Evening Star Newspaper, February 9, 1923, Page 6

e THE EVENING ST. With Sunday Morning Edition, WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY...,...February 9, 1923 THEODORE W. NOYES.......Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company bicago Office: Tower Bullding. European Office: 16 Regent St., London, Engiand. The Ryening Star. with the Sunday moraing edition, is delivered by carriers within the eity at 60 ceuts per month; dally only, 45 cents per month: SRunday only, 20 cents per month. Or- dors may bhe went by or telephone ‘Maln £000. " Collection 1s' wade by carricrs at the end of each mouth. Rate by Mail ble in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunda r., $8.40; 1 mo., 703 Taaily oni; $£6.00; 1 mo., §o¢ Sunday onl 40; 1mo., 20¢ | All Other States. A Paily and Sunday..1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo., 8: 1 mo., 60c $3.00: 1 mo., 33¢ | Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Pross exclusively entitled wblcation of all news dl- | dited to it or not otherwise c1 ted and iz 'the local mews pub- | A *riEnis “or “puniieation of 103 Tiereln are Al reserved pan herein. Fiscal Chaos Again? Washington rvegrets that Repre- senu Cramton, for whom the! Washingtonians who know him have ! shouid try to reopen the fiscal relations peace settlement of June 29, 1922, and to plunge the House and Senate into the old hurtful. hateful, wearisome wrangle over the fssue of definite or indefinite propor- tionate contributions toward capital | upbuilding. and over the ratio (50-30 or 60-40) of definite proportionate con- tribution. The under June ive U respeet. tanding when the act of 9 was agreed upon b}'{ House and Scnate viewed that act as a compromise measure disposing for many years of these troublesome fiscal relation issue: The District's contri- bution toward capital upbuilding was increased from 50 to 60 per cent; its| tax on intangible personalty was in-| creased 66 2.3 per cent, and the founda- | tion was laid for increas it was deprived of exclusive credi for sums of miscellaneous re- ceipts hitherto solely enjoved. this ac tion inflictir ioss. and it was compelled to accumulate from its tax | money of sent years (every cent of | which was needed to meet the urgent vicipal necds of teday) 2 fund of | n to provide in advance for meef the first half-year expenses of 1 In partial compensation for | these drastic exactions the District was to for tive years and in-| definitely thereafter the benefit of ap- ! proximate certainty as to its ratio of | proportionate contribution: it through increased respect to be shown to the Commissioners’ estimates to liave in substance the privilege of in-| fluential participation in shaping ap-| propriations of which it should pay 60 per cent. and it was to be spared for | a long period the hurtful deadlocks | over ratios between Iouse and Senate which annually endangered the Dis- | trict appropriations and undeservedly prejudiced House sentiment against | the capital community. ¢ no sooner i the definite 60-40 ratio fixed by compromise agreement, leaving only the surplus question to be decided equitably by Congress, and almost “before the: capital community has adjusted itself to its new fiscal organic act and has begun to enjoy the promised bliss of fiscal peace, & proposition appears to repudiate the agreement upon the 60-40 ratio, to| substitute a system of indefinite con- | tribution by capital and nation and to precipitate Washington taxpayers into ! the fiscal chaos from which they have recently emerged. The vital feature of the act of 19: carried over from the act of 1878, is that it fixes a definite equitable stand- | ard of national participation in capi- tal making, related to the contribution exacted in taxes from the capital com- munity, and does not leave this stand- ard to the shiftings of caprice. 1ax m ions | snan i bution. | to exercise the power taken in 1878 priated from the District’s tax reve lue. Bvery dollar he took under the tax power from the local community increased correspondingly his own capital contribution. The law of 1922 retains the principle of definite related capital contribu- tions, in which the law of 1878 was rooted. That the ratio of this relation ing power in the hands of the United States, deprives the unrepresented capital of its safeguard against ex- cessive taxation by a taxing body in which it is not represented. Whenever, if ever, the United States relieve itself from its self-im- rosed obligation and promise to con- tribute for capital upbuilding an an- nual amount, definitcly related to the local tax contribution, and shall leave that amount uncertain and fluctuat- ing, on the same basis as before 1878, it should in equity restore to the Dis- trict its power” which existed before 1878 of fixing through self-taxation the amount of its own capital contri- It the nation is to continue to tax the District as it pleases it should not free itself from the limita- tion imposed upon excessive local tax- ation by the obligation under the laws of 1878 and 1922 of correspondingly taxing itself. . If the nation is not to skare in def- inite ratio in municipal tak paying it ought not in equity to fix the amount of local taxation. If the local com- munity is to raise substantially all of ! the local revenue (with the nation ag a fluctuating and uncertain donor) the capital must on American principles be permitted to tax itself, and to de- termine for itself how much shall be raised. and by what methods of taxa- tion, and for what purposes the tax money shall be expended. Paris, for example. has full repre- sentation in the national government and also enjoys a practically self-tax- ing Municipal government in which the national government merely par- ticipates. Though Paris is the pride of France, upon which national mil- lions Doth for national and municipal purposes have been lavished, and | though the city has its elected mu- nicipal council with authority over taxation and loans, it is dissatisfied with its firancial relation to the na- tion and a few vears ago protested at | | the domination in certain matters of the central government, which appoint- ed the city's prefect or mayor, instead of permitting this officer to be elected by the people as in other French cities. Obligation follows