Evening Star Newspaper, January 17, 1923, Page 2

2 ROOT URGES STUDY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS Scores “Ignorance” of Americans on International Problems. PEOPLE TO BE INFORMED Committee of 100 of Civic Federa- tion Meeting at Wil- lard. America has applied too severely the old maxim that one-half of the world does not know how the other half lives, and as a result this coun- try finds itself ignorant of foreign affairs in the hour of civilization's gravest crisis. That is the of an address with which Ilihu Root, Secretary of State President Theodore Roosevelt, opened u two- day meeting in the Willard Hotel today of the committee of hun- dred foreign re recently by Alton B. dent of National sense under on ions, Parker. pre the Civie Federa Will Inform America. @ committee, which is composed of some of the best known men and women in the United ap pointed at the recommendation of the Federation’s national conference New York last November. It pledged to “obtain, organize and fur nish to the membership of the varied bodies and to the g curate and unbiased important movements, ates, was 1 rela ions and fch is erve as materfal for study groups and ald in | Just | the development of sane and American opinion on our national duties and our personal responsivility toward foreign nations.” Mr. Root made it plain that the day when America may conce itself only with national problems has passed; that attity has virtually rendered this n on useless in the settlement of internatioral questions for some time to come already, be said. From now on, the speaker warned, the American public must becom< better acquainted with how other peoples live, so that it may vote in- telligently 'upon the international questions it must sooner or later de- termine. Committee Has One Purpose. “I understand,” he began, “the com mittee to have one general purpose— to devise and put Into operation means for educating the people of the United States in the fundamentals of international relations. That is some- thing very much needed. The people of this country have not bothered themselves very much about this question; they have been absorbed in their own home affalrs: they were pushing after and conquering this continent, building up a great natlon. “And now we are brought into im- mediate and inevitable contact with foreign affairs. The whole people ot the United States are expressing opinions about them and a very large part of the discussions are carrled on on a basis of Insufficient knowl- | edge. United States, millty; there are some who think they know it all—and really know v little. There are many who believe they can solve all the great problems of international affairs by evolving schemes of their own con- sciousness. And they settle every- thing but the difficulties. Act tn Good Falth, “These men act in perfect good faith; they simply don't know the real difficulties that exist. One of the great difficulties in our life is a lack of understanding of other men. In every country there is a set of traditions, of modes of thought, a set of conceptions of what is right, proper, appropriate and decent; a set of concentions of what constitutes lib- erty; of what constitutes right as between man and man.” Tt is a lack of properly understand- ing these national feelings, the speak- r said, that makes this country vir- tually impotent in foreign affairs at this “time. To handle internationa affalrs we must understand that all peoples do not think as we do; that they have traditions we must respect. Self-imposed isolation has denied th American people _a knowledge of these condition: Mr. Root declared. At last, however, we are turning in the right direction, he added, and continued. Involves Great Danger. want to add this: The entrance of democraocy upon the fleld of for- elgn affairs—the of the voters in democratic countrie: to control themselves directly-—-in volves a terrible danger as well as a Rreat step in human progress. It will be & great step if the democracy is informed: a terrible danger if the demoeracy is ignorant. An ignorant democracy controlling forelgn affairs leads directly to war and the destruc- tion of civilization. An informed democracy insures peace and the progress of civilization, “You can pick up a newspaper al- most any morning and see accounts of where somebody, who ought to know better, {8 endeavoring, either to gratify himself or ingratiate himself with prejudiced audience by abuse and insuit of some forelgn nation: by the use of language which, if em- ployed in the intercourse between man and man within our own coun- try, would lead to Immediate breach. | Such men have never had brought home to them any sense of responsi- | bility a8 a member of a democracy to keep the peace. Remember, more fights come from insu'ts than from injuries; in that respect it I8 the same with nations as it is with men.” “Coue-izes” Sentence. Mr. Root became entangled in & Coue “every way"” sentence teoday when he began a sentence by saying “we are learning, we are learning somethirig _every day in every—" As the smiles of his audience turned to chuckles, he added, “in every re- spect,” upon which he, too, joined in the laughter. Judge Parker, who was democratic aresidential candidate in 1904, was fusy just before this morniug's a»s»| sion introducing his bride of a day, formerly Miss Amelia Day Campbeil. From here