Evening Star Newspaper, November 19, 1922, Page 47

U GERMANY FACES BLACK : HOURS BEFORE DAWN Chancellor Cuno Confronted With Problem Which Yet May e Wreck Nation. : BY OLIVER OWEN KUHN. ERMANY'S hour of decision draws closer. Her future, internal and ex- . ternal, depends upon events within the course of the next ninety- day perfod. Chancellor Wirth, who clung close to certain definite policies declared inimlcal to Germany's national in- terests. but more in accoradnce with | Britain must be accounted to in case the wishes of allied governments, ever it Was done. Further enforced sanc- ready to enforce edicts occasioned by | tions are -persistently opposed by e e, Bus wCevped G William | Great Britain. The French govern- regretful over the present situation, for it plays into the hands of Franc inasmuch as there are more and be Bhineland and the Ruhr for an in- definite period. May Trade With Eagland. It is believed in England that this would have been accomplished long ago had. France not known that financial position re- People May Be in Want. Not ony are the German people confronted with delicate and possibly dangerous adjustments in so far as other powers are concerned, but the German people as a whole are confront- ed with terrible hunger. if not actual starvation. during the coming winter. The reparations commission itself Is authority for the statement that many million tons of grain are needed If Germany exists during the cold weather. Germany cannot buy this under present conditions without Cuno, the great shipping man., a|Ment has not despaired, and it is sympathizer with the industrialists|declared that France at the moment represented by Hugo Stinnes, but not | | trading upon England's necessities : cast In the hope of ob- in the strictest sense a party man, | taining promises that Eng?nnd will has consented to form a new ublnul not interfere in the carrying out of designed to drag Germany from the | French plans in regard to the Rhine- 5 . Only time can tell how Poin- depths, readpust internal and ex-|care will succeed. The whole ques- ternal problems, and place the na-|tion may not be settled until the tion once more on the world stage | Brussels conference is held and some as a going concern. ey e ot nandlineiGer: Cuno faces internal abuse. —He|vealed. stands a target for allied, demands. | Germany desires this fi = Upon reconeitiation of alliell demands | terence a1 the corlicst osstbls dets with internal necessity will depend | but the injection of near eastern prob- not only his tenure of office, but|lems into the general European re- whether Germany is to weather the | construction situation has caused the present strenuous tides or be sub- | Brussels parley to sink Into the back- merged irretrievably. Though aided ground. In fact, it is declared that in some respects because of the fact |it may never be held, and that France that he is not a party man, never-|will go about handiing *the German theless he Is under suspicion of being | reparations_situation to her own ad- representative of the so-called preda- | vantage and to the disinterest of gen- tory interests of Germany. and though ! eral German reconstruction, though the socialists may have consented to|even the French are ready for some his tenure and promised some as- | modifications in their German policy sistance in the reichstag. neverthe- |in view of the critical less it may be expected that before | Germany. ituationwithi he has revamped the German internal situation and met all the demands certain to be heaped upon him by the allics, he will be assailed from the more “liberal elements. Unless he controls the situation with a rod of iron there is little likelihood of him bringing about desired ends. Face Serlous Situation. Whatever the immediate political alignment in Germany, there can bé no question but that a serious situa- tion confronts the government and the people. Winter has arrived and before spring comes again there may be far-reaching events, civil Wwar|further reducing the value of the being not in the least unlikely. mark. Unless some settlement soon The German people today are |8 reached between Germany and out- almost unto death, of the|Side powers which will permit Ger- has prevailed since the|Many to oltain necessary supplies They age being ex-|there will be a catastrophe east of the Rhine. Bad as the economic and financial i situations are, it nevertheless is a ploited, at the same time they find a constantly wi between their ihe barest necessities of life. where the Ing fat_upon poverty and pri wnd if Cuno Is unable to bring about » change in the general scheme of things there is no question but that ] bis_political future is doomed. Unquestionably the reparations nuestion is the fundamental trouble. There has been no exact settlement. True, it is. the allies have stipulated in the Versailles treaty that the Ger- man people shall do so and so. and Germans from time to time have ‘been forced to bend under the re- peated threats of enforced sanctions. but these threats have done nothing mans rests within themselves in the discontented elemen 2 the monarchists, eve: T The social ists, who have controlled the gov- ernment through their preponderant | voting power In the reichstag, have been making far-reaching demands in readjustments—demmands which. if not modified, will keep them in constant (:cmfilcl ith the Industrialists. But Germany’s danger rests in still an- other source. and that is the organized element which would overthrow the republican government and establish a military dictatorship. This shcool but agsravate the general German |of thought already has announced an- economic lapsc and promote a|tagonism to the payment of repara- state of political unrest which vet|tions and would pursue such & na- may prove a boomerang and destroy allied hopes of obtaining desired war indemnities. The Germans repeatedly have de- clared they have been unable to meet allied demands. The French, par- tionalistic polley as to immediately | bring it in conflict with other nations. This element has taken the name of fascisti from the Italians. and it is declared has its stronghold