Evening Star Newspaper, June 15, 1922, Page 1

WEATHER. Fair tonight and tomorrow; no change in temperature. Temperature for twenty-four hours ended at 3 p.m. today: Highest. §0, at 2 p.m. today; lowest, 6], at 5:30 a.m. today. Full report on page 10. I Closing N. Y. Stocks and Bonds, Page 30 No. 28,536. AMERICA MENACED BY POLITICAL TREND RWEEKS ASSERTS Gradually Weakening Gov- ernment Structure, Sec- retary of War Declares. “CONGRESS AT LOW EBB”; & HITS AT REFORM MOVES Believes Prohibition Has Resulted in “Disquietude”—“Running Riot on Popular Elections.” B the Associated Press. CLEVELAND, Ohio, June 15.—A frankly pessimistic view of some of the predominant tendencies of Amer- ican political thought was voiced to- day by Secretary Weeks of the War Department at the commencement ex- croises of Western Reserve Univer- sity. = In an address which he said he was tempted to entitle “The Decline of the American Government,” the war Sec- rotary declared the drift of recent years was gradually weakening the nation's governmental structure by undermining the Constitution sweeping away the principles of par- ty responsibility. The direct primary, “bloc” agitation and the country’s readiness to accept constitutional amendments were in- stanced by the speaker as furnishing evidence that the government Was heading away from its ancient safe- guards and toward complete social democracy. Congress at Low Ebb. As one result, he asserted, in the public mind. “the legislative branch of our national government probably been at lower ebb than it primary.” he continued, “has so palpably lessened the quality of men willing to serve in public affairs that_prompt action should be taken to greatly modify or entirely repeal it." Turning_to_the “bloc” movement in politics, iir. Weeks declared that when a party comes into power promising to do certain things and then finds that groups break away from party, al- Jegiance whenever their own interests seem to be directly involved, “there is an end to responsibility in government.” In its attempts to improve upon the work of the fathers by amending the Constitution, the Secretary said. the country had “failed signally.” He added that in the matter of popular elections iwe have run riot,” and he susgested that much of the nt an Uincertainty seemed RGater In taxa- tion and prohibition. Exercises Free Speech Privilege. By way of preface, the Secretary said his philosophizing applied to no particu- lar party and that he spoke not as a government official, but as a private citizen exercising his privilege of free speech. His address follows, in part: “I am greatly disturbed by the de- parture in recent years from the government of the Constitution, as I construe it, to other forms of gov- ernment, which have a decided tend- ency toward complete social democ- . While I have no fear aLout the ability of our government to endure, I must admit that I am very pessimistic about the result of the present trend, which I cannot but be- lieve is gradually weakeaing our governmental structure and may eventually change its character. Hits at Reforme: “In order to be truly progressive, many people conclude they must be continually moving. We have in this country a large number of reformers, many of them professional reform- ers, who are rushing about t-ying to reform everything and everybody. Of course, there are conditions which need correction, but often the sug- gested cure will result in greater evil than the existing evil it is de- ned to correct. A lagislator should resist all such schemes to the point of being reactionary. “If any of you young men and women decide fo undertake a public career, as I hope you will, let me urge you never to subport a proposition becapse it is popular to do so. Be suided in your actions by wisdom and Jjudtice. It is easy to obtain the ap- plause of the unthinking, but it is a cheap price for the sacrifice of yout self-respect. “Then. we see an ever Increasing tendency on the part of the citizen to interfere in the details of legis- Jation. and the representative in Coungress is rapidly becoming merely tre delegate of his constituency. Of course, he is aware that the people of his district in_all probability have Peen unable to give the subject any deliberate consideration, but an ac- tive andl organized minority may cre- ate such a furor that its demands are mistaken as the expressed senti- ment of a majority. 