Evening Star Newspaper, August 20, 1922, Page 27

- UNCLE SAM OUT OF LUCK ON IRRIGATION PROJECTS Only a Small Percentage of the Money He “Ldaned” the West Has Ever Been Repaid. WENTY years ago the west came to Congress asking for a loan of certain government moneys ta bulld irrigation projects for the reclamation of arid Jands. The request was granted; the Joan was authorized in the national reclamation act of 1902; the west promised to repay in ten years, and the moneys accordingly were ad- vanced, absolutely without interest. To date the government has invésted $132,653,900 mnet in irrfgation proj- ects, and the settlers on these projects . have repaid £12,520,300, or less than 10 per cent of their obligation, in twenty years. Tn a few days. when the soldier bonus bill is before the Senate,“the west and the south will jointly ask for a further “loan” of $350,000,000 out of the federal Treasury, for the re- claiming of arid lands in the west and swamp lands in the south. And, un- der the new proposal, which is in- tended to be a rider to the bonus bill. the settler, who is to repay the gov- ernment, will be given forty yars. in- stead of ten, in which to réimburse the government. Opponition to New Loan. There will be opposition to the new Joan proposal from legislators who have not been convinced of the sound- ness of the Investment raade by the government under the reclamation Jaw. Proponents of the new loan will Te asked to give some idea of when the government may expect reim- Lursement, if the experlences of the past are any guide to the future. If the west in twenty years has dis- charged less than 10 per cent of an obligation it agreed originally to meet Fully in ten years, how long will it take to discharge an obligation nearly three times as great. when the new obligation is to be piled on to an old deficit of nearly $120.000.000? There can be no question that ir- rigation. from the standpoint of the zettler and the standpoint of the construction engineer, ‘is an estab- lished success; there no question to the physical success of drain- rge of swamp lands. But viewed from the standpoint of “Uncle Sam. investor.” doubts have arisen in the ainds of men in Congress who are <harged with holding down expendi- tures, and the financial record made on government irrigation projects has 0t inspired confidence in the pending pr posal for a new and larger loan. Not All Money Due. The reclamation law did not make 2 lump sum loan of $132.000.000. it met aside the ‘nnual receipts from the sale of public lands to be used fn building irrigation projects, and in twenty years these receipts have mounted up to the total stated. Not a1l the money thus far invested Is vet due the government. probably not over 50 per cent of the total would have been repaid to date had all obligations been met promptly. for payments are not required of settlers until projects are completed and water is available. Further- ‘more, the rate of repayment §as been slowed down since Congress in 1914 gave the settlers twenty years instead of ten years to make re- payments. Nevertheless, one in- ‘Gucement that led Congress to pass the reclamation law was the as- murance that the moneys loaned would be returned in ten vears. the moneys returned to go back into the reclamation fund—a revolving fund —to be used in continding the work of reclamation until such time as the water resources of the arid country shall become exhafisted. , The history of national reclamation 4s told officially in the current issue of the Reclamation Record, published, by the reclamation service, Depart- ment of Interior. and the facts and figures therein set forth may be ac- cepted as accurate. The article in question is highly enlightening. and in so many words questions the good faith of many who have availed them- selves of the opportunity offered to get an irrigated farm at cost,*on time, with no interest whatever on de- ferred payments. Crop Values High, For instance. the Record shows that the expenditure of $132.000,000 has Duilt twenty-four individual projects on which are now established 31,462 furms. The crops from those farms for 1921 were valued at $49.620,300, or niore than one-third of the total cost ©of building the projects, while the value of crops from all projects for the past ten years is given as $426.- 090,120, substantially more than three times the amount invested.' This fig- wre does not cover the entire period during which some of the projects have been operated; it covers only the Jast ten years. and yet in the face of hese big returns from crops, the set- tlers, in twenty years, have repaid only $12.820.300. Detailed figures are interesting. The #amous Salt river project In Arizona, the project of the Roosevelt dam, pro duced crops last year valued at §1 435,380; In the past ten years this project produced crops worth $111,- 301.108; yet the settlers of that pros- Perous project have repaid the gov- ernment only $609.900. In a single wvear the crops of the Salt river Pproject would repay the full cost of the projects yet those farmers have 10 date discharged only 4.7 per cent of their obligation to the government. This 1s the most flagrant instance of failure to meet an obligation. Six projects in the west have, as yet, Te- yaid nothing at all; only four have re- paid_more than $1,000,000, and only one has glischarged more than 20 per «cent of Its obligation to the govern- - ment. Table of Repayments. The story of the prosperity of these wrojects. as measured by their crop Feturns for the past ten years, and by «contrast the reluctance of irrjgation farmers to reimburse the government for money it loaned without interest is best told in_the following table taken from the Reclamation Record: Crop value Repayment for to 1ast 10 years. gov'ment. o, $609,900 Salt River, Ariz. Yakima, Wash. Minidoka, Tdabo. Boise, Idaho. Yuma, Arls.-Cai. Grande, N. M.