Evening Star Newspaper, February 4, 1923, Page 26

tgom THE —_——e e e ———— THE EVENING STAR, With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, DsC. SUNDAY.......February 4, 1923 THEODORE W. NOYES. . ..Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, 11th 8t. and Ivania Ave. N Chicnae oee:. Tamer Bohding: : 5y European Dm.c'e. lsleflllr‘, ‘llhll. ‘The Evening Star, with the Sunday morning editlon, is dex{wmfl by curriers within the city 80 t(l:.xlr moath; dal 1y, 46 cents th: Sunday only, 30 cents per month. ders may be seat by mail or u,ufrmn Ma ©000. Collection is made by earriers at the ead of each month. r- Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. ‘ Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..1yr., $8 mo., 70¢ Daily only $6.00: 1 mo. Sunday oniy. 0; 1 mo., 20¢ All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1yr., $10.00 Daily only 37 Sunday only Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Preas is exclusively eatitied to the use for republicatio wa_dis- Patches credited to it or not otherwise erediteq iv this paper and also the local news pub lished herein. All rights of publication of special dispatehes herein are also reserved. mo., 8¢ 60c Sick Pay. A decision just rendered by the con- troller general cuts off from the bene- fit of compensation by the United States government employes who lose time from their work through illness, such compensation to be paid, accord- ing to the ruling, only to those who have sustained “‘personal injury in the performance of duty.” If this declsion stands, and there is apparently no way around it save by new legislation, all sick pay will cease for those employes who are covered by the compensation act. It is but a step from such a hold- ing to the position that “sick leave” for other employes of the government may not be granted; that is, that no employe of the government shall be paid for any time lost on account of sickness. ¥or many years the government has maintained its workers on the basis of an allowance of time for sickness with no loss of pay. All the clerks in the departments have been thus car- ried on the rolls for thirty days in the course of a year in case of illness, re- gardless of the origin or nature of the disease. To deny the government workers who are specifically included in the compensation act sick benefits is to menace this custom. Under the new ruling of the con- troller any worker of the government who by exposure to the weather in the course of duty contracts. for example, & cold which develops into disabling illness must be denied compensation for the time or any part of the time lost from work by reason of that ill- ness. 1If, however, a worker in one of the mechanical branches of the gov- ernment smashes a finger by @ blow of a hammer in the course of his work, and is laid up for several weeks in consequence, he is entitled to “com- pensation.”” A rural mail carrier, driv- Ing in the line of his duty over roads swept by winter's winds, is perbaps S0 depleted in energy and resistance that he is stricken with disease, and s not entitled to payment for the time off. A worker in the naval gun foun- dry is scorched by a blast from a fur- nace while on duty and incapacitated. He is carried on the roiis. These are evident inconsistencies. Strict application of the ruling dis- criminating between personal injuries and {llness is sure to make for many such discriminations militating against the equity of the system in operation. It is evident that to carry out the spirit of the law Congress should pass an amendatory act to include in the benefits of federal compensation those who are stricken with jllness while in the employ of the government. Many private corporations maintain “gick benefit” systems without cost to the employes, carrying their workers on the pay rolls for specified periods in case of illness, regardiess of the cause or origin. They do this from an intelligent appreciation of the fact that to the extent that the employer is considerate of the welfare of the “yworkers they will render efficient serv- fce when physically capable. And con- versely, the employer who cares noth- ing for his workers in this regard is poorly served. Correction of this obvious injustice should be promptly effected before the close of the present session by the adoption of an amendment to the com- pensation law. —————————— 1923 Business. Sentiment seems to be unanimous that 1923 will be @ better business year than 1922. The large commercial agencies and those “services” which make trade, business and speculation forecasts all find that the tide of busi- ness is running strong and is rising. | Commodity prices in most lines are going up. The boom in bLuilding is making increasing demands on con-j struction materials and labor. Rail roads are heavy buyers of materials from locomotives, cars and rails to of- fice supplies. January bank clearings were greater than in December and exceeded the peak of 1922. The Euro-| pean situation is a cloud on American | prosperity, but all the oracles and augurs predict that 1923 will be a great year for business, —————————— It is quite possible that there will ‘be moments when Trotsky wishes he | ; | | | | i i tors, tinkers, oraftsmen of all trades. ‘With a keen knowledge of human na- ture they bhave insinuated themselves into the confidence of dealers and agents end middlemen, locating the sources of supply and the lines of traffic. In some cases they have gone right into the ranks of the venders handling the “stuft” itself. Some day perhaps Izzy Einstein and J. L. Asher will write their memoirs. Such books will make most interesting reading. At present they are modest men, keeping thefr true personalities dark and their mouths strictly closed. obody ever interviews Einstein in New York, and Asher keeps his own counsel. Both of these men fight shy of the camera. The mystery of their features is their chief stock in trade. They are as reluctant to face an open lens as a man who has been arrested for the first time and dreads pub- lcity. . Such exploits'as those of Asher and Einstein are calculated to slow up the bootlegging business considerably. No honest-to-goodness rum runner feels safe. He cannot be sure at any time that the man he is dealing with, or the man who is* apparently asleep across the street, or the man who is helping him, is not one of these agents of the law more or less disguised