Evening Star Newspaper, February 12, 1923, Page 6

'THE EVENING STAR, With Sunday Morning Editlen. WABHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY. ... February 12, 1923 THEQDORE W. NOYES. Bl L SRR SR o . The Evening Star Newspaper Company sylvania Ave. Business Office, 11th St. and Pt New York Office: 130 Chicago T Eurepess Office: 16 The Breaing Star, with the Sunday morain ‘dolfvcrad by Gacviara withia th r month; dally on'y, 45 cem L 30 e be wai; 5000. lect 11 de b o0t it At Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday.. Taily only Sunday en Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press fs exclnaively eatitled ation of ell news dis- ! not otherwise credited te the use for Tepul patehes creditea oIt or d also the local il T More Time for Settlement. Grant of an extension of three days by the Turks to-the allies in the mat- ter of the occupation of Smyrna har- bor suggests that the government at Angora is disposed to proceed very slowly toward war, if at all. there is nothing in the communica. tions to indicate directly the purpose of the Turks to find a way out of what has become @& most dangerous situa- tion, it is always reassuring when a time limit is get back to permit further discussions. In this case the further the matter is discussed the less likely is a hos- tile outcome. No matter how greatly aggrieved the Turks may feel over their failure to secure from the allies at Lausanne a measure running over with concessions and acknowleds- ments, they are not in & position to fight an alliance of England and France, with Italy regdy for aid. Two aspects appear in this situation N of concern to the world at large. Will | there be warfare? Will there be a settlement favorable to the future pro- tection of the defenseless Armenians and other Christians living within the zone of Turkish authority? At Versailles end at Sevres the Turkish problem was handled with extreme care to prevent the inflaming of the Moslem world. The Turkish na- tionalists organized a government and appealed to Islam for sympathy and for aid. Greece undertook, perhaps with the unwise indorsement of a larger power, a military campaign in Asia Minor that had for its object the establishment of Greek authority on the mainland as well as on the islands where Greek colonists lived in large rumbers. The Greeks failed miserably and tragically in their campaign, and precipitated this new menace. Now the powers are trying to work out a new settlement. Admiration for the character and abilities of Kemal Pasha will not soften the feeling that a rehabilitated Turkey stands as a threat to the peace and the lives of millions of people of the Christlan faith, who have for many centuries lived within the area of Moslem domination gend who have been periodically subjected to atroci- ties. For the aspiration of the Turks to maintain their own government, somewhere in Asia, there will be gen- eral sympathy. For their demand for full restoration of political power in Burope, with the infinite potentiality for mischievous intrigue from the van- tage point of Constantinople, there ean be no support. 1f war should come the prayer of the Christian world is that it will be waged thoroughly, and to the end of a definite settlement that will remove the Turk from the European political equation, grant to the Christian minorities within the area of Turkish sdministration the fullest protection from persecution and, if that be pos- sible, put an end to the perpetual threat of disruption which Islam signi- Ses. —_—————————— Waste Lands Near Home. ‘The United States seeks to map out and adopt a nationel policy with re- gard to conservation of forest re- sources and reforestation’ “in which the federal government, the states and privaté interests” will be called on to co-operate. The Senate has e special committee on this subject. Sawmills and fire are destroying American tim- ber at an alarming rate, and provision for replanting the land with trees is sa far below the needs that it is scarce- 1y worth mentioning. One can get & small picture near Washington of the waste of woodland. It has been many generations since there have been in the region of Washington “foresta” in ' the western and southern senme, but there were numercus and goodly stretches of treeland which we called “*woods” and ‘pines.” Their destruc- tiop has gone on and on, and only a small section of the old treeland has ‘Ween put under crop growth. Most of it, stripped of everything marketable a® lumber, ties, poles, pulp and cord- ‘wood, has been left to grow up &s best it could. There has been no appreci- able effort at replanting or clearing sut the brush that a stand of timber trees might be developed, and very lit- tle of the land has been cleared for corn, wheat and tobacco. One can travel through many miles of these lands in the lewer Potomac counties of Maryland and Virginia. ——— The Black Hand is suspected of a distnclination to let the Ku Kluz Kien have the spotlight entirely to itself. ————— It is insisted that the league of na- tions would be different if America * had gone in, but 0 might America.’ - + Inmcorporating s Family. _ A famlly in New York, evidently not native end to the rganner born, has " incorporated itself for certain pur- poses which are set forth in the ar. ticles of Incorporation. The surname of the incorporators is Balaben, and the baptismal, or the first, names of the group are Morrls, Isidore, Ben- Jamin, Max, Harry, Louis and Barnet. "The incorporation ef family societles +has been brought about before, but it “"has ususlly bsen in the case of fami- Uss of large end ‘scattered: numbers, Editor and one of the purposes of such in:|heavy handicap of climete, stubbern carparation hag been the collection and | mountain walls and unruly rivers the preservation of family records. In the | canal was conatructed, & monumental case of the New York family of Bala-| work of engineering. sdministration ban there are nine incorporators, and |and sanitation. The canal hes proved the purposes of the corporation in-|a gvoat success. It .has even ‘‘made clude to “maintain a place of meeting | money™ for the government, at such a where members of the carpordtion |rate that now there la talk of repeat- 5 eity per per miouth. Or- ‘telephoae Main currlors at the ! tavorably impress the minds of many sews pul igbta of pubilestion”of are also While | may gather to discuss various' politica? }and social questions, to render volun- | tary aid end financial assistance to members of the corporation, to foster | good fellowship and friendship among ! the membere, to learn from each other and teach each other American prin- ciples and to learn of American insti- tutions Ly means of social gatherin, lectures and discussions.” These are reasons for incorporation which will Americans, and they may wish that many other families, native wnd non- native, might incorporate themselves for like purposes. The question may suggest itself why it should be neces- sary or convenlent for a. family to in. corporate itself to discuss famlily af- { fairs, politics, social questions and| | American institutions, hut there is no! need to enswer sugh @ question. If a family wants to incorporate itself to hold meetings for such purposes one should let it go at that, If articles of incorporation tend tg promote or pre- serve harmony and good fellowship in a family the experiment is worth watching by a great many native American families. et The Boy Scouts. 1t is & truism to claim that the fu- ture welfare of America is more large- Iy dependent upon the mental, moral and physical welfare of its boyhood today than upon any other single fac-! tor. It is fair to assert that there is! no more/beneficent influence upon the mental, moral or physical welfare of boyhood today than that exerted through the Boy Scout movement. The relationship of scouting to the future of the nation, therefore, be-| comes axiomatic. America stands toduy at the verge of an era of breath-taking import. The { leadership of the world is reposed in her. Upon what she shall achieve through that leadership, upon what she shall make of the opportunity that | {is hers, depend her own security and prosperity and peace and that of the | world. We need. and at any sacrifice { we must provide for, coming genera- { tions of American men who, rejoicing soberly in their splendid birthright, shall meet the problems which will be theirs to solve with bodies clean and vigorous, with minds alert and sincere, with hearts in which the fires of kindliness and patriotism and Christian faith shall burn steadily. Such men canuot but result from the | training of the youth of the nation to-| day in the principles and ideals of the { Boy Scout movement. It is in this con- | l\'icuon that an effort is today being| made to cxtend the opportunity of| scout training to 100,000 more boys | throughout the country. ‘There are today about 8,000,600 boys of scout age in the cauntry. There are today about 420,000 active American Boy Scouts. More than seven and a half millions of boys are today being denied participation in a movement which could not fail to equip each one of this number more ably to meet the responsibilities which will be his to- morrow! The benefits of scout training can be brought to an increased number of boys only as competent leadership is forthcoming. The scout movement today needs the active backing of| men strong in those qualities which | ‘we must find in the men of tomorrow. It needs the indorsement and support of mothers and women'’s organizations, of church and school and business or- ganizations. Its needs must be met. The whisper of disapproval of the aims or methods of the scout movement has yet to be heard. The voice of approvel end en- couragement in a splendid work splen- | didly carried forward is unanimous. ‘Washington, with the rest of the na- tion, must and will make concrete ev dence of ite appreciation of the vital necessity for extending the principles of the Boy Bcouts to the last of its| boys. i ———— At the age of seventy-seven Thomas | A. Edison says he expects to keep working until he is 100 years old. A/ grateful world will hope that he will, on rounding out this period, permit! himself more years in‘which to enjoy golf gr any recreation such as may strike his fancy. ———— Paris declines to receive any more notes from Berlin on the Ruhr situa- tion. St. Valentine’s day means noth- ing in this case. ———— Bear hunters in New York state are | reporting that the sport is less strenu- { ous than Tammany tiger hunting and is bringing more results. ———————— England end America lpp‘renllyl agree that to talk business frankly promotes an inclination to discuss sentiment sincerely. 