Evening Star Newspaper, January 24, 1923, Page 6

THE . EVENING: 8TAR, With Sunday Morning Edition. .WASHINGTON, D. C. WEDNESDAY, .January 24, 1923 THEODORE W. NOYES.,.Editor N Chicago Office: Tower Butlding. Europeaz Ofiice:: 16 Regent 5t.. Loado.. The edition o e arad by carsiers wiihin the clty #t 60 cents per moath: dnily oaly, 45 centw per month: Sands O it ‘month. e ders ma; N‘z::’l’lyhyal’n:‘"lfll’m! hone Mala 8000, ” Colieetion 1a made by caceiers st tbe end of esch moath. Rate by Mail—Paysble in Advance. Maryland and Virghla. Dail; d Sunday.. ., $8.40; Dally onye, e Sunday saiy: All Other States. Dafty and Sunday..1 yr., $10.00: 1 mo., 88e Daily only. .1 g-. “l'l.no: 1 m:. 80c Sunday only. .1yr., $3.00:1mo., 3c Member of the Associated Press. The Asnociated Press ia exclnsively entitied > the use for republication of all news dis- patehes crediied to it o not ofherwise credited in this paper and also the local news pube lished “hereln. Al rights of publication of special dispatches berein also reserved. —_— The District Bill. As the District appropriation bill was formally reported to the Senate by the committee on appropriations it did not materially increase the amount carried, the - committees’ additions reaching a net figure of only $165,878, bringing the total of the bill to $22,- 244,485, or $1,306,645 under the esti- mates for 1924 and $607,124.20 under the appropriations for the current year. But this relatively small addi- tion to the bill did not include a num- ber of items which, having been stricken out on a point of order in the House, have been in effect restored by the Senate committee, but which for purposes of expedition in the con- sideration .of the bill were reserved for separate presentation with the full approval of the committee. These items.involve a considerable expendi- ture, and if they are adopted by the Senate, which is to be expected, they will largely increase the total of the measure and will bring it up to a satisfactory figure. One of the most important of these supplementary items proposed for restoration provides fer the erection of several school buildings and the ac- quisition of sites. The tofal carried by this particular amendment is $650,000. Fvery penny of this money is required for the rellef of the congestion in the school system. Indeed, the school building program included in that item is but a part of the total urgently nec- essary. Another of the supplementary items authorizes the acquirement of certain tracts of land to be added to the park system, including the Klingle Valley, Piney Branch and Patterson areas, all of which have been definitely designat- ed as required to round out the series of public reservations in the northern part of the city. The Klingle Valley and Piney Branch spaces are especial- 1y urgent needs, as if this provision is not now made by law these areas will probably pasé out of reach soon by reason of impending “improvements,” ‘which will take them permanently out of range. The Patterson tract is in the same category. In the course of the past few years it has been fre- queptly urged by the Commissioners for acquigition, and it must soon be taken or it, too, will be included in the development of the city. An'item is included in the commit- tee's swpplementary recommendations for the erection of ‘an addition to the courthouse for the use of the office of the recorder of deeds, to cost $500,000, This is urgently needed. The present facilities for the trensaction of this important business of the District are totally inadequate. Despite the in- stallation of metal shelving the files end records upon which depend the titles to practically all of the property in the District are exposed to destruc- tion. One of the-items of importance stricken ‘out of the bill in the House on point of order’is in this manner proposed for ‘restoration, that provid- ing for the purchase of a site for a branch of the Piblic Library in the Mount Pleasant-Colambia ' Hejghts section. “The urgent needs of the Ii- brary require this addition to its facili- ties, which will bring the collection ‘within closer range of the people for circulation purposes. In other respects the Senate com- mittee has both by its- direct and its supplementary recommendations brought the District bill up to the ysual standard of llberality, and it the measure is passed in the form thus proposed: it will, indeed, be a gratify- ing provision for District maintenance during the next fiscal year. ——— The French diplofgat is now giving his must expert attention to the mental processes of the German coal heaver. The Burden of Blame. ‘While the Senate was discussing the District appropriation bill yesterday, epecifically &t the point bearing upon the provision of salaries for. the police, it digressed into a debate on traffic conditions fn Washington which elicit- ed some pointed opinions regarding traffic accidents. Every member of the Senate who spoke expressed the opinion that some change In or eddl- tion to the'law is needful to cure the evil of carelessness, which taskes ®so héavy a toll in life and limb in this city. Senator - Fletcher, for example, re- ferring to the tase: of Mrs. Hill, who 108t her life last week, noted the fact that the driver of the car that hit her ‘was discharged upon & hearing, and that, he said, “is ‘the record right along. Theré are no policemen, no of- ficers anywhere about, to testify re- garding the facts. The only witness is the person who operated the car, and he testifies and the case is thrown out of court, and-so it is day after day." In point ef fact, in the case of Mrs, Hill there were other witnesses than the driver, But Senator Flétcher’s observation is nevertheless generally correct. As a rule these motor accl- dent cases are disposed of in favor of the drivers of cars, for lack of positive evidenoce of carelessness on.their part. Senator Fletcher continued: Ljntroduced @ bill at one time, and J have offered it as an amendment to the pending bill. lating traffic in the District, changing the rule of evidence so that when an accident ac- curs a presumption of fact shall arise that the persdon operating the car was gullty of negligence. Instead of putting upon the person who is mal or killed the durden of prov- ing negligence, the man operating the car must establish by preponderanc of the evidehca that