power. Financial obligation is coupled with political power. If the natlon controls it pays, and to the extent that it controls it pays. Washington is the only capital in the world in which if certain poli- | cies prevail the nation would do all of the controlling and none of the paying. Paris wants France to pay without controlling; some men would have the United States control without paying. Analostan Island. Proposal to change the designation of Analostan Island from commercial to residential in the “‘zoning” classi- fication, advanced before the zoning commission yesterday, brings to mind the fact that that tract of river land lies directly in the way of the great park development of the capital. It is hardly to be considered now in the light of possible commercial develop- ment or use, despite its ownership by the gas company, which at one time contemplated the development thereon | of a large production plant. The possibility of the inclusion of the island in the park system was plainly suggested at yesterday's hear- ing, when Col. Sherrill noted its close proximity to Columbia.Island, which is in the making by a dredging opera- tion, and also when a representative of the gas company objected to the change of classification on the ground Two practical questions in respect to financing the capital have been of vital importance from the beginning: (1) Shall the national and local con- tributions be definite or indefinite, re- lated or independent? (2) Who shall determine the relation of the amount i . 4o have this tract of land utilized | aloofne: of these contributions. respectively? The history of the capital has dem- onstrated distinctly that these con- 1ributions should be definite and re- lated: and that if indefinite and unre- | lated to insure justice each contrib- autor should have a voice in determin- inz the amount of his contribution. Since the day of the creation of the capital the nation’s obligation toward the natien’s city has been the same— primary, exclusive and dominating. Not the obligation itself but the de- gree in which it has been recognized #nd met has been the fluctuating fac- tor in the equation. From 1800 to 1874-8 the national and local capital contributions were in. definite and unrelated. Each contrib- uted what it pleased toward capital upbuilding. The nation measured its own' obligation in terms of dollars as next to nothing. The local commu- nity raised and disbursed its own taxes at its pleasure. It measuged its capital obligation considerably beyond the limits of its meager taxable re- sources and twice became practically bankrupt in performing almost un- aided the nation's task® of capital building. v Tn 1878 the nation confessed its vio- lation or gross neglect of its capital obligation. It gave practical expres- sion to its revived sense of this obli- gation in its undertaking to pay one- half the accumulated funded indebted- ress of the District and orfe-half of future expenses. It took from the Dis- trict the power of self-taxation and assumed completely exercise of the right to fix the local contribution as well as its own. In thus exercising taxation without representation over the District the nation safeguarded the national community by the pledge that to every dollar collected in taxes from the local taxpayers should be building. This provision protected the District from excessive tazation by that it would militate against the owner in case of condemnation. ‘With the Key bridge completed just to the north of Analostan Island, end with the Memorial bridge soon, it is expected, to be carried acroes the river just below, it would be most unfortu- for commercial purposes, with smoke’ stacks and disfiguring factory build- ings. It lies in a conspiquous position, at the bend of the river. It is a natu- park, and should be pre-empted and developed as such. Analostan Island has a distinct his”, torical interest as the home of John Mason, scion of the Old Dominion, member of one of that state's most distinguished families. It has never with a small plantation. It should be acquired and thrown into the river park system, adding richly to the at- tractiveness of the front opposite the capital and linking the Virginia ends of the Key and Memorial bridges. ——— The French troops have no hope of becoming as popular on the Rhine as the American doughboys were. The latest mining experiment in Eu- rope is the use of artillery in digging coal. Russia to Keep Hands Off. Anxiety regarding Russia’s inten- tions in regard to the turmoils' and frictions in Europe will be allayed by the ‘dispatch from . Moscow, printed yesterday in The Star, stating that the soviet leaders in a series of confer- ences have definitely decided against Russian participation in any wer that may grow out of the Ruhr or near eastern situations. These leaders, it is reported, believe that Russia needs peace for her reconstruction, and want her to be in a position to play a “profitable neutral role in the Euro- pean war which some believe will be inevitable sooner or later.” ' Whether that war comes or not, it is well that Russia has decided—if this progress toward stability and equity ot governmeni. Certainly the Buro- undoubtedly Deen & factor both in the Franco-Germa and in the near eastern troubies. Doubtless the German Workiigmen wlil be disappointed to legrn that the soviet will not aid them in any strug-| gle. Likewise, the Turks, with whom the soviet is supposed to have a work- been used for business purposes, being originally & residential establishment Ing agreement that amounts to an al- It 1s /quite probable that the was changed from 50-30 tc 60-40 did; weakening in the truculent attitude of not alter the basic principle involved: | the Turks has been due to receipt of The pending proposition destroys all | word from Moscow. A conibination of jdawn of hl relation between the national and lo- | Turks and Russians would be formida- cal contributions, and, leaving all tax- | ble. The Turks alone are not likely to make a strong stand against the allled ltance. forces if war ensues. country is stfll in the depths of eco- nomic stagnation, with the slenderest margin between the people and ap- palling physical disaster. The indus- trial rehabllitation has been only be- international recognition, beyond Ger- many,and the