-Tex. Strawberry Val. Shoshone, " Wyo. Helle Fourche, §. Dak Carlabad, N. Mex. Okanogan, Klamath, Huntley, Orland, Milk River,” Sun River, Mont. Kirg Hill, Tdaho. N. D. pumping project. Totals Big Variation iIn Values. From the reclamation record also are taken certain figures which meas- ure the success of irrigation from the farmer's standpoint. An elaborate ta- ble shows the value of the crops per acre grown on the varlous projects, the general average being given as $42.85. This average is attained by taking the per-acre crop value of all projects and dividing by 24, the num ber of projects. But the average is made thus high by reason of the fact that the Yakima and Okanogan val- leys of Washington, which furnish the winter apple supply for Washington and other eastern markets, have rolled up unprecedented returns of $116.40 in the case of Yakima and $385 | per acre in the Okanogan valley. | That these per-acre vields are not typical of the irrigated country is shown by the fact that the nearest approach to these figures Is a $59.87 per-acre value on the'Salt river proj- ect, Arizona—high because of its long-staple cotton and its citrous fruits. The Orland project in .Cali- fornia comes third with a value of $43.30. Eliminating the two wonder- ful fruit projects of Washington. which are In a class by themselves. and the average crop return on all other projects last year was only $27.35 per acre. In contrast to the high vield in the Washington districts there was one irrigation project with a crop yleld of only $5.06 per acre last vear; another with $8.15 and a third with $9.32. There were nine projects where ‘the yield was less than $20 per acre. Excelled in the East. According to the Department of Agriculture. thirteen eastern states, | which spend nothing for irrigation to make their lands productive, have a greater yield per acre than the true average of the irrizgation projects built by the government. Connecti- | cut leads with an average of $88.46 per acre; then in order come Massa- chusetts, Rhode Islands, New Jersey, w Hampshire, Maine, North Caro- lina. Florida, Vermont, New York. West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Vir- ginia. K The expenditure of $132,000.000 of government money “loaned” to the west has produced an average CTop vield of $27.35. Thirteen old states of the east exceed that yield without a cent of government aid. One reason for the relatively low averages on the irrigation projects is the fact that more irrigated land is devoted to growing hay and fodder than to any.,other crops. Fruits are second in importance among the irri- gated crops, but more than half of all the fruit produced on government projects comes from the Yakima and Oka%iogan valleys of Washington; vegetables and truck stuff are third in importance and cereals occupy a bad fourth place. Question of Repayment. 1t is evident from the facts official- 1y stated that the government irri- gation projects could be made to re- pay the cost of construction; the crop returns are ample, on their face, to enable the farmers to meet their ob- ligations to the government. This is the comment contained in the recl mation record as bearing on this par- ticular question: “It is evident from a study of the data_here presented that, as indi- cated by Secretary Fall, the slow re- turn from some of the projects has not been based directly upon physical conditions; that is, has not been di- rectly controlled by climate, solls, crops or markets, but has been in- fluenced by less tangible conditions which have been classed as socfologi- cal, or have been included under the term of “morale” that is, of the will- ingness on the part of individugls and communities to make certain sacrifices or endure discomforts in order to pay these moneys to the gov- ernment, so that in turn other peo- ple and communities might share in the benefits of the reclamation act.” The reclamation act is, in fact, a “revolving fund.” As quickly as money is repald by settlers it goes back in- to the fund. to be used in building new projects. It was the expectation of , Congress when the reclamation lam was passed that the fund would make one complete revolution every ten years, and that promise was given by the west. But instead of one revo- lution, the fund has revolved exactly 9.7 per cent of the way around in twenty years, or at a rate that would require 200 years to make a complete révolution. With this record official- ly established, the west is now back asking Congress for a new loan, but the west has not the votes to put through a strictly irrigation loan, so it has joined hands with the south and proposes now a joint loan of $350,- 000,000 to irrigate the arid lands of the west and the swamp lands of the south. It wants a new “revolvirg Zund. Mr. Hughes’ Journey to Brazil An Event of Great Significance (Continued trom First Page.) «ital part of Pan-Americanism, but the Latin American statesmen and press are aware that the tariff is Jargely Influenced in this country by yolitical and local conditions, and not By thought or purpose of hurting any Zatin American country or all Latin America. It does not pick out our gister American republics as special ©bjects of adverse duties more than 8t does countries of Europe and Asia. #rhe chief feeling on this point is in Argentina and Cuba, on, respectively, &voql and sugar. Argentina’s resent- gment against the high tariff on wool Awill be offset to a considerable degree ®y free hides, while Cuba will prob- “mbly find in a big American loan, wvhich must eventually come, an off. pet to her feelings aroused by the sugar duty. She may even satisfy ther pride by playing the same game @nd imposing duties on American im- ports. It she takes this course, the United States will have only Itself to piame. Perhaps the greatest difficuity, gherefore, that Pan-Americanism must ‘face, and which Secretary Hughes will " gecognise when he goes to Rio de Paneiro, is tife tremendous effort that "is & good fllustration of this situa- is being quietly made in commercial and other ways by certain European countries and.one Asiatic country to strengthen their polftical influence and their commerce throughout the Latin American countries. Competitors Within Rights. _ I do not mean that they are doing anything which they have not a right to do, but that they are doing many things which may have the effect to influence the commercial leadership of the United States. The ambassa- dors, ministers, consuls, commercial agents and special commercial mis- slons of these countries of Europe and Asia are working harder than ever before to gain the friendship and tne trade of Latin America. They are leaving * mo effort neglected to strengthen their position. They in- tend not only to recover what they lost during the world war, but, to go far beyond what they had achieved before the war in influence and com- merce. Reports that are coming from all parts of Latin America, from Mex- ico and Cuba on the north to Argen-~ tina lnd\chlle on the south, prove this fact. N The Brasilian centennial exposition BY HENRY W. BUNN. HE