Evening Star Newspaper, January 8, 1923, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY, JANUARY 8, 1923. THE WAYS OF WASHINGTON BY WILLIAM PICKETT HELM. .THE EVENING STAR, With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY.......January 8, 1923 THEODORE W. NOYES...Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Office: 150 Nausau St. Chicago Office: Tower Bullding. European Office : 16 Regent St., London, England. The Erening Star, with the Sunday morning edition, 15 delfvered by carriers within the clty 4t 60 cents per month: dally only, 43 cents per month: Bunday only, 20 cents per month. Or. ders may be sent by mail or telephone Mal 5000. Collection is made by carriers at th end of each month. Rate by Mail Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..1yr., $8.4 Daily only Sunday oniy. All Other States. Daily and Suaday..1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo., 85¢ Dally only 1yr., $7.00; 1 mo, 60c Sunday onl Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Proas I exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dis- dited to It ot not otherwise credited per and also the local news pub- lished “herein. Al rights of “publication of speclal dispatches herein are also reserved. ooy The French Adventure. “Where do we go from here?” is a question French statesmanship might well ask itself today. Ostensibly, France is going into the Ruhr, but whether she can find a stopping place there is quite another matter. If the Poincare government is to follow to & logical conclusion the course it has set cut upon, failure of the Ruhr occupa- tion to produce reparations may neces- sitate further movements into Ger- many. It may not be long until we hear of French plans to occupy Berlin. That occupation of the Ruhr will not appreciably increase the sum total of gold and goods France will receive from Germany is the accepted conclu- sion of all men other than Frenchmen who have made a study of the prob- lem. 1f to present charges the cost of maintaining a new occupying army is te be charged up against Germany the net return to France is likely even to be diminished. The chief argument France has advanced in support of her policy has been that her financial recessities were such as not to admit of further delays. If the steps she is about to take do not result in relieving those necessities the Paris government either will have to admit its error and withdraw or proceed to even more drastic measu 1t would be an un- tenable position for her to sit down in the Ruhr and stay there without a demonstration of effectiveness, Whatever the Ruhr occupation may amount to in the way of producing reparations, it will furnish one ‘of the most interesting psychological exper- ,ments of which history has any ree- ord. Whether at the point of the bay- onet the capital and labor of a great nation can be compelled so to employ themselves as to produce a surplus of s00ds has never been demonstrated. Slave labor has been required to pro- duce surpluses where capital and man- agement were free, but the enslave- ment of capital and management has not before been attempted. Are the industrial leaders of Germany going freely to apply their wealth and genius to works over which French soldiers stand guard? If they do so, it will be a demonstration of something new in human nature. If they do not, if they sequester their capital and withhold their genius for management, the mines and mills of the Ruhr will be of little use to the French. Theodore Roosevelt. Some friends of Theodore Roosevelt make an annual visit to his grave. An association exists for the purpose. This year's visit was made on Saturday, the fourth anniversary of his death. Tt is an unusual tribute to the memory of an unusual man. He did not while living and in ac- tion lack for large appreciation of his talents and manysidedness. On the contrary, his friends were legion and showered him with evidences of ad- miration and affection. He had all the honors in politics, including the high- est, the presidericy. He had thousands of readers for the products of his busy pen. He had crowds to hear him when- ever he took the stump or the plat- form. Tt is true, however, that not until he died was appraisement of him end what he represented as full as de- served. But since then he and his performances have passed in just re- view; and he is acclaimed now as hav- ing been one of the extraordinary men of his era, considered without regard to position or nationality. He had made himself a world figure; | and distinguished men from all parts of the world coming to America find their way with flowers to the ceme- tery where his body lies. Soldiers, statesmen, men of general affair from remote countries are familiar with his career, and, as d6 men of his home country, associate themselves with displays of respect for his mem- ory. ——— There is splendid scenery along the Rhine, but a number of American sol- diers have lost interest in it. ———— Clearing Out the Street Poles. In the course of his admirable state- ment in explanation of the District ap- propriation bill Friday, Representative Cramton, in charge of the measure as representing the appropriations com- mittee, referred to certain | proposed street improvements in terms that bring back to mind the long fight against overhead wires and obstruct- ing poles waged in Washington, in which The Star was foremost as an advocate of clear, safe streets. He noted the condition: of Bladensburg road, “commonly known as the Balti- more pike, now having a line of poles down the center,” where, it has been said, “more bootleggers and patrons of bootleggers are killed “®ff than in any other section eround here.” Mr. Cramton went on to say that “we prg pose to improve that street through the removal of the poles from the cen- ter of the street.” Doubtless many Washingtonians of later advent do not recall the struggle rant was waged to keep the