in Ba- varia. Ludendorff is declared to have | ter reasons for carrying out long known -French desires of controlling | fact the gravest menace to the Ger- | THE SUNDAY BY HENRY W. BUNN, HE following is a brief summary of the most important news of the world for the seven days ended November 18: United States of Ameriea—The foreign ‘policy of our administration has hitherto been uniformly successful. It looks, however, as though it might strike a snag in the Turk. In his note declining the Invitation of the great allies to send an American plenipoten- tiary to the Lausanne conference on the near east, Secretary Hughes set forth “certain sub-* jects of particular American concern” in con- nection with the proposed Turkish settlement, as maintenance of the capitulations, protec- tion of education and religious institutions, freedom and equality of ‘commercial oppor- tunity, protection of minorities and freedom of the straits. Hard-bitten old Ismet Pasha, chiet Angoran representative in the peace negotia- tions, and Ferid Bey, the Angoran representa- tive in Paris, have been reading Mr. Hughes' note and have been good enough to give the press certain observations thereon. As to the capitulations, they say there's no use wasting time discussing. them, for they no longer exist. Turkey, you see, has been reborn as an absolutely independent and sovereign state. Her case is like that of the American colonists at the end of their successful war for independence. Would they have enter- tained the notion of capitulations? Certalnly not. Well, no more will the Turk. The minorities? Why bother about them? Why worry? There are no Christian minori- ties in Turkey, they point out, or. at any rate, there won't be the time the Lausanne cqn- ference is over. There may be still a matter of 200,000 Armenians left in Turkey of the 1,100.000 there before the great war, but these %00d folks are leaving: they are on their way. The surviving Greeks have practically all left. so_there is no minorities question. “Philanthropic, educational and religious in- stitutions? Our attitude here is based on the principal of reciprocity. We propose, for ex- ample, to allow your schools in Turkey, teach- ing Christianity, the csame privileges that would be granted to' Turkish schools in America_teaching the religion of the Koran. “We Turks are pained and surprised that vou Americans do not recognize that in seiz- ing independence and full sovereignity. in the kind of new inatitutions we are setting up to replace the old iniquities, we are doing you Americans in many ways. the honor of imita- on. “We especially regret the medieval ma- neuvers of Senator Lodge against Turkey and the strange procedure of certain American religious groups who would start a religious war in the twentieth century.” . In the arts of mendacity and propaganda the Angoran Turk is second to none—not éven the flower of the red Muscovites. No doubt he is largely bluffing. But If his bluffs are not called at Lausanne, what are we going to do about those “certain subjects of particular American concern?” The Supreme Court rules that Japanese are not eligible to American citizenship. The rul- ing Is based on our naturalization acts, which confine the privilege of naturalization to “white" persons and persons of African nativ- ity or descent; the court deciding that in these chite” 'is synonymous with “caucasin.” The' court is meticulously careful to assert that cénsiderations of education, character. and racial superfority or inferiority do not enter into the decision. I understand that the Japanese press is showing little excitement or resentment over the decision. * % % % The Britink Empire.—The conservatives won a famaus victory in the parlimentary elections on the 15th, and by the same token Lloyd George was roundly thrashed. The conserva- tives will have a handsome working majority in the new parliament. The returns, with only cight seats unreported, show the following: 341 conservatives, 142 laborites, 60 independent (Asquith) liberals, 53 national (Lloyd Geor| liberals, 11 others. The magnitude of Lloyd George’s defeat stands forth when one. recalls that in the late lamented parliament at the dissolution there were 129 coalition (now na- tional) liberals. There were 76 laborites and . The Story the Week Has Told 34 Asquith liberals. Labor, then, contrary to recent expectation and despite its plank of a capital levy, doubted its representation. You may say that the labor gains were duesto the intestine brolls of the antj-revolullonary parties, but they are most important. The labor party becomes the party of the opposi- tion. Lioyd George thought to have a center party strong enough to check either reaction or radicalism; the gods thought otherwise. He had his little jokes, much relished, at the enemy’s expense, and got most of the cheeérs, but the enemy got the votes. There were a number of startling upsets. Winston Churchill, Sir. Hamar Greenwood and Arthur Henderson (labor's great .champion) were defeated. It is Interesting to note that of the thirty-two woman candiates only two were elected; one of those two belng Lady Astor. The labor representation includes & good many so-called “intellectuals,” _the dangerous tribe, of whom some are rank pacifists who four years ago did not have a “look-in.” v Mr. Bopar Law can now get down to work, whereof there is store awaiting him—the Irish settlement, the ne: east business, German reparations, the problem of unemployment, much else. Terrorism increases in Dublip and through- out southern Ireland. Faint-hearts despair of an end to' the vexatious, cruel and de- structive ‘guerrilla warfare carried on by De Valera and his “irregulars.” * X ¥ % Germany.—On the 14th Wirth and his cab- inet resigned. The people’s party (the party of the capitalists) had demanded that they be granted participation in the coalition governt _ment on equal terms with the ‘democrats, the centrists and the socialists. The centrists and democrats were willing, and so was Wirth, .a centrist. So apparently the right wing of the United Social Democratic party (the whilom majority socialists). So was the left wing of that party (the erstwhile independent serialists). 