1 Talk of Another Canal. Discussion of & possible second | isthmian canal, on the Nicaragua route, revives memories of the time when this government was weighing the respective merits of that end the Panama, course for a waterway be- tween the oceans. There was much strenuous advocacy of each. The Nicaragua route was the longer, but with e great lake in the interior to serve @s part of the line the actual cutting, it was claimed, would be, less than at Panama. Nicaraguan advo- eates, too, pointed to the disposition of the Chagres river at Panama to flood inordipately and eause a disastrous swelling of the canal current, possibly to sweep away the locks and destroy the banks. Partisans of Panama noted the proximity of velcanic mountains to the Nicareguan route, with their potentialities for damage to cuts and construction: For a time there was fear lest the urging of faults in one or the other route was calculated to block all con- struetion; that, indeed, it was so de- signed. Railread interests were ac- cused of exerting & mischievous in- fluence o prevent the undertaking, by either route, Partisanship for the re- spective lines ran to a high pitch, and some sharp words were said in debate in Congress. Panama was chosen, and against the H ing the enterprise. In the recent discussion of this mat- ter point has been made that'a canal &t Nicaragua would cost much more now than it would have cost if under- taken twenty years ago. That goes without eaying. Everything costs more now than it did two score of vears back. One estimate puts the price of a second canal at a billion. It that figure had been breathed as a possibllity when the project was under discussion at the beginning of the cen- tury everybody would have been stag- gered. But since then the world has been talking in terms of billions, and there is no longer any reason to shrink from the nine-figure suma. The Panama canal is making money at & rate that no optimist ventured to pre- dict when it was started. Some day, without doubt, that sec- ond canal will be constructed, and probably at Nicaragua, wheie this government has & concession. It is well to have had the matter brought to the point of serious consideration by the cabinet. For the volume of affic at Panama is now so great that 1in a very few years relief will be nec- essary there. Considering the length of time that such a work requires, and also the length of time it needs in the stage of decision, this present con- templation of the matter is by no means premature. ——————— Div: If the word “diva” was used in any of the notices and criticisms of the recent grand opera in Washington it was surely not conspicuous. One fre- quently ran across “prima donn the Italian for “first lady,” and re- minding one of the English theatrical phrase “leading lady,” but one could read a long way in the opera critl- cisms praising the singers without meeting the word “diva.” That word suffered a slump in popularity during this and the preceding generation, the words “artiste” and “star” taking its place. Grandpa and grandma in speaking of Jennie Lind, Parepa Rosa, Adelina Patti and other great and charming singers laid stress on the word “diva.” It was an Italian word for “goddes: while “divus” was the masculine form. From “divus” have come the words “divine” and “divin- ity."” Anybody interested in the matter can trace that the Italians in making “diva" and “divus" modified the Latin “dea" and “deus” for goddess and god, and that the Romans got “‘deus™ from the Greek “zeus,” and that that word was descended from the Sanscrit ‘dyaus. God the Creator and Almighty is *'Dio,” The current Ttalian word for | . THE WAYS OF WASHINGTON BY WILLIAM PICKETT HELM. If you had had m claim against & man for more than 110 years would you eall It quits and drop it, or would you press it? If you are an Indian, the chances are you would press it. At least, there is such a claim being pressed now against the government of the United 8tates by a trida of Indians in Canada. The elaim probably is the oldest in the world. It goes back to 1812 Maj. Fred K. Nielsen. until recently solicitor of the Department of Btste and now agent of the Pecunlary Clzims Arbitration Commission, ia en- gaged at the present time in looking up the facts and the law in the case and in about a hundred other claims involving the United States and Great Britain. * Some of these claims are quite ancient and all of them have Teached the stage where they must be arbitrated, The commission has not met since 1914, but expects to meet eitber in Washington or London during the spring. At that time it is 1lkqu that many of these old claims will be settle The United States and Great Britain cach appointed one member of the commission. Those two selected the third, and chairmau. He is & French- man, the chief law adviser of the French foreign office. That anel Cayuga Indian about $1,000,000. 