, the time of day at which she will' lay her first egg of the seasou and the exact nest in which she will place it, and, in the case of par- - ticular ‘actress’ in the play, to in- dicate the tree to which she first re- turns and the particular branch on which she will sit: ““The production unfolds the life story of the cuckoo, from the time. that the alien egg is laid to the day ‘when thd burly intruder is big enou, l| to push the other birdlings out of ti nest. A final picture shows the um foster-mother—in this- case a tit- x.rk—-ml:‘;‘ on the back of her big adopted bal “Fhis action of ‘foster-parents’ of the cuckoos has raised the question asx to whether - they have not r differences in the. mlu vl h. bird. there are two enormous values—the |Cuckoo nests and valus to. ial life and the value tofound. in such n‘ddnnl «m lt 1s 4 the individual. Lord Haldane is..in-|ficult to Selteve that tmy n.ve nnt sistent on the need of an enlightened been placed—rather than laid— PRy