following is a brief summary of the most important news of the world for the seven days ended August 19: The Britink Empire—On August 12 Arthur Grifith, president of the dail eireann, died suddenly of a heart atfack, induced by over- work, at the age of fifty. He was one of the initlators and he was the principal brains of the Sinn Fein movement. But, fortunately for Ireland, he was not a fanatic. He had a very Just sense of true values. In the negotiation in London last year his influence and his logic, it is understood, were chiefly instrumental to signature by the Irish delegation of the agree- ment which created the Free State. He liter- ally killed himself working for fulfillment of that agreement. tragedy of the first order. P The Irish ifational army, under the direct command of Michael Coliins, continues suc- cessfully the work of “cleaning up” the ir- regulars. The supteme sensation of thd week was caused by the death of Lord Northcliffe, though, to my mind, the death of Griffith (be- cause of Ireland’s peculiar need of him, be- cause of the apparent lack of a great politi- cal intellect to supply his place) was much the more important. Lord Northeliffe (Alfred Harmsworth) at the time of his death had a controlling in- terest in more than one hundred newspapers, magazines and other publications. including the London Times and the Daily Mail. He was a self-made man, having started his lifework as a penniless reporter. His journalistic career was crowned in 1908, when he gained control of the London Times. He was one of the outstanding figures of the great war. He clearly foresaw it and. througlh/ the Times, tried to persuade Britain to prepare for it. His advocacy hastened conscription: he turned Asquith out, he exposed Kitchener's failure in respect of supply of munitions, whence the ministry of munitions, which cured that de- fect: the firat coalition government was large- 1y due to him; his nission to the United States in 1917 was of the very greatest service to Britain, and, finally, he became chief of allied propaganda. The Germans are pleased to at- tribute their fall to the efiicient propaganda instrument created by him. rather than to Foch. buy in this they consult their self-love rather than the truth, though that instrument was an important auxiliary factor. After the war he devoted himself toward making the various parts of the empire bet- ter acauainted with each other. toward con- solidating the empire through a common knowledge of Imperial needs. To this end he made a tour of the British possessions, the exertions of which probably brought on the heart trouble to which he Succumbed. I have confined myself to a notice of his beneficent side. He had his blind side, too, “or else he had forgone his mortal nature. 'Tis sald Lloyd George will get $450.000 for his book. That would be a nice little nest- eRg against retirement. and, so considering, Lloyd George is. of course, justified in divert- ing from the work of government the time angd energy required to make a big seller. * %k %k k Germany.—T said last week that it was probably a safe guess that the outcome of the London conference of the supreme council would be another unsatisfactory compromise— “a moratorium of sorts, with stricter control, but without the particular sort of ‘productive guarantees’ advocated by Poincare, for the reason that. in the view of all except the French, Poincare's guarantees did not promise productiveness.” It might seem that my guess has been falsi- fied by the event. Not so, however—not yet. To be sure, the conference broke up on August 14, with no decisions taken on the grand questions, but that did not signify the end of all things. The conference proceedings have been reported very incompletely, but the following rough outline is probably cor- rect: Poincare offered to grant a further mora- torium to Germany (how generous or for how long does not appear) .on condition that the allied control of Germans finance should be His death is for Ireland a' The Story the Week Has Told made more strict ahd more extensive. He submitted a list of fourteen (sacred number) measures of control. The committee of allied financlal expertd to whom the list, was re- ferred disapproved it practically in toto. The supreme counsel voted it down, 4 to 1 (the one assenting yote being Poincare’s). Doubt- less the general opinion was correct—that the proposed measures it set afoot would defeat their own object—namely, ultimate collection of substantial sums from Germany. 'The dis- approval did not denote laék of sympathy with France's predicament, merely that Poin- care, hard beset, in despair failed to take suf- ficlent account of cruel facts and proposed'im- practicable remedies. Lloyd George then sub- mitted counter-proposals which erred in the opposite diregtion. He would grant Germany a long cash moratorium and one practically inclusive of all cash obligationsi (payments upon the account of private debts of German nationals, payment of cest of allled armies of occupation, etc.), and would make the control as gentle as possible. A certain portion of the British press characterizes the counter- proposals as Insolent and heartless (L e., to France). They were™ voted down. Signor Schanzer made an interesting proposal—to wit, that the discussion be adjourned until after the several governments had completed nego- tiations with the United States government concerning_funding arrangements for their debts to the latter, the reparations commis- sion to pursue a temporizing policy In the interval. M. Theunis of Belgium, too, had his little proposal. Under the priority agreement the Belgiums were to get all the cash paid in by Germany thls year (after deducting costs of armies of occupation). M. Theunis offered, on the part of Belgium, to accept long-term notes in lieu of cash (he thcught American banks would convert them). That would be eguiva- lent to a cash moratorium to the end OY the year. But, no. Poincare would not hear to any pro- posal of a moratorium without stricter and more extensive cqntrol, and Lloyd George would not agree toa short moratorfum nor to stricter or more extensive control, So, automatically, the decision passes to the reparations commission. which has authority, under the treaty, to act independently of the supreme council.” It is at work on a compro- mise proposal which is expected to involve a moratorfumyshorter than the one advocated by Lloyd George and new “productive guarantees” (really productive) not nearly sa stiff or ex- tensive as those demanded by Poincare. My guess is that they will find an acceptable com- promise. France has no desire to take inde- ‘pendent action. Neither French nor British majority public opinion desires a rupture of the entente. * ok k¥ Auntrin.