Evening Star Newspaper, June 4, 1922, Page 45

! T\ ~ Gives Greater Power. EDITORIAL PAGE NATIONAL PROBLEMS -y e— " Part2—14 Pages SPECIAL -ARTICLES E DITORI The Sundy Star. L SECTION P A BY JULIUS H. PARMELEE, Director, Bureau of Rallway Economies. N August 26, 1920, the Inter- state Commerce Commission made effective a sweeping increase in freight rates on the railways of the United States. ,Réadjustments in those rates have been under way ever since, the great bulk of which have been downward. . Beginning July 1. the level of rates “seill be approximately 11 per cent Tewer than it was as a result of the 2920 increase. ‘Bauring the period of nearly two Years. from August, 1920, to July, 1922, the process of rate readjustment has been almost continuous, some ot the adjustments being voluntary on tne part of the carriers, while some have been the result of decisions by the commission. On May 24 the com- mission comploted the two-vear cycle of rate reductions by announcing its latest decision as to freight rates. This dec the result of an ex- haustive inquiry, takes effect on July 1. All freight rates not vet adjusted since 1920 are reduced 10 per cent, and all rates that have been adjusted are further reduced to a point 10 per cent below the 1920 level. The rates on some commodities which have already fallen more than 10 per cent are not affected by the decision, but will remain from 10 to 33 1-3 per cent Dbelow 1920. The average reduction in freight rates thus becomes 11 per cent, compared with the 1920 level, instead of a straight 10 per cenl. Represents Big Cut In Freight Revenues. This decrease of 11 per cent repre- sents in part reductions made voiun- tarily by the carriers or at the sug- gestion of the Interstate Commerce Commission prior to its decision ot May 24, and in part the net result ot that decision. About 5 per cent 1S represented by reductions prior to the May decision. while the remaining 6 per cent will go into effect on July 1 In money terms. the already reduced railw nue by $200.000.000 per year, while the 6 per cent will bring about a fur- ther reduction of $240.000,000. The total reduction in the freight bill of the United States as a result of all 5 per cent has freight reve- | rate reductions and adjultments since 1920 will thus be $440,000,000. This is on the basis of the freight traffic of 1921. As a matder of fact, railway freight traffic thus far in 1922 has run more than 5 per cent ahead of the corresponding period of 1921, and this in spite of the coal strike. If freight traffic continues to increase the saving to the ship- ping public from the rate reductions will be so much the greater, and may aggregate as much as half a billion dollars a year. This saving will af- fect all classes of commodities, be- cause the decrease applies to all com- modities alike. The reduction in freight rates on the average ton of coal is from 20 to 25 cents. On other materials, particularly food products, there have been greater reductions, In some cases running as high as 20 to 25 and even 33 1-3 per cent. All these reductions should find their way into the pocket of the final consumer, and should be reflected in a lowered cost®of living. Rate Making Now On a New Easis. Certain economic aspects of the rate decision are of interest. By the passage of the transportation act in 1920 Congress set up a new principle of rate making. The legal theory of rate-making had been the rule of reason, so-called. That is, rates were $0 adjusted as to be just and reason- able. The difficulty of applying such a rule to the complicated fabric of our rate structure is clear, and its application became nothing more than the use of good judgment and sound common sense. Under the provisions of the trans- portation act. however, the rule of rate making is that the rates shall provide the railways with an ade- quate net income. The Interstate Commerce Commisision must fix the level of freight and passenger rates 50 as to produce a fair return to the carriers on the value of their proper- ty devoted to transportation. This value is fixed by the commission itself, as well as the fair rate of re- turn. In other words, the govern- ment has sole power, first, to fix the value of railway property, and, sec- ond, to determine what return shall be earned on that value. But the standard or measure of rates is the WASHINGTON, D. C, 0. How the Reduction in Freight Rates Woman Candidate for U. S. Sen- Bears on Readjustment of Business judgment of the commission as to what rates will produce a net income adequately representing a fair re- turn. This change In the rule of rate making, effected by the trans- portation act, was one of its revolu- tionary features. It has been, and | will probably continue to be, one of the most hotly discussed features of current railway leglslation. New Ecomomic Policy Influences Industry. No such new principle of economic policy as this cam be applied. even under normal business conditions, without affecting the economic struc- ture of a country. Any change in public policy reacts upon the imdus- trial situation, especially upon pre- vailing methods of production and distribution. So marked a change as this incorporation of a new rule of rate making into fundamental rail- way law could not but have a marked effect on industry. This would be true under normal ecomomic condi- tions, and