Evening Star Newspaper, January 2, 1923, Page 6

(3 ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. T WASBHINGTON, D. C. TUESDAY THEQDORE W. NOYES. The Evening Star Newspaper Company Businesy Office, 11th § New York Offics Chicago Office: Buropean Office : 16 Regent St., London, The Brenin, #dition. iy del Star) with the Sunday morning ered by carriers within the eity v month: dnily only, 45 cents per only, 20 cents per mionth. OF- ‘matl or.telephone Main ollection is made by carriers at the ach month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginja. Daily and Sunday..1yT., $8.4 Daily only 1yr., $6.00; 1 me Sunday only fr end of e 70¢ 50¢ All Other States, Paily.and Sunday..1 ¥r., $10.00; 1 mo., 8¢ ailv cnly 1yr, $7.00:1 mo., 60c Bunday oniy 1yr., $3.00;1mo., 25¢c Member of the Associated Press. The Assoctated Press fs exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news atchex credited to it or not otherwise credited n this paper and also the loeal news pub- lished “vereln. Al vights of ‘publieation of special dinnitchies herein are also reserved. e Trying Again at Pari Today the allied prime ministers are meeting again in Paris to tackle oncé more the haffling problem of Ger- man_reparations. The world Wopes that this time a solution will be found, but they have tried and failed ‘so often that the world's hope is not mueh more than a pious wish. About the only basis upon which hope can be founded is that things have come to &0 desperate a paes that the conse- quences of non-action may be more damaging to governments than the unpopularity of any action which might be takén. There will be no lack of “plans” at Paris. Poincare has a plan which has been given approval by the French government. Bonar Law has a plan which the Pritish government has ap- proved. The German delegates have Wwith them a plan worked out by Chan- cellor Cuno, and which is reported to meet the views of German “big busi- ne: T Belgium and Italy have no plans they at least have views, in the upholding of which they have been tenacious. But the difficulty is that the plans do not merge at any points of contact, which always have been the points of trouble, and there is no advance evidence that they are more in accord now than they have beem in the past. Cable dispatches from Paris indicate that about the only new element at the present conference is the “moral pressure” - injected- into it by the United States. American moral pres- sure i$ felt to arise from the recent | ! nation-wide discussion of reparations provoked by the Borah proposal for an international economic conference, v Secretary Hughes sted that an inter- national commission of experts be created to determine the surh of repa- rations which it is possible for Ger- many to pay. There is a feeling that even if the premiers cannot . them- selves agree upon a reparations pro- grani they will be estopped from pre- cipitating a crisis until the Hughes plan has at least been examined. In no country outside of France would public opinion support arbitrary re- jection of this American overture, and when it came to a showdown it is to be doybted that evén the French peo- ple would be willing to *“go it alone” untll convinced that the Hughes plan held no possibilities of obtaining for them substantial justice. So. it would seem, the United States is, after all, represented at the Paris | conference, though we have no of-| ficially accredited delegates there, even | in the capacity of observers. It may well fall out that this “invisible” rep- resentation may prove to be more potent for good than any previous par- ticipation in luropean councils. —————— { ! t I 1 Atrocities suspected in Louisiana are said to hark back to the days of the Spanish inquisitioh. Any effort on | the part of history to repeat itself on these particular”lines will find very little encouragement in America. —————— The year 1923 may have its difffieul-| ties in developing candidates for 1924. A large percentage of the wise states: men are inclined to hold off and figure, if possible, as dark horses. ————— Declarations that 8reat Britain will pay ber debt§ in full point out what seems to be a simple solution for e \very perplexing problem. » A Week of Sea Storms. The last week of 1922 was marked Ly a furious storm on the Atidntic. Ships’ arriving in port on both sides reported -strenuous times. on their passages. Even the largest were de- layed in their trips, some of them two end three da: They were buffeted by sigasitic. seas and racked by & most / furious * gale that prevailed throughout the week. Thie entire sea from shore to Shore was in constant turmojl. .. Ice -formed upon the decks " and in the rigging. Great waves swept on board and drenched the staterooms, 1t was altogether one of the most diffi: cult arid ‘dangerous’ weeks known an the horth Atlantio for many years. Such a storm a few decades 'ago would have taken a tremendous toll in life. Ships would have been ewamped by the dozen and passengers ! 8o long as their fuel lusts they are able to keep h into the wind and so miaster the storfn. Only the ships that are understorad 'with fuel, or through handléd, fall victimis to the gigantic forces that lash the ocean in winter. At present the only bad-effécts of the storm of last week consist of the few broken limbs, some slight damage | proper place in an orderly community | THE EVENIN is perilous. Witncsses remain on the scene after a trial; ‘and if their testi- mony has contributed to & conviction 1923 | are In some way structurally weak, or | they are at the mercy of any friends of the convicted person or persons | some extraardinary chance are badly | who may feel impelled to some sort of vengeance. So that these ten cases of successtul prosecution are eloquent in their promise of better times. The. lyncher must go. He has no . G~ STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. THE EVENING ST AR,' make progress however high the wind. | witne: : stand in such éircumstances| [~ Washi BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. MBASSADOR HARVEY has come home not only to discuss the economic plight of Eu- rope, but his own housing A to rigging and fittings and delayed ar- | where the courts are open to all and ¥°°® in London as well. With that rivals at port, It Is