4 The state of New York made a treaty with the Cayuga Indlan nation —in 1789, 1 believe—according to the laimants, under which the state re- ceived all, or about all, of the Indlans’ land upon the payment of an annuity, to run forever, of $2.400. The British, on behalf of the Cana- | dian Cayugas, claim that the annuity has not been paid since 1812 when the United States and England went {o war, or that if any been made since then, they were made to the wrong Indians, They are asking for $3,400 a year since 1812, with interest. There are A sreat many ramifications to the case. One of the phases involves the help given by the Indians to Great Britain during the war of 1812, The British seem to have looked after their redskin friends when they made peace with the United States, for the old treaty contains a provision that such Indians as helped the British should be restored to all their rights. However that may be, the pleadings on each side fill three volumes. Mean- time three generations of Indians have come and gone—and the old claim lives on, unsettled and drawing interest by the minute in_ case it should be decided as a valid claim. In that event we would have to pay it. By the terms of the arbitration the United States is bound to accept the award. case. It involves r old claims to be settled by the commission this spring. When Dewey sailed into Manila bay twenty-five vears ago he cut a British cable. Gen. Greeley, commanding American forces in Cuba, also cut British cabl There are oth still askin T "l payment for the damage. ey are and forms of “deus” appear in French | as “‘dleu,” and in Spanish as ““dios.” Out of this old word come the words “deity,” “deify,” “‘deist,” “deism” and others. ‘When music came to be a great pas- sion or diversion with the Italians they applied the word “div: or goddess, to woman singers of high merit, and gradually the word came to stand sim- ply for a very talented and distin- guished woman singer. It was in that sense that our grandparents used it. 01d readers will recall that they spoke of Jennie Lind or of Patti as “the diva.” Baltimore is in fear of sleeping sick- ness, and is an object of solicitous néighborly sympathy. Somnolence may be envied as a habit, but not as a disease. Mining on the American continent limits itself to physical disasters which are serious enough without political and military complications. A new currency problem presents itself. The greasy coin and the worn paper bill are favorite camping grounds for the grip germ. Those in Rusaia who are feeling the i lack of food naturally regret that they did not become dancers end journey to America. France is closely occupied in watch- ing the Ruhr strikers for outgoing coal and incoming money. The political bosses have had their dsy, emong.them Wilhelm Hohenzol- lern. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON Satirical Dilemma. He used to cultivate a pen For references drastic, And earn @ stipend now and then By sentences sarcastic. ‘But now the world seems bright and fair Beyond the slightest question, As, every day, he reads with care A book on self-suggestion. For work, he's fearing very much, He can't be in condition, And all because he's getting such A lovely disposition. Oratorical Amenities. “Qur friend has a wonderful flow of languege.” “He has,” answered Senator Sor- ghu “his words run swiftly, but his ideas always seem to be struggling up- stream.” Jud Tunkins says he's glad the cal- endar leaves a wide space between Thanksgiving day and income tax day. The Precious Moment. Each moment is precious, we're told More valued than silver or gold; But its service in payment . For food and for raiment Depends upon how it's controlled. Insomnia, | “I missed & lot o' sleep last night,” remarked Three-finger Sam. “Worry?" “Yes. Lost three stacks o' blue chips the first hour an’ couldn’t get "em back all night.” “De truth,” saild Uncle Eben, “is whut de average man likes to hear about somebody else.” \ i {Diplomatic Reorganization Will Give the Poor But Brainy Man a Chance. Unqualified indorsement comes from the newspapers of the country to the seneral proposition to reorgenize the diplomatic and consular gervice In such 2 manner that the poor man with brains will have an opportunity to enter and vemain there. The pro- visions of the Rogers bill are accept- ed as a long step forward, sithough it likewise urged that the pay scale for the entire service must be moved upward if the right caliber of candidates are to be attracted to rep- resent the United Sta abroad. And, because this is not done in that in- stance, there are a number of critics who hold that the suggested concrete plan ia weak. “Only the wealthy need apply.” says the Albany Knickerbocker Press, in characterizing this latest propositiol of reformation as “weak and feeble,” because the increases provided for totaled “some $375,000 a year, with no increase in the compensation of min- {i