Evening Star Newspaper, January 14, 1923, Page 43

PROLONGED UPHEAVALS IN EUROPE CERTAIN French Occupation of Ruhr Will Loose Forces of Disorganization—Further Soviet Revolt Schemes Revealed. scoromic BY OLIVER OWEN KUHN. prevailing RANCE has taken Herr Germany by the collar. Will a few shakings in the guise of fur- ther penalties cause the vietim to reach for his wallet and pay the imount of reparations France be-i is due Ly eves French in France ves { the world outside Belgium France rconvinced. With occupation of Rubr regions, \¢ heart of industrial Germany, an ctuality after four vears of threats the part of Paris; with French s holding Essen and threatening , extend their domain of influence: with the \ns fired to a piteh of atriotic fervor not exceeded since 1914: with the Teutons determinedly <otting in force means of passive re- stance to the French, the critical weriod is about to come. Eventualities e dare not forecast Anything happen vithin the next two weeks. There is every reason to hat @ little bit of everything hippen before the Freneh grip on ihe Rubr and Rhineland is loosened S see more mitted und, Giormany OUSS Torm. - There are Urther reasons for predicting that hefore the French have evacuated | fug the Ge Fom their present position a period | interest, extren will be ushered xn]l!f\\ilnz ! ot only in ¢ ny but other points| Working cl n Burope as well " Facts Must Govern Judgments. The whole question of the justice or injustice of the French action cah- not be predicated upon mere personal ecling for cither the French or the That one detests the Ger- sufficient reason for up- Prench, Neither is dis- French reason for up- mans in their various pplication of French Yictates in regard to reparations. One Y eome down to economic and neial study these general MISTE des throughout the are affected by the Fa must be! one can gain_any us to the possible French occupation. \Viid in considering these first of all le question must be asked: e The Freneh expeet to throttle en control n in which 23 The remainder and rial ure checkn may doubtful, tualities is of uphea Germany. may come tion and Gern French edis triotic as t| it politieal may in Germany believe j will | blamed fo; @ suffers. prolonged from . i principles Germanic lessened wi all. o repeatediy 5 clther hav Giermans resistance, intimated the communist rush to th, is not the the nan holding for Iding the eiforts to resist ive paving the Austria an various regime in profestatio been prepa gary us v fed befors prehensive ide cxnlts the or communist that the r cannot loi regimes wi central c that idleness and hunger to a number of Germany's workers. nevertheless s that an empty stomach recognizes no creed and doubt that the present German Bov- ernment could control the situation. In case the government loses its con- trol then will come reactions against the French, However, Russia, bellef of high German officials. soviet leaders in Morcow are watch- German pedce untries and tinancial conditions over the country. rther Sanctions Posaible © Germans are not sure that with renunciation there will not come ap- plication of furtber sanctions, which would mean constantly broadening of fluence. If this happens of the government and interests will be in meas- mated and they eventually be brought to time, but this is as there are many must even- of bloody character in Industrial paralysis, which | througl’ ¥rench occupa- Germany's resistance to cts, undoub!enll} Increasing Pa- be at the momant, well recognized hey ma. there is grave who, naturally, will be r every ill that Germany the greatest danger of disorganization will scoma according to the best Tha rman situation with closest rd with tons of propaganda en circulated among the asses of Germany in an ef- fort to pave the way, there may be preponderent support of soviet when the time comes that nationalistie fervor nd the establishment of a rkers’ realm is held out as a cure- case of disorganization, stated, the French will e to combat the situation or face a united Russo-German soviet for Trotsky in Moscow “that, in case workers once usher in endeavor, Moscow will r assistance already has sources that the soviet is way for unity of effort in d Hungary in nulling the treaties. The soviet Moscow, notwithstanding ns of desire for peace, has ring for upheavals in Hur cell s Austria with th ic ranks, the idew emainder of the continent ng live under present be considered | before there is German capitulation. | BEver there will be constant-danger | will bring | 1 i has ! { | been established through in- | hope of swinging central Rurope into | bemg | th certain infiltratien from | placed under Mos- —— THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. €, JANUARY. T4, "1923_PART 2. ‘The Story the Week Has Told BY HENRY W. BUNN. HE following is a brief summary of the most important news of the world for the seven days ended January 13: The Lausanne Conferemee.—On January & Riza Nur Bey, a Turkish delegate, withdrew with an insulting air from the subcommittee conference which was discussing the proposal of a national home for the Armenians. And on the same date Ismet Pasha again flatly re- jected the proposal of the allies that, in place of the consular courts, courts in Turkey deal- ing with eases involving foreigners include a majority of foreign judges selected from a list submitted by the international tribunal at The Hague. Ismet declared that there shall be no special regime of any sort for foreign- ers in Turkey. He asserted that Turkish law. Turkish judges and Turkish police “answered every possible need of foreigners’—thut Tur- Lkey must be treated as the equal of other powers. Tt will be remembered that Mr. Child de- clared some days ako that. should the Turks hold out in their refusal of a national home for the Armenians, the United States would “insist.” It is evident that the threat failed to impress. ) Turcophiles will urge that Riza Nur Bey was justified in getting hot. even if he shouldn't have walked out snorting from the subcommission meeting after acting in most rambunctious manner, for, not content with demanding & home for the Armenia Sir Horace Rumbold had been demanding national home for those ancient and worthy folk, the Nestorians, who are both & sect—or rather a congeries of sects—and @ people. Riza’s final words are: “You allfes are quite right in concerning yourselves about the Ar- menians, whom you have used for your own interests, whom you have incited against the rks and upon whom you have brought ruin. But everything vou have sald for them I con- sider null and void and I refuse to listen any more. Whereupon Riza started for the door. Sen- ator Montagna, president of the subcommis- sion, shouted after h By your conduct you are placing yourself outside the conference.” But before the last of those winged words I Jeft the portal of Montagna's teeth (us Hom were he alive and reporting this incide would say) Rlza was out of the door, his cyes flashing lightning. his nose snorting fire and his entire person emanating an odor of Turk- ish Lrimstone. The doorkeeper rushed to the nearest church for sanctuar hihll”llu’ hat he had seen and smelt a dragon. The allied delegates demanded an apology for Riza’s be- havior. 