Evening Star Newspaper, March 21, 1922, Page 6

iy THE EVENING STAR, ‘With Sunday Morning Editlon. WASHINGTON, D. C. TmLY...A....HQrchil, 1922 THEODORE W. NOYES......Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company nd Pennsyivania Ave. Office : 130 Nagsau Bt. Chicago Office: Tower Building. | | made since March 4, 1921, will corhe in November. By that time the. present dession of Congress will have com- pleted its labors, and the voters will have something definite to go upon in forming and expressing an opinion. But we need not expect then, in Maine or clsewhere, figures approach- ing those of 13920. Indeed, they are not desirable. The country is swing- ing back to normal, and the combina- European Office : 16 Regent St., Loadon, England. | tion of two years ago is dissolving. It {will be to the good of everybody for The Eveniog Star, with the Sunday morning | the two old parties to face each other edition, i delivered by carriers within the city at 60 r month: dally only, 43 cents per : Sunday only, 20 cents per month. Or- ders may be sent by ‘mail, or telephone Maln 8000, Corlection 1a” made” Ly carvlers st the ad of cach month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Sunday onl, All Other States. Daily and Sunda> % yr.. $10.08; 1 mo., Daily only. 1yr., $7.00. S 1 £3 00 oniv A Sound Project. |again in their old kelter | | ——— Public Qpinion and the Pact. In his address at Springfield, Mass., Sunday, Speaker Gfllett spoke of the Influence public opinion was exerting in favor of the four-power treaty. That influence is considerable. The public has felt justified in forming an opinion. The leading details of the negotiations have been laid before it. Not every word spoken, of course, at the numerous meetings of the negotia- ltors, for they were not. and need not which will test to the utmost, ghysi- eally. and in ‘every other way, avery participant. The country is stirred profoundly. ‘A thousand things are j out of plumb, and a thousand sugges- | tions for putting every one of ‘those things back in plumb are offered. Men of light and leading are gotting into the game, and will be obliged to stay in while the game lasts. The wear and tear will be heavy. The stakes are high, and what the winners pocket will tax their resources stiil further. Politics has come to be a highly j Speclalized and exacting employment. It requires study and skill and staying power. Those who take it up must be fit, and must remain fit as long as their assignments run. There is no room or welcome for the fagged or the inept. Every man who reports for duty is expected to do his duty in the best possible form and with the larg- est possible results. Then the rest wure, if a rest, as is very likely, is needed. —_—————— Check fient-War Reprisals; Prepare for Normaley In enacting fair-rents legislation both the capital community and its legislature will in equity keep in mind the overwhelming predominance of tenants as against landlords in both community and legislature, and will resist the tendency, often unconsclous, to enact self-serving, narrowly selfish and hurtful laws in the bellef that the legislative function is being performed wisely and justly. Nearly everybody approves legisla- tion which attacks and aims to pre- vent the evil of extortion by excessive rents. Nearly all of the District's legis- lators are tenants or the representa- tives of tenants. There are far more ‘Washington tenants than Washington landlords. Only & fraction of Washing- ton landlords are profiteers. Non- profiteering landlords and home own- as at-present, but to business prep- ertles. ' > . In equity only dwelllngs and parts of dwellings should be covered by the law. Right to make a binding leasing jcontract, the obligation of which may not be impaired, should not be denied son, and this denial and impairment should when made extend no further than the justifying- reasons neces- sarlly carry them,” Uhicle Sam's needs In respect ‘to. the housing of war work- ers in the conditlens of war-tfme over- crowding which Uncle 8am has him- self created are met by rent regulation of dwellings and parts of dwellings, including hotels and apartments. In respect to other.real estate no neces- sity of rentals regulation exists unless Uncle Sam {s lessee, and he has al- ‘Washingtonians without sufficlent rea- ! he Regal_ Plétfor.m ' One Profit— One Quality—One Price ~All Sizes The project involving the purchase {have been, preserved. But thé public Recognition of Mexico. ers whose property is threatened with | ready perhaps sufficient power under of land just north of Potomac Park [knows the Americans who partici-| President Harding and President |increased taxes as a result of exces.