they will go to Judge Parker's plantation in Florida. ——e SHRINE BILL FAVORED. Commissioners for Ball Measure Authorizing Use of Spaces. Chairman Ball of the Senate Dis- trict_committee today received from the District Commissioners a favor- able report on. a joint resolution in- troduced by him authorizing the use of public spaces and reservations in Washington during the annual con- vention of the Mystic Shrine. The joint resolution also authorizes the BSecretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy to lend flags and camp equipment to the Shriners while they are here. . —_— PROPOSES FLOOD CONTROL. A continuing program for flood ocontrol of the Mississippl river was roposed in a bill reported today by he House . flood-control committee, which would authorize annual appro- pristiona of $10,000,000 to carry out the plan of the Mississippi river com- mission. X appointed | formation on | There are some people in the | 1 think, who like hu- | manifest purpose | |Asks All Who HearHimtoWire; Bill Now $3,000/ A SAN FRANCISCO, January 17.— Mayor James Rolph, ir., faced to- day an organized assault on his personal exchequer as the result of a random sclentific experiment last night. . Dedicating a, radio broadcasting station, he sald into the trans- IL TOWN QUIET S 200 STRIKERS GO Citizens at Harrison, Ark. Said to Have Demanded ! City Officials Resign. nt to find how far my carrying, how big my au- is. Sénd me telegrams and them collect. Come on— verybody! layor Hylan of New York, and you, ‘Mayor Curley of Boston— everybody.” Radio fans were not slow in re- sponding. By midnight at least one telegram had come from every state in the Unlon, it was an- nounced at the mayor's office, and Honolulu and a ship 1,000 miles at Sea were represented, and as the night crept on toward dawn the messages continued to arrive. By daylight it was estimated that the mayor had incurred wire | tolls of §3.000, with the possibility | that the figure might be doubled { during the @ay By the Associated Press. HARRISON, Ark., January 17.—Har- rison today assumed its normal at- mosphere, after two days of Intense excitement, the result of “armed ac- tion” by citizens gathered here from ja radius of 150 miles, in which one man was lynched, another wounded { during a “round-up” of alleged strik- ers and more than 200 persons were forced to leave the community by a “committee of 1,000.” Further trouble was not expected to follow the “clean-up” of persons believed to be guilty of or to have had knowledge of the bridge burnings and other depredations along the line of the Mis- Isourl and North Arkansas railroad which precipitated the demonstration. {GERMANS AGAIN DEFY FRENCH ULTIMATUM; e e arastlinoln FACE MORE PENALTIES I send troops. Later advices from the { Boone county officials stating the situation had improved caused the governor to suspend indefinitely the order for military etion. Ask Officials to Quit. “eitizens' court,” twelve men LY the ‘“committee of to continue the investigation of the M. and N. A. property destruc- tion, w id to have requested the resignation of the mayor, town mar- shal and a number of aldermen and discussed a special election to choose their successors. J. Russell, United States deputy arshal of Fort Smith, acting on jorders of Attorney General Daugh- | erty, was here vesterday investigat- ing conditions and while he made no statement, he intimated he would recommend the railroad be placed under federal guard. Secks Federal Injunction. J. C. Murray, general manager of the M. and N.'A., was said to have left yesterday for Fort Smith, where he will ask Federal Judge Youmans for an injunction restraining further interference with the operation of the railroad: Unofficial “advices from the state capital last night stated that seven senators had agreed to sign a resolu- tion in the Senate today for appoint- (Continued from {no more fucl on the reparations ac- | count, were apparently waiting early {today to see what the next of the {threatened French penalties would be. | It was suggested at French head- fauarters that the mine owners or their presentatives might either be ar- sted or subjected to heavy fines, Other penalties said to be in pros- pect were the occupation of further {territory and possibly the conflscs tion of the mine properties and seiz- ure of the records. Control Stations Established. The gestion was made here to- |day that the coal commissar's order might be followed by instructions from Berlin forbidding the raflway officials to load or transport repara- | tions_coal. { Meanwhile the French authorities {are taking steps to control the move- |ment of ‘coal and have established controlling stations at Essen, Wer- den. Muelheim, Bottrop and Ober- hausen, which will also direct the use of rolling stock It is considered significant that al- though announcement posted at rail- | way Stations in the Ruhr district Indicate that more than 20,000 rail trucks been dispatched within | twenty hours, none has vet| |beea “returned. It' is reported the | | Berlin government has ordered that | coal cars be not returned to the Ruhr. | If the German mine owners refu DEMANDED FOR D. C. IN HEARING ON VOTE under the new sanctions or penalties (Continued from First Page.) Tho | r to investigate the labor The committee, If appointed, would of the line { { lnnd their owners are the leaders in | industrial welfare. In