and very much on the job. No Public School Drug Addicts. Reports have recently circulated to the effect that there is & wide preva- lence of the drug habit among the school pupils of this city. Fantasti¢ tales have been told of the existence of a heavy traffic in habit-forming drugs among the boys and girls, es- pecially those of high school age. At- tention was directed to this matter by the head of the narcotics division of the internal revenue bureau, and sev- eral investigators were detailed to con- duct an inquiry. They have now re- ported that after a conference with the school officials and diligent re- search they have been unable to find any substantiation of these reports. They were, in fact, unable to discover any evidence of the prevalence of the drug habit among the school pupils. While there was no reason to be- lieve the alarming tale, it is a rellef to know from so good a source that there is no ground for the charge that the school children of this city are drug addicts in any degree. It is pos- sible that a very few of these children have experimented in this manner. But even of this there is no sign that the investigators have been able to dis- cover. They report that in all the schools the physical condition of the children is closely observed, that in the high schools matrons are keen in their watchfulness over the girls and the physical instructors observe the boys. And these guardians of the wel- fare of the children report no signs of any prevalence of this evil. It is most unfortunate that such a report should ever have been circulat- ed. Parents have been alarmed. and the attention of the children them- selves has been directed to the matter. Now the slander has been refuted and the schools have been cleared of any possibility of stain in this regard. The “‘dope’ habit is one of the most terrible of misfortunes. It is hard to break. It demoralizes the victim. lead- ing to all sorts of delinquencies. Many lives are utterly wrecked by it, man. homes broken up, untold suffering caused. Against it mighty forces are ervation of the people of this country. The wicked traffic is being checked! whenever possible. Arrests are being made constantly and both addicts and venders are being sent to prison, the former to be treated as patients and helped to regain their health and strength of will, the latter to be pun- ished as they deserve. ‘Washington suffers, like other cities, The activities of the agents of the government who are in pursuit of the venders continue without flagging and i are yielding excellent results. ————— Volstead act. eppear to be equally cheerless for this remarkable figure in public attention. ———— Many American been left largely to the management of European governments. America invented the submarine; also the league of nations. Provisions that the late Lord North- cliffe’s publications must continue un- der British control may or may not be The fact that France and Germany are sister republics amid the mon- nothing in the present crisis. Influenza Isolated. | Dr. Simon Flexner of the Rockefel- ler Institute of Medical Research an- nounces that two of the members of | the staff of that institution have final- ly succeeded in isolating the germ of influenza. This germ, which has been given the name of bacterium pneu- mosintees, is so small that it can pass through the pores of an earthenware filter, and must be magnified 1,000 times in order to be seen distinctly under the microscope. It would seem were back in the Bronx. The French in thé Ruhr have en- countered the busine et e Two Sleuths. ‘Washington has just had e visita- tion from a wizard of the prohibition detective force, with the result of a round-up of liquor sellers that for a few hours choked the police stations and gave the professional bondsmen & rich harvest of commissions. This special investigator has established 3 reputation in the dry force which rivals that of the celebrated Izzy Ein- stein of New York, whose achieve- ments have won the admiration of even his bitter enemies, the liquor ped- dlers. These men work somewhat along the lines of the story-book de- tectives, with disguises and assumed charecters. They are protean artists, ashmen today, coal heavers tomorrow, meter inspeetors, collectors, society’ loungers, business men, tramps, jani- “human element” in| to be the most minute of all the dis- ease principles from which man suf- fers, o far as now knoWn. Its malev-| olent function is to injure the lung tissue in such a way as to deprive it of the power which it ordinarily pos- sesses for resisting the attacks of the common bacteria of the nose and throat, In other words, when the bac- terium pneumosintees lodges in the lungs it lowers their resistant quality and renders them a fertile “‘soil” for the multiplication of the germs of bronchitis and pneumonia. Discovery of this germ, it is expect- ed, will probably lead to the develop- ment of a method of checking its ac- tivity. This has been the process in all bacterial research. It is necessary to know what to fight in order to fight it. That the disease known as influenza has been due to & specific organism has been accepted from the first. But it, like some other malevolent ele- ments, has resisted detection until now. It would seem from Dr. Flex- ner's statement - that the influenza specifically is not in itself so danger- arrayed, fighting hard for the pres.| from this vile business of selling drugs. | After spending long periods of time | in the arctic reglons, Dr. Cook gets' arrested in Texas for violating the| All parts of the globe | inventions have! cheering to the up-to-date subscribers. ! archical traditions of Europe means ous as the diseases to which it renders the pulmonary system susceptible. Thus it would seem tha: {nfluenss in its:If is a prelude rather than a climax. During the epidemic of 1918-19 pneu- monia was the direct causs 8f most of the deaths. Physicians found it ex- tremely difficult to make exact defini- tions. There are certain symptoms that baffled them. These were doubi- less incident to the preparatory stage of the inflammation. It would now appear that the whole process of in- fection was a single sequence of the disease progression. The prevalent influenza is of a mfld[ type. It has been called a secondary outbreak. It is possible by prompt at- tention and careful treatment to check the development of the disease in the individual