—The Austrian government is mak- ing frantic appeals for help. It needs it, but Jts prospects of getting much are poor. The supreme council sympathetically refers it to the league of nations. Its governments have no money. Besides, it has already lent a lot. to no purpose apparently. The league council sympathetically refers it to the su- preme council. The league can offer a scheme of salvation, provided the money it requires can be found elsewhere. The league has no money. The Austrians say that if they don't get a loan, which will enable them to set the league machinery of salvation on foot, they must ask_for an allied receivership. The allies desire nothing less than that. “Well, then, Jet us join the German reich No, no, no. “Well, then, a debacle—there’s nothing else for it.” Himmel, let us avoid our imaginations. Quite so. You're dreadfully hard up. gen- tlemen of supreme council and league council. But, “penny wise, pound foolish,” you know. The American Relief Administration has withdrawn from Austria, but has turned over to an Austrian rellef society enough money to insure feeding of 30.000 children for two vears, besides maintenance of a table for uni- versity professors and students. About $14,- 000,000 of American money has been spent for feeding Austrian children. at the height of the work 362,000 children being fed each day through American charity. * % %k % Ttaly.—The Italian government has isfued a decree of punishment for the 50,000 railroad men who took part in the recent general strike—some being dismissed, others sus- pended. Punishment is graduated with refer- ence to participation in previous strikes. ./ AUGUST 20, 1922—PART 2. 5 D'Annunzio recently emerged from his re- tirement and, at the height of the disorders, - made an open-air speech in that storm center, Milan—a highly creditable speech counseling harmony. He was at his magical best. Then he returned to his villa on the Lago di Garda. One evening at dinner he fell into dispute with two ladies, guests of his (the subject has not been disclosed, but it may well haye been some esoteric point connected with the tender assion). Waxing hot, the poet-hero retired m the room and sat down on the edge of a parapet, whence. in the oblivion of his wrath, he fell oft, cracking his sconce. His condition in serious.” Despite his absurdities and enormi- tiex. the world. 50 poor just now in the com- modity of genius, cannot afford to lose that astonishing genius, D'Annunzio. d ok kK ) The Far Eastern Republie—It is reported that withdrawal of Japanese troops from Siberia: has begun. 3 The negotiations between Japan. and the Far Eastern Republic, broken off at Dairen some time ago, are to be resumed. Tokio has - consented to participation by a soviet repre- sentative, who will be Joffe, recently appoint- ed Muscovite agent at Peking. It was expect- ed that the place of meeting would be Dairen or Harbin, but Moscow now proposes Peking. That Moscow should so propose is significant enough—it is equivalent to announcing that Moscow 18 the real “party” Tokio has to deal with, that that far eastern republic is defi- nitely a part of the Muscovite system. Be- sides. in Pekine Joffe and his bright-plumaged entourage could make more of an international impression. Eurove not reacting satisfactorily, it is proposed to doubly redouble the bolshevist effort in the orlent. .**** China.—Tt is reported that things are at a desperate pass in Peking—that President Li Yuan-Hung has sent a special representative to Shanghai to beg Sun Yat-Sen to go to Peking and co-operate with him; that that slippery fellow, Tsao Kun, is organizing the forces of reaction; that tushunism is reassert- ing itself, the Tushuns declining to allow their provincial troops to be disbanded; that the treasury is empty; that the reasssembled par- llament is simply a mess, the Canton faction agitating for the displacement of Li Yuan- Hung by Sun Yat-Sen: that, up in Manchuria, Chang Tso-Lin is blandly watching it all and reorganizing his army against the day of re- venge; that thé cabinet ministers are lying down ‘on their jobs; that the government forces are clamoring for arrears of pay and threatening mutiny: that, in fact, there's no end to the chaos and incompetency and omens of woe. * X ¥ % Miscellaneous.—I am again compelled to omit the domestic news. It is correct, I think, to say that the coal crisis is past, or, at any rate. postponed till after winter, and there is good reason to expect a settlement of the rail strike in the near future. 1 omitted last week to note an important event, the death of Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. I suppose that Bell's invention and Faraday's discoveries in the field of electro-magnetism have done more than most other discoveries amd inventions combined to change the face of the modern world. - There is an epidemic of dueling irf Buda- pest. A general fist fight occurred in the Hungarian chamber the other day. There are ways and ways of Keeping up the fighting spirit. Enver Pasha. the last to survive of the famous Turkish triumvirate of official mur- derers, was, on August 4, killed in battle with soviet troops in Bokhara So ended a notable attempt to set up an independent principality in that region. Doubtless the blood-stained fflo (Talaat Pasha, Djemal Pasha and Enver Pasha, the first two of whom were murdered by Armenians) are now, between groans and shrieks, holding a pleasant little post-mortem conversation together. The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind exceeding fine. tion. Nearly all of the countries which are interested politically and commercially in the future of Latin America are making even more elab- orate exhibits at Rio than is the United States, despite the fact that our government appropriated $1.000,- 000 for its participation. Although our government is very thrifty and is using a large part of this appropria- tion in constructing a permanent building for its own governmental ex- hibit, which will be used after the exposition as an embassy, all of the exhibits of American manufacturers will be housed In an unimposing structere buflt by private capital. Not Adequately Housed. It was a serious mistake that the