he wag not negli- gent. That would have some effect, I think. Changing the rule of evidence ‘would have a tendency to make more careful these people who opgrate automobiles, taxis and trucks. Undoubtedly if this principle were established by law the moral -effect would be decidedly wholesome. At present, as-Senator Fletcher says, the burden of proof rests upon the victim. The driver has assumed and has been by custom and in a measurs by law given the right of way in the streets, and the pedestrian has come to be re- garded as an obstruction, almost a trespasser. He is in the paved area at his own risk. The rules governing speed at crossings and regulating turns are so laxly observed and so seldom enforced that no person afoot can be assured, save perhaps at the points of traffic regulation where an officer is stationed, of clear passage. Even at such points a turning car may break through the line of pedestrians moving parallel with the line of traf- fic impulse. As long as the feeling prevails on the part of drivers that they are en- titled to the right of way as agalnst pedestrians in all circumstances and conditions, and that it is up to the people afoot to avold collision, acci- dents will continue. An enactment of law such as that suggested by Senma- tor Fletcher will perhaps change this puint of view, and would give a meas- ure of ‘guarantee of safety to the peo- ple who walk, who are, despite the great increase in motor numbers, after all the majority. Capital and Labor. Announcement that the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers has bought a substantial interest in the Empire Trust Company of New York and that two high officials of the brotherhood will become directors of the banking institution marks one of the most significant developments of the pres- ent.day labor movement in America. This is not the first venture of organ- ized labor into banking, but heretofore its undertakings have been little more than savings banks for the accom- modation of members. Now the en- gineers have invaded the stronghold of the “money. intereats,”” and will have a volce in the management of re- sources running into the scores of millions. What effect this will have on the future relationships of employers and employes no one can foretell, but it certainly is evidence of a far departure from the theory that the interests of capital and labor are necessarily an- tagonistic. How now will the radical agitator be able to persuade his fol- lowers that capital is plotting for the enslavement of labor, when repre- sentatives of labor are admitted to capital’s inner councils? Most of the big New York banks and trust com- panies engage in rallroad financing, and it is to be assumed the Empire Trust Company is not an exception. When a bank or trust company un- derwrites the securities of a railroad its fortunes are tied up with the pros- perity of its client. Directors Stone and Prenter, representing the brother- hood on the directorate of the trust company, might find themselves in a difficult position when it came to de- ciding whether a strike should imperil the safety of the bank’s rallroad in- vestments. The situation is full of in- teresting and unguessable possibilities. Itisa far cry today from the day when British labor, forbidden by parliament to organize, began to form secret “beneficial” and “burial™ socleties in order that the workers might confer together on wages and working con- ditions. The early labor unions were ruthlessly hunted down by capital and their leaders thrown into jail. Now capital takes the unions into partner- ship. Tremendous new forces are at work throughout the world, and soclal relations are being changed in ways undreamed of a few years ego. There still are radicals in labor who would destroy capital and Bourbons of capi- tal who would keep labor under heel, but the numbers of both are grawing less and their influence is diminish- ing. It has been a long struggle up- ward for the man who works with his hands, but each generation sees gains, and the recesslons never quite wipe out the forward strides. Human prog- ress is not measured in the life span of man, but in centuries and groups of centuries. A hundred years ago men hardly could have imagined a labor union galning a directing volce in a great banking house. Today such & fact is accepted as worthy of no more than passing notice. Yet it possibly is a far more significant event than when the Jaw at last grudgingly recognized the right of labor to engage 'incol- lective bargaining. The European war chest always a pears to have resources regardless of the condition of the populace’s pocket- book. Trotsky's apparently inconsequen- tial position begins to make him look Mke one of Russia's undeveloped re- sources. . As the sick man of Europe, the former Sultan of Turkey continues to travel for his health, Winter Colds and Other Ills. Health Officer Fowler says that the ‘wave of influenza in this District is not only in & mild form,.but s subsid- ing. He beliéves that most of the sick- ness now prevalent of a pulmonery character 18 the . ordinary ‘grip.” Doubtless much that i§ called grip by the sufferers themselves is nothing more serious than the ordinary winter cold. + ‘There i, of course, danger.in every cold. It may develop into a-more seri- ous infection. This does not mean that the grip or the influenza is not of & specific character induced by a par- ticular element. But & cold Which is simply an inflammation of the mucous membrane in the nasal passages fends to lower the resistance power.of the sufferer, so that the active principle of another ailment may find lodgment and development, - . 