Evening Star Newspaper, March 11, 1922, Page 1

\YEATHER. Fair tonight and tomorrow; not much change in temperature; lowest tonight above freezing. four hours ended at 2 p.m. today: 2 p.m. today; lowest, 42, at § Full report on page 7. Temperature for twenty- Highest, 49, at a.m. today. 28,440. post office Wasi SECRETARY HUGHES ASSAILS CRITIGS OF PARLEY DELEGATES Intimation That Americans Were Induced to Accept Cunning Plan Resented. NOT SLIGHTEST MYSTERY ABOUT BASIS OF TREATY No Secret Notes or Understandings, ; Secretary Sets Forth in Let- ter to Underwood. Secretary of State Hughes in a let- ter today to Senator Underwood took occasion to characterize intimations that the American delegates were in- duced to accept some plan cunningly contrived by others opposed to Amer- ican interests as “a very poor and erroneous conception of the work in connection with the conference.” The Secretary added that the amenities of international intercourse precluded revealing the informal and confiden- tial suggestions and conversations in- cident to the negotiations, but he as- sured the Senate that a full dis- closure of everything said or done would reveal nothing derogatory to the part taken by the American dele- gates. lie asserted it would show no consideration or acceptance of any position not entirely consistent with the traditional policies of the Amer- ican government. Requires No Commentary. The four-power pact itself requires no commentary, the Secretary said. adding that no ingenuity in argument or hostile criticism can add to it or ke its engagements greater than its unequivocal language sets forth.” Theie are DU seCice Bues OF URUCT- standings, he asserted. Authorship Unimporta: Discussing the genesis of the treaty, which has been the subject of ques- tions in the Senate from its opponents. Mr. Hughes sald while the ‘“ques- tion of authorship is unimportant,” after assent had been given by Great Britain and Japan that France should be a party, he hilmself prepared a draft of the treaty “based upon the various suggestions which had been exchanged between the delegates.” “There is not the slightest mystery about the treaty or basis of suspicion regarding it,” the Secretary asserted. “It is a straightforward document which attains one of the most impor- tant objects the American government has had in view and is of the.highest importance to the maintenance of friendly relations in the far east upon a sound basis."” Failure of the Senate to ratify the treaty, Mr. Hughes declared, “would be nothing short of a national calamity.” Senator Underwood r the letter in the course of his speech on the treaty in the Senate today. Eit e text of the letter follows: v Dear Senator: 1 - understand that in the course of debate in the Senate upon the four-power treaty questions have been raised with re- spect to its authorship. It seems to he tmplied that in some way the Ameri- can delegates have been imposed upon, or that they were induced to accept some plan cunningly contrived by others and opposed to our interests. Betray Poor Conception. “Apart from the reflection upon the competency of the American dele- gates, such intimations betray a very poor and erroncous conception of the work in connection with the confer- «nce, no part of which—whether with- in or outside the conference meet- ings—was begun, prosecuted or con- cluded in intrigue. Nothing could be farther from the fact. “It is. of cuurse, wholly inconsis- tent with the amenities of interna- tional intercourse, that the informal and confidential suggestions and con- versations incident to negotiations should be stated, but the Senate may be assured that a full disclosure of | everything said or done in the course of the negotiations would reveal nothing derogatory to the part taken by any of the American delegates or involve any consideration or accept- ance of any position not entirely consistent with the traditional poli- cies of this government. Matter Outside Conference. “It should be remembered that the four-pewer treaty dealt with a sub- Ject—the Anglo-Japanese alliance— which, as an agreement between two powers competent to make and con- tinue it, was not. and in the nature of things could not be, appropriately placed upon the agenda. Technically it was a matter outside the confer- ence, although the conference fur- nished an excellent opportunity for conversations regarding it. _ “While I cannot. of course. under- take to state what was proposed or muggested in confidence by any of the (Coniinued on Page 2, Column 5.) DOUBT THAT CONFERENCE AT GENOA-WILL BE HELD Abandonment a Question of Few Days Following U. S. Action, View In Political Circles. LONDON, March 11.