and ambassadors. As matters stand, and have stood for a long tim the American diplomatic service has been open only to members of a very small circle of wealth and hion. The United States has never paid its | representatives abroad enough for them to live upon. Consequently, the country has b improperly and ignominiously represented, or men in ‘moderate means have n compelled {to impoverish themselves in its serv. y _millionaires have been While all this admittedly thy inion of the New e new plan must into m; i H repr consular and dxplumt!lu make possible service by compar tively poor men thus serving as tl plainest kind of economy. It prob bly leaves the members of the con Jar and diplomatic service underpaid. But, notwithstanding this, it will draw better men to the service of the overnment, and it may set a prece- ent for further increasing the sala- resentatives of the na- tio: It is pointed out by the Phila- delphia Bulletin that in_ appointing Roberts Woods Bliss minister to Bweden “President Harding has won credit” and “is doing much to remove the old reproach fln% actual handical which the use of orel‘n party. rewards, often of Incom and unfit men, brought upe country,” and emphasises the adminls- tration’s backing of the better pay proposal, which would allow ‘“reor- ganization of the whole diplomatic service in sru\'ldh‘lw adpquate pay, as- surance of deserved promotion and other requisites to make foreign serv- ice the ntr-cu‘\’re ana dignified calling that it should be.” It is the belief of the Beston Chris- tian Science Monitor that “the sug- gration that salaries be increased, at Teast to & point commensurate with the expense of living in foreign cap- itals, is not made too soon. .Diplo- matic salari are what they were before the world war had cut the pur- chasing price of money in two. Both t claim is known as the | th ayments have | Dot trying to get money for the busi- ness they lost through the disability of the cables, but merely the cost of *flrln. the dama, dia. amounts total about §7% nother British cable case lcl’l.‘:llflch l.lu Brll.‘llll VII’: it ng about $130, on bel o British cable companies in the Philip- N Th % claim that before we ook the Philippines the Spanish gov- ernment had pledged subsidy for twenty years to these cable com- panies. “You took over the rights to ‘the lfiull; you must thurefore assu the obli s the RHritish con- tention. Somewhat similar are a group of cases in which Great Britain is seek- ing payment for damages to British Subjects In the Hawailan Brchlg.lh‘,w The damages were inflicted by the native government before the Amer- icans took over the islands. Great Britain claims that because we have assumed soverelgnty there we are responsible for the acts of our pre- decessors In these r‘rtlcultrl. o we have the Rio Grande case,” says Maj. Nielsen. “A British concern had obtained the right to construct a dam in New Mexico across the Rio Grande. The project, I think, involved a great amount of frrigation, “Our authorities, after a permit had been granted for he dam by Hoke Smith, Secretary of the.lInterior (in Cleveland's time), took steps to oust the British. We lost three suits in New Mexican territorial courts. “Pinally the government took & little different tack and alleged that the time had expired within whick the British concern should comply with their contract. In that case | they won and the British were ousted. “It is the claim of the British that lwo destroyed their property rights. Their claim is for more than $4.- {000,000 l | i We, too, have claims that date back to another generation. £ An American citizen named Web- ster is claiming about $178.000 for property of which he was deprived when Great Britain took over New Zealand. Another citizen, nam Studer, claims about $1.000,000 as the value of property rights he acquired in the Malay peninsular, under Malay law. They were taken from him, he claims, by the British. Then there is our fellow citizen 5. Brown. Mr. Brown wants 2,695,096, % Brown, an American, obtained—or thought he obtained—valuable min- ing concessions in South Africa shortly before the British took over the country as the outcome of the er war. i BOfist ‘as Brown was beginning to operate his property, the South Afri- !can authorities deprived him of his |tights. He went into the South | African courts and won a decision. 1" 'That, however, did not suit Presi- dent Oom Paul Kruger. Brown al- leges that Oom Paul thereupon called for a rehearing and packed the court. Brown lost, and now he wants his claim settled. Twenty years or more is a long time to wait for upward of two and a half million, but rellef appears to in sight. The chances are that Brown will be either wealthy or broke next spring. i EDITORIAL DIGEST in the foreign service and in the De- partment of State the scale of salaries Is such that In the former case only rich men, and in the latter only sons of rich men, can afford to hold office. This is & sorry showing for & democ- ragy. and in the case of the State Department officials is probably re- sponsible for the perfunctory and dilatory manner in-which the duties of the lesser