Evening Star Newspaper, January 11, 1923, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR, With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY....January 11, 1023 THEODORE W. NOYES...Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Busloesg Offica. 111k 81, and Rennwvivaota Ave. w York Office; 130 Nassau Chicago Office: - Tower Bulld Buropean Office : 16 Regent St., Lond: —t The Evening Star, with the Sunday morning hitlon. s {fvered by carriers within the city nts per month: dafly onir. 45 per e Or- month: Sunday only, 20 ees r month. Gora ey Be Yent by ATl or telephone Mata 8000, ™ Conicetlon 1s “made by carriers at be end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..1 Daily only... > 1 Sunday only... 1ly and Sunday..1 vr., ily cnly. Sunday oniy. Member of the Associated Press. The Assoclated Press in exclusively entitled 5 the use for republication of all news dis- tehes credited to it or not otherwise credited n this paper and also the local news pub- lished “herein. ~All rights of publication of speclal dikpatches herein are also reserved. —_— Not Unfriendly to France. Regret is expressed in France that this government felt called upon to withdraw American troops ‘from the Rhineland. There also is regret here &t the circumstances which immedi- ately influenced withdrawal. But there is nothing unfriendly to France in the orders of the Washington gov- ernment, and -most certainly the de- ecision is not in any way intended to encourage German opposition to the French program. The American government and most of the American people believe France has made a m take in sending troops into the Ruhr, but, now that occupation is an accom- | plished fact, there Is but one proper attitude for Americans to take, and that is to hope for the best. Oppor- tunity for saving “T told you so” would compensation for a great of the with merican troops is a very plain and simple one. The number of Americans in the Coblenz area was not sufficient to have any important military significance. They were kept there as testimony to American sym- pathy with efforts to bring about a peaceable and satisfactory settlement of the reparations question. Now that efforts to bring about a peaceable mettlement have been abandoned and @ military settlement has been under- taken, to keep our troops there as an evidence of sympathy would be to mis- represent American opinion. And, as the only reason we have kept them there has now ceased to exist, with- drawal is the natural and the only possible sequence. The French gov- ernment understands this and, while regret may be felt and expressed, there is no reason to apprehend that with- drawal of the troops will be regarded as an unfriendly act. While we are no longer to have our troops in the occupied region. that does not mean that the United States has washed its hands of Europe and has ceased to concern itself with old world difficulties. Desire to be help- ful has not been lessened. but, rather, has been intensified, by the new de- wvelopments. This government will continue to stand, as it has stood in the past, ready and anxious to do any proper thing it can to smooth the path of the nations which were associated with us in the war, and there is no more disposition now than there has been at any time heretofore to see | Germany escape the just consequences of her wrongdolng. We were unable to give approval to the policy upon which France has entered, but we have not withdrawn our friendship from France or ceased to wish her well. We belleve France has made a mistake from which she is bound to suffer, but we will rejoice if it de- velops that our judgment was in error. That is the attitude of mind of an overwhelming number of the American people, and in such an at- titude of mind there is no unfriend- liness. ———— Having no fancy for giving his at- | tention to a French questionnaire, | Hugo Stinnes moved the books of the Rhineland coal syndicate to Hamburg &nd dissolved the syndicate. Poincare has at least scored a point as & trust buster. As an international transaction, the there might be some reason for post- | poning building construction. But they |- will be greater rather than less. The | post-war shrinkage of departmental and bureau work has reached its llml!; and from now on the government's requirements will grow rather than diminish. Certainly the really tempo- rary war-time buildings cannot -last much longer and will have to be de- stroyved. The so-called temporary but substantial buildings in Potomac Park are now filled to the limit. Thu#the government's rent bill brought down from the war peak will increase year by year. Meanwhile this work will be handicapped by such separations as, for example, that of the register of the Treasury, whose office and working force are more than a mile and a half from the Treasury buiflding and nearly two miles from the bureau of engraving and printing, owing to lack of suitable quarters within or close to the Treasury. It is not too late for this decision against a public buildings bill at this session to be reconsidered, and a measure framed that will at least start the preliminaries of construction for the five bulldings which the com- mission recommends for immediate undertaking, three on the west end of the Mall-Avenue triangle, an archives building and a building west of 17th street for the internal revenue and controller general’s offices. ‘The imme- diate expenses for this program would be slight, for the government now owns all of the land contemplated for use. The gain in time, representing eventual savings In rents, would be well worth the taking of such a step now. A Million Pawns. Lausanne has just been the scene of a most remarkable agreement be- tween international representatives, which may have a profound effect upon human destiny. This confer- ence, at which the militant Turks have flouted the Christian powers, has now agreed to the physical eviction of 1,000,000 people from their homes and their transfer to other lands. Under this compact the entire Greek | population of Turkey, with the excep- tion of 200,000 in Constantinople, will be removed to Groek dreas, while the entire Turkish population in Greece, except 300,000 in western Thrace, will be shifted to Turkish lands. It is es- timated that 600,000 Greeks