case and to prevent the spread of the ailment through com- munication. The Thieves Grow Bolder. Nightly the bandits make their raids on the small stores of the city, taking | few score of dollars from each, es- caping in stolen cars. They travel in squads and organize their operations with shrewdness. Just before closing is the hour usually chosen for their work, when the cash is being counted and there are few customers. Enter- ing quietly, 0 as to attract little at- tention, they work swiftly. They divide their tasks. One holds up the persons in charge with a gun while another, or perhaps two, loot the cash drawers or the safe and a man outside keeps the motor running for a quick getaway. The whole operation is usually com- pleted in less than five minutes. From the street nothing appears of a char- acter to arouse the interest of passers, The quickly working thieves may be customers or persons employed in the store. So frequently and successfully have these hold-ups been undertaken in Washington lately that the small mer- chants of the city are in a state of terror. There is no telling where the next blow will fall. Friday night one of the looted storekeepers pulled a gun when the thieves left and fired at them as they fled in their machine, causing them to abandon it and scatter. It is to be expected that sooner or later some of the bandits will be caught or killed. Some storekeeper will be en- countered who will not immediately yield to the persuasion of a pointed pistol and will resist, perhaps wound- ing one or more of the robbers. If the operations continue it is probable that some innocent person will be slain. Last night a man in the street was wounded by a shot fired by one of the fleeing robbers. Meanwhile the pistol stocks are available for the bandits, who can arm | themselves in a few minutes without the least'trouble. What with the easily ’ obtained gun and the stolen motor car the way of the highwayman is made smooth. Close the gun stocks to the thieves and crooks and keep parked motors securely under lock and key and this trade will dwindle. ——————— Stamps. Mistakes and corrections in stamps are grist to the mill of the collector, and the number of stamps requiring correction that governments have is- sued is quite surprising. Generally the imperfect or uncorrected stamp becomes rare and valuable. The latest reported incident of this nature {is that of Ireland’s green two-penny postage stamp, which was brought out in December. The body of that stamp is @ map of the green island, but it is said not to show any boundary be- tween Ulster and the rest of the is- {1and and thus not to define the Irish Free State. It is reported that the postal authorities of the Irish Free State withdrew the stamp and resort- ed to the use of the English two- penny stamp surcharged, or over- printed, with the words Saorstat Eireann, or the Gaelic for Irish Free State. Philatelists are already reach- ling out for the old stamps. i —————— Clemenceau has been called “the Tiger,” but France insists that Poin- care shall assume the role of a roar- ing lion. If the pun were permissible even in paragraphs we might have made bold to say, “‘the Ruhring lion.” In his retirement Wilhelm Hohen- zollern has neglected to demonstrate the talents as painter, poet, musician and publicist that were so confidently announced when he was emperor. Lady bootleggers are sald to exist; | the equality of the sexes being asser- tive in the underworld as well as in the realms of lofty idedlism. Klan eppears to be a failure to copy- right itself and preclude base imita- tions. SHOOTING STARS. i 1 | BY PHILANDBR JOHNSON. | Fate of the Optimist. A robin came bobbin® ! With melody sweet, ! While merrily singin’ | The ground hog to greet. ‘The morrow brought sorrow; { For that's how life is. i The ground hog is dozin'. ) The robin is friz. The Political Chase. “Qur friend has been defeated for office many a time, but you can't say | he’s a lame duck.” “No,"” replied Senator Sorghum. “He isn't a lame duck. He's & wild goose.” Jud Tunkins says the toughest hous- ing problem he ever encountered was on the night that his wife kept the door key and he didn’t get home till 2 am. ! Proper Disdain, l “I would not wed & man for gold,” | Said Geraldine Ven Slicker; “For wealth is now obtained, I'm told, By running bootleg licker. The Cheerless Associate. | “Are you an optimist?" i “I am,” replied Farmer Corntossel. “But I can’t convert the commission merchant to my way of talkin’.” “Most of us,” said Uncle Eben, “is careful 'bout rilin’ up an enemy, but don’ hesitate to hurt de feelings of a triend.” A mistake made by the Ku lilux} STAR, W America Ruled ASHINGTON, D. (. FEBRUARY 4, 1923- PART by Faddists, {Erect One Year and Bent Next BY THOMAS R. MARSHALL Former Vice President of t . United States. NE of the beauties of a de- mocracy is that it can in- dulge In fads without any danger to its institutions —soclal, economic or political fads. ‘When we tire of a thing we drop { it and turn to something new. ' One winter we jazz until every- body walks though the Vol- stead act had never been enacted. The next winter we devote our- selves to whist, and move along erect as a ramrod and with coun- tenances that outdo a preacher's or a poker player's. Economically we shout the shib- boleth of competition for a time. ‘We are quite sure that England was the most prosperous when she a nation of small shopkee ers. We seem thoroughly con- vinced that the more competition there Is and the larger the number of persons engaged In a business and the smaller the transaction the greater the safety and pros- perity of the people. Then we be- gin to talk about overhead ex- penses, and the saving and the greater efficlency to accrue from combinations of capital. We bow the knee to big business and wor- ship it as lord of economics, only to discover that notwithstanding benefits to the consumer, injustice has been done to the small manu- facturer So we enact antl-trust laws, and indict and dissolve in the name of the individual man, who must have his chance in America, regardless of what effect his op portunity may have upon the com monweal. * % ok % We become convinced that the labor union s a menace to the right of the individual to labor when and where and how he pleases. Then we conclude that the wrongs and Injustices of labor can be overcome only by united ef- fort, so we exempt labor