streets of the capital might have had rapid tran- sit much more quickly than it was eventually provided. But it would have been at the cost of the streets, which now are almost wholly free from the obstructions. In consequence the city is far safer, not only in point of traffic but in respect to fire fighting. The “city limits" originally consti- tuted the area of strict overhead wire prohibition. As those limits were out- grown, were, in fact, discarded in law, and urban conditions were developed beyond the old technical boundary of the city, the prohibition against new aerial wires was extended. Still in a few instances poles have remained within what has become the urban area, those on Bladensburg road as an example. There are others, as, for in- stance, on Connecticut avenue beyond Rock creek, and Georgia avenue from a short distance above Florida avenue, and on North Capitol street and Michi- gan avenue into Brookland. In some cases the underground conduit system has been carrfed farther out by volun- tary action of the traction companies. Recently an effort was made to effect the removal of the poles:from the lower portion of Connecticut avenue extended, and it was hoped that this would be done in connection with ghe reconstruction of Calvert Street bridge, but the opportunity was allowed to pass without such action. The proposal to remove the poles from Bladensburg road is undoubtedly in the interest of public safety. These poles, as Representative Cramton indi- cates, have been the cause of many deaths. The street itelf is much fre- quented, not only by the illicit traffic to which he has referred, but by & great volumé of entirely legitimate traffic. All the users of the road are endangered by these poles in the cen- ter. It would be gratifying to have the zone of overhead wire prohibition definitely extended by legislation. A start in this direction by the proposal to remove the poles from Bladensburg road gives hope that this may be ac- complished, and then Washington will be relleved even further of the element of insecurity and danger from which other cities so greatly suffer, and from which it has been at slight sacrifice in the past kept so free. The Key Bridge. When the House of Representatives on Saturday, in its discussion of the District appropriation bill, reached the item dealing with the new George- town bridge, providing for miscel- laneous supplies and expenses and for its transfer upon completion to the jurisdiction of the District Commis- { sioners, Representative Hill of Mary- 1land proposed an amendment giving it formally the name of the Francis | Scott Key bridge. After Mr. Hill had read into the record the action of rumerous organizations in favor of this name for the bridge, the House, without any dissent from the proposi- tion, adopted the amendment. If the paragraph as thus drawn stands, and obtains the approval of the Senate, the bridge will have been definitely named in honor of the author of “The Star Spangled Banner.” The reason for calling this bridge in the fact that for a considerable period he lived in & house which im- mediately adjoins the Georgetown ap- proach. The house, though somewhat changed at present, is still standing there, and the hope is that it will al- ways be preserved as a memorial. Francis Scott Key's fame rests chiefly upon his authorship of the poem written at the time of the battle of Baltimore, when the British naval forces were repulsed and the flag at night of furious bombardment. But Mr. Key was a Washingtonian, serv- ing here as district attorney at one time, and was“identified with the life j of the capital. This city has no memo- rial to him, though recently a national monument in his honor was erected at Fort McHenry. It is appropriate that here at Washington should stand some symbol of the man whose name is so intimately identified with the pa- triotic literature of the country and whose poem is sung constantly by the American people. The name Key bridge has become assoclated with the new structure, de- spite the previous aation by Congress calling it the Georgetown bridge, which was predicated upon the mis- taken assumption that Georgetown ‘was named in honor of George Wash- ington. That error has, of course, been subsequently recognized, and it is proper now that the House should correct it formally and give the name of Francis Scott Key to the new via- duct. The mood of France has not been such as to suggest that Germany did not select the psychological moment for indicating the great military ef- ficlency of which her new gliders might be capable. ) His anxiety to get back here indl- cates that Grover Bergdoll shares the view that America will never again become involved in another war. Ismet Pasha intimates that the preservation of peace depends entirely on the ability of other nations to keep Turkey.in a pleasant frame of mind. The lone bandit operates with such boldness that an ideal cashier is com- pelled to be not only rapid in his arithmetic but quick on the trigger. The coal industry has its embarrass- ments, but is at least spared the vexations arising from overproduction. A report hes recently come out of Russia to the effect that Nicolal Lenin, head of the Russian soviet govern- ment, has had e relapse of illness and is now in extremis. A brain specialist, it is stated from Berlin, has been sum- moned from that city to Moscow. The dispatch from Berlin to sthis effect states that Dr. Vogt's mission is being concealed by the announcement that he is going to Moscow as a delegate to the Russian neurological congress, ‘which opens tomorrow. Intimations to the effect that a fail- ure of !