view of the incidents that have occurred at Bochum martial law is | being enforced more strictly there |than” elsewhere. A press censorship ix]sfl h been established at Bochum i and in other districts which thus far had been free from it. ‘Warning to Townspeople. At Bochum the population has been notified by the occupying officials {that the troops will act without warn- | {ing against any action directed at | the French troops or officia even if {it_be only whistling or shouting. Probably no single feature of the {actual occupation is attracting and in- teresting the Essen street crowds so much as the new French bookshop established in requisitioned quarters in the heart of the city. The walks in :frnnl of the shop window are continu- {ously crowded by curious onlookers. In general, conditions throughout the occupied area continued morning. RUHR COAL SYNDICATE STILL CLAIMS CONTROL as they are tho richest in Germany | *000,000 in taxes and you s | be spent and none of it can be spent | without your say-so. You pass all of our laws and in many cases we are denied even the right of petition. Mr. Tucker ,emphasized for the rrd that all of those appearing in f of the Reed bill told the com- mittee that they would rather have real voting representation and favored this measure only as a step {in the right direction. “Our association,” he said, it would be a backward step.” Representative Blanton interjected | that “as long as tWe sun shines you Wwill never get state representation in Congress. “We want to see the District dele- Quiet this | gate bill defeatedl We want the {whole thing or nothing. We want voting representatign in national af- fairs,” said Mr. Tugker. Party Politios Dropped. Mrs. Mary Wright Johnson, chalr- man of the civic committee, District lof Columbia Federation of Women's Clubs, and also ftepresenting the Housekeepers' Alliance, also told the committee that the people she spoke for favored the Reed bill only as a ule{‘)hln the right direction. “The women want a voice and,vot Moved Headquarters, It Is Stated, |in C:ngrcs:" she saia, “We ars for & anything that benefits the District of to Prevent “Strangulation of |cColumbia. We have put party politics {aside and in supporting this measure German Industry.” are for the common interest of what { is best for the District.” When the point was brought up that the District delegate system had been tried many vears ago Mrs. Joh son paid a tribute to former Mayor Shepherd, whose vision, she said, was far in advance of his time and that itime has proved his policies right. Mrs. Johnson sald the Federation of Women's Clubs consists of more than thirty clubs in the District. Speaks for 30,000. Mrs. Frank Hiram Snell, chairman of the civic committee of the Wom- that it would have enabled thelen's City Club, said she spoke for 1.800 members, all of whom are in jFrench and Belglans to determine | o, of suffrage in the District. Mrs. {the destination of every ounce of{George A. Ricker, chairman of the { Ruhr. coa! suffrage committee of the District Thesyndicateclaimsthat itsorganiza- | League of Woman Voters, also spoke. Robert H. Alcern, a moulder, resident |tion {s intact and that the Ruhr mines|of the District for fourteen years, said fare still operating under its authority | Ne spoke In the interest of toilers In the £ : strict, as chairman of the legislative |3nd il gontinue to do sc unless| ucifee of the Sont confersnce of s Torps lmpose Physical hand-|oiii” service employes, Mr. Alcorn sutlicient funds are on hame iy flal|eaid that 30,000 government employes | the = - et | here are anxious to get national repre- the pay rolls and otherwise conserve [ pore 876 AnY0uS o get natlonal repre: | the interests of the mine workers, : 4 | *“The decision to transfer the syndi- | bill as a step forward until they can cate's headquarters to Hamburg - the | E°L, Something better. They are for {statement continues, “was arrived at this bill, he said, if there is no hope of | and put into execution within five hours. | gerting 'the other resolution for & con- stitutional amendment passed. 1t,was prompted by practical and| v = legal cons'derations of the situation.” | mur tna. eamonitier oaniaiie Zihl The syndicate denies that its action man the committee also agreed to | was intended as a demonstration of consider tomorrow ~calling up the | Kroup of German induatrialists who | she Senate, Deoviding for oy Lissed have learned a lesson from the Ger- the Senate, providing for new statu- jman_experience in the .jarre basin, tory sula;‘riea]u rolr teacn:rn‘ in the Dis- trict school nstea th | where French control of the Lorraine | bil), ] ait anae o {mines enabled them to force 61 per bill, in order to expedite passage of cent of the shares of the lecading | ““st lBKlllAllon,h After a lengt heari: tod: German industries out 0f German o gthy hearing today the possession, under threat of withhold- committee decided to close hearings ing coal deliveries. on the Reed bill and to meet In execu- tive session tomorrow at 11 o'clock to GERMANS FIRED FIRST IN BOCHUM CLASH consider what aétion would be taken on 1 By the Assoctated Press, this legislation. | ! { MAYENCE, January 17.—The clash BRITISH BANKS CREDIT STINNES WITH £2,000,000 | between French troops and German civillans at Bochum Monday evening German Industrialist Plans Pur- was due to German demonstrators chase of Coal to Amount of firing on French posts, the French 1,500,000 Tons. replying to the fire, the semi-officiall By tne Assoclated Press. Hx;;-::knse'n:y"stftes. LONDON. January 17.