4 Reduced to Mere Machine. “This interference tends to make the representative timid and Instead of enjoying the dignified status of a real representative, he is reduced to the status of a mere machine to earry out the whims and caprices of his constituency. “T believe the mature judgment of the people of the country can be trust- ed. If you take any great question of government and discuss it fully in every school district in the country, through the press and from the plat- gorm, the not results will be a cor- ! and } Entered as second-class matter post office “Vashington, D. € WASHINGTON, D. C., THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 7 BLOOD STAINS STREAMS IN MOUNTAIN RUM WAR Five Thousand Stills Capturedin Great Offen- sive Over Rugged Ranges of Tennessee, irginia, Kentucky and N. Carolina. Special Dispatch to The Star. BRISTOL, Tenn.-Va., June 15.—Shut off from the outside world by range after range of high, rugged moun- tains, government agents, state offi- cers and scores of sheriffs and their deputies today are engaged in the greatest offensive ever waged against the moonshiners of Tennessee, Ken- tuck Virginia and North Carolina. The present drive marks the culmina- tion of nearly three months of prepa- ration and preliminary skirmishing. Already blood is trickling down some of the mountain streams, but the toll of dead and wounded cannot even be guessed at this stage of the struggle. But there is every indica- tion that the officers of the law are winning their battle against “white lightning.” The mountaineers who have been sent back from the “front” as prisoners admit that for the first time =ince prohibition enforcement was attempted the moonshiners have been unable to put stills in operation faster than the raiders seized them. This is a clear indication that the flood tide of ill liquor from many of the mountain districts has turned to the ebb. Stills Harder to Find. Hundreds of stills are in operation. There is no doubt of that. And many of them will be in operation for some months to come. But these illicit plants in the mountain fastnesses are daily becoming harder to find. Hav- ing apparently gained the upper hand, the enforcement agencies will strive hard to hold the advantage they have won. So vast is the undertaking that state prohibition officers are just be- ginning to realize the scope of the success of their operations prior to the arrival of the “federal army.” The most significant phase of the battle today is that the moonshiners themselves appear to be discouraged. Their losses in money values and in life have been heavier than they care to admit. Furthermore, they are re- alizing apparently for the first time the full scope of the prohibition move- ment. Heretofore they have regarded the fight as an individual “grudge” against them. They know little that ever transpires outside tReir own mountain districts. Many of them. in Jail, have been told for the first time that liquor making iz outlawed through all the United States. Sheriffs and Deputies Lead. Unlike many other sections of thel country where the federal agents have been refused Jocal and state as- sistance in the enforcement of the prohibition law, the government “rev- enuers” who have been sent into the mountain country of the south have been loyally supported bt the sheriffs and their deputies. Without this su port, It Is admitted. little progre: could have been made. The moun- tains of the south are unkind to those who do not know them well. In the enforcement activities thus far the Sheriffs and their men have been by far the heaviest sufferers, for they have led the way and have been first on the firing line. Without theirkeen eyes, their cunning woodcraft and their stout hearts, the moonshiners would reign supreme in the moun- tains today. As it is. the courts already are clogged With cases and many jails are Cluttered with whisky-making pris- oners. Within the last few months it is estimated that more than 5,000 stills have been seized. Enforcement Nearer Reality. Prohibition enforcement, in short, is today nearer a reality than ever before. Close observers agree that the production has fallen about one- half, and the summer of 1922, which was all set to be the banner season for the output of the fiery liquor, already has entered a stage of deep depression. Magnshine is moving more slowly toward the citles and both makers and runners are demand- ing higher prices for the heavier risks they are running day by day. Tt is estimated that something like 2,000,000 gallons of “white staff” came out of the mountains last year. Pro- duction for a record year started with a rush in the early spring. but it is falling off rapidly now. For faids during the past few weeks have ex- tended from the Cumberland moun- tains along the Kentucky-Virginia border as far south as the Great Smokey Chain on the Tennessee- North Carolina border, and far east as the Blue Ridge in Virginia. The relentless sunshine of state and federal enforcement is slowly but surely dissipating the illicit mountain dew. (Copyright. 