organiza- tions from the operation of the anti-trust laws. Of course, it was not intended to exempt them from punishment for creating a monop- oly or committing any other crime, nor was it contemplated to grant the unions authority to keep from work any man who did not care to join them. But the unions and the public came to believe that some such special privilege had been granted, so recently sprang up the fad of putting the unions out of business even though they at- tempted nothing more than collec- tive bargaining and improvement of working conditions. Conservation has not escaped the faddist. The wild lands of the west are to be kept for unborn generations even though the pric of foodstuffs are mounting. The mesquite deserts of Arizona are to be converted into forest reserves. Oil and mineral lands are to be preserved for oncoming genepa- tions. Water powers are not to'be used lest somebody should make a dollar out of them. Conservation seems to be a prison wherein to confine the adventurous spirit of the conquering pioneer. We have a political conserva- tion which T deem of infinite harm to the American people. It is a sort of conservation of our intel- lectual honesty. We lat our heart throbs go on in international af- fairs. but we will not permit our inteliectual honesty to be used in the solution of those affairs. We know clearly enough there is but one of two courses for us to pur- sues, yet we seam unwilling to pursue either. It ought to be ap- parent that we are to engage in the politics of the world or that we are to return to that pleasing condition of life wherein we can say, “Let the world go hang.” We'cannot be in world affairs and out of world affairs at the same time. * ko x % Personally, T have always felt that it was the duty of America to join the league of nations and remain a member of it until the countries of the old world shall have recovered from the shell- | NEW YORK, February 3, 1923. Commenting on the audiences that | have listened to his recent lectures in New York and other cities, Emile Coue remarked that a large propor- tion of his auditors were women. This is true of all the many lectures that are given each week in New York, and a London lébturer who was here { recently made some caustic comments about it. “In New York" he said, “and for that matter in the rest of the United States, the men are 8o busy trying to ! make money that they give little thought to culture. It is the women | who attend the lectures and improve { their minds and add to thelr informa- tion. As a result of this not only are { American women rapidly becoming more cultured than the men, but in [lhe United States culture is becoming | efteminized. A lecturer addressing an !audience of women naturally adapts i nis remarke to them, and many lec tures are toned down to suit the fem- ! paragingly, differs from the masculine [ mind in many particulars. i | "Whether or not this criticism is just, {1 am reminded that in a recent speech ! to college presidents at Baltimore, Dr. | Samuel B. McCormick of the Univer- {sity of Pittsburgh complained that | “America is rapidly becoming fem- | inized,” and that Lady Susan Townley of England, in a recently published book, had this to say about New York m‘?lnn: New York he allows himself to be reduced to a state of hondage by the selfishness of a petty tyrant—his wife. His nose is kept constantly on the grindstone, and I have heard him alluded to as ‘the purse.’ He apparent- 1y counts for nothing in the house, and is not expected to appear when his wite is entertaining, unless the entertainment happens to be a din- ne Maybe it is true, but I suspect the real reason she found no New York husbands at teas was that they were men enough to say, “No,” when their tyrants proposed their going. At a Washington Square Tea. It seemed hard to believe that the little gray gentleman talking in a dignified vet forceful way in most cultured tones was Francls Wilson, the comedian, at whose antics we had lsughed so often on the old Casino stage. His subject was the commercialisation of the theater and the necessity of public -support of uch a commendable undertaking as the Equity Tlll.ltar. which is run by themselves, A" you go to France” sald Mr. Wilson, “you see French plays. In England you see English plays. Here in America, you see Frenoh plays, English pla German plays, seldom an Amerl play. We are striving to develop the American play.” Francis Wilson is one of the few actors who have saved their money. Since his retirement he has lived shock of war and returned to nor- mal conditions. I do not seek to throw a monkey wrench into the machinery of international affaira, but as an onlooker, I cannot help wondering why, if we are not go- ing to have anything to do with European politics, based as it is largely upon finance, we are con. stantly advising the peoples of the old world as to what they ought to_do. We are pouring out our money to ald and relieve a stricken peo- ple who on Christmas day, if news reports are correct. burned God in efligy. We are endeavoring to as- sist financially and to give advice touching the treatment that should be aocorded by the Turk to the Armenian. We are constantly talking about the brotherhood of mankind Our intellectual hon- esty teaches us that the apostie made a pertinent inquiry when he asked: “And_what concord hath Christ with Belial, or what part hath he that believeth with an in- fidel?” If it meant the brother- hood of man in the sense that God made all men, ves. But If broth- erhood of man means that royal- ist and democrat, militarist and arbitrationist, heathen and Chris- tian all look and think and act fra- ternally, no. Why don’t we admit that it is not so much the hook- ing up with Europe that we fear as it is the dread of brotherly re- lations with some Europeans who do not_have the views we enter- tain? We are placing the nations of the old world in doubt as to whether we intend to conserve our money and our intellectual honesty still further. We are keeping the word of promise to the ear and breaking it to the hope. Every contribution of money that goes from this coun- try to stricken Europe leads it 1o believe that in some way the American people propose to sta- bilize European affairs. * ok x % I never had any doubt that President Wilson did the best that could be done for our country. 