United States government did not in- clude in its appropriation a generous provision for a noble, though tem- porary, pavilien, in which could be seen a big and comprehensive display of all kinds of American manufac- tured and export products. It is true that a considerable number of the leading Industries of the United States will be represented in this private exhibition building, but these exhibits will not be by any means as general and comprehensive as they ought to be in competition with the exhibits of other foreign countries. Then, again, it 1s a source of regret that this appropriation made no pro- vision for a compprehensive official publicity campaign throughout the United States and Latin America, which would have benefited both the United States and Brazil by awaken- ing widespread interest in the expo- sition, its meaning to the United States and Bragil and the development of Pan- American friendship and commerce. A wonderful opportunity for unself- ish service has in this way been lost to earn the gratitude of the Brazillan government and people and the ad- miration of other atin American countrles and peoples. The United Statey commission in charge of the United States participation has done everything possible under the limits of the appropriation, but today, de- spite their best efforts, there is very little widespread Interest in this coun- try or throughout Latin America’in the participation of the United States. A Means of Educatios. ‘The exposition should have been the inspiration to educate the American people to the importance of Brazil and all Latin America to the future Pan-American relations and com- merce of the United States, and- to make our people realize the grea ness, potentiality, wealth and re- sources of Brazil, not only as a coun- try of pan-America, but as a friend of the United States. The fault and blame in this matter do not rest with the Secretary of State, but with the original framing of the appro- priation bl All this means that Secretary Hughes himself must be, so to speak, the one big exhibit of the United States! at the' exposition, as well as the one chief influence at Rio to pro- mete pan-Americanism and pan- American ¢ommerce. By his pres- ence there, by his speeches, by his conferences with the Brazilian states- then and by the effect on-himself of what he sees and hears he will be the big central figure of the United States’ participation, and will achieve results that will do mwore than the United States building and the United States private exhibits to make that participation & success. ARMY AND NAVY NEWS BY MAJ. ARTHUR G. DUNCAN, U. 8. R. I THE ARMY Approximately one out of every seven officers now holding active com- missions in the Army must, under the present law, either retire, resign or be discharged from the service prior to January 1, 1923. The latest figures showing reduc- tion In actual strength indicate that 2,516 officers are scheduled for elimi- nation by a board of general officers now meeting daily at the War De- partment. From the total indicated 800 promotion list officers in the grade from colonel to first lieutenant imay be retained until absorbed or recommissioned in the next lower grade, which leaves a minimum re- duction of 1,716 that must be effected this’ year. It is anticipated that when the reduction is accomplished a reassignment will be made of offi- cers to branch and arms of service and to the various organizations of the Army in accordance with the re- duced number. z Reports_indicate that the general board, which must by Decergber. 15 finish’ the work of indicating what officers will be released, is giving special attention to physical dfs- qualification. Officers in touch with the board's delicate work of deter- mination state that its efforts are far from pleasant. They point out the difficulty of the board being obliged to eliminate efficient officers from the Army who in many cases won their commissions during the world war. The loss of trained officers, it Is said, will be seriously felt in the line, where regimental officers have, thtough hard work and study during the past two years, been brought to a high grade of efficiency. With the present shortage in the Army of second lieutenants, almost equal in number to the trained offi- cers who under the recent act of Congress must be released this year, it appears somewhat inconsistent that the Army is faced with the ne- cessity of commissioning in the near future a large number of untried juniors to take the place of spe- clally selected officers who in time ot war demonstrated their ability and were carofuly selected as commis- sloned officers, mainly in the grades of lieutenant and captain, by Gen. Pershing’s board. " Atrship to Creks Continen: Orders e been issued for the United Stdfes Army airship C-2 to be placed in the best possible con- dition for a transcontinental flight from Langley Field, Va. to Ross Fleld, Calif., early in September. The crew of the ship has been offi- clally designated by the chief of air services and are: . H. A. Strauss, chief officer; Capt. W. McEntire, Lieut. O. A. Anderson, Lieut. D. L. Hutchins; Master Sergt. W. E. Fitch, engineer, and, Staft Sergt. J. L. Al- brecht, engineer. It is contemplated that the C-2 in its flight across the continent will fiy over Washington, D. C, with stops at Scott Field, Brooks Field and Camp Belrne. The purpose. of the flight is to. es- tablish a transcontinental airship route, to photograph =n airway and at the same time to. provide practice for the aeronauts in long-distance cross-country flights. .No attempt will be made to establish any record (o}l" speed or el,ld'llr:lm:t o_greater altitude can be reachiod by the C-2, Which is propelled - by two H. P. Wright motors. Iis estimated speed Is sixty- five miles per hour. The ship is 192 feet long, 64 feet wide and 67 than 8,500 'feet feet. high: gas capacity, 172,000 cubic feet. In its transcontinental flight hydro- gen gas will be used. Gen. Davis Advocates Direct Action. Upon the confirmation of the nomi- nation by the Senate, the adjutant general of the Army, Col. Robert C. Davis, infantry, successor to Maj. Gen. Peter C. Harris, will be the youngest major general in the Army, being’ not quite forty-six years of age. As_acting adjutant general since April 1, 1922, Gen. Davis has effected a reduction in personnel and a Sys- tematizing and a reorganization of the adjutant general's office. The re- duction has amounted to approxi- mately 40 per cent