5 They took another close look at Stinnes and balked. So Wirth is out and the coalition gone the way of the British coalition. Wilhelm Cuno, director general of the Hamburg-American steamship lines, is forming (so goes our in- formation) a ‘“cabinet of work” (sweet eu- phemism), to comprise members of the parties which lately constituted the coalition and of the people’s party, who are at once fond of work and without strong poiitical bias. Doubtless such a cabinet could be found and would be precizely the ticket in Utopia; but one may be excused for doubting whether Cuno can find his men and whether, if they could be found, a cabinet so constituted would be & success in our kind of world, even in Germany. But doubtless these Utopian reports should be discounted. Herr Cuno is a good man, and it was time for Wirth to go. He had ccased to be suitable for premlier, having since Rathenau’s assassination walked in growing fear of his life. The council of ambassadors, acting for the allied powers, has demanded of the German government, “apology and reparation” for certain insults to the allied military control commission in Germany. Moreover, the Ger- man government is informed that until “fullest satisfaction has been given for flagrant viola- tions of the military clauses of the Versailles treaty,” the control commission will remain in Germany. Details are lacking, but the matter may well be of considerable importance. * k k % Ttaly—On the 16th, the camera reconvened and was addressed by Mussolini. He spoke like a dictator; in effect told the chamber it must do his bidding or be dissolved. He asked the chamber to vote him full powers to carry through his bureaucratic and financial re- forms. The next day, after a debate of eight hours, in which the socialist and republican leaders attacked Mussolinl violently, a vote of confidence was carried, 306 to 116. By a show of hands the chamber promised to vote a bill granting the full powers asked for. Evi- dently the chamber prefers submission to dis- solution. Its composition is anomalous, since almost certainly the fascistl are the strongest party in the country. Of the 535 deputies only 31 are fascisti. . Mussolini’s economy program calls for_the dismissal of 150,000 state employes. With this addition the total number of Italy’s un- employed will be 400,000. The only kind of relief in immediate prospect is emigration. STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, NOVEMBER .19, 1922—PART © who may LS “It's tharoughly does it.” thinks Mussolini, byt conceivably one might be too thorough. * %k K % Turkey.—Having asked for British protec- tion and - conveyance, away from Constan- tinople, where he feared attempts on his life, Mohammed VI (ex-sultan ®f Turkey, but still Caliph of Islam) was received on board a British warship and taken to Malta on Fri- day. Mohammed declines to consider him- melf as deposed’as sultan, but even the Brit- {sh, 1 imagine, accept the action'of the An- gora assembly regarding. the sultanate. Ap- parently the Angora‘assembly considers him still technically caliph, pending the selection of his successor, which, no doubt, will be made soon and despite the fact that that body has ordered ‘his trial (presumably as sultan’ only)-on the charge of high treason. the specifications alleging, in chief, servience to Britain. Mohammed took with him his ten-year-old son, Prince Ertoghrul, me day become a Turkish Bonny Prince Charles. It is to be hoped that the holy old man took with him also his newest wife, a Circassian beauty, who has been his chief consolation in these latter days. The British are in an embarrassing posi- tign. They have never refused asylum to a political refugee, and, besides this general claim, Mohammed has very” particular claims upon their protection., There was nothing to do but accord him asylum. On the other « hand, the act of mercy doubtless has enraged Angora and may conceivably prejudice . the situation at Constantinople, which had grown calm after thé Angora government, continu- ng to press its insolent demands on the allied authorities there, found itself up against a stone wall. There is a Paris rumor that the British propose to set Mohammed up in style as caliph in some Islamic’ center. in opposi- tion to Ango: appointee, in the hope of thus dividing Islam, but that would be play- ing with fire, for it might.well work out just the other way. As I remarked above, the week at Constan- ®tinople seems to have been calm, with no incident of consequence, except the flight of the sultan. Apparently there has been calm also throughout the neutralized straits zones and in eastern Thrace. All eyes are now fixed on Lausanne, where the peace nference is scheduled to open on the 20th. rd Curzon, Poincare and Mussolini are to meet before the opening of the conference, with a view to agreement and a joint allied policy. That the allies will agree and hold loyally by their pledges is devoutly to be wished, but, in view of the past, seeing is believing. * ok k% Egypt.—The Zaghloulists and the even more extreme nationalists in Egypt have, it is re- ported, insisted on & program which contem- plates in chief the following: Dethronement of King Fuad, denial to England of any re- served rights in Egypt. return of the ex- khedive, Abbas Hilmy: the Sudan to be under Egyptian rule, neutralization of the Suez canal.-with Egypt as guarantor; recognition of the dissociation of temporal power from the conception of the caliphate. S * % ¥ % Mincellaneoun.