has been even more true of the two years during which the new rule has been operative, because these two years have been abnormal. The country has been passing through a profound business depres- sion, representing the inevitable period of post-war readjustment and reconstruction. No new regulative principle would have operated smoothly durii.g this period, certain- Iy no such fundamental change in rate making. It is a striking fact that the in- creased level of rates authorized by the Interstate Commerce Commission |in 1920 became effective at the very time that business first showed a de- cline. Freight rates went up as prices began to come down. The busi- ness decline was due to many fac- tors operating in the economic and financial fields, and the resulting fall in prices caused the increase in rates to be more severely felt than would have been the case during a period of rising or even stationary prices. This | phenomenon largely explains the in- stent pressure that has been brought to bear upon the commission to reduce rates. But the commission was in a diffi- | cult position. Under the transporta- (Continued on Third Page.) SUNDAY MORNING, JUNE 4, 1922. ate Has Minnesota Politicians Worried by Her Campaign. BY WINIFRED MALLON. EITHER Mona Liso nor the cat that swallowed the canary had “anything on” the woman voter, to the puzzled minds of the political leaders and party managers, who, ever since the Pennsylvania pri- maries—especially since the Penn- eylvania primaries —have been trying to figure out how the wom- en are going to vote in the fall elections. Mrs. Maud Wood Park, president of thes National League of Women Voters, says that women will merely do their best to find out from a candidate’s own explana- tion and record what he belleves in, and then they will decide whether to support him or mot, and she adds' that a man is not lkely to be re-elected whose rec- ord is not off the same plece as his sample promises. * ¥k “That's all the mystery there s about the woman vote,” she con- cludes, without in the least hav- ing relieved the minds of any party leader anywhere, but es- pacially, perhaps, observers of events in Minnesota, where at this moment Mrs. Peter Olason, demo- cratic candidate for the United States Senate, is making a whirl- wind campalgn in a “filvver” pre- sented by her admirers and driven by her daughter, and promising to speak “at every cross-ronds in Minnesota. Minnesota is a normally repub- lican state, and Senator Frank B. Kellogg, the republican candidate for renomination, will not be strongly opposed in the republican primary. * % k% The contest will come in No- vember, for Mrs. Oleson, who was unanimously named by the state damocratic cenventon in Minne- sota in advance of the primaries— which will be held June 19—is conducting a spectacular cam- paign, as a result of twhich, and of the terrifying possibilities concealed in the “woman vote” almost anything might happen, as If Gasoline Price Is Due to Profiteering, Senate Intends to Smoke Out Profiteers BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. HO remembers when ‘“gas’ sold at 12 or even 16 cents a gallon? Almost, it seems to belong to the days of the golden age, before Pandora had tam- pered with the mysterious box contain- ing the troubles that have since afflict- ed the world. But, as a matter of fact, it was only six or eight years ago. To- day, common gasoline sells for 28 cents and is threatening to go higher, while richer mixtures are several cents higher a gallon. A few months ago, the price of gas was declining— went as low as 21 cents. But with the advent of spring it took an up- ward turn, and cent by cent it has crawled on up. It has crawled up in price, notwith- standing the fact that the stocks of gasoline on hand have been large, and also the production. With mil- lions of automobiles, tractors, motor boats, and gas engines of various kinds in operation ip/this country, it is not difficult to see what effect the advance in price of gas has on the . pockets of the American people, and #‘conversely, upon the poekets of the producers. Congress Suspects There Is Profiteering. There is considerably more than = euspicion in the minds of membars of Congress that the price of gas has ‘been advanced for just one purpose— to put more money in the pockets of the producers—that no good reason for an increase in the price of gaso- line can be shown other than the de- sire of the producers to make larger and larger profits. Assurance is given that within a very few days an investigation into the price of gasoline, its sudden and apparently consistant advance the country over. is to be begun by the Senate manufacturers committee. This committes is headed by Senator La Follette of Wisconsin, who has in- troduced a resolution for a drastic investigation of the whole question, & resolution that permits the com- mittee to summon witnesses, demand papers of all kinds, and to employ the best counsel in the country, to aid the committee in getting to the bottom of this question. La Follette Resolution The first resolution adopted by. the Senate in recent weeks in regard to the price of gasoline eminated from Senator McKellar of Tennessee, dem- ocrat. It was adopted by the Senate May 13, and called upon the commit- tee on manufactures or a subcommit- tee to make the-investiation. The McKellar resolution