1 cannot say whether or not the Turks obliged, but T do know that if they did ob) they did it with tongue in cheek. is reported that the conference has reach- ed final agreement regarding the minorities, as follows (though nothing at Lausanne v confidently be called final. the Turks sembling the New York weather): The (estimated to number 200.000) remaini Constantinople may continue to live ther the Turks in western Thrace (estimated to number 200.000) may remain in wester Thrace. The rest of the Ureeks in Turkey (estimated to number 600,000) must leay Turkey, and the rest of the Turks in Greece (estimated to number 4 0) must 1 Greace. The estimates of ures glven above may e considerably out, but it is dent that in the arrangements for exchange of pop- sions—the Greek patriarch is allowed to re- main in Constantinople. A famous victory, indeed. The patriarch is deprived of all his temporal prerogatives, which were very important. If he stays he is certainly a good sport. AS to the other 200,000 or so Constantinople Greeks, i doubtless most will remain, for cupidity will carry one as far as heroism. Bug if I were a Constan- tinople Greek, I'd rather be a goat herder in Arcadia of on the slopes of Parnassus than capitalist in Constantinople. There is no more talk ot a homeland for the Armenians’or Nestorians. The stench of this business of the minorities should last as long as the perfume of those unguents found on King Tutankhamen's dress ing table, still agreeably pungent after mor than 3,000 years. No ‘doubt, in the course of the rolling months, there will be a treaty with the Turks if the allies continue to surrender. * % kK K The Ruhr Affalr,—This is the great develop- ment of the week, but a far less attractive subject than the Lausanne conference. There is fun of sorts at Lausanne—none at Essen. Lausanne is a tragi-comic plece, rather Shakespearcan. Essen is a modern problem play, dull and drab. On the 9th the reparations commission, hy a vote of 3 to 1, declared Germany in vol- untary default iu respect of coal deliveries. the British representative voting “no.” Tt s now some three weeks since, by a similar vote, the Germans were declared in voluntary defult in respect of deliveries of wood. m the 11th the French, Belgian and Italian sdvernments, after due notification of their fntention, sent into the valley of the Ruhr a mission of control” (“the industrial n to the Rubr”), composed of mining, ad and other experts, “to assure strict application of the schedules fixed by the reparations commi (i. e, the coal, eoke and wood schedules). The mission was accompanied by about 10.000 combatant troops, mostly French. some elgian, not any Italian. “The French gov- ment.” says the notification to Germany. intention to earry out at the present an operation of a military nature, in operation of political character. It only s<ending into the Rubr those troops which are essential to safeguard the mission and guarantee the execution of its mandate. distoc and no change, therefore. is ad. mal life of the population, which continue to work in order and peace. in case the activities of the offi £ of the mission and the installatlon of the troops accompa ng it are hindered or compromised any maneuver whatsoever, in case local authorities, cither by their action or by their abstention, canse any dis- turbaneces whatsoever in the material or eco- nomie life of the region, all coercive measures and all penalties which may be deemed nec- sary will be taken. ction of the thrge allies treaty provisions nd on miniission’s declaration made in strict accordance The British government 1 the lezality of the operation —it holds eeiuse it questions the wisdom of it Bonar Law has heartily wished success to it though expeet fail The British an thorities on the hgve cordially facfl- ated French movements Yhrough the British zone Chancellor Cuno has memorialized the Brit- is But is legally the repa- f Germany's with the does not ns ult, this week beyond the 1ith, the date of tlLc occupation of Essen and the installation there of the “industrial commission,” merely re- arking the first German move by way of ‘passive resistance’—namely, the removal of the headquarters of the German coal distribu- tion syndicate to Hamburg, with its archives. So far, the French commission has not got be- yond conversations with coal operators and other industrialists with a view to co-opera- tion. It is not perfectly clear, but apparently the German government has ordered cessa- tlon of deliveries to France, Belgium and Italy upon the reparations account. If this is so and the order should be obeyed, the French would be constrained to resort to force, and then what? On the 15th the partial moratorium granted Germany last August lapses and the London program of May, 1921, would automatically go into effect again. But the reparations comi- mission, at thesinstance of France, has al- lowed delay until February 1 of payment of the installment of 50,000,000,000 gold marks due on thesljth. Rumor has it that Poincare proposes a resumption of megotiations in the interval. Conceivably Poincare hopes for satisfactory German offer. ¥ % Ok K United States of Ameriea.