possible, of course, that some ships may have foundered in the storm, but at present there is reason to believe that all that were caught by the gale have made or will make port. Thus have science and shiabuilding skill triumphed over na- turs ‘Securities and Savings. Secretary Mellon, in a New Year message to the American people, urges greater saving and consideration for the Treasury's needs through pur- chase of the certificates which the Treasury 1s offering In shortterm loans. - These new certificates, he points out, are issued in denomina- tionse small enough to meet the de- mands of all classes of Investors. This is not so much an appeal for subserip- tions; which will undoubtedly in the case of every Treasury issue exceed the amount required, as it 1s a plea for thrift. The Secretary says: It would be little short of a national calamity if the lessons of thrift and sound investment learned during the war shoyld be lost in these days of reconstruction, when the need of avolding waste and_extravagance is as great as ever. Treasury savings certificates will .help the government | to finance the debt left by the war. | But they will do more than that; they will afford an opportunity to thé peo- ple of the country to save from their income, and, by investing regularly in government securities, to’ build a foundation for future financial inde- pendence and succe During the war the people of this country spent their savings, and more than their savings, in 4ll forms of gov- ernment securities. Some of them bor- rowed money to buy bonds, and in bor- rowing learned perhaps their first les- son In finance, that credit is capital, and that a debt is sometimes a good investment. They found out that they had more of a margin than they had thought, that they could save even when saving seemed impossible. Some of them lost courage or yielded to temptation and spent their savings for luxuries, and some were forced through misfortune to liquidate to meet emergency charges. But the ma- Jjority of them held thelr war-time se- curities even when the falling prices tended to frighten them. Now Secretary Mellon pleads for a continuation of the war-time thrift and the purchase even now in peace- time of government securities that, of- fered in small denominations and on attractive terms, give everybody a chance. A $100 Treasury certificate held by an individual is a decided asset for national thrift and prosperity, While a thousand times that amount held by an institution merely means the supply of funds to the govern- ment. A saving nation is a prosperous na- tion. Americans are only spasmodical- ly a saving people. They are rather a spending people. They spend liberal- ly and generously. They have just spent enormous sums in Christmas giving. It is estimated that $250,000,- 000 changed hands in New York city alone in holiday buying. Of course, this trade makes for business, stimu- lates activity, gives employment, keeps things moving. It is not to be depre- nomic health. But at the same time there must be saving to permit such expenditures. Practically all banks now have Christmas saving# clubs| through which by means of regular weekly deposits the people accumulate in the aggregate enormous suma of money during the year for Christmas | time spending. Bond purchases or se- curity buying do not make for such funds, but they make for good finan- cial.habits, and it {s for the formation of the maintenance of these habits that Secretary Mellon now pleads in his message to the people. —_————— The Army intelligence tests are, recommended by Representative Cable | of Ohio in connection with immigra- tion.” The 'literar{. test undoubtedly has its disadvantages. The more literary some of our ‘immigrants are the worse anarchists they appear to become. —————— A New York theater is to celebrnte!, its fortieth anniversary. The structure | endures, but no “palmy day” enthu- siast will be persuaded that the enter- | tainment has the substantial per- | manency of the architecture. " | i { Whatever may be the criticisms of soviet institutions, the world is being | compelled to admit that the Russians are wondérful dancers.e It is declared that whether we like it or not, we are in European affairs and the question to be decided s “how Geep?” Lynching Statistics. Ours 18 the only country in the world where lynching statistics are kept. But since lynchers are active with us—too active—it is proper that trdck should be kept of their do- ings and reports published. This is the report for the year just closed: The state of Texas led the nation in the number of lynchings during 1922, with Geoérgla second and Mississippi{ and’ crews drowned by the hundreds. Indeed, -the only -assurance:agairst such disaster would have been. for gl ships to keep in port. But in-those times ships leaving ‘port in compdre: tive caiin ‘would have been caught in midocear. There was-no radio then to give warning, There was, Indeed, no océan meteoralogical service. Ships went to sea without safeguards or any assuranicé of reaching port. ’ Now conditions- on the high seas ere grestly chanked for’ the better. Ships are stouter and more powertul. They are equipped with wireless and can call for help wherever they may be. They are sure to be heard dnd _rescued if it is physically possible for others to réach them. However furfous the storm, aid will be sént.to them. Motovér, ships'do not succumb’nd 80 readily to the fury of the sea.{They are Better built, more skillfully han- dled and"with thelr greater power can third, according to statistics compiled ; and ‘made public by the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. The ates in which lynchinga occurres and ‘the number in each state are: Texas, 18; Georgia, 11; Misslssippi, 9: lorida, §;-Arkansas, 5; Loulsiana, 3; Alapama, 2; Tennessee, 3; Oklahoma, 1; South Carolina, 1. “The roport further ted that there were fifty- eight instances in which officers of the law prevented lynchings. Four- teen of these instances were in north- ern states and forty-four- wére. in southern states. In'ten instances, the report added. convictions carrying penitentiary sentences tere seécured | against alleged lynchers. s There is much encouragement here. The break is about even. Fifty-seven Iynchings and fifty-#ight frustrations. Good for the -officers of the law! The year's record is greatly to their credit, since foiling a mob is difficult business. Equally encouraging, too, - is .the record respecting court trials. ‘It is difficult business convicting . men ac- cused of ‘banding togéther to commit court processes are in the hands of competent and consclentious officials. America and the Philippines. Taken from a news story published in yesterday's Star: Urging all Filipinos to make efforts to gain their independence, Charles E. Russell. in an address at the exercises of the Filipino Club at the Y. M. C. A. Saturday night in honor of Dr. Jose P. Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines, declared that “the United States is launched on a backwar track.” He stated that America h stolen Haiti, Santo Domingo and Pan- ama. and would steal Cuba if it could. “America,” he declared, “needs some tonie that will lead If back to the original Declaration of Independence.” This goes far beyond anything as vet uttered by even the most extreme and insistent of the Filipino agitators for independence. They are at most urging action by the American gov- ernment on the score that it is back- ward in the matter of redeeming its promises. They claim to have fulfilled their promise to establish a stable gov- ernment, and so now ask for control of the archipelago. But here i{s & man—an American citizen—who accuses the American government of theft and tyranny, and practically urges the Filipinos to put the screws to a thief and tyrant. He cites Cuba. Had we desired, we could easily have annexed that island at the time we annexed Porto Rico. Instead, we gave Cuba her independ- ence, and have been assisting her in preserving it ever since. We are at present helping ‘her with a tangle, financial and other, which threatens wide disaster. Nothing would be easier, and yet nothing is more un- likely, than the extension of our au- thority over Ciiba. Mr. Russell suggests that we need ‘“‘some tonic that will lead us back to the original Declaration of Independ- ence.” It may be suggested to him in reply that he needs to revise his fancy and take up the slack of a loose tongue. Stigmatizing his country as thief and tyrant is poor employment The American ambassador to Eng- land may, on looking America over, be inclined to suspect that the old home is not as lively @ place as it was when Harvey's Weekly was sold at all news- stands. The new Governor of New York has with other pets - three dogs, a monkey and several ponies. A man who 1s going to be Governor of New York may as well learn patience. Now and then & war worker has astonished experts by the extraordi- nary financial returns - apparently made by close management of a dol- lar-a-year salary. Relations with European markets may yet be so adjusted that farm products will be sold &s cheap in this country as people insist on buying them abroad. The agents who searched the Ger- man ship Jupiter at- Pensacole for | cated. It is good for the national eco-; Bergdoll found no trace of him. Once a dodger, always a dodger. ‘Will Hays wished Comedian Ars buckle a Happy New Year, but many film patrons refused to fall in with the genial suggestion. A District motorist has to buy so many licenses that a spectal type of car should be devised to carry the numerous tags. Miners appear confident, for some reason, that the. government could run the coal mines better than it ran the railroads. Favorable weather predictions are \still depended on as the most reliable | submitted. phase of reliet in the fyel situation. e e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Next Selection. listened to the Christmas chimes. . ‘We've reveled 'mid the joyous din That sounds from near and distant climes To bring the happy New Year in. ‘We've sung the praises of the myth ‘Who is so dear to childish hearts; But all of this is over with— And now the anvil chorus starts! ve i Life cannot all be happiness. The fires of envy still will glow Since, through ambition’s eager stress, Jhe world must ever grieve and grow. Steel strikes on steel. The lightsome day Leaves memories dear as it departs. ‘We wish the gentle song might stay— But now the anvil chorus starts. The Great Question. ““What do you consider the greatest question before the people. today?” “From the demand for coin by vari- ous people in all kinds of sums,” re- plied Senator Sorghum, “I should say that the great question today and every day is the eurrency question.” Jud Tunkins says most of the peo- ple who darice look as if they wounld rather stand still and watch the jazs hand. L Merry Sunshine. The merry sunshine cheers us all ‘With inspiration for the soul. We're thankful, too, for favors small. 1t's warmth curtalls the need of coal. 2 Fast Work. “Is your boy classics?” “I reckon he is by this time,” said Farmer Corntossel. “Josh’s specialty is gettin® familiar on short notice. “Allus tell de truth, sor,” said Uncle Eben, “but don’ git §o anxious about it dat you can't mind yoh“own busi- eloquent vehemence of which the colonel can divest himself on occa- sion, he purposes describing to Presi- dent Harding and Secretary Hughes the indecorous life of vagabondage imposed upon him in Great Britain. For the first year or more of his am- bassadorship Col. Harvey was domi- ciled in a furnished mansion. It was his expectation that, sooner or later, the Pierpont Morgan gift-house which was accepted by Congress for an Amerifcan embassy establishment In Tondon would be made habitable. Al- though 1 is understood funds were sarmarked for the purpose of fur- nishing the houwe, they reem neyer to have heen exmended. The result was that Col. and Mre. Harvey were compelled to camp out for another veriod. and this time betook them- selves to hotel apartments. Tn snch anrroundings the ambassadorial die- nity of the United States is now maintainad at the aristecratic conrt nf St James Intimations nraceded the ambassador's arrival in the I'nited States that he intends metting to the bottom of his London housinz trou- bles before he returns to Europe. * ok ok Tndictment of Benedict Crowell. former assistant secretary of war and director of munitions, 1917-1920. re- ealls that only a few months ago he concluded the publieation of his man- umental six-volume history. entitled. “How America Went to War" Tt