in officer and 25 per cent in civilian personnel, & The organization of the adjutant general's office Is now very similar to that perfected by Gen. Davis at Chaumont, France, while the adju- tant general of the A. E. F., and has resulted in the elimination of some divisions and the consolidation of others. Gen. Davis is credited with at- tempting to expedite action in his office by direct, common-sense and business-like methods. Records per- taining to the current Army Since Fobruary 28, 1919, have been consoli- dated in the State, War and Na¥vy building. Liaison officers from the various war departments have been assembled in the adjutant general's office for the purpose of acting im- mediately on all papers pertaining to their respective offices. AIR SERVICE 1 LS 4 Hurtling four and a half miles through space with a parachute was the recent experience of Capt. A. W. Stevens, A. S., stationed, at McCook Field. The jump from fhe high alti- tude of 24,206 feet was made from g supercharged Martin bomber. Capt. Stevens' fall lasted approxi- mately twenty minutes, and the oscil- lations of the chute, due to the pre- vailing winds, made him thoroughly seasick by the time half the descent was over. He admits that it was a pretty rough voyage, but is willing to try & jump from a still higher alti- tude as soon as he recovers from a fe broken foot bones, which he sus- tained upon landing. No longer will It be possible for enemy battleships to glide in near our shores during the dark of ‘the moon and “get away with it,” If the recent experience of Lieut. Clayton Bissell, A. 8, is a criterion. Bissell on a night's flight from Bolling Field to Langley Field stated that the moon ‘was almost gone, and before proceed- ing any distance it was entirely oWt of sight. - Many stars were in evi- dence, however, and these, he re- ported, provided ample light for fly- ing. Objects could be seen on the ground just as easily as in the bright of the moon. In crossing Y: river Lieut. Bissell picked up four battle- ships and three destroyers lying at anchor just east of Yorktown. He states that it was easy to see these ships, due to the light on them, but water seemed imminent, the utility of the’airplane in an emergency of this kind was amply demonstrated. Just recently Army airplanes performed the same function along a part of the Mexican border in connection with the overflow of the Rio Grande river. Air service officers sent to the flooded area were assigned the duty of warn- ing all persons in the danger gone, keeping ahead of the crest of the water, which was traveling at_the rate of five miles per hour. Drop messages have been used in a most satisfactory manner, and proves fur- ther %the possibilities of airplane ob- servation. ¢ | THE NAVY — - 3 The gunnery trophy for vessels of the submarine class has been awarded for the year 1921-22 to the U. S. S. R-17, which vessel was commanded, respectively, by Lieut. L. D. Webb, U. S. N., and Lieut. C. D. Headlee. Let- ters of comimendation have been ad- dressed to these officers by the actin; Secretary of the Navy, congratulating them upon the success of the R-17. Following in gunnery merit, the U. S. S. 0-10 stood second and the U. S, S. O-4 third. Lieuts. R. D. Carr and R. H. Harper commanded the former, and Lieuts. B. F. Clark, J. P. Compton and E. I Leen the latter. Letters of commendation have also been ad- dressed to these officers. The engineering trophy for vessels of the submarine class has been awarded for the year 1921-22 to the U. S. S. 8-15, which vessel was com- manded by Lieut. D. R. Lee, which will also bring that officér a letter ol commendation. The S-15 will paint the white letter “E,” denoting engi- neering efficiency, on each side of her periscope sheers. and the men will wear the Navy “E. Following is a brief summary of other pennant winners, who will also receive letters of commendation from the acting Secretary of the Navy: Battle efficiency pennant, for ves- sels of submarine class, 1921-22, awarded U. S. S. R-17, Lieut. C. D. Headley commander. Engineer trophy, cruiser class, U. S. S. Tacoma, Capt. W. M. Hunt. Sec- ond in this ¢lass, U. 8. S. Denver, Capt. A. Kautz. Third, U. S. 8. Birmingham, Capts. K. G. Castleman and G. B. Lan. denberger. In the destroyer class the U. 8. S. Sands -attained the highest merit in engineering: commander. R. L. Ghorm- ley. The U. S. S. Williamson, ¢om- manded by Lieut. Commander J. C. Cunningham, stood second, with the U. 8. 8. Preble third; commander, D. B. Downer. Having attained the highest battle efficiency in the destroyer class, the T. S. S. Melvin, commanded by Lieut. Commander H. R. Bogush, has been awarded the pennant, with the U. S. S. Sumner second and the U. 8. 8. Float third. - The U. 8. S. Asheville attained the highest merit in engineering for the vear In the gunbodt class: commander, J. B. Gay: second, the U. S. S. Sacra- mento. In short-range battle practice the U. S. . Wyoming’s 12-inch turret No. 3 attained the highest merit of any turret in the Navy. & All-Nav. Welcome for Denby. Plans are being discussed for an “All-Nav.” on September 15 as a wel- come to Secretary Denby on his re- turn from his trip to the orlent. It is_expected that the commission which conducted the first “All-Nav." dinner, to the satisfaction and emter- tainment of all the officers on duty in adds that even had there been no | Washington and vicinity, will shortly light the ships could have been picked | hold a meeting, at which it will be de- up by the glow of the fire coming out of their funpels, and concludes that this ability of air pllots to pick up seacraft at night may have an impor- tant bearing on the utilization of the sir service in future military opera- tions. > Last year, at the time of the great flood at Pueblo, Colo,, when a forma- tion of afrplanes from Post Field was sent tq the fiood district to warn the people in the event a further rise of cided whether to make an attempt to hold the affair when the Emnug Te- turns. The Secretary arrived at Guam August 10, where he will remain sev- er-lhdnyl, looking over the situation on the U. 8. TRADE ENVOY NAMED. Appointment of Davis 8. Green of Hartford, Conn. as assistant tfade commissioner at Paria was annousiced today by tary Hooyer, |FRAMING OF TARIFF ACT - " EXPENSIVE BIT OF WORK Measure About to Be Enacted by Coui- gress Estimated to Have Cost - Close to $1,250,000. s BY EDWARD NELSON DINGLEY. I BOUT eighteen months have passed since consideration of a permanent tariff