Turks, handicaps the persisting in the expectation of win- ning' a place in the world equation. This latest report from Moscow is one of the most hopeful signs that have come out of the land of tragedy. ———— Conservation. The natural resources of our coun- try must be protected. The President in urging legislation for the &nserva- tion of forests and for reforestation of cut-over lands points out the familiar facts that we have consumed or de- timber wealth and are now using tim- ber at a rate four times as fast as we grow it. Some states and private or semi-public associations of patriotic men are interested in the work of conserving and restoring American timber, but it is a great task which the nation’ must take up. In connection with the awakening of interest in the matter of forestry it is worth noting that the commis- sioner of fisheries has issued a warn- ing that the neglect and depletion of water bottoms is seriously decreasing the production of fish. The seas, bay and rivers are the potential source of vast food supplies. The reclamation of swamp lands for the growing of crops is another question of great im- | portance. There are weighty national questions in which there should be no politics. Y. M. C A. The drive of the Y. M. C. A. to raise $35,000, the difference between its an- nual costs and income, goes merrily and hopefully on. had been passed this morning, and the their work. Emphasis is being laid on the aid the association gives to boys in the matter of secular schooling, morals and religion and in gymnastics. There can be no computation of the good which this association does in giving a Christian atmosphere and environ- ment to boys and young men, but that the benefits are very large is obvious. All the friends of the association should “come across.” and they are coming. ————————— England says she can and will pay her debts. thereby asserting a moral leadership which will not be without historic value. —_—————— The population of the Ruhr will find it difficult to believe assurance that the French are not at heart a mili- taristic nation. —————— Turkey is not the first nation to is- sue an “ultimatum” in order to afford a basis from which to start the real argument. —_——————— Russia desires to remain neutral, seeing no advantage in a financial al- liance of paper rubles with paper marks. —_——— The man who goes to sleep during a grand opera is one musical critic who has the courage of his convictions. ————e When snow falls the small boy with @ sled has the right of way regardless of lights, horns or bells. Uncle Sam should not be accused of merely because he is not a | piecipitate jolner. SHOOTING STARS. & BY PHILANDER JOHNSON More Police. 1t's evident from day to day Thet crime does not decrease, And people of discretion say ‘We must have more police. A man inclined to methods rude His dark career may stop, If you can change his attitude By making him & cop. Policemen dressed in uniform, Detectives in disguise, ) ‘Will help to calm the soclal storm ‘Which brings the world surprise. Police must be more numerous, Life's ways cannot be coarse, Nor crime exist, when all of us At last are on the force. An Orgtor’s Objection. g “Y understand that you do not ap- prove of grand opera.” It sets & bad example,” stage talks back without hesitation.” man with & low-power pocketbook. The Busy Snow Shoveler. I shoveled snow into the street \To make & sidewalk track. And then to keep the gutters neat 1 shoveled it all back. Misanthropy. \ added a dollar from the national treas- | report is correct—to mind her own|Cayenne. ‘“What a pity it always has vry-and that the aggregate revenue | husiness, to stick strictly to the task| to have a man more or less associated should be expenlled for capital up-{of rehabilitation and to make some | with it.”” “An gngegement ring is a beautiful object of sentiment.” “Beautiful, indeed!” replied Mi: “De way some people insisess on pean situstion will be much, less diffi-| blievin’ in ghosts,” said Uncle Eben, is maintained. The | “makes me suspicious dat human ne- intervention or in-{ture would rether be skyart dan be - o o N RS PR e S Russia has a big job at home. The bolshevist revolution took place about five and a quarter years ago, and the gun and proceeds but slowly. Lack of soviet, but there are signs that it is atroved 60 per cent of our original | teams of solicitors are warming to replied Senator Sorghum. “Instead of listen- ing quietly when a principal performer tells ’em something the crowd on the Jud Tunkins says a high-power automobtld is mighty liable to leave a The most fascinating story that has hit front pages for many a year comes over the wires from Egypt. Man is literally digging into the past, peer- ing down the centuries to the dim story, finding relies of that bygvne day untouched by human hands since they were laid away. It stirs the most sluggish imaginar tion. We can’t read enough of it; we Wwant more. And as for the prospect of going there and seelng that mokt ancient of all human handiwork— well, we'd almost be willing to walk. W know a young man who has fust been assigned to the hardship »f go- ing to Egypt to see the opening of Tutankhamen's tomb. He will be gone three months—shipped, fed. clothed and paid for his tme. llo Is Robert Forrest Wilson, not many months back from London, and here in Washington as {his is writte He flgures that there'll be an 12gyy tian rage this summer, with revival of the so-callgd Egyptian dances and the effect of the angular Egyptian pat- terns in women's costumes. But over at the Smithaonian Insti tution they are asking why one should 0 to Egypt to see old ruins and rel- cs where we have some pippins right here in the United States. Wea can't furnish the mummy, but we can fur- nish pretty nearly everything else. { pDr. J. Walter Fewkes is head of the institutio bureau of American ethnology. He has been ing old ruins in Colorado for the past fifteen vears Last summer he spent some time in Mesa Verde National Park, He brings back a most interest ing tale of excavations there which uncovered an Indian house of wor- ship, fifty by seventy feet, which he estimates was built in the thirteenth century, or about 700 years ago. "1 found a mound of earth, says, “one of sixteen. 