1t is posaible to avold winter colds. They can be guarded against'by a few simple precautions of general health protection. As a matter of fact & cold meens that there has been some negli- gence, some indifference to physical welfare. It should not be regarded as an inevitable accomnpaniment of cold Wweather or sloppy weather or rain or snow or ice. : There are two kinds of cold suf- ferers, thase who fight it out and those who submit and yield. It is & question of which is the better policy. Much depends on the temperament. It is always, however, to be remem- bered that the person who stays in- doors in order to treat a cold is at least not exposing others to the same affliction save in the immediate family ctrele. The most important thing to remem- ber at this time of year, with pul- monary troubles prevalent, is not to get frightened. Fear induces sickness of this character. Imagination plays a big part in the preservation of health. A col@ can be fought by the ‘Coue method, which, after all, is simply individual fortification against fear. Leadership and the Next Congre Although meeting day may be a year away, the republicans are al ready considering the question of leadership in the next Congress—par- ticularly as respects the House. The situation In the Senate is pretty well ‘defined. Mr. Lodge will retain his place at the head of the foreign relations committee, and also his gen- eral supervision of the majority’s pro- graro. And in Mr. Smoot and Mr. Curtis—both keen and clever men— the one specializing in finance and the tariff, and the other in parlia- mentary practice—he will have val- uabler lieutenants. It is in the House new selections must be made, and, of course, made with .care. . Mr. Mondell, the floor leader in the present House, missed his spring for the Senate, and so re- tires. Mr. Fordney and Mr. Cannon are regiring from choice. Mr. Mann, a most able adviser, Is no more. The successors of these men in the matter of House management should measure up to a high standard. The next House will take the lead in much important legislation, and should fash- fon it with party interests as well as the public's interests in view. What is done will enter. for better or for worse into the next presidential cam- paign. Fortunately, the republicans are well supplied with the reecessary tim- ber. There is leadership in a number of their men; and good. selections can be made, with ability, congressional experience and geographical location all featured in the efuation. —————————— Biners who want a six-hour day and a five-day week have introduced prob- lemss involving the relations of indus- try to the calendar which make the old daylight-saving scheme appear comparatively simple. ——————— The contents of an ancient Egyptian tomb recall historic events and condi- tione. But it is not necessary to go so far. A scrap book.containing perfectly legible “ treatles and party platforms does the same thing. ———— Ambassador Harvey has at last at. tained the distinguished position of the statesman who has much to express in conference and but little to say for publication. ——e—— The unofficial observer is in the diffi- cult position of an audience that is permitted neither to hiss nor to ap- plaud. ———— ‘Wilhelm Hohenzollern is sufficlently well prowided for to be considered a coupon cutter as well as a woodchop- per. —_————— International business would face in- tecesting complications should a theory be established that all debts may be considered strictly non-payable. ———————— ‘Theories of Dr. Coue are welcome if for no other reason than that they provoke no political controversy. The drug peddler shows how even the noble art of salesmanship may be degraded. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON Familiars at the Feast. A family skeleton once stood At every feast, they say. A family joke, not always good, Now graces the display. It is @ jest that grandpa dear In early youth rehearsed. We sigh, yet smile, when he draws near, Prepared to do his worst. ‘We simulate, to greef his chaff, A spirtt that is high, Although the pretense of a laugh 1Is gloomier than a cry. I wish, when all is said and done, Some power they'd invoke To give us back the skeleton And bury that old joke. Position. “Our friend's remarks sound like propaganda.” “Frequently,” Teplied Senator Sor- ghum.’ “What's his position on this public question?” “I'm afrald it's merely a salaried position. J— Jud Tunkins says the Darwinlan theery would get more respect if those alleged ancestors had been able to hire lawyers and make wills. Currency Problems. . The currency in foreign lands In value takes a daily slip. ‘The weary tourist gently hands’: At least a cartload for & tip. *Your boy Josh has a big heart.” “I hope,” rejoined Farmer Corn- tossel, “fur thé. sake of his health he doesn’t get .an . enlargement of: the THE WAYS OF WASHINGTON BY WILLIAM PICKETT HELM. In democracy’s great capital eity &1l men are equal. The, humblest citizen may call on the President at the White House. All he has to do Is await his turn and not shove or crowd. Any unknown with a reasonable re- quest and five minutes to spare can see the General of the Army. The Secretary of State walks to work with the madding crowd. - The Secretary of Labor peels off his coat, spits on his hands and does an auld-lang-syne turn In a steel mill. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court swings to a strap in & crowded car when he rides home. Usually he walks. Senators keep open house; repre- sentatives come half the way to meet you. . There is nothing of smobbery in ‘Washington, at least not: in the American part of the official life of the city. There isn't half the trouble in getting In to see the secretary of anything that there is interviewing, say, a retired coal baron. Every- thing is on the plane of democracy in the center of government. And those who goverp are just as human as those who are governed. You don't think so? Then, reader, you don't know. And you cannot have heard the story of the Postmaster General and Jenny, the waitress. I must tell you that story because it illustrates my point that first of all a man is & man with a fellow feel- ing for a friend in trouble; and next he is an official of the government, |call him bureaucrat or what you will. Hubert Work of Colorado, one-time doctor of medicine and but lately president of the American Medical As- sociation, is Postmaster General of the United States. He rides to work each day In a fine car supplied him by the government. He heads the greatest retail business in the world, the postal system of America. He sits in a beautiful office, and he lunches with his assistants and others of his staft in the department res- taurants. He exercises vast power, and he is just as human Pat in overalls. Yes, more so: And he is not the ex- ception, but the type, of the high gov- ernment official in Washington. Jenny. the walitress, serves his table at luncheon. At least she used to till £he got another. job. Jenny fsn't her real name, but it {s the