Evening Star Newspaper, March 26, 1922, Page 34

-2 ) THE EVENING STAR, With Sunday Morning Edition. NVASBINGTO;N,-D. c. SPNDAY........Mérch 26, 1922 THEODORE W. NOYES. . . .Editor Chicago Office: European Ofica: 3 Regens 8t England. The Evening Star, with the Sunday morniog edition, s delivered by earriers withim' the city at 60 cents per month: dafly only. 45 cents per month: Sunday only, 20 cents per mouth. Or- ders may be sent by mail, or telephone Main §000. Collection is made by carriers at the ch month. engd.of ea Rate by Mlfl—?mile in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunda: Daily only. Sunagay onl; A Il Other States. Daily and Sunday.1yc., $10.00: 1 mo., 85¢ Iy only. 1yr.. $£2.00: 1 ho., 60c Sunday only. 1yT.. $3.00: 1 mo., 25¢ Stream Pollution. Deliberate pollution of streams- will be recorded as one of the barbarisms of that scheme of things which we call “our civilization.” The eciviliza- tion which is to come after ours will ihink of our ways of sewage disposal very much after the fashion of our theughts of the crowded medieval cities without sewers and running wa- tef, or as we think of those palaees and castles without plumbing and ‘without the commonest domestic and sanitary conveniences which are found in the poorest city homes to- day. As we find it hard to think of princesses and queens arrayed in sorgeous clothes and jewels, but who had no ordinary bathing facilities and seldom washed their bodies, so the regple who come after qus will marvel that we, a people of wealth and luxury, spending gold recklessly in many ways, and producing great works of architecture, painting, literature end music, were content to pollute every creek and river, and that com- munities living downstream were cofitent to be the heirs and assigns of the sewage of all the upstream com- munities. ‘We have this problem put upon us by our neighbors who live higher up 1he Potomac than we do, and along the Shenandeah and Monocacy and the creeks that flow into those rivers, and we add our sewage to the great river and pass it along .to the com- muhities that live downstream from us.. And the most positive complaint against such conditions comes not from men but from fish, who refuse to live in the polluted waters. = Here is the case of Rock creek. Itis one of our “beauty creeks,” and a principal attraction in a public park on which probably millions of dollars have been spent. We devise swimming places along its course for children and spread our picnic.lunches on its banks. Yet it is polluted by sewage. and the poilution threatens to be so increased that we are becoming stirred 1o some sort of actlon. In the news columns of The Star it has been written that “the matter of the pol- lution of Rock creek by suburban sewage from the Maryland section is in the hands of experts of the De- partment of Justice, who will an- nounce the findings of their investi- gatfon of the legal aspect of this proposition within the next two weeks.” It is also written that “the office of public buildings and grounds opened the most recent fight upon sewage disposal into Rock creek when it learned of the project of the ‘Washington suburban sanitary dis- trict to run sewage into a creek which is a feeder of Rock creek.” . 7 Fourteenth Street Extension. The controversy over extending 14th stréet through the grounds of the Wal- ter- Reed General seems in a fair way to be so adjust- ed that the hospital wiil suffer no inconvenience and limitation . 'of its usefulness and that the natural ex- pansion of the city north along the line’ of 14th street may not be hin- dered. The House District committee favors extending the street and it is Teparted that the House committee on military effairs is favorable to the bill pending before it, which represents a conipromise between the positions taken at first by the War Department and interests contending for the street exténsion. Thg matter is said to be in Yrospect of settlement by a confer- ence between the committees on mill- tary affairs and the District of Colum- biz; or by a reference to the District committee of the bill now with the military affairs committee. The situ- ation which at one time threatened either to block the line of 14th street or o disturb the operations of the great hospital seems happily to have been so adjusted that neither of these undesirable things will come to pass. U —————————— 1t would be ungenerous of foreign governments to assume that because Ungle Sam is slow to anger it is all right for them to be slow to pay. London objects to the erection of skyscrapers. The fog already keeps out-too much of the light. Fitting the Screws to Germany. Upon no problem growing out of the world war has there been wider dif- ference of opinion than as to Ger- many’s ability to meet the reparations terms of the Versallles tseaty. Ger- many’s policy has been one of avoid- ence and insistence that the terms ‘waere utterly impossible of fulfillment. France hes insisted that the terms could and should be met on the dot and:to the letter. The British view, to which American opinion generally has subscribed, has been that Germany coyld not pay all she was called upon by the treaty to pay, byt that she could pay e great deal more than her stafesmen and financlers have con- ceded ability to do. Because of this uncertainty and dif- ferance of opinion; the reparations due from Germeny have retarded more than they have helped the recovery of Europe from the ravages of war. In view_of this situation, there will be general willingness to believe that the' reparations commission has acted wisély in deciding finally to put the acrews to Germany and to supervise th¢ execution of the program laid down. The declislons errived at by the sagrinission and notified last week to i Army Hospital | v Berlin amount to & thinly disguised re- ceivership, The German press cries out that the terms are humiliating, which no doubt they are. But the ex- periment of permitting the bankrupt to manage his remaining assets has oeen tried, and failed. Now the creditors are to step in and try their hands at administration. They may not be able to realize a hundred cents on the dollar of their claims, but, the debtor having confessed