was begun in the House committee. Early in January, 1921, the ways and means committee started hearings. Every | opportunity was given to all inter- ested in the rate to be heard. The| hearings were continued dafly almost, and when printed comprised more than 5,000 pages. There was no limit, prac- tically, to the briefs, tables and docu- ments witnesses on both sides were Dermitted to insert in the record. This vast amount of ‘testimony and { information and compilation of opinion all had to be stenographically reported, transscribed and prepared for the print- | ers. Necessarily, the bulk of the record | comprises arguments of representatives of American manufacturing and indus- trial and agricultural interests in favor of an Increase in duties. Comparatively little came from opponents. Record of U. S. Industry. Examination shows that more than 25.000 articles and products were con- sidered, directly or indirectly. Every sort of a product, from needles and pins and peanuts to the most complicated and unheard-of chemical compounds with _unpronounceable names, were brought to the attention of the com- mittee. A preliminary print of the day's testimony was ready for the com- mittee within twenty-four hours after the hearing. Later a revision was made, and when the record was finally com- pleted it was found to be the longest and most complete story of American industry ever offered. When the tariff bili was sent over to the Senate in July, 1921, elaborate preparations were made for another hearing, covering practically the same ground covered by the House commit- | tee. These hearings were attended by substantially the same interests that| appeared before the House committee. The proceedings were reported steno- graphically, printed, corrected and re- printed, and when completed comprised eleven iarge volumes of about 500 pages each—a total of 5,500 pages. This record was even more voluminous than the House record and covered a longer period. There were protracted contro- versies, more pronounced than in <he House, because opponents of proposed propositions and rates reserved their ammunition for the Senate. Harmony Genmerally Prevalled. However, in both houses, despite ap- pearances to the contrary, there was a prevailing spirit of good nature and loy- alty to American interests on both sides inthis more-than-a-year discussion of ithe details of the biggest problem be- fore the country. There were differ- ences of opinion and frequent sharp passages of words, but altogether it was a splendid tribute to the courtesy and harmony that can characterize variations of views on vital questions. Despite all indications to the contrar: there was a broad and patriotic atmo phere in both House and Senate hear- ings. Now that the Senate has passed the tariff bill and it has gone to confer- ence with many changes and many nove suggestions arising out of unusual conditions, it is interesting to contem- plate what the probable cost has been 80 far. Big Bill for Printing. In the first place, there was the cost { sentatives or agents. ~- of printing some twenty-two volumes comprising more than 10,500 pages §f testimony. 1In addition was the bind- ing; and before all came the cost of stenographic reporting and trans- cribing. Then there was the printing of many thousands of pages ef Tariff Commission surveys and re- ports for the benefit of the two con- gressional committees. Then there was the cost of a special commission or committee created to Investigate the American cost of articles compar- able with similar imported article. and the printing of its special and exhaustive report. Many experts were employed duf- ing the long hearings, and many of the special reports of these experts printed. Three special experts were employed by the Senate committee to advise and investigate. Experts from the customs departments in New York and elsewhere were brought tp Warhington by both sides when the controversy over American valuatiom was at its height. Experts and scientific men in all branches of industry were brought before the committees, bent upon injecting a “scientific’ bug into the tariff. Debate in the House consumed about five hundred pages of the Cont gressional Record, stenographically reported. Debate in the Senate con- sumed more than 1,500 pages of the Congressional Record, stenographi- cally reported. The bill itself, finally sent to conference, is a document of more than 450 pages. containing the composite wisdom of manufacturers, producers, the farm bloc. importers. sclentific experts, and many wor that have not vet found their way into the dictionaries. percentages and decimals like so much Greek to the average congressman, and proposed experiments to fit the times. i Close to Million Mark. In addition to all this expensé, estimated at not less than $700,000. there is the expense of every visiting delegation or representative agent. appearing before both committees for or against a_given proposition. Aps proximately 1.000 witnesses were heard in both House and Senate hear® ings. With each witness came an average of two others. Their travel- ing, hotel and other expense® amounted, it is estimated, to about $200.000. - Finally, many associations and or- ganizations maintain offices in Wash ington. with from one to three repre- t may be un fair to call them lobbyists, but they answer to the call. Most of them appeared before either House oF Senate committee or both, or worked on the outside. This service cost. it is estimated, approximately $100.604 Some of these organizations printed and circulated large amounts of literature, designed to promote theis as interests on patriotic grounds, they viewed them. Altogether, it is conservatively timated that thus far, the cost of the new tariff bill, now sent to confer: ence, is about a million and a quarter dollars. In other words, that ix about what has been spent out of the public treasury and the private treasuries of all parties and concerns interested, in one way or another. in the preparation of a permanent-tariff bill. The expense began early In Jan- uary, 1921, and will not end until the bill is out of conference and before the President for signature. French in Plea for a Better Understanding With America As an answer to the oft-repeated complaint of Frenchmen that the United States does not understand their country (although scores of American newspapers have corre- spondents cabling daily from Paris), the Paris Figaro suggests that per- haps France does not