went through the Senate unanimously, aft- er Senator La Follette had given surance that his committee was “not particularly busy” at this time and could handle the matter. But Senator La Follette desired greater power for his committes in making the in- vestigation, hence his new resolu- tion. As his resolution called for the expenditure of funds out of the con- tingent fund of the Senate, it had to be referred to the committes on audit and control of contingent ex- penses of the Senate, headed by Sena- tor Calder of New York. There it Te- mained for. two weeks, not because Benator Calder was opposed to the | gnvestigation, bus_because-there was. T e — - a feeling in the committee that some limit should be placed upon the amount which should be expended for counsel by the manufactures commit- tee. The resolution left the sky the limi! But assurances have been given by Senator Calder that hiscom- mittee will give all the money desired to employ counsel, and that the reso- lution is to go through. Anxious to Get Best Legal Help Obtainable. Senator La Follette, frankly, is de- sirous of being in a position to ob- tain for his committee in this in- vestigatiop the very best legal advice in the country. He realizes that the oil and gas men will be represented by an army of legal experts. He does not want to have the committee in a position where it cannot proceed ef- ficiently, even against such an array. The bureau of mines of the Depart- ment of the Interior keeps tabs on the production of crude oll, gasoline and other refined products. For in- stance, the daily average consump- tion of gasoline in the United States in the year 19 638 gal- lons. This was domestic consumption alone. Including export gasoline, the consumption averaged 13,884,313 per day. The average production of gaso- lineyper day in 1921 was 14,119,313 gallons. For the ‘first quarter of 1922, Janu- ary, February and March, the average daily domestic consumption was 10,- 289.441 gallons, and the total daily average consumption, including ex- port, was 11,883,833 gallons. During the same quarter the average daily production of gasoline in the United States was 14,612,457 gallons, or nearly 3,000,000 gallons in excess of consumption. Gasoline, Like Coal, Has Seasonable Demand. In justice to the producers it must be pointed out that the gasoline busi- ness is “seasonal.”” From October to May the consumptioq Is less than the production, but fror: May to October th® consumption exaeeds production. This explains the large discrepancy between the dally consumption and production of gasoline in this coun- try during the first quarter of the year. - But the burezu of mines also keeps a record of the stocks, of gasoline on hand in the country. On March 1, the stock on hand was approximately §54,000,000 gallons, a greater supply than ever before in the history of the industry. Yet from March 1 until today the price of gasoline has steadily risen. The reasons for the Increase in the price of_gas under these condl- tions s what the Semate manufac- tures committee will endeavor to ascertain. It will endeavor to as- certain, also, why the price has ad- vanced 8o generally; whether there has been collusion and’ conspiracy against the people in fixing the higher price of gas. Cent a Gallon Means Heavy Tax on People. of gaso- N increases the The advance In the line by 1 cent a g: bill paid by the/people a day by $123,726.38, if the figures for domestic consumption - tor:' the year 1921 are \ ,used. It increases the bill paid by | the people some $30,006,000 in a year. This is a considerable sum, and when it is multiplied by five or six, it is much more considerable. In the opinion of Senator La Fol- lette, if there is conspiracy among the producers against the American people, it should be shown up, and he proposes to show it up if he can. | Senator La Follette believes that capital is entitled to a just and fair return. But, as he has declared many times, the curse of the American [ people today is overcapitalization in many of the industries. He has charged this of the railroads, the steel Industry and the oll industry. The people are forced to pay high so that returns may be made on the watered stock of corporations. Senator La Follette holds, too, that Old-fashioned ‘“spelling bees.” dis- carded vears ago in the Washington public schools, are being revived and encouraged by school authorities. Although not required, these oral spelling matches are being held in many schools at least once a week. They are stimulating an intense in- terest in spelling and proving bene- ficlai to the children. Contrary to general -opinion, Dis- trict school children are not poor spellers, according to Alexander T. Stuart, director of Intermediate in- struction. In fact, school efficials believe the local children could out- spell the school children of many other large cities In a competitive test. Special emphasis is laid on the ne- cessity of spelling correctly in the District schools from the fourth grade of the elementary schools through the high schools. /This is especially true In the schools where the thildren are pursuing courses designed to fit them for the bLusiness | world, where good spelling 1s abso- lutely essential. * % % ¥ Too much of a pupil's time, how-| ever, is not devoted to the ortho- graphic art, if it can be termed an art. Mr. Stuart believes