—The Daily Mail today says that the refusal of the United States to participate in the Genoa conference so greatly deprives the conference of importance that some doubt is felt in political circles ‘whether it will be held at all, and that its abandonment may be only a ques- tion of days. The newspaper adds that by Amer- ica’s abstention the conference loses any utility it may ever have concelv- ably possessed, and denounces it as a costly and grandiose scheme for hu- moring the Germans and the bol- sheviki. Swiss Press Sees Conference Here. BERN, Switzerland, March 11—The Swiss press expresses keen regret at America’s refusal to participate in the Genoa conference. Most of the news- papers declarz the gathering, without the United States, is condemned be- forehand to failure. Some editorials express hope that America's absten- tion means an intention to take action herself, perhaps in the form of & sec- sad Washington conference. $ Closing New York Stocks, Page 17 -tasteful Entered as second-class matter hington, D. C. Crime Wave Is Blamed on War And War Blamed on Crime Wave Crime in the United States has reached appalling proportions and unless checked soon will carry the nation to anarchy. Such is the con- clusion of five of the leading mem- bers of the American Bar Association, appointed as a committee by that or- ganization to inquire into the causes of the present crime wave and Sug- gest a remedy. Five orime reasons have been ad- vanced td the committee as the cause of the present crime wave. First, that the crime wave Is the natural outgrowth of the war. Second, that the crime wave, in- stead of being an outgrowth of the war, is merely one of the causes which led to the war and whick is continuing, in aggravated form, after the war has ended. Third, a growing belief on ‘the part of the masses throughout the country that the courts are only for the rich and deny justice to the poor, with the resultant tendency on the part of the poor man to take the law into his own hands. Fourth, that the trouble is largely with the members of the bar the selves. Many men practicing law day, the committee has been told, ought to be in jail. instead. Fifth, that conviction for crime in the courts is difficult and that the criminal. once convicted, is not pun- PRESIDENT IS AWAY TOAVOID BICKERING Displeased With Impression of His “Wavering Attitude” on Bonus Questione BY DAVID LAWRENCE. The show-down in leadership be- tween President Harding and Con-| gress has come. Hints from St. Augustine corre- spendents that the President took a trip to Florida at this critical moment in affairs of state for reasons other than a needed rest are confirmed by developments In the National Capital itself. Mr. Harding is not the type of man who would have an open break with the leaders in Congress. He does not like bluster and political fireworks. But the truth of the situation is grad- ually coming out—he is getting weary of the estimate which certain leaders in Confress are placing upon c 2 ished sufficiently to deter others from Teneating hix offense. The committee, consisting of W. B. Swaney of Chattanooga, former Gov. Charles S. Whitman of New York, Judge Marcus A. Kavanaugh of Chicago, Charles W, F.irnham ot St. Paul and Wade H. s of this city, having concluded a session at Mr. Ellis’ office here, is to meet again shortly to devise a program of relief from present conditions. They base their conclusions on first-hand | investigation and upon scores ot | communications, written and verbal, from criminologists throughout the United States. Big Incrense In Cleveland. The committee has uncovered sen- sational testimony. For instance, It has found that within the past four years crime "in° Cleveland has In- creased more than 300 per cent, &o- cording to Mr. Ellis, spokesman tor the meeting. It has found, through | Judge Kavanaugh, that the arrests for crime in the city of Chicago in | one year excced such arrests through- out all Great Britain. “In_Chicago, for instance,” Mr. Ellis said today, “Judge Kavanaugh found that within a single vear there were 1119 arrests for criminal assault. Now, the city of Chicago has a population about_equal to that of the province of (Continued on Page 2, Column 3.) RETRENENTCHEF DENED APENSIN J. S. Beach, With Hundreds of Other “Old-Timers,” Cut Off From Annuities. John S. Beach, chief of the retire- ment division of the pension office, is himself among the 80,000 government employes who have been denied the right of retirement under the recent decision of the Attorney General giv- ing -such rights only to those who entered the service on a competitive basis. t To have worked for months in the interest of the retirement act, to have put in two years at the head of the bureau dealing out retirement justice to all, and then suddenly to learn that you yourself, after years of faithful service to Uncle Sam. have been denied the same rights is the unique position