1 dug for three months and at the end of that time had unearthed a building where the Indians used to worship. “We learned there, for the first time, that they were smokers. We discovered fifteen pipes in the bot- tom of one of their sacred rooms. We learned that the priests in those days sat around a shrine in the middle of a subterranean room and smoked and made their offerings. “Smoking in those days was a cere- monial custom and not a secular one. The priests threw their pipes after they had used them into this shrine we discovered. Seven hundred years later we came along and dug them up, twenty feet below the sur- tace of the earth. ‘Some of those pipes had not been smoked at all. but most of them showed the marks of thie smoke. They were all of clay, ornamented, except one. It was of stone, The house we unearthed was more han a rimple habitation. It was u he investigat- | BY WILLIAM PICKETT HELM. doubtedly a place of worship. The walls as we found them were on four feet or so high, but 1 estimatl ;li:l;‘-crl‘lnllly they were seven feet I “The ruins disclosed apparently that there had been a turret to .the house. We found the base of it; the rest had falfen down and left the rocks around {t. ““Tl tyrret wi where the Indians worshiped the s The lower cham- ber, where we foupd the shrine, Was where they worshlped the earth. “Did you find anything else In there excent the pipes?” Dr. Fewkes was asked. 'We did} an Idol, pottery, knives and stone implements of various kinds. The knives were of flint rock and very finely made, but with no handles. ‘The place was divided into rooms. Some of the rooms were for initl tion, some for storage and some for worship. We found the remains of corn in jars in those rooms. In one corner was another shrine where the Indlans of 700 years ago went to worship and deposit their offerings. “What indicated there was a shrine there?" “There was a fragment of meteor- ite as large as your hand and around it a number of water-worn rocks and one or two-little idols, % “In one place as you went out in front there was a shrine. and in the middle of that sat a stone image of a mountain llon surrounded by a number of other objects. “The building was oriented exactly at the cardinal points by observation of the suirl at autumnal and vernal equinoxes.” The action of the atmosphere on the ruins, Dr. Fewkes says, is de- structive, o he has covered the walls with cement to preserve them. orig- Inally the Indians used mud or adobe in erecting the building. About twenty tons of cement and sand have been uscd to.preserve the place. Dr. Fewkes calls the building the Pipe Shrine House. He was asked how he happened to select that name. “Well,” he said, “naming a ruin s hard thing. It reminds me of a story. “An old lady was being shown around. They showed her the ich- thyosaurus and she marveled. Then they showed her the plesiosaurus and she marveled some more. “Next they showed her a dino- saurus, Then the titanosaurus and all the other ‘sauruses’ until her mind was perfectly flab s the was going away the attend- ant asked her, ‘Well, madam, what do hink of all this? Y wel: ene answered. ‘T think they had all those old animals in the olden times, because the Bible says there were many monsters in those days. “But if you will allow me, I would I like to ask vou one question about something that isn't at all clear in my mind: How in the world did you find out the names of them? " EDITORIAL DIGEST The $14,000 mark | {Goal Truce Extended a Year, Com- mission Must Now Get Busy. The fact that the operatives and operators in the bituminous coal in- dustry have reached an agreement, and that a similar result in the an thracite field soon is expected, simply emphasizes the necessity for putting {through in the year of grace thus {secured a permanent method of avoid- ing strikes, editors believé. They em- phasize that this understanding is only a stop-gap; that the big prob- lems in dispute have not been touch- ed on, and that it now is up to the {Federal Fact Finding Commission land Congress to take such action as will compel future peace when the | present contracts are endea | Expressing warm satisfaction that the “coal strike ogre” has been ban- ished for at least apother twelve months, the Manchester Union sug- igests that “it any criticism of the [new agreement were to be made, aside from .the economic cocksure- |ness on the part of the two signatory by the way. many of the miners, if not most of them, do not approve—we can’t drive them out of the work they feel the ant to do." Inasmuch, however. as “both sides of the nego- tiation seem to be reasonably satis- the Buffalo Times believes “the welcomes an understanding defines the situation for the fled, public { which | fear.” H Because of the limited time in which the agreement is to run, the Cieveland Plain Dealer insiets that “it will be a most serious and costly error if the announcement of the agreement should be followed by any less serious effort on the part of the coal commission to deal with the problems of the industry in a cor- structive, forward-looking w: Heretofore we have waited until the omergency was upon us before at- tempting to deal with it and the remedies found have of necessity been only compromises and make- shifts. Resort should not be had to ny such expedients in the future. The peace now seeminzly assured for fifteen months should be used to the fullest edvantage by the agency in whose hands the future of the coal industry has been intrusted.” In the viewpoint of the Schenectady Gazette, “If the miners and operators 1in the hard coal fields come to as | satisfactory terms as have been re- iported from the midwest sectfon, Writer Declares Veterans Should Be Treated More Liberally. fe'the Editor of The Sta: T noticed Mr, White's articles in the National Tribune which claimed that the civil war veterans are no longer 3 power and beg to differ with him. I am a republican and fear that the unjust discrimination in pensions b tween the world war veterans and the civil* war veterans, unless rem- edied, will defeat the republican party not only in Indiana but in the nation at the next election. When one says the civil war vet- erans are no longer a power he for- gets that the allied organizations, the Sons of Veterans, the ladle auxiliary to the soms, the Woman's Relief Corps, which is one of the largest organizations