1922.) ROCK CREEK MADE FOUL BY DRANAGE FROM CHEVY CHASE Sewage Disposal Plant Too Small fo Handle. Refuse, Army Engineer Finds. Pollution of the waters of Rock Creek is being further aggravated. it was learnad today, by the dumping directly into the creek of the raw sewage from the disposal plant in- tended to take care of the sewage from Chevy Chase, Md. Maj. Willis P. Baker, United States Army Medical Corps, and in ‘charge of the sanitation in Rock Creek, as well as other waters in federal parks, plans to go to Chevy Chase tomor- row and look into the conditions there, and to examine the disposal plant. Will Examine Refuse. While this suburb has a sewage dis- posal plant that is supposed to treat the sewpge before being dumped into the creek, Maj. Baker said that it had been brought to his attention that many times the raw sewage is dumped | directly into the waters without treatment. Samples of the refuse will be taken as has been done at points on the creek where other towns dump ‘heir sewage, and these will be subject:d to bacteriological examination in the laboratories of the Army Medical School. Other specimens will be taken at the same time and sealed to be used as exhibits in the government's proposed action to secure an injunc- tion to prevent the Maryland towns from using Rock creek to carry off their sewage. Maj. Beker plans to take the speci- mens tomorrow, but it will take sev- eral days to put the waters and sew-, age through the bacteriological ex- aminations in the laboratory, and it is not probable that the results will be known before the first of next week, it was said. Other Tests Under Way. Frequent samples are being taken at points along the creek to de- termine to what degree bacteria is present in the waters, so that should they at any time become very danger- ous use of the waters for any pur- pose whatever might be stopped. A continuous watch is being kept by the medical department on the con- dition of the waters from a sanitary standpoint. ‘The sewage disposal plant, at Chevy “{Continued on Page 2, Column 7.) (Continued on Page 2, Column 3,) SAYS SPIRITS SAVED RAILROAD : FROM GALVESTON TIDAL WAVE By the’ Associated Press. NEW YORK, June 15.—That every mile of the 3,000 miles of railroad he has built has been constructed by following the ad- vice of spirits, and that he changed the direction of the Kansas City Southern and built his terminal at Port Arthdr, Tex., rather than Iveston, which” the spirits warned him to”avoid because of zoming disaster there, is the as- sertion of Arthur E. Stilwell, who says bhé has been president of many railroads, and was president , for seven ygars of the National . Surety Company. Making his rcv- elations lest night_at a - meeting of spiritualists, he said that he had not revealed his-relations with the spirit world before because he did_not want “people to think him a nut.” ‘T have built more than 3,000 miles of railroad,” he said, “and every part of the route was de- termined by spirits, who cams to me In my dreams and told me ‘what to do. \ “When I was building the Kan- sas City Southern I was warned by spirits not to build the terminal at _Galveston, because it would lead to disaster. THey told me to terminate it at Lake Sabine, where 1 built the terminal of Iort Arthur. Four days after tae ter- minal was completed the tidal wave wiped out Galveston,” $145,080,232 COST OF STRIKE THUS FAR IN KEYSTONE STATE By the Associated Press. HARRISBURG, Pa., June 15— Coal miners and operators of Pennsyivaila2 w8 an estimate, have Tost $145,080,232 by the pres» ent strike—figures issued today by Dr. C. B. Connelly, state coin- missioner of labor and industry, after a study of reports to the de- partment’s mediation bureau. The figures date from April 1, and are from official sources. They are based on an_average daily wage of $5 for each miner, and an average cost of maintenance of the mines while idle to the opera- tors of $910,000 a day, counting fifty-seven and a half working days during April, May and June. LIQUOR SALE BAN ON AMERICAN SHIPS ASKED IN CONGRESS Bankhead Offers Amend- ment to Merchant Marine Bill in Committee. Definite steps through legislation to stop the sale of liquor upon American ships were started today through presentation by Representa- tive Bankhead, democrat, Alabama, of an amendment to the merchant marine bill which would cut off the government aid provided in the meas- ure from £ny ship carrying intoxi- cating liquors or beverages. The Alabama representative offer- ed his amendment at a meeting of the House merchant marine commit- tee, of which he is a member, called to take final action on the merchant marine bill. Considerable doubt was expressed, however, that the amend- ment would be accepted, as the indi- cations were that the majority