‘flhfi"’ health following his for Francis Scott Key lies primarily | ! Fort McHenry remained flying after a ! come regarding Russian news that it has awaited definite announcement. Even now, apparently, Moscow is not willing to acknowledge that the chief of the commissars is ill. Lenin’s physical troubles date from the attack upon his lite in 1918, when Dora Kaplan fired three poisoned bul- lets into his body. He recovered from the wounds, but the effect of the A conversation between two ladies on the second floor of 339 Pennsyl- vania avenud: “This House of Representatives poison seems to have prevailed, re-|sure has got my goat.” sisting treatment. A Berlin specialist was summoned in March, and later he reported that Lenin was suffering only from overwork. A rigid regimen was prescribed, including e careful diet and abstention from routine labors. In the autumn Lenin addressed the con- gress of the soviets at Moscow, and referred to the limitations imposed upon him in explanation of his treat- ment of only one phase of the Russian situation. His appearance on that oc- casion was accepted as a sign of his recovery. Now comes this report of collapse, which, like most Russian news, must be accepted with reserve. Interest centers in this matter not in Lenin personally, but in the effect of Lenin's death, if it should come, upon the fortunes of Russia. Probably his demise would have less influence now than if it had occurred in 1918 or even in 1921. In the course of his ill- ness other men have been developed {for leadership, and soviet Russia, it { would seem, is now capable of organic maintenance without Lenin. Neverthe- less he is a potent influence, and no | one ‘can tell what will happen when that influence definitely ~eases, —_—— Tool and Employer. Representative Upshaw's proposi- tion, that bootlegger and patron be bracketéd together, and when con- victed both jailed, follows the line often advanced about’ frauds perpe- trated on the ballot. Repeating at the polls—an offense confined to large cities and frequently committed there—is practically en- couraged, some men contend, by the way in which the offense is handled. Only the repeater, as a rule, is pur- sued, and when convicted punished. He is always a creature of no conse- quence, without standing in the com- munity, or shame in going to prison. He is only the disreputable tool of men { “nigher up,” who profit by the usu- fruct of his rascality. « The proper course, it is asserted, would be to pursue them, and punish them when the “goods” are traced to them. Prison would be appalling in their cases. Apply that policy, and re- peating would be diminished if not abolished. No temptations spread, no disreputable creatures employed. So, as the Georgia legislator reasons, should the course be taken respecting the violation of the prohibition law. Go after the bootlegger's patron as well as after the bootlegger. The lat- ter is but the tool of the former. The former offers the temptation, and the latter falls for it. No patron, no boot- legger: no bootlegger, no hootch busi- ness with its defiance of law. The opening of a tomb in Egypt is expected to throw some light on prob- lems pertaining to unrest, socialistic agitation and international entangle- ments. No practical suggestions as to their solution can be reasonably ex- pected. These problems reappear, baf- fling as ever, in every civilization. interests. In spite of automobiles and airships the public continues to warm up with enthusiasm whenever Sir Thomas Lipton mentions the possibil- ity of another yacht race. This 1s the era of new and improved machinéty. Reversion to the inquisi- tion’s implements of torture is not only inhuman but archaic. Differences of opinion between Eng- land and Frafnce are no doubt causing Berlin statesmen to remark, “We told you so.” Lenin gets his medical advice from Berlin, relying on Russia,. it is as- sumed, only for political advice. China has had her troubles with drugs, but has never been obliged to combat the wood alcohol habit. Counterfeit liquor labels may be properly referred to as tax-exempt in- securities. SHOOTING STARS.: BY PHILANDER JOHNSON Longer Days. Days are gettin’ longer. Hopes are growin’ stronger, As the sun decides to linger for awhile. Though the storm may come a-blowin’ An’ the skies be filled with snowin’, We will try to face the future with a smile. Nights more quickly vanish. Earlier dawns will banish Shadows that draw near in somber style, And the sunshine that increases Shows how much the sadness ceases If you only face your troubles with e smile. A Repeater. “History repeats itself,” the ready-made philosopher. “I hope it will continue to do s commented Senator Sorghum. “I have been pretty successful in my cam- paigns thus far. remarked Jud Tunkins says almost any one man can get up and tell you how to settle the troubles of the world, but ‘where you get four or five together they can't possibly agree on a plan. Musings of ‘a Motor Cop. Hortense's mind is far from slow,’ But spelling she has seemed to drop. She reads a little word like “Go,” . But not a longish one like “Stop.” Dictation. “Do you think an industry needs a dictator?” “I do,” replied Mr. Crosslots, “Don’t 'we pay a hired girl liberally just to show us who's boss in our own house?” “Work is better dan luck” eaid but. k. ' “Mine, too; but they'll put it back.” the money. Walt till they hear from the farmers.” “Yeah? Hut it's different now; they ain't going to spend a red they don’t have to.” “Where'd you find opening their mail?” “No. But they're getting tight with the nickels. We won't have any jobs next year—no more job than a rab- bit.” . “Oh, they’ll put it back;® they always do. Why, I remember—" And so on for the better part of eight hours every working day, mul- tiplied by seventy-five, there being 1150 women to discuss the burning text, “Job or no job, which?" that? Been Il No. 339 Pennsylvania avenue is the only shop of its kind in the world. There is where.the government's garden seed is made up into little packets and packages—yes, thére's a distinction—for the representatives and senators to nfail to the folks back home. The House decided the other day to cut out the free garden seed this year. It