1 still think we should have ap- proved his conduct, removed the sense of fear from France and enabled her to ‘disband her army. But a new man is at the helm of our international relations and I am trusting him. President Hard- ing has for his Secretary of State a lover of peace and a very great lawyer. 1 neither criticize nor laud what is being done. Now, as always, I am trusting our foreign affairs in the hands of the Presi- dent until his negotiations have been concluded. But I hope we shall not continue to conserve our Intellectual honesty. It should be used. Nothing is so certain to add to trouble as uncertainty. Does any one believe that the American people voluntarily will forgive the debts of Europe or ap- prove of governmental loans to any European nations? Does any cne think for a moment that the people of this country would con- sent to using our Army and Navy for enforcing peace in Europe and compelling the disbandonment of its vast staading armies? The in- tellectual honesty of America says veither of these things is possible. May we mot Rope that the old World will soon he made to under- stand this? May we not further hope that the financial experts of America and of Great Britain will find some solution to the depre- clated currency of the old world and solve the reparations problem. hereby restoring fairly normal conditions? o ox % The greatest soldier that a peo- ple has is the almighty dollar, and if he be either weak or drunken, the public policy of that people will be vain and futile. There must be a restoration of the monetary system of Europe before there can be any hope of peace. Quite prob- ably our government should not officially undertake ft, but it Is to be hoped that the' acumen of American bankers will find a So- lution in the interests of their own country as well as of the rest of the world. There will come a time when even bankrupt Europe will say to us: “We are tired of hear- You talk about it. If you are not Boing to do anything, keep still” (Oopyright, 1923, by Thomas R. Marshall.) Inside Stuff About New York ! BY WILLIAM JOHNSTON. comfortably in the suburbs, popularly reputed to be a millionair, he is devoting much time and energy to I‘nls commendable Equity move- ment. Why They Have to Reduee. At.about this season of the year you hear a lot of New York women being in the doctor's care or else un- dergoing reducing treatments. It is small wonder, for at a luncheon and bridge given for sixteen women in & Riverdale mansion not long ago here is what the women had to eat: Bronx cocktalls with cheese ca- napes, ambrosia of fresh strawber- rles, oranges and grapefrult; chicken broth with croutons, bran muffins and French rolls, with celery, olives and nuts; baby broilers, sweet potatoes cooked in sherry salad with Russian cheese balls, sticks of puft paste served with it; pistache Ice cream with little cakes, coffee. They got up from the table at 2:30 ‘and at ¢:30 tea was served with huge slices of choco- late layer cake. After which they rode home In their motors to dinner. At the Latest Fashion Show. As there are 170,000 New Yorkers engaged in various ways in making ‘women'’s clothes, and as the city every week has hundreds of buyers here from other cities, it is not surprising to find at the fashion shows that va- rious associations hold at the hotels a8 many men as women among the spectators. There is always an ele- vated runway erected, and amiq the glare of lights manlkins, with their funny waddle, stroll slowly along to give every one a chance to see the costumes. Judging by the glimpse I had of the latest one, everything this season is color. The sport dresses are sorgeous with painted figures, every- thing from the Eiffel tower to Egyptian sarcophagi. An Interesting Public Figure. One of the most interesting of re- cent New York visitors was Maj. Gen, Adolphus Washington Greely, who came over from Washington to get a medal at the Explorers’ Club, and while here was a guest at several dinners. The general in March will be seventy-nine years old, but despite the fact that he fought all through the civil war and was wounded thr times, rising from a private to briga- dier general, is still hale and hearty and actively interested in a lot of things. In between polar expeditions and other noteworthy undertakings he has lived in Washington for fifty~ three years, in close touch with all the big men in national affairs, and it is an evening well spent to listen to his reminiscences of affairs in the capital. He spends his summers in Center Conway, N. H., where his Dhg. sical activities ‘are the marvel of the other cottagers. Just now | new otatoes | browned, new peas and beans: endive | Porarily—on March 4, to play typleal | from catching fire.” dressing and | roles. This is only one of a score of jafterward rebuilt for fthe advent of 9+ Capital Sidelights BY WILL ¥, KENNEDY, In Congress there are men with extensive experience in all lines of human endeavor, from teaching school to building railroads, from manufac- turing pins and bicyclés and cheese to ralsing goats and blowing glass. Their sound advice often is of prac- tical value in legislation. To give an example: When Representative Thom- 2y L. Blanton thought to amaze the House by pointing out that the res- taurant in the House end of the Capitol {s costing the government $26.000 a year, promptly uprose Rep- resentative Allen T. Treadway of Massachusetts, whose whole life has been spent in the hotel business, and Miss Alice Robertson of Oklahoma, who was elected while conducting a restaurant. They gave expert opin- fon that such a restaurant, serving practically one meal a day. with un-| certain business, but which must be prepared to meet any immediate de- mand for service, cannot hope to break even, resentative Treadway explained that “we are not beneficiaries. We are charged the going vrice for simi- lar food elsewhere. The trouble is [you cannot carry on a business of this kind with one meal a day. No experienced caterer would take the chances, for he could not break even at commercial prices. The ques- tion is simply this: Is the time of the membership of the House worth any- thing? If it Is, you ought to have a restaurant in the building where members can go and get decent meals. “The present method of conducting the restaurant (under the committee on accounts) is the most satisfactory, and in the long run the most eco- nomical for the government,” said Representative Treadway, Under the 0ld system of letting