—Hugo Stins s of bullets were found 3 walls of ‘the Tailroad station, ehows | Tery e erman Industrialist, has ing that the French had been fired|potained from a group of London upon.it is declared |banks a credit of £2,000,000 for buy- ing of coal, of which he wants 1,500,- 000 tons, according to the Daily Tele- graph. | re beh: “believes { By the Associated Press. | HAMBURG, January 17.—A com- munication issued by the directorate {ot the coal syndicate in defense of |1ts action in withdrawing from Essen sa; “An unobstructed control of the| German coal syndicate's organization and equipment would have meant the istrangulation of German industry, in A Berlin dispatch announc clash between German demonsiestors and French troops ‘at the Bochum railway station. The French fired. the message said, killing-one person and wounding several others. The incident was a sequel to political demonstrations. on a large scale by the Bochum population after the en —_— FRENCH FLAG TORN DOWN. Only Recent Hostile Demonstration trance of the French. Other advices gave the casualties i 1t g, er a v sualties the Bochum incident as one killed_". By the Associated Press. a boy—one man seriously wounded |, BAD-EMS, Germany, January 17.— and a woman probably fatally hurt.|The French flag has been pulled down from the deserted Castle Baderlay PEACE WAR ON FRANCE. on a cliff outside the city. This is the only recent anti-French demonstra- LONDON,. January 17.—The Berlin government has decided to expel all tion in_the Rhineland. The burgomaster has offered a re- ‘ward of 100,000 marks for the arrest French civillans from Germany and |gidered. closed, establish_practically & state of war| Bad-Ems is within the American against France, aside from fighting, | zone, but occupled by French of the culprit, and has apologized to the French, and the incident is con- according to a Berlin dispatch to the [troops under command of Maj. Gen. Dally Express. Allen. { ment of a joint legislative committee | District troubles on | the road and the lynching of ¢ regor. | i { | i ! ‘THE_EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON Harries, commander-in-chief of the an orxanization of officers of the American woldier in Londo SENATORS INSPECT DISTRICT PROJECTS Needs of Schools Streets Reviewed in Tour of the City. Members of the Senate appropria- tions subcommittee, in charge of the appropriation bill, today made a tour of inspection about the city, covering the various projects for hold hearings at the important points | Which appropriations are proposed. sites 2 They visited proposed school looked into the question of additions to schools, examined playground sites and also proposed street impovements In many localities, In the party were Senators Phipps, chairman, and Senators Ball, Jone Washington, S Sheppard of Te the Engineer ( ymmittee still Keller, mmissioner. The sub- has before it a visit —{to the Anacostia river area, where it pointing out that “we collect about $12,- { Will how it shall | for fu possible the subcommittee will make | deration to proposals lamation ‘work. It is the visit tomorrow or next day. The senators were impressed. dur- ing their tour of the city, by the need of additional playgrounds, school houses and also by the need of street improvements. It is expected that the subcommittee will begin work on redrafting the bill for report to the full committee with- in a few da HALT DEBT PARLEY UNTIL BRITISH CAN CONFER IN LONDON (Continued from First Page.) form. It has Peen sugrested, however, that it may be possibel to so advance the discussions by cab'e exchanges that the British embassy will he able to complete any agreement eventually found possible, making it unnecessary for another commission to come to the United States. In some quarters the prospective de- parture of the British delegates with- out a tentative agreement is looked upon as precluding the possibility of any amendment of the funding law at this session of Congress, which has only about six weeks to run, BRITISH DENY BREAK. Expect Resumption of Negotiations After Getting Cabinet 0. K. By the Assoclated Press, LONDON, January 17.—It was em- phatically stated in officlal quarters to- day that there has been no rupture in the negotiations at Washington regard- ing the funding of the British- war debt to the United States, the conversations being, it was declared, merely suspended. Stanley Baldwin, chancellor of the exchequer, is expected to return here to consult with the cabinet in regard to the developments at Washington, but it 1s said there can be no reason to sup- pose that he would not return to Amer- fca at an early date after such consul- tation. Officials here point out that both sides have made concessions and that there is now only a small margin of difference regarding the interest on the debt and the number of vears over which the payment s to be spread. Mr. Baldwin is understood to feel that he woull not be justified in continuing the negotiations without ob.aining the cabinet's approval of what has already been accomplished, which could hardly be effected by the exchange of cablegrams, 1t is believed the situation will be further clarified when he is able to expound in person