—Senator Robiu- son's joint resolution, authorizing the Presi- dent to “appoint a person or persons 1o repre- sent the United States on the reparations coni- mission,” seems to have died still-born. The administration is said to be opposed to it which, if true, is significant enough, since as late as December 27, in his letter to Senator Lodge on the proposed Borah amendment to the naval bill; the President strongly hinted (at any rate, the passage was so interpreted) the desirability of official Teprésentation of our government on the commission. There is threat of a Senate resolution directing or recommending withdrawal of our “unofficial” representative or “observer,” or call him what you will, with the commission. = On January 6. by a vote of &7 to 6, the Senate pussed Senator Reed's resolution de- claring it to be the Senate's opinion that our force on the Rhine should be brought home. On the Sth (though 'tis said the decision was tuken quite independently of the Senate reso- lution) the President ordered the return home of that little force of approximately 1.900 of- ficers and mem. ‘The Army transport St Mihiel left New York on-the 12th on this busi- ness. Two hundred of the men have German wives—certainly an entente cordiale of sorts The order of recall was issued before the Fregch advance into the Ruhr valley began, but ‘after the French government had an- nounced its resolve to cross that Rubicon. It is not within my province to suggest the con- clusions to be drawn from the order of recall and the time of its issue. * k * Miscellaneons.—The other day Dr. Rasin, minister of finance of Czechoslovakia, was shot and badly woundad by some person g against him because of his drastic e on behalf of the state. Dr. Rasin is the A ander Hamilton of Czechoslovakia—he “touch- ed the corpse” of Czechoslovakian credit and all that. He balanced the budget—a miracle. He made of Czechoslovakia an oasis of sound finance In that quarter of the orb. s nomies les- NATIONAL AIR CONTROL PLANNED BY CONGRESS Radio and Aviation May Be Brought Under Strict Regulation b Federal Government. i BY WILL P. KENNEDY. 5o mingled with those clements sul. e .| Ject 1o reiulation by the federal gos OW to safeguard the public ernment, that the federal government interests of the American |cannot effectively regulate, prevent in the air—both as|Interference with and safeguard in terstate and foreign commerce by air navigation without incidental regul tlon of intrastate commerce by navigation and of afr navigation fo: other than commercial purposes. the provisions of this title shall apply with respect to all air navigation lthe United States, and to aireraft and |airmen engaged. and to air naviks | tlon facilities ubed in such naviss tion.” people regards the use of the ether in radio communication and for avia- tion—is now being considered by Con- sTess, with well thought-out legisla- tlon before it. Hereln Congress is getting away from war and the aftermath of wars, Iawny from perplexing and vexing {problems of international debts and {financing. away from Intricate tariff {ddjustments and the imperative need | nomy In making appropri- and projecting its leglslative | powers into virgin territory—making new laws instedd of working over} old ones, And yet these measures for radio communication and aviation regula- tions, each of which gives the Secre- tary of Commerce authority over civil use of the air, have important international bearing and are both essentlal parts of the military pre- Given Wide In the regulation of aircraft move ments, both commerctal and private, wide diseretionary authority is vested in th retary of Commerce under certain stipulations which seek to apply & combination of the rules nov in force with respect to motor trans- portation. railroad operation transportation by water. For ex- ample, the measure provides for air- craft operators license, registration of aircraft and a scheme of identifi- cation after the practice of the states in regulating motor travel. It fur- ther provides for the issuance of tificates of airworthiness,” following inspection by the government in t sume fashion that the navigatio laws require certificates of seawort ness for vessels The Seeretary Diseretion. a Differences Are Compromised. The ends sought under the Kellogs- White radio control measure were described in these columns last Sun- day, -since which time differences be- tween the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary ] merce over licensing of the Navy radio operators have been adjusted by compromise, and the bill has been favorably reported. It is now awaiting a special rule giving it right of way after the ap- propriation bills, with the hope that it will become law before the close of this Congress about seven weeks. Following substantially the prin- ciples and regulations laid down in the international air convention of 1919, o civil aeronautics bill was in- |regulations and the statutes goveri- troduced last Tuesday by Representa-{ing the public health are made ap- tive Samue Winslow _of Massa- | 08 The Publie Beaith ade ap 5, chairman of the Touse com- : Plicable 10 the of airur: nittee on interstate and forelgn com- | from any point the United {merce. This attempt to establish the | States. The bill provides that all civ | ilaw of the air for the ire terri- | o ot © Redhprad) torial confines of the United States)&iICraft arriving in this countrs departing therefrom, with tad came to the attention of Congress ! coincidentally with the appropriation | designated exceptions, must make entry or obtain ¢ through o of Commerce is au- thorized under the “hill to approve r routes for air commerce in tin United teg and to co-operate with | both states and private interests in the maintenance of these routes. 1n this connection the bill includes pro ! vision for the creation of all possible safeguards in these approved aers routes. including maps. signals, weather reports, et The President is | authorized by executive order 1 make such air-spuce reservations fo national defense or for other goverr- mental purposes as he deems neces sary. Covers International Trafic. The immigration laws, the customd in entrance outside e per cent of Germany's total popula- tion is employed: where 12 per cent of the railrvads of the nation carry i per cent of the nation's freight; Vhere 100,000,000 of the nation’s 115,- 000,000 tons of coal are mined: where 41 per cent of the country’s iron ore 1; where 70 per cent of the pig on produced and a preponderant proportion of other, minerals essen- al to the life of Germany, without adival upheavals on the part of the tierman orsaking for the moment the na- onal and politieal reactions to Prench endeavor, will tGiermany re- n long passive under the French toke. when there is increasing suffer- i as the result of industrial disor- ization? < are questions that have to be onsidered, must he enalyzed in con- derition is gove calization hopes of col- ccting desired reparations from ter- many. cow's indirect control. Two Great Forces at Work. It appears strange that there should be two great forces insidiously gnaw ing at the stability and peaceful xd- vance