in which Mr. Beach finds himself. The head of the retirement division his leadership. There is reason to believe that the President is not at all happy about! the persistence of Representative Fordney, chairman of the ways and means commiuc’ of the House, in pushing to the front proposals that may let Congress out of its dilemma, but only put the burden of a di action on the head of the itself. Sorry for Promises. Mr. Harding Is sorry he committed himself to the principle of a bonus, but he means to go through with it| just the same. What he cannot un- derstand is why House leaders insist upon trying what appears to him to be impnssible schemes for ralsing the money. The President is in favor of the sales tax for many reasons. He be- lieves it will collect the money for the bonus easily and he thinks it may get a trial sufficient to prove to the country that a sales tax would be & good substitute for most forms of taxation. The difficulties between the Presi- | dent and Mr. Fordney are by no means of recent origin. They began with the start of the administration itself: Mr. Fordney insisted on push- ing the tariff issue to the fore at a time when the executive thought it was wiser to defer action. Similar embarrassment arose with the tax bill carefully framed at the executive ! end of the Avenue by Secretary Mel- lon and his experts. The Treasury made a tax bill that wouldn't mean & deficit. Mr. Fordney, much against the wish of the President, rewrote | the bill and waved asidg the argu-i ment that it provided a deficit by! saying the deficit wag a negligible | one. party Mellon Is Ignored. Nevertheless, President Harding in his address to Congress publicly ex- pressed his disapproval of the revenue law and indicated that he wanted changes at the earliest possible mo- ment. Again and again leaders have come from Congress to talk with the President in the hope that he will help tiem pull political chestnuts out of the fire or that he will take a stand which will mean increased in- stead of decreased taxation. All the statements from the Treasury to the effect that the government cannot stand a bonus at this time unless the taxpayers want additional levies made upon them through a sales tax have been swept aside as merely argu- mentative by leaders in Congress. The expectation has been that Con- gress could go ahead and pass what- ever bill It wished aud the President would be bound to approve it. When Mr. Harding announced that he was not in favor of the present House bill, men on Capitol Hill said, “Oh, he will come around to it all right —let's go ahead and pass it This impression of a wavering executive was carried to the President, who has been unable to conceal his disappointment that such an idea about aim should prevail in Congress. Stirred by these reports, Mr. Harding decided to stand pat and let Congress take full re- sponsibility for - what happens next politically or otherwise. Same as for Treatles. |ing retirement to others when denied refused to make any comment upon the situation today, when asked con- cerning how it feit to be administer- it himseif, but it is known that Mr. Beach is among those affected. Perhaps 100 other ‘“old I em- ployes of the pension office find them- seives in the same boat, so drastical. ly rocked by the Attorney General's decision, which also has denied monthly annuities to 6,400 annuitants who are now recelving them. Mr. Beach entered government ser- vice about 1890, in the census buresau, and later was transferred to the old pension agency. Some years later he and other workers were covered into. the classified service by execu- tive order. All such persons are denied the rights of retirement under the Attorney General’s decision. April 1 Is Fatal Day. Men and women who retired in the faith that their declining years would be partly taken care of by their gov- ernment suddenly face the likelihood of losing their monthly pay checks, beginning April 1. Government employes who have worked as long and faithfully as any workers, no matter if they did not take a competitive examination, are deprived of retirement rights, al- though they have paid into the re- tirement fund. There is Dan Brewer, for instance, retired letter carrier of the city post 5 office, who, it was belleved by offi- cials today, will lose his monthly annuity, unless Congress at once enacts legislation already Introduced by Senator Sterling and Representa- tive Lehlbach to relieve the situation. Mr. Brewer was among the first to be retired by Uncle Sam, August 20, 1820. He was one of the original “penny post,” carrying letters in the city shortly after the civil war, de- livering them for a cent each, the work then belng in the hands of pri- vate contractors. His otficial con- nection with the post office seems to date from July, 