costs the government about $360,000 a year, plus postage, or, to be more exact, plus the cost of handling over the railroads carrying it out of Washington, for the seed moves under frank, to get the seed and distribute them, The government buys the seed di- rect from growers and seedsmen. Experts test the purchases. If the seed sprout and live up to other re- quirements, they are bought by the ton and used; if not, they are re- jected. e Frank Clarke of Waco, T has the contract for putting the seeds into packets and packages and de- livering them to the post office. The work keeps 150 women busy from September to April. ~ An entire four- story bullding is devoted to the work. He is doing it cheaper and better than ever before, at that. During the seven months more than 65,000 mail bags are filled with the packages, 250 packages to each mail | bag. Wae called up the pest office to find out what this amount of mail means. “How many No. 3 mail bags will an ordinary mail car hold?’ we asked. The man on the other end of the wire figured a bit. “Put it down at “That's-about right “Then, 65,000 s means about sixty-five car loads?" P “Right.” “And how many solid train ldads is that?” “Anywhere from five Ffgure it out for yourselt.” Five solid train loads of garden «eed—five trains of thirteen cars each. n round figures, a mile of garden 1,000 he sald. ac to eight. Outcome at Paris Focuses Atten- tion on Hughes Plan. The suggestion of Secretary of State New inventions do not obliterate old | Hughes of a method for a complete and | independent probe of Germany's finan- cial status has attracted new in- terest ag the result of the develop- ments of the Paris conference. Edi- tors again are discussing the Hugh: plan from every angle, and there are a great many who believe that it is, after all, about the only way in which politics can be eliminated from the whole question of European economic reconstruction. There is likewise an active minority who be- lieve that such a plan is unneces- sary and that the proper solution is to have America officially repre- sented on the reparations commission. Arguing that, stripped of all other issues, the Hughes proposal would create another reparations commis- sion, the Newark ‘News (independ- ent) says: “Why Secretary Hughes, after his experience with the dis- jarmament conference, should cling to the idea of a substitute is difficult {to understand. Tt would have been easier and simpler to have made the status of the unofficial American representative on the reparations commission official. Surely he does not expect France to agree in advance to accept the decisions of the sub- | stitute commission signing away its ! right to dissent” Holding a some- { what similar view, the New York |tworld (democratic) also feels that | “Mr. Hughes will have to come to i the Borah idea, which is that poli- ticians cannot artificially ~sunder problems which economic necessity has joined together. He will have to learn that half a bridge across a r is really no bridge at all.” Y fhe Harding-Hughes proposal is to take the reparations question out of politics,” says the New York Tri- bune (republican), and the plan “gives Furope the last word, as it ought to do. The administration’s first move is practical and persuasive. And the reparations problem can be solved from the outside only by a program which is well fortified in both these respects.”” The plan does not go far enough, however, in the view of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot _(democratic), Which feels that “the State Depart- ment is still experimenting with the Plan of joining Europe in a swim Without coming near the water. That policy has to its credit two vears of conspicuous_failure. It is likely to continue a failure.” Inasmuch as all ¢ plans have failed, the Cleveland Plain Dealer (independent democratic) feels that a trial of the Hughes method" might , work out beneficial- ly, inasmuch “as such a commis- sion’s Teport might show “that the force of world opinion will be a con- siderable influence against obstinacy and selfishness and uniess some nation feels that its rights are outrageously ignored or subordinated there would be no rejection of the commission's findings.” _Iadorsing this declaration, the Mobile Register (independent dem- ocratio) suggests that “Mr. Hughes cannot hope that politics will be done away with, but he proposes a method of getting at the truth without poli- tice and letting the truth have its effect upon the politicians. It is a constructive program he offers.’ Inasmuch as the Hughes position is perfectly logical, the St. Louis Globe- Democrat (independent), after point- ing out that “it is much to be hoped that France eventually will agree to such a suggestion, points out that ‘our helpfuiness depends entirely on that and it is encouraging to learn that our government is laboring to that end. The influence of the United States is bound to be great, and it is right that it should be exercised to the full in the promotion of those settlements which are of such vital D ics £o us and to the world” 'seed rolls over the rails from Wash- ington, north, south, east, west, every year, i s ‘We-went back to Mr. Clarke. “Where does all this seed go?” we asked him. He laughed. “Oh, the congressmen and senators take care of that,” he |sald.” “All we do 1s put it up; they furnish the addresses.” “But what about the congressman who comes from a big city? “What use have his constituents got for gar- 'den seed?” We learned that the ¢ity congress- men swap seed for publications in | many cases. A country congressman ! wants more sced than the law allows him, and a city congressman wants, we'll say, more of a certain publica- tion than the law allows. So they get together, swap off and everybody is happy. “You see” Mr. Clarke explained, “every congressman and senator Is allowed 20,000 packages of garden seed and 2,000 packages of flower seed. Bach