mem- bers of the committee would vote to report the bill as framed by a sub- comimttee. Provisions of Bill. The Bankhead amendment world provide “that no paw{_of the money hereid appropriated shall be used for the payment of compensation to the owner of any vessel upon which any llquors or beverages containing more than one-half of 1 per cent alcohol by volume are stored, sold, kept for sale, offered for sale or other disposi- tion within or without the territorial waters of the United States.” Attorney General Daugherty will be asked for a new ruling on the ques- tion of the sale of liquor on Shipping Board vessels, it was indicated today at the Treasury. High Treasury officials in discuss- ing the matter today sald that al- though _Prohibition Commissioner Haynes had not submitted to Secre- tary Mellon a request that Mr. Daugh- erty be asked to review the ruling of Former Acting Attorney General Frierson. holding the selling of liquor on American ships to be illegal, Sec- retary Mellon was ready to forward such a request If it came from Mr. Haynes. Would Harmonmise Differences. Mr. Haynes was understood to be considering the need of & new ruling by the Justice Department in order: to harmonize the difference of opin- fon between Mr. Frierson’s ruling and the stand taken by General Counsel Schlesinger of/ the Shipping. Board, that liquor could be sold lawfully on government vessels outside the three- mile limit. Meanwhile, officers sald, the Treas- ury and the prohibjion unit would maintain its position that in view of i WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION ACCUSE OFFICERS OF FAILURE TO ACT INRIOT ON BOAT Tech Students Declare Two! Appeals Brought Np Intervention. FAFAL FIGHT BLAMED PRIMARILY ON BOOTLEG DL Civic Pride Goaded Alexandrians and Washingtonians to‘Clash’ on Macalester. Charges that officers of the steamer Charles Macalester had failed to take action to keep order and prevent the spread of rioting on the boat last night which resulted in one death and a number of injuries, were today placed in the hands of Attorney Clyde D. Garrett by Norman Barnes, presi- dent of the Tech Alumni Association, with a request that steps be taken along legal lines in this instance. Tech students charge that twice Capt. Henry Turner, in command of the steamer, was sought with requests to stop the incipient riot, which later developed into melee in which scores of participants hurled pop bot- tles, used knives and battered each other with fists, but that they were met with the reply that the officers were “too busy” to attend to such things, since they had to take care of the hoat. 3 a 350 I street southwest, stabbed four 1922 — i | | | | | THREE D.C. BILLS (ORDERED REPORTED Judges’ Salary Increase, Track Extension and Ac- countancy Board Favored. The day House District committee to- ordered a favorable report three billy as follows: on The fatality and principal injuries are: Louis B. McCormack. twenty vears old. 1137 5th street northeast, dead | at Alexandria. Va. stabbed through | the heart with a knife. i Eugene Allbright, twenty. of 513, Queen street. Alexandria, injured on | the head with bottle. | James R. Hewitt, eighteen. 1301 | King street, Alexandria, injuries to | the head i Jesse Gilmartin, 209 Queen street, | bruises and abras | Ernest Joseph Watson. twenty, of | | i LOUIS P. McCORMACK. times, in hand, side and leg, at Em- ergency Hospital. Student Being Held. A number of others received minor injuries. Police are holding Wat- son, James Noonan, twenty-four, of 1245 224 street, and John Edward Histon, twenty-one, of 601 K street nortbeast, for investigation. Jack Hayden Lew was taken to an intoxicated condition, was also charged with intoxication and turned over to his father, after deposit of $25 collateral. Lewis is the only student of Tech- nical High School being held in the affair. The consensus of investiga- tors’ opinion seems to be that Tech High boys kept well out of the fight, taking virtually no part in it. Two excursions yesterday were held at Marshall Hall, one was under the auspices of the Tech Alumni Associa- tion, the other under the auspices of the Railway Mail Clerks' Alexandria. . Approximately 600 per- ons from this city and 500 from Alex- andria were on hoard. Intermittent Fights on Land. The actual fracas started after the boat had left the pier at Marshall | ported by a subcommittee, of which Hall, at about 5 o'clock. Inter- | Representative Zl‘hllhman o; Maryland, . is Tchairman, with & few minor mittently during the evening therel,nges. It was explained that this had been fights on the grounds. A group from Alexandria and a gang of Washingtonians were opponents. A general melee took place just above the dock before the steamer started. ‘Witnesses