is A comprehensive review of war-in- Austry actiyities from the hour the United States became a belligerent to the moment of demobilization. - Vol- ume I, “The Giant Hand.” is embel- lished as a frontispiece with a photo- graph of “the war cabinet,” which Includes Mr. Crowell (then acting Reorefary of War). Mr. McAdoo. President Wilson, Mr. Daniels. Mr. Raruch. Mr. Hoover, Mr. Hurley. Mr. MeCormick and Mr. Garfleld. Succeed- ing_volumes deal with: “The Road to Pranca” (two volumes). “The Ar- misg af Tndustrv’’ (two volumes) and “Demabil'zation.” As Mr. Crowell's sncyclopaedic_narrative {s_subtitled “An Acmannt Fram OMeml Rources of the Nation's War Activities” the Dn- nartment of Justies doubtless will find occasion to delve carefullv into it in connection with the impending litigation. * nke Senator Arthur Capper. generalis- simo of the farm bloc, ix ahout to be- {come a Washington publisher. An {eastern edition of Capper's Weekly, printed in and circulated from the District of Columbia, shortly will make its appearance. A new plant has been constructed for the purpose. The project represents the newest phase of the “Capper Invasion™ of the Atlantic seaboard and tHe middle west. During 1922 the Kansas senator acquired three existing farm journals in Ohlo, Michigan and Pennsylvania. With the dally papers and farm pub- lications he already owned in his na- tive southwest, they ran his “string” of Journalistic properties up to an even dozen. Now, obviously unmind- ful of superstition, Mr. Capper is mak- ing it thirteen, though, strictly speak- ing. the mew venture at Washington s .only an eastern edition of an al- ready established paper. Postal and printing_expediency, the senator ex- plains, inspires the Washington edi- tion of Capper's Weekly. The Napo- leon of the farm bloc coyly disavows that his expanding activities denote the development ‘of any _presidential ambitions. He likes his work in the Senate,\conceives that it offers him a field for constructive service. and has aufetly notified his constituents in Kansas that he is a candidate for re election In 1924. One of the Senato- rial activities to which Mr. Capper confesses particular devotion is his membership of the District of Colum- bia committee, and especially his as- signment to District school affairs. American_citizens entitled to file claims against the German govern- ment will have until January 15—an extension of two weeks—to submit their petitions to the Department of State. There was a tremendous rush of eleventh-hour claimants and claims at the threshold of the New Year week end, and the feasibility of granting & brief period -of grace speedily became apparent. The mixed claims commission, consisting of American and German members, is ready for business and shortly will get down to it. Robert C..Morris, the United States “agent” who will pre- sent American claims, unofficially estimates that a sum lkfl’rtfltlnk" $300,000,000 will be comprehended by | petitions already filed or still to be | At the commission's of- | fices in the Edmonds bullding many | rooms are stacked high with filing cabinets crammed with claims docu- ments. They presage many months of hearings and deliberations before decistons can be rendered. A note of humor recently. was introduced by a etitioner, who insisted throughout rring to “clams” 5" and addressed the august body headed by former Asso- ciate Justice Willlam R. Day as the ‘mixed clams commission.” Just how and when: Germany will satisfy awarded American claims remains to be determined. The $500,000,000 of German property held by the Unite State, regarded megely a “moral pledg * %k % % Word reaches Washington that Ar- gentina is vastiy annoyed over the recent arrival in Brazil of the elab- orate American naval mission led by Admiral Vogelgesang. Comment In the Argentinfan press and public ranges mainly around the view that the United States cuts an incongruous figure in espousing International re- duction of armament while officlally collaborating in ways and means for extending the armament of a great South American state. Little is un- derstood in this country of the deep- { seated mistrust, bordering upon hos tility, that traditionally prevails be- tween Brazil and Argentina. They watch each other like hawks, espe- clally in the realm of military and naval preparedness. The dispatch of an American naval mission to Rio [ Janeiro is, of course, not intended to encourage or foment militarization in Brazil. The mission's primary pur- pose is to rehabilitate and modernize the personnel department of the Bra zillan fleet. The United States, it ®oes without saying, would piace similar facilities at the disposal of the Buenos Aires government. Our naval authorities, it appears, had knowledge of the possibility that British naval officers might be en- gaged to reorganize the Brazilian fleet and negotiations were instignted that eventually led to intrusting Americans with the task. It was be- cause British sailormen a couple of years ago were assigned such work by the Chilean navy that the Pe- ruvian fleet thereupon contracted for an American mission to overhaul it. * % % % The Welshman of the Harding cab- inet—James J. Davis, Secretary of Labor—is in correspondence with Da- vid Lloyd George, strongly advising his brother Celt not to abandon his intention of visiting the United States on a speaking tour. Secretary Davis urges Mr. Lloyd George to eschew a professional lecture engagement in tavor of a popular campaign of talks to the people, either in public meetings or at private gatherings, llke ban- quets or at universities, chambers of commerce or workingmen’s headquar- ters. It has long been “the little Welshman's” cherished desire to make the acquaintance of the United States. He knows us and our history as well as any American alive. Ab- raham Lincoln is one of his heroes. Throughout the darkest days of the war, when the allied cause seemed hopeless. David Lioyd George, in pub- lic and {n private, never tired of cit- ing the Invincible optimism of Lin- coln in the hours when the cause of the Union looked most desperate. * ko * \ As communications are the twin brother of transportation as a pri- mary factor in the affairs of the world, it is small wonder that great concerns like the Radlo Corporation of America