of the whole of central Europe, but it is a fact. While the soviets is fou the working masses from the boure geoise and capitalistic interests, leaders of the oldtime monarchistic and junker regimes likewlse ure ac tive. It is known that Ludendorff continues to further the cause of the restorationists and with use of the police and secret military forces that are existent today in Germany. He and his cohorts have hopes of suc- cessfully combatting the communis- tic elements and swinging the whols Teutonic peoples behind them, not only in scotching the reds, but re- establishing in Germany, Austria and Hungary regimes approximating the old ones. There are hopes in central Europe that there may be such reor- ganization as to eventually forceful Tesist the French and expel them from Germany's old borders. How- gunization within a year that can[ever, these are hopes, merely, for it produce as German-governed indus- will' be vears before the erman i o | peoples are able to carry on organize t have heen producing within the | REORER 870 A B O e+ past Lven though th wero able immediately to staff with Natiomal ayshalony, to) Rule. secutives every industry in the Rhine- | But that the Germans today are al- (el and the Ruhr, there is grave ques- | ready chanting hymns of hatred on_that the worker in the ranks will lagainst the French is significant. Compel the Germans to deliver to the |Seated antipathy, this will even- “Nien the Froneh make every effort to | tually make itself manifest in the compel the Germun to deliver to the [shape of military efforts inspired by fullest there will be created a pro- [revenge. Tt is this certain increasing purtionate resentment, one not con- | friction that the British would hav ducive to adequate production or even |avoided, they declaring that the en- b Furthermore, the French al- | forcement of military sanctions ean- ady are handicapped by the remov- | not realize reparations payments and 4l of the books and papers of the|do nothing but fire the Germans to ithenish Westphallan coal syndicate to | thoughts of war of revenge. This ifamburg, which is another of the mc- | may not come in the next five years ons that may be expected in the|or tem, but it cannot be expected that neral movement to resist successful | the Germans either will forgive or French application of sanctions. forget French actions in the Rhur at 1iven though the Germans compla- | the moment, though they be inspired cently go 4bout their affairs, the|DbY the best of fotives and principles French will obtain little help, not-|Of right and justice. In fact, neither withstanding the official demands ot | of these principles has direct bearing Paris that the French commission of |upon future courses. for as long as experts receive every consideration|the French people belleve they are and every help from the German in- | Hlght and the Germans feel that they, dustrials and the laboring classes, | 00, are right and that one or the Even French threats to inflict fur- [Other Is constantly encroaching upon iher sanctions in case of an industrial | fiXed deslres and aspirations. there and labor bovcolt and a relgn of sabo- | Wil be pretext for bickering and tuge arc not expected to materlally 4irIfe a8 long as the two nations exist, way the Germans from their resist. | Lhe temperaments suepicions and e ot Freneh odlera Phe. Feeron | Jealoustes of the two peoples preclude imdoubtedly may command, but the | micabllity for extended periods, and “uccess of their wholo effort depends | the French, realizing this, may feel upon the avoidance of industrial and themselves nert‘eel!): dustified In_so wbor upheavel, and co-operation not | irampling Germany = sconomicalis, guly in‘the Rihr and the Rhineland. B a5 10 Deeomde Gormanyis but the rest of the country as well.|aver rising to the point of menace There is little chance of success. SRR Statesmen may have the will to do, but the psychology of nations after all will decide the future courses of the French and the Germans. “As I See It” (Continued from First Page.) “rench Sure of Resistance. In the pected that o build up first case it caunot be ex- the French will be able sufficient industrial or- Whole of Germany Hit. If the Ruhr and Rhineland laboring populations were alons to be consid- ered in the general application of French sanctions there might be some hope of eveniual realization of French purpose, but In dislocating the <ource of supplies from the other in- al interests of Germany paraly- <5 i< sure to spread, with consequent nd eivil troubles. The Rubr been Germany's greatest indus- Stronghold since the war. In it has been the one section of country that has even approached Wwar endeavor. This undoubtedly Que to the fact that Stinnes and s capitalistic cohorts are firmly in- trenched there, The French believe that the industrial interests of Gers soon will be forced to capitulate their chief industries in French Lut there is question as to the industrial interests will such move—immediately, The entire population of declared to be behind the With Chancellor Cuno's Sanouncement that the Germans will | immediately cease to fulfill repara- | lions obligations the German indus- trialists may see compensation In ither directions. Cuno has the back- iug of the Stinnes group, and it may e a fact that the decision to re- nounce reparations payments Was in- Upired by the industrialists, who will turn their_ efforts to closely uniting (Germany elsewhere, not only with the purpose of eventually resisting the French, but co-ordination of their in- terests to such an extent as to be in Losition to flout the French in the tuhr. Unquestionably the renunciation of reparations payments will help Ger- dustr ibor trial ot th disclosed it, and now it is up to us to solve it, if we make our civilization work. In the meantime, “Good-bye Bill.” Better men than you have fafled in a is worse cause. He Didn't Know 1t Was Loaded. F ever a man trled to whistle on the barrel of a shotgun while toying with the trigger with his toes, the same is Bishop Homer Clyde Stunts of Oma- ha, Nebraska. Last spring_he seems to have decided that Rev. J. M. D. Buck- ner of the First Methodist Church of Aurora, Nebraska, was preaching heresy. He wrotc a booklet entitled “My God Is a Good God,” declaring his faith in God rather than in some of the Old Testament stories about God. The bishop wrote to the pastor indicating that the preacher was going too far. Then when the Methodiet Conference met the bishop recommended the pastor for retirement. The