that spell- ing, either oral or written, can be overdone, and will ultimately result in the loss of interest in this subject on the part of the childrea. The school program provides just enough time for spelling to retain the in- terest of a pupil in the subject, whiie at the same time enlargimg and en- riching his vocabulary. Oral spell- ing is dwelt upon as strenuously as written -spelling. For a time there was little or no oral spelling on the program of the District schools. Steady improygment in the spelling of the children has been noted for several years, according to the offi- clals. This is believed to be &ue princtpally to the modern speller, which has recently been revolution- ized. The new spelling book con- tains fewer and - simpler wWords ' = the price of manufactured articles in this country should have decreased, instead of increased, in recent years, owing to the tremendous advance made in methods of production and the introduction of machinery. It should cost a man less to keep his family today than it did twenty years ago, he says. The Wisconsin sgnator is a bellever in the power of public opinion. He feels that if his committee can throw the light of day upon the factors that have so greatly increased the price of gasoline in recent weeks, it will have its effect. In this connection, it will be re- membered that the Federal Trade Commission in 1915, 1916 and 1917 made an investigation and report on the gasoline industry, and that it had its effect on that Industry. |Old-Fashioned Spelling Bees Revived in Washington Schools than the old spellers. The spelling books of former years were super- fluous in technical and other words 1t in common ‘use, while the new and modern books are graded in such a way that they contain only the words a child of a certa’n class is supposed to know and need. These words are known by scientific tests t> be of most frequent use. * ok % % Hundreds of thousands of words were experimented with by educators to as- certain the ones most necessary for a child to know before they were placed in the modern speller. Spelling books of past years usually were fllled with | ‘worried political leaders are any- fously telling one another. Mrs. Oleson says that her trips throughout the state have con- vinced her that party lines are falling away and that independent political thought 1is “spreading like a prairie fire.” She believes that at the elections this fall many voters will forget parties and vote independently for the candidates they think will honest- 1y represent the common interests of the majority. * Ok ok ok As for the women voters, “the amazement of the country at the way women are using their fran- chise will grow,” she predicts. “The woman vote is going to play a greater part in the selection of governmental representatives with the passing of every year.” Mrs. Oleson was indorsed by the state convention March 31, the first woman to be thus honored. She is also the first woman ever elected a delegate to a national democratic convention, and the first woman ever to speak at a Jack- son day dinner. At that great democratic banquet, held here in 1920, she was the most effective of all the brilliant speakers gathered for the occasion, and her address created something like a sensa- tion In political circles. * % * % Mrs. Oleson will be opposed in the primary by Thomas J. Meighen, formerly a populist and now a democratic party leader in the state, and by Homer Morris, & lawyer. There Is also in the fleld Henrik Shipstead, non-partisan league independent candidate for governor two years ago, and now the candidate of the farmer labor party for the United States Senate. Mrs. Oleson Is conceded to “have the edge” on her two democratic opponents, but ever since the hold- ing of the party convention last March there has been talk of a fusion between the farmer labor vote and the democrats to defeat Senator Kellogg, and of an agree- ment between Mr. Meighen, one of the leading advocates of fusion, and Shipstead, which also may af- fecthe result. BY N. 0. MESSENGER. RESIDENT Harding, in the es- timate of many republicans of national note, will find resting upon his shoulders political responsibility greater than that borne by most of his predecessors in the executive office. The days of the political bosses have passed—the race seems to be almost extinct—and the era of personal leadership has set in. It is so in the states and so in the national aspect. As there will be re- publican leaders in the states—pro- ves here, old guard yonder—so there must be one great national leader, and President Harding is held to be the man for the mew hour. As visualized by thoughtful repub- licans in Congress, President Hard- ing’'s role 1s to be that of leader of the republicans, progressives and old guard without distinction, and he is classed as eminently fitted for fit. Leadership without dictation, paci- fication and not discrimination, it is expected, would be his policies. Progressive Republica Are More Conmservative. It is noted by many observers that the sharp demarkation between the old guard and the progressives which existed in 1912 and to less degree in 1916 seems to be fading. Men are less tenacious of ultra opinions. Pro- gressives are more conservative—the radicals among them have gone over to the democrats and to the social- ists. Old guardsmen are less