himself in de- fault, the creditors have a right to de- termine for themselves what amounts are realizable. ‘With an allied “commission of guar- antees” sitting in Berlin to supervise the financial affairs not only of the German, government but of German industry, overseeing the budget, regu- lating taxation, dictating loans, con- trolling the movement of private capl- tal and exercising censorship over German banking, there ought=to be 'nn early end to doubt as to what sums 1it is possible for Germany to pay. And when that doubt is ended, Great Britain and France and Italy and the other allied powers ought speedily to find a way to co-operate for recon- struction. Americans believe it was time to take some decisive step to end the uncertainty, and their attitude will be one of good will toward the pro- gram of the reparations commission. —_————————— Playgrounds. The time has gone by when it is necessary to set up arguments in sup- port of the desirability of public-owned and publiccontrolled playgrounds for children in large and close-built cities. | Country space is too far away from 1 most city neighborhoods to be used for play, and besides, between the city and the country is a wide belt of suburban territory where houses. are close to- gether, the land fenced and under cul- tivation jn one thing or another, and play space is at a premium. “Com- mons” in the city, the great play spaces of old-fashioned boys, are few (and distant, and *‘gardens” in which old-fashioned girls used to play are also few. The modern home generally does not have a garden, and increas- ing numbers of modern homes are flats, where the garden may be only a potted geranium on the window sill or a rubber plant on the fire escape. It is edmitted on all sides that the street is not a proper playground. Too many children are killed in this “play- ground” by traffic. Traffic is also in- terfered with.~All the houses on both sides of such a “playground” have windows with glass panes in them, and balls will break such things. It is against the law to play ball in the street. Also, many of the people living on both sides of such a “playground” are trying to raise a bit of green turf near the front door or keep a strip of green “parking” between the curb and sidewalk. In this street playground i connection with that point it is signifi- | cant, according to figures compiled by the children's bureau, that *‘juvenile delinquency prevails in higher per- Icentages in those sections of the Dis- trict without playgrounds than in those parts of the city where ‘the kid- dies’ have wide and sufficient recrea- tion spaces and some one to supervise and direct them in wholesome play to occupy their active bodies and minds.” ——————————— Ireland in Trauail. Disorders in Ireland are a cause for regret to all well-wishers of the Emer- ald Isle, but they are not a reason for despair. A nation is being born, and it is not the first time_ birth-pangs have attended the emerging of a peo- ple to self-government. The ‘“‘more perfect union” within which we Amer- icans dwell today was effected only after a period of discord and suffer- ing following the achievement of in- {dependence. We have no right to ex- pect a capacity in Ireland beyond that with which our forefathers were en- dowed. The Irish people are being sorely tried, but the world has faith to be- lieve that a way will be found out of their enormous difficulties. Leadership i3 being put to the test, and it must prove its mettle or surrender its right to lead. It is by way of such travail that strong men ere given to the world, and somewhere within the ranks of the Irish factions, north and south, are men endowed with the strength, the courage and the vision to solve the problems which are the heritage of centuries of misrtle and misunderstandings. If these men of strength and courage and vision are now submerged, the convulsions will continue until they reach the top. Then peace will be attalned and gov- ernment established. ‘We in America know the Irish and love them well, despite their faults. We love them even for their faults. They are a virile bretd and a turbulent one, but they are brave and generous, and never have they been found to lack in patriotism, either for the land of their adoption or for the “ould sod” whence they came. Resistance to con- stituted authority is inbred in their bones, but it is'an outright and bold resistance. The Irish are not given to dark conspiracies, and aelways they have been proof against those insidi- ous and poisonous forms of treason which breed in foul places hidden from the light. The Irishman is a two-fisted fighting man who always is ready to meet his antagonist face to face. And it is such men who make worth-while citizens, once they find themselves and settle down. 8o while dark chapters are being written today in Irish history they are not chapters of despair. The British government is exercising for- bearance and is giving Ireland every chance. Sooner or later the Irish peo- ple will come to the realization that they never can make self-government go until they have learned to govern themsélves. - e B e Masks and the Law. Gov. Parker of Louisiana, in asking for vigorous action ggainst the Ku Klux Klan in that state, says: “Where great evil exists honest and brave men will stand In the open fear- lessly to eee that they are corrected with no need of disguise. Many great evils exist today. A condition of profound unrest Ylagues the whole country. The regularly con- stituted authorities are put to their trumps to keep any sort of order. But the responsibility is upon them; and when they need assistance they ! | there is no proper regulation of play j ther and no supervision of the players. In |& discussion of WrangeRl Land. l i should receive it. Indeed, it is within their power to command whatever assistance may - be mnecessary to root out hidden evil or quell open’ turbu- lence. # . The officers of the law are the lead- ers in this work. When men, organ- ized of unofganized, and no matier how worthy their object may be, gd over, or under, or around this lawful force, and accuse, and try, and conyict persons, and carry out their own ver- dicts, they mock the law and make