1872, but it Is not be- lieved that he could have taken any competitive examination at that time. Mr. Brewer, therefore, is typical of almost 1,000 other retired men and women in this city, part of the 6,400 throughout the nation, who will lose their monthly retirement pay chacks if the proposed legislation does not go through with a rush. Judge Lacy on List. Judge Lacy of the Interior De- partment, it was learned today, Is among those honored and faithful government servants who have' been denied retirement right under the de- cision of the Attorney General. He entered tfie service in 1887, and was placed into the classified civil ser- vice in 1908 by executive order of President Roosevelt. By reason of his efficient service he was kept in the service for a two-year period, which will end this coming: August. If he ‘were to “retire’’ thenm, although he will have been in continous service for practically thirty-five years, he will not be entitled to the benefits of the retirement act. These are but typical cases of what the recent decision of the Attorney bents:l means, when divorced of the technivalities of legal decisions, and brought down to the terms of hu- The same situation exists with’ ref- erence to the treaties. The President feels he and Secretary Hughes did the man beings and work-a-day results. The Interior Department, charged with the enforcement of the retire- ment_act, hopes sincerely that the (Continued on Page 2, Column 2.) HIGHWAY IN C. & (Continued on Page lumn 3.) 0. CANAL BED, D.C. TO CUMBERLAND, ADVOCATE. Special Dispatch to The Star. CUMBERLAND, Md., March 11.— Local motorists are discussing the feasibility, within the next few years, of filling the bed of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal for a roadway, now that it is thought it is to be gbandoned &s a water- way. It is thought it may not be operated this year, as it is a los- ing proposition, ahd the prospects are not very bright, with the im- pending coal strike and. the al- ready heavy loss of coal contracts -h{ Georges Creek operators. t is contended that if the canal bed were filled from bank to bank it would become the finest low- grade highway in America, ex- tending = from Cumberland Washington. Such a road would be the autoists' delight, winding along the valley of the Potomac and eliminating-the steep grades and hills of - the Natfonal highway between Cumberland and Hancock. It would be the key to the south, also, for tourist traffic from the west, which would be diverted at Harpers Ferry." { ¢ Foenin B WITH SUNDA?ENING EDITION REVOLT THREATENS AT JOHANNESBURE: 32 DIEINFIGHTING General Strike Declared in Reality a Revolutionary Movement. PUBLIC WARNED TO KEEP OFF STREETS AT NIGHT Strikers Armed With Bombs Men- ace Police—56 Wounded as Fray Continues. By the Assoclated Press. LONDON, March 11.—The trades union at Benoni, near Jo meshurg, crowded with South African gold mine strikers, was" bombed by an aviator today, says a Central teh from The majority of those ussembled were killed and the bullding was destroyed. LONDON, March 11.—The general strike called by the miners' leaders at Johannesburg Is in reality a revo- lutionary movement, according to the Capetown correspondent of the Daily Telegraph. The strike issue has been eclipsed by the threat against the state. he says. There was some speculation over Premier Smuts’ delay in proclalming martial law, which was regarded as gravely overdue, but it is under- stood he was actuated by fear that such a step would precipitate a con- flict in which the strikers, who are | mainly Dutch, might be reinforced from the veldt. Dutch Farmers Join. The Johannesburg correspondent of the same newspaper reports that numbers of Dutch farmers in_the Boksburg_and Benoni districts have joined the strikers and formed mounted commandos, which attacked Benonl, The Times' Johannesburg corres- pondent, on the other hand. ascribes the trouble to a widespread bolshe- vist plot, and says the Fordsburg commando regards itself as a red guard. He adds that fighting fs in progress throughout the Rand, the most severe trouble being in the eastern section. He believes that the police will soon gain the upper hand in Johannesburg and Benoni, but admits that, owing to the pre- vailing chaos, it s very difficult to verify the various reports. Thirty-Two Killed in Fighting. JOHANNESBURG, Union of South Africa, March 10.