{existing law to protect himself. upon which seven temporary govern-:pated in the confabulations. has thelr | Obregon of Mexico, news reports de-|{sive rents extorted by others are in Incle Sam admits that he ought ment bulldings were erected as a war- | word in support of the maln facts, and | clare, are cngaged in an exchange of |Sympathy with tenants. All good | not, except as an essential -war emer- AllStyles time emergency should, upon recon-|can read and construe the paet the sideration, strongly recommend itself to the House. Considered from any | angle save that of keeping an’ item |the matter of the Ve of $1.500.000 off the appropriation | Mystery und reserve had surrounded books, for the time beintg. the proposal | the shaping and signing of that. is entirely in accord with the popular {far as America was concerned, it was demand for economy and efficiency. The buildings erected upon this land esident has submitted to the Senate. The public was not so fortunate in lles treaty. generally regarded as a one-man in- strument. Mr. Wilson was the man, at a cost of more than $2,000,000— jand he had not taken the public or the ‘buildings which are good for from ten ! Senate into his confidence at any stage to fifteen more years of use by Uncle |of his proceedings. At the close he | personal communications looking to the recognition, possibly at anearby {date, of the nelghbor republic by the i United States. Such action, it is indi- cated. will W promptly the sign- {ing by the Mexican executive of a protocol or treaty guaranteeing the {protection of American property rights in Mexico against retroactive features of the laws of that country and its constitution. It can be statéd with assurance that Sam—would be almost a total loss|had simply submitted a treaty to the |the American people stand ready and shouSi “%= project fail. These build- Senate and asked for its ratification ings afford 833,912 square feet of floor j without change. space, essential to the government de- The ~public knows Charles E. partments at this time. To rent this | Hughes, Ilihu Root, Henry Cabot space for government offices—and it would have to be rented should the | purchase project fall through—would, | Lodge and Oscar W. Underwood. It likewise knows Warren G. Harding. And it is willir{: to accept at their willing to approve the recognition of 1the government of Mexico as now con- stituted as sosn as American rights can be maintained by the administra- tion in power, backed by proper laws and guarantees. Nothing but friendli- iness is felt for Mexico and her people, it is pointed out. cost at least $500.000 { hands a treaty which has peace for its |and there is desire in no heart on this per year. In three years Uncle Sam | would then have paid a sum equal to | objec gu: . and which they declare safe- rds all American interests in the iside the border to offer Mexico and | Mexicans aught but good will, friendly the full purchase price and still be !Pacific and in the far east. What they !intercourse and the square deal. without the land. Eventually this land ;"m\\'e indorsed cannot the Senate af-| But the United States has had sad must be acquired. if the parking pro, ect is carried out. It is highly pos- sible that assuming the failure of the | purchase project today. Uncle Sam would, after paying $500,000 for office | rental for fifteen vears, find it neces- sary to acquire the land available to- day at $1,500.000 at a much increased figure. The project in question. Incorporat- od in the independent offices appro- priations bill by the Senate, has once met with disapproval in the House. The House cohferees. who have studied | the subject carefully, are deeply im- pressed with the desirability of pur-| ehasing at this time. It is much to be hoped that the House, bearing in mind that an immediate saving does not necessarily counote economy. and that the government is pledged to thel| efficient as well as to the careful ex penditure of the public funds, will | change its stand when the bill is again | brought to its attention. A No Secret Understanding. Prompt refutation by Paul D. Cra-| vath of Senator Borah's allegation that the New York lawyer had charged the existence of a secret understand- | ing between the American and British severnments for co-operation of their | flests in the Pacific, in event of hostili- ties with another power, disposes of another bugaboo raised to embarrass | the four-power treaty. No question is raised of Senator Borah's good faith in making the statement, which was based upon the construction placed by him upon remarks made by Mr. Cravath in a meeting which he now points out had not the application con- strued by the senator. It is unthinkable that the American delegates to the Washington confer- ence would outrage the public sen ment of this country by entering into an understanding, even by implica- tion, so violently opposed to American | traditions and the unwritten law held sacred in every American heart. Senator Lodge and Senator Under- ‘wood, both members of the delegation, vigorously denied the charge in the Senate, and while their word alone | ford to indors iture. As a ru ————— The Keystone State. Pennsylvania is seldom in the pic- both in presidential vears and in off vears the republicans sweep