officlals there are too frequently performed. Congress has an _opportunity now to correct these evils.” The Rogers plan “is an enter- ing wedge” the Indianapolis Star believes, “to make it possible to place men where they can perform the most useful service, whether it be in a diplomatic or & consular post. Tt will also rmit a career in the foreign rvice similar to the opportunities provided in European countries, which have been served better than the not thyough individual ut by means of the wider experience which thelr system has made possible. The measure is in- vested with additional importance at time in view of the unavoldable role the United States must play in the solution of the world's weighty problems.” : “It may be all right.” asserts the . “as regards the ng to pay out of their pockets for the privilege of entering the social life of foreign capitals. But it greatly restricts the available candidates, making unavail- able for governmental service a large body of capable young men of educa- tion and culture. It also results in the two services which ought to co- the diplomatic and consular, ept rigidly apart. The con- idea seems always to have t it was ‘undemocratic’ to provide diplomatic quarters and sal- aries abroad on the same. scale that other governments do. As & matter of fact, it turns out to be the very opposite. A really democratic policy would enable any American of ad- equate ability, however poor. to ac- ept any diplomatic position and hold up his head, as his country’s repre- sentative, without any occasion for shame or apology.” Indorsing this sentiment, the Ann Arbor Times in addition points out that “business interests of the country long have favored the proposed change, and the prospects now look bright for the assage of such legislation.” The w York World argues that “Con- ress has always found it difficult fo beliave that an American diplomat does have to entertain and be enter- tained or he will never know pelf of what is really being thought and p|sald by the people with whom it is his business to deal. If it were pos- sible to aveid this great expense there is little doubt that the able and roor man would have made his way n American diplomacy. He never has, for the simple reason that it cannot be done. It is a rich man's service because the salaries do not pay a man's way. Congress has, of course, imagined that it was uphold- ing democratic simplicity and refus- ing to imitate effate and aristocratio Europe by keeping down diplomatic pay. The exact contrary has been the result. The low pay has acted as a prohibitive tarift flfllnlt adl but the rich, and our diplomatic service, though it contains many able me is confined to the rich and to those | who are able to borrow from the rich.” - chasing pEtos of Momey N o e 'ECHOES FROM THAT RIGHT AT LEAST. ‘Why should they not have a dele- gate to put up here when every Dis- trist of Columbla day is promised and then turned down? Why should they not have a delegwte to get up here on the floor and speak for them? I am in faver of giving them repre- sentation to the extent of & dolcnt:; ittle g8 We ou as, democrat. LETTING THE DEBTORS OUT. o ful ot e A orom ST o 1end {he people’s money out and when the money to be then re- lieye the d of ng the debt. —Representative Texas, democrat. NO CHANCE FOR THE POOR MAN. tupiey' s prastioily dented o & post fan. u’;tn 1-° nllyu::le‘-:‘:e:mu‘ the G e gty Pt o s jcials. sentative New York, usted, beocayse ematia CAPITOL HILL THE ARMY CUT BELOW SAPETY POINT. B We have reduced it (the Army) to the point where today there can- net be mobilized in an effective man- States 40,000 he regular Arm: a serious matter.—Senator orth, New York, republican. ‘WHY NOT TRY 1T OUT? If the District of Columbia com- mittee can have a day in court we can slv‘ the gentleman a law that would protect pedestrians—Repre- sentative Blanton, AUTO A DEADLY WEAPON ‘Wads- Texas, democrat. Tha auf i 1; n oy obile is a dead! 7 'd“p‘?r- improper hands, be ted only to proper most rigid exami- ter and fitness with such a weapon. ntative Fuller, lllinois, re- publican. THE ROLL OF BARREL FATA The budget cracks and cell d when the pork barrel rolls over it. —Senator Ashu! na, democrat, THE PORK L. “Plea for Zihlman Bill Law Needed to Curb Reckless- tess, Says Civic Body Head. To.the Rditer of The Ntar: At the present tirae very serious consideration is being given, by Con- &ress, our Commiesioners and aitizens, regarding trafio conditions in the rict, mumerous suggestions have been advanced and.bills {ntroduoed into Congress providing for improve- meat. Hut, as for one having tgken mope than an ordinary interest in this most important municipal problem, I &m firmly of the opinlon that our streets can only made safe by the atrong arm of the law, operating very religiovaly agalnst all violators of our regulations. I question, very seriously, it any city In the country has made such strong and frequent sppeals for prop- er observation of trafc rules and regulations as has Washington, through its presas, pulpit, police and citizens, with but very little result. The great number of arrests show