out the privi- lege, he recalled, the food had not been good, and he called his_col- leagues to witness that mince Chair- man Ireland of the committee on ac- counts .had taken over “the un- pleasant routine of keeping careful watch, we have had a ggod restau- rant” And that expert testimony thor- oughly satisfied his colleagues. The House will continue to run the res- taurant for {ts members with decent food at going prices. * ¥ % Renewing his vouth about the Cap- itol these days is Gen. Tsaac Sher- wond of Toledo, Ohio, who, When he makes his second come-back to Con- Rress next December, will be eighty- four years old and the veteran of the House, both by virtue of his age and by having served in the Forty-third Congress when he and “Uncle Joe” Cannon were baby members together. Gen. Sherwood’s career in the House has been a chronometer on the progress of this country. When he came here first. in 1873, the horse was stil] tha principal means of con- veyance. and for years Gen, Sher- wood drove one of the finest spans of horses in this country. After he came back again, in 1907, the horse was giving way to the automobile and he had to abandon his pleasures a gentleman driver because there ere no more hoarding stables, but garages instead. When he comes back now—in 1923—it, is to see air- planes fiving across the continent and ocean. When he first came to Con- gress Alexander Graham Bell had not yet Invented the telephone. When {he comes back this year his first speech in the House will be broad- cast by radio-telephone to all parts of the country—and in that speech he will memorialize the horse. * ¥ % % ‘The most complete and valuable collection extant of the publications of the United States government since Iits beginning, in 1789, is found in the library of the superintendent of documents, at the government printing office, 'Here are 100,000 pub- ications issued up to 1909 and the number has increased to more than 300,000 since that date, showing ! in the last thirteen vears Uncle Sam {ssued twice as many documents as he did during the first 121 years. % k% Public Printer Carter has recom- mended to Congress that by adoption }of modern methods of salesmanship a 10ss in waste documents that would bankrupt any commerelal concern could be turned into a big profit. In fact, he says, the sale of its publica- tions could make government print- ing almost self-sustaining if handled as a successful advertiser promot. his_trade. For example, lawyers throughout the country would be 8lad to know that the official reports of the Supreme Court of the United States, both in the preliminary pam- d in the permanent bound can be bought fro t! - Derintendent of documente at con siderably lower price than has been charged heretofore by the private publisher. . n indication of the keen interest that the public takes in up-to-date government publications is shown by the subscription list for the Radio Service Bulletin, which jumped from 1,400 to 10,000 names in & single year. Another “best seller” last year wi the United States Official Postal Guide, of which 24,000 copies were sold, or 4.000 more than had been previously bought of any one edition issued by a private publisher who handled the guide for many years. * ok ok Ok A moving picture producing com. pany of International reputation, which has in mind to create a literary revival by depicting Dickens tales on the “silver screen,” has been ‘hot” after Representative Philip P. Camp- bell of Kansas, who looks the part, and who is leaving Congress—tem- enticing proposals made to Represen- tative Campbell. The lecture platform has made strong appeals to him. But My. Campbell has definitely decided to practice law in Pittsburg, Kan., where he has maintained an office since 1889, with a branch office here in Washington. However, there is another offer which has tempted him sorely and which he will accept If he finds he can spare the time from his law prac- tice A very prominent publishing house has importuned him to write the history of the last twenty years in Congress. This is beca Mr. Campbell has had very intimate rela- tion with what has been going on in the national legislature. For fourteen years he has been on the House rules committee, and during that period this committes took over the power for- Terly exercised by BSpeakers Reed and Cannon. He has had Intimate re- lations with every important meas- ure, because no other committee in the House had such a review of legis- lation. Beginning with the Wilson iadministration, the responsibility of the committee on rules for providing for consideration of important legis- lation has been such that few, if any. matters of general importance ha been considered exeept by speoial rule. In this connection the commit. tee has received letters from the Pres laent, and had practically every cabi- net member and important pubiic of- clal testifying before it, showing the fmportance and nature of the leglsla- sought. (g tion 8! A House Leader Mondell had a visit the other day from & man whom he had not n but once before in his lite and then more than thirty years ago, before he started on his long legislative career. Mondell had been helping to build the C., B. & Q. rall- road from Wyoming north into Mon- tana and through the Crow reserva- tion. A director of the railroad came out to loek the work over, and by the campfire Mondell told him that he was looking forward to making a trip into the Big Horn basin looking for & 'mnul-s irrigation project. AThis rallroad director confided to MEN AND AFFAIRS BY ROBERT T. SMALL. T'S a popular pastime, this “mir- | roring” of Washington, but it is seldom, indeed, that the looking- glass has sent back quite so many grins as those which have greeted the outburst of Mrs. Miles Poindexter, wife of the junior senator from Washington state, to which attention has recently been called. When Mrs. Poindexter wrote her “plece” about the gay official life here for the home papers she, of course, did not give & thought to the consequences if it should get back to the Capital city. But It would have been a shame for Washington to have missed that trenchant pen and that pungent com- ment. For instance, the cabinet meeting of last Tuesday would have been en- tirely spofled. This was the first cabinet meeting after Mrs. Poindex- ter had put the said cabinet on the grill and_toasted it to a nice, rich brown. Naturally the cabinet