everything into their sack with ease. Two years ago they achieved a majority of rearly seven hundred thou- sand votes. Since then Mr. Penrose, long with a firm grip on the republican machine, has died, and some speculation has arisen as to what effect his disappear- ance from the scene will have on the situation. / It ought not to be very difficult for the republicans to keep in form and trim. At Harrisburg a strong man is in charge. Gov. Sproul has impressed the state and the country very fa- vorably. In the Senate here Mr. Pepper. al- though but a beginner, is going strong. The forum suits him. He speaks well, has courage. and in a short time should take a place among the leaders. Among the democrats are no men grading with the leaders of some vears ago. Wallace, Randall, Harrity, Pat- tison, Chauncey Black and Col. Jim Guffey were politicians of quality and capacity, and now and then they suc- ceeded in making it warm for the op- position. Mr. Penrose left no testament nam- ing his successor as the directing head of the republican organization. So that the man must name himself— must take the place by virtue of demonstrated talents for politics and party management. These are excel- lent times for the display of such talents, and a greater than Penrose may issue from the opportunity. Growth of Manufactures. A statistician hgs compiled figures showing that for the first time in the history of the United States more per- sons are employed in manufactures than in agriculture. It is shown by government figures as of 1920 that the number ‘of persons employed in manu- facturing and mechanical industries should be sufficient to close the in- cident, the substantiation of their increased five times the number so em- ployed in 1870, while during the same experience with more than one Mexi- an administration in failing to live up to guarantees, and President Harding {1s justified in firmly insisting upon {proper legal and binding stipulations, | without thereby in any way impugn- ing the gogd faith of Mexico in this instance. The American people, while desiring recognitipn, will be content to wait for it as lun/z' as may be necessary to put into effective form the guarantees of American property rights. The discussion of evolution will in terest Uncle Joe (‘annon as he ob- serves Senators Johnson and Borah and reflects on how the course of time may cause an irreconcilable to look like a stand-ps Efforts to provide against diplo- matic secrecy have to face the fact that the under-cover worker would not be easily . bound by any openly acknowledged agreement. 3 l The Congressional Record is one of the few publications that manage to hold a respected position in public at- tention without the aid of a cartoonist. l Florida is doing a great deal of ad- i vertising, but the reports of activities by liquor runners should not be re- garded as a premeditated portion of it. l In Minneapolis a husband and wife had to serve on the jury—which left a great deal of household responsibil- ity on the shoulders of the hired girl. $ The Rhine troops are expected to be home in time to participate in a Fourth of July celebration which in- volves no foreign complications. f 1 | When friends and admirers wish to |boast of President Harding's score { they evade golf and talk politics. § { Tammany politicians are a trifle abrupt in assuming that Will H. Hays has changed his politics with his jchange of occupation. * 1t is generally agreed that a bonus Washingtonians would eliminate, if they could, an evil for which the un- thinking by too bLr ad generalization hold this whole comnunity responsible to the injury of the good repute of the capital. * ok ok * In continumg the Ball war-rent law for two years Into peace time its scope should be restricted, not broadened; and those provisions of dublous consti- tutionality which offend the spirit of the Constitution and narrowly escape violating its letter should be omitted or revised and modified and not de veloped into more conspicuous and more flagrant offenders. During the war and later Uncle Sam, in effect, commandeered leased dwellings in the District of Celumbia and, depriving owners of control of them, held and regulated them in the interest of tenants to strengthen the nation's war efficiency. I it is unwise, though the war is over, to turn bhack this property immediately and uncon- ditlonally to its owners, on account of apprehension of reprisals by extortion- ing landlords upon tenants, the reason- able postponement of that absolute re- turn suggests itself. But the arbitrary and drastic war control by govern- ment &f privately owned reul estate should not be re/sined and intensified in this period of preparation for wise and safe return. On the contrary, this despotic governmental control (per- haps unconstitutional in peace) should be converted by law into regulation of relations of landlords and tenants by a fair rentals-fixing tribunal, a real court of equity, dispensing even-hand- ed justice to tenants and