irrec- oncilable. Tariff views are chang- ing. Supporters of excessive dutles are not so insistent, and former ex- treme low-tariff men are found ad- vocating “adequate” duties. same drift is discernible in the demo- cratic party. An out-and-out free trader is hard to find. Some republican observers believe that the republican party in the cam- paign of 1924 will be found to be progressive from top to bottom, with an old guard spot only here and there. It was sald that the “old guard dies, but never surrenders.” physically, in recent years. Definition Is Needed For Progressivism. If some one could define in simple language just what constitutes “pro- gressivism” in politics it would help a lot. It has been used oftener as a slogan to advance personal and fac- The | pected that They have been dying. literally and| policy. It has at times cloaked the who were out to dispossess another who were in control. publican party is now operating is the platform adopted in 1920. A Philadelphia lawver would have dif- ficulty gressive. Democrats Hammering Away at Tariff. The democrats in the Senate are driving vigorously ahead in their policy of holding up the republican tariff bill as an alleged monster of iniquity menacing the ultimate con- sumer with higher cost of living. The democratic leaders believe that they are making an impression on the country and intend to hammer away | on the same line if it takes all sum- mer. Every scehdule in the tariff bill thus far considered by the Senate has been attacked and carefully and| painstakingly the democratic tariff| specialists have sought to attach the | odium of increased cost to the con- | sumer to the articles covered by the | schedule. The republicans have had to be on the defensive and to deny the assertions. The difficulty which will confront the democrats will be to get their| statements before the country. It is certain that few people can follow the debates in all their detail. It is ex the democratic orators | will have to take their cause to the | stump when the congressional cam- paign gets well under way, and by the same token the republicans will have to trail their speakers with off- setting arguments. So, it will amount practically to a campaign of assertion amd denial **"Tis 80" on the one side and ** "Tisn" on the other. The theory of protec- | tion is attractive to many minds, but the charge that the cost of living is| being increased is more readily un- derstood by most. the democrats think, and easier to drive home to| the ordinary understanding. i League of Nationa. Refuses to Down. tional political ambitions than to de-|cropping of scribe a definite and distinctive public | neous outburst aims of one set of political managers | democrats for the leagu: | The charter under which.the re-|state convention in proving that it is not pro- | ocrats Leaders, Instead of Bosses, to Manage - Political Party Affairs in the Futurg the day is hany the sponta in ¥ of the tment of country Indiana furnished the la when the speake last sized support of the f < Mr. Wilson It was also observed t intend 1o at power treaty, and that | likely to becor The democrats expec supplied to their wheel warmness—to put it m republican candidate for sen: Beveridge, toward this high im portant feature of the [ ment The most significant political out- ence’s achievements Promise of Lively Times Are Ahead. If the democra ke the leagud of nations an issu the congres sional campaign an issue 10 appea to sentiment, and the inc d cost of the market basket to appeal to the pocket, it will add to the of politics this fall. all politi agree. It looks as if an intere time may be ahead. Invitations Sent Pacific Nations Invitations to participate in a pan- Pacific conference on be held at H g have been transm State Departm ments bordering on the The mee auspices of the to discuss a wide The list of those made public vesterdas munication, transporta and conservation « resources, finance and internatioal rela Pacific area. Much interest attaches t ference this the settlement limitation of arm which had a direct future of the far east to ra on the p include and nvestme pa: vear increase the possit pe trade between t ries border on the Pac With Passing of Latest Reparations Crisis, Europe Again Sees Sun and Hope Revives BY OLIVER OWEN KUHN. NCE upon a time, when the shadows of night were swiftly falling, three youths set forth over the fields and toward an erie woods, wherein was located a large cave of their own making. It was here this night that the “pirate” treasure was to be di- vided and buried, as was the wont of Capt. Kidd. Steps led them into the wooded terrain, where weird shadows took the form of hob-gob- lins and the tremulous call of the hoot owl only occasionally broke an oppressive silence. Slipping behind a large tree one michievous youngster, through telescoped hands, cried ou “Boo!"” “Boo!" This from the depths of & little ravine nearby. Three youngsters trembled, grew bold. “Boo!" they shouted back. “Boo!” came the echo. Then a mad dash. Seconds only had elapsed when three large-eyed, trembling and pant- ing younsters sat in the candlelight of their retreat. Silence was oppres- sive. Anxlety was portrayed in sharp glances toward the dugout entrance. But as heart beats grew less pro- nounced and courage once more be- an to Wke itself manifest, one youngster. Bolder than