of women in this country; the Ladies of the G. A. R. |2nd the Daughters of Veterans, are all strong sympathizers with- the veterans and will resent in all ways in their power any slight or neglect they suffer. No one wishes to take one dollar from the world war vet- erans, but tHere should be more equality in pensions, as the old veterans are all now totally disabled for manual labor by old age alone. At the grand review on Pennsyl- vania avenue after the civil war, a large banner across the street said, “We can never. repay these heroes the debt the nation owes them.” That was the sentiment of President Lin-. coln and is the sentiment of all patriotic people today. If our states- men would think a little more of jhelping the péople of this_country instead of supporting European armies by pouring millions into for- eign countries, the world would be better off. There are old civil war widows in this (Porter) county who are suffering for the necessities of life and have to have help as paupers from the trustee. Lincoln would turn over in his grave if he knew this, after all the promises he made pledg ing the honor and faith of the nation. NELSON J. BOZARTH. Crime Pinned Down. Dope Ring Proposed as Final " Search for the “Cause To the Editor of The Star: It seems to be an elementary scientific principle that before a disagreeable or unsatisfactory condition can be ade- quately dealt with the cause or causes producing that condition. must be dis covered. The existence of crime as an accompaniment of human experience has been chronicled from the days of picture-writing down to the present, but the causes have'been so variously re- ported and so imperfectly presented that we have had, until recently, no very real conception of them. Many of us, it is true, have been taught that “in Adam’s fall, we sinned all” and we are still constrained to believe that the very devil is at the bottom of most forms of human iniquity. Nevertheless, recent develop- ments in various fields of scientific and pseudo-scientific research furnish food for thought, and glve comfort and suc- cor to many an ill-restrained criminal impulse., Some years ago, if murder was committed, the deed was attributed to revenge, lust or the desire for cash; if a man were forcibly despoiled of his gouds the despoiler was looked upon as a common thief or robber. Then came the scientific era, and with it allethings were changed. A good,looking woman caught shop- 1ifting became merely a kleptomaniac, If a man committed murder they looked for a bone in his head, or in- voked the “unwritten law.” Alienists could be hired to swear a criminal out of the hangman’'s noose into a padded cell. Justifiable homicide beoame the order of the day, and the victim was rarely other than a ravager of hearths and despoiler of homes. In view, then, of the discovery of the causes, it was to be presumed that groups that American economic con-{there will be established a situation | the crimes would rapidly be eliminat- ditlons can stand the present price and wage scale for eighteen months | longer, it should be made, in our opinion, along the line of ignoring the public with which the parties are dealing and on which they must al- ways rely for their income.” The only thing to be regretted, the Wil- liamsport Sun feels, is “that this is not @ two-year agreement which would thus have brought a longer pe- riod between strike threats” In: much as thers “were almost as many kitches as have disturbed the nego- Europe and the ‘Turks, before the understanding was reached the Cinctnnati Commer- clal Tribune thinks the public “has cause for gratification. It almost reconciles the consumers to the mis- erable quality of coal they are privi- leged to pay double price for to their own impoverishment and the enrich- Ment of coal men generally, the miners included.” ~ This view coin- cides with that of the Boston Trav- eler, which, in addition, insists that “the public would like to see these contracts entered into for much Tonger periods, with due provision for readjusting wage scales to altered costs of living. But the only assur- ance the public has at present applies fo 1923. An equally important ques- tion, still to be answered. is whether there will be @ truce in the hard coal industry. M he Waterloo Tribune feels con- vinced that, inasmuch as the para- mount question, the “six-hour day and five-day week.,” was not touched Upon this new contract {s “only a& truce” and inasmuch as “there are 200,000 miners in excess of the num- ber needed to get out a sufficlency of coal for the country’s needs and one- third too many mines, and the re- sources of the country will have to be used to support_thess extra min- ers—a. cost to the public of $200,000, 000 per year—the coal situation can not g'. sald to have/been settled sat- isfactorily. The soviet plan would be to draft these surplus men for other work. There is a demand for help in other industries. But under our system of government—which, -_———— | name a1 with more hope for suoceeding years. The agreement in Ohio. Indiana and Illinois creates a permanent organi- zation for the adjustment of differ- ences, which makes of naramount im- portance an unceasing supply of fuel. This I8 the real end to be attained.” And, while another strike “would have been suicidal.” the Milwaukee Sentinel Insists that ‘“considerably more remains to be done if the in- dustry is to rehabilitate itself in public esteem. The coal indusiry is now on probation and it remains to be seen whether it will live up to its promise to reform itself. The trend in Congress is toward regula- tion of coal mining as a public utility. In that status there is little comfort for the advocates of nationalization who may -expect palmy days for either workers or operators. They may get government regulation, but it will hardly be the kind of regu- lation that promises profits and eas: jobs at the expense of the nation. A drop in market prices may be hoped for as a result of the agree- ment, the Indianapolis News suggests, as “there are indications of lower 1figures. Coal prices this winter have been a serious burden that has in- terfered with the comfort and proba- bly with the heaith of the people, and in all probal has been re- flected in the price of other article of consumption. for there are few. of