package contains five packets. That makes 100,000 packets of garden-seed and 10,000 packets of flower seed.” “How many packets do you put up during the year?” we asked. He figured a bit. “Between 60,000,- 000 and 70,000,000,” he replied. The members of Congress have | been sending seed to the folks back home for more than eighty years and have never missed a year.” The cost has gradually grown to its present dimensions of about $360,000 an. nually. It is quite a common thing for one |house or the other to cut out the item when the agricultural appro- | priation bill comes through. But it has always been put back, and they're hoping at Mr. Clarke's shop that it will go back this year. i On one occasioh, according to the | story circulating among the woman workers, Congress waited till the last minute before adjourning on the 4th of March before restoring the item. That was the closest call the workers ever had on their jobs. We asked Mr. Clarke to name the champion seed-sender of Congress. Miss Alice Robertson,” he replied. “The largest single order that ever went out came from her last year. It filled 850 matl bags and went largely to schools. ‘Of course, it all went to Oklahoma.” We calculated this order in terms {of space and found that it almost filled an entire mail car. “Has any one ever calculated the value of vegetables and flowers these seed would raise? we asked. “Oh, yes." Mr. Clarke replied. “An expert was down here some time ago doing that. He worked it out, as I remember,” We asked what the answer was, and it startled us. We give it for what 1t is worth: “One hundred and ninety-five mil- Hon dollars.” EDITORIAL DIGEST ywas “not made palatable the | French,” in the opinion of the Spring- | field Republican (independent), “by | Mr. Hughes' fresh insistence upon the | American view that the German in- demnity and the debts of the allies to the United States must be considered separately. To the French these questions are inseparable, and. more- | over, they do not readily concede the | right of the United States, after ne- | Botiating a separate peace with Ger- ! many, to meddle with the question of | reparations without at the same time offering guarantees that Germany will pay even a much reduced in- demnity and making concessions in the matter of the French debt to the | United States. | “It is both a plan and a_polic: | that was enunciated, the | Dispatch (independent) asserts. recognition of the vital importance to America of a European settlement is belated, but now that it has been made, Washington should not hesi- tate to act upon it with the utmost ' Characterizing the proposal the way out,” the Pittsburgh Leader (progressive republican) care- sums up its conclusion in the asser- tion that “it is ridleulous and ob- structive to world prosperity to fight for claims which Germany cannot pay. It is a waste of time to refuse to accept such reparations as Ger- many can pay. Financial experts will not deceive their judgment by any problems of politics or fallacies of public opinion or superpatriotic traditions. Neither will they con- stantly rake over old coals, seeking to rekindle fires of animosities by using memories as fresh fuel. The experts to be selected will view the case as a business problem and deal with it accordingly—the only way it can be done satisfactorily. ~Politics, military ambitions, territorial ambi- tions and the glories of tradition will have no place in their inquiries and concluslons The plan “Is both novel and bold, says the Syracuse Herald (independ- ent) and “in onme respect it is en- couraging. It at least holds out the hope that the administration will take some action on behalf of the United States in a grave world-wide crisis.” The “hitch in the plan,” as seen by the Providence Tribune’ (in- dependent), is that “after the sum has been fixed by the commission of experts the politicians will have their say,” and the Tribune feels that if the politicians can be eliminated “reparations fixation will be deter- mined.” The “plan also is practical and is recommended, if by nothing else,” the Kansas City Times (pro- gressive republican) ‘says, “by the fact that it is about the only one that has not been tried. ~This plan, at least, hasn't vet failed. All oth. ers have.” Money is not very important unless you haven't any.—Allentown Chron- icle and News. tightwad is a man who knows how he got his money.—Toledo Blade. “Wring out the old"—and then dry up the past.—Savannah News. The ntan who turns over a new leaf often finds the same text on the other side—Harrisburg Telegraph. Of all the that Christmas successful.—Little Gazette. ‘'weeks” we believe week was the most Rock Arkansas A Cleveland man made two unsuc- cessful attempts to end his life. He ought to give his wife a chance— Dx\vton News. It's a hard system that provides dope for movie Stars and makes pa- trons take it without an anesthetic. —Baltimore Sun. ey American Indians will operate a line of Atlantic steamships. Can't we get old Fenimore Cooper on the ouija and ask him for a story on it? —Clgveland Plain Dealer. The great need of the non-Christian nations is Christianity. Still, you can say that much about the Christian nations,—Hartford Times. s { America fsn’t long on ‘pictur- | ssque rui _Europe, but she has sive’ gpeciment fully analyzes its entire purpose and | i Defends France’s Course. Writer Believes Occupation of . Ruhr to Be Just. To the Editor of The Star: 1 have read with interest your edi- torial in Saturday’s ‘Star entitled “Welghing the Sword,” but am not convinced of your conclusion that “civilization would stand aghast” if France goes to the threatened length of seizure of the Ruhr district in an effort to collect reparations from Germany. Why should France be de- nied the sympathy and moral support of the nations who fought by her side because she takes measures to en- force the collection of the reparations to which she is entitled and