should commandeer the services of eminent and tried gov- ernment officials of the type of Maj. Gen. James G. Harboard. Gen. Har- board today enters upon his duties as president of the Radio Corporation. Since September, 1921, another eom- mumications concern, the Bell Tele- phone Securities Company, has had David F. Houston. former Secretary of the Treasury, as its president. His particuuar functions are to supervise the investments of that Immense cor-. poration. which is the parent organ. ization ‘of telephoné companies in virtually every state of the Union. * k k% D. R. Crissinger, controller of the currency, pays ungrudging tribute to Senator Willilam E. Borah as one of the truly disinterested men in Con- gress. Not long ago, it appears, Sen- ator Borah made wild remonstrance against a certaln Treasury appointee who came under the cgntroller's ju- risdietion in Tdaho. Mr. Crissinger looked into the matter. He found that Borah's objections were well founded. The officlal was removed, The controller, acting in accord with time-honored tradition, asked the Demosthenes of the Senate if he had anybody in mind for the job. To Crissinger’'s astonishment, Borah said he had no candidate for the berth—a lucrative one—whereupon the con- troller appointed the best man he could find. So the age of miracles, he' thinks, is not past, after all. (Copyright, 1923.) Judicial Robes Do Not Dampen Chief Justice Taft’s Keen Wit LTHOUGH as President of the United States William How- ard Taft's messages and| speeches and interviews had to be most carefully considered and reconsidered; and, although, as Chief Justice ~* the Supreme Court of the United States, the most deliberative | body in the world, his decisions are pronounced only after mature thought and coun- sel, yet this man, big physically and mentally, is best known among his friends for his nimble wit and ready repartee. When Mr. Taft took his place on the Supreme Court bench, & promi- nent lawyer had time allotted to him for making his argument. He started In with a fulsome eulogy of Taft, telling in flattering phraseology how proud he was to have the very great distinction of being the first attorney to present a case before him as presiding officer of that most au- gust tribunal. While his manner showed plainly that this overdone and immoderate “exordium insinuans” wasn't making a big hit with him, Chief Justice Taft held his tongue in leash until the time allotted to the attorney had_expired, when he asked for an extension of five minutes in which to complete his argument. ! |eve to_his associates on_the bench and said substantially this: “In view of the fact that this fellow utterly wasted the first five minutes as- | signed to him, I ask that he be grant- ed another five minutes in which to make a legal presentation of his case.” ‘When an operation was performed upon Chief Justice Taft some time |ago, the doctor told him that every- thing would be all right, but that for eight or ten days he must take the best of care of himself and stay at home and take it easy. A friend telephoned to see how he was getting along. In answering the phone the Chief Justice said: “Well, as the Irishman said when he fell off the roof and was passing the seventh story window—T'm all right, so far’” Since then the period of rest- incarceration has passed and Mr. Taft is out and around chipper_as ever. . There is only one recent instance of where Justice Taft withheld the quick and sharp fire of his repartee. That was when he was at Oxford last summer.” Now it is the custom of the Oxford students to gather around and guy and josh the notables and dignitaries who are getting honor- ary degrees. They were admonished to “cut it out” on account of the out- standing dignity of the positions achleved by Mr. Taft. But they couldn’t quite contain themselves, and so when Willlam Howard Taft wen: to take his seat on the platform one well carrying volce called out hos- umuigr' with the| maft turned with a twinkle in his | pitably “take two.” Correspondent Pleads for Arbuckle. To the Editor of The Star; The decision of the movie umpire to allow the employment of the play- er, Roscoe Arbuckle, should not be resisted: Growl if you please, but don’t strempt fo change the u decision. That would spoil the game. In fact, any concerted effort to pre. vent Arbuckle’s employment might be construed to actionable at law, as & jury composed of men and wom- TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 1923. on Observations I NEW BOOKS | AT RANDOM CHIMNEY SMOKE. Morley. (Doran.) Not brand-new—the little house whose chimney smoke here drives straight up toward the blue or drifts away, In easy seductiom, upon some vagrant and {dling wave of air. A yodr old at least. And all the better for that. Authors, taken together, are prolific of books as the Chinese are of babies. And If some of this progeny were not let alone fo die off of its own inherent feebleness—Chi- nese fashion—the book world would suffer an overpopulation calculated to make even the Middle kingdom ap- Dpear ‘as scant of iinhabitants as Pata- gonia or the Paumotus. A book that survives a year stands a chance of being a book. And, when around Christmas time it steps out—as does “Chimney Smoke” here—peart and ay in holiday dress, waving a confi- lent “Come on in!" this is a/sure sign of a Tobustious will to live. To be sure, there is no chance, nowadays, about & Christopher Morley, since this young man, at the present, stands sure-footed on his own considerable tower of public favor and affection. * k% Inside the little house beneath the chimney smoke one comes promptly upon the full domestic equipment, all goling strong—a cat, a baby, a pipe, a wife, And, among these, husband and father, companion and friend—the Poet and author as well—goes sing- ing his way through the enchantment of washing the dishes, through the rapture of shaking down the furnace, through absorbed musings on the poetic content of animal crackers and through the inspiration of one certain unforgettable moment, “When I felt Ilke God.” There is hardly a pjece of furniture in the house that does not glve over a poem to this jocund householder—the crib, the high chair, the cedar chest, and 80 on. and %o on, upstairs and down. “To His Brown. eyed Mistre clinches the whole matter—signs