Evening Star Newspaper, December 22, 1922, Page 6

6 THE EVENING STAR,]ence at- With Sunday Murning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY..... .D?lmbnr 22, 1922 THEODORE W. NOYES......Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Busigess Office, 11th St. and Pennsyivania Ave. New York Office: 130 Nawnau . Chicago Oftice: Tower Bullding. Furopean Office : 16 Regent St., Loadon, with the Sunday woraiag by carriers within the city daliy onty. 45 cents per 7. 20 eents per month. O ‘mail, or telephone Main 7 mad ot the ders may be sent 5000. Collection 1s made by car: end of each mouth. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..1yr., $3.40:'1 mo. Daily only.. 1yr., §6.00; 1 mo Sunday only 1yr. $2.40; 1 mo., 21 All Other States. Daily and Sunday..1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo., 83¢ Traily only . $7.00: 1 mo., 60c Sunday only.. $3.00; 1 mo., 25¢ Member of the Associated Press. The Asadclated Press fs exclusively entitied o the use for repablicatlon of sl news dis Patches credited to 1t or not otherwise credited In this paper and ales local news pub- lished herein. A1l right e D. C. Needs and Appropriations. All Washington hopes, apparently Wwith good reason. that the unusual:pnyuch right to maintain its contention brevity of the hearing; on the District Commissioners’ mates after they hiave been cut to the bone and into the ‘bone by the budget bureau. The cut in the hearings may signify no cut in the budget. The millions of reduction in the Commissioners’ ap- propriative proposais to meet essen- made by the tial municipal needs, budget bureau, may reasonably be viewed by the miembers of the House ppropriations committee as obviating 1he necessity of the customary auto- matic and perfunctory reduction of these estimates by themselves. This treatment of the District bud- get figures as a real budget, lending If equitably to a minimum of re- on and a maximum of absolutely essential increases, is in line with the the spirit and inteat of the new fiscal organic act of District 1022, This act retained the principle of definite proportionate contributions, but cut the government’s contribution from 50 to 40 per cent, increased by 65 2.3 per cent the tax on intangible personalty and cut down revenues hitherto exclusively enjoyed *by the District. Having made these drastic changes and laid down the funda- mental principles cf the new system, Congress left the practical application of the new fiscal law largely to be worked out by the District Commis. sioners. We are no longer to wrangle over fifty-fifty or over the question of defl- rite or indefinite proportionate con- tributions. There is no longer the pos- mbility of hurtful deadlock between the two houses over this izsue. It is decreed that the proportionate con- tribution shall be definite. and that the ratio shall be sixty-forty, and every- body accepts and is adjusting to it. Tt is clearly impossible to provide the milllons of money necessary to meet the meglected needs of the war- time in respect to schools, streets, water supply, etc.. in a current appro- priation bill. which relies solely upon revenue derivéd from local and na- tional taxes of the present, which does not utilize accumulated tax surpluses of the past and which does not through federal advances to be reim- bursed or tarough a bond issue com- pel participation by taxpayers of theitor Capper says, -repeatediy asked future in the payment for permanent | improvements which will benefit them. n the spirit of our mew fiscal law the pending appropriation bill is to be made to meet the absolute maximum of these accumulated neglected needs of the past in addition to the provislon of adequate current maintenance. Then before the session closes the Joint select committee is to report and Congress is.to determine the amount of our accumulated tax surplus of the past, which, with the corresponding préportionate contribution of the na- tion, wiil raturally be devoted at once to mgeet the accumulated neglected needs of the war-time, faflure to do which in the past has caused this un- expended tax surplus to accumulate. And if after the revenues from taxes «f the present and past have been thus fully utilized there remains the need| of millions to be expended upon great permanent public improvements which ‘behefit the taxpayers of the future (ike enlarged water-supply plant, ade- quate school building equipment, smooth streets and effective sewers) this need must unhesitatingly be met by a District loan, either in the shape of an advance from the federal Tréas- ury, to be reimbursed with interest, or a bond issue such as any other munici- pality would under similar conditions negotiate. ‘The immediate urgent 1eed is, there- fore, with the minimum of friction ap- parently assured by the terms of our new fiscal law, to provide through the pending” appropriation bill adequate current maintenance of ‘the Capital, and in additfon a maximum of provi- sion to meet the grossly neglected! prospective increase of school *popula- needs of the war-time. Next will come | tion, leaving the congestion caused by the helpful solution of our tax-surpius | Jong-continued neglect unrelieved. problem; and finally, if necessary, con- sideration of a District hond issu ——————— Peace has its fuel rationing system well as war. | . ———e——— An Economic Conference. 1 Senator ' Borah's proposal for a|ures pending and in preparation, mak- to be|ing for the correction of the ills from world economic conference, called by the President of the United States, is an interesting contribution to current discussion of ways to re- leve the plight of Europe. Whether it is as valuable as it i{s Interesting is another matter. Much would depend upon surrounding circumstances and upon the scope discussion at such a conference would be permitted to have. 3 ‘The idea of an international eco- nomic conference, of course, is not new. Europé has been holding such conferences, one after another, ever since the armistice was-signed, but nothing of striking benefit in the way of ‘results has been produced. The mget ambitious 'of these attempts, and thé one Which resulted in probably the most notadle fallure, was the confer- | as the United States has to inaist upon appropriation bill by the House apDré- | 1 own views. But there would not priations subcommittee indicates Sub-! pe much chance that an international stantial acceptance as a budget of the | aconomic conference would succced i | .