declare that approximately 100 persons engaged in this mix-up. It centered about one or two pleasure- seekers and was broken up within fifteen minutes after it had started. What started the trouble is credited | to several different things. andria_today two big reasons were being given. One was that Washing- tonians were guyifig the Alexandrians about the city and municipal pride caused Jjesting words to turn_ to harsher ones which later gave place to blows. “A woman was at the bottom of it. declared another Alexandrian today. But he failed to explain the exact connection of the woman with the fight, declaring his remarks to be based on hearsay. Bootleg Blamed by All. There's one reason upon which vir- tually all agree as a principal con- tributing cause. That's bootleg moonshine from Charles county. Tech students say that bootleggers on the boat were as thick as fiies. and that it was not uncommon at all to have a shoulder Tapped and the words whispered: “Do you want a little liquor?” _ These statements have received Buch credence among prohibition en- forcement agents that it was an- nounced today a new clean-up cam- paign in_the Charles county district would shortly be Inaugurated by Virginia dry enforcement groups, to wipe up what is fast becoming a mecca to dry-throated lawbreakers. ers. Of the actual fight, little definite is being told today. To get a general description one would have to have an airplane X-ray photograph of the Charles Macalester just before she dock- ed at the Alexandria wharf. 1t was then, At Alex- the existing differenge of opinion it 1Continued on m’ 2, Column 7,) ~{Contiued on Pags 2, Columa 1) , 477 Irving street, who | mergency Hospital in Union of | To allow the extension of Baltimore ! and Ohio railroad tracks by an over- | | head trestle into the square bounded | by 1st and 2d streets northeast. M street and New York and Florida | avenue. Creating a board of certified pub- accountancy to issue certificates accountants passing a requisite examination. _Increasing the salary of the two i judges of Police Court from $3,600 | | to $5,000. The committee also decided that the Lampert pure milk bill recommended by the Distrist health officer, which would | require that all milk for homg consump- | tion in the District should come from herds, tuberculin tested annually. should | | be given the earliest possible considera- |tion in the House. This measure was | previously reported and is on the calen- | dar. | The bill for extension of a spur track | of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad ! across N street northeast, was discussed } at length. The House committee amend- ed the measure, which has already passed the Senate, to meet the objec-| tions of churches, hospitals, schools, | citizens'_association and other residents i | lic { {along North Capitol street. who have | | been fearful that the entire stretch on | |the east side of North Capitol street | from Florida avenue to the tion would eventually be used for coal. dumps and warehouses. Confers Wide Authority. The bill as sed by the Senate would confer wide authority on the District Commissioners, allowing them to authorize the extension of railroad tracks, underground or overhead, across streets in the District, into in- dustrial zones now existing, or those that may hereafter be so designated. The fear of opponents of this legisla- tion was.that eventually the indus- trial zone, now established east of 1st street northeast, might be allowed to extend into the commercial zone be- tween 1st and North Capitol streets. It was made plain that the amend- ment of the House committee, adopted on recommendation of subcommittee headed by Representative Wheeler of Illinois, safeguards against giving such wide authority to the Commis- sioners and confines the legislation to this particular piece of property which is owned by Mrs. Harriett Win- slow and Miss E. P. Patterson, who were represented at the hearing by Francis_Winslow. The Capper bill, to create a board of accountancy, which would issue cer- tificates to accounts passing a requi- site examination, was favorably re- puts no expense on the District and is modeled along lines of laws in var- ious states. Favors Code Amendment. Judge Hardison of the Police Court, appeared in_support of a bill intro- duced by Representative John W. Langley of Kentucky to amend the code of laws in the District, by in- Police Court judges. Judge Hardison oxplained that as he expects soon {{o leave the court he would get { little 1f any personal benefit through this lcgislation. He informed the committee that the Police Court in tne District has wider Jjurisdiction than any similar court throughout the country and explaied the scope of its work. In reply to questions, he said that the court sits every day in the year except Sundays, includ- ing Christmas, Thanksgiving and all holidays. There was considerable discussion of the advisability of increasing the salary to $7,500, but the majority of the commitfee thought that serfous; opposition might develop to so sub- stantial an increase. Chairman Focht said that in view of the fact that the House would soon start on & series of three-day re- cesses, he desired at the next meeting of the committee to have the mem- bers decide which of the bills al- ready reported to the House should be given right of wi —_——— {ITALY ROUTS ARAB REBELS. ROME, June 15.