in Turkey and 450,000 Turks in Macedonia and other Greek regions will be affected. Thus s the problem of “self.deter mination” to be solved in the near east. In order that “minorities” shall be_protected, there shall be no minori- ties. This is a simple expedient—on paper. ' But the working out of it is another matter. When the Versailles conference as- sembled and the map of the world was spread out on the table eth- nographic dificulties were seen every- where. A race map of Europe done in colors was the basis of this study. It looked like the craziest of patch- works. Isolated groups or islands of alien peoples were spotted all over. In Hungary and Rumania, in Bulgaria and Austria these islands were In evi- dence, Russta was thick with them, but Russia was out of the reckoning for immediate treatment. Asia Minor was a moitled mess of intermingled { Christians and Moslems. Obviously no race boundaries could be_run with any degree of political consisténcy. After a féw essays at elhnnzranhict boundary running the Versailles con- | ference adopted the expedient of com- promises and did what it thought to be best, but what the affected peoples in many cases regarded as the worst. | In the near east the case is greatly complicated by the religious differ- ence, fanatical hatreds separating | large groups of people living in close : conjunction, The Greeks in Asfa| Minor have been there for generations, for centuries; likewise the Turks in Macedonia. They are rooted in the! soll. Now they are to be uprooted, ! transterred- bodily—the greatest - po-| litical migration ever undertaken Again it may be suggested that this will be perhaps easy to do on paper, jbut extremely difficult to accomplish in fact. How will the plan be worked out?! By the transter bodily of certain Greek | groups to the particular areas vacated | by certain Turkish groups? Lands | must be allotted. There are more | Greeks than Turks in this transfer. | What provision will there be for the surplus? Some Greeks now living in Greece must yield of their spaces un- less this surplus is to be herded in| camps, in towns and treated as charity foreclosure of a mortgage becomes a rather perilous proposition. 4 Riine gold continues to be a source of tragedy in truth as well as in Wag- nerian poetry. Start Building Now! The other day the chairmen of the two committees on public buildings and grounds of the House and Senate announced that there would be no omnibus building bill this session, in- asmuch as, for reasons of economy, no large appropriations would be under- taken. This probably prevents the immediate execution of the first step of the program of building provision for government which the commission charged with this matter recently’ recommended in its report. Postponement of building operations is the poorest of economy. At pres- ent the government's rent bill in ‘Washington is over half a million dollars a year. Its losses from incon- venient accommodations, its ruffering in efficiency due to overcrowding and scattering and lack of proper facili- ties cannot be computed. No matter how great the strain upon the Treasury due to current appro- priations this year, it is poor business 1o delay the beginning of this work. Only on the ground of a sure prospect of cheaper construction in the very mear future can delay be justified. Pri- vate enterprise is not wafiting for a lowering of costs, however. Necessary improvements are being undertaken in all directions. Recent estimates place the 1923 private building bill in Wash- ington at $42,000,000, the highest on record. The promoters of these bulld- ings are not waiting for a falling mar- ket, but they are building. as thelr needs demand. If it were assured that the govern- ment’s necéssitiss would be less later charges. ! It will take many years to effect; this adjustment, years of suffering and strifé and danger to the peace of the world. The memories of the cruelties accompanying it will be long-enduring. Meanwhile today the wonder is that the Christian powers so lately vic- torious over the Turks in the great ‘war should now be submitting to this demand from the militant Moslem. g It begins to look as if the statesmen who expected to devote. the rest of their lives to writing books about the last war were about to find the subject a back number. e e A good reason for the return of American troops from Coblenz is ob- vious, - They -have been there long enough. Exchanging Views. From Des Moines, Towa: Smith W. Brockhart, who is here to deliver several addresses, including one before a joint session of thé Iowa general assembly, says he has been invited to talk before the “Non-Par- tisan League of Wall street,” In New York. The invitation was extended by Elihu Root, he says. “They want to know what the farm- ers are thinking about,” the senator explained. Towa is not popular in Wall street nor Wall street in Iowa. Still, if each desires to know the other better, this is a good time for overtures and ac- ceptances. : : The Hawkeye state has long beén prominent in what are called reform circles. The granger element in pol- itics has found there some of its lead- ing and most eloquent Ghampions. “The Iowa idea"—never quite clearly defined or understood—has, off and on for @ quarter century, been the sub- ject of much discussion in Congress and the press. : . Senator Brookhart is the latest ex- THE EVENING 'STAR, WASHINGTON, D C! '.I‘HURSDAYi JANUARY 115 1923, pression of its latest phase. He made a runaway race for his office last fall, and-astonished the country. -1If, as the senator believes, Wall Washington street “wants to know: what the farm- | ers are thinking about,” it has ap- plied to the right man for the infor- mation. And as he has accepted the invitation it is evident he thinks it advisable and important to impart the information. Let the -sections—east and’ west, north and south—exchange speakers. Let representative men, whether in office. ‘ar ‘opt; Who are:familiar with local, #entiment and can express . it, contriputs ‘toward an Improved. un- derptanding all around. , Maybe. if the sectjons' knew: one @nother better gen- eraligonditions would be better, Ford, Napoleon and: History. In'éh interview, Henry Ford, in re- ply to-a citation of history by the.in- terviewer, said somewhat impatiently: “History is bunk!"” id This'.was laconic ‘and Napoleonic. It was-the Little Corporal who, in & conversation with ome of his sulte at St. Helena, characterized history as “a tfable agreed upon.” Napoleon had considerable warrant for his opinion. He had made history of great consequence, and yet had seen it recorded and Interpreted in many contradictory and confusing ways. Were be'to return today and run over the files, he:- would become more set in his views on that matter than ever. Books and pamphlets. in the hundreds have him and his per- formances for their subject. A litera- ture has grown up around him; and he is as variously represented as any star figure the world has ever known. In smaller way, and less degree, Mr. ¥ord ts having something of the same experience. A myth s already be- ginning to envelop him. In his line be has shown some remarkable quali- #ies and achieved some remarkable things. But his adinirers are not con- tent with the record and what ex- plains and supports -it, but must in- vést him with the superhuman, and are proposing tasks for him to which he would be wholly unequal. Let us hold on to the Henry Ford who has demonstrated himself and as a captain of industry served the country signally. The myth, if taken for fact and calied to power, might cause, unintentionally, great disaster. ! It is doubtless a disappointment to | Bergdoll to find that he is still famous and likely to be recognized almost anywhere, Doubts are expressed as to whether France's selzure of Essen will repre- sent grasping an opportunity or reach- ing for trouble. The slightly ancient subject of “Pre. paredness” shows signs of comihg to consciousness again. Irreconcilabllity may be modified in the case of a United States ctatesman, but not with Poincare. For a secret soclety the Kklan gathers a remarkable amount of pub- leity. England finds that in addition to the near east problem there are next-door | problems. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNRON Topical Trill. No matter what may happen, let's courageously declare We've getting better n’ better every | day. If tood improves to fit the prices on the bill of fare, ‘We're getting better n' better every day. ‘When husbands are unkind the wives are now prepared to shoot. A wagonload of diamonds is a poker player’s loot. The wicked corner grog shop is con- densed into a boot. We're getting better n' better every day. The precious bit of coal a driver dumps into the street Is getting better n' better every day. The lampblack it produces, incidental to the heat, Is gettin’ better n’ better every day. The sheet and pillowcase which once were placidly arrayed Now move along the highway in mys- terious masquerade. They are not used for slumber, but for making folks afraid. ‘We're getting better n’ better every day. Though flivver parties seem to move more recklessly by night, ‘We're getting better n’ better every day. Inventors tell of new machines to ag- gravate a fight. We're getting better n’ better every day.. Of course, we cannot all at once be peaceable and pure, But we've altered the location of some ills that we endure. ‘We've moved the trouble over from the Balkans to the Ruhr. We're getting better n’ better every day. A Limit to Capacity. 'You ought always to lend a helping hand to a friend.” “I try to,” answered Senator Sot- ghum, wearily; “but there aren't enough government jobs to go ‘round.” Jud Tunkins says: *“Fault-finding we can ill efford. Nobody offers a reward.”. . When History Repeats. ‘When ‘history repeats itself _ It has & manner bluff, . And always seems inclined to' tell + A story that is rough. “Do you play _for money?” asked the new school teacher. “Yes'm,”’, answered Cactus Joe. “Poker chips has got so expensive we can't take regular money out o' the game in order to buy 'em.”. “Dar'd be & heap o charity,” said Uncle Eben, “if-a man was as gener- ous in excusin’ otliers as he. is in ‘ex- cusin’ his ownselt™ Observations BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. No ene who understands the pe- cullarly affectionate relations that exist between Warren G. Harding and Harry M. Daugherty needed the as- surance given at the White House | this week - that the Attorney Gen- eral's resignation has not been ten- dered. 1f and when Mr. Daugherty leaves the cabinet, the couniry may be certain it will be ut his own in- sistence. Early In President Hard- ing’'s pre-convention campaign in 1920 a group of his Ohio friends impor- tuned him to drop Daugherty as his manager. They journeyed all the way to Washington for the purpose. “Fellow: sald Harding, “there’s hardly a favor, as_ you know, I wouldn’t grant you. But you've man-{ aged to ask the impossible. I'd rather lose with Harry than win without him.” ¥ wx M. Albert Thomas, director of the international labor office at Geneva, has made a deligthful impression in Washington this week. The bearded : socialist, French minister of muni- tions during the world war, is & liv- ing example of a man's ability to learn a forelgn lunguage after he's! forty. A yvear ago Thomas hurdly | knew a word of English. Today he cun converse, joke and make after- dinner speeches in our tongue, his Gallic accent adding to rather than detracting from "the charm of his talk. Thomas enjoys life at league of nations headquarters mainly be- cause a trio of French cronies, long known as “the Three Musketeers,” is stationed there. One is himself; an- other, Plerre Comert of the league press’ division, and the third, Paul Mautoux, of the political section of b the league, who was the celebrated official Interpreter at the Paris peace conferenc Thomas, Comert and Mantoux were fellow students at the | Ecole Normale Superfeure in Paris twenty-seven years ago, and have been boon companions ever since. * ¥ ¥ x “There is a delegation of Osage In- | dians in Washington this week from | Oklahoma. Among them are half a dozen chiefs and braves who have be- { come millionaires out of ol lands in the petroliferous southwest. A day or two ago a-taxi drove up to a fashionable furrievs on F street. Out of it stepped a husky red man and | his copper-colored squaw, the latter | a ponderous lady of some 300 pounds. | She entered the store with a plaid | blanket across her shoulders and left in a mink coat for which her spouse