pastor demanded @ heresy trial, . The bishop, Knowing what red-mouthed dog reporters are at heresy trials, refused to try the pastor, and retired him, with the conference concurring, and so publicity seemed thwarted. But the pastor went on the war path. He has written articles in the religious ;l:ies!d a|nd in Gplzuhr magazines. His Tnany adjust her internal condition | or h have rallien ta micph R, out cenerally if Germany has been sin- religious community of America is buz- ‘e in her claims that she has dome | e ohout the Buckner oase. Mot ajase er utmost 1o meet these Duymenls! the Briggs case has ome man's fortune with hands, whether Cermany s government. in the past. Doing her utmost in the | called out such a riot of protest and of reparations means that Ger-) discussion. A quiet heresy trial snug- many placed tremendous burdens) gling away under scare heads on the upon xchequer, governmental | first page of the secular press would «nd private, and, in case she refuses|have been over and forgotten in a to make further reparations pay-|month and would have been localized in inents, some attempt may be made | its effect. But this Buckner case keeps by the government., by the use of|spreading and producing clamor and moneys that would have gone to the | criticism and now, after mearly a year, ullies, to alleviate ,the distressing |is going stronger than ever, are active In their endeavor to swing | the | l ulations the Turks win by a ! ifargin, especially when you several hundred thousand women, children and old men) been expelled from Turkey. find consolation sus now refugees in Greece, famished, inadequately sheltered. { seem to have half consented that behind. The allies are making a great one conce: BY HUBERT WORK, | : | Postmaster Gemeral. ENJAMIN FRANKLIN, that de- Iightful philosopher and as- tute statesman, laid the foun- dation of the present postal system of the United States. All the carlier postal history of the thirteen American colonies radiates about him as the central figure. Franklin first served s postmaster of Philadephia. He ran the office very much ke a fourth-class office in the smaller community life of this country is managed today. He owned 2 weekly newspaper and the post of- fice was operated in conjunction with this publication. Franklin was named deputy post- master general of th® British colonies of America in the year 1753. Imme- diately his troubles began. Dispatch- ing and delivering letters throughout the thickly wooded and sparsely pop- ulated areas in these ploneer times was a difficult task and there was lit- tle to encourage him. Then the mails were transported by couriers and six weeks were consumed in making ‘the excursion from Philadelphia to Bos- ton. During the winter months the couriers ventured out only twice in every thirty days. In most instances travelers made much faster time than the mail courfers along the same roads, so that the postal system in the middle of the eighteenth century was unreliable as well as precarious. Reorganized by Franklin. However, Franklin set to work to reorganize the service. Trips were fnaugurated weekly between Phila- delphia and Boston throughout the year, the time of travel was shortened by one-half, new routes were opened to Savannah and southern points and many improvements were effected. - In the year 1763, after the British had won over Canada as & new col- ony from the French, Franklin pro- ceeded at once to Quebec and opened the first post office there with sub- ordinate offices at Three Rivers and Montreal. A monthly service between Quebec and New York was promptly arranged, the courler making close connections with the packet boats sailing_monthly between New York and Falmouth, England. The colonial postal system—as Is the case with our department today— was a losing business, the expendi- tures far outrunning the receipts. Franklin, as deputy postmaster gen- eral, was allowed to shoulder the bur- dens of the annual deficits out of his private purse, the debts running as 1 high as 900 pounds by the year 1757. His salary was $1,000 per annum. The British government took only the slightest interest in the post office of its American colonies, almost for- getting its very existence during this period. Changed Defleit to Surplus. But Franklin was obdurate. He kept his post riders conveying the mails and maintained his post offices at various villages regardless of the losses incurred. Three years later he saw the silver lining slip out from behind the dark clouds. In 1760 the debt was not only entirely cleared up. but upon balancing his books Franklin found a surplus of 278 pounds. In 1761 this surplus grew to the amount of 494 pounds, and with a feeling of.deep pride akin to the satisfaction displayed by a present- day Postmaster General should he be e to report an annual profit to Congress, Deputy Postmaster General magnificent consider Greeks have already Those who know how to put a good face on any matter will in the fact that the Greek men held as hostages In Anatolia (i. e. ‘vors) will be restored to their half-naked, of nations should supervise the exchange of populations, furnishing the transportation and arranging for compensation for property left The latter would he a task, indeed. o on made by the Turks, as though it offsets all their own ignominious conces- ! general Ituhr operation to be in treaty and of not repudiate that (mostly yments and course long. as ., the milies, half- The Turks the league bevond those ein, and that, even tive measures unanimous consent Britain. Cuno savs the_reparations s are represented) will have no direct king powers” alone 1 think it well not of he noise over ¥ranklin sent the money in a sailing | vessel to the British postmaster gen- eral in London. After that, x regular remittance was forwarded from Amer- ica to the British crown vering anual earnings of the colonial postal rvice. : Although it is not g 1y Benjamin Franklln was dismissed in the year 1774 by the Britlsl> crown as deputy postmaster general of the American colonie The charge lodg- ed against him was that he made public a number of private letters passing through his hands from Gov. Hutchinson and Lieut. Gov. Oliver of Massachusetts written to friends in England. These’ letters contained descriptions of the rebellious spirit displayed by the people In this colony against the depotism of English rule and urged the use of military force to suppress these growing sentiments. Vitally interested in seeing the strug- gle for justice and freedom succeed, Franklig