rame by which she was called in the restaurant. Jenny had an alling husband—tu- berculosis, or something. The other treasure of her life is an alling baby. One day Jenny was absent from her post. Another waitress took her place. Dr. Work noticed the change, but ald nothing. The next day the substitute ap- peared again. “Where's Jenny?" Dr. Work asked. “Her baby’s sick,” the substitute re- plied. - “Nothing serious, I hope?” master General {nquired, “I'm afrald it is, sir,” the waitress answered. “Pneumonia, I believe, The baby’s in Georgetown Hospital and Jenny's with her. When the Postmaster General quit work that day he went to his walt- ing car. “Drive to Georgetown Hospital told the chauffeur. At the hospital Dr. Work inquired for Jenny. She wasn't there at the moment, but the baby was. He might see the baby in ward so-and-so. The Postmaster General went to ward so-and-so and saw the little sufferer. He leaned over it and ex- amined it. Then he called the nurse. “Let me see ‘this patient’s chart he requested. The nurse brought the chart and with it a young Interne who oblig- ingly started to explain what it all meant. “Never mind,” interrupted Dr, Work, “I used to practice medicine myself.” The Postmaster General—Postmas- ter General no longer, but a man of medicine beside the bed of tiny suf- ferer—called for the physician in charge. They held a consultation and when Dr. Work made known his identity the physiclan in charge was glad to adopt his suggestions. It isn't every day that the president of the American Medical Association goes to Georgetown Hospital. Dr. Work spent half an hour at the hospital and when he left requested that he be kept advised by telephone of the baby's progress. And, ®lory be, that baby lived and got well and is playing about now with Christmas toys. Maybe the Postmaster General didn’t save the baby's life. But I, for one. am going (o believe he did. Human, did I say these high offi- clals are? No end. the Post- he EDITORIAL DIGEST Opinions Vary When Arkansas Mob Outrages Are Discussed. Many of the natlon’s newspapers in discussing the mob outrages at Har- rison, Ark. are inclined to find justi- fication on the part of the men in- volved because they operated un- masked and seemingly had provoca- tion. Others see In it Harrison an- swering Herrin. Additional comment comes from those editors who seem inclined to believe that a mob out- rage is a mob outrage, no matter how and where {t takes place, and who feel that if such lawlessness is not soon halted everywhere the “right to justice will be swallowed up In the tyranny of the mob.” ‘For what these Arkansas farmers did there was, of course, no legal ex- cuse,” the New York Times says, but “at any rate, the farmers did not wear masks when they went about their savage work and seemingly they are prepared to take the responsi- bility for it and defend it as neces- sary for the termination of an intol- erable situation. As for the strikers, what they did, unfortunately, was what too often has been done by other unionists without exciting the amount of union condemnation which such acts deserve from every good citizen, either in or out of unions.” Tt was “Harrison answering Herrin” the New York World suggests, “one the exact opposite of the other. The rail- way employes used sabotage to en- force their demand: The citizens and farmers of Harrison could not afford a local embargo and therefore organized s vigilance committee to digcipline the union. But the national deflation of labor would not lead to bitter, open warfare, in which mine guards are shot to death and strikers are strung up by merchants and farm- ers, If the principles and practices of Iynch law had not taken & dangerous hold on the popular imagination in many sections of the country. As a people we have not yet discovered the fatility of violence in adjusting our industrial dificulties.” There was “no excuse” for the mob and its work. the Wall Street Journal says. and, “like most cases of public disorder, this one may be traced di- rectly to the cowardice of the civil authoritles. The rallroads have law and justice on their side: they need no mob ald.” There i{s “an_excuse” for what happened, as the Philadel- phia Public Ledger sees it. because Harrison “is a community maddened and made desperate by threats of strangulation and by months of vio- lence. The ‘vigilantes’ of course, have taken the wrong way, but it Is very natural. If you are looking for what public opinion can be like when sufficiently goaded by violence, here is & cross section of it 364 miles long in Arka * This-¥lew in no way impresses the Albany News, which feels that “perhaps there is a differ- ence between mob rule in Bastrop, La., and mob rule in Harrison, Ark.. but from the road it looks like mob rule just the same. The details dl fer—oneswith masks, 'while this hang- ing and whipping In Arkansas is without masks, done by ‘vigilantes.' Armed citizens call it & house-clean- ing. Getting down to brass tacks, it's o violation of constitutional guaran- fees to thé individual. This matter of mob rule strikes at a basic thing {n ‘government. than one kind of mob rule. The New “originated in private property in transportation. This has led to a civil war between ignorant farmers and unfon workers. It has provided a mob dictatorship and overthrown police and executive power. , In the worst sense of this word, reigned supreme.” Inasmuch as this time a “citizens’ committee” resorted to mob rule, the Durham Sun sees in the affair a grow- ing “tendency to the overthrow of law and order on all sides. Heretofore the outrages have been committed. for the most part. In the interest of labor. - Here {s an example of labor suffering (he effects of crime because It exercised its richt to strike. It 18 a graphic illustration of the fact that ubuse of rights on elther side will produce a conflict in which law and the rights of men as free agents will be the last thing considered.”” Tt is the opinfon of the Boston Transcript, however, that “while thera will be in- dignation, there will be no surprise” that this happened. “The Arkansas strike was a strike against the pub- lic eafety. The sabotage that fol- lgwed it signifled a concerted effort to stop the road's operation, regardless of the suffering caused the farmers of the community directly affected. These farmers have