i paid $1.600 in cash. i i Representative Henry Allen Cooper | of Wisconsin, who has had more | terms In the House (fourteen) lhuni any man now in Congress except “Uncle Joe” Cannon and Speaker Gil- lett, was at the British embassy Kept Ambition Worked Hard, Ye who believe in ambition that| hopes and endures and is patient—| and works on stubbornly—here is an encouraging story of a man with a| large family who | made good suc- cessively as al printer, proof-| reader, completed| & law course, was | a mewspaper man, | editor and lectur- | er, and who finally after fifteen years of secret working toward the goal of his ambition became reading clerk of the na- tional House of Representatives. More than twenty-five years ago P. J. Haitigan was a printer in the government printing office, where all sorts of books and magazines and papers and reports and bulletins are printed for Uncle Sam. Haltigan won the repu- tation among his assoclates of be- ing a good craftsman, and as a re- ward for his skill was promoted to be proofreader. But his ambition and knowledge was only began the study of law in the day time, while he labored at night in the printing office. To do this meant much sacrifice, not to speak of years of study in a field of knowledge ordi- narily very difficult to the average student—but Haltigan smiled at these obstacles. One day on his way to the library of the Supreme Court, in the base- ment of the Capitol, to study in one of the quiet little corners of that storehouse rich in legal lore, the printer-student stopped in the gallery of the House of Representatives for a| few minutes to watch the proceed-| | i P. J. HALTIGAN. thirst for aggravated. He ings, That was the day he found himself —in 1896. The House was busy with legislative matters and the clerks at the Speaker's desk were hustling to keep- things moving on the calendar program. isite, ceéption Tuesday evening. “In the days when this beautiful old mansion was bullt,”” he said, “in _the regime of Sir Edward Thornton, British minis- ter to the United States from 1867 to 1881, one of our Regular Army officers commented on the remote location the British had chosen for a legation. It was ‘away out on Connecticut avenue’ The officer supposed the British, loving exclusiveness, wanted to be far from the bustle of town. Today the embassy is in the midst of a fashionable shopping region and the retall automobile trade. Its re- tention, the same house on the old reveals the Briton's veneration for the things that were good enough tor his grandfather. * x ¥ ox Gen. Herbert M. Lord, director of the budget, is an incorrigible chip of the old Dawes block, according to departmental officials who have tried to wheedle appropriations out of him. A Maine Yankee, he was the financial wizard of the War Department and A. E. F. from 1917 to 1919. In 1920 he became ‘“chief of finance of the | United States Army,” a post created for him. Gen. Lord wears the D. S. M. “for exceptionally meritorious and consplcuous service” during the world war. Once a Washington newspaper man and clerk of the ways and means committee of the House, it was the { expert knowledge acquiréd on Capitol Hill career. as u * entis base ball. that fitted him for his present Gen. Lord describes himself epublican and Christian Sei- and admits 2 weakness fo! * ok ok ¥ Washington has lost one of fts militant democrats in Robert M Woolley, who has moved to Richmond lto become general manager of the Virginia Highway Contractors’ Asso- clation. The Old Dominion recently appropriated $50,000,000 for road con- struction, and the contractors com- mandeered Wolley's services to look after what they hope will become their important interests. The former newspaper man, democratic publicity director and interstate commerc commissioner is a Kentuckian, a Wil- sonian of Wilsonians and was di- rector of the mint during the first Wilson administration. His present political predilections incline strongly in the direction of Willam Gibbs Mc- | Adoo. * b Edward W. Bok, having triumphantly tried his hand at autobiography, will shortly produce his first biography. It will deal with the career of his father-in-law, Cyrus H. K. Curtis, the Philadelphia publisher, and will be called “The Man From Maine.” Mr. Bok. who has declined diplomatic honors at the hands of several ad- ministrations, Is keenly Interested in elevating the diplomatic status of his native country, the Netherlands, to ambassadorial rank in the United States, and, correspondingly, giving our legation at The Hague the rank of an embassy. (Copyright, 1923) Fifteen Years, and Achieved It It was during that chance visit that Haltigan formed a concrete res- olution some day to become reading clerk of the House. Tt took him fif- teen years to gratify this consuming ambition, us it was not until 1911 that he secured the appointment after a sharp contest with a score or more eager aspiran During all those fifteen years Hal- tigan, familiarly known as “P. J." kept his desire “under his hat.” Meanwhile he finished his law course and bade farewell to the printing of- fice. but because his heart wusn't in the law he drifted out on the sex of journalism and for fourteen years filled an editor’s chair. He became a lecturer and public speaker, known throughout the en- tire United States and Canada, but tells it as a good story on himself that the first time he was ever called upon to make & public speech he was s0 stricken with stage fright that he could not say a word. He has outgrown that failing. It is now nearly twelve vears since P. J. Haltigan became reading clerk of the House. In all that time he has read thousands of legislative meas- ures—tariff bills, appropriation bills for billions of dollars, the roll call of the states for election of President and other matters of outstanding im- portance in the history of the nation. Never yet has he had to be corrected for a mistake or reprimanded for in- attentlon on a job which calls for ex- treme care, quick action, and at times physical endurance, At 3:15 am. on the morning of April 6, 1917 (Good Friday), in the midst of a terrific rainstorm, Mr, Hal- tigan called the roll of members of the House of Representatives on the resolution which declared war on Ger- many. This, he says, was the most impressive half-hour of