which Germany under the treaty agreed to pay? If it is wrong to enforce the collection of a just debt then our system of jurisprudence is wrong, for the property of the debtor in all civilized countries may be seized in satisfaction of the debt. Did not Germany take Alsace-Lorraine from France and enormous sums,of money in satisfaction for the war of 18707 Why have the troops of the allies, including our own soldiers, been sta- tioned upon the Rhine since the ar- mistice if not to compel Germany to 1ive up to the treaty? If the German hordes had devastated our land, loot- ed and laid waste our cities, and in- flicted untold suffering and death upon our people and then failed, when finally conquered, to pay for the damage done, although having suf- fered no sich devastation hersel?, and although continuing to possess’ and enjoy “territory of such boundless wealth as the Ruhr district, would the citizens of this country, “stand aghast” at the determination to take the property of the debtor nation as security for the cash it refuses to pay? Why should the Fr ople be burdened with a per c - proximately three times as great as the German people have to pay (it has been go reported) and then permit Germany to say she cannot pay the reparations? Your historical allusion to the sack- ing of Rome by the Gauls is not in point. France did not engage in a war for conquest, nar is she demand- ing the spoils of war, but restoration I can appreciate that _civilization would stand aghast at the prospect of another world war, but I am not convinced that France should be de- serted by her allies because that she proposes to take se the debt which Germany says s cannot pay, and If the allies support France in her just claims there will be no war. E. M. CUSHIN Rosslyn, R. D, a Martha Washington Stamp Retired in 1909 To the Editor of The Star: In an article in The Star discussing some of the new postage stamps the statement is made that when the new four-cent stamp bearing the portrait of Martha Washington Is issued on the 15th of this month it will be the first time the portrait of a woman has appeared on a United States postage stamp. The article also eays that when the new 9 and 10 cent stamps are placed on sale the same date, with the portraits of Jefferson and Monroe, respectively, these statesmen will for the first time be thus honored. May I point out that the first United States stamp to bear the likeness of a woman was issued in 1902-03, when the eight-gent stamp of that serios car- ried a porfrait of Martha Washingto This stamp was continued in circula- tion ' until 1908-09. In connection with women's portraits on our stamps it might also be said that in 1907 the five-cent stamp of the “Jamestown” tercentenary issue hore a portrait of Pocahontas. ~ Jefferson’s portrait first appeared on the five-cent denomi- nation of the Series of 1851-6 portrait was then included in_ all Sues {except special commemorative series) until 1908-09. Monroe's por- trait was first placed on a United!| States stamp in 1904—the three-cent of | the “Louisana Purchase” issue. Of twelve portraits borne on this| new issue of 1922-3 all but three have | heretofore appeared on our stamps at | various times; the new faces ar Cleveland and Roose- i ‘WM. LAY PATTERSON. Murder Has Been Done i For Less Than This | There is a genial fellow of our ac-I quaintance who possesses a daughter —the lucky dog! This particular man is a queer sort of cuss and he has| always thought, along with‘ Barrie, that there are only two great epochs in a girl's life. Contrary to all ac-| cepted thought upon the subject, mar- riage is not one of them. The first great event is when the initial rec-| ognizable smile ripples into baby ! laughter; the second when she puts ! j up her hair. | This man we have in mind had| made a sort of dream ritual of this| latter and had planned a thousand | { ways in turning the matter over in: his inner consciousness how he would | invest the ceremony with a thousand | little graces. They would talk about it ever so much beforehand and, as the day drew near, there would be | many little backward flights and timorous fears of how it would all turn out. In her childhood days he would often toss her little mane up backward to get a prevision of the inevitable, and she, the little minx. i would tantalize him, in turn, by parading before him With a mountain | of finespun gold banked on her dainty little head. 1t was to be a monu mental occasion 'and the poor fello hugged the thought to himself. The would plan for it as for a lord ma. or's ceremonial. The blow fell, as most blows fal].l suddenly, unexpectedly. He went home of an evening, carefree, joyou. to romp with this girl-child as of | old. She was going to a party and she was fifteen going on sixteen, and her mother, without a word of prep- aration for the shock, with a thought- lessness almost sublime, had borne her off to a hairdresser, where all the iniquitous rites of that diabol cal institution were perpetrated. W doubt very much whether this genial fellow will ever be quite the same— the deepest, the most poignant hurts somehow or other always seem to come out of thoughtlessness and the | failure to grasp even faintly the oth- | er fellow's point of view. Even| fathers have a few temples where they make prayer.