—Casualties in the fighting between the striking miners and poiice had reached thirty-two killed and fifty-se 9 o'clock tonight (Friday firing was still continuing. thirty-two killed, nineteen were po- licemen, By 11 o'clock, however, the streets had become absolutely deserted and the town¥was uncannily quiet. The public was forbidden use of the streets. The workers' hall at Benon! is re- ported to have been hit by a bomb dropped from an agroplane. The heaviest casualties in the district are believed to have been suffered in the extreme eastern section of the Rand. Public Ordered Indoors. Gen. Beeves, commanding the Wit- watersrand, has ordered the public to remain indoors from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. Jeppe, a suburb adjoining Johannes- turg, was seething with strikers this afternoon. Most of the men were armed and some carried bombs. They are credited with planning to hold up the police in that area so as to pre- vent them from reinforcing other points, particularly Fordsburg, where intermittent firing was continuing to- day. At Brakpan and Benoni the strikers apparently had obtained the upper hand, at least temporarily, and numbers of dead and wounded were lying in the streets. Plans Well Laid. The strikers' plans evidently had been well laid. The leaders apparent- ly aimed at cutting off communica- tions in order to facilitate the im- portant strategic position. The pos- session of Fordsburg was part of the movement. The push extended north- west, flanked by Auckland Park near a big police camp. If this line is driven in an important section of the | railway and the central portion of | Johannesburg will be imperiled. The | attempt to_arive the police from the Auckland Park district had not suc- ceeded today. MERCHANTS FOCUS ON MUD STREETS Heavy iIncrease of expenses in- curred by local merchants in at- tempting to deliver goods on many of the bad streets of the city has prompted the Merchants and Manu- facturers’ Association to authorize the formation of a traffic committee, according to Charles J. Columbus, secretary of the association. The purpose of the committee will be to collect data showing the difficulties and the expenses incident to main- taining a_delivery system to many of the sections of the city where bad streets are found, and to work for their improvement. Secretary Columbus was in con- ference today with a number of the heads of delivery systems. They re- ported to him, without exception, that their delivery wagons and trucks cannot go on many of the streets in numerous sections of the city. the delivery, which, in turn, increases the cost of the business. "Much Time Lost. Trucks are delayed many hours in the muddy sections because the drivers in most instances will not venture on the | streets, knowing that they could not get out. This necessitates the driver and the helper leaving the truck blocks away, carrying the packages. This is very expensive, it was pointed oul ‘There are a number of cases of rec- ord where trucks haVe been delayed for hours through venturing on the muddy streets, and in a number of instances Instructions have been given that they shall not go on these bad streets, ac- cording to Mr. Columbus. He pointed out as an ingtance the case of where a truck sought to deliver a purchase amounting to about §2. The vehicle be- cafne mired on the street and the mer- All { of these delays increase the cost of | o Star. GANDHIFOLLOWERS URGED T REVOLT India’s Non-Co-Operationist | Leader Issued Appeal Before Arrest. By the Associated Press. | BOMBAY, March 11.—Followers of | Mohandas K. Gandhi, non-co-opera- tionist leader, who is under arrest, today recalled a recent article in his newspaper in which he asked them to carry out “the whole constructive program with clockwork regularit if he should be arrested. v taken into custody at Ahmedaba charged with sedition. LLOYD GEORGE ATTACKED. Montagu, Ousted Indian Secretary, Scores Prime Minister. By the Associated Press. LONDON, March 11.—Edwin S. Mon- tagu, in speaking before the Liberal Club at Cambridge, his constituency, today, justified the policy he had pur- sued as secretary of state for Indla, and declared the doctrine of “cabinet | Solidarity,” Invoked in connection with his resignation Thursday, had never been the ruling code in the Lloyd George cabinet. . “My disappearance,” sald Mr. Mon- tagu, “has nothing toc do with the doctrine of collective respons:bility. It is an effort to preserve this gov- | ernment from the fate that must at-| tend it. Government Faces Collapse. i “You know how dangerously near the government is to collapse. The liberal members see their colleagues disappearing one by onme. The con- servatives also have a lot to swallow. The ‘die hards' have shown in the In- dian, as in all other matters, a com- plete lack of political sagacity. They | are the most dangerous element in‘ the political life of this country, and to them the great genius presiding! over the country's destinies has given my head on a charger.” Mr. Montagu said he had never been able to understand the motive for the prime minister's pro-Greek policy. “I do not think it is In the interests of the Greeks,” he declared, “and I am certain it is