finally come to the conclusion that those gullty of sabotage against the railroad are pub- lic anemies. Their final resort to Vio- lence only goes to prove that ‘gov- ernment {s protection’ and that where protection ceases government ends.” Somewhat similar is the argument of the Kansas City Journal, which feels that “the incvitable happened in this instance. as fn many others. One ele- ment went outside the law to gain its own ends; another followed in re- taliation and with the determination to put an end to the destruction ot property and the interruption of busi- ness. One extreme begot another. Vigorous and fmpartial enforcement of the law, the protection of the rights of all concerned, would in all probability have prevented the de- struction ‘of property, and therefore the retaliation which has resulted in mob violence. Tt is idle to base any solution of this or any other problem on a situation in which property is destroyed with impunity to gain n matter how just and desirable end: The methods of tha mob were finitely worse than the evils they de- sired to exterminate.” the Asheville Times holds, and “the Harrison vigi- lantes made martyrs of the very men whom they wished to punish. They aroused sympathy for those they at- tempted to condemn. Of course, there i nothing unusual about this. ‘It is the invariable denouement of stories of mob violence” Demanding how far this thing is to be allowed to go, the Savannah Press likewise inquires, “What is to happen when any number of people form themselves into a mob? Here is an uprising of the peo- ple absolutely unauthorized by the court and abhorrent to principles of justice and fair play. The governor ordered out his troops too late and withdrew them too soon. When it this thing to stop? And what a dangerous precedent such a mur- derous aggregation establishes!” The peril from private “law enforcement' increases. the Indianapolis News is convinead. as reports of various out- rages drift in_from every section of the country, showing the “disease is spreading rapidly. Tt is time that people were awakening to the peril, for it Is real and serfous. It threat- ens the very existence of our insti- tutions. There Is & moral In it all for courts. juries and peace officers, And there is morel“’hlle their derelictions cannot ex- cuse mob law. they at least furnish a York Call feels that the outbreak !pretext for it.” ECHOES FROM CAPITOL HILL WOULD PUT PROHIBITION AGENTS UNDER CIVIL, SERVICE. Iam talking sbout genuine support of the matter, not moonshine support. I voted for the eighteenth amendment to the Constitution, and I believe In its enforcement, but in'a just and reas sonable manner: and I belleve that the men who are enforcing it ought to Dbe under the civil service law, in or- der that we may have the very best men to enforce it.—Senator Shields, Tennessee, democrat. CURB THE SENATORS. We ought to remedy it (the civil service system), but the way to remedy .it is to put restralnt.on the denators and the representatives and heart to correspond with his enlarge-|the governors and the chairmen of ment of the head.”, “Some men,” said Uncle Eben, “keep backslidin’ cause dey ‘don't git much family sympathy, ‘ceppin’ when'dey’s beln’ reformed.” L ¢ 2 state committees and other. fellows, so. that they will not be in & ps to: g0 into a department or a bureau and say to a man: “I want you to re- tain this clerk, or jcharge that one, or promote this one, or demote that one'—Senator Norris, Nebrasks, re- Publican. ANOTHER PLEA FOR THE. GOOD OLD DAYS. Oh, if the’ fathers who conceived the theory upon which this Govern- ment must run could but return to us and see the surrender by Congres: of its many powers to the executive. —Senator Harrison, Mississippi, demo- crat. ¢ THE INVASION OF THE RUHR. It means the uul;vumont ©of another nation. Slavery, not be, defended on the basis of I.nz treaty or ‘of any pladu;' of Br;'tr t'J‘ch ‘was dictated un ooercion.—Representa- tive London, New York, loflll.lllt.,nu MEMBERS SHOULD PAY FULL COST OF MEALS. In all fairness we ought not to be spending this $36,000 a year for our restaurant, becausgs if it run all the time, that is what it will cost We ought not to be spending the people’s money in that way. I am sure that we are all able to pay every dollar of the expense of every bit of our meals—Representative Blanton, Texas, democrat, Politics at Large BY N. 0. MESSENGER. Upon what {ssues will the cam- Palgn of next year be waged by the two old parties? Is there llkelihood of another party of material propor- tions ‘being created? These two questions are propounded and discussed by the politicians from time to time around the Capitol and by the visitors from out of town who drop into political headquarters here. The weight of opinion is found to in- cline to a negative answer to the second question, on the ground that the platforms of the two major po- litical organizations will be so lib- eral that there will be nothing left for recommendation to the voters other than an appeal to downright radicalism, and it is not thought that there is enough timent ih the country {o support a radical party of sufficient strength to menace the old parties. Tt is contended that no such situ- ation prevails in the country as ex- isted In 1912 which produced the bull moose party in the republican ranks. It cannot be sald that there I8 in the G. O. P. a distinct faction to be clas ed “as “standpa “old _guard They are all progressives when it comes to going on record. The stand- patters of yore may not have changed their spots any more than the tradi- tional leopard, but they are not fiaunting them. The rampant pro- gressives of yesteryear have nq need to threaten bolt and revolution, for there is nothing to bolt from. ~The party’'s profession of policies in leg! lation and declarations by the a ministration should please the most exacting_short of dawnright bolshe- vists. There are some of this type in both parties, for that matter, but not enough to make a dent in efther if they should want to walk out. * kK K So no specter of a third party of potential size is stalking the land at this time. There will be socialist- labor organizations and perhaps other small groups marching under this or that banner, but they will be but as guerrillas hanging on the flanks of the two big armies, the democrats s they mweep fave