its regular’ ezecution the more difficult. Masked men in fantastic regalia strike terror to the irinocent as well as to the guilty. They create uneasi- ness. They sow suspicion. Neighbor draws away from neighbor, fearing traps and pitfalls. Sometimes young men, in a “lark- ing” spirit, indulge in this sort of thing. But oftener the participants are of different mettle, and indifferent to the larger effects of their perform- ances. They ride by night, the more safely and certainly to carry out law- less purposes. —_———————— Let Us Calm, Ourselves. One may hope that no complications over far north Wrangell Land will lead to bloody strife and unseemly con- tention between our nation end the others. It is a remote island, al- though, of course, much of its remote- ness may be overcome as man con- tinues to knock down natural barriers or pass over them. But still, Wrangell Land {s remote, and there are so many interesting things to quarrel about that it would seem to be going out of one’s way to make a fuss over this particular subject. Although the claim has been ad- vanced by Vilhjalmur Stefansson that his recent explorations have estab- lished British sovereignty over Wran- gell Land it is possible that he is wrong. We contradict him with vigor. ‘We do not yield “ong jot or tittle” of our sovereignty over Wrangell Land. It is our property, by right of dis- covery and other rights. The State Department says that our title to Wrangell Land goes back to 1881, when two American expeditions sent to search for the Jeannette planted the American flag there. And if the American flag was planted on Wran- gell Land the question is settled and the case closed. In time, when travel becomes cheaper and hotel accommodations in ‘Wrangell Land are improved, it might be that we could use the place as a summer resort and might be glad to “repair thither” on some of the August afternoons and evenings which come to Washington now and then. But with the four-power treaty, the bonus, the farm bloc, the trolley merger, three tokens for 20 cents or six for 40 and other troublous things of pressing moment on our hands, there is no use getting overheated in —_—— et Optometry. \ A bill is before the House District committee for the regulation of the THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. (.- MARCH 26, 1922—PART 2 Politics at Home|Says Voters Should Resent - ' " “Bloc” Plea for Class Benefit Lodge and Underwood. Congratulations to Mr. Lodge. Of the fifty-nine republicans who re- corded themselves on the four-power treaty Fridax, only four opposed ratification. All the others—fifty-five— indorsed what he had done as a dele- gate to the armament conference, his explanations of the pact in the Sena: debate, and his parliamentary man- agement of the ratification questiori during its pendency in the Senate. His whole course in the business stood at the close well approved. X Congratulations to Mr. Underwood. Of the twenty-three democrats who recorded themselves, twelve—one more than’half—favored ratification. They indorsed his course as e dele- gate at the’ conference table, accepted his explanations of the pact in the Senate debate, and confessed his lead- ership all through the parliamentary maneuverings leading up to the final vote. . We shall probably hear nothing further about a new leader for the enate republicans, and g new leader for the Senate democrats. An item of the gossip current while the treaty was before the Senate was that in case of its rejection Mr. Lodge and Mr. Underwood would be so much dis- credited, each would have to give way for & new man in the management of his party’s interests in the Senate. As both have scored, both are en- titled to a continuation of the con- fidence which has raised them to the positions they now occupy. Their lat- est triumph is among the most signal standing to their credit in years of public service. ————— On the Wabash. The contest between Mr. Beveridge and Mr. New for the Senate {8 of in- terest to both parties in Indiana. It puts the democrats on notice that how- ever the republican primary contest may be decided they will have a strong man to meet in the contest for elec- tion. Mr. New is an organizer and Mr. Beveridge an orator of a high class. 'he democrats of the Hoosier state have not now the wealth of leadership they once had. At one time—forty-odd years ago—they could boast of half a dozen men of encugh consequence to figure iIn presidential goseip. Hen- dricks, McDonald, English, Holman, Turpie and Voorhees were all in the limelight together. Two of them— Hendricks and English—obtained nom- Inations for second place, and on_his second nomination for Vice.President Mr. Hendricks was elected. They are all in their graves, and now only two democrats in the state enjoy national reputations. Mr. Mar- shall and Mr. Taggart are known in national affairs, and naturally are the most prominent in the present sena- torial speculation, Mr. Marshall lead- ing. Democracy in Indiana began to de- cline with the rise of Harrison stock. practice of optometry in .the District | Then Bryanism came along and still of Columbia. An optometrist is & man who measures eyes or measures the power ‘of one's vision for the purpose further depressed it. It came back in 1912, as elsewhere, not so much through its own strength as through of determining the need for glasses!republican division. Had there been no and fitting glasses to the needs of vi- bull moose movement that year In- sion. An oculist is one who treats|diana in all probability would have diseases or disorders of the eye. An given her vote to Taft, and thus have optician may be only one who deals|remained in the republican household. in optical instruments, or he may be much more than this. The optometrist who measures our eyes for glasses should be, and is, a man _skilled in the technic of his pro- fessibn and skilled in the use of cer- tain instruments of precision. In sup- port of the pending bill, which has been approved by the Commissioners and 'by the medical board of the Dis- trict, it was said that the old peddler of spectacles has been driven out of every state in the Union and that the only place he can now sell his wares is the District of Columbia. The public ought to be protected in this matter, or at least a certain part of the public should be guarded against its own ignorance in this mat- ter, and the pending bill ought to be- come & law. ———— There were at least enough voices against the treaty to prevent the vote from being classified as a landslide. Both partles on the Wabash are perky, and we are promised an old- time Hoosier tussle for supremacy. f Mr. Bryan and Booze. 