calamitous to the Brit- ish empire.” Mr. Montagu said he was convinced his policy for the development of In- dia was “the right and the only policy.” He continued: Smiles at Charges. “The officlal reason given for my resignation was that I, by publishing the Indian government's telegram, out- raged the doctrine of collective cabi- net responsibility. I cannot help smil- ing." He asserted there had been an abso- lute disappearance of the doctrine of cabinet solidarity ever since Mr. Lloyd George had formed his government. As for the government's Indian policy, Mr. Montagu declared he did not believe his resignation meant any alteration in that policy. Mr. Lloyd George, like a wizard, had conveniently brought forth from the locked cupboard the skeleton of soli- darity and made Mr. Montagu his vic- tim, said the speaker, who added that the country would welcome a mani- festo that the premier was going to (Continued on Page 2, Column chant was put to an expense of about $50 to get it out. There is no_ efficiency in that, he commented. All of this extra expense of delivery finally gets back.to the people, it s poinged out. . WASHINGTON, D. C., SATURDAY, MARCH 11, 1922—TWENTY-TWO PAGES. MANDY, ON THE J4J0B AT P waskinglan! Laddie Boy’s Brother, Keno, Is Locked Up in Jail for Heel Nipping FOSTORIA, Ohio, March 11.— | Keno, n thoroughbred nairedale dog, a brother of Laddie Boy, owned by President Harding, is in custody here. Keno got in bad through over-familiarity | with pedextrinn. He developed | a_habit of nipping at the heelx | Ax a result mev- mplaints were im, with the po he was locked up. Keno, owned by Mr, and ) ix the pet of the three Lynch chi ROBERT L WYNNE DES AT HS HOME Former Postmaster General Succumbs From Heart Disease. Robert J. Wynne, Postmaster Gen- eral of the United States during 1904 and 1905, died at 1:30 o'clock this afternoon at his home at 151% I'ark road northwest, following ar lilness of two years' duration. The imme- diate cause of his death was heart disease. The children of Mr. Wynne wers with him at_the time of his death. They were Capt. Charles J. Wynne &nd John S. Wynne of this city. and Mrs. H. R. French of London, Eng- land, and Mrs. Ruth Austin Smith of New York city. Funeral services have ot been arranged. The death of Mr. Wynne, affection- ately known as “Bob” Wynne to many people here, came as a severe shock to those in government serv- ice and in business circles throughout the city. Mr. Wynne was born in the city of New York, in November, 1852, re- ceiving his education in _the public schools there. He moved to Phila- delphia while a boy and there learned telegraphy, and it was through knowl- edge of this that he was transferred later by the Pacific ard Atlantic Telegraph Company to Washington, where he entered upon a career at the capital which was to bring him re- nown. A His first work in Washington, at the age of seventeen, brought him in touch with Gen. H. V. Boynton. manager of the telegraph company here, who introduced the young man to the fleld of journalism by having him assist in covering the local fleld for the general’'s combination of pa- pers, including the Cincinnati Gazette, St. Louis Democrat, Chicago Tribune and Pittsburgh Commercial. He continued his work in journai- ism for twelve years, then becoming private secretary to Charles Foster, Secretary of the Treasury. When he retired from that post upon the election of President Cleve- land. he became Washington cor- respondent of the New York Press, remaining with it until he entered the Post Office Department. Mr. Wynne was appointed first as- sistant postmaster general in 1902 and served until 1904. He was made Postmaster General of the United States in the cabinet of President Roosevelt, serving in that position during 1904 and 1905. He was appointed consular general of the United States at London in 1605, resigning from the position in 1910 to return to the National Ca,i- tal. From that date he was closely identified with various business in- terests in Washington. He had beon president of the First National Fire Insurance Company of the United States_since 1915. Mr. Wynne was a member of the Gridiron Club, of which he was at one time president. He was a member of the Army and Navy Club, National Press Club and the Columbia Coun- try Club. lodged ce and The Wedding of Princess Mary And Lord Lascellésl_ In the Rotogravure Section of Tomorrow's Star Exclusive photographs, copyright by Van Dyke of London and International, beautifully printed pictures which arrived from England on the S. S. Olympic Wednesday evening. In Tomorrow's Star The Finest Rotogravure Section in America. Order your copy of tomorrow's Star from newsdealer today 1 Member of the Associated Press The Associated Press ip exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or mot otherwise credited in this paper and also the local mews published herein. All rights dispatches of publication of special herein a7e 8lfo reserved. Yesterday's Net Circulation, 94,383 == * TWO CENTS. $§241,000,000 CLAM DEMANDED BY U.. SURPRISES ALLIES American Note Expected to Be Referred to Repara- tions Body. CAUSES HURRIED CALLS FOR ADVICE BY ENVOYS French Semi-Official Says It Tum- bles Scheme Laboriously Erected. By the Associated Press. PARIS, March 11.