—A Tripoli dispatch reports that Arab rebels in the Italian colony in Tripolitania have met with a severe reverse at the hands of the Italian garrison. The outpost of Gioso was captured by the Italians. thus, it is said, breaking all chances of an uprising. WASHBURN IN VIENNA. VIENNA, June 15.—Albert Henry ‘Washburn, new American minister to Austria, arrived here yesterday and called imnediately at the foreign of- fice, where he presented his creden- i LIFE'S DARKES j formal complaint | Justice Morschauser charging that ¢ Foening Star. FIFTY-TWO PAGES. = i kMY VB NAME S Yt SAMONG () THE. MISSING _ T MOMENT DRY AGENTS NAB FIVE ALLEGED RUM-RUNNERS IN NARRAGANSETT BAY By the Assoriated Press. NEW YORK, June 15.—Five al- leged rum-running vessels, plying between a steamer anchored in Narragansett bay and the Americ- can coast, have been seized by fad- eral agents, United Ktates Attorney Hayward announced today The seized vessels were the oeean-goifig tugs H. S. Lockwood and Kentucky and the barges City of Maulden, City of Boston and Ler- mond. The tugs were eeized in the har- bor here. The five vessels have twice unloaded the steamer Coro- na of alcohol and whisky loaded in New York ostensibly for de- livery in Greece, Mr. Hayward said The Corona. owned by the Globe Steumship Company of New York, and cperated under Peruvian reg- istry. put out for Greece last March with a cargo of 40,000 gal- lons of grain alcohol, according to information gathered by the federal agents. Instead of proceed- ing to. Greecé, it is alleged, she anchored fn Narragansett bay and turned her cargo over to the five vessels which delivered it to boot- leggers in Newton creek. Last month it, is alleged, the Corona again cléared for Greece, this time with £,000 cases of whis- ky. which she had taken on at Bermuda. Again she anchored and turned her cargo over to the American rum-runners, it is al- leged. GRAND JURY HOLDS WARD FOR MURDER Indictment Charges Slaying of ex-Sailor in Alleged Blackmail Fight. ‘WHITE PLAINS, N. Y., June 15— Walter S. Ward, millionaire baker's son, today was indicted by the West- chester grand jury on a charge of! killing Clarence Peters, ex-sailor, last May. District Attorney Weeks made a to Supreme Court George S. Ward, father of Walter-S. ‘Ward, has entered a conspiracy to de- feat the ends of justice. Justice Morschauser, who impan- eled the grand jury investigating the Ward case, was asked by the district attorney 1o sit as a committing magis- trate and investigate the charges’ brought by the district attorney. George S. Ward, for whom a sub- poena has been issued, is said to be in Pennsylvania. e MRS. RHODES WILL QUIT SCHOOL BOARD After ten years of continuous serv- ice Mrs. Susie Root Rhodes has de. cided 4o resign from the board of edu cation, it was learned from reliable | sources today. It is understood that Mrs. Rhodes is desirous of giving up her seat on the school board in order to devote all of her attention to her position as super- visor of municipal playgrounds. Playground Work Grows. Mrs. Rhodes was on the school board for several years prior to her appointment as director of city play- grounds. The work of the latter de- partment has grown steadily in the past five years and is now one of the most active branches of the city gov- ernment. Mrs. Rhodes’ period of ten years on the board is a record for lehgth of service, 8o far as could be learned today. Mrs. Rhodes’ present term has two more years to run. but, according to her friends, She feels that play- grounds have come to be recognized as of sufficient importance to the municipality to receive all of the time of the supervisor. Many new centers of play for the boys and girls of the District have been opened since Mrs. Rhodes took office, and_the scope of activities on the playgrounds has been broadened to include ail kinds of athletic events. In addition to her regular work, Mrs. Rhodes during the ensuing summer will have to supervise the operation ‘of more than a score of school play- grounds, under a special appropriation of $10,000 contained in the District bill, which is expected to become & law before-July, le = Member of the Associated Press The Associated Press is cxclusively entitled to the uwe for republication of wil news dispatches credited 1o it or not otherwive credited in this vaper and wiso the locel news published herein. Al rights | dispatches of publication of speci hereln are also reserved. | O [T 1S ANNOUNCED THA] [ATRIUMVIRATE WIL TAKE THE RACE oF PREMIER LENIN- Twe THREE NAMES MENTIONED ARE STALIN, KAMENEFF AND FORMER ARMY MAN; GUILTY OF BRIBERY Ex-Capt. Ritzman Accebted $800 to Influence Pur- chase of Chains. Charles A. Ritzman of Detroit, Mich., formerly a captain in the Army in charge of the maintenance divi- sion of the motor transport corps, was convicted today by a jury in the | criminal division of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia on an indictment for bribery. The jurors | found that he accepted $500 from C. R. Standley of Boone, lowa, to influ- ence the purchase of $100,000 worth of skid chain and skid fasteners for use of the government. The jury ac- quitted him on the two counts which alleged that he solicited the bribe. Motion for a new trial will be filed by his attorney, Thomas C. Bradley. Ritzman is at liberty on bail. | ‘The testimony showed that Stand- | ley in November, 1918, came to Wash- ¢ ington to see why he was not géfing | more orders and after conversations | with Ritzman reported his suspicions to the military intelligence office and the Department of Justice. He was| glven $800 of government morney to hand to Ritzman in a local hotel room in which a dictaphone had been in- stalled by the officials. The money was marked and was paid over to Ritzman while the machine recorded the transaction as the money w: counted, “one hundred, two hundred and so on. In his defense Ritaman claimed that he was suspicious of Standley and led him on to the offering of the bribe money whcih he intended to turn over to his superiors, but was arrested before having opportun do so. Assistant United States Attorney Bilbrey conducted the prosecution. t BRITISH SAVE DAYLIGHT. Commons Makes Plan a Permanent Fixture. LONDON, June 15.—Da_\'hghl-sa\'in¢’ time in summer throughout the Brit- | ish Isles is made a permanent fixture | through the passage by the house of commons of the “summertime bill.” The measure, which was adopted by a vote of 206 to 26, is similar to that in effect in the other European coun- tries. PARIS LIVING SOARS. |Now 217 Per Cent Higher Than When War Broke Out. PARIS, June 15.—The cost of liv-| ing in Paris is 217 per cent higher at | present than at the outbreak of the | i i world war, according to the report of a special commission appointed by the minister of commerce. The report was based on a comparison of the Pricés of thirteen articles of food and clothing. ' e BUILDING MEN FREED. BUFFALO, June 15.—Seven indict- ments against building supply deal- ers voted by a special grand jury following the visit to Buffalo of the Lockwood housing committee, were dismissed in the supreme court by Justice G. W. Cole. In an opinion dismissing the indictments Justice Cole held that the defendants had been automatically granted immunity when representatives of the Lock- wood committee questioned them at private sessions in hotel rooms here. BY HIRAM K. MODERWELIZ By Cable_to The Star and Chicago Daily News. Copyright, 1022, LONDON, June 15 —Charges that the “traffic” in knighthoods and peerages has become a “scandal which is lowering the whole standard of our public life,” are being made in reputable weekly newspapers_following the honors recently bestowed on the occasion of the king's birthday. These papers assert that the “people are talking” although this talk does not enter the great newspapers because they are owned either by peers or by men who hope to be- come peers. [ Those protesting do not hint at personap bribery ' or corruption, from which British public life is singularly free, nor do they object to the classic system by which the prospective peers make a substan- tial-contribution to the funds of { they objected, Yesterday’s Net Circulation, 87,051- WO CENTS. RUSSIAN ATTITUDE ENDANGERS HAGUE PARLEY AT START Correspondents Force Way Into Palace Despite Or- der of Secrecy. FRANCE STILL DEMANDS GUARANTEES OF RUSS Great Britain and Italy Apparent- ly Ready to Pursue Con- ‘ ciliatory Course. By the Associated Press. THE HAGUE, June 15.