| unsparing .statement of ‘the respon! A FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1922. HERE and THERE in WASHINGTON | [ M=rket, ¥arm Problem. X Experienced Observer Offers So- BY “THE MAJOR* ution for Agricultural Distress. To the Bditor of The Star: There seems to be s genuine desire on the part of Congress to extend some kind of help to the farmers of the United States. Congress knows that something is wrong with the farm, but if Congress knows just what it {s that constitutes that wrong 1t keeps the fact to itself. On page 3, column 6. of today's Star the Deparment of Agriculture tells | us that thig year's crops are worth seven and a half billion dollars, near- | 1y a two-billion gain over last year's crops. If this is true, why is it that the farmers are in a bad plight and sadly in need of financial assistance? Tt the American farmers actually produced this colossal wealth, then the farmers should be the wealthiest and most independent of our citizenry. But the cold facts show that, thqugh the farmers really produce this vast wealth, they scarcely share in it at all, and are growing poorer every year. What's the the Jeak—who does get the lion's share of this enormous wealth created by THE EVENING STAE, WASHINGTON Genoa, conceived By Lioyd |®e a busy body, and will need all the George and upon which he practically | time at its disposal for the labor prop- staked 'his future as the leader of{erly assigned to it. European statesmanship. The Genoa ! That labor, too, will be transacted conference ‘falled chiefly because|under new conditions. What is called France was unwiliing that reparations | the bloc pian of securing legislative should' be discissed-there, and repara- | results will be tried out. - tions are inseparably intertwined with’| It is something nove! in our affairs, Europe’s economic problems. and is not todey fully understocd by How much better would the chances | the rank_ and fille on -Capito] Hill. be of success for a conference to be| Whether its sponsors and manipula- held in Washington? If France came | tors understand it and can make it here with the same reservations she | work is a question. They seem bent took to Genoa the same -obstacles- to|pn the experiment. a successful outcome would be pre-|: The old party plan of action is not sented. If President Hgrding iovited{ perfect by any means, but upon the France to an international gonference | whole it has produced well. The coun- and stipulated that reparations should | try has prospered under it, and every- have a place on the agenda. IPrauce | body has become more or less familiar very likely would accept with ‘the|with it. qualifying provision that thejifter-|. But new times, new schemes. That allied indebtedness alsd shaulfl’ e a|these times are new is widely attested, subject of discussion. And. the Prési:|and that they have brought forth any dent would be in a most embarrasfing | number of new schemes, govern- position. It would be difficult for him | mental and other, is of record in Con- to insist upon international discussion | gress and elsewhcre. of the debt owed by Germany to| The Sixty-eighth Congress, there- France and refuse discussion of the | fore, is scheduled for & strenuous ex- debt owed by France to the United | perience, and should have plenty of CAPITAL KEYNOTES ’ BY PAUL V. COLLINS. N Cbristmas eve the angels. sang, “Peace on earth; good will toward men.” Christmas is-peace day for all Christendom, and therefore it seems natural that thoughts of how to bring peace on earth should be uppermost in the hearts of men and women. It is said that thirty-eight nations, through their organized mothers, are crying out against giving martial tovs to children. A meeting of Washing- ton women which was held within the last three or four days took up that crys and’ addresses were made by prominent representatives of the So- ciety for the Prevention of War. The argument is that war roys, such a8 wooden soldiers with guns and cannons, and martial instruments of music—the drum, the fife or the bu- gle—tend to suggest to the infant mind that war is gloriovs and nolsy and much to be dasired. We are by governiment agents and, acoording to the latter, the fugitivas were deal- ers in bootleg whisky. “In the chase down 11th street two automobiles were badly éamaged, citisens hurt snd & horse and wagon overturned. ‘That no one was kitled was s miracle, Law-sbiding citisens recognise the fact that there are times when those having police power must traf- fic. regulations, but the breaking of these regulations endangers life and property, and is rather a hard matter to secure prompt damages as the result of such an accident. There is one way, however, by which these unfortunate occurrences can be elim- inated; namely, if, upon a comviction, the sitting Judge will imposs 2 sen- tence that will strike terror to thesc lawbreakers who are the primary cause of such accidents. Ag Prevident Harding has pointed out, while & law | extsts 1t should be enforced; if it is obnoxious to the great majority of HE experiment that has just been partially completed in several schools throughout the city shows that the milk and hot luncheon program that is being carried out is moest beneficial. A recent report made by Mrs. Hugh Hanna of the Johnson-Powell Moth- ers’ Clyb shows that over 10 per cent more children of the Johnson-Powell School are of average weight and in better physical condition this year than 1 1 remember’ number of years ago when the plan that is now being employed successfully in nu- merous cities throughout the country was first suggested. and I have very vivid recollections of how many old fogies styled the proposed plan a3 being ‘“‘one of those newfangied no- tions.” Time, however, has demon- ‘| strated the wisdom of the originators of the movement. *x % T is not an easy matter to picture a-plent; .