Beieter ey will ‘hsord. the small percentage of discontented and radical elements of the two main po- litical parties and will be speeded on their way with thoughts of good rid- dance. * kX ¥ 1t is generally conceded that the democrats bid fair to frame a more— shall it be sald—radical platform than the republicans. That might seem to foreshadow the loss of ultr conservative democrats who would €o over to the republicans in protest. except for the fact that democrats are not so prone to leave their party republicans have shown them- felves in the past to be. Moreover. democrats_of all shades of opfnion are now flushed with the hope and encouraged by the prospect of vic- fory in 1924. They are still smart ing under the sting of the unmereiful thrashing the democracy received in 1820. The trend of the last elections away from the republican party really agreeably surpriged them. The change was greater than they had Teason to hope for in the shadow of the seven million republican ma- jority, It is regarded as probable. therefore, by the political sharps that the most conservative democrats will he inclined to swallow more radical- fam than would ordinarily sit easily on the political stomach in the pros- pect for rolling the republicans down- hill and over the precipice. New York's slections last November ex- emplifisd this _disposition. There Were loud protests against the radi- cal platform of the democrats from old-line democrats up and down the State. But come election day and. with the amazing increase in the out- lonk for a democratic victory and winning back the state, the old- liners gulped down their resentment and marched vallantly to the polls to support the ticket and the platform. * x eing what they accomplished with their promises to the voters, the New York democrats are now intent upon making good on thelr campalgn pledges and enacting the legislation proposed in their platform. Reports coming to Washington of conditions In other states are -that the de- moe everywhere is inclined to Ioflmthe suit of the New York democrats and make their national and state platforms next year with ag near an approach to a blue-sky limit of liberal recommendations as safety will warrant. * % ¥ ¥ Discussing the first question pro- pounded—what issues will be sharply drawn between the democratic and republican parties?—the politicians generally belleve that, outside of as- sertions of superior progressivism, the tariff and the extent of partici- pation in European affairs will fur- nish the sharpest divisions between the two parties. Over the tariff both parties will assert their difference with emphasis and with equal confi- dence in that difference bringing vic- tory to their respective banners. The effects of the new tariff will have been evidenced by the time the cam- palgn opens with a year of actual operation. They will be shown in Ccustoms receipts, in either expansion or contracting of manufacturing in- dustry and in employment. Another issue will be the extent to which the democrats may go in sup- porting government, state and mu- nicipal ownership. It is morally cer- tain they will go further than the republicans. * Kk k¥ There is every expectation that & tremendous effort will be made to commit the democratic party in its national platform to support of the league of nations and to participation by the United States in affairs of the old world. It's a curious thing that the advocates of the league are citing the present conditions in Europe as justification for their renewed de- mand for this countiy taking a hand, while the republicans point to the same conditions as proof that the United States did well in keeping out. R Propaganda is active in behalf of renewed aglitation for the league and for participation in the European tangle. Newspaper men receive through the malils a constant flow. of pamphlets and leaflets setting forth the necessity of American interven- tion or participation and presenting all kinds of arguments to support tne demand. Here is an extract from the latest which came over the writer's desk. It quotes from recent speeches by Lord Grey of England and Signor Nitti'of Italy and says: “Lord Grey takes the position. that the problems involved In reparations, interallied - indebtedne: standing rmies and the security of. France are all part of one great problem and oannot be settled piecemeal. Signor Nitti takes the position that the United States was the decisive factor in ending the war, so must the United States become the decisive factor In imposing_the ultimate conditions of peace. He points out that the su- preme qualification of the United States in this crisis is its abllity to speak the word of moral authority. The article goes on to say that the United States ought to' be present at every foreign conference as responsi- ble participant and contends that e world needs the United States.” The propaganda is designed for effect upon the democrats. It is not likely to find an echo among the re- publicans. This administration and presumably the majority of the re- publicans are absolutely set in the present foreign policy and it is b lleved that the republicam nation: c;:nvnntl“ ‘will support it in itsplat- i il I | CAPITAL KEYNOTES BY PAUL V. COLLINS. “On what meat doth this. our Caesar feed, that he is grown 80 great?’ The body wears out and is rebuilt every seven years; some parts of it oftener. Hence it is important that it be furnished with the proper building material. “You can't make 2 sllk purse out of a sow's ear.” Nor can you make a brave soldier out of fat salt middlings, sorghum, dried beans and corn bread. That mate- rial is rich in carbohydrates and fur- nishes fat. But nobody either loves or fears a fat man. * ok x % Many physically defective men grow up in the mountain regions of the Alleghenles, although there is no better climate in the world. An in- vestigation has recently been made by the children's bureau of the Labor Department, which results in a report that the cause of the defectlve man- hood lies in the diet, which consists too monotonously of- corn bread, fat salt pork, sorghum and dried beans. There ‘{s' no reason why the diet should not include green vegetables, cggs and a variety of meat, except that the people have gotten into the habit of eating only the articles men- tioned. * ¥k * That lazy habit is not