—Best informa- tion in French and British official circles today was to the effect that the American claim for reimburse- $300 000 TAX DUE UNDER FORCED SALE {Properties to Go on Sale for Non-Payment on Next Tuesday. Have you pald your 1921 real estate taxes? If you are in doubt, you have Monday left in which to call at the District building and make sure that your property is not among the 12,000 parcels that will be sold at auction Tues- day morning. if you have property on that list you will avoid much trouble and confusion by paying now. Many Washington home-owners, !some in the fashionable northwest as well as in other sections, have discov- ered within the last few days that they overlooked paying 1921 real es- tate taxes and that their property was about to be sold for taxes. Approximately $300,000 worth of real estate will go on sale Tuesday morning for non-payment of 1921 taxes unless the owners pay up in the meantime. And if it had not been for the much |abused income tax return the resi- dences of some of these individuals would have been put on the auction block at the District building next week and sold. One Washington business man, al- ways prompt in the payment of taxes, sat down a few days ago to wrestle with his income tax. Naturally, he was trying to check up all exemp- tions, and real estate taxes is one of them. To his surprise, he found his g{oper!y tax had not been paid last ay. Inquiry at the District building re- vealed the fact that his property was listed in the book with 12,000 other parcels of land which are to be sold beginning Tuesday, March 14. He im- mediately paid the tax and penalty. avoiding the expense and worry that would have followed the auction sale. A woman living in the northeast and owning several pieces of property made the same discovery yesterday when she began to prepare her in- |come tax return. She had been under the impression she paid her taxes last | May. Many Forget to_Pay. Chatham M. Towers, collector of itaxes, has no way of determining how many of the 12,000 parcels listed for the auction sale are the homes of citizens able and willing to pay, but who have forgotten the matter. ‘While a large percentage of the property listed is vacant, undeveloped lapd, it is safe to assume that the book also contains many fine resi- dences and fairly prosperous homes. If you are in doubt s to whether your 1921 taxes are paid, reader, do not rely on the fact that you have not received a notice from the District building. Although Collector Towers mails notices to all delinquents whose addresses appear on his tax ledgers, unfortunately the records do not con- tain a complete list of addresses of taxpayers. The tax ledgers are made up each year in the assessor's office and con- tain only the name, lot and square number. They are then sent to the collector of taxes. Every time a tax- | payer or agent calls for a bill | clerk asks for his address and er't:: it into the book. So, any person who called for his or her bill last year and then failed to pay the tax probably has received a notice during the past few months. But if you did not call or send for your bill last year the chances are the collector does not l.:‘\lr:“y:wr ld'dl'ells and the safest 0 purstie i3 to g0 to the Dis- trict building Monday and look at t‘r‘.‘e unpaid tax list if you are in doubt as to whether you paid last May. Here Is What Will Happen. Here is what will happen if you fall to pay your 1921 real estate tax before Tuesday morning: One of a number of men who make a business of attending tax sales may pay the taxes due on your house, plus the penalty of 1 per cent a month since last June and 50 cents for the cost of publishing the tax iist. He will receive from the Commissioners a tax certificate. He must hold this certificate for itwo years, during which time you may ! redeem your property by paying him the tax and the penaity that has ac- cumulated. At the end of two years the Com- missioners are required to give the holder of the certificate a tax deed, which constitutes a cloud on the title of the property and will eventually have to be removed by a settlement with the man who bought the prop- erty at the tax sale. ment of $241,000,000 for expenses of the American forces in the Rhineland before any reparations are paid will be referred to the reparations