‘“lu.y of such work for the present God, give us men! A time like this demands Btrong minds, great nan. bearts, true faith asd It is not just to the gold star moth- ors, and to other mothers who offered their boys to fight in a right cause, that the organized women of tha thirty-eight countries should claim to stand for the womanhood of the world. There are no greater mal heroet than there are heroines. Whether Whittier'ss Barbara Fritchir A Dereon or & type of woman , let her repr 4 Do et present the spirit o * % % % After the recent conference of £ov- ernors, called by President Harding to consider how best to énforce the Volstead law through both state and federal action, Commissioner Haynes commenting upon the result of the conference, said: “There was a preponderance ymedy—where's of States. The American position has|elbow room. to one's self a breeder of Here- |people it can be répesled.’ I, for on oy l;lré-;:xur,n‘ore of psychological sug-[opinion that an earnest offictal ap- been that reparations and interallied T ford cuttle. & former cowboy and an|a law-abiding citisen, am sick and | e remedy. ver that mind rales the yavalcal indebtedness were separate and dis- Vphthereopla. all-around politician, being & success- | tired of seeing ‘boetleggers put up a hv ‘was reared on a farm, and with | world snd outside sugyestion molds tinct questions, but Europe has con- ful writer of verses. Just outside the | few ‘dollars for bail or bond and then M.':f.’;":‘"'ufl = ;ee:“v-;_m;p;:‘:."; the mind. Thereforc, give the child|conditions reported the right to his best spirit of Lindly feelings and sympathv and love that knows no race distinction nor class. The ultimate ideal of Christ is that the spirit of a little child rhall lead the world, and the pcture e lcaves as our jdeal is that of a bal~ leading 2 lion and setting its foo: withoat harm upon the adder and the cockatrice. & * % %% But there are other phases of this peace psychology which the senti- mentalists of non-resistance should never overlook. It is the spirit of right, not of weakness, which must be instilled into the character of the babe. Character displays ftself in the nursery as truly as upon the bat- tlefleld. The youngster who shows by his quivering lips and whimpering volce that he is afraid of right and fairness and justice becomes the tar- | get of his younger sisters and little playmates until they whip him into cowardice and sneaking. That sort of a boy should be soundly spanked until he arouses enough spunk to whip twice his own size. If the rod is spared then the child will lose all self-reliance and his manhood will be a milk-and-water worthlessness. Be neither a sissy nor a bully—] a man! Better a roughneck than a girlish boy or even a sissy girl. But belng a man really never doek mean | a roughni for Ean facro bully is sure to Restoration to the screen of a movie romedian who some months ago fig- has agiUred in an atrocious affair in Call- fornia and who, after iwo trials, was acquitted of the charge agalnst him puts up to the American public the question of his reception. Technically, he is cleared of accusation, but the fact remains that he is assoclated with an abominable proceeding, end however he may have reformed in his habits and character, this association cannot be forgotten. It is sald in his behalf that he has 2 right to earn his living in the only way he knows and the public is, in effect, asked to accept him on the screen for what he is today, and not what he appeared to be in the past. Some sympathy for a reformed man may be expressed by public patronage inf the places in which his pictures are shown, but the test is to come whether that patronage will equal the refusal of others to attend picture shows where his films are exhibited. If those who are financing this per- i former are willing to take the chance iof a balance in his favor, and. there be permitted to go- out =and per- form their criminal acts & few hours afterward. There aurely must be some way to stop this sort of thing. Bome day an imnocent bystander will be killed by a fiying bootlegger or a pursuing officer, and then & great fuvs will be made ubout the~matter. Why not let us fock the barn door before the horse iy stolen, as it were? President Harding struck the kex- note of the situation when he de- clared that the great danger Was in the growing disrespect for law. It no loniger debatable whether one law is good or bad. If it is law, it must be enforced until it ceases to be law Anything else means anarchy * % % % When is a mad race through the traffic-crowded streets justifiable? Per haps it msy be granted that a fire alarm calls for spaed of the engines lest a great conflagration, with possible 1088 of many lives, may ensue. Then there should be sirens or other signals far ahead of the oncoming catapult of engines and trucks to give warning to clear the streets. Until the last five or six years it has been practicable for & horse-drawn engine and hook- and-ladder wagon to warn away o structfons by the sounding of gongs on the moving vehicles of the fire d:- partment. Great changes have com: recently. in the overcrowding of the streets and in the use of motor-driven vehicles of the fire department, bur there have mnot bean improvements keeping pace as 1o the means of clear- ing the thoroughfares far enough ahead of the engines. There should be Bome system devised whereby an operator. knowing the loca- tion of the alarm, could clectrically &nd from a center statfon, sound sirens all along the probable route of the ing engines. e police are at door of Vice President Coolldg room is a doorkeeper by the name of Scott, who has for a number of years not only guarded the east entrance of the marble room of the Benate, but has also for many years been a door- keeper at the republjean national conventions, and this is the man who wrote “Our Soldiers fn France, Christmas, 1918." a versatile chap. * % ¥ ¥ QME time ago there appeared in this column a suggestion that it might not be a bad idea to have some | W/™EN_ S22t Zonn R of the lawmakers who pass upon the be entitled to “’12 scat occupied until appropriations given a ride over the|go i rao " 1ot by Thomas W. Har- streets of the city, in order thatirion there ended the second chapter they