permitted the publication of these letters, which resulted in the assembly of Massachusetts adopting resolutions condemning Hutchinson and Oliver as inciters and breeders of oppression and petition- ing the king for their removal from office. A widespread feeling of resent- ment swept over England against Franklin and no time w lost in summarily discharging him as deputy postmaster general. . Made First Postmaster General. After the Boston rlogs in September, 1774, it became inevitable that the colonies would separate from the mother country. A continental con- gress was organized at Philadelphia for the purpose of establishing a scparate government and one of the first questions that came up before the delegates was the matter of pro- viding for the conveying and delivery of the mails. Benjamin Franklin, as chairman of a committee of investi- gation, made a report providing for the appointment of a postmaster gen- eral of the thirteen American colonies to conduct a postal system, and his report was adopted, Franklin, him- self, being named to the office. A line of posts was established by him from Massachusetts to Georgia, with many cross posts, and postmasters were selected for the principal com- munities. Thus was the foundation laid for the present Post Office Department of the United States, which has survived the vicissitudes of peace, war and political upheaval. Franklin served as colonfal Postmaster General until the election of George Washington as President of the republic under the new Constitu- tion. when Samuel Osgood of Massa-' chusetts became Postmaster General of the United States. From this time on the rapid develop- ment of the postal system paralleled the amazing advancement of the na- tion commercially and industrially. The big problem that confronted the Postmasters General in the early days of the United States was the trans- portation of the malils. The roads were popr and impassable during the winter seasons. In many instance8 only narrow trails through dense forests formed the connecting links between the villages and hamlets where post offices were located. Couriers traveling by foot and riding horseback carried the mails during the early part of the nineteenth cen- tury as they did in Franklin's postal regime. Then it was discovered that the stagecoaches that made regular tripe between Boston, New York. | Philadelphia_and other points could | be utillzed for this purpose and the: first leather mail pouches sufficient to hold large quantities of letters came into existence. There is & glaring contrast between the stagecoach Ilumbering heavily over the public highways In those known, ish and American governments, declaring the international 't the t s in suspense as regards reparations deliveries to of action, ty does not authorize “territorial sapc- p under ommission (on which all the to carry my jint Ex-King ( heart-failure British air violation’ of the Ver- law. He treaty, but declares France, Belgium persist in their He declares that they Under the were permit cifically mentioned suming that it does the traaty require the allies, including will deal only with Lausanne. they have CI district. A caravan mobiles has miles across to automobiles three month: respecting reparations dealings with “treaty- narrative days angd the swift airplane dartingy above the mountains and prairies at | the present time. Yet traunsporting | the mails through the air wis not a | wild flight of the imagination to the early citizens of the American te-! public. As a matter of fac the American public then was intensely ted in the speedy dispatch of the mails between post offices and offered frequent suggestions to the Postmasters General serving as heads of the Post Office Department. One of these, astonishingly pro- phetic of the future, was made in 1822, when the editor of the Free- man’s Journal, published at Norris- town, Pa.. advised Postmaster Gen- eral MoLean that it might be pos- sible to carry the mails by the use of “fiving ships.” The editor of this publication wrote as follows “We would advise the Postmaster General to avall himself of the novel and very ingenfous flying machine invented by James Bennett of Phila- delnhia, by which we conceive the maifls wonld be transported with mora celerity and their arrival at the places of destination be much more certain than is the case at the pres- ent.” While the Post Office Department evidently eonld not avail iteelf of such friendly advice at that time, this does not mean that it was en- tirely wasted. for in.less than one hundred vears later the mails are sctually being transnorted by fiying machines “with more celerity” and “with arrival at their places of dee- tination-much more certain.” fust as was originally predicted by the edi- tor of the Freeman’s Journal. Tn this connection too, it should he noted that in the haste of the first day's overation of the stagecomch loaded with mail one man was killed, while the mails last vear were car- ried two million miles without a single fatality. An Early Commission. 1 Tilustrative of the mode of the selection of the postmasters in those days is an ancient commission issued by Postmaster General McLean to Thomas Lindsey, esquire, the first postmaster to serve at Cherry Ridge, Pa. that was recently unearthed. Printed in quaint italics on age-eaten paper, this document is dated July 13, 1824, and shows the old seal of the Post Office Department, long since abandoned, with the design of the ®od Mercury, with wings on his feet. The commission reads like this: “Know ye; that conflding in the integrity. ability and punctuality of Thomas Lindsey, esquire, T do appoint him as postmaster and authorize him to execute the dutfes of that office at Cherry Ridge, Wayne county, state of Pennsylvania, according to the laws of the United States and such regulations conformable thereto as he shall receive from me: to hold said office of postmaster with all the powers, privileges and emoluments to the same belorging, during the pleas- ure of the Postmaster General of the United States for the tima being.” That the game of politics was played in the early history of the republic even more than now Twith regard to the distribution of federal patronage Is Indicated by the specific clause in this commission declaring that the tenure of office of the Cherry Ridge postmaster may be ended at the pleasure of the Postmaster Gen- eral. Prompt to Use Rallroads. The year 1836 saw the beginning of the transition from the stage coach to the railroad car as a means of transporting the mails. It was at this .period that the first rallroad| lines were coustructed n the TUnited baen sent to Constantinople. Kemalist soldiers to the number of 20,000 have entered Constantinople in civilian clothes and have since received full military equipment. eastern Thrace pending final According to British information Timbuctoo “onstantine of Greece died of at Palermo, Sicily, on January 11. and artillery reinforcements have It is said that Mudania convention the Turks ted to have 5000 gendarmes in decisions at 0,000 troops recruited from that of five French caterpillar anto just completed a trip of 2,0 the desert of Sahara from Algeri in twenty-one days—the first to cross the desert. Camels take s to make that journey. 