duty he has ever performed. If ever he had to control his feelings so that the husk in his voice would not impair its car- rying power as he told off the votes, it was then. He has preserved that roll call, and will pass it down to his pos- terity as a historic reminder of a great event in the life of the repub- lic. Health “Bought by Cruelty’” Held Too Dear. To the Editor of The Star: The opposition to the anti-vivisec-, tion movement is most frequently based upon the assertion that there is a great deal of good done to hu- manity by the practice of animal ex- perimentation, and that the members of our anti-vivisection societies, not being scientific experts, cannot judge correctly on these matters. We do not expect to have our judg- ‘ment accepted upon purely sclentific | matters (although we call attention ! to the point that there is & wide dit- | ference among scientists upon this question). What we say is that health, | although a great good, IS not the! greatest good, and that health may ‘be purchased at too dear -a price,; when that price is cruelty to an in-| nocent creature and deterioration of { character in the student. We have heard it sald by persons of intelligence that they preferred to leave this question wholly to the judgment of eminent scientists. This is as.if we should leave the question of slavery to slaveholders, or of monopoly to monopolists. then ask who are meant by Scientists,” those who practice vivi- section, or those who condemn it, as not only cruel, but useless? For the sake of the argument, how- | over, let-us assume that.there is entire agreement among physiclans, sur- geons and other experts upon this subject. . Would it be the first time ‘that the whole medical profession has been mistaken? - The, most ignorant s that methods that were universally practiced up to the middle of the last century have now been wholly abandoned as harmful and dangcrous by the medical profession itself—such, for instance, as the prac- tice of bleeding for almost every ail- ment (including pneumonia and hem- orrhage of the lungs). The treatment for typhoid fever changed entirely somewhat later than the middle of the nineteenth century, while dosing, drugging and starving for certain complaints have been entirely given up. We do not say this in order to cast any blame upon the medical pro- fession,-but enly to show that they are not infallible when wholly united, and still less can they clairs infalli- biity when they disagree among them- selves. No doubt great advances have been made in the practice of medicine during the last few vears. For many men_belonging to this pro- fession we feel the highest respect on account of their wisdom, generosity and devotion to many good objects. Never- theless, we here feel all the dangers of a ring, and of that sacerdotalism of science which has taken the place of the sacerdotalism of religion. Both are harmful to the world, and both should be protested against by all intelligent lagmen. fle scientists continue to refuse all legal inspection in regard to vivisection or restriction théy are a menace to the community, none the less for being good men, but rather all the more. As Thack- eray tells us, “Bad people are known and avoided, but who can calculate the harm that is done by the good?” Those who claim, the gigantic privilege of im- munity from law ought to be able to show not only that their characters are upright, their dispositions humane and their motives good, but that they are as to their minds infallible, and as to their characters superhuman, L. F. CLARKE, The North Window BY LEILA MECHLIN. One of the secrets that has been whispered behind north windows re- cently, causing great glee, is the date of the opening of the Freer Gallery. Being no.longer-a secret, however, it may be told to all. This long-antiei- pated and eagerly awaited event is to . take place early in May, when ‘Washington is most lovely in spring’ dress. It will be an event ‘of the utmost note, for the Freer collection is 80 rich in oriental art that orlent- alists from all parts of the “world hereafter will come here to study ft. The Freer collection is unique in another particular—it possesses a most complete coltection of works by Whistler, paintinigs in ofl and water color, pastels and drawings. There is, in fact, no collection in the world of a single artist's productions that is as complete as this. The late Charles L. Freer was a great friend of Whistler, and to some extent his collection was bullt up around what might be called the Whistlerian idea. ‘Whistler, ag he himself frankly ad- mitted, was influenced strongly by a study of Japanese prints, and be- tween his art and that of the orlental picture makers there was distinct re- lationship. The Japanese and Chinese artists are masters of the art of elim- ination; they have the power of re- ducing thelr pictorial equations to the lowest terms: their compositions are invarfably simplified to the last degree, vet they never lose sight of the importance of decorative motive in design. Many of Whistler's paint- ings and etchings—in fact, the ma- jority—are éxtremely simple in com- position and exceedingly decorative in effect. Like his confreres of the east, he was acutely sensitive to beatty of line and mass, and was able to deliver his message’ fully, in the briefest possible terms. But beyond this Whistler shows in his paintings a kinship with the eastern potters for his surface textures are in man instances as lovely, as well as subtie from the color standpoint, as are the glazes on Japanese pottery or the patina of Persian ware, long buried beneath the ground. It was thus that Mr. Freer added bit by bit to his collection, trying out the exhibits one with another, dis- carding such as were not in harmony and bringing the whole into complete unity. He spared no pains and Jt be- came an absorbing life work. He traveled in the east extensively and he employed the most expert advice in the purchase of eastern exhibits. But it was Whistler's theory that he put into effect, and it was around Whis- tler's ‘work that the collection was uilt. - * ok k% Mr. Freer's home was in Detroit— an attractive double house. two stories in height, designed by Wilson Eyre, set in the midst of grounds. Much of the furniture in it was built-in—window