might have & physical demon- |y, tne political life of the Paul fam- stration of just how badly repairs|;i ' 4 number of vears ago the are nedeed in practically every Sec-\r.iher of the present representative tion of the city. In the samé article|g . tne seventh congressional dis- 1 gently hinted that there was some- !, i /' of Virginia was ousted from his thing wrong 4n the method OFlyea¢ in Congress by his political op- methods employed by those who have |t B “RIETEE TR 4 hotly eon- charge of this work. The civic bodies tested fight In the House of ‘Bepre- of the city have at last taken more| ., g¢ives. Capt. Paul, one of the than a passive interest in the mat-|o oo oo ive of Virginia's young- ter and, according to late reports | .. nombery of the bar, will occupy are golng to back a drive for better fyi "R (0o ogs until March & highways for the city. It might not| . yf a¢ which time Mr. Harrison will be & bad idea to have made public|pe gworn in, having been declared Just how much work has been done| pogen by the voters during the elec- identified with farms and farmers. late as 1915-16 I attended farmers state meetings in Kentucky., Indiana. Tilinois. Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas. T mention this merely to show that T am not a novice—not 2 “book farmer.” but that T can speak with the understanding of one who knows and knows that he knows. Example of Coal Market. Tt doesn’t matter to the farmer. from a financial standpoint. how much his products are worth unless he himself realizes a profit from their production. In crder for the farmer to realize a profitable return for his products he must market them at the right time and at the right place. ‘He—the farmer—should feed his crops o the markets, for an example, as he coal operators are handing out their products to.a shivering people Just &t this time—a little at a time— making one ton of very poor coal bring as much cash as two tons of xood coal should bring. At this very moment there are at least one hun- dred British tramp ‘steamers in port in ouv eastern states, loaded with Enzlsih coal. and this coal is being held on board ship and dribbled out to consumers &0 as not to interfere with the price of American coal. This i%, therefore. what we would call. on the part of the coal people, a sensible plan of marketing. This leads ux to the conclusion. then. that one of the difficult clogs in the 'whesl of agriculture I8 the lack of mensible plan of marketing agricul- tended that both debts and reparations were inseparable parts of the whole economic problem. Iurope unlcss one party or the other receded. As a matter of fact, most people will subscribe to the view that the calling of a conference such as the one proposed is a matter which should be left to the President and his Secretary of State, without any effort by Con- gress to force their hands. They have better sources of information, and in the very nature of things are better qualified than any senator or repre- sentative to judge whether such a con- ference would be helpful. Laudable am are the impulses which influence the authors of such moves, they ought always to have in mind the havoe which might be wrought by the care- less dropping of a monkey wrench. - x x.x k, some bigger bully some- Congress and the Schools. l = ore, particular Senator Capper's arraignment of | fore. their favor, there is no part during the past year and just how | g0y ust past. There was a senti- | tursl products. There is only one wav s ot Ty e 25 x Congress for its failure to provide|harm in making the experiment. Ay, complaints have been received| mental ay well as & political reason [0 eliminats this serious clor—and ot Top "o, WAl take the nonsense|iiin iy Dol arie i e Mme st 1 again may I point to the highlv suc- it i too late 1o ciear all o cessful plan of the coal paople—by Better clear several ,o..-mi’"ri':fi':."“:- co-operative marketing. The coal danger than let one remsin obstructed people meat in union with one an- until the crash comes. with its attendant other and fix the price. The coal peo- injuries and deaths. nle at the same meeting determine The pest who sends in fulse alarme just what part of a ton of coal and is guilty of all the injaries which re- what kind of coal T mav have at one sult from his “prank.” He is a con- structive murderer if his false alarm results in a fatal accident, just as he would be if he carelessly or as “ joke” threw a load of stone from a roof into a crowded street. Hurling a fire department necdless! a crowded city : dastardly crin; and. like the coal people. they would very brief period will suffice to dem- ‘The box offices will =oon he welght of senti- into terms of pa- and not acted upon. 1f there is neg- lect or incompetency in the depart- ment of the city's government that has charge of theve matters then it is the duty of the Commissioners to remedy the evil; if. on the other hand, the greatest amount of work that ould be accomplished with the exist- { ing appropriations has been done.|Christmas holidays with their parents. then it is up to Congresy to furnishiThe vacation was earned by hard a suficient amount of money 1o keep [ work in the classrooms and during the highways in condition. The thou- |the study hours, for in the school sands of those who pay taxes in the|which they attend a pupil must have form of licenses are entitled to £00d | yuccessfully passed his examinations streets. There certainly is some way | before he is permitted to enjoy the in which this matter can be honestly | Christmas season. If some afternoon adjusted. or evening you should happen to be %% walking through the New Willard HE other day I received a letter [ Hotel and your gaze rests upon two T which speaks for itself, and it|dignified young Americans in whose fs renroduced herewith verbatim:|eyes, however, may be noted signs “My dear Magjor: “Some time ago|that stamp them as normal healthy you called attention to the danger |boys, you will be gasing upon John brought about by fléeing bootleggers. |and Calvin Coolidge, jr. who suc- Last Saturday two men were pursued | cessful passed their December exams. EDITORIAL DIGEST lates' “It denied to the people the right of reviewing the gcts