—Not only has the date of opening’ of the proposed Brussels economic conferenee been indefinitely postponed, but it is even doubtful whether the conference will be held at all. It was planned, the reader will remember, to thoroughly re-examine at the proposed conference the entire reparations problem in connection with that of interallied debts. Chopin's Funeral March has been synco- pated to fox-trot time for the delectation of the mad Parisians. Another Portuguese cabinet has quit—but the country is placid this time. The American Relief Administration is re- suming work in Austria, chiefly for the relief of the professional and middlde classes. The national assembly of the Far Eastern Republic has asked for union with Moscow. No doubt the request will graciously be granted. So ends the long-drawn-out farce of the independence of eastern Siberia. At least” 1,200 lives (perhaps many more) have been lost on the Chilean coast through earthquake and tidal wave. There was great damage and destruction to shipping, towns and countryside. . ticulatly, with eyes on the Ruhr and the Rhineland. have remained adamant and in the bickering and evading that has resulted between the allies and Germans. on the one hand, and between the allies them- sclves, on the other. the general sit- uation has grown from bad to worse. Settlement In Necesnary. s some definite set- tlement, as the Germans have de- manded. there is little chance of stabilizing the mark, and unless Ger- man currency is made worth more than ordinary wrapping paper Ger- many will not advance. This view- noint is pretty well accepted in al- lied circles. however. and the recent deliberations of the reparations com- iniesion in Germany and in Parls ava-but furthered the belief that be- jore Gérmany can pay she not only 'should be enabled to bring the mark to.sowe degree of value, but should recelve an outside loan in the gen- naral. scheme of financial rehabili- tation. But, it would appear that many moons il come and go before there sis any definite agreement between the “lies themselves, and then with Ger- many, in regard to definitely fixing the sum . total of reparations or atabilizing the mark. Germany has proposed a loan of one billion gold marks, half from the reichsbank and half from outside sources, in an at- tempt to catch up with reparations payments and balance the internal budget in the hope of bringing the wark to some point near normalcy. There is grave doubt that thix can be done, except upon terms drafted by Wrance. with eye single to French. and not German, interests. This is more or less as it should be, from the standpoint of avenging Germany's wartime _injustices toward France, hut -the French viewpoint appears far from practical at this moment, when it appears that a German collapse yet may deny France anything except that which France may seize in the hineland and the Ruhr on the pre- text of warranted reparations sanc- tions. 1In fact, it is declared in cer- Unless there and the French are not in the least “As I See It” (Continued from First Page.) this 1s a perfect world if the price f butter and eggs were only not uite £0 high. The Appeal to Reason when it appeared in the eighties and rather miraculously spread its raw head and bloody bones of socialistic propaganda over the land became the synonym of all that was treasonable and wicked in the politics of a staid and respectable American majority. The Appeal w. edited by a mild- manne: it was always in trouble with ti government. The mild man wore kis life out, having made a mint of money; and his sons had no taste for the front door of the jall, so they sold it to the editor who changed its name and its policy last week. His problem was a most modern problem, having an organ of opinion which which he is out of agreement. Many & rich man today finds him- seif owning a newspaper or & pub- lishing b with a clientele utterly out sympathy with his ideas. The business generally is a money-maker as a propaganda fac- tory; but if he loathes the propa- xanda by reason of a change of heart, what is _he to do? In the case of Hlldamln-lllllu:;“ ‘who can no longer subscribe to the socialist «reed, he has come to believe in in- \ividualism. Respectable citizens ‘need not feel more’ comfprtable in thelr beds because of Mr. Haldeman- Julius’ change of heart. Individual- ism pressed to the ultimate which o mun! soul- may go might casily tain diplomatic circles that Poincare |. n named Wayland and e aided and abetted the new move. I ment. which is declared to be growing in all' Sections, largely through in- filtration into the ranks of the soc I-I ists themselves. Anmtagoniam Must Pass. i If Germany is to prevent the loss of | the Rhineland and avoid further sanc- | tions on the part of the allies: If she is to obtain outside loans of propor- ! tions necessary to bring a stabiliza- | { tion of her finances and gain a going | nation industrially speaking, there must be no spirit of antagonism to outside interests. But the nn(iumflls-} tic dreams of the malcontents ma; break all bounds and prudence be scattered to the winds. 1 ere is no question that thei two interests that should be pulling | together, the industrialists, repre- sented by Stinnes, and the socialists, who have had such great voice in German after-the-war problems, are farther apart than ever. Neither seems convinced of the fact that nelther can live without the other. The indus- tralists or centrists can save so- | cialistic Germany if socialistic Ger- | many, on the other hand. will give an certain industrialist pleas of ial guarantees. With union, at working agreements between least the two groups during the next three years, Germany soon would emerge from the slough of despond and once more take her place as a self-reliant, going nation. but if the fight com- tinues both centrists and soclallsts, will pave the way for malcontent demonstrations which eventually may overthrow the government, Yet, there | t are some statesmen who declare Ger- imans understand nothing save the | spirit of authority backed by a mailed fist, and that Germany wiil not ad- vance until the blood and iron ele- ments of the nation move into Berlin. Upon the new chancellor falls a Education of Yming Manhood of America - Held Essential Part of National Defense NITIAL steps in the carrying out of a great national preparedness movement which had its incep- tion with the lessons learned through America’s participation in the world war, were taken at the of- ficial conference of military authori- ties, welfare representatives and educational interests, called by Sec- retary of War Weeks, and which concluded a three-day - session in Memorial Continental Hall yesterday. Deeply concerned over the startling degree of mental and physical