1s the joke on Mr. Bryan? There are many persons—some of them friends of his—who believe it is. His change of residence occasioned much discussion and some protest. Why have gone from e state where he hed risen to eminence and whose sentiments on public questions he had helped to mold to one where at his time of life he could not hope to be much more than an ornament? One explanation offered was that Mr. Bjyan was confessing to age; that the fires of reform in hiln were dying dgwn; that Florida, being warm and comfortable and safely democratic, was a lure for a man who had amassed a fortune, achieved fame, and as a democrat wanted congenial political surroundings. Presto! Mr. Bryan, a dry—in. spirit March may go out like a lamb, but |dry as Sahara—finds himself in the the coal miners insist that April's|very thick of & bootlegging activity. mood will be less doclle. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Art and Nature, A robin singing in the tree, A yellow blossom on the lawn, Tell us of better things to be And wintry sorrows that are gone. Men labor with untiring will To bring a day of happiness, Festowing heart and brain and akill Their fellow human kind to bless. Yet in no mortal works we ses Such joy as from these gifts are drawn; ~ A robin singing in the tree, A yellow blossom on the lawn. Gifts to Be Feared. “Your oldtime enemy, Mr. Dustin Stax, has relented, and says he would like to subscribe to your cam: fund.” 4 * “He is still an enemy," replied Sena- tor Sorghum. “He wants to make a big donation that will attract ettention in the newspapers and compromise my future.” Jud Tunkins says he doesn’t object to actual prize fighting so much as he does to the literature it produces. The Burning Question. I ask ndt who shall rule the ‘;;to ‘With eloquent control. -|The burning question, at this date, 1s, “Who will dig the coal?” Wholesome Indication. " “What' do you think about busi- ness?” -’ 7 “Business is all right,”” replied Farmer Corntossel. “It has already tten good enough so that folks can quit talkin' about it and ‘tend to it.” “Maybe,” ssid Uncle Eben, "de sun do move an’ maybe it don't. Jpain’ Booze, in quantities, is being brought in from the outside. The bootlegger controls sailing vessels. He is an ‘aeronaut. “He flies through the air with the greatest of ease, Like a man on a flying trapeze.” He has many other ways and means of introducing and distributing the stuff from the Floridian environment, and is employing all of them. ‘What will Mr. Bryan’s response be? Will he get into action himself, in his old form, and help rid his newly adopt- ed state of the present wet reproach? ‘There seems to be as much work for him to do if he is in the humor as he has ever found ready to his hand at any time anywhere. ——— A Chicago lady, suspiclous of the solvency of a bank, drew out her sav- ings, which were promptly appropei- ated by a pickpocket. The amateur financier is continually making mis takes of this kind; the psychological principle involved being that on which the wildcat Investment promoter largely depends. An impression that money in bank would be better off somewhere else affords the opportunity for which dishonesty lies in wait. i If Villa gets all the land he asks for, he may eventually acquire as much territory as he would have con- trolled ,if he had been a successful revolutionist. ¥ ‘Washington Irving’s -Van Winkle was a famous sleeper, but modern Pearers of this distinguished name leave no doubt as to their wide.awake- ness. —— Lenin and Trotsky sometimes quar- rel, but are so bound together by in- terests of intrigue that they are harder to separate than the Siamese twins. —_———————— ‘What is now referred to as & “flap- per” appears to be a young woman gineter sit down ap’ argue ‘bout it| whose mother has neglested to be a when I ought to be movin’ my: timely and discriminating slapper. BY-THOMAS R. MARSHALL, fFormer Viee Preaident of the Unit: States. E have been, so busy ' since the world war constdering our inter- pational affairs and de- vising ways to settle up that we have had no time to decide wheth- er or not we ought to settle down, and, if so, upon what principles of internal government we ought to settle. Men who are obsessed with the importance and vitality of a name are greatly perturbed over the appearance of “blocs” in the Congress. They cannot under- stand why “blocs” should have arisen. They view with amazement senators and representatives who long were bitterly opposed to each other's theories of government burying in a'sea of forgetfulness their ancient grievarces and now hobnobbing in & common cause. Much as we are loath to admit it, the fact remains that the clear- cut divisions which once separated Ppolitical parties have disappeared, at least for the moment. And with their disappearance matters which loom large to the individ- uals who champion them, but Wwhich are of small moment in the unending life of the republic, have come to the fore. Democrats have ceased to be for a tapiff for reve- nue only and are championing the protective theory to the extent at least of protecting the interests of their constituents. This anclent line of distinct demarkation be- tween parties has disappeared from legislative halls. The trend today is a distinct movement to- -ward special interests. and so long as this trend prevails, Jefferson may proclaim the equality of men, Burns may hold that “the rank is but the guinea's stamp,” and the Boston abolitlonist, viewing the negro from atar, ‘may call him God's image carved in ebony but the fact will remain that those who seek special privileges belleve themselves better than their fellowmen, and so believing will seek laws to insure ii. * k¥ % The attitude of the average man today is inexplicable. I