of the general membly and it sought to | limit the representation in the legis- lature of the residents of Chicago.” Since, as the Scranton Times ints 'Cook county (Chicago) aiready one-half the population of the en- th te,” denying it the represen- tation in the legislature to which jts population entitled it ‘“was de- i nounced.,” according to the St. Joseph { News-Press, “as a step toward mi- nority rule and, therefore, a step to- ward autocracy. Finally, “when the leading jurists of the state were unable to agree as to what many of worth while to attempt to pump man- hood Into a sissy boy—he does mot count anywhere nor at any time. * ¥ ¥ % About here is where some real. kind-hearted parent is going to speak harshly of what I am saving. and is £0ing to hide it 50 it will not mislead | his or her darling. * ‘Peace on earth. g00d will toward men' can never be twisted into justification for war or any sort of fightin; “Let dogs de- light to bark and bite, for 'tis their nature to, but children must never be naughty—especiully around Christ- | M Before. dismissi dox, how about the scene of the Hunt when the short-change swindlers were attacked, single-handed— “And when He had made a scourge of small cords he drove them all out of the temple. and the sheep and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money and overthrew the tables.” *x % % 1t is with a spirit of genuine rever- ence that I call up that picture of the fight in the temple and holy admira- tion of the Man who dared the cus- | toms of the day, the protection of the | (70 f Again a siren. which could be officers of both church and state, and { set to giving alurm several blocks who “made a scourge of small cords”}ahead, to be sounded at any corner and struck right and left, mot cven|DbY the pursuing policeman, might be calling up His disciples to help. e e Pon) OCEE Therc never was a gentier char-|for him @s he arrives he smoking flax did He not ¥ % % ¥ B ed, o Bt Gmid, child Hel The Lenroot-Anderson farm credite He was a brave fighter, hero of the | bill proposes to enlarge the powers of world war, and he approved specifically | the farm loan bunks so that they can “Think not that T come’ to send|Meet the mecds of farmers for crop loans, etc. That ix sound credit. The peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword.” (Matthew.|Norris bill proposes that the govern ment set up its own bank, with 10.31). $100.000.000 capiiul of the publi why the world war veteran desired to be awarded his seat in Congrei and he feels, no doubt, that the po- litical score has been partly evened. * * % % WO youths arrrved in Washington this week. and will spepd the properly for the public school system of the District of Columbia is based | onstrate. upon a thorough knowledge of the}show where lles t local conditions and of the lack of cor- | ment. translated rective legislation necessary to cure | tronage. them. As chairman of the joint select| In @ way, the American public taste committee charged with the duty of ;nd sense of propriety are to be test- investigating the capital's school | ed. rather than the performer himself. needs, M. Capper is qualified thus to —_—————— speak, and his description of the school | . Detroit is establishing a sanity test system, given in the course of a|for motorists. This will dispense with speech in the Senate, is based upon |the need now felt by drivers of ex- the knowledge he has gained through | pressing their opinions of one an- tkat inquiry. Washington's hope is|other’s mental capacities in terms of that his severe rebuke to the District’s | impromptu objurgation. legislature will have its effect in ——————— stimulating action both on the sub-| Holding post office trucks down to stantive and the appropriation meas-{a safety speed limit will prove a ures. widespread blessing if the plain citizen In this passage in his speech Sen-|drivers all follow the example set by ator Capper states the case effectively: | the government. Congress has falled miserably in B R £ igarous educationa;| One of the dangers of the gasoline system. And when I say Congress, |1 tax is the possibility of irritating the g5 0%, mean;to shiti the Fssponal: | big ol interests by calling attention to their oversight of the consumer's ability to stand a raise: time. and they maka it just enough tn Yeen me thinking that T am geinz to freeze to death sooner or later. My. but it's easy when you know how! Sunpose the farmers had. or should #dopt. a_marketine nlan like this— <hould. or ‘could. dribble out to the market places of the nation their products. just a sufficiency to keep us thinking of starvation all the time? Tn that case the farmers would sonn be ac indenendent as the cnal peonle. heir own lives in their hands in trs ing to do their duty. which is to gei to the fire as quickly as possible. * % % % Only words of commendation be- long to the policemen who have rushed through the streets in pursu't of bootleggers. but Supt. Sullivan iz right In warning the officers that i would be better to “let the fuglitive escape, and trust to nabbing him Jater. than to imperil life by too violent a chase through crowded streets. The trafic condition brings new problems into both fire and police not know that such a thing as Con- RTARE cxisted, The first step to be taken before the farmers may even think of a rensible marketing plan for thelr products is tower freight rates. Small Returns to Producer. The farmer in my state sells best quality of corn meal for 60 cents ner bushel to the local merchant, but when T have to buv that same corn meal—or some just like it—in this city 1t costs me 33.60 per bushel. Here we see that while the farmer—the producer —gots 60 cents for this item of his rroqucts, the railroads, the wholesaler and the retailer get $3. or five times as much,as the farmer gets for if. Any plan for the relief of the farmer that doesn’t carry a reduction in, freight rates is of no account. o far as the farmer is concerned. Reduce the freight rates and teach the farmer the plan of on-operative marketing, and the tiller of the spil will come into his own, but not until then. Several vears ago 1 was employed by a farmers’ organization to go to western