either necessities or luxuries, into the production of which coal does not enter. “This is only a truce.” however, the Baltimore American ineists, and be- rfore April, ‘1924, the federal commis- sion should have reported and consid- erable progress been made toward framing a national polloy that will prevent strikes and high costs and in- sure a steady supply of fuel. This allows none too much time, but the knowledge that the wage question will arise again in little more than a year should prevent anv further de- jays. 1f the coal commission finishes its work as it has begun, if it offe n_acceptable remedy for the over- development which it recognized in a preliminary geport as tho chief cause of tie-ups, th country may have seen the last of nation-wide coal strikes.” Germany Not Entitled to Sympathy. To the Editor of The Sta The narrative of Germany's trial ana tribulations, as industriously set forth from day to day in the columns of the public press, is 2 moving tale, calculated to make angels, (of dark-: ness) weep. But it is not easy to un- derstand why her appeal for sym- pathy and help should influence or mislead any intelllgent person with an operf mind, endowed with memory. and understanding, and capable of logical reasoning. Germany entered upon-a war of conquest aimed at the destruction or enslavement of France, suggesting and approving unparalleled cruelties. violating every .principle and law of civilised warfare. And she probably would have succeeded had it not been for the belated help extended to the allies by the United States. At the outset, conscious of her su- perlority ih numbers and resources. she _boastfully served notice on the worid that Gérman statesmen regard. ed solemn treaties as mere scraps of paper, when they happened in any way to conflict with their interests. Beaten in the fleld, she resorted to e arts of cunning, of deceit, of and treachery. Although psed sinoe the ces- tilities, the official have sire or intention of observing in goo faith the obligations and prgmi!a‘l tg which they were pledged by the treaty. Why. then, should Americans find fault' with France for resort- ing to coercion, when every other means of obtaining reparation have failed? Superior force is the only thing Germany seems to fear or re- apect. ‘While protesting inability to pay, the great captains of industry, in Iger’- many, are reported to have profited greatly from their post-war activities and to have Invested the sums in gold thus realised in foreign countrie: yond the reach of ereditors. Cog- nizant of such’ conditions, the German government, by a master stroke of high finance, put in cireulation bil- lions of paper marks/without provid- ing reserves to meet payment. Hun- drads of millions of this paper cur- rency have been disposed of to sym- pathizers or speculators in the United States and other outside countries, What the holders will receive for their investment may be left to the imagination. The chief syfferers, who deserve the sympathy of all right- thinking people, are the helpless la- borers and small tradesmen, com- pelled to accept this paper in pay- ment for goods or services. ‘These promissory notes semble the reparation promises, to be evaded, f not definitely repudiated. How are negotiations to be conducted with & nation that enters into treaties only to disavow or evade their obliga- tions? . FRANCIS la"iAlNl!. ed and that the millennium would soon be ushered in. But. alas and alack! the more causes uncovered, the greater the wave of crime. Evidently the ultimate cause had not yet been discovered. And ~then, almost overnight, we knew! Dope! Yes, sir. that was just what it was. The doctor gave you paregoric for the tummyache, or the dentist jabbed a hypodermic in vour gums to pull a tooth, and from that moment you simply had to have your dope. Of course, it didn't stop there. Dr. Bunkum wouldn't sign a prescription for less than $10, even though you offered him $9.95, and so you chloro. formed him and forged the prescrip- tion; or the corner drug store raised its price, whereupon you blackjacked the proprietor and filled your needle. It even invaded the courts. Every time a white-faced prisoner appeared before the bar of justice to plead to robbery or manslaughter, assault or arson, he turned out to be a dope victim, and not a criminal at all. How fortunate it is that we disco ered the cause before it was too lat. Now, if we just get rid of that nasty dope there Will be no need for jails or judges, police or patrol wagon The reckless driver will be a thing of the past, and the wife-beater as extinct as the doda. I move you gentlemen, that a committee be ap- pointed to investigate the operations of the dope ring and to draft a law | prohibiting the shipment of dope in interstate commerce. _Meanwhile let 18 start & drive for the collection of unds pay organization e: und hire-a secretary. e ARTHUR VAN METER. Says Name of Shoals Is Spelled “Mussel” To the Bditor of The Star: In & recent issue of your paper there appeared a short article, re- printed, I think, from McClure's, rel- ative to Mussel shoals—origin of the its correct spelling. Please allow me space to give my version of the matter, and on what it is based. My recollectibn of the facts extends back to about 1850, and at that time, and for years thereaft- er, the district school. teachers and the scholars of twelve years and over probably knew more about Mussel shoals than is now known by nine-tenths of our people. Geographies in use in the schools during that lod made mention of the shoals—the name and location; and.I am almost certain that the name was spelled as I now give it and that it was based on the discov- ery in its waters of mussels, or fresh water clams, in large numbers. days these mussels were found in many of the streams of t! north and west, and they are yet plentiful In somb localities. / For in- stance, a few months ago the Nation- al Republican contained an article based on statements made by a mem- ber of the House of Represehtatives, that on the Iilinois river in his dis trict there were factories that pro- duced almost the entire output of the country of pearl shirt buttons, made from the shells of mussels, or fresh water clams, found in the river. Strange to say the paper in that ar- ticle spelled the name right. Webster's ‘High, School Dictionary, an abridged edition of the original, gives only the word “muscle, the fleshy fiber in arimals’; also “a cer- tain shell fish.” The Crown Diction- ary,fbased as the guthor says on Web. ster's Unabridged, gives the same defl- nition of “muscle,” omitting, however, the fish story, and in the next column contains the word “mussel,” and th definition, . “a marine edibis bivalv A & C FOSTER. BY PAUL V.'COLLINS. Some one has cruelly suggested that a major part of the $4,438,164.92 belonging to the District of Colum- bia which the Treasury had lost irf its account’ng be devoted to estab- lishing.a “chair” of accountancy in all kindergartens.. New discoveries by experts now claim several millions more, while a statesman in the House denies that anything is due the D trict. What are a few millions, more or less, between such friends as the District and some of the members? 