the views of the United States regarding the opera- tion. —_— ZONTA CONFEDERATION MAY CONVENE IN DISTRICT Annual Meeting in 1924 Being Urged for Washington—Action to Be Taken Later. It is possible that the National Zonta Confederation may hold its an- nual convention next year in Wash- ington, according to Miss Ida May Thrasher, appointed chairman of a committee 'to discuss this matter in detail. The convention is héld in May of each year and representatives from thirty-five Zonta clubs in the United States meet at these annual assem- bijes. Miss Thrasher stated that, if the ‘Washington club decides finally to tender the invitation to the national organization to meet {n Washington in the spring of 1924, the formal in- vitation will be sent to the conven- tion this spring in Elmira, New York. More than 300 business and profes. sional women of the United States, many of whom are well known throughout the’ country, will attend this convention. s The regular weekly luncheon of .the local Zonta Club will be held as usual tomorrow at 1 o'clock at the Men's City Club. —_— FALLING PLANK HITS BOY. A heavy plank forming part of a scaffold _at Capitol Heights Schoo), Capitol Heights, Md., yesterday after- noon fell and struck Edward Haller, twelve years old, on the head, frac- turing his skull. ‘The injured boy, son of David Haller, Capital. Heights, was to Casualty Hospital.\ The patient’ condition is criticals DTS 3 and | D. ¢, WEDNESDAY DAY, x American Order of the World War, a non-political and non- Army, laying a wreath on the cenotaph_of the unknown Boyden ‘Plan’ Only ‘Personal’” Memorandum, Is Official View The mystery of the so-called new American formula for solution of the reparations problem, which Roland W. Boyden was reputed to have | presented to the reparations commts- |slon in his capacity as unoficial | American observer, was solved lass | night, when Secretary of State Hughes made public the sense of | official dispatches from Paris. The | “plan turned out to be nothing more | than “a purely personal® memoran- dum which Mr. Boyden prepared at the request of the commission men bers. When press dispatches confirmed reports from the French capital, to the effect that the American com- missioner had either already pre- | sented or offered to present a new reparations_solution from this gov- ¢rnment, the Department of State here promptly disassoclated with any new overtures. It flatiy stated that it had not discovered ized Mr. Boyden, either officially or unofficially, "to _submit any sug- | gestions from Washington. | Paris, showever, hummed for the next twenty-four hours, and as a r | sult Secretary Hughes 'was in & po- fon to_announce last night that, s the State Department had pre. ticted, Mr. Boyden's memorandum dealt only with general considera- tions of “the reparations question, {and made no suggestion as to the | time or manner of Germany's pay- | ments. Furthermore, it ‘was pre- pared without consultation with the State Department and was of such a character that it appeared to re- quire no action by the department Text of Statement. | _The text of Secretary Hughes' state- | ment follows: { “The attention of the Department | of State having been called to the | dispatches from Paris with regard to an “American reparation plan,” it made | the_following statement: | “The department reiterates its state- | ment that nefther the Secretary nor {any one in behalf of the department | has approved any plan for submission to the reparations commission or has authorized any such submission. The | department has been at a loss to ac- | count for the reports from Paris, but from today’s dispatches it would seem that reference is made to a memordn- | |dum which had been sent to the de-! | partment about November 16 and had been received about December 1. This memorandum, however, was not in any | reparations nor was it authorized by the_department. A special rescue squad of twelve men will be organized in the fire department If Congress allows the increase in the number of firemen expected by Chief Watson. The chief Is having a rescue wagon fitted up and soon will begin train- ing men for this special service. The rescue squad will not be placed in active service, however, until the new positions are created on July 1. The rescue wagon will make its headquarters in No. 2 engine house, 12th street between G and H streets, and will respond on the first alarm |NEW INSURANCE CODE FAVORABLY REPORTED Chairman Focht of the House Di filed in the House a favorable re- port on the new insurance code for the District, compiled by Insurance advice from recognized authorities all over the country on various phases of Insurance business. Chairman Focht's report says that the needs for a revision of the in- surance laws of the District of Col- umbia both in the interest of the public and the ing the hearing. No change in the insurance laws of the District has been made since 1911, when a small amendment -was passed, and prior to that no change had been made since the creation of the department of in- surance in 1902. The report points out that the present law is entirely out of har- mony with the marine Insurance bill and the need for proper legislation to carry that law into effect was call- ed for. As a matter of fact, the re- port says, it would have been only a matter of tinie, for legiglation. would have had to be enacted to