inef- ficiency shown to exist in the youth of the country in the draft figures compiled by military suthorities, the United States government; at the con- ference, lald down a comprehensive program for education in the prin- ciples of citizenship, considered = fundamental factor in the program, and for training of young America along military lines to prepare the nation for any emergency that may confront it. Factor in Man-Power. At the outset of the conferénce heavy load. and though he ma: - ceed In dealing with the allies. thers jcan be no assurance at the moment | that all of his good works will not fall into the discard by virtue of in- ternal upheavals of one kind or an- other. Sermany still confronts m hours before the dawn. p mean anarchy or nihilism. So the new Appeal to Reason may be just as good to use in scaring children who are naughty as it was in its old terrifying days. . Focusing the Amplifiers. | HREE of the nine new ampli- fiers installed in the House of Rep- resentatives at Washingtori focus the I,volm of the members upon ‘the press gallery. The power of the press? = Nope, the press has no power. The press is & common carrfer. - The press enters the House of Rep- resentatives a as a public utility and merely tells the world what 'the repre- sentatives say and do. . The press merely conveys to the | gentle reader the raw material out 1 of which public opinion is made. And because public opinion verns this country, rising above parties and blocs and cliques and klans, the amplifiers are focussed into the funnels that carry out the stuff from which public opinion is made. The power of the press is greatly over-rated. The press is merely the mill through which the grist passes. But the grist is the food of the high gods of destiny. Upon public opinfon the fate of mankind lives and moves and has its guidance. WRhat public- opinion is, what gives it power, guides its course, no one knows, any more than we can tell what brings the birds back in the spring or urges the siug to be a butterfly. 7 But we do know that three pli- fiers out. of nine in the House of Representatives are focusased upon the ress gallery, and that it is not for their colieagues that the members talk, but for. the millions outside the Hou¥e. After tiut it-is all speculation. Brig. Gen. Willlam Lassiter, who pre- sided, pointed out why the War De- partment is interested as much in education as in military training. The facts outlined were as follows: The world war required the mili- tary authorities to study very deeply all that pertains to man-power, and the factor which contributed toward the development of effective man- power. Of course, the military authorities were thus primarily con- cerned with factors having ' speclal bearing upon national defense; but the studies have been so broad, and ave been undertaken by so many of he leading experts of the country, that the conclusions reached affect the whole question of the training and development of our young men. For purposes of jon _the s involved d character qualities and charac xea Physique, (2) 3 4) attitude. With regard énfl. statistics, life insurance ex- perience and industrial studies indi- cate that about half of the population of the United States is physically subnormal. The draft figures show that 46.8 per cent of the 2,750,000 men whose medical records were comple! were defective. Of all examined 29.1 per cent were rejected as physically lunfit for unlimited military service and 17.7 per cent more had to be claseed as fit for limited service only. It is conservatively estimated, more- over, that preventable illness and curable physical defects causec an annual industrial loss of at. .least $1,500,000,000 per yea! " A recent example of the results-of the physical examination of group! of young men, Gen. Lassiter cited, was the fact that out of 17,652 young men examined in _citizens’ military training camps during the past sum- mer 4.4 per cent .had to be rejected for physical reasons, and that. of those accepted for training 40 per cent had defects either disqualifying or non-qualf - And 4! definitg standards of physical fitness have been set, but in civil life no standards have been definitely fixed. The War Department heads believe that if such standards in_civil life could be established much greater definiteness could be given to physi- cal training throughout the country and that the individual citizen could Le given a definite goal at which to m. Technical Skill Lacking. Concerning the second basic quali- | fication, skill, the conferees were told that trade . tests applled to drafted men showed that only one-third of those who claimed skill in a trade: had enough to be rated as a journey- man. During the war, it was pointed out, the Army had to give technical training to some 1.225,000 men to mke“et the Army’s needs for technical ol Furthermore, officlals found that there apparently were no generally accepted specifications, aptitude tests or tests of efficiency to guide schools in discovering individual abilities and in placing young men In technical positions suited to their skill and temperament. The lack of such a definite means for the adjustment of the youth to hls task in life, and the lack of equally well defined ter- minology for classifying men with respect to physique, skill and knowl edge, were among the most serious causes of delay in mobilization for the world war. Deficient in Education. With regard to general education, Army tests showed that about one- fourth of the young men of the coun- try could not read simple English understandingly or write an intelli- gent letter. About half of these were foreign born, who, though subject to draft for national defense, had not yet learned the tongue of their adopt- ed country. The delegates were in- formed that about half of the chil- dren drop out of school before the end of the seventh grade, too young to have well grounded conceptions.of | social and economic relations. Offi- clals were amased during the recent war to find out how many of the drafted men had only the vaguest ideas of why America was fightmg and it was inspiring to them to see the eagerness