Kentucky to try to take care of the to- bacco growers of that section. For three years previous to the time of my going the growers ived an aver- age price of $5.25 per 160 pounds for their tobacco, sold. mostly, at auction over the loose-leaf floors. With local members of this body. and of the House of Representatives. Congress has been generous only with expres- sions of good Intentions. We hear much talk of a “model school system for the capital of the nation.” It is a bcaut}(ul phrase. It is a phrase which the members of Congress are accus- tomed to use In placating the parents of Washington who come to us ask- ing for better schools for their chil- dren. ‘Washington citizens have, as Sena- } The democratic manager's are pro- ceeding energetically on the theory that a landslide is not subject to any one-way traffic rules. Lesson for Other States in Illinois’ Rejected Conmstitution. Illinols’ emphatic, almost contemptu- ous, repudiation of the new ‘constitution just submitted to popular vote, ‘while seemingly a ‘local issue, has aroused widespread interest and editorial dis- cussion ghroughout the country. The explanation apparently lies in the grow- ing tendency, which the San Antonio Light points out, to raise the cry 'Give us 8 new constitution.” “The fever of i The gentlemen referred to as “lame ducks” are properly permitted to ap- proach an unemployment problem with dignity and deliberation. Congress for the correction of the school *system’s deficiencies. They have asked for many years for larger appropriations, of which they would gladly pay their full share; for f The next New Year resolution should include a pledge on the part “And when ye shail hear of wars and rumors of wars, be ye not | troubled. for such things must needs)-Treasury. and that the government help, we {zed a co-operative mar- out organ ket plan, with 8,000. ! of each law-abiding citizen to refrain statutes remedying fauits in the E}lflvln dissatistaction with the old eeems to be | its provisions really meant, the aver- .000 pounds of to- ber u¢ om encouraging a pet bootlegger. 5, w - lage layman evidently 1 that { bacco to offer buyers in a Jump. We|be.” (Mark, 13.). ¢ sl s tem: for a more businesslike adminis- contaglous” the Light says. “The ex- )& .dopuo: Sden ,Xe::“:“:‘d:'d! that! Anally soid that tobacco as follows: F e | farm bank shall in some way find means to lend wi The brave man is mot seeking @' Bank would fight. but he will have peace if he has | of credit saf a: § i Norris project is that the governme to fight for ft—and he is not tooorfis BERIEEL Bl sl e o proud to fight. The peace on earth | ship them In government which the angels sang was a right roads and government-owued ships peace, not a cowardly non-remmuu!lgdo:;" _;_f;‘ consumers ut hm;:; rwi i abroad. The government would thus to crime and wrong. Hence While|y ione (ne one great middleman for the babe should not get the roman- ;j] the agriculture of America, tic perversion of war—which, how- |salaries, like the =alaries paid to rail- ever magnificent, is not war—neither road officials during the war, while Jet him be given a flabby soul. We |the government ran the railroa want manly men in America. There | would range around $40,000 to $50.000 will be work f8r them to do when|a year, and its efficlency would be— they become adults. There 1s'like that of Russia ( Trash, 7% cents; lugs. 143 cents: leaf 16 cergs. Tn other words, that crop of fobacco yielded the farmers a quarter of a million dollars more than an iar crop had vielded them in three vears, and only se of a sensible pian -of marketing. §. R. BLANTON. isting constitutions of various states are being assailed. Nowhere, one might conclude after reading about the many projects of this kind, is everybods sat- isfled with the organic law of his par- ticular state” And the Illinois experi ence teaches valuable lessons in connec- tion with constitutional revision. The most vital points in the lessons thus taught, in ral editorial opin- fon, are, first, the fallacy of incorporating. in ‘the organic charter matter which should be subjects for statutory enact- ment: andp second, the fact that the better way to revise cénstitutions, after all, seems to be to simplify amendment of 'the old rather than to substituts an undigested and untried ne “Jilinois has proved againe the Duluth Herald announces, “that abolt the hard- st job i American civic exparience s to exchange constitutions for new ones.” The convention presented a doc- ument which the Baltimore News be lleves was “a very good constitution. proposing “many excellent and reeded reforms,” yet it received an adverse vote from 5 to 1 in rural districts o 30 to'1 in urban communities. “No similar debacle in popular rejcction is recalled in-the history of constitution- making in this_country, the Bt. Louise Globe-Democrat, ‘an adverse majority so ove! seems to the Syracuse Herald farcical sequel the three years cf discussion, meditation and hard laber devoted to the framing of the new or- ic law. . ‘z’l?he personnel of the constitutional convention, popularly dubbed the “Con Con,” “was regarded as excep- tionally competent,” the aumn?d (Mass.) Republican reports, but “it is not unlikely that it would ha fared better at thé polls if it had had & wider representation of points of all th . of +view,” for “ralical opposition STt Seems to have been strengthened by S some feeling that the convention was Strategic O¥scurity.’ dominated- by a class.” ‘ertainly “You mno‘upmlf:nyt in politi. {Such & body should not have pro- politi-| gucad a ment that could go down cal discussion as. you were.” to such ignominious defeat, the South - Bond Tribune thinks, and it is almost “No.” - replied Senator Sorghum. | 3icyjous that “members of such &| “Things out home are so0 uncertain {conventlon should shoot so wide of tration of the schools; for a compre- hensive building program giving thei District for the first time in its his- | tory an adequate school plant. They have been put off from year to year, now with pleas of national poverty, again on the score of the inadequacy of prospective District revenues, but always put off. Spasmodic efforts have been made at rare intervals to catch up with the requirements in the mat- ter of buildings, but in the absence. of a definite construction program look- ing beyond the present and the imme- diate future the capital has never been allowed to equip itself suitably or sufficiently. o Recently the people of Washington, aroused to a realization that the school system has reached almost the point of a breakdown through -congestion, have organized through the delegation of representatives a citizens’ commit- tee for the purpose of stating to Con- gress the wishes of the community and its demand for the adoption of a proper school program. That commit- tee has been denied a hearing before the House subcommittee on appro- priations, and the present prospect is that the District bill will this year, as in the past, so far as the House draft is concerned, provide only reagerly for increases, barely, if quite, suf- ficlent to provide for the {mmediately Mustapha -Kemal has pesmitted schools to open in Smyrna. The daily fire drill should be particularly inter- esting to the classes. gation,” and. in the words of the Champaign (IIl.) News-Gaszette, he dicided to “bear those ills we have rather than fly to others that we knew not of. “Jay-Walking” Often Necessary. A campaign against “jay-walking” ihas been inaugurated by the New York police. They say they will bre: up the practice, which they hold" r sponsible for a great many pre- ventable accidents. The rest of the country will watch interestedly for results. If any good comes of it the New TYork system will be widely copied. But we have little confidence in the scheme. Other cities have taken first steps in this direction. Ordi ces forbldding the crossing of streets in the middle of blocks are more honored in the breach than in the observance. The chief reason for this is that no sufficient pains are taken, a& g rule, to make corner cross- ing safe and expeditious. Why a chicken crosses a street may still be a riddle, but human beings cross be- cause they want to get on the other side, and they want to. Traffic con- trol is better organized in New York than in any other American city, but it is not well enough managed to make “cutting”. unnecessary. Where little attention is given by corner po- licemen to people afoot, “jay-walk- ing” is often compulsory on those who want o get semewhere.—Pittaburgh Gazette-Times. Diplomat—*A man in & silk hat and & quandary.—Baltimore Sun. Bom; ldu‘lu o o not even leve in Santa Claus.—Asheville Times. it Chivalry has given us a number of charming phrases. Modern chivalry has given, us *Not gullty.”—Hartford imes. % 1t 1s now possible to do one's court- ing by radic—if you are courting oniy ERET time.—San Francisco Bul- etin. Juries may yet have to ask for the simi- } Vote-by-Mail Plan Is Almost Complete To the Kditor of The Star: Perhaps the most promising rift in the somewhat clouded sky of democ- racy i® the possibility that in a few years the people will have in their hands a scientific mail referendum. Experienced mailing men have been working on plans and conditions of a practicable mail ballot for some time, and have advanced to a point where its application to the referen- dum at least is about perfected. and only actual operation is needed to prove it more safe and feasible than the ballot in the polling place. However, voting by mail—now be- ginning to loom on the political hori- 3on—48s open to everv American bless- ed with ingenuity mixed with pa- triotism, and the development -of its undoubted possibilities is creating a rapldly growing interest. To the citizen's own lmagination may be left the vision of what a feasible mall referendum would mean ultimately to the welfare and hap- piness of the whole people. Compar- ed with its significance to him the noisy plans of big politicians, pro- gressive or retrogressive, are those of children playing in the back yard. ‘Because the mail referendum will place under his direct dictation the molding_of all government, big and little: It will be s0 inexpensive that reference can be made once a week with no hardship to voter or state, considering the substantial returns forthcomt concrete. The citizen ‘These will be awalting impatiently the invisible In some parts of Europe the cashier inquires, “How will you, have your money=—in gold or by the bale?” When Clemenceau lauds the wom- en of America he pays tribute to some of the country’s ablest politicians. I—Iis Christmas Eve Romance Soon to Be a Golden Wedding ERE'S a member of Congress | #t Cazenovia, and went to the hom~ Who says that thé breaking | of Mrs. Ives. with whom he formerly of & lamp chimney on a cer- | boarded and of whom he cherishes tain Christmas eve influenced | fond memories. He reached her home his whole after life. in the evening, and knocked. Here He is Henry Zenas Osborne, the only | his eyes brightened and a smile of de- man in the na-|liShting remembrance breaks out on tional House of|Nis countenance as he continues: Representati v e's| T was surprised and delighted to today who served{have the doer opened by a young lady in the Union army | Who I thought was the most beau- during the civil|tiful I had ever seen. She had rosy war. He enlisted | cheeks, eves of heaven's own blue. as a private at the | and everything to delight the unex- age of sixteen in!Pecting gaze of a lonesome youth. In Company E. 1924 | those days there was neither gas nor New York Volun- €lectricity, and she had a kerosene teer Infantry. He|lamp in her hand. I had never seen is a printer by | her before and commenced to explain trade and a pub-|Who I was. T was very mervous, and lisher. of news- | She rhust have been nervous, too, a< papers by profes- | between us we managed to shake off sion. At the age | the chimney from the lamp and smash SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Lonely Christmas. ‘When with a sinile Each friend draws near, It's well worth while, ‘This Christmas cheer. With heart 80 gay You lift & lay To the mefriest day Of all the year. ‘When friends all dweli 1In some far clime, You hear a knell And not a chime. TYous heart must stray A long, long way On the loneliest day Senator Capper's plain, vigorous, bility of Congress in this matter may have the effect of arousing Congress to a sense of its duty as the District's | that T consider it prudent to_come as | the mark that'the vote should amount | o1 ices of & beauty expert to de. ' street car, or doling out his final - 'their sense and : LT cen | it on the floor. lawmaking body and effect a material poesible to being a derl |lo repudiation of termine whether the woman i in-|quid for taxes, is advised tg Coue-ize| REPRESENTATIVE of twenty - seven sl e .. = k | judgment. nocent or guilty.