—The confer ence which is to consider Russian affairs was called to order in the peace palace this afternoon by th: Dutch foreign minister, H. A. Van Karnebeek, sixty delegates, repre senting about thirty countries, present All the scssions will be absolutely secret, it was announced. Even the representatives of the world press were denied admission to the peace pala The newspapermen insisted upon entering the palace grounds, presenting their protest personally to the Dutch foreign minister, who re- fuxed to admit them to the openi session, and =aid they should not have been admitted to the palace grounds, as the meetings are all to e secret The visiting delegates appeared to be helpless in the situation. Many of them expressed annoyance over he attitude of the Dutch government. heib, as host. apparently decided to xert every effort to avoid publicity The at least temporary failure the efforts at Paris to organize international loan for the restoration of Germany has undoubtedly served to augment the pessimism obtaining in many countries concerning th prospects of making definite agree- ments with communistic Russia on such vital matters as credits, the treatment to be accorded to property held by foreigners and the payment of the Russiun debts Nevertheless determination was evident among the delegates gathered here for the preliminary meetings to make every conceivabic effort to reach the results which the Genoa conference did not succeed in achiey- ing. were an Holland Takes Part. Although Holland disclaims any in- tention or desire of dirceting the con- ference, Foreign Minister Van'Karne beck delivered the opening address as temporary president, welcoming the delegates to the Netherlands und voicing Holland's sincere wishes for the success of the conference. Chief interest centers in the har- monization of the attitudes of Eng- land, France and Italy on how to ap- proach the soviet delegation officially, for France shows a_dispos io hold tenaciously to her Genoa de- mand for suitable guarantees from the bolsheviki before undertaking any new relations with Russia. France objects 1o the soviet mem- orandum submitted to the Genoa conference on May 11, which attacked the capitalistic systems of the other countries and charged these nations with doing many things—confiscating property, for example—equaily drastic with the bolshevik measures to which The French would like to see this memorandum withdrawn by the soviets before official po parlers with the Russia delega are inaugurated Favor Conciliation Policy. Great Britain and Italy apparently are ready to pursue a more concilia- tory policy. The premiminary meet- ings beginning today, therefore, promise to be most important. As the delegates entered the Peace Falance one of the first objects to greet them was a simply marble bust of An- drew Carnegie in a niche at the head of the grand staircase, and in the bal cony is a striking bronze statue of Christ—an emblem of peace and gool will among men. This impressive fix ure is a duplicate of the famous Chrisl of the Andes, and was presented b Argentina. When the bolsheviki arrive they wil find near the main portal a reminde! of the regime they overthrew, in thi form of a great marble vase, which was presented to the Peace Palace by the late Czar Nicholas, M. Van Karnebeek called the confer. ence togegher in the hall used by the international court of justice, which the court graciously turped over for the use of the conference. TWO NATIONS AGREE. Stand of French and Belgians to Be Same. PARIS, June 15.—The Belgian for- eign minister, M. Jaspar, had a long interview with Premier Poincare last night, which resulted, according to the Echo de Paris, in a complete agreement as to the stand to be taken by the two nations at The Hague con- ference. Belgium, it was added, will ‘main tain the attitude she adopted at the Genoa conference regarding the re- turn of private property in Russia taken over under the soviet govern- ment's nationalization program. 1t is stated in some quarters that, should France decide that her dele- gates will not meet the Russians when the joint conference begins at The Hague on June 26, Belgium will follow suit. ‘TRAFFIC’ IN KNIGHTHOODS BRINGS + CHARGES OF SCANDAL IN BRITAIN the dominant political party wh recommends the honor list king, but,they allege a lack of distinction i1® the candidates, Which. says the Qutlook, makes the latest list “beyond a joke.” It laughs at the knighting of one manufacturer of patent candy and of another man because of “his tive part in the local life” of his home town. It is asserted that with few ex- ceptions the honors which were granted for scientific.and literary h to the distinction constitute simply a “guide for the rich unknown.” "It is said here that except for Barrie and Pinero no first rank writers have been knighted. It it recalled that Galsworthy rejected a sug- gestion of knighthood, saying that “literature should be its own re- ward.” The London Nation asserts that the latest list constitutes a “coarsening of the material of public and political life unl;now- 12 since the worst days the elzhteenth century.” Sl e