with which the men absorbed such meager instruction on the subject as could be given here and there In the Army. Thus, it was emphasized. half of the population of the United States is an easy prey to much of the subversive propaganda that {s being pushed "so Engineers of Nation Supporf Movement Against 12-Hour Day Engineering leaders agree with John D. Roekefeller, jr., in his Qecla- ration against the twelve-hour day. Results of & nation-wide survey of forty continuous industries made by the committee on work periods Ax continuous Industry of the Federated American * Engineering Socleties, it was stated, bear out the contention that the two-shift system is soclally unwise and economically unneces- Sary. In a statement fssued by Dean Mortimer E. Cooley of the University of Michigan it was asserted that the views of Mr. Rockefeller represented “g tendency prevaliing throughout the world.” and that the United States was falling in line with Europe and Asla. The findings of the engineer- ing committee, according to Bradley Stoughton, chairman of the iron and steel committee of the American In- stitute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, applied generally to the ‘steel industry. , Mr. Stoughton, ‘formerly adjunct professor of metallurgy in Columbia University, conducted a special in- quiry into hours of labor in the steel industry and' reached the conclusion that three shifts of eight hours each should. be adopted, both from the standpoint of the industry itself and of the general gnbllc. T Herace B. Drury of Washington, former member of the facuity of Ohio State University, who directed the eral h'::‘c:tln.um for 'th‘o U:‘l.l‘-' o Ethere {a & matural divergencs inion as to the advantages and _ I disadvantages of the three-shift op- eration, the weight of the evidence and the most positive statements a: in favor of the three-shift operatio; Dr. H. E. Howe of the National Re- search Council, Washington, who was chairman of the engineering federa- tion’s committee on work periods. said that the engineering view, based upon two years of sclentific in- quiry, was shared by high officlals at ‘Washihgton. Dr. Howe predicted that the engineering report on hou of labor, which, he said, would in t! near future be presented to. the Ameriean people in complete form, engender._ industriat - experimentation that might prove of vast advantage to_the mnation. 3 “Many prejudices existed against'a change in the length of-shiffs among managers, who are now likely to look at the problem in a -different light, according te Dr. Howe, who thought that there was a growing spirit of service in all classes. The work of the engineer, he said, should be a large factor in bringing about closer understanding between capi- tal and labor. Other engineering leaders, indors- ing Mr. Rockefeller’s position as welcome evidence of a sound . indus- trial’ philosophy that is forming in hopeful facts determined by the en- gineering investigation iz that' the working man is benefited rather than spoiled by the extra leasure he en- Jjoys under the shorter day. J. Parke Channing and L. P. Al- ford, members of the committee on work periods, sald that the general accruing from the eight- hour compensated cost rvoh!d. in_the two-shift system of twelve hours; advan America, sald that one of the most for any extra vigorously by numerous radical organi- zations bent upon economic, soclal or political upheaval. Sound education for the masses was seen as the sure basis of nationa! defense, therefore. Need te Know Citisenship. As for attitude, named as the fourth qualification for good citisenship, it was stated that unless Americans generally recognize the fundamental requirements for community life under modern con- ditions and gain some generally-accept- ed common viewpoint as to what America stands for and what the main- tenance of our government and its in- stitutions involves, an orderly and pro- gressive development in good citizen- ship cannot result, nor will there be éffective co-operative effort in resisting the perils that may face the country in_the future. The government, it was explaintd, does not desire. to attempt to impose upon the youth of the land any lim- ited or one-sided viewpoint as to gov- ernment and the means of carrying it on; but experience has shown that it the basic facts . of historv and of everyday knowledc are placed be- fore young men. and they are led intelligently to discuss and consider the requirements. needs and obliga- tions of community life, they will arrive at an appreciation of their own rights, duties and obligations, which will tend toward sanity and reason- ableness rather than toward the na: row and bigoted viewpoint of the in. dividual who has never had his mind awllk;ned to the broad problems in- volved. Framework for Defense. Taking up as a whole the question of national defense, the conference was advised that for the first time in ‘history the country has legislation au- thorizing the establishment of a definite framework on which can be built sys- tematically, and with reasonable prompt- ness, the citizen army required in time of national emergency. This law, known as the act of June 4, 1920, provides for | = national armyof three components— the Regular' Army, the National Guard The units new being definitely established under the act will pro- vide a force of about 3,000,000 men in time of national- crisis. With the machinery established, the War De- partment could then go on to keep the ranks of these units filled up dur- ing-a war, and also to raise‘additional units, if needed. " Thus, for the first time, the United States has a compre- hensive plan for developing. the force required for national defense. \ e personnel for this expansion must mecessarily be ‘young- manhood.of the country. His- tory_ shows. that upon this young ‘manhood must fall the duty of filling up the units of the combat forces, To fit young manhood to fill up these units in commissioned and non-com- missioned grades was declared to be the main objective of military train- ing courses in the 00ls of the country. Irrespective of whether these young man ever take on any military