and seals the authen- ticity of this domestic comedy. For the poem was writ to the brown-eyed 1ady of the house in explanation of an earlier sonnet in fraise of blue eves. Or was It in apology? Good poetry, in either case, and not half bad as explanation—or apology. But beside the immediate and absorbing home business of “Chimney Smoke” Phere are little excursions into the outside —warming, soft-paimed touches upon life, like, say, “The Madonna of the Curl precious thipe. And there are others. One bringd a poet across a full century to where The young mep sit, nooked in a cheap c: Perfectly happy * * * talking about Kes Keats— Drunken of moonlight, dazed by draughts of . sky. Disay with stars, his mortal fever ran; His ufterance a moon-enchanted cry, Not free from folly—for he, too, was man. * K ok ok However, despite such true and beautiful éxteérnals as these, the real spirit of “Chimney Smoke” is here: And of all man’s feljcities The very subtlest one, say I, Is when, for the first time, he sees His hearth-fire smoke against the sky. And this little book alone would establish Christopher Morley as & poet and a man who chooses to exalt the beauty and the strength and th. promise of the home as the best thing in human relations. However, he has written much else in this par- ticular vein. It is obvious that he himself h#s a fresh zest for domes- ticity and a frank joy in the natural emotions out of which the home rises. And within this intimate zone he is pure play-boy. * K ok % We like to find resemblances. “You look so much like somebody I know™ is a commonplace of this instinct. And Morley reminds us at one minute or another. of Field or Stevenson or Barrie. There is a singlé touch of Rupert Brooke and one vague, quick- ly withdrawn gesture toward Coven- try Patmore. These are rather sug- { gestions than genuine likenesses, for Christopher Morley is, happily, very much himself all the time. * % % Poems, stories, essays, journalism— these, within the past ten years, have brought Mr. Morley into the intimate liking of & host of readers. That is the general effect of the man—inti- mate liking. He puts himself—the whole of himself, one would say— into what he writes. Then he is strong in personal appeal. And there you are, the public opening up glad- ly to this young fellow, so eager for i1ife, so lustful of the truth about it, no matter what the color of that truth may be. ‘“Parnassus on ‘Wheels” (1917) is the first Morley novel. This, with “The Haunted Bookshop,” brings a new, live man into the 'worli—Roger MiMin, blood brother to Morley himself. To be sure, Mifflin balder and has, apparently, queer twists in his nature and fun- nier turns of habit, but he is close to Christopher Morley, rather closer than a brother. “Parnassus on ‘Wheels,” besides proving to be a mat- ter of shéer delight, has also served the useful purpose, we hear, of creating the wagon bookshop that is {now & commonplace of many com- munities. The most iniportant of his novels—so the critics say—and the most beautiful one—so we all say— is “Where the Blue Begins,” the story of a dog’s search for God. And, why not? Still, none but a genuine poet, mixed with a pretty big sort of man, could have conceived the theme, to say nothing of carrylng it forward in such consistency of beauty, such poignancy of appeal. * kok % ©da titiss tickie the fancy of this play-boy—-Mince Pie,” “Plum Pud- ding, Pipefuls,” “Shandygaf,” for sample. But these aré no mere gus- Christopher you know. Shandygaff” names a book of essays. And do you know what shandygaff is? Mr. Webster—S8handy- gaft, a mixture of strong beer and ginger béer (England). Now you have the quality of those essays. More than that, the whole Morley output Is shandygaff, too. “The Bowling Green,” daily editorlal column of a New York paper, is quite }ike the rest of him—or it would be were it in the power of mortal man to be, every day of his life, a_column clever and witty and wise. Since, however, this is not within the power of mortal man. “The Bowling Green” has, now and then, at far intervals, a slightly worn look upon its generaily smooth surface, a shade of overuse about it. Still, ninety times in the hundred, the “Green” is delivered in a resilient brilllancy of effect, The ten lesser returns are the instinctive prot mere man against the daily journal- istic run. * ok k% As a boy Christopher Morley lived in Baltimore, where his father, Frof. Morley, occupled the chair of “pure mathematics at Johns Hopkins. ®rior to that period the family lived at Haverford, Pa., where the boy was born, and to which place he returned for college training at Haverford Col- jege. Then the Rhodes scholarship sent him té Oxford for three years. ‘The Morleys are English. At Oxford young Morley came into a full reali- zation of his English-American. heri- tage. From Oxford back to Ame in quest of a jol i the Doubleday, Pageé publishing house, where for four years he worked and experimented with writing, and earn- <8"his 11ving, and won the affection of his employer and married a wite—all of which Mf. Doubleddy tells us in a little sketch of the i Morley. .- . M. is_older and odder and | more | tatory maneuvers—of course not, as; | | This he rounx‘?-" CAPITAL KEYNOTES BY PAUL V. COLLINS. Congress has voted a bonus of $200, 000 for one soldier, who began his sérvice before he was twenty years old. The greatest bonus that has Dbeen asked by any American Legion- naire was one dollar a day, hence, at that rate, the beneficlary must have served fifty-four years, nine months and twenty days and then persuaded some one to taek on an extra zero for him. But, in fact, he served I than three years total. On the basis of three full years, his bonus was| be $183.46 = day. * ok ok X The following letter from one who signs his real name explains the mat- ter: ‘Washington, D. C., December35, 1922. Dear 8ir:—Your articles on Lafay- ette are fust right. Lafayette was amply rewarded for all his services and so-called sacrifices before he left America. On his visit to the United States what did a title-loving Con- gress do? Look at the framed draft for $200,000 now on exhibition in the north front of the Treasury: . “Grant to General Lafayette for his ervices durihg the Revolution: “To Thomas Tudor Tucker, Treasurer of the Unitéd