9 Growth of United States Postal Service Paints True Picture of Nation’s Progress States, and while they were crude and the schedules maintaine by their trains extremely uncertain, no time | was lost in making use of them for carrying the mails. A rather haphaz- ard method of administration was in vogue in the Yost Office Depart- ment at that time. Contracts were let to private individuals to haul the malls in the stage coaches. In som: instances postmasters were allowed certaln sums to handle the trans portation of the malils over routes from thelr own post office to others, o that when new raflroad lines were built these postmasters frequentl made arrangements personally for hauling the mails with the railroads without even consulting the depart- ment at Washington. In other cases the private contractors simply trans- ferred their contracts to the railroad companies, the compensation received for carrying the mails by the steam carriers being the same as was paid to the owners of the stage coach 1ines. Several years later, however, when construction of railroads passed the experimental stage and a regular net- work of rallroad lines was hullt up, connecting the larger as well as the smaller communities of the country, the Post Office Department abolished these private contracts and tock over the entire management of mail trans- portation. Thig was necessary to assure connection between trains at terminal points. The Postmaster Gen- eral himself negotiated with the rail- roads, both through personal inter- views with the executives of the steam carriers and through - corre- Spondence, making direct contracts between the companies and the gov ernment. Among the files,of the de- partment are quite a number of docu- ments dealing with these negotiations. Opposed to Night Trains. The great difficulty in those early days was to induce the railroads to operate trains at night for the pur- pose of making connections with other lines and thus obtaining « speedier dispatch of the mails. The railroad officials were extremely wary. They objected to taking any chances, and frequently refused to accede to the requests of the Postmaster Gen- eral to run trains after dark. They were also very cautious in their nego- tiations with the government not to promise any service that they were not certain could be performed. Tn 1836 there were only 200 miles of radlroads in the nation carrying the malls. Since then, year after year, the rallroad mail service of the Post Of- fice Department has grown along with the advancement in railroad construc- tion until the present time, when the malls are being transported over no less_than 231,981 miles of railvoad trackage. From these small beginnings the service of the United States gradual- 1y developed into the greatest postal machine ever known. When Benjamin Franklin was Postmaster General of the rebelllous thirtesn colonies fight- ing the war of independence there were seventy-five post offices. Now there are 52,000. Then the gross re- ceipts totaled $30,000 annually, and gross expenditures were $30,240. Dur- nig the last fiscal year the post of- fice revenues reached the astonishing figures of $454,853,000, with gross ex- penses running to $545.644,000. The annual pay roll for postmasters that Benjamin Franklin made out and pald amounted each year to about $6,000 to compensate the Seventy-five postmasters handling the malls at that time. ‘The pay roll of the Post Office Department for postmasters last year necessitated an outlay of money mounting up to §43,- §97,000. The postal service is now the big- gest business in_the world. It em- ploys around 333,008 workers—a about $5.000.000 for the Navy and about $3.500,000 for the Army for ex- ‘perimentation regarding aircraft. sentative Will R. Wood of In- diana, urging this appropriation for the aeronautic advisory commission, said: “It is doing a wonderful work, not only for the United States, but for all the world, toward the development of fiying machines and safety appliances. There is a prejudice against the board among gentlemen engaged in the flying business of the Army and Nay. they are now appealing to it in e instanc for advice and counsel. We are building one of those lighter-than- air machine cost of $2.000,000. that is entirely under the supervision of ithis aeronautic advisory commission. | They have done much toward strength- | enink the machines to resist the pecullar conditions that they find in sailing | through the air. and by finding the best materfals for construction. They are developing and have under practical operation an engine that is going to nuse fuel oil instead of gas, as much for safety as for economy.” With Congress advised that the sci- nee of aviation is being rapidly devel- d under such expert advice, the | Winslow bill was psychologically intro- | duced, not oniy as a regulative measure, but to encourage, at the same time, the development of the commereial aircraft industry. through setting up govern {mental agencies which will disseminat both scientific and practical information regarding the progress of aircraft tra portation. i More Work for Hoover. at a | These two legislative proposals—radio and aviation—to broaden the activities of the Department of Commerce are 1= a deciding influence on Secretary Hoover's decision not to accept the prof- fer of appointment by the President to be the next Secretary of the Interior, as successor to Secretary Fall. The Winslow aero bill is unique in modern legislative history, because it deals with a field heretofore untouched by the law-making branch of the gov- ernment. It is far-reaching in its scope, because, besides creating some new basic law to meet the already apparent regulative problems of the air and of the aireraft industry. it undertakes to apply