understand the United States as well as it might. No French newspaper has a regular telegraphic correspondent in Amer- ica, but the Figaro (which belongs to the perfumer Coty, now in the United States) has started a weekly Amer- ican page, which aims to give French- men a picture of American life. One week's outgiving includes an article on “A Typical American— Henry Ford,” a picturesque account of a New York race meeting, a recent ! olshevik outrage” at Chicago and a series of short notes about Amer- ican oddities, such as bathing suit| censorship, “obey” in the marriage service, the movie divorce epidemlc, a new pickpocket trick and a Brook- Iyn breach of promise suit. Pleads for Understanding. But the most interesting and se- rious contribution is that of Louis| Thomas, a French journalist, who has lived in America, who writes: This vast continent, allied to. France in the time of Lafayette and again of Pershing, is today rather separated from France morally be- cause France insufficiently under- stands the United States and the| United States insufficiently under- stands France. “The United States is a nation that requires constant watchful study, be- cause no other country evolves so rapidly. This rapidity of change ex- plains how the Americans, our allies of yesterday, have today withdrawn practically all their troops from the Rhine. It is an Anglo-Saxon trait— the problem of today counts, not memories of yesterday. Not Adequately Ex| ed. i “Frenchmen in Paris often com-| plain almost indignantly that we dre not upheld by the Americags in this cofitinuation of the war that we are passing through under diplomatic and financial forms. But if we are neglected and misunderstood and sep- arated for fifty reasons from our brothers in arms of 1917-18, let us confess that we have been imprudent in not explaining ourselves better to our brave and hardworking friends, the Americans, and that we have ig- norantly failed to see how difficult their own situation is. l “It is a sad fact that France has not succeeded in making Americ: comprehend her immense needs, born from the war and the German dev astations. Every time that Ameri- cans have comprehended this they have acted as Miss Anne Morgan and her friends have acted: They have worked to bring a little ease and| freedom for work and life to o‘"t brothers of the devastated regions. But the United~States is a big country, we have no Information service there, and our diplomacy seems not to realize the importance and urgency of the task it has to accomplish. “It is equally irritating to Ameri- cans, as well as to the French who 1ive in America, to observe that rare are the Frenchmen who have the slightest idea of the terrible eco-l nomic_crisis that weighs down upon States. Every business man who has crossed the ocean this past \winter has observed it—tha business was better in France than in America during the winter of 1991-1922. High Taxes In America. ‘Let- not my readers suppose that 1 am seeking to arouse their pity for those ‘poor Americans,’ in the manner of ville bewailing ‘poor Rothschild.” No, the United States is still the richest country in the world, with an enormous agricultural pro- e | ket, duction, two-thirds of the coal. oil and cotton in the world, and naturah wealth of all sorts, without speak- ing of the emergy and resourceful- ness of its inhabitants 3 “Buyt at the moment the Americans are going through hard times, thg taxes are crushing (what would you say if the state took 75% of youP income, as the United States does from its rich men?), the stock ex- change drop hits the whole populi~ tion, for almost every American who has $30 in his pocket plays the mar- which means that in bad times nobody has any buys anything. money and nobod® As I See It| (Continued from First Page.) the act clear through. Kansas is hardly a state. It Is a kind of proph- ecy. Senator Lodge has put hides on the free list. Lodgg tempers the wind to the skinned ‘Statesmen. They'll need those hides in November. “The Boy and His Book.” IDDLE-AGED people find it hard to understand Loys no longer like the bl nd-thun- der fiction that delighted their fathers forty years ago. This is the reason: Youth is forever seeking the hori- zon—always_living upon the world's frontiers. Forty years ago the fron- tier was in the Black hills in the Rocky mountains, in the desert and upon the broad plains where fierce men and wild beasts were waliting to be conquered. So youth dreamed westward. Today the frontler is in the wide reaches of the air, the mys- terious places of the sky. the deep recosses of the unexplored atom. So youth dreams in radio, in electrons; in the hilden forces’ of palpable nature. What have “Deadwood Dick” and “Calamity Jane” and “Sure Shet Seth” or “The Terror of the Rockies” to offer a boy who hears the voices of & new found world whispering across the night ready: to tell him of a great dawn. “The Gun-Toter.” HE law enforcement committee of the American Bar Associa- tion has made a report demand. ing that the American pistol go the way of John Barleycorn. Sooner or later the gun must go. But when he is going and after he has gone, we shall hear a lot of fool talk about depriving men of their constiz tutional right to “bear arms” and. of the encroachment upon personal berty, and we shall be told that this {s another attempt to make men good by law.. Yet the gun as it is now used in American life is a, net loss. It provokes murder, en:' courages banditry, defends the pro- fessional crook and endangers th lives of honest men wherever it § used. The gun Is. a social waste; a legal menace, and its use marks the. moral bankrupt. Where it once was used in self-defense it is used u thousand times by cowards to hide their weakness and by villains tp’ promote their evil designs. The man-' ufacture and sale of the great Amers, ican family pistol should be first reg-. ulated, then controlled, and eventuui- 1y prohibited. Call it sumptuary legi islation, admit that it is a confes- sion of our national bankruptey in, fundamental morality, but swat the gun-toter and make his life a burden: Of course, there will be bootleggers,: and, of course, contraband guns wi be sold and men will be killed with' them, ®ut, nevertheless, when the 8un becomes an outcast in American, commerce 90 per cent of its evil in-' fluence will be gone. i We are told by the public prints that the mew giant star s mow Jound to be twins. WAat 4f this - Rappened to Jess Barnesl, s (Copyright, 1922 ol asty