was interested, and those members who had escaped the pungent pen had many an arrow to sling in the direc- tion of those who had been held over the hot coals of feminine scorn. President Harding himself can pull a wicked bow when he wants to and he, too, let fly with some shafts of wit and wisdom at the expense of the supposed discomfited cabineteers, Jyho, however, refused to be discom- ted. When Secretary Fall arrived at the White House he let it be known that he was very anxious to see Secretary of War Weeks. He said some very nice ladies wanted to hold a recep- tion and wished the War Secretary would send some “handsome young officers” to attend it. Mrs. Poindex- ter, you remember, said it was great to 'be the wife of the Secretary of War because of the perquisites in the way of handsome young officers as- signed to attend your “at homes” and other social doodabs. “Well, John, have you any nice, young, handsome officers this morn- ing?" the Secretary of Jvar was asked, “Weé have nothing but handsome voung officers,” came the grinning reply. A D there was the Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Denby. Mrs. Poindexter thought she would rather have that portfolio in the cabinet than any of the others. Think of the nice speed boats on the PotomAc, the naval yachts, the Marine Band to .y at your teas and receptions, and, of course, plenty of handsome young naval officers always at command, to say nothing of the wonderful trips one could take one's family on. Secretary Denby will admit to any one that he has had a “bully time" as head of the Navy. He has had as much fun in his job as Theodore Roosevelt had in the White House, although naturally he has not broken as many pates with the big stick, But think of it, In addition to going to the Orfent last year on a naval trans- port, and flving around China in a rickety airplane which jolly well crashed to the ground with all on board, and roving the deep seas in a submarine. Secretary Denby a few nights ago went coon huntin' right outside Washington in the hills of old Virginia. There were coon dogs and real old coon-huntin’ colored persons, and of course the white hosts to the Secretary. They treed a coon and did everything that good coon-hunters ought to have done. Its a shame that coon huntin® expedition didn't get into the offictal record. Secretary Denby likes the Navy. He was in the Marine Corps during the war. And it any one should come for- ward and ask if anybody is having a good time in Washington today, Mr. Denby would give a hitch to his trousers, step forward, salute, and say “Aye, aye, sir.” or, better still, “Aye, aye madame e HERE Is one deep,dark, dank cabl- net secret which Mrs. Poindexter falled to expose. It has long been known to his assoclates in the offictal | family that Attorney General Daugh- | ® o ok ok erty possesses the only high-powered limousine in existence which sports as part of its regular equipment x large, round, shiny brass cuspidor. 1 has been the envy of other “chewers” in the cabinet, but while automotive engineers have racked their brains in studying car equipment, the Installa tion of the cuspidor was Mr. Daugh- erty's own ide Vhich recalls a story once told by 01 Bill Hurley, of the State Depar ment. A fond parent, seated in the library window, was watching hix young daughter, a sort of “Tomboy Taylor.” playing with other children in a park across the street. The fond parent was startled by seeing i< daughter suddenly set upon by a boy in a rough and tumble fight. In twinkling they were rolling on t ground, but eventually the girl landed on top. She continued to pound the yelling boy, and then, as if an inspira tion had seized her, she bent over an spat in his ear. Her horrified but still fond parent dashed across the street and admon ighed the scrappy daughter. “What in the world made you do that?” he exclaimed. “I think the devil must have got in you.” “Well, father,” said the all bu breathless daughter, “the devil ma have made me hit him and knock his down, but spitting In his ear was m own idea.” . *x % % HE air about Washington the las few days has been redolent crude and refined oil. Reason Why * Hist! Standard Of The oil barons have been here From Indiana and all points west even as far as California, they flocke. into the Capital city for the hearings that Senator La Follette is holding ostensibly in an effort to find out why gasoline costs so much. The farmer in particular want to know. No le: than five officials of the Standard « California came to town with twu trunks full of information about thei company. Fifteen or more came fror the Standard of Indiana. Soma o the other Standards still are to be heard from. Ordinarily a congressional invest: gation of this sort, with witnesse« subpoenaed from every part of the country, would be a frightfully ex pensive affair. But Senator La Fol lette and his brothers of the specia! committee are frugal folk. Althougi his name has a decidedly French tang to it, there must be a lot of Scotch (uncestry only) in Mr. La Follette Instead of Issuing subpoenas for the hearing, which would have entailed the government in travel and per diem expenses for all witnesses, the senior senator from Wisconsin has been is- suing “invitations.” The invitations Lave been so effective and inexpen- sive that they are likely to become a habit with Senate committees, espe- clally where magnates are involved. * % % % GOOD story is just out of the committee rooms concerning Senator La Follette and the hearing From time to time during the taking of the testimony the senator has ut- tered a lot of real snappy asides— crisp little jokes, as it were. On a certain day this week, just after get- ting off what he considered a partic- ularly good one, the s:nator turned the official stenographer and said. “Of course, Mr. Stenographer, you will not put these little jokes of m in_the record.” “But, genator, how am T to. know which ‘are the 'jokes?" inquired the entirely innacent-looking shorthan man. * x ¥ % NE of the oil barons in town Phil Patchin, formerly of corps of Washington correspondents and the man who handled the press arrangements for the State Depart- ment at the arms conferénce a year ago. Phil's presence started incipient rumors of a new conference, but he quickly assured his friends he waw here only to help prove to Mr. La Fol Jette what a decidedly eleemosynary institution that Standard Oil of