—Baltimore News, Would Give Key’s Full Name To New Bridge To the Editor of The Star: While the name of the new bridge at Georgetown is under discussion T would like to make a suggestion through the columns of your paper, and it is to the effect that if the bridge is to be named in honor of the composer of “The Star Spangled Ban- ner” it be given his full name—the Francis Scott Key bridge. That would mean something to every one. 1 know from experience and obser- vation that the “Key” bridge means to many the key to & problem, or the opening to a door or entrance some- whi so I beg of e name | | committee in ziven in full 5 SR : de CAPITAL. KEYNOTES BY PAUL V. COLLINS. The Washington Board of Trade is on the right track, but too timidly progressing, in advising that the con- gested streets be widened through the making of sidewalks narrower. The widening of the roadways is feasible only at the expense of walkways, but when the sidewalks dre narrowed, where shall we put the people? You cannot narrow the people—they per- sist in eating—and therefore the must have elbow room. Mt is impos- sible to narrow the present crowded walks sufficiently to meet the need of greater driveway. sk of reiteration, let ain that we can mak. story, by running el -foot ‘walkways down the me sugge streets t streets, abolishing side- ther, and connecting the th the stores by “bridges of sighs"—indicative perhaps of the delights of shopping without danger of ever being run over. The space under the walkways would be suita- ble for parking autompbiles. This plan would double the width of the roadways, at a very moderate cost It is intended only for the congested thoroughfares, such as F and G and certain crowded cross gtreets. Locat- ng the elevated walkg in the middle would give no appreciable shaging to the light of the stores, for in most cases the edge of the walks would be thirty to for'y feet from the win- dows and only hifteen or twenty feet high. It would be possible to orna- ment the vehicleless walks with flowers and other attractive decora- tion, so that they would be as a as an esplanade through a park. * ok ok “Whenever a court institutes a policy of seeking opportunity to muict somebody in fines, simply for add- ing revenue to the public coffers, it is prostituting its legitimate functions. The penal law is not intended for revenue, to take the place of taxa- tion,” says one of the legal lights of the House, “but merely to make imes and other offenses against so- ety and good order burdensome upon the ‘offender, so that he will cease to offend. Buf certain deputies lie wait 2 boundary lines of th trict of Columbia to nab non-lic autc and have their drivers fined, evenue only. That is the fundamental Congress has ex- ive power to regulate interstate commerce, and state laws so enforced are unconstitutional. The claim is made that states may require a license of tourists who are not merely just ssing through, but who stop, per- ps for months, and o get the bene- fit 6f the good roads which state taxes have built. It is not true that taxes exclusively have built state roads, for all have re- ived federal appropriations of thousands of dollars. Even if they had been built exclusively by the v attract visitors, and that profits a state or community. ighted as well as un- constitutional * * The value Thrift week ginning to impress itself upon us all, and the reading of a plaint of a married woman who has hard work to make both ends meet with her husband's salary as a government clerk impresses the lesson con- cretel She they have a family to support, they live in_two rooms, for which they pay $75 a month, plus.*$6 for gas and elec- tricity Thrift! thrift! Horatio!” On’ the same day on which th plaint appeared. I noted an adver- tisement of two rooms and private bath for . fully furnished, and that included electricity for lighting. Gas for cooking might cost $4 a month— certainly not more, for a family that could live in two rooms. The two rooms referred to are in one of the choicest neighborhoods in Washing- ton. I _do not wonder, then, that Judge Kathryn Sellers decides that many cases of alleged nonsupport are due to the wife's bad manage- ment of household expenses. There is no reason why, in Washington. two very respectable rooms with light and fuel, as well as furniture, should cost half what that complain- nt is spending. 1 am not speaking now of slums, but first-class quarters, in first class neighborhoods. % e There is a great deal of confu- is be- and {sion and misunderstanding as to the present financial condition of Ameri- can farmers. We hear every few days how greatly the farm conditio have advanced, until some impres is given that all depression has g by and the farmers are again on Fasy street. Optimists point to the fa it is a fact—that the crops worth in the market o bililon dollars more than of 1921, and the visfo billion 'has become 'rc sier day by day, until the biv ¢ stories stock ' sales led in compagison. Here statements just issued by partment’ of Agriculture. headed a« e of the best farmers who ced its mahogany: | all farm produc cept potatoes and e material net adva vear, compared with pric A most ¢ 3, the year ase in making price * have advanced during ces of the things t have gone up & that although actually higher th: ' present purcha expressed as an compared with 100 4 8 that 1d bi can 1 in plain English. it me; spite of their higher pric crops the farmers of toda with the products of their only two-thirds as much as could in 1913. Here is another light thrown upo the Department of Agriculture “Final crop estimates for the m value of they very signifi the matter b to higher about 25 per auction selves presented in t approxim one-third of the crc are fed to ve stock. which m not bring the pri i s undoubtedly now than thev did last year. is important that neither op mism nor pessimism he permitted adulterate stics or their inte pretation. rmers are more D perous th were in 1921, bu f of the excess since it is eater and never reac ven on the of the whole figures. the purchasi power of the crops is only two-third as great as smaller crops and prices gave them before the w cause all that they have to bu gonae up in cost. i The increase in cost of what the farmers buy is directly traceable the higher wages of the machini. and other producers and fabricators of the articles needed by the farr ers. Wages are more than doubled except for the farmer, and that i crease of wages is what goes into the cutting down of net profits of the farm, through adding to costs rnr production. * % ¥ * The United States now has 90 pe cent of all the motor vehicles in th« world and produced 2,287.000 new “go-carts” for passengers and 24 000 motor trucks in 1922. No wonde we need two-story thoroughfares' America gave to the world ne all of the modern inventions—the au tomobile, the fiying machine, the tele: {phone and the telegraph being fair examples thereof. Can any one imag ine what civilization would be with out America? Yes, but let us not betome prouc The former chief detec land, the head of Scotland Yard, visiting us. and that noted criminolo- gist is_shocked to find that, England is ashamed to have one mur der in every 636,000 population, w murder one in every 12,000. 