seats, fire set- tles, bookstacks and the like. As an addition to this house he built a lit- tle gallery, a storeroom and a replica of the peacock room, decorated orig- inally by Whistler for Mr. Leland. At no time was it possible to display the entire collection, and for some years no part of it was on view, but persons especially interested who vis- ited his home were shown it piece by plece, picture by picture, vase by vase, having them pagsed before their no- tice and being permitted to pause and enjoy each exhibit, by Mr. Freer's faithful servitor, Stephen, <who & now assisting in the work 6f installation here. It was a wonderful wav to get an introduction to this unique and splendid collection. and those who had the privilege retain an indelible impression ‘of & pleasure seldom equaied, When Mr. Freer originally dseded his collection to the . nation it was with the understanding that it should not come to Washington until after his death, but it was not very long in point of years thereafter that he changed his mind, and it was under his own supervision that the plans for Ehv present building were made by Charles L. Platt In fact, there Was reason to hope that the collection might be instailed and the gallery opened before his death. Unhappily this was not achieved; death came toy soon. but because the work had been :lread))‘ undertaken, the wonder has een the greater that the opent =0 long postponed. e * ok ok % The reason for this may also now be made known. It has to do large- ly with the tax regulations of the state of Michigan, of which the late Charles L. Freer was a resident. De. spite the fact that the moneys left to the Freer gallery for completion and support, as well as subsequent acqui- sition, were the gift of a public- spirited American to the people of the nation, the state of Michigan claimed and has. collected an inheritance tax of $475,000 on the bequest. Naturally the trustees endeavored to secure a release from the burden of this héavy taxation, particularly in view of the | fact that to meet it required the of securities at a considerable. loes But the penalty accruing for delayed payment became so great that settle- ment was eventually determined upon and met. The last of this indebted- ness has only lately been cleared, so that it is but now that the trustees have been released and the funds placed completely at their disposal. There are only two states in the Union in which such a tax would have been levied and collected. It seems unfortunate that Mr. Freer should have been a resident of one of these, Meanwhile, however, the work of installation has gone slowly forward, so that in a little more than three months it will be possibl® to open the doors of the gallery to'the public and to number the Freer gallery among the great sights to be seen at the National Capital henceforth and for- ever. 5 * % There has been some criticism of the closeness with which the doors of the Freer gallery have been kept shut up to the present time, admission having been forbidden to all alike. Seldom is a regulation kept with as great strictness and as absolute fair- ness as this regulation has been kept here, and, although to many who felt they ought to have “friends at court" or claim for special privilege, it may have seemed a hardship, in the end it will prove an advantage. To all the opening will come, not piecemeal, but as a complete thing—a generous’ epi- curean feast. Repfesentatives of the leading museums of the world will be invited, and will in ail probability be in attendance. It will be an event of world note, and it will direct atten- tion to the importance of art in its national aspect. £ Apropos of the Whistlers in the Freer Gallery, our attention was call- ed last summer:to three works by this great American: master in. the Na- tional Gallery of London. Two were nocturnes—one_a_bridge, another a fireworks picture—the third was “The Little White Girl,” all three extraor- dmarily famous works. To our sur- prise, these were all labeled “British school,” réeminding us of a little story told some years ago by Mrs. Lewis Hinds (then Mrs. Hitchcock) of an Englishwoman who, asked her if we had any American ‘portrait painters of note. Mrs. Hinds' reply was as fol- lows: “Yes, a number, and among them two well known in-England at present—Sargent and Shanmon”; at which the Englishwoman exclaimed, with apparent indignation, “Sargent and Shannon, - indeed.- -Why, -you| greedy Americans will next be claim- ing Whistler!™ 1 ample | down In place ot Simon, take the suggestions as to where to find room in & crowded city like Washingtorn ta park the accumulating automobiles. The idea of an underground garage under all parks or “circles” in the congested reglon is urged, also ga- rages, like subways, under the streets; ‘and one reason advanced for the underground cellar for automo- biles s that it Is less troublesome to roll down than it is to go up an ele- vator. The cost of excavating vast garage space has not been estimated, and one may perhaps be excused in stating that air is cheaper of penetra- tion than granite and dirt. “There's always room at the top!” o It is not mecessary that going to upper stories of garages must be done vertically upon an elevator, for, with the ‘huge garages which would de- velop, inclined roads would lead to upper stories, and cars would do their own climbing—as is done now in some private garages. The anclent Aztecs had sacrificial pyramids which were ascendsd by, inclined spirals Tunning around’ the 'sides. Pictures of the Tower of Babel show a similar-device for getting above tidswater, although they werse but the fancy of the old artists.* Elevatars-are-of; modern.in- vention and are not essential.-, Any public garage. that will accommodate all.the machines that must be parked will. be miles in diménsions, whether above or below the . surface of the streets; - hence inclined roads ‘into them would be,the only practicable method of entrahce, But neither the cellar ;garage _mor ithe. skyscraper parking palace Is neddéd.” There s & better’ plan. . ot e TR Who was it that was reputed to ‘out-Herod Herod”? The modern ex- ample is Representative Upshaw, who “out-Volsteads Volstead” in his zeal for stopping moonshining. 