confined to the mountaineers. The bane of a cer- tain type of boarding house menu is its everlasting sameness. Even when variety s sought according to the day of the week, the Monday dinner appearing always on Monday, the Tuesday supper always on Tuesday, etc., it steals the appetite. Worse than that, the constant eating of the same articles is not fair to nature, for man Is made omniverous, and omniverous he must be or pay the penalty. Good soldiers and great men and women come from the right soil. for i the soil Is fertile there will be plenty of good food. The “hog and hominy” dlet cannot produce well round men any more than feed deficlent in the elements that make up a balanced ration for live stock can produce prize stock. No suecess- ful stock raiser neglects the balanc- ing of his ration for his animala—ex- cept for the human animal. Until a few decades ago even physicians knew nothing of balancing ratlons for the human animal. Even today many physiclans lack in-exact knowl- edge of dietetics and limit their learned instructions to patients to “avold starchy foods.” without indi- cating to the layman what are starchy and what are rich in protein No layman can be assumed to know what dfet he should use any more than what drug he should swallow. To faulty diet is attributed the sefi- ous percentage of men and bove thrown out from the draft at the time of the world war. * ok ok When developing a park or design- ing a statue or a painting the quality of its artistic form is the prime con- sideration. If it be not beautiful, it is nothing. When spanning a great river with a bridge, artistic beauty should be considered—for there is no reason why a useful thing should be ugly—but beauty is of seecondary, not prime, importance. A blacksmith testifying in court as to the quality of a cortain plano swore that it was, “bullt etrong,” for he had seen the| timbers in it. His testimony was off-| set by that of a musician who spoke of overtones and tonme. So it all de- pends upon our viewpoint whether we want a bridge to be judged by its graceful lines or by its adaptation to the practical purpose to which it is to be put. Rus describing his ideal bridge in his “Eiements of Drawing.” demands that its lines show the prac- tical purpose as the test of its beauty—a short, low arch over the narrow span; a broad, sweeping and high arch over the main river; and all to speak purpose. mot conventional design. Behold the Japanese bridges, how they leap and spring high where needed and creep and hesitate over the little stretches! A bridge that is obviously made up, regardless of its usefulness—drawn with compasses and a straight-edge in the architect's studio—is as artificial as a painted lady. These remarks are apropos of the controversy now “raging” between two schools of thought as to the Arlington Memorlal bridge. The les- Son, 1 trust, Is obvious: The bridge which is merely pretty in its lines ds not beautiful; for it would be a nuisance, an obstacle to commerce in- stead of a help. It can be both use- ful and beautiful. There is no reason why = span should not be a draw- bridge, either upon a pivot or to rise, and vet be impressively —graceful. Let not the “blacksmith” but the artist meet the problem, and let Rus- kin be the inspiration. * % kX Secretaries Weeks and Denby of the War and Navy Departments have written to Congress their protests against the Brookhart bill to author- ize civilians to purchase merchan- dise from the Army commissary stores upon the same terms as Sol- dlers. The soldiers are entitled to purchase anything at 10 per cent above what the government pays although the government buys at Job bers' prices In enormous quantities. The Secretaries protest that the plan to let all civilians purchase on the same terms is impracticable, for the government stores are alrea taxed to their full capacity in gov- ernment buildings. If they were 1o enlarge the volume of business to accommodate 300,000 customers in the District of Columbia it would be nec- essary to rent a chain of stores and multiply overhead expenses. Handle Babe Asleep With Autosuggestion To the Editor of The Star: .The visit of M. Coue, brief though it was, has centered attention for the moment on the power and operation of the subconscious mind (or “sub- liminal self,” as it is styled by some, Including Maurice Maeterlinck in his ‘“Unknown Guest” and Dr. Morton Prince in “The Dissoclation of a Per- sonality”). Before this impression has faded I should like to call atten- tion to an Important use of this deeper consciousness that experience has shown can be made by parents and others that have the care of chil- dren. When it becomes necessary to han- dle a sleeping child—say, to remove it from one bed to another—if thel ohlld be picked up silently it is apt, as we all know, to start, perhaps to resist, maybe to waken and cry. This is due to nervous shock caused by the unexpected disturbance and can be obviated completely by speakingx to the child before touching it, telling it gently and distinctly what you are about to do. It will understand with- out wakening. The subconsclous mind, which is on guard, will appre- Clate’ the import of what is said and | convey it to the Jittle slumberer, who will, in consequence, not be startled, but, ylelding with confidence to the person handling It, wiil nestle quietly down into the enfolding arms and un- tingly allow itself to be lowered into the new place of slumber, where it will settle at once comfortably and with no break in its contentedly, sound sleep. 1 ofter this suggestion to those par- ents and nurses to whom the idea has not occurred, and beg to assure them that 1 speak from ample experience with my own' children, with whom I follow ;h.