landlords, and shaping conditions for the inevi- table return of the property to its own- ers with a minimum of shock and danger of landlord reprisals. The time must inevitably arrive when a rentalsfixing tribunal will have only the same powers and be eub- Ject to the same restrictions that ap- ply to & wages{fixing tribunal under compulsory arbitration or.toa tribunal fixing the price of bread or coal. Wise legislation will check rentals war with its vindictive reprisals and prepare for the return to normalcy. * ¥ ¥ ¥ As specific samples of features of the war law which ought to be omitted in the peace law are the provisions which bind landlords strictly to the terms of their leasing contracts, but relieve tenants from obligation under such contracts, as to duration of the tenancy, amount of rental charge and the service to be rendered, since these provisions clearly impair the obliga- tion of leasing contracts. The Constitution forbids the states to impair the obligation ,of contracts. Since the District is treated as a state only when national burdens are im- posed, like direct national taxes, and never as a state when privileges or benefits are bestowed, the state pro- tection against impairment of the obli- gation of contracts does not apply in the District to the benefit of the capi- tal community. But in legislating for the District locally Congress acts as substitute for a state legislature; and gency, to impair the obligation of leas- ing contracts in the District of Colum- bia alone, but under the proposed law he will be guilty not only of this im- pairment solelv in the District, but he will be guilty unnecessarily and wantonly of impairing the obligation of a multitude of leasing contracts which have no relation whatsoever to the war or to the nation's war-time necessities. EE N In his effort to secure housing at reasonablg rents for clvilian war work- ers Uncle Sam will lay despotic, paralyzing hands upon real estate rentals in the District, not only upon dwellings, apartments ®and rooms usable by the civilian war workers to be housed, but upon business proper- ties, and upon naked ground appur- tenant to buildings, which have no re- lation whatever to the war or the war workers or the nation's war-time ne- | cessities. What have the civilian war workers to do with the ordinary busi: ness leasing contracts between two Washingtonians, affecting a grocery store or a garage, for example? By the terms of the existing rents law “it is declared that the provisions of this title are made necessary by emergencies growing out of the war with the imperial German goverp- ment, resulting in rental conditions in the District of Columbia dangerous to the public health and burdensome to | public officers and employes whose duties require them to reside within the District and other persons whose activities are essential to the main- tenance and comfort of such officers and employes and thereby embarrass- ing the federal government in the transaction of the public business.” The Supreme Colrt decision says: “Congress has stated the unquestion- able embarrassment of government and danger to the public health in the existing condition of things * * * Housing is & necessary of life.” How is the public health endangered or the federal government embarrassed in the transaction of the public busi- ness if one Washingtonian over- charges another in renting a barber shop or a garage? How does it concern the govern- ment what’ rental rate or term of tenure two Washingtonians, as lessor and lessee, have agreed upon as fair, it the rented property is of a kind not needed by the government for the housing of itself or its emyioyes? How are the war workers or the boys home from the trenches affected by such leases? Why wantonly and without the compulsion of national necessity im- pair the obligation of a multitude of additional leasing contracts? * ok * X By narrowing the scope of applica- real estate distinctly involved in the war netessities our legislators will reduce to a minimum unavoidable dis- criminatory violations of the letter or spirit of the Constitution and of the individual constitutional rights of the Americans of the District of Columbia. The powers of the rentals commis- gion are so great—so un-American— that they ought to be confined rigidly AllLeathers_ FOR MEN Men’s Store 1003 Pa. Ave. N.W. FOR WOMEN Women’s Store 1203 F St. N.W. RS RZSSAITTITITR: T PHILLIP LEVY’S FURNITURE STORE EXTRAORDINARY VALUES AWAIT USE GUR SIMPLE CREDIT PLAN Beautiful 4-Piece Bedroom Suite Walnut or Mahogany Finish Consisting-o7 Dreisen. Chifforette, Semi-Venity Dresyer.and Full Size walugt or mahogapy. Bow-end Bed: tion of the rentalsfixing law 1o the! S All Widths SRS Refrigerators Top icer, white enamel lined, wire shelf. Sani- tary construction. Exactly like illustration. Beomd $7171.50 $1 a Week Pays for It. 10-Pc. Queen Anne Dining Suite period the number engaged in agricul- | bill is of little significance unless funds since such laws when passed