that our police force is on the job. |But in many instances arrests are turned Into a farce by the law that | permita forfeiture of collateral. I am opposed to any farfeiture of collateral, and for this reason, along with others, I am very much in favor of the Zihlman bill recéntly intro- duced in Conj ‘which, will receive the suppo: missioner: which provides for a separate trafic court and equad. If this bill Is enacted into law, it will, I feel sure, go a long step toward solving our trafic problems. There are in the District today a class of young boys, or men, in charge | of delivery automobiles, that have no {regard whatever for the regulations. i They seem to take it for granted that the machine they are operating does not belong to them, so why worry if it should be wrecked, not considgring the danger with possible loss ol life that may attend the other fellow in case of a collision. These are the birds the police should punish to the law’s limit. g I note that there is some agitation being made to curtail the fifteen-foot law. I think it would be a fatal mis- take to make any change in this law that has worked so well. 1 also note that it is contemplated to print and distribute several thou- sand coples of the traffic regulations. Of course, some results will be ob- tained, but it appears to me that any person operating an automobile should already be perfectly familiar with the regulations. What we need now is the law and punishment. So, in this, I feel that we should all boost for the Zihlman bill A. J. DRISCOLIL. President Mid-City Citizens’ Asso- ciation Would Abolish Office. Correspondent Opposes Provid- ing House for Vice President. To the Editor of The Star: Instead of the government incur- ring an expense of fifty or sixty thousand dollars a year for an of- ficial residence for the Vice Presi- dent, why not abolish the office alto- gether by a constitutional amend- ment? * The justification so to do is two- fold. First, the office is useless. Secondarily, we run the risk of hav- ing a man succeed the presidency who is not equal to the job. The only duty attaching to the of- fice of Vice President is to preside over the Senate—a perfectly useless performance, as the Senate elects from its own membership a Presi- dent pro tem.. who probably presides more often than the Vice President. In the whole history of the country there have been few Vice Presidents of presidential caliber, and for the simple reason that in the party con- ventions when the selcetion of a can- {didate for Vice President comes around there is little contest for the position. Everybody s worn out, and wants to get home. so that any Tom, Dick or Harry is likely to be nomi- nated, and usually is, As to his successorship to the pres- {idency the law already provides for the succession among the cabinet officers in_the event there should be na, Vice President, in the order of Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, etc., etc. These two men are generally our ablest officlals, and more often batter qualified for the duties of the presidency than the man selected by the party conven- and would in reality more nt the people, as he his elevation directly to political influence and party poli- tl The country would certainly be more fortunate to have the average Secretary of State or of the Treasury succeed the President in the event of his death or disability than to have him succeeded by the average of such Vice Presidents as we have had so far. ALEXANDER SIDNEY LANIER/ Aversion to Overalls Held Handicap to Boys To the Editor of The Star: The world's work must be done, In recent years there has been a tendency on the part of soclety to ignore, or at least to be uninterested in, the “overall phasi of i The direct result of this attitude is that fewer boys have entered the skilled trades, and at the present writing there is a serious shortage of com- petent skilled workmen in the build- ing trades. An antipathy to donning overalls appears to be the chief reason. 2 Our system of education is also somewhat to blame, as it places an overemphasis on the professions, as distinguished from the trades. Many a young boy is thus doomed to fail- ure in & profession who might have become highly useful in the honor- able fleld of mechanics. .However, we believe that the trouble is mostly in the home and with the attitude of society In general. * Payents have no reason to inveigh against the high cost of building, with the resultant high rent for residential purposes, and against the high cost of mer- chandise caused in a great degree by the high rents for business premises, if they fall to Inspire an ambition in the boys of mechanical inclination to learn a trade. Society must realize that for any eivilization to M:fnn there must be advancement in all essential branch- ©es of that eivilization. Construction is an essential branch, for eivilization first began When nomadic, primitive man settled in one spot and made himself a permanent shelter. Th development of eivillzation and th development of the building trat has continued down through the age: Our judgment of the civilization, re- finement