1t is folly not to install a cash regis- ter where it can be used by all who receive or disburse the funds of these poor “subjects” of Congress. It is too easy to mislay a million. * % % % Many months have followed the éismissal of twenty-eight old em- ployes of the bureau of engraving and printing. The dismissal was made so summarily and in such a cloud of accusing mystery that the public could draw but one inference, and that of the most damning char- acter. The victims of that dismissal could hardly face the world, while under such a cloud, and expect pri- vate employment. A prisoner Te- leased from the penitentiary was in a better position to ask for another opportunity to make good. having paid the penaity of his misstep. The {dismissed employes could not claim lln,v defense, any retribution, for llhere were no defined accusations. One died broken-hearted. How have the others survived? * kK Ok Ten months have followed since that scandal. Now it transpires that it was all a mistake. Nothing crim- inal has been discovered. The admin- istration is “sorry.” Maybe the vic- tims will be reinstated—some day— for all were under civil service pro- tection and none had done any Wrong thing. Probably they will not be put back at their old salaries nor in their old positions, but somewhere, somehow, at some rate, they will be “taken care of.” No, their idle time is not to be recompensed. Sorry! That's their misfortune. Sor One is dead, with a broken heart * ¥ % X It appears that the President trust- ed to the report of some personal in- vestigator of the rumors that some- thing was wrong. The investigator looked in and counted the sheets of money—perhaps—and his cash failed to balance, 8o the twenty-eight trage: dies were ordered. Since then, calm, searching_investigations have been made by Treasury experts and noth- ing—nothing criminal—has been_ un- carthed. The dismissals were blun- ders. The President was misled by superficial Investigation. _Of course he will make amends. When? The dismissals were more sudden than the amends. * ok k¥ Weeks have elapsed since the vin- dication by the investigators. From day to day. word has come that the twenty-seven would be given re-em- ployment. though in other service, and at reduced salaries, They were quife innocent as charged, but must not complain. Still no assignment has been made. No apology from the President is_forthcoming. en the Secretary of the Trpasury appeals for i e to the victime, but the De- partment of Justice officials (save the ‘mark!) would justify the President in doing nothing more about the matter. ecretary Mellon frankly says that merely giving the victims re-employ ment is not sufficient vindication. What is the mystery behind the situa- tion? Why does not the President act? Senator Caraway has introduc- ed & resolution calling for an investi- gation, but that hangs in committee. * * % x The Senate insists on the rein- statement by the House of the regular retirement pay of Maj. Gen. Harbord. The major general retired from the Army, as entitled to do, under the re- tirement law. Then he became head of a business enterprise, for he is far from superannuation. Because hix company deals in rubber supplies such as the Army sometimes buys, a propaganda was set going to claim that he was not entitled to the regu- lar retirement pay, so long as his company might have occasion to sell upplies to the government. That Is why the House cut out the appropria- tion to pay him, which the Senate now insists should be restored. * * k¥ An officer's retirement pay is pari of the government's contract with a officers, in both Army and Navy. To | repudiate that contract after a so dier has served forty years—and served as brillfantly as did Gen. Har bord, in actual fighting and in po sitions of highest responsibility—Iis incomprehensible from any stand point of national honor. The ples that he might make a profit if his rubber company should sell to the government is puerile. How easy | would be to meet such a contingency by even establishing & rule never to buy from any company having in irs employ a former defender of the na tion. That might bar out some 4,500, 000 companfes, but the nation mus: and shall be saved! Repudiation of financlal obligations to retired of ficers is besmirching the sanctity contracts. America cannot afford that record, regardless of who wan's to stab Gen. Harbord's welfare. I is America--not Harbord—on trial. * ® x x Nobody everran for Vice Presiden of the United States for the sake the salary—$10,000 a year. The po sition is one of very great honor, for it is second only to the presidency. and carries with it the necessity of maintaining the dignity of the office whether the incumbent wants 1c shine socially or live a quiet life He has no choice, provided he fui fills his obligations. His salary is S0 small that it melts away, no mat ter how he tries to economize. * k¥ Kk When the republic was formin\ there was much discussion as tc whether even the senators should receive pay for their services, the argument being that the honor was sufficlent compensation. The spirit of democracy resented the plan to reserve senatorial honors only tfo: the rich, and salaries were estal lished. It is the spirit of the repub lic, therefore, never to trade or “honors” in lieu of salaries. Thix principle is found also in the law which forbids the government ac cepting free service of any kind