correct the defects in the present law, which is out of harmony with modern’ devel- opments_and practices, .. Chairman Focht's report shows that there will {be an increase in revenue ambunting to $68,100 over the highest estimate of revenues under the present law. He says: “As a revenue producer, it itself | new formula and had not author- | Official wires between Washington | | i | “While ordinarily the department would not think it necessary to refer to the memorandum, so much has ap- peared in the press which is likely to glve rise to misapprehension that the following explanation of the matter is made: Official Explanation. “It appears that on November 13 Mr. Boyden had been requested by one or more members of the repara- tlons commission to draft, as purely personal suggestion, a propos- ed letter to be sent by the reparations tommission to the German gover ment on lines he had informally indicated. This Mr. Boyden did in the memorandum in question, which he gave as a draft to one of the members of the reparations commis- sion. This memorandum, the department has been advised, contained no plan for the settlement | of reparations, no suggestion as to amounts, time or manner of pa; ments. It dealt with general con- siderations as to the necessity of establishing confidence and especially of the importance of the attitude of the German government in expressing Germany’s national will for peace. “This “memorandum was prepared and submitted by Mr. Boyden as @ personal matter and without consul- tation with the department. When its text was subsequently received by the department, it was not regarded {as a plan for the settlement of repa. rations or as requiring any action whatever on the part of the depart- ment. Rather it was deemed to be a personal memorandum, which Mr. Boyden had already submitted to one of ‘the members of the commission, of a general nature and which merely emphasized some of the fundamental | considerations which were deemed to be pertinent to the situation in a large way. No Action Taken. “The department heard nothing further about the submission of this memorandum until January 13, when it received a cable message, sent the day before, that this suggestion of | Mr. Bovden was to be placed on the commission’s agenda and that the memorandum had been revised slight- ly in language but not in substance. At the same time, the department was notifled that the revised version had been sent to it by mail. This re- vised version has been received this evening by cable, but the changes are only verbal, and memorandum_as above described is not altered. It does not appear that any further action has been taken | senso a plan for the settlement of | with respect to it. “That Is all there is to the mat- ter, and there is no basis for treat- ing the general suggestion of Ar. Boyden as a reparation plan.” FIREMEN PLAN RESCUE SQUAD ON INCREASED ALLOWANCE;| to all dangerous downdown boxes Outside of the congested area, it will respond only on special call. Masks, Torches, Ladders. Gas masks, acetylene torches, scal- ing ladders, flood lights and a score of other paraphernalia useful in rescus work will be found on this wagon and the men assigned to it will be specially trained in their handling. The establishment of this squad, Chief Watson said, will not mean that the other members of the depart- | ment will cease to be rescuers when they are needed. The rescue squad will be called upon in unusually difficult situation RUNAWAY HORSES HIT AUTO AND STREET CAR A lumbering ice wagon, with two trict of Columbia committee yesterday|runaway horses, went crashing down 9th street yesterday scattering traffic in the roadway between E and F streets, before being stopped by Policemen E. Commissioner Miller, after’ receiving|M. Brown and C. H. Schreyer, both of the first precinct. The wagon collided with an auto- mobile parked in front of 606 9th street and a street car in the same square before the horses were stopped. Private, Brown _leaped for the reins | of one horse that was on the inside, insurance business|while his partner took has been strongly emphasized dur-!horse. the other They were dragged fifty fect beforp they stopped the runaways, narrowly ‘missing injury as the horses swung from-side to side, with the policemen hanging to the lines. The damage resulting from runaway was not serfous. horses started from 9th and Grant place, but did not get up real speed .until they had passed the intersec- tion of 9th and F streets, where | they narrowly missed a crash with a street car on the F street line. Hundreds of pedestrians watched the sensational climax of the chase. HALF MILLION FIRE LOSS IN BALTIMORE (Continued from First Page.) bufldings could not bo saved the' fire- is found thag this bill is one that is|men concehtrated tueir efforts on the not only fair in the matter of taxes and licenses to the companies, but will be productive of & very consider- able amount in excess of the best possible conditions that could be timated on under the present law.” i, soo ‘We suj h fort to o L gh kept "might Tnes surrounding bulldings, mostly ware- houses. Slight damage by smoke and water was reported by the latter owners. f . At 3 a.m. fire dopartment officials reported the flames under control, al- though most of the apparatus was in readiness in fear the blaze “bresk out agal the build m&l mus matetial - - 80 far as,take the nature of the | the | The | A 500 'BUILDINGS BURN. Destructive Fire Sweeps Fukucka, Tokio Is Informed. By the Associated Press. TOKIO, January 17.