am amazed at the appeals which-politicias ad- dress to him. I find myself won- dering whether this uncrowned king will some day take it into his head to denounce the appeals und rebuke those who make them. From one stump I hear a man ad- dressing himself exclusively *to farmers, depicting their* well known grievances and urging them to rise up in their might and rec- tify those grievances regardless of the effect of their conduct upon countless other citizens of the re- public. From another sturap T hear the advocate of union libor dwell- ing upon the gricvances of the laboring men and calling to him to close ranks and to mz a fight and win a victory for his peclai benefit. Can it be :hat we are iess interested in bettering our own condition than we are in iaking worse the condition of others? Has not the shell shock of the war suf- ficiently exhausted its effects upon the judgment and conecience of the American voter to induce him to repudiate these pleas and reject with Sscorn suggestions that this govern- ment was instituted to furnish him a livelthood in the oc:up. he by choice follows seem to me that a sel American would resent A stum orator's appeal to his nondllln: * k% % Notwithstanding the disoppear- ance of great principles of gov- ernment which at one time divided political parties in Ameri- ca, it cannot be said that there ex- Ist no longer divergent political principles in American life. There remain a goodly number of those who believe in the old system of government and who still are con- vinced that the general weitare of the people is to be subserved by its maintenance. And others there are who look on the old princi- ples as they would on frayed and worn out garments, unfit to clothe the nakedness of presen: human needs. Unfortunately, neither of these classes votes exclusively either the democratic or repub- lican ticket. Until their members conclude to get together in omue party or the other, the bloc system of government will continue ani will grow and become more domi- nant. We shall have recovered from the effects of the war when %o political party shall have th2 cou age to proclaim certain principlec of govednment so compeiling in their character as to make its members. willing to forego their special interests in the accomplish- ment of their party’s purposes. L% % ok % Much fun is poked at.men who claim {o be Jeftersonian demo- crats. Newspapers facetiously and satirically inquire: “What is a Jet- fersonian Gemocrat?” I venture to answer, not forgetting that Mr. Jefterson said: “Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle,”” Theoretically, holders of conflicting opinions may enter- tain like principles. On this sub- Ject, I judge no man. I hold. how- ever, that whatever the opinion of a man. if he pretends to be a Jef- fersonian democrat, he must agree that this is & union of states and that ours is a republican form of government. A man cannot be a full-fledged Jeffersonian who be- lieves in the obliteration of state lines and in transferring all func- tions of government to Washing- ton, thereby absolving the states from responsibility and banishing from the domain of politics loca) welf-government. He who reads Jefterzon as I read him. believes that it is the duty of the general government not to usurp the func- tions of state government. but to support the several states in every right which they retained when the general government was formed, and to recognize that.in the public sentiment of communities lies the surest guaranty against anti-republican tendencies; that so g as local self-government ex- ists and is made use of, and so long as the states discharge the duties incumbent upon them. anv <hange in our system is not likely to occur; but that when the indi- vidual citizen lores his sense of responsibility and becomes care- less and indifferent about the dis- charge of his political duties, and when thé state is willing to cease to exist as a vital organism and to transfer all its power to the general government, then pride, ambitfon, gréed and lust may be able to pull down the pillars of the republic and erect upon its ruins an edifice of a different kind. * ok k% If Mr. Jefferson meant what he said when he declared that tHis was a government of equal and exact justice to all men of what- ever state or persuasion, religious or political, then no man who be- lieves in Jefferson's principles can covsent that laws be passed for the benefit of the lawyer, doctor, farmer, butcher, baker or candle- stick maker. If such laws have been enacted he cannot be content until they are wiped off the stat- ute books. He must believe that legislation is for the American citizen, stark naked and stripped of every earthly distinction. Jeftersonian democrat must believe in the decisions of the ma- jority. In no other way can a de- mocracy express its opinion. The right kind of a majority will have a dué regard for the rights and feelings of the minority, but. right or wrong, & majority m: rule. If it fails to rule for the good of the whole people, it soon will be- come a minority. * k¥ %, Freedom of speech and freedom “ of the press are vital to the Jeffer- sonian. He holds with his patron saint that if there be any who would wish to dissolve this union or change its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monu- ments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason Is left free to com- bat it. He does not look upon Mr. Debs as & menace to the republic. He feels quite sure that he can outthink and outlive Mr. Debs. He believes that he can ba so demo- cratio as to convince the second seber thought of any man that representative government, ex- “ peessing its powers in co-ordinate bnches, each supreme within its own realm, is as much a guaranty of peace and contentment to the man without a dollar as it is to the man with millions. ‘This sort of democrat believes in the government as founded by the fathers; he has as much faith. if not a little bit more, in the old- fashioned industrious democrat, who appealed to the law for the safety of his life and the preser- vation of his property, as he has in the new. industrial democrat, who is down on law, except for himself; on