jobligation or not, 1t was emphasizsed, the training helps to equip them for the struggle of life, in that it serves to devel them physically and pro- mates . dle self-control ibits of “teamwork which are so Tecessary to community life.” - | made up of the| 3 CENTRAL AMERICA READY "FOR 'LAND DISARMAMENT Problem Before Washington Conference Next Month a Knotty One, However. Present Armies Too Large. : BY BEN McKELWAY. ENTRAL AMERICA, long known as ahotbed of revolution and cut-throat pblitics, comes be- fore the world as a prov- ing ground for an experiment in land disarmament, with all that goes with -it, as an Insurance against war. Delegates to the Central American conference here next month have been appointed and are either on their way here or are in Washington awaiting instructions from their home governments. Inquiry among some of these dele- gates reveals that, while a strong sentiment for land disarmament ‘ex- ists in Central America and the re- publicy, without exception, are anx- ious to co-operate in‘any plan that has for its aim a reduction of ex- penses’ and the prevention of wal fare, the task of actually bringing about this proposed reduction of armament is-a knotty problem that wlill tax the resources of diplomacy and the conference table. Would Chang# Armies. Reducing the armies of the Central American republics might appear to the casual observer an attempt to reduce the irreducible minimum, as one delegate put it; and this fact leads to the conclusion that, while some reduction will be sought, the conference will bend its efforts for the most part toward changing the natyre of the armed forces concerned. One of the delegates expressed the jbelief that Central America will wit- {ness the interesting experiment of replacing armies - heretofore main- tained (o guard against attack fromr the outside, or to institute warfare against a neighbor, by enlarged con- stabulary or police forces, whose sole duty will consist in patrolling and keeping the peace. Protected from the outside world by the Monroe doc- trine, and from attack within by treaties which will guarantee peace, the republics of Central America will find no necessity for maintaining large armed forces. Comparisons in Streagth. A glance at the table given below allows a comparison of the armed forces in Central America, with the populations and areas they represent rea (in square miles). 700 41,500 10435 “In 7,225 ‘These military establishments are small when compared with those of the great nations of the world, and there are no navies in Central America. But, in proportion, the armies are unusually large. Take the case if Guatemala, for instance. A standing army of 4,000 men is a small army. But If the United States maintained one as large, in propor- tion to {its size and population, it would be forced to keep about 240,000 men under arms—a number nearly twice the size of its present peace- time military strength. Other ex- amples are more vivid. Honduras, with a population about two thou- sand times smaller than that of the TUnited States, maintains an army nearly one-third as Costa Suggests “Hurt No One” As Substitute Slogan To the Editor of The Star: Kindly grant me a little space in your paper that I may give a few thoughts on the traffic topic. I am gratified to know that a general drive is about to be opened in this city against traffic accidents, for it is my custom to walk the streets. But the suggested slogan of “Don’'t get hurt” strikes me as altogether too narrow, since it seems to apply only to the pedestrian—the hurtee. I would gest a substitute, or addition, making the slogan *“Hurt no on This admonition would apply to the killing-vehicle—the hurter. The hazard and havoc we are experiencing came with the automotive machines. and these should be compelled to adapt themselves to necessary condi- tions of safety for all. I have walked the_street of this city for years and have never met with a traffic acci- dent. Since the advent of self-mov- ing machines I have found that the safest place to cross the streets is not at the intersections thereof, but between such intersections, where the pedestrian has to watch in but two directions—first to the left and then to the right. At least three-fourths of the people of this city walk the streets from cholce or necessity, and I am confidéent that the gr major- ity of these will agree with my state- ments. The city has a terror in its midst. and it should be carralled. Cut down the speed rate at least one-half and severely punish the auto owners by fine, imprisonment or forfeiture of license, or by all these punishments. re should circamspectly. There is no necessity for the rapid travel we see every day and hour in this city. It is the mad, reckless_ senseless driver that cause the trouble. It Is criminal and should be |unpr:nat}.°uh_ R. WEATHERS. “Industrial Area” Plea. To the Bditer of The Btar: Let ub have an “industrial area on the Potomao. I am a steel mill worker and at the same time a = Washingtonian by adoption. I, too, have lived in the Pittsburgh section. I have now lived in the District of Columbia for over fifteen years and own residential property in the Congress Heights sec- tion of the District. ‘Will the smoke from an “industrial area,” situated on the outskirts of the District, interfers With the beautles of ‘the oity? Judging from the ex- periences of the residents of the Con- gress Heights section, I say no. For a period of fifteen years there was a stesl plant In operation on the bank of the Potomac, just below Con- gress Helghts. During all that time I never heard a resident -of this sec- tion complain about the smoke from the steel mill. Rather than being a detriment, this steol mill raised the standards of liv- ing in this section. - ‘Before the mill was built and put in operation the houses were. bullt without cellars, only a few of the ‘houses were wired for electricity and in none of the houses were modern plumbing fittinga to be found. - The stcéel mill came and brought with it highly trained and well paid ‘workmen. - These workmen demanded comfortable houses in which to live, and were both able and willing to pay