—Fire at Fukuoka destroyed five hundred buildings this morning and was still burning at noon. A large number of public buildings, two theaters, the telephone exchange and a depart- ment store were burned. Fukuoka is a city at the mouth of the river Naka, on the coast of the bay of Hakata.' TIts population is re- ported at 82,106, ALLIES TO SET UP REGIME AT MEMEL Franco - British - Italian Mis- sion Will Hold Lithuanians Responsible. By the Assoclated Press. PARIS, January 17.-~The council of ambassadors decided today to send an extraordinary mission to Memel to establish a provisional in- terallied government under the au- thority of the French, British and Italians. The councl also wiil make repre- sentations to Lithuania, holding her responsible for the Invasion of the in- | ternationalized Memel territory, asking Lithuania to recognize I provistonal authority established, ARMISTICE IN EFFECT. allied and | the | | i | { Insurgents and Officlal at Memel | Negotiating for Peace. | ' LONDON, January 17.—The armis- tice agreed upon at Memel has been put into effect and negotlations are | in progress between the insurgents| and the high commissioner to avoid | | further bloodshed, acconding to offl- | cial advices. | The forces that attacked the city! is said to have numbered 900 armed | men, with machine guns. The French { lost one man kiiled and the Lithuan- fans 30 in Monday's fighting, the | latest details state 1 | "The town is quiet, being patrolled | ‘by the Lithuanians. Col. Prousson has been orderel by the French to| over charge of the situation | 'on his arrival from Warsaw. { { ] MEMEL TAKEN, U. S. TOLD. | s | {Insurgent Action Tacitly Ap- proved by Lithuanians. Reports concerning the occupation |of Memel by Lithuanian insurgents | were recelved today by the State De- partment and the Lithuanian legation. Frederick Coleman, American minis- ter at Riga, cabled to the State De- partment he had been informed that the Lithuanians took Memel Monday night after fighting, during whi blood was she ‘The Freuch garrison, he said, surrendered. In answer to protests of French and British representatives at Kovno, Minister Coleman said the Lithu nian government denied complicity, but expressed “understanding and sympathy with a natural desire of! the people to be united with Lithu- | {ania and to work out their destiny | with their brethren.” Kovno Consul Cables. Another _cablegram, received from | Clement_S. Edwards, American con- | sul at_Kovno, said Memel was occu pied by Lithuanian insurgents at] noon Monday. The French forces| withdrew, he reported, adding that| the casualties were unknown H ‘The advices recevied from by the Lithuanian legation said: “Memel taken by the insurgents.” “They were greeted joyously by the inhabitants of the city. The city was {decorated with flags. Order reigns | throughout the Memel territory. { Government Not Involved. { “Galvanauskas, the minister of fo eign affairs of Lithuania, in replying | to Poincare's second note, repeated the fact that the government of Lith- | uania did not participate in the Me- | mel movement directly or iIndirectly, and he emphasized his complete trust in the ultimate decision of the allie. which, he has confilence, undoubted- i1y will be in accord with the spirit of the Versailles treaty. The Lithu- anian government agreed to assist in | establishing order in the Memel ter- | ritory. ] “The Lithuanian government ha!‘ lodged & splemn protest with the | powers of -the world and the league of nations against the Polish warship | which entered the harbor of Memel. The presence of thisy lwn(l‘!cshlp‘ threatens great complications. H GOVERNMENT FUEL YARD GIVEN PRIORITY FOR COAL I. C. C. Orders Immediate Shipment of 30 Cars for Use of Federal Buildings. Priority orders for immediate trans- portation of thirty coas of coal from mines in_Pennsylvania and West Vir- ginia to the government fuel yards, at South Capltol and I streets, ‘were i sued late vesterday by the Interstate Commerce Commission in a service order. The Baltimore and Ohio and Penn syivania railroads were instructed b: the commission to flll the request of the fuel yards for cars immediately, and in advance of reguisitions which may be made by other shippers. On two previous occasions the Washing- ton vards had been given - priority rights, to insure the supply of coal| for the government buildings and de- { partments of the District government, | which they supply with coal. As the need arises from time to time it is probable that the commission will be requested to issue additional prior- i ity orders to assure plenty of coal for the government here. — AMBASSADOR FLETCHER IS ORDERED TO U. S. ‘Will Assume Leadership of Amer- ican Commission to Pan-Amer- ican Conference. Henry P. Fletcher, American am- bassador to Belgium, has been or- dered home to assume leadership of the American commission to the ffth pansAmerican conference, which will open in Chile the latter part of March. Mr. Fletcher is the only member ot the American commission thus far decided upon, and his appoini ment was made in view of his vast knowledge and personal experience in Latin American affairs. It was pointed out that the administration _believes the pan-American confer- ence