'Mr. Up- shaw has & bill in the House which will subject the buyer of intoxicat- ing }iquor to the same penalties as the law now inflicts upon the moon- {shiner who peddies the stuff. Repre- sentative Volstead opposes the Up- shaw measure on the ground that it would ghut off the opportunity of de- tecting the sellers by putting the buyer of _“evidence” in the same “boat” as the seller. Spies would be blackmajled and “framed” by the moonshiners, acéording to Mr. Vol- stead. Thére is no difference in the pur- poses of Messrs. Volstead and Upshaw, but a diametric difference in the policies favored. Even Mr. Upshaw's ggestion that he would accept an amendment exempting officers of the law seeking to enforce the Volstead law does not satisty Mr. Volstead that the ides is safe for the real en- forcement of the law, since, at pres- ent, much of the “evidence” comes from non-official sources, A Here is “something new under the sun.” A dairyman at Franklin, Va., has established a rural route parcel post milk service. He has thermic con- tainers for his fresh milk, and has abolished his own delivery system, substituting the parcel post service on four routes. He gathers the fresh milk from the farmers, and, without opening the individual containers, de- livers it to the town customers. That beats driving nanny goats from door to door, as they do in some countries, milking as per order. The deviser of this new method is laying its feasibility before the Post- master General, with the view to en- 1isting nation-wide co-operation of the post office in spreading the sys- tem, until the whole land will be lit- erally “flowing with milk,” if not with honey. k%o If his thermic containers are suc- cessful in retaining the coldness of the fresh milk, duly aerated, they will be equally effective in retaining heat, |and old “Col. Sellers” of Mark Twain fame will actually turn over im his mythical grave, for “There's millions in it!"—aye, billions! Of course, thermos bottles are fa. ing Apprehension. The uncertainty in the coal indus- tion of the union officials that no strike is contemplated. coupled with the understanding that the federal coal fact-finding commission has no remedial suggestion in process of de- velopment, again has concentrated at- tention on the ndustry. Editors dis- cuss the outlook from a score of varying viewpoints, but all seem to agree that unless Congress “gets on the job” the public will again suffer serfously. + “It is doubtful if there has been any softening of the factional hard feelings ‘engendered by the o last strike,” the Cincinnati Enquifer says. “If governmental authority is to have any substantial influence_and effect it must be forehanded. There must Be ‘somewhere in the governmental resources of the United States the authority, the prestige or the influ- en to save the great industries of the country and the suffering public from at least one visitation of the strike curse.” view the Kalamazoo Gazette insists “the time for the determination of a plan is growing short. Congress must seon act in such a manner as to bring ab¥ut a stabilization of the coml in- Qustry If the country is to be pro- tected from further “costly experi- ence”' Because thers has been no evidence that either the operators or the miners even desire to agree the New Hawen Journal-Courier feels Ythe public will find a yay to im- pose a plague on both -disputing Rouses.” This is true, the Portsmouth Star says, but it thinks “there is no reason why” direct negotiations be- tween them should be allowed to fail while waiting to see- what the fed- eral commission will recommend. The Star insists the public “has a right to expect” that the Chicago confer- ence will “take such action as will ‘definitely preclude all' possibility of another tie-up in .the industry.” Unless the miners - 8nd- operators shall - actually . agree 'in thié near future, the Chicago N€ws points out, there must follow “grave danger to general business and the common Welfare,”*apd it is completely con- vinced the=“*public is not in the humor again to submit meekly to the uncertainties, annoyances and heavy losses to which It was subject- ed last fall. If miners and operatars have any appreciation of the peril to them of the people’'s aroused resentment, not to ‘mention a proper Tegard for the Tights of others and for the welfare of ‘the country, the: will arrive at & peaceful settiement. Government acquisition of the ex- isting coal industry would not in it- self meet the Situation, the Jersey City Journal feels, but it suggests that should the government acquire used coal lands and start in‘oppost- Hon to-the present magnatés, :“the first touch of real, }ive, genuine com- 1 Petition with the coal trust wbaid | drive the coal barons out of business, lower prices and end one of the worst economical scandals with which the public have been contending for many years,” - Because, ‘mationalization “srould cost $4.500,000,000" the New somewhat sarcastically debate report_of the nationalizas tion research committee and then suggests that, while the money “is not In concurring in this| Outlook in Coal Industry Is Caus- |2 trifie it try, despite the reassuring declara- |industry 1 | i | because it feels that | radical idea & few years ago CAPITAL KEYNOTES BY PAUL V. COLLINS. “Simon says “Thumbs’ upi’“Thumbs; milfar, but not cheap thermos bottles, such s these must be, to-be practicai for a milk service, réquiring hundreds daily. All that has delayed the revo- lution of housekéeping, so that all cooking could be done in central plants and dellvery made to thousands of Momes at meal time—all smoking —| een the lack of adequate and cheap containers. e Think of .what it would mean to tired housewlves to be able to abol- ish home kitchens—except for special dishes “like mother used to make" and having the roasts thé vegetables the dessert and coffee delivered af fixed hours by the parcel post wagon * k k% Down with the skyscraping tarifr: Iam a protectionist, but not a soerer into such ethereal altitudes as caught an uppercut “biff” on Mr. Biffar's ¢ This knockout blow was the assess- ment on 200 little parts needed for re- pairing automatic revolvers; Mr. Bif- far repairs revolvers for a livi ng. He imported these 200 parts, and the manufacturer's bill was $3.79, but as the law puts an import duty of $1,25 on each separate piece of such items, Plus & G5 per cent ad valorem. his farift account on that $3.79 worth of imports amounted to $211.99. Now he wants Senator McCumber and Repre- senfative Fordney to introduce a spe- cldl:bill to reimburse him. He re- pairs revolvers. He is using the ini- Mr. McCurm- arts for (hat purpose. er and Mr. Fordney did not mean it, sten to remit—I mean re they will ha voke: that rate. They understand what his business is. They want to :lx‘phl‘r\yhthat&:‘;y did: not mean it at ;¢ Where he get that name Biffac? 