States, greeting: “Pay to Ceneral Lafayette or order two hundred thousand dollars, being the amount allowed him in considera- tlon of his services and sacrifices in the war of the revolution, pursuant to an act of Congress concerning him, approved 28th of December, 1824." Yours truly, DOUGLAS N. STARR. * k% % Mr. Starr deserves the thanks of the American Legion for calling atten- tion to this precedent of Congress in thus “commerclalizing patriotism,” as some of the statesmen on Capitol Hill have characterized such an act. Of course, one George Washington, too, proved so “mercenary” in his pa- triotlsm that he accepted a great tract of land as his bonus. If the Lafayette bonus were now reclaimed by the United States, with could poi compound interest from 1824, it would probably amount to more than the sum we loaned France in the late crisis, on which we are recelving nq Interest nor payment of principal. Nobody wants it recalled now, but in the interest of consistency it is proper that all the world should know that “Lafayette, we are here,” means something more than oratory. The millions of world war American vet- erans are really still here—except those who have “gone west.” * ok ok % There 48 no reason for any man to &0 hungry in Washington. The Gos- Pel Misston, located at 214 John Mar- shall place, has arranged to distribute free to all citizens, tickets to be used by them in reMeving calls for food or lodging by men out of work. This is not the only place where relief is freely offered. The Volunteers of America have an eating and lodging place, called “The Stepping Stone.” located at 275 Pennsylvania avenue where no questions are asked and food and lodging are freely given. At both places systematic efforts are made to find employment for those who will work. ~Sfreet begging is rare in Washington, and reaily not justified when such places of relief are open. Similar relief for women are also avallable through inquiry of the police or at the two places re- ferred to. * ¥ % ¥ ‘Waghington traffic police are to be drilled to standardize their gestures, 8o that they will be intelligible to matorists. It is confusing to have one officer beckon like & Mexlican. with palm up and four fingers wig- gling—which south of the Rio Grande means the equivalent of “Good morn- ing, have you washed your face?’ while in Washington it Is supposed to signify “Come on befofe I turn the stop signal on you.” And then at the next corner the officer holds up hie hand, and the motorist. too far away to count the finger-wiggles, assumes that it is the same come-on challenge, only to be threatened with imprison: ment for misinterpreting an officer. All traffic officers are to learn Del- sarte movements and wave graceful signals that will be as clear as a semaphore. Wonder why all are not equipped with eemaphores, telling us to stop, g0 and when. Those officers who have to keep their arms waving all day long. are lucky that they did not livé when Don Quixota was fight- ing Diftch windmills; they would have had so many bouts with the great swordsman that traffic would have been interrupted. * ¥ % ¥ Mr. J. Wilson Leakin of Baltimore, who wiiled $200,000 to the nation with which to erect a summer residsnce fof the President of the United State: wlithin fifty miles of Washington, cer tainly did not intend to give the roof. j No President would rest easy under & Leakin roof, any more than does a king sleeping in his crown. If this quest s not formally ~accepted within elghteen months, the money will revert to his estate. The terme stipulate that the summer White House must be within fitty miles of Washington, and be a replica of the WHite House in Washington. While no expression has come from the President regarding the gift, there is some cogment upon the restric- tions of location so close to Washing- ton that it will hardly reach a mountain altitude degirable for cool- ness. The President certainly needs a cool retreat though keeping close enough to the capital for daily business. - * x x % It is a remarkable showing of in- creased care that with 19,000 more automobiles upon the streets of Wash- ington in 1922 than in 1921, there was not a proportionate Increase of acci- deénts. It is an increase of machines by 30 per cent, and at the same pro- portion, there would have been 30 per cent additional accidents above the 6,285 of 1921, making a total of 8170, but, in fact, there were only 5,915. That shows an improved con- dition of trafic regulation and ar dents equivalent to only 72 per cent of the proportionate number. Tt would not have been surprising if the acci- dents had gone away ahead of the numerical proportion of machines for the congestion was far greater than in 1921. One of the most disinterested and patriotic acts that have been recorded in Washington for years is the don: tion of $5.000 to the city by John Hays Hammond for the purpdse of financing the painting of white lines upon the streets to guide pedestrians and chauffeurs. It had been found that no appropriation by Congresa bly be counted as available before the next fiscal year—July 1— and Mr. Hammond felt so strongly the life-saving importance of the lines of traffic control that he volunteered to pay all the expense himself. How many citizens will actually owe their lives to that donation will never be known, but all may realize that such a spirit as that manifests is invalva- ble to & community. C ot So many innovations are coming into our old methods, dus t> the ra- dio, that one ceases to exclaim at them. A few weeks ago it seemed interesting to learn that soms of the churches were broadcasting their ser- mons, so tha the voice of the preacher in Washington reaches to Texas and Maine. Now comes the United States commissioner of education, Dr. Ti- gert. with a broadcasting service of instruction, to be sent out all over America every Monday and Thurs- day, at 645 p.m. through the naval station NOF, wave length 430 meters. Dr. Tigert, commenting on this new service; says: “A new situation in education has arisen and a new method of reaching it must be found. 