1t w not. en in view of such statistics but it fits: “Oh, why should the spirit of morta be proud?” ’ * oK ok % We increase in material things, b lis that why we degenerate in spirit, “Think on these things!” Judg Ben B. Li {'uvenile court | solemnly that ir | there were i licenses, whil | vorce suits filed and 1, hout divorce. | rations w. y he says, “there was ene separati | for every marriag RS | cago last year there were 38,000 mar | riage license nd_ 13,000 divorce signed. These signed divorces do n represent all that were applied f * e ¢ Think on these things Dream of a New England Boy Built Trail Into Grand Canyos v, of the thousands who visit the Bright Angel trail into the Grand canyon of the Colorado river in Arizona every vear connect it up with pale, slender youth of eighteen years, who, back in 1881-82 in Bos- ton, devoured with the keenest inter- est the story of Powell’'s explora- tion of the Grand canyon. The youngster, Ralph Henry Cameron by name, a native of Southport, Me., was employed in a large store in the “Hub of the Uni- verse” at SENATOR CAMERON. time, from trouble with his throat. Finally a physician told him that he must leave New Eng- Jand and g0 Wi or tuberculosis Would overtake him: As it happened, young Camerpn wanted to go. So, with his meager avings in his pocket and a ticket to t. Louis, another pioneer got under way. Eventually, he was determined, he would reach the Grand canyon, where he had wandered in imagination with Powell in his thrilling trip through that tremendous and awe-in- spiring gorge. From St. Louis, Cam- eron wandered to Topeka, where the santa Fe had some of its shops. His capital had diminished until he could not buy a ticket to the southwest, but he was given a pass to Albuquerque, N. M—for men were wanted in that section, &nd the road was willing to pass them out for nothing. Albuquerque was “wide open” in those days, forty years ago. When Ralph Cameron struck the town, he was without funds, except a cashier's check for $35 on a Boston bank. He knew no one, and his check was use- less to him without identification. He stood on “Hope corner,” where the biggest and most famous gambling joint in that part of the country was in full operation. He was getting hungry. He had never begged in his life—but he was wondering how he was going to get something to eat. Without warning, a huge ham of a hand clapped him on the back, nearly spilling his 122 pounds in the road- way, and the owner of the hand, six feet two or three, clad in corduroy es, lon ts, flannel shirt and that| He suffered | | wanted in Albuquerque |led to another, and before the Bos | boy knew what was going on he wi | led over to the gambling joint, whit | was also a restaurant and sleepin: quarters, filled with food and pr | vided with a bed. Beds were few | | Albuquerque in those days, and r | ed on an eight-hour shift, at a doll | per bea for eight hours, the owr | collecting $3 for every twenty-fou hours of the day. Through the Kin¢ ness of his new friend his check was cashed. From Albuquerque the youngste went to the camp where railroad cor struction was under way, and fron there, employed as driver of a “bu team,” with ‘supplies to Flagstaff where a big sawmill was being cor structed to get lumber out for ra road construction. He worked theid | first as a water “hustler” for the m | on the job, then in the mill itself, a finally a store was started and ‘was put in charge. Money began to come in. He w getting $150 a month, and tradin in mules and horses for himself. On his vacation he went with a stockman to his ranch some thir! mile away, and from there, with a son o the rancher and an Indian, to his first sight of the Grand canyon, v Month later he acted as guide for a party to the canyon, a party financed by a big contractor who wanted t« locate timber. They struck an In dian trail into the canyon, by whi the Indians fled when Kit Carson wa-~ after them in the sixties. The next few years were active for Cameron. He went into the sheep raising business, bought a store of his own, made money rapidly. Then he at last fitted out a party of his own to prospect for gold in the Grand canyon. Again he entered the gre: gorge by the old Indian trail. No gold was located, but he staked out and filed on a copper mine, “The Last Chance,” the mine was named. It proved profitable, though the ore had to be hauled overland For many miles before it could reach a railroad. It was when the mine had been located that Cameron, with one com panion, staked out the British Angel trail, which later he built. It took the two men three days to do this Job, and some perilous climbing. But finally it was done. Today Ralph Cameron is senator of the United States from Arizona, and is known all over the southwest, where he went as a frail youth, with a dream of the Grand canyon in hi head and very little money in hif \ pocket. The Bright Angel trail, which now is designated on ithe maps of t geological survey as Cameron trail, takes its name from a clear, sparkling little stream, from which the trail runs into the canyon. This little stream was dubbed the “Bright Angel” by Powell's exploring party | many i{n before, “in contrast to iriver” 'nearby, " ori R One wor , nally )by, B