for the same. As a result many of the older houses were remodeled | ties. to the demands| B | trial area on the and equipped ‘meet f_the steel mill ; O e wérs. dus, nc modern heat: - | Takoma in September. by which ea Rica, with a larger population and greater area to patrol than Honduras, maintaing a much smaller army. Armies Too Large. This comparison would indicate that a majority of the Central American republics maintain armiex out of ull proportion to their size and existing necessity, and that a plan for their reduction cannot be based on an arb'- traily fixed perccntage, but must built on a foundation that insures the removal of any necessity for the further maintenance of armies of us- gression or defense. It is an aliru- istic undertaking for Central Amecr- ica, but the opportunity for success Wwus never greater. P As far as the need for armed forccs is concerned, one of the delegates « pressed the opinion that the agre ment reached among the Central American republics aboard the U. republic agreed to keep its borders rid of political cxi will do #s much as any one thing to prevent revolutionary outbreaks. And revo- lutionary movements, which have the habit of springing up ovérnight in Central America, have been the chiel excuse for the amies. An administra- tion has not felt gafe In the past un- less protected by an adequate army and the larger the army the greater chance for the administration’s per- manency. Providcd political exiles are kept out of Central America and away from the temptation to buy over a winning percentage of the army and stage a revolt, there wiil be less likelihood of nceding armed protection. Tnmiom Aect Unlikely. Whenever representatives of the Central Americas gathcr in confer- ence the old talk of a union of Cen- tral America is heard. Whether any such topic will be taken up by the present conference, however. ex- tremely doubtful in the light of re- cent developments. It is belicved that a treaty of amity among the Central American republics. will serve the purpose of draw them closer through the bonds of friendship and commerce, will serve the purpose of providing a step to- ward a union. and a step, it is be- lieved, is about all that is possible now. A union of the Central Americas must come slowly. The failures in a century of effort show it cannot he ‘formed in a few hours. or days around a conference table. It must ! develop with the growth in under standing of the people. Washington Ha; The selection of Washington as th= Umeeting place for the Central Ame:- icas is a happy one. Away from the influences of home, and free to seek the advice and guidance of a larger and more experienced republic, the delegates will be able to accomplish far more in whatever they undertake than would br possible elsewhere. One of the delegates expressed it ver: frankly. “The Central American breathes and lives on politics” he sald. “Here in Washington 1 hope can steer clear of anything politica! I would prefer. myseif, to have your Secretary of State, Mr. Hughes. al- tend all our comferences with schoolmaster’s rule in his hand. Anc 1 would like to sec him ready to use it properly the minute any delegate ghows signs of trying to work polit ISpeaker Gillett to Be | Veteran of the House Advantages. Coming into the new Congress next | March, Representative Frederick H. 1 Glllett of Massachusetts, speaker of the House, will have new honor and dignity as the veteran member—not vetéran by seniority of age, which distinction goes to Gen. Isaac R. Sher wood, who returns in his eighty- eighth year—but veteran by lenzth of service. Speaker Gillett on March 3. 1923 will have completed thirty vears of continuous service in the House. and by that very tgken is belleved to hold the all-time rd_for continuoux “Unele Joe” Lannon will ho lett's has been. Senator Lodge began his continu ous service in the Senate on the sam: date as Gillett in the House—March 4, 1893, |Lincoln Memorial Pool. To the Bditor of The Star: In a recemt issuc of The Star an item appeared regarding the reflect- ing pool of the Lincoln Memorial, In which the statement is made that “marsh gas has caused certain fail- ures in the concrete floor of the re- flecting poo! in front of the beautiful Lincoln Memorial This statement is so far in erro- that it should be corrected. Tn the first place the floor of the reflecting pool does not contain any concretc. The floor is composed of cinders fm- pregnated with asphalt and covercd with # membrane of asphalt-treated felt. 1n the second place no failure of anv kind has occurred irh the floor. Some marsh gas has boen forced throush by rising ground water and this has been taken care of by providing ven!x. Tt Is stated by the office of pul buildings and grounds that there h: been no failure of any kind. GEORGE A. RICKER. District Engineer. Portland Cement Associatl many of th older houses were wired for elec ing plants installed: gas and city water wer: to Congress Heights: mor macadam sidewalks were laid; and i single-track line gave way to a mod- ern double-track car line. ~What brought it all about? Largely th: 2 demand created by steel mill em- Pployes. Another angle: At the present time there is very little demand for sem!- skilled labor in the District. ‘There are dozens of men now living in ‘Washington and earning from $15 to $25 per week who In industrial lines could earn from $1 to $8 per day. Think what this additional earning capacity would mean in added com- forts in the homes where these men are heads of families, and think of the additional amount of money that would be put in circulation. Let us continue to. add to the beau- ties of our Washington, but at the same time not be selfish in the enjoy - ment of the same. #An “industrial area” would benelit more than simply “z few men.” An “industrial area” would actually ben fit thousands of men, and not only ti: men, but their wives and growin children. And, further, mechanics in other lines would be benefited, and tradesmen and professional men. with the members of all of their families. There i no limit to' the possibili- tricity; all means let us have an “indus- Potomac. wu.mA L BALLARD.