‘:‘rl‘;llca"lhhlan they were small and w! variable success. HENRY "OLDYS. y | vidual hearts. The argumont of Secretary Weeks that the price at which merchandise is sold by the commissary stores to soldlers does not differ materially from the regular retail price may be challenged by advocates of the Brook- hart measure. No merchant can pay his overhead and sell goods at merely 10 per cent above manufacturers’ cost. Merchants must pay their help and & thousand ~ other expenses, and, of course, must have & profit. There is undoubtedly a considerable difference, therefore, in the commissary prics and the retail merchant's price, but that is not a sufficient reason for the government's entering upon a policy of socialistic merchundising_and kill- ing private enterprise. The two forms of business could never exist in competition, for the merchant must $tand expense which Senator Brook- hirt quite overlooks in asking that the government become his competi- or. * ¥ ¥ ¥ 1f this socialism be adopted for the District of Columbia, how long would it be before the people of Des Molnes and other citles of Senator Brook- kart's state would become clamorous for soctalistic competition with their private merchants? How long would it be before bankruptcy would sweep over the country and millions of em- ployes of private enterprises would be thrown out of employment? How long would it be before the govern- ment, in mercantile business of all kinds, would discover that it mlght also manufacture its goods? How long would it be before sovietism would paralyze America as {t has done to Russia? ~Then how long bhe- fore the idle millions would demand revolution, that American fascisti should take the factories out of ih hands of the government, and t! soviets would undertake to run the idle factories, though without either capital or executive experience? * Kk ¥ ¥ The Brookhart bill appears i cent and reasonable upon its surface, but it has within it all the germs of overwhelming revolution because it ignores every principle of economics and established business. The first |princtple of & republic is that tne government should do nothing that private individuale, singly or asso- clated together, can do successfull The government should never com- pete with the individual. To do o is socialism and communism, not de- mocracy. For the commissary to supply the Army and Navy with merchandise, for their own use. is mereiy a part of their compensation for serv That is an entirely different matter from selling to the whole population. * R % % It is pitiful to see thousands of pa- triotic, Intelligent women spending their energies as they are doing in the National League of Woman Voters, resolving that r s crime.” They are to hold meetings to teach that war is a crime—which nobody does deny—when they might do real good by discovering that one- hird of the men .of America are “scarce half made up, and that so lamely and unfashionable” that they are not it to carry a rifle and guard their mothers and sisters from ma- rauding brutes. There is so much work—real work—for women to take hold of and do, as only women can do, that it is pitiful to see so many senti- mentalize and sigh and ‘“resolve” over absolute vacuities uch as “out- lawing war,” as If war had not been an outlaw since Cain killed Abel America cries out for the help of good American women. They have helped ®mo marvelouxly in the past that their usefutness is beyond ques- tion. How can thev fritter energy over “outlawing war"? i * % ¥ ¥ America calls for ‘vomen to help purify her every public and private Institution—the movies, the litera- ture. What wonders might follow if the standards offiction were purified so that every “fumily magazine” might be read aloud in the family! America needs the touch of pure womanhood in the guidance of young women and younz men, that their ideals might be nob's. America eries out for its woinanhood to help the Wallle Reeds. who are living a hell on earth because they have been trapped into the opium devils' lairs. * % ok % Atesmen—whether | als—but the great ich have wrenched the heart of civilization for thou- sands of years, while mankind has been groping up from the prehistoric times, will not be settled—will not be affected—by a few thousand groups sitting about round tables and telling each other that war is an out- law. Why not tell that heat burns, that the sun shines, that gravitation holds fast all matter? War is a result, not a cause. Sin of national covetous- ness s the outlaw, and that grows in the individual hearts. Pride of rulers is the outlaw: and where does pride thrive? Cowardice and deceit and falsehood are outlaws, and they spring up in the cringing hearts of individuals. There is work for women as well as men in the ennobling of personal character, in the purifying of indi- That does not sound so grandiloquent as ‘“resolving” to teach internationalism and a code of treason to one's own country. whose institutions are all that make tne difference in the safety of the women and men as contrasted with bar- barism and savagery 2 We want trousers or pet: world questions w Says French Invade Germany for Loot o the Editor of The Star: In your Saturday edition Maria W Carter protests against the Ameri- can disapproval of France's invasion of Germany and asserts that “we have all become Shylocks” and glven up our ideals of a few years ago. An examination of the facts in the case will prove just the contrary. They will show that, instead of the American nation. giving up its ideal of justice and right, we are uphold- ing that ideal in our disapproval of the French invasion of Germany for the sake of plunder. France has sent her troops onto German soil, not for a blow for her own freedom, not for a call for the safety of her soil, but purely and eimply as a commercial act, to get plunder, to secure the coal, and that coal the very center of in- dustry on which Germany depends to save her from starvation. All the allies agree that the amount fixed as to be paid by Germany was excessive and not to be accomplished in the time set. We- have not In- vaded France for our debt. - But France, laying aside the least pre- tense to any ideals higher than rank commercialism, is now doing Just what a few years ago she brandec the Germans as Huns for doing—en- tering -with an army a neighboring nation and seizing their goods and at the point of the bayonet. If any rational mind can find any similarity between the courses taken by France and America they surely are aficted with mental astigmatism. We have used no force or threats and made no disturbance about what is due us. France, imposing an fmpossible obli- gation by force of arms, now Pro- ceeds to collect it with the sword. Will Maria W. Carter explain where are the lofty ideals of France in so doing and why we Americans err in protesting sgainst this invasion. which is a violation not only of the tro but of all noble sentiments neh proclaimed four vears th azo? VIRGINTA STUART.