as far as possible the statute Tespect {tion In the air. The bill vests authority over civil aeronautics in the Seeretary of Com- merce and creates 4 bureau in the Department of Commerce. headed by a commissioner, at $7.500 a year, to administer the det. Provision is made for colluboration in aero problems be- tween the Department of Commerce and other federal department: by authorizing the Secretary of Com- merce to invite the co-operation of The Army. Navy, Marine Corps and coast guard through the detail of officers. for service in the bureau of civil aeronautics. Consulting Board Provided. A “civil aeronautics consulting I board,” to be composed of seven mem- bers chosen by the Secretary of Com- meree from the commercial aircraft tndustry of the country, would, under the terms of the bill, maintain Naison between the government and the in- dustry and advise with respect to problems arising either in the promo- tion of alr transportation or its regu- lation. The act follows the precedent of exclusive federal Jurisdiction in mat- ters of safety inspection and naviga- tion of the air. In both cases of alr- eraft inspection and air traffic rules the bill wipes out state lines and deals with the country as a unit. Paraphrasing the language of Chief Justice Taft in the Wisconsin rate case, it provides: Inasmuch as air navigation is a unit and does not regard state lines, and the elements thereof ordinarily subject to regulation by the states are hundred thousand more than any other business institution in this country or any other one—and han- dles during the ocourse of every twelve months the gigantic sum of $3.000,000,000. . Between the time of Franklin, the first Postmoster General, and that of the twriter, who is_the fiftieth. the picture of the CUnited States is ainted. P s best viewed through the his- tory of the postal gervice, which hag faithfully chronicled the march of events, and curiously enough, the fundamentals of thrift set up {n Poor Rlichard’s Almanac by Franklin, upon whigh the character of the able men has heretofore been founded, and upon which nations must stand, are as apt today as when written. But | id on very good authority to have had | to land and water iransporta- | of § for the aeronautic ad- “port’of entry” t visory commission, over and above | the Secretary of the Treasury. Postal afrcraft, those operated as pleasurs vehicles, tho: operating regular! as commercial carriers through af port of entry and aircraft compellcd to make forced landings are excepted from the foregoing formalities, und« such regulations as the Secretary «: Commerce may prescribe. The Secretaries of War, Navy, Trea - ury and Commerce are to make jointly, regulations for the entry anid depurture of military and naval air craft and those operated by the cous guard. The eoratary wative § new air legislation gives of Commerce wids inve rs, similar to those of th Interstate ‘ommere Commissior, | over commercial aircraft operations The air regulations. under the 1 are enforced for the most part | civil penalties In the same manne | that the customs and navigation luws are enforced. They are drastic i their maximum amounts, but are suli- Ject to remission and mitigation by administrative officers in order that the amounts finally Imposed shall ac- jcord with the gravity of the offens Some of the Penalties. The matter of an aircraft navigat without registration or identification or without a certificate of airworth ness is subject to a civil penalty « $1.000. The owner of an aircraft aerodome operated without certifica from tary of Commerce is ubject to a fine of §1,000. Violations of air traflic rules as prescribed by the Sceretary of Commerce are to be visi {ed with a penalty of §500. Failure to maintain proper signals or failure t keep required log books or other re:- ords is similarly visited with a peu- alty of $500. Violations of the regulu- tions requiring entry and clearance subjects the master of the afreraft 1o a penalty of $5,000 and makes all property on board liable to forfeitur. The bill provides for all crimi violations of the act a fine of $5,000 and imprisonment for not more than five years, or both. Under this section come such offenses as interference with afreraft signals, display of faixu signals, forging ords or certifi- cates, plundering aircraft in distres or larceny from any aireraft in inter- state commerce, ¥or Reciprocal Privileges. Foreign o raft may oper over the territory of the United State subjeci to the same regu! i posed on Americ; aire: Secretary of Commerce may make ¢x- ceptions in the ease of aireraft of country maintaining reciprocal reia- tions in this connection with th TUnited States, Amerifcan alreraft operating over foreign territory are subject to American air statutes iu 50 far as they do not conflict with for- eign laws, Foreign military aircraf are prohibited from operation in t United save under a speciu authorization from the Secretar: ¢ State. The President is authorized the Army, Navy and coast to enforee this provision. the United States is not « signatory to the international .ui convention of 1919, the new air legis- lation would have the effect of bring ing this country into practical agres ment with other nations in admini: tering the alr. In this connection tht bill asserts the principle that there |8 po tres right of flight over Ino Tnited States, but, on the contravw, | this country claims sovereignty ofits airspace, just as it does of its lamd and watér within the three-mile 1fmit This principle abpears in the intern: tional convention of 1919 quence of the insistence Britain_and the United State lother European nations consider the alr In the same way that the high seas ave regarded in inter- national law; that is, without any ex. clusive jurisdiction or sovereignty. Air Not Private Property. Another important principle enunci- ated in the Winslow air code appears in the refusal of the government to recognize the private ownership of airspace above certain minimum safety altitudes to be fixed by the Secretary of Commerce. In this the new measure coincides with the exisi- ing statutes with regard to navigable waters used in interstate commerce. tegarding general provisions affec:- ing commerce in the air, the bill an- plies existing laws as far as possible. For example, the rules governing ti issuance of bills of lading in ai: transportation are an adaptation of the provisions of the Cummins-E: act to air traffic. A temporary appropriation of $3 000, avallable until July 1, 1921, proposed, tes