—Toledo Blade. on the prospect of the mail refer- OSBORNE. 1o was first vice| “I made a resolution right then and “What ailed the proposed Constitu- : tlon?" the Decatur Review wants to that parking space around the church {1t “impressed “Whe{-l. -om;u:;’r;x on Sundsy fs moro plentiful than it| FhICh MA0 6% AR ooording ought to be. to the diagnosis of the Chicago Trib- Holiday Mail. une. “The idea of new taxes scared 2 the great mass of citizenship which Germany’s financial policy consls!s| The postman r ade a little pause largely in waiting to see what some| ynq gaid, “There is no Santa Claus. pays the other man's taxes—the land- lord's, the butcher’'s and the baker’'s 2 —bu one else is golng to df tit. i I wish there were one to help out | With the deliveries on my route!” t does not want to see & tax bill. Sunshine. The authority granted the legisla- ture to reform tax laws was a powder Scattering . “You should rejoice at the happiness of others.” keg. All citizens saw themselves paying womcthing directly for the upkeep of “I do," replied Farmer Corntossel. “Only I can't ‘helg feelin’ that I've the state. Nothing, as.it were, do- done my full share t6 make the com- ing.” To the Kansas City Times, also, that “ome word” explains {t—taxa- mission man cheerful an’ that he ought to begin to reciprocate.” RUSSELL THOMPSON. enlargement of the appropriations as well as the enactment of the meas- hors um. president of the International Typo- | ther! Osborne confesses, “that 1| graphical Unlon—that was in 1876, | would marry this beautiful girl, who Bplitting “infinitives, according to | e Asks Jail for Dmnken He was senfor vice commander-in- | was attending the seminary, but that chief of the Grand Army of the Re-|1 must make my little pile of $10,000 recognized grammatical authorities, does not hurt them. They have been 2 5 “And “Lovesick®® Drivers | subiic, 1933-13, ana for thirty-eight | before I could think of starting mar- years has been an active member of jried life. As Jacob nrvnd/nvan vears ] which the District’s schools are now suffering. < To the Editor of The Stars * In all the discussion of traffic dan-| gers no one has mentlioned the danger | arising from the efforts of a male | (sic, also lovesick) driver to protect(?) his lady companion while she is sea -’ ed at his side in an automobile. Every one has noticed how the driver holds_the lady . with his right arm. This is explained to be for her pro- tect . is, to keep her -from being _jolted out. However, this kind of protection falls to protect pedes- trians and vehicles that are liable to collide while a driver's right arm is away from the wheel. Driving a car while under the influence of liquor or love is dangérous to all voncerned. But-all the talk in the world will never make the streets even ap- tely safe until Jail sentences without fear or favor. THOMAS W. GILMER. t 50 often that th :Kfier,_cxlm'éo'.ven FrRsoRIonee, The rtemumur‘x” ;lruklnt of books worl P::y.-:ln.n e iararar 3:11'",:";.";‘ ‘,‘,’; the G.A. R., for Rachel, so I worked seven years rejection slips before they.get the Osborne is one of the most stolid., to get together $10,000 for Helen and publiolear—Pittsburgh|Sun. sedate, prosalc of our nagional solons, | myself —but without success. Wrap your Christmas packages nd so this little romance will come| “Iinally 1 gave up -the financial well, sayB the Post Office Department. with a richer flavor. limit 1 had placed upon my hopes, and :,x:snp‘:d weoit, i Eives out e “As I look back, the Christmas that | this young lady did me the honor 1o sling sound, L{nr not mail it at all. |is most distinct in my mempory was;become my wife. We have now en- —Kansas City Star. not connected with the civil war, but|joyed fifty years of happiness “to- Now comes a detective who thinks it immediately followed the close of | gether while 1 invaded many far- ‘z'x: h-:l -ffi";-"}"-.nng::‘ ::rl:. 'v;llo e:uan' the w-r—(zh[rillmnl 1865, says Os- i"u:‘c r:e:splp:r neld:hlnd‘ ‘ol“m!il'n- = = o) rne, reminiscent| ng camps and saw the city of . o L e el P wav of background for his| Angeles grow from 15,000 inhabltants ow who sold tickets to that affair, 4 Y Christmas eve tableau, Representa-|to more than §00.000. We now have tive Osborne explains that he left the | four grown sons and a duughter, and Jittle seminary town of Cazenovia.!our golden jubllee Christmas will be N. Y., to do his soldiering, but on his | celebrated with the laughter of child- return went to work 'on the Utica|hood, which id the trucst Christmas Herald. He was then seventeen years | music, because we have ten grand- they might find out somethimg.— Cleveland Plain Dealer. old. He'decided-to spend his holidays children.” Clearing the Tables. By abridging the usual Christmas recess, Congress takes a step toward clearing the tables and leaving no hang-overs for its successor. An ex- cellent start with the session’s routine business has been made, and If the lick is kept up everything will be well at the close. The tables should by all- means be cleared. The new Congress should beégin with a clean slate. It is going to tion, “In an endeavor to please all factions it submitted, along with a provision for an income tax on in- tangibles, a provision callin tax on ail net incomes regardless of the St. Louis Pos “the objection of the i income ~may advised, experts may theorise and Dr. Rupert Blue will aid in the plead, but when it{work of an oplum o commission the issue it is a rare ‘9: r.hlo lun;‘olfl n;uann dll':mhem of o league e an ng ‘“The op! Trafl Paul ic Blues."—St. Plon?ir-?r.u “Dar wouldn’ be much to complain ::::r::tao:: ’Io of,” said-Uncle Eben, “if money ‘wis|man Who '_51! vote a tax on his own 2 Again, the Cincinpati Enquirer re-