by &' ture was not quite doubled. can be produced with which to liqui- These are interesting facts, and will {date it. be differently interpreted by two schools of thought. On the one hand the remarkable development of manu- factures will be hailed as a sign of Your choice of genuine walnut or_mahogany_finish, = consisting of spacious Buffet similar to illustra- Porcelain-Top tion; ChliE“ Closet, ‘I‘S!I;lfi"g(o-fib‘e' 00 ’ . Round _Extension Table long $ for the mation, but @s the District’s| ;20 property from his control the Kitchen Cabinet Table, $10.00 extra), S Side Chairs, 1 1 69—_‘— state legislature, they violate the spirit| ynute he rents it. It draws a stand- ‘Made of solid oak; white en- Armchair. Seats uphélstered in gen- of the Constitution. Moreover, Con- g;q jeage for him and if he makes any - | amel interior = uine leather ..... $34.75 gress as national legislature will not other it will be construed by the courts and roll fron! $17.00 Cash—$3.00 Weekly denial by the witness cited by Senator Borah should end the discussion. Frankness and good faith were the feundations of the friendly conference of the powers out of which the treaty grew, and no one would be justified in believing that the United States gov- erament, initiator of the conference, coyld basely in secret violate the tenets which it set up. to the limit up to which the purpose state legislature are unconstitutional, | 5¢ the Jegislation forces us to go. when passed by Congress, acting not| he proposed law seems to take & SHOOTING STARS. BY. PHILANDER JOHNSON. curtains. national growth and greatness, while = in acting for the states collectively i as if he had made it in the standmid on the other side the comparatively _ Intellectual Habit. commit an offense which is prohibited | g "y joncer has even & say as $4 Cash—$1 Weekly small increase in the number of per-|I love the jokes, the dear old'Jokes, | tne states individually. For such oo = PO O RE LR o s f The phrase “somewhat colder” em- ployed by the weather bureau yester- day sounds like a kindly effort to break the news gently. 3 l Beashore fashions for next summer are expected to reveal an amplification of bathing suits and a reduction of ‘hotel rates. i A distribution of garden seeds is a more important sign of spring than the first robin. A large amount of irreconcilable talent has asserted itself in favor of the treaty. 1 The Maine Election. There is no comfort for the op- ponents of the administration in the returns from the third Maine Con- gress district. The vote cast was but slightly in excess of half of that cast :@20. The weather ‘was most .un- ifious. It was a special election, held in an off year. And yet the re- publican candidate, running on a plat- form indorsing the gdministration, had made than six thousand the best of the, poll. The figures of 1920 are not . justly quotable for comparison’s sake. A presidential contest had served forouse . the voters then in great numbers, and they went to the polls, women for the first time accompanying men. Hence the majority of nineteen thousand odd thrown that year for the republican congressional candidate. Yesterday, rain, slest and snow swept the district and cut into the vote heavily, particularly as to the ‘women. The first test of sentiment respect- ing the republican record -in office sons employed in one of the great| The jokes of long ago. basic industries, the raising of food and many of the raw materials which support factories and mills, will be looked on as a sign of national danger., Of course, with the use of agricultural machinery one farm worker produced a greater output of value than one farm worker in 1870, but the produc- tivity of factory labor probably in- creased in a greater ratio. If the persons withdrawn from agri- culture, in the leading products of which—wheat, cotton, corn and tobac- co—we have always been able to sell in the open market of the world, had n transferred to industries whose products we could sell in open com- petition with all the other manufac- turing countries there could be argument. It may be, though, that when normalcy is restored in Ger- many and England the sale of many American factory products will be re- stricted to the home market. Some of the well meant snapshots and films of public men offered for popular contemplation are no favor. Politics and the Rest Cure. In his address at the Nebraska state convention of the Non-Partisan League President Townley referred in these terms to his récent incarceration in a Minnesota 'jail for anti-war activities: They treated me fine. When I went there I was worn out from political exertion during several years. I got rested up in good shape and came out fitter than I had been in a long time. It taught me the necessity of occa- sional relaxation. When I get fagged out again I am going to take another rest—a voluntary one. 3 A rest cure in a good many cases is fikely to be mecessary in the next twelve months. _Mr. Townley himself may have to take another