order, except as he decrees it, and on government, un- less he be the bigwig. (Copyright, 1922, by Thomas R. Marshall.) Aviation Menaced by Neglect “Aviation, the great and controlling feature of modern warfare, is hang- ing in ‘the balance in Congress, far as progressive development concerned. The commanding officer at McCook Fleld, the research station of the Army, Maj. Thurman H. Bane, esti- mates that “a proper figure for re- search and experimentation in aero- nautics would be $10,000,000 annual- ly:" The budget bureau approved $4,200,000 and the House appropria- tions committee reduced this to $3,250,000. When the Army appropria- tion bill came up in the House, Rep- resentative Roy G. Fitsgerald of Ohio, who has done more flying and applied himself to the study of aviation to a greater extent than any other mem- ber of Congress, led the fight for a larger policy toward aviation devel- opment. o * %k ¥ X The gatling gun, the steamship, the submarine and the airship were all invented by American genius. But| pari; Maxim, Fulton, Holland and the ‘Wright brothers were =o little appre- ciated in this country that they had to look to other countries fog a just appreciation of what they were do- ing for the human race. The result that Europeans developed the: American inventions and America has had to pay a terrible price. In the first half of the last century ours was the greatest of all the mer- chant marines in the world. Our wooden clipper ships, under sall, car- ried American products into all the ports of the world. The United States had under her flag 50 per cent of the trade of the orient. But in the latter half of the century the clipper ships were replaced by the steamships of European nations, which had devel oped marine engineering while Amer- ica slept on her opportunity. * % ¥ ¥ ‘When the United States entered the world war we faced a European na- tion, which had developed our sub- marine invention to an extent that was astounding. It carried great car- goes across the seas in them ang ter- rorised the greatest navies of the world, and sank battleships supposed to be invulnerable—to say nothing of the Lu-t::anls and hundreds of mer- chant ships. ‘When we got into the world war we used European perfections of the maching’ gun originally invented in this had to call country. . on Great Britain to furnish us wi machine guns; we had to call on at k Fiel l‘rlnt’ for the Benet-Mercier guns; we hid to equip some of our troops with their Chauchat rifles—not an American machine gun. We had the humiliation of seeing United States troops fitted with the guns of foreign nations that had developed American inventions. * * % % The United States tried to repair this neglect with the airship. Con- gress appropriated in feverish anx- ety more than a billion dolfkrs, and called in the assistance of the great- | est engineers and experts America had. But we couldn’t put a singie fighting airship on the European front with all of our power, ingenuity and resourcés from the day war was declared, April 6, 1917, to the end of thl; "ll'. ‘b‘l’avumber 11, 1918. uring the war the first equ! the American aviators hm«vflm:l'l‘: old French Nieuport machine, but it could not stand up. Then we had the Spad plane, and our greatest American _ aviato: Rickenbacher, equipped himself h a Spad in ris. Congress now is facing a si which will determine wh.;!nc: :‘:2:: be taught by these terrible-penalties paid for the folly of neglecting op- portunities offered by our inventors and research experts—whether Amer- ican inventions are going to be ig- nored at home only to be turned against ourselves by the more far- sighted peoples across the se: * * % % The American Congress is consider- ing an appropriation of $3,250,000 for aviation research. Japan's program calls for the expenditure of $200,00! 000 during the mext seven years. Great Britain and France cannot even pay the money they owe this coun- but France has appropriated, at ormal rates of exchange, more than $84,000,000 for aircraft production and experimentation work; Great Britain, at normal rates of exchange, is ap propriating more’ than $87,000,000 a year. In emphasizing the value of re- search work, Representative Fitzger- ald pointed out that during the war the ‘“celling” rplane—the high point it could reach—was a trifie over 20,000 feet. The best plant that the American aviators could get from the French, the Spads, could barely climb 30,000 feet. Ricken- bacher o main T, wit] lan: e Army station, they have managed to put 4 man 40,000 feet off the earth. & I busses. Heard and Seen|F ifty' Years Nobody can tell ‘vhat a traveler is going to ask when he gets off the train at Union station. Ask the street car superintendents who load 'em on winter and summer. Ask the men who run the sightseeing Make inquiry of taxicab drivers. They will tell you that it if an ordinary happening to have a stran- ger ask if “that big building with the dome is the White House.” One of those funny spring days last week a traveler from the middle west came marching forth from the station portals to bask in the infrequent sun- shine which that moment was pour- ing down upon Washington. There was no doubt about him being from the middle west. It was Iwritten all over his sturdy frame, tanned face and hospitable manner. He felt at home. He had no fear that anybody might rebuff his cordiality. “Good morning,” he said. +How are you?” I replied. “Where is Main street?” he asked. There was 2 Ku Klux Klan parade over in Virginia recently in which some ocolored men took an active and wholly unasked-for part. Colored poople like parades, but, judging from the story of that colored taxi cab driver, that is still one kind of parade they will willingly miss ‘This driver was approached on the street by a group of well dressed men, who hired him to take them over into Virginia. The car went over the streets, and over the roads, and Into the country. After awhile the cars seemed to thicken. More and more cars were encountered. At last the taxi came to a fork in the road. Ahead was a bright light The cars contained the strangest looking persons, all garbed an‘l'mle robes, with long pointed ats. “Bogs.” exclaimed the colored driver, looking