1 believe that radio furnishes such a method. Radio is cheaper than printing; it reaches its audience quicker: it reaches a fass of pecple who will not read printed ar- ticles.” * ok % % The new method of instruction is even greater and more revolutionary than Dr. Tigert has indicated. It means that what was done toward college ex- tension, in reaching adults of a genera- tion ago, by “Chautauqua” reading courses and Chautauqua lectures, will soon be done from educational centers by radio. Radio colleges may be es- tablished, and courses given dally to students who arc scattered in homes all over the continent. Aside from chemistry, there Is ecarcely a branch of sclence, languages, history or literature which "cannot be so taught through radio lectures. American students may listen-in and follow_the lectures of Oxford or any gther European college, and students of Europe will become radio alumni of American colleges. Thus will develop closer bonds between peoples, and race prejudices will be canceled by closer knowledge and closer sympathies witch follow such contacts. ucation will be democratized and will make the world democratic. The new rear has wonders yet be. fore us. EDITORIAL DIGEST Change of Front by Borah Puszzles Editors. Regardless of the action of the Sen- ate on the Borah resolution, editors evinced a disposition to discuss the relationship of the Idaho solon to the subject and the reasons for his ap- parent change of front. The majority accepted the plan as influenced en- tirely by the painstaking study which Mr. Borah has made of the oconomic situation abroad as affect- ing the United States, and especlally the farmer. Because of this there was much praise for the senator. “War has been for ages the only method in vogue for settling quarrels between peoples,’ says the Boston Traveler. “Nations can and must henceforth be trained to resort to reason Instead of force. The work- ing out of & plan of that sort, to which the United States can adhere without needless entanglements, is the greatest step vet to be taken in world affairs.. Senator Borah's sug- gestion took no note of this." After reviewing the past positions of the author of the resolution, the Syracuse Herald pointed out that “Borah, in- latest switch, is still intellectually honest. He has simply changed his point of view in the white light of stern necessity and recent experi- ence.” That, also, is the opinion of the Binghamton Press, which says that “Senator Borah is’ oftén wrong, but he is always honest,” and urges that “the petty and shortsighted policy. of isolation has failed. We must take a hand in the affairs of the old world. We must yet find a way t lead the nations of the world o an agregment that will give some 1 aEsurance of an endurin "..‘Eml it considers “con s “in this crisis !ax;l.:or ‘becomes ly inconsisten e e not hrough “altrustic mo- tives” that the 1laho solon changed front, in the opinion of Senator Carter Glasss Lynchburg News, which feels that the reason was “concern about Europe because facts have proved that economic chaos in Eurepe oper- ates adversely to the welfare of the United States, especially of its agri- cultural classes.” Because the arma- ment pact falled to be carrted through to completion the Lincoln State Jour- nal believes that the Borah proposal was at least premature, and the New ‘ork Tribune recalled thut after that ocument s framed Mr. Borah led. to. destroy ‘its work.” . It.also was pointed out- by - the New. York World that Borah “learned from éx- nflonco that the round robfn and the dge reservations cannot-be the last 4 (!i{lltophsr word in American foreign policy. and | undy! that co-opération with the European nations in some form or other has le- come imperative.” The Philadelphia Public Ledger considers that Borah is “in strange pastures” and suggests that “when the arch-isolationist of them all, when the arch-enemy of the league and the treaty and all thelr ways and works faces about and makes common cause ith the Wilson democrats and the ‘farm-bloc’, and calls upon the Presi- dent to summon a relief conference for the old world, anything may hap- pen. Tt is as though Representative Yolstead should propose that his own s act be amended to perr sale of corn whisky." B s the opimion of the Dayton News “if Borah had been as observ- ant a couple of vears ago and, per- haps, as personaily ambitious as he seems to be today, a lot of trouble ocould have been saved for the world, and America would have been work- ing side by side with other countries and enjoying with the others the fruits of a well roundell and properly founded peace.”- To use the Borah position as a plea to join the leazue is erroneous, in the view of the Worcester Telegram, which says those holding that opinion “should remem- bem that they are now supporting Mr. Borah in an effort to revise the Versallles treaty, which they once Jranted ratified unconditionally.” And titls very connection the Jackson- Yille Times-Union holds “the fact that Senator Borah objected to the en- trance of the United States into an alllance with one combination of na- tions against ‘mnother combination Wwas no proof that he would oppose the co-operation of all to bring about normal conditions and to prevent fu- ture wars.” In_addition, it is the opinion of the New Orleans Times- Picayune that “the most devoted wor- shipers of the splendid isolation theory cannot forever shut their eyes to the stubborn facts of world con- ditions and their bearing upon condi- tions here at home.” The time was inopportune, in the opinion of tie Detroit Free Press, which, while admitting that the Bo- rah proposal was “well meant,” point- ed out that it must be considered with “great reserve.” as it feels “there has been no question since the election of 1920 where the people stand on any such program and no acticn of any department of the goyernment should disregard that decision.” the view of the Detroit New, ver, the Borah .proposal signed to “cut the red tape” has rendered futile all recent confer- ences and to get the world “back to work. If the President of the United States can persuade the powers of the world to put this single subject, so dear to the common folk of all lands, first on the world program of com- mon sense. and can_ win thelr con- sent to deferring until later the ar- guments of capitalists over conces- sions of other people’s property, the President will accomplish_ a ‘truly great thing, not merely for his owm ing personal repute, but for civ- ilization.” 3 | | |