com- mission without specific recommen- dations. The allied finance ministers, to whom the American note was ad- dressed, discussed the question briefly at their morning session today, and it was understood that they would resume consideration of the note this afternoon. Little Chance for Speed. Allied officials expressed belief that there was little chance that the Ameri- can share of the expenses of occupation could be paid out of the first billion gold marks of German reparations, since the distribution of this amount had been settled after laborious dis- cussion, which would have to be be- Bun over again if America's expenses were to be paid out of this amount. At the same time, no one questioned the right of the United States to demand her proportionate share. The unexpected call for payment of the entire amount with interest, how- ever, took the ministers unawares, and created a situation requiring con- sultations with their respective gov- ernments. Meanwhile, it was under- stood, the matter probably would be left in the hands of the reparations commission. Leaves No Doubt. The memorandum, the text of which was made public, states that the cost of the American army of occupation up to May 1, 1921, was about $241,- 000,000. It*sets forth that the allied governments, with the exception, per- haps, of Great Britain, had received payment for their armies of occupa- tion, and that probably the British also were covered by a preceding ar- rangement. Therefore, the memoran- dum states, “the United States counts upon obtaining integral payment for the cost to May 1, with interest, be- fore any part of the German pay- ments are distributed for reparations or other object.” A French semi-official publication says that the American claim comes exactiy at the moment when the accord basea on the Cannes project was about to be realized, and that it tends to de- stroy the whole system of repara- tions so laboriously erected by the allied experts. Teo Late, Says Press. The Echo de Paris declares it is un- doubtedly too late to give the United States its share of the 1,000,000,000 gold marks paid by Germany on Au- gust 30 last, as Belgium and England already have received their allot- ments. The allies certalnly cannot refuse to give the United States its due, the newspaper adds, but “this question must be determined: Of what utility is an American army on the Rhine If it isn’t in political co- operation with the allied govern- ments?” The Matin thinks the American de- mand creates a paradoxical situation in law, “because the United States is at the same time responsible to and independent of the allies—respo: ble in its claims, and independent in its politics regarding Germany. which it has a separate treaty. newspaper declares that if the United States persists in this claim, the Bel- gan priority and the sums the Frencn government expects are appreciably dis- countea. OBLIGATION IS SACRED. Refusal Would ¢“Be Extraordi- nary,” Says Official. Refusal by the allied finance minis- ters to meet the demand of the United States for reimbursement to the ex- tent of $241,000.000 for its expenses in the Rhineland occupation prior to payment of reparations would be a “most extraordinary proceedure,” it was stated today by a high govern- ment official. This officlal, who was discussing a newspaper dispatch from Paris to tne effect that the allied finance minis- ters to whom the demand for rel bursement was presented yesterday were inclined to refuse it, declared the obligation of the allics to award the American governnfent sufficient funds to cover expenses of American troops in guarding the Rhine was an obligation of the most sacred char- acter. The American government, it was added, was not inclined to believe for a moment that the allies would deny the rights accruing to the United States. The United States, it wes asserted, is entitled to reimbursement for ex- penses in connection with the occupa- tion of Germany under the terms of the armistice. Germany, it was said., was the only nation ch had a real right to object to such payments, and no protest . had been raised by the Berlin government. KELLAR, MAGICIAN, DEAD. World-Famous Trickster Passes Away at Seventy-Three Years. LOS ANGELES, Calif., March 11.— Harry Kellar, world-famous magicia died at his home here after two years' i1l health and a severe iliness of sev- eral weeks. He was seventy-three years old. .. Kellar began his career as an as- mjstant to an illusionist appearing under the title of “The Fakir of Ava.” ‘With him and others Kellar traveled over most of the world and later appeared independently. He whs born in Erie, Pa., in 1849. He retired from the stage fourteen years ago and for twelve years has made his home here. His wife, who was Eva Medley of T+ "hourne, Australia, died some time a0,