1t's an ominous name. | * ¥ ¥ ¥ Representative Madden, chairman of the’ House appropriations committec opposes the plan to erect governmen: buildings for the Department of Agri culture and for archives and the De- partment of Labor—thereby saving $1,500.000 a year rentals now being expended by the government. He bases his opposition on the alleged high cost of building material and 1abor and on the theory that, in case the gos\'(;r;“ms‘nl undertakes large build -operations, it will run up the cost of building homes. 2 e The District committees, headed by Representative Langely and Senator Smoot, argue that whatever the gov- ernment g paying now in rentals is based on the cost of replacing the many buildings occupied, hence there 18 no economy in renting. Besides. there is great risk to the archives of the nation, great inconvenience apd loss of efficiency in the departments scattered over the city, and the occu- pancy of the rented buildings by the government puts the government in rent-competition with private firms and keeps rentals up to exorbitant rates. Private owners expect the government always to pay top-notch rentals, and so the Treasury is being mulcted unmercifully, and there s only extravagance as a result of a penny-wise policy of postponement. The statement of Mr. Madden that the government architect already has on hand plans for 132 government buildings which he cannot begin To build, because no contractors will ac- cept the contracts at the limits set, only proves that Congress has not kept in toueh with present costs as compared with antebellum costs. It proves nothing else but that the cost limits must be revised on those proj- ects. It does not prove. they argue, that costs of materiul or labor are coming down for many years, if ever again. In this view the supervising architect concurs. Not only are these main buildings_needed in the capital to save rents, but other bulldings, in- cluding man post offices, whefe the government is now paying millions annually in rents, should be consid- ered. P “Make the umiversity safe for:de- mecracy” is the slogan adopted by the American University of Washing- ton. All the students will be author- ized by the faculty to make sugges- tions affecting the pelicies of the in- stitution. The experiment is safe, for all of the students are adults, taking post-graduate work. All hold de- grees from other colleges, hence bring ripened ideas based on college experi- ence. It is not likely that freak plans ‘Wil be sanctioned by the soviet control EDITORIAL DIGEST is the least of the ob; tions to the plan”” The New York World likewise condemns the propos: holding that “before anything like that is seriously considered the coul ust have broken down altogethe: The Fede: Coal Commission “acted wisely in threatening” the Chicago conference of miners and operators, the Philadelphia Public Ledger feels, and shows “it means business, and there is to be no tamel meek and resigned submission to another in- tolerable situation.” The Cleveland Plain Dealer cannot accept this view, the commission “has scarcely made the most of its opportunities and obligations in con- nectlon with the controversy,” and that the “need of the coal mining in dustry is not facts but ideas which the commission, it appears, is unable or unwilling to offer.” To this line of argument dissent is voiced by the Indlanapolis’ Star, because “the com- mission has no power to intervene, but can only marshal facts for presentation to Congres Discussing “what of the stri nationalized coal?” the Newark painstakingly reviews the mine workers' program and then _explains the “vital flaw in the plan” is that the “miner asks. but he does not offer, declining to surrender his strike weapon that, “surely Is the questign on which, above all, the workability of his plan rest The St. Louis Globe Democrat entertains a somewhat similar view and charac- terizes the program as a “menace, economically unsound and politically dangerous, as has been proven re- peatedly in other countries, and we have had some impressive evidence of it in our own railroad experience. The political chaos that now exists and the general discontent that was expressed at the last election made fertile gol for all manner of revolu- tionary ideas and between now apd N4Xt year we may expect to see many such movements as -this of the miners:” A contrary opinion is held by the New York Globe, which feels that the Dlap “deserves a fair and unemotional “gonsideration by the public. © What was a dangerously as now become a cammonplace—namely, that the coal industry should, first of all, be conducted to protect the interest of the consumer. Almost every one will admit that fhe present muddled state of affairs iIs far from achieving this end: and any genuine proposal looking toward relief s entitled to fts day in court” Because it “was an armistice and not a permanent peace” that allowed the present re- sumption of work, the Duluth News- Tribune insists that the public now demands action, as its interests alone “are paramount.” It is the opinion of the Hoboken Observer that it would be well thor- oughly to investigate ‘the allegation that there is a conspiracy afoot to ke anthracite a luxury. ‘The big profits in shipping coal to Canada ia said to be the reason nd ‘the natlonal government alone can deal with the situation. Congress can prevent thé exportation of coal al- together intil the crisis is past. It can, with equal swiftness and cer- tainty, ascertain if the apparently well grounded suspicions of a ¢on- spiracy are based on fact.” RBut that hardly goes far enough, -the Utica Préss behieves, and it feels the gov- ernment should act a1l alongithe iine because, .So.far as the public, inter, ests are concerned. neitier mihers nor operators “cares for it.” e in ews