to be of such importance that it decided to recall Mr. Fletcher temporarily, despite the present critical sitdation in Europe. At the conclusidn of his duties in Chile, Mr. Fletcher will be returnea to Brussels. RS A t's hard to tell who gets colder, the . whe slt i the house and thinks he Is cold or the one who goes out, Jooks at the thermometer and kmows News. | | | 1 { Kovno }and | afternoon D.C. HEADS' POWER MOOTED QUESTIO Authority to Turn Dowy) Requisition of Education ! Board an Issue. OPINION TO BE RENDERED Commissioners Refer the Contre-* versy to Corporation Counsel and Auditor for Decision on will be rendered / Corporation Counsel Stephens Auditor Donovan on the question of whether the Commissioners have Power to reject a requisition of the board of education for the expendi! ture of school fund: The city fathers the school b a long con Commissioner Oyster noon, to the phens and Donovan fc It is believed lik repo those officials will be the that the Commissioners have ity to turn down a requisi their opinion, the expér & proper one. Based on Refusal to Buy wipment. Although the present controversy r sulted from refusar of the sioners to huy about $3¢ equipment for a beaut O Street Colored Vocatio Mr. Rudolph said that ca mentioned day The discussion, he said, revolved ¢ tirely around the principle involved not the actual rejection of tlga teauty course fund. Both Commis sioner Rudolph and James T. Lligt chairman of the school board go.. mittee, declared the conference wu a friendly exchange of views on t broad question of whether the hoard of education or the board of Coi missioners has final authority in ti mat of £chool requisitic Arguments on File. Mr. Lioyd turned over to the Co migsioners a brief defending the pos tion of the school board and Ma Donovan presented a similar docu ment gtaining the argu nt of the Commissioners. r. Stephens wi study both documents and determi from a legal standpoint wh tention is correct 91,000,000 URGED FOR FILING STACKS | Senate Committee Favors Providing for Records in Pension Building. b and and a Brd dec the ap committe ed, after of from yeste submit ss r report the eft auth ture is The independent offices appropriatior bill was reported to the Senate vesterday afternoon from the Senate appropria tions committee, carryving an amend ment providing $1,000,000 for the erec tion in the interfor court of the Pen slon building of fifteen stories of steel filing stacks. The public bulldings commission. headed by Senator Smoot, recently sub mitted a report urging that these stuch be placed in the Pension building. The contention of the public build ings commission is that the erection of these steel sacks will give immedi ately a place for the records of the government, freeing much of the of fice space in government building now cluttered up with records. Not Archives Substitute. The -steel stacks in the pensio building are not intended as a sub stitute for a national archives build ing, for the public buildings commis sion has also recommended the erec an archives building. enate committee added abou | $1,500,000 to the independent offices bill s0 that as reported to the Senate it carries a total of approximately $497,711.000. The Senate committee also recom mend that the general accounting office of the government be authorized to destroy all paid United States kov ernment checks that have been issued for three fiscal vears. A great of space is used up now for the age of these old checks. Change Recommended. ‘The committes recommends that the care of the following government buildings be transferred to the super intendent of the State, War and Nay building, the Commerce building, ti Labor Department building, _the War-Justice building, the Civil Service Commission building, and the Interstate Commerce Commission { building. ACCIDENTS BLAMED INTWO DEATH CASES Byron S. Adams Freed of Running Over Miss Annie 0'Brien. ) 1 The death of Miss Annie O'Bffer fifty years old, of 1003 K street, Who was knocked down and run over by an automobile driven by Byron § Adams of 1801 Park road on K stred: near 10th Thursday night, and diéd later In the hospital, was declaked accidental by a coroner’s jury .éohd vened by Coroner Nevitt yesterdmw at the District mofguc The decision was reached very shor(ic 1y after the evidence was completed,” all testimony avallable pointimg clearly to the fact that Inadequate street lighting was in a great mea ure responsible for the accident, of- ficials said. There were no witnesses who saw Miss_O'Brien when she was struclk but it was brought out at the tria): that it was a_ dark night and th gaslights on K street of little help in seeing objects at any distange; Both Mr. Adams and his wife testified that they did not see Miss O'Brien until the car, a sedan, was almost upon her, and, although' it was going slowly and was stopped almost im- mediately, it was too late. Mr. Adams, showed ihat the small side lights on his automobile were of no assistance in detecting objects ahead. The same jury found the death of Wilhelmina ‘Wallace, seven-year-old colored child, who' was instantly killed when she fell' under a Capital Traction Company car at 7th and B streets southwest Monday afternoon, was also accldental. The evidenos showed that the motorman, John B. Burton of the car that struck the xirl, could not have stopped the car in time to avert the accident.