though that provision is made mockery byl *“dollar-a-year” salaries The salary of the Vice President though it is $10,000, violates that principle forbidding gratuitous sery ice, for he is obliged to spend it al 1o fulfill his office obligation. Now comes the offer of a suitable home for Vice Presidents while ir office. It 18 not an overelaboratr home, yet its upkeep, in style whic) will be required of a Vice President in entertaining foreign dignitaries etc., will take more than the presen:' salary. Congress is aghast at th. thought of adding a moderate appro priation for the upkeep of the hou and may refuse the gift of a $500 000 mansion, because the coal and wate and other incidentals will cost, sa $12,000 a year! The nation has grown beyond Jef fersontan simplicity. The social func tions put upon the White House have provad disastrous burdens in-_more than one se, Witness the presen effects of the strain upon the firs lady of the land. It may well b considered whether that strain may not be shared. No possible dungc: could ever arise of any lessening o the leadership of the White House. President Harding has alreads struck a new trail in regard to th« vice presidency, by inviting Mr. Coo idge to sit in the councils of the cab inet. not only as an understudy of the administration. but as llaison with Congress and as adviser-in-genera It will be no greater departure from precedent, now. if the Vice President is given a home. with maintenance suitable to his position. . Acquitted of Toting a Pistol When He Had Gun in His Pocket Representative John Q. Tilson of Connecticut, native of Tennessee, has just regaled his colleagues with the story of how he won his first law case and I a bet. For, although Tilson has been in Congress so long that he is now a veteran legislator, he is, first of all, a lawyer. Ifitis of the future he speaks he pic- tures himself back in the Nut- meg state again in the work of the law, and if he turns to the past he is ready to tell of his earlier ex- periences in the practice of law in the mountains of Tennessee. Challenged the other day in the JORN Q. TILEON. o eker's lobby by a group of reminiscing members, Tilson gave a word picture of him- self pleading his first case in court He had just graduated from the Yale law school and had returned to his log-cabin home in the mountains of Tennessee. Admission to the Tennes- see bar was easy in those days, he recalled, o he got himself admitted and followed the courts about the circuit for two or three months. His first case - was in his home gounty, Unicol, in East Tennessee. It was a pistol:toting case. His client, the defendant, who lived in Sodom, only a few miles from the Tilson homestead, had the sturdy name of “Doc” Pate. There was no signifi- cance in his title, Representative Til- son says, for he was a total stranger to medicine, dentistry, divinity, let- ters or law; but, as there is usually one person in every well regulated community called *“Doc,” without rhyme or reason, the honors fell to “Doc” Pate to carry the title down to posterity for .the Sodomite: The weight of evidence in the case leaned heavily to one side, and it was the wrong side so far as “Doc” was concerned. . Young Tilson made the best he could of a bad situation, but he admits that Mr. Webster or Mr. Choate in his best days might have | handled the case fully as well as he did., The jury retired and Tilson was prepared for the worst. So was the accused. To the surprise of everybody in the courtroom, the jury very soon re. turned %ith a verdict of acquittal. The face of the venerable judge light- ed up for a moment and took on & puzzled expression, indicating that In his mind the innocence of the ac- cused was not so clear as it ap- parently was in the minds of the jury. In & moment, however, either the doubt passed away or possibly he harked back to a time long gone by when he himself was a roystering youth. With an admonition to for ever thereafter refrain from com mitting the offense of which he ha been accused but acquitted, “Doc was allowed to go free. As the jurors filed out after being dismissed one of them was asked how it was possible for them to de- cide as they had in the face of all the evidence. “Well” said the old farmer, “he was defended by Squire Bill* Tilson's boy, from the Clea Branch settlement, away up in the mountains. Squire Bill's boy has been away off yander to Yale, and has come back with a dieplomer. which, as T understand, means that he has larnt everything there is to be larnt. You know, he is the fust boy outen this whole country to go off to college and get a dleplomer. He hax jist come back and this is his fust case, 8o we thought he ort to be incouraged.” There was no answer for so sound an argument. This budding Webster, bearing the honors of his forensic victory with becoming modesty, withdrew to the front of the courthouse to receive the congratulations of his many friends. One, a resident of Sodom:. where it is the boast of the inhab tants that they “have no hoo larnin’,” and who also knew the ac cused, not entirely convinced by the argument upon which the case had been decided by the jury, raised a discordant note. He offered to bet a sllver dollar that at that very ment “Doc” Pate had a pistol in his hip pocket. Tilson said: T never was a betting man, but I felt #t was my duty to stand .up for the integ- rity of the court and the honor of my cllent; #o I took the bet with- out knowing how it was going fo be decided, but that came soon. “The gateway leading from the courthouse was blocked by the throng. So my client, being quite athletic and feeling elated over his escape from the clutches of the law, sprang over the courtyard fence at one leap. When high in the air a big bulldog pistol fell from his hip pocket and landed in the midst of the pass ‘ing_throng.” ‘When asked if his client was ar rested for this accldentally adver- tised violation of the pistol law, Til son said: “Excuse me, T must go back to the chalr and finish up my Job of presiding over the Army bill; but 1 don't think he was. Stung by the dis- grace which my ungrateful client had brought upon me, as well as the loss of the bet, which was more than the young scoundrel had paid me for my very effective services; I recall that I then ‘wished that he might be arrested and banged.” -