in that time. } We are entering apon a campaign An ancient wheeze a laugh’ provokes With gentle charm aglow. Like blossoms in the merry spring, They fade and disappear, But when the birds begin to sing They come, another year. They wear new garb and never find An audlence that's cold. Tenaciously the human mind ‘Will to tradition hold. For old philosophies and laws ! A reverence deep we show And also greet with fond applause The jokes of*long ago. Amended Quotation, “All the world's a stage,” quoted the constituent. “It's more like @ screen,” sald Sena- tor Sorghum. “The camera men have been. 0 enterprising that some of us statesmen begin to look like motion picture nctara."' Jud Tunkins says & man wholaughs at his troubles usually shows a poor sense of humor. Sights of the Season. The early robin wanders by And petals delicate unroll. Though signs like these delight my eye, I'd rather see a ton of coal. No Crowding. “How do people live in such small flats?” inquired the visitor from the country. “Easily,” replied Miss Cayenne. “No two members of the modern family are likely to be at home simultaneously.” - Folks ain’ got de respebt foh music dey used to have,” said Uncle Eben. “De difference between de old crowd and de new crowd is dat 'da.old.crowd used to play on de Gonestan' de new crowd rolls ‘em.” - laws are abhorrent in essence and basic principle. Congress will not, merely because it has the technical power, continue to impose upon the District in peace time laws excused only by the exigencies of war, which impair the obligation of contracts and lare therefore, the Federalist says, “contrary to the first principles of the social contract and to every principle of sound legislation.” EE The proposed new rents-law, instead of eliminating these provisions impair- ing the obligation of contracts, broad- ens the scope of their application so that they apply not only to dwellings, whether he shall have sublessees or not, when ‘the lease shall ‘end, whether he can remove his property from rental altogether at the end of an agreed term if he does not wish to Hve in it himself, as to what rent shall be paid him, and as to what serv- ice he shgll render. The Rent Com- mission for the tenant seems to decide all these questions. ‘Will not Congress in framing a new and effective rentalsfixing law omit provisions which offend equity, or are of doubtful constitutionality, and ‘which are not necessary to accomplish the purpose for which the new law is enacted? —_ The Telephone Retort. Richmond boasts one citizen who deserves fame for having discovered that after which tens of thousands of ingenious men long &nd diligently ht. Like the rest of us, he B exasperated times uncounted by that tactless ?amld_"over the tele- “Who is ? P anguished months the rasentful barrister nervously fashioned re- torts, some caustic, some cryptic. None suited him. At last, he was laboring one afternoon over the cul- minating sentence in the ’logical climax of a complicated brief, when the telephone rang. He answered. There was a “Hold your phone a min- ute,” a long, long wait; and theh, in the most insulting voice lmlglhab]g the provoking, “Hello, who I8 -flmt‘!“ The attorney saw red for & moment; then through it, like & flash, came inspiration: “Who is it ants to know?” he demanded with 'a thunder at the sound of which the voice at the other end of the wire gasped, audibly softened and then melted into politeness. The conversation that fol- lowed scarcely was remembered by the lawyer. He had the overpower- ing knowledge of a great discovery and the conscl pride ullnn im- perishable _ poi on. — Richmond il News - Leader (independent demo- cratic). — Now a naval officer says that he saw that Pategonian plesiosaurus twenty years , but as bearing on the rella- bility this, we call attention to the faot that this was before Josephus Dan- fels made the Navy bone dry.—Colum- bus Dispatch. Look before you drink; it may be your last look.—Altoona Mirror. Too mi supporting the government expect llinyto support them.—St. Paul Daily News. i One can find out emough things for his own good without being told.—St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Some folks dance as though every bane In their body had gone to their head.—El Raso Times. How can any one say that moonshine 1s bad when it Is making angels of so !vflflnl:)"’—moflda Times-Union (Jackson- Enormous legacies frequently help to pay for' wild joy rides while also :m~ viding the stimulus for them.—Sjoux City Journal. There are some men who think that all things come to him who waits. That is the Teason for many failures.—Daily Oklahoman, 2 Distinctive 3-P Overstuffed Tapestry Consisting of Large Settee, Chair and with Luxurious Cushions with Spring in Seat. stered in a very fine quality verdure : Suitg ‘ $189:20 srescesseety 3-Door Front Icer Refrigerators Three doors, white en- amel lined, three wire shelves. Sanitary construc- tion. Capacity, 60 pounds. pawy $24.50 like cut $1 a Week Pays for It. Rz