and culture of each age is based on the bulldings it bas left as .T;et"(o{ society, uty to future gen- nowledge and :krll cen- go on. There mus men to carry on the work. Boys of mechanical ~inclination should be urged to consider the possibilities of the building trades, particularly the plumbing and heating tradeg—trad that need skilled men, tras thi fer the four egsentials of a goed vo- cation: Adequate income, joy In work, opportunity for growth and, last, but M{ least, & chance to serve. R. . MALONEY. The National Trads Bxtension Bureau. CAPITAL KEYNOTES BY PAUL V. COLLINS. The ready acceptance by Congress of the terms of refunding of the British war loan s one of the great- est manifestations of non-partisan faith in the patriotism and wisdom of the negotiators of the settlement that has ever been shown in our government. The vote of acceptance was not based on congressional knowledge of why America should %0 readily agree to take a loss of 1% per cent a year on the enormous sum involved; it was so voted because Congress wag assured that it was the best settlement possible under the circumstances. t were th circumstances, only the few who were inner councils of the negotia- leading to that settlement have the faintest {nkling. * kK ¥ On the face of the agreement, we Toaned to England—a solvent debtor— $4,604,128,085.76—for which Epgland agreed to pay 4% per cent interest. In order to ralse the money to lend to England, America thereupon bor- rowed from its citizens the amount and agreed to pay on its Liberty bonds, given for the funds, the rate of 4%, which would exactly offset what England_agreed to pay our government. Now comes England Wwith new terms, and we accept the new terms whereby she pays only 3 per cent during the first ten years per cent the rest of the period, o will wipe out the debt in -two years. o Y% sixty- It she had continued to pay per cent annually and had asked us! to apply 4 per cent of that 4% on the principal and the rest on interest at 3%, the whole debt would have been amortized in about thirty-seven years. So, on the face of things, it looks as if America had played the easy mark for astute English finan- ciers. “On the face” does mnot tell the whole story, in great international diplomacy. The terms we give Eng- land will undoubtedly be given the other debtor nations, and so affect the entire $12,000,000,000 due us. We continue to pay 4% per cent interest and lend at 3 per cent—a loss of 1% annually on- $12,000.000,000,. amount- ing to $15,000,000 a year—modified by whatever payments may be made on the principal. Why do we agree to stand that loss? Our debtors will not confess insolv- ency; why should they not be held to pay the full rate and the full face of their agreements? The public is as- sured that this is the best settlement possible. Why? * % %% President Harding told Congress i 2 xignificant tone: “It is a pledge against war and war expenditures. and a rigid adherence to that production and retrenchment which enhances stability, precisely as it discharges obligations. * ¢ * Th failure of the British undertaking would have spread political and eco- nomic discouragement throughout the world, and general repudiation would likely have followed in its wake.” ‘Was that the threat—the prophe; the alternative? If so, the price p: by America for world peace is not too high, but let the whole world know that'we have paid that price for that end. Away with further slander of American character, saving that we are selfish dollar worshipers, without world ideals. the Lord most high gth hath saved us who flesh shall ‘Then praise ‘Whose st le. die, The orisis is too overwhelmingly great to be touched by partisan poli- tlos. It may well prove the turning point fn world diplomacy and the dawn of world understanding and peace. Repressntative Pou, Nerth Carolina says “The problem of adjusting this great debt of Great Britain to the United States is so pregnant with vital results that no political ad- vantage should be even thought of. The adjustment of this debt will be a start in the accomplishment of democrat, of 6 world settlements which challenge the statesmanship of all nations- settlements which, nevertheless, must be made before there is even reason- able hope of financial world co-oper- ation.” * & % There is a temptation to reiterate the warning of the health off- cer of the District of Columbia as to how to preserve health these days of epidemics of the fiu and pneumonia. The trouble is that the people who most need the warning and the medical counsel are the ones who least heed it. Dr. Fowler says that the way to avold pneumonia and even colds is to sleep with bed- room windows wide open. Open doors, too, if safe from burglare ven burglars are not so dangerous microbes. Plenty of “raw mnight air” what kills microbes, by strengthening human resistance. Dry. warm feet. Abundance of sleed plenty of plain food and sbundance of rest. “Keep fit!" doctor says Washingtonia: not exqrcise enough. All should walk to work. “Keep fit!" That Sums up the whole problem. During January 150 Washingtonians died of pneumonia — largely because they violated