ahead at the figures, “I guess I can't take yo' no farther tonight. Look at dem Ku Klux!" Turning around to personally pro- test to his fares, his eyes were greeted by the sight of ten eyes peering at him from behind white cloth, while the white gowns seemed to fill the entire car. The fares had quickly slipped on robes, and were all ready to partic- ipate in the parade. Much against khis will, the colored taxi-man was prevailed upon to continue, and thus become a participant in the parade. % Will Hays, former Postmaster Gen- eval, has a brother, Hinkle Hays by name, who looks a good deal like him. Hinkle is a lawyer out in Sul- livan, Ind. The day Hays gave up his govern- ment position to “go into the mo- vies” 'he paid farewell visits to various offices in the Post Office De- partment in which he was especially interested. One of these was the dispensary es tablished on the eighth floor, con- taining rest rooms for clerks taken ill, and medical supplies. His brother was with him, but some of those present evidently had never heard that Mr. Hays had a brother. One clerk turned to the stranger—to him-—standing by his side, and said: “I think it would be a fine thing to get Mr. Hays to pose with the nurse for the movies,” pointing to a mo- tion picture man with his camera. ;‘Hl)"(s is a good sport, don't you e 'l say he is" said Hinkle Hays. ‘He's my brother. * How do you open a conversation with a man you do not know? City Postmaster Chance had a new one worked on him recently, when a stranger accosted him as he sat at his_desk. - “Do you drink so-and-so?" the stranger asked, mentioning the name of a popular soft drink, “I do not,” answered the post- master. The stranger then opened a maga- zine, and began to explain its merits in detail, finally asking for a sub- scription. But Chance couldn’t get that ques- tion out of his head. e “Tell, me,” he said. “What has so- and-so got to do with this maga- zine?" “I just asked you that to bpen the conversation,” smiled the ent. CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. ! l An Open Conference—With a Closed Program. MILAN.—Opening the Genoa confer- ence to neutrals and former enemies was regarded as a step forward by Italian liberals, who despaired of see- ing anything substantial accgmplish- ed through the exclusive supreme council. But the Secolo, a leading lib- eral organ of this city, asks whether Genoa can accomplish very much aft- er all, since its program has been ar- 'rln‘ed by the supreme council powers and many vital questions rigorously excluded? The paper says: “The Genoa conference, as it was first announced at Cannes, was to have been & meeting of the govern- ment heads and of $he delegates of all countries—conquerors, conquered and neutrals—to discuss the economic con- ditions of Europe and the best means of solving the great problems. Its importance, its novelty, and the hopes which it awakened, consisted chiefly in the facts that, although called by the supreme council, the conference would not be dominated by it; that the allles would stop playing a game: for their own particular advantages; that their work and their delibera: tions were to take the form of a sin- cere spirit_of solidarity and of co- Speration. But now things have taken 2.turn which makes it' doubt{ul what Character thei conference will assume. “France remains rigorously in the orbit of the Versailles treaty and her whole poljcy alms at changing the en- tente to it. “On_the of 1 ther hand, what attitude is Russia taking? One of the principal objects of Genoa was to resume PO~ litical and commercial relations with revolutionary Russia. Now Lenin's government, after having ‘welcomed Fith apparent satisfaction the fidea of the conference, has made no pre- oise declarations on the question of debts or on the plans of economic reconstruction. The debts of the czar rule are to be recognized; but gevolu- tionary Russia claims indemnity in her turn for damages done to her by the allies in upholding different ad- ventures of the legitimate generals. “Meanwhile Kamenev, as president of the Moscow soviet, declared that ‘at the Geno conference the red repre- gentatives would fight like lions to revent Russia from ‘becoming trans- ormed into a colony of exploitation for foreign capital.’ In the meantime overtures are being made to France for a Franco-Russian understanding, and the alarm which this causes in Berlin is being made use of to set on foot a treaty with Rathenau. A Franco-Russian understanding would robably be the best thing as long as ts object was not to perpetually isolate and economically paralyse Ger- many, which would be quite the con- trary to the spirit of the conference. It is not possible, however. to et away from the suspicion of a bolshe- vist game to irritate already existing antagonisms. “Lloyd Georg! cession of accep! e has made the con- ting l!;:rallmlnn'a of experts in London wi ;'l”nn:::;fect of better settling the bas of the Genoa discussions. In tl meantime Benes, prime minister and torel, minister of Czechoslovakia, has been in Paris. He spoke in the name of the little entente, from whom France has obtained support especial iy in connection with the Russian problem. From Paris he went to Lon- Hon. and succeeded In conquering the resistance of u;yfl George and hia ra- s TR Ago in The Star The hope of a canal across the isth mus connecting the Atlantic and Pacifi.