the rest, ex- claimed: “Hully ge@ fellers, that was some bo Analogy may be found in the na- tions of Europe today. In the darkness of war-created chaos, they set out to divide their treasure in_the cavernous depths of then political iIntrigue. Suddenly one, France, shouted: “Boo! It scared other nations mightily. But today they look back upon events and po- words picked at random from the dic- | tentialities of the past two weeks tionary. It was obvious to these edu- cators that It is not only useless but wasteful of a pupil's time to learn’ to spell words which he never will use in writing and at the same time neglect to master thoroughly the words he will actually use. Recent studies by the authorities on spelling show how comparatively few words are necessaty, and these-consti- tute the foundation vocabulary used in ordinary English wriing. A study by Leonard P. Ayres showed;that approxi- mately 1,000 commercial words sare used. In order of thelr frequency, they are: The, then, and, of, to, I, a, in, *hat, you, for, it, was, is, with, as, have, not, ete. - * k% % Prof. Danlel Starch also tabulated some 40,000 running words, about 1,000 from each of forty authors in eleven current, high-grade magasines. This yiclded 5,903 differet words, as follows; 3,111 words occurred once, 1,009 words occurred twice, 512 words occurred three times, 280 words occurred four times, 180 words occurred five times, 121 words occurred six times, 97 words occurred ssven times, 82 words occurred eight times, 53 words occurred nine times, 256 words occurred ten to nine- teen times and 224 words occurred twenty or more times. As previously stated, the study of spelling In the District schools does not begin intensively until & pupil reaches the-fourth gradey | Chancellor- Wirth let-jt~be-knos and with relief passing all under- standing exclaim: ee, old world, that was Optimism Pervades Europe at Present. As a result of the.passing of the crisis which would have arisen should Poincare have initiated his policy of enforced sanctions against Germany for failure to meet reparations pay- ments on May 31, Europe already has become imbued with a spirit of opti- mism that has, not pervaded the con- tinent eince the days of the Paris peace conference. ' Enforced sanc- tions eventually would have led to the breaking up of allied alllances, such a course would have almost pre- QJuded Germany's pdyment of future reparations without the most griev- ous of enforced exactions, and would have instilled hatreds that would have taken centuries to erase. In- stead of the prospect of a going Eu- rope, the continent would have hzen ushered into an era of economic, po- litical and financial striving that eventually would have led to destruc- tion. However, on the eve of the date of threatened French penalties, France let it be known that there would be no such thing. This, par- ticularly after the Germans through Minister of Finance Hermes and that Germany would consent to rep- arations commission demands whicn involved in their main principles su- pervision of German governmental finances by the allies, the floating of internal loans, the balancing of the governmental budgets, the cessation of paper money presses and preven- tion of exports of capital from Ger- many. In consequence the repera- tions commission has consented to a practical moratorium for Germany during the period of 1922, though this consent does not in anywise affect the Locheur-Rathenau agreement by which Germany during the vear will turn over to France the equivalen: 1o 1,450,000 gold marks in goods. In short, the way is paved for agreements of lasting character, ones through which the equilibrium of Europe may be restored eventually. Particularly will this be true if the bankers representing allied countries now meeting in Parls agree upon a billion-dollar loan to Germany within the immediate future, an agreement declared essential to Germany and one expected by the German govern- ment in consenting to ab'de by the reparations commission demards. Large Loan Will Permit Germany to Advance. ! The general situation in a nutshell is this: The billion-dollar lgan will be largely ‘used In meeting German reparations payments yet due, and relieve the German treasury to such an extent that Germany will be per- mitted to progress along desired eco- nomic and financial lines. At least a loan will permit Germany to re- vive hope of becoming a going con- cern in the world of trade and eco- nomic and financial endeavor. Only such a Germany can materially aid in the general recovery of the old world. This is taken for granted in all quarters. But out of the whole situation emerges a fact which is extremely important to all nations and which may yet restore France to the good graces she once occupied, at least temporarily allay the prevalent belief that France is only militaristic. This fact is the apparent willingness of the French to admit to further cur- talilment of the sum total of Ger- man reparations burdens. Every- where in France there is beginning to be felt the need of concession. ‘The view that Germany must be aided is prevalent in findncial, industrial and general trade circles, but whether the recalictrant chamber of deputies, which- is more or less responsive.to a misguided sentiment prevailing in the provinces, can prevent concei sions remains to be seen. However, there