Cali- fornia really is. (Copyright, 1923.) e Flfty Years Ago in The Star Tuesday morning, January 28, 1873, the ew National Theater,” on E street be- National Theater Is tween 13th Burned Third Time. and 14th streets, was totally destroyed by fire, and the Im- perial Hotel adjoining was damaged. The fire was discovered about 10:45 o'clock and spread so rapidly through- out the building that there was no chance to save anything but the wardrobe of the Oates Opera Com- pany, then playing there. A general alarm was sounded, but all that the fire d ent could do was to con- fine the flames to the theater build- ing and to save the adjoining struc- tures. The hotel, however, was drenched. This was the third ‘fire in a theater on the same site. The first fire occurred on March 5, 1845, the night after the inauguration of Presi- dent Polk. A performance of “Beauty nd the Beast” was then in progress, but no one was injured. The co- median, Charles Burke, then in the zenith of his fame, was the Beast the comedian, and in such characters« as Squeers in ‘Nickleby’ he had no equal. Mrs. Knight, after Mrs. Mos- sop, was the piquant of chamber- maids. Thin, pert and sparking, her bright style was that of Agnes Rob- ertson, and Agnes wasn't Mrs. Bou- cicault. Peter Richings was also in the company. Mr. Thomas Ward, a very gentlemanly and generous Eng lisuman, was stage manager, but a an actor his role was limited to tw parts, Farmer Ashland in ‘Speed the Plow' and Newman Noggs in 'Nich olas Nickleby.” As the latter his per. formance was as perfect as Owen's “Unit’ or Jefferson's ‘Rip." * k% ok “Charles Burke, ‘Our Charlie’ as he was lovingly styled here, appeared while Burton was manager and brought out ‘Putnam,’ which made = great hit with Charlie as the Yankee militia captain of the Squash Neck Blues. Toward the close of the same season Burton brought out ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and while he was on the stage as the Beast, about 9 o'clock. during the performance, the theater took fire and in an hour was of the play, and he made his escape in the costume of the part, “in which he was soon afterward seen on top of a hotel at the corner of E and 13th streets, where he had rooms, pouring water on the shingles to keep them The theater was Jenny Lind and was burned on the afternoon of February 6, 1857. ok K K In The Star of the next day, Janu- ary 29, 1873, was printed the following editorial of “Reminiscences Theatrical” apropos of the fire, which is of inter- est now, In view of the recent recon- struction of the theate “The burning of the National Thea- ter yesterday for the third time calls up among all old theatergoers many reminiscences of that classic Thes- pian_ground. The first managers of the National Theater of this city, wnral Messrs. Maywood, Craft and 'Row- botham, and their opening night was | Mr. Maywood per- forming the part of Sir Pertinax MacSycophant in ‘The Man of the World, as it has never been here since. The company may be judged by the merit of its members. Many ot us recollect Cline, with his Roman nose and stylish mode of a gentlle comedy. Rodgers did the heavy busi- ne: and a most villainous looking villain he was. His wife, also in the same company, was one of the best of the time, > little Dwight wa a great success, Mondell that he had put by quite a little money and that he had for some time been thinking that he'd 1like to do something for his fellow- man by b;emn.; just such an enter- prise, making It possible for poor people to establish comfortable homes in such a new country. He said that if Mondell's expedition turned out all right he could be depended upon to finance the reclamation project to the extent of about a milllon dollars. Now Mondell admits quite honestly that he was & sort of “rule of thumb" enginser, with gncflcll experience but not having had the opportunity for sclentific study. He took with him s enough young engineer, a graduate of Annapolis, who was then engineer of the Omaha water works, and who is now Senator- a ruin. “The first National was one of the finest theaters in the country. We have had nothing of its comforts or its elegant appointments since, and only occasionally a stock company that will compare with the first. In thowe days the theatrioal firmament was illuminated by Edwin Forrest, in his prime, when he could indeed ‘make Rome howl’ Burton, after- ward_ So tout, was then too thin to play Aminidab Sneak, but in the Mum- my, Paul Pry and John Jones—John Jones of the war office—he was irre- sistible. Joe Cowell was Crack and Pberle as one of the two Dromios will be remembered with gusto. * ¥ % ¥ “Shortly after the first destruction the National by fire Burke began hia successful career in the little Adelphia Theater, now Young's Coach Shop. on Pennsylvania avenue near 4% street, in the company of Browne & Nichols, and as Mose, in the ‘Glance at New York.' with Fanny La Roche as Lize, he made a great hit. At that time he originated the present Rip Van Winkle of Jeffer- son, Who truly asserted of Burke that he had the finest genius for comedy of that day. Burke and Joe Jefferson were half brothers, both being scions of the famous _ Jefferson stock of actors. Burke—he has been dead some vears— had more originality than Jefferson, but not the cuitivated powers of his haif brother, who yet holds the stage as perhaps the finest performer in his line now Iiving." posals before this volunteer backer only to find that he had just di They met his two sons in Chicago and_ . the _elder, after prefacing his r marks by saying he ‘“realized it w: very Inconsiderate,” as far as they were concerned, for his father to die before he could carry out his agree-| ment, which he was sure had been made in good faith and which would have been lived up to if the old gen- tleman had lived, said he himself pre-. ferred to spend the million In Paris rather than in the Big Horn basin.| ™" “Which he did," Representative Mon dell saild, and he comments philo- sophically, “It is very fortunate that we didn’t undertake our pet project with that million, because the United States government:has since put more than five millions into it—the Sho elect R. B. Howell, from the state of Nebraska. They made their Io. cations and surveys and drew plan: and came back to lay meveral pro- shone project—and’ has only two- thirds completed the work.” It was the younger son who called on Mon- del] last week.