- ocepms was held for Isthmian Canal many years before it- Commissi accomplfhment. This MMmIssIon. oovernment had it eye upon a route for such a waterwa: fifty years ago and set to work to de- velop it, as the following paragraph in The Star of March 20, 1872, indicates: “The President has appointed Bre vet Maj. Gen. Andrew A. Humphrey~ of the Engineer Corps, U. S. Army Prof. Benjamin Pierce of Massachu- setts and Capt. Daniel Ammen, U. & jNavy and chief of the navigation bu- reau, to be commissioners of th: United States to examine and con sider all surveys, plans, proposals or suggestion of routes or communica- tion by canal or water connection between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans_across, over or near the Isti- mus of Darien, which have already been submitted or may hereafter be submitted to the President during the pendency of this appointment, or which may be referred to them by the President, and to report in writing their conclusions and the result of such examination to the President = * % The world was sick at this time fif: years ago. Diseases of a malignanta epidemic type prevailed Epidemic broadly in various regions. . and this country was suf- Diseases. roring along with others. In The Star of March 21, 1872, is the following editorial on the subject: “By the testimony of medical me: and of the press all over the world. this has been an exceptional year for the prevalence of diseases of a ma- lignant type. What peculiar state of the atmosphere causes this spread of disease is not settled, but there Is & deficlency or a superabundance of some element to occasion it. Thae manner in which confluent smallpox has traveled dn this country, the steady advance of cholera over the world from its Aslatic lair, the alarm- ing development of the spotted fever or cerebro spinal meningitis, the ui- precedented spread of malignant scarlet fever, diphtheria, black mea- sles and like diseases in their worst type are illustrations of this unpleas- ant fact. And the stricken localities already decimated by one form of plague seem to be particularly liable to others, Brooklyn, NX. Y., not y relieved from its attack of virulen smallpox. fs now under a panic from the ravages of the spotted fever. Within the past few days numbers of cases have been reported in various sections of that city. and it is stated that all have proved fatal It ai- tacks children and adults with like severity, and death frequently resulits within twenty-four hours, — The symptoms are pain in the back and head, with a straightening of the neck, the whole spinal column being affected. This leads to lockjaw, and then death follows. “This city, notwithstanding some cases of smallpox. shows its usual low death rate. The fact that the deadly form of smallpo» now prevail- ing has gained so little foothold here is doubtless due to the vigilance with i which our board of health followed up the work of securing general cination. Their labors in this direc- tion were decried by thoughtless pec- ple before any cases of smallpox had occurred here; but all now concede | the wisdom of their precautions. Tn Boston we notice that the frightful | disease has been warded off by like pre- i caution. In every possible way vac- cination was encouraged and. when it was practicable, was enforced, all applicants being treated gratuitously. A strict watch also is kept in the | public schools; no pupil is admitted who has not been vaccinated, and as no child is permitted to be absent from the school, all the pupils are necessarily subjected to the preserva- tive lancet. The city -of Providence shares a like exemption, having had but two or three cases of smallpox. while the disease has prevailed more or less all around it: and this is said to be attributable to the zeal of an enthusiastic health officer in en- forcing an effective ordinance for | compulsory vaccination. 1In this, as in other matters. an ounce of pre- vention Is worth a pound of cure.” DIGEST OF FOREIGN PRESS luctance in compromising with the French point of view. “At thc Boulogne meeting.” con- tinues the writer, “it was decided 1o exclude from the Genoa program all that touches the peace treaty and the reparations, that the league of na- tions should be represented, and wi regard to Ruseia, England and France would remain free to act as they think best without the participation of the soviet delegates signifying de jure recognition. If all this exact, it is the case to ask what re- mains of the future Genoa confer- ence?” French Taxes Silence Critic. PARIS.—The Echo National, organ of the Clemenceau group, says Amer- fcans who reside in France quickly realize that French taxes are high enough. The paper tells the story of a banker who always advised higher taxes as a_cure for France's financial woes—until he took up his residence in Paris. The item reads: “The Americans were of great serv- ice to us during the war, consequently they allow themselves to give us little advice sometimes. “An American banker, who loves the French, says to me each time he comes to Paris: ‘Keep up your cour- age. Double and triple your taxes Get your finances in order. Then you will see that the United States will begin to take interest in your recov- ery.’ “I might answer him like the child in the fable answered his school- master, ‘First get me out of danger and then give me advice.” “But Anglo-Saxon reasoning al- ways makes an impression on a Frenchman, and his words made an impression on me. “Now the banker has come to live aris. “A month ago I couldn’t go near him without him reproaching me for my fiscal cowardice. Now. since a fortnight, there is a sudden change: he no longer approaches the subject —he even avoids It. “I'am told that he has just had a considerable shock on receiving his first tax papers. It appears that they are pretty hot, as they should be for a bachelor who is making year after year about 300,000 francs—perhaps even more. “One of these days my American. who is & decent fellow at heart, will confess that he made a mistake and that our treasury has a heavier hand than is generally supposed on the other side of the Atlantic. “I shall tell him then that it is « pity therc are not more of our Amer- ican friend®who make this experience with our taxes. First of all, our fis- cal courage would be more widely appreciated, and then the French treasury would be filled all the more rapidly.” Gutenberg Bible for Sale. LONDON.—A Berlin dispatch to the Dally Telegraph says: “The Leipzig Museum of Books and Manuscripts. finding itself in financial difMculties. proposes, with the permission of the governmeny of Sazony, to sell the famous Gulenberg Bible in order to raise money for carrying on the mu- seum. The Rijksmuseum of Amster- dam has offered to buy it for 10,000.- 000 marks (about £10,000 at the pres- ent rate of exchange). The museum authorities are anxious to retain the treasure for Germany, and have a nounced_that the result will depend on the Germana public’s $¢ deficiency by pub! art” mak lic or privatc. N