has been a tendency to revise the 132,000,000,000 gold-mark demand framed in London, and, according to reliable advices, France might go so far as be content with a 50,000,000,000 reparations payment, providing, of course, France's claims are in large measure met. In other allied countries, partic- ularly England, there is a tendency to walve in large measure their par- ticular claims if France can be ap- peased and the continent placed once more on & workable basis. England's waiver, of ershare in reparations | | most certainly would swiftly advance the French sentiment that repara- | tions should be cut. However, France cannot and should not be expected to waive her just deserts, for France more than any other nation suffered in the war. But there has always been a gu between the French viewpoint, which heretofore would have taken every- and would thing loose in Germany have disembowelled Germany for- ever, and the viewpoint of other allies who have insisted Germany. for shown some mercy in final settle- ment. Billion-Dollar Loan iMay Be Only First. | 1t is to be expected that the biilion- dollar loan to be agreed upon in Paris will preface others at later date when Germany will be able to give greater guarantees by virtue of improved conditions. With this in mind, France undoubtedly will go' far in the general endeavor to bring about ajustments more in keeping with Germany's actual ability to pay and more in line with the viewpoint of other allies, which will perpetuate general prosperity's sake. should be | friendships and alliances created in the war more than any one other sin- gle thing. While France will be aided, other nations, likewise, will be permitted to get industrial wheels to moving to the consequent good of all concerned. While central and western Europe are for the moment keenly concerned and dominated by optimism, the states of eastern Europe yet are in doubt as to the future, for the reason that the Russian question must vet be solved finally before advance can be in proportion to desire. As a con- sequence there is great interest in the coming sessions at The Hague, | where agreements either will or will not be effected between the large powers in regard to Russia’s future | | | status. There also m come ARTEE- ments as to caste which up to the present T proven decidedly settlement of some k be if Europe is 1o a consequence, the ern European count largely at The Hague, unexpected channels wi but Position of France Causes Conjecture. The po: of France ably the potent p in Europe, is one to ca Rece concord n conjecture. ratified a vakia which would fluence predominant nd mania, Jugoslavia and Czechoslo- vakia. France at the same time, u der purported agreements, obtal the use of 2,000,000 ops in case Germany becomes recalcitrant in the future. Can France ignore the interes of her new allies and further refuse to treat with Russians in view of her rapproachments? Will Premier Poincare sist on the initialed at Ge 4 are the questions that yet must be made clear before specula- tion as to the future of The Hague sessions can be hazarded However, with a promised interna- tional loan to Germany, which will not only lessen French financial haz- tead to ard in reparations, but also a measure of allied and Frex trol over Germany's future with the poss of Franco-German engagemen French could turn whole-hes The Hague with the view ing the tangled skeins that exist the east. The optimism that prevai rope today seems bedded rock of admitted necessi sures co-ordinated advanc whic Kansas May Forbid Foodstuff Handlers to Handle Any Money Kansas has undertaken numerous reforms with more or less success. It started the éwat-the-fly campaign with a requirement that every public place where foods are sold must be guarded ‘against flies. It abolished the common drinking cup and the jroller towel so many years ago that these are common throughout the country now. So Kansas Is preparing another crusade. This is that the maa or girl who handles foodstufft which is not skinned, peeled or otherwise having the outer covering removed before it is eaten should not be per- mitted to handle money. It is a be- lief of some health officers that it is all wrong for the man who cuts 8 beefsteak to take a dollar bill and make the change and that it is bad for the girl who counts out a dozen lady fingers at the bakery to take the money In payment for it. Dr. L. B. Gloyne, health officer of Kansas ’»-JKa0.,-has put the new L rule into actual practice in the larg- est city in Kansas and the state board of health is urging food merchants generally to follow the same rule, al- though no specific prohibition has been made against it thus far. It was Dr. S. J. Crumbine, secretary of the state board of health, who start- ed the anti-fly campaign and abol- ished the common drinking cup and the roller towel and it is regarded as probable that Dr. Crumbine wiil shortly recommend to the board of health that a rule against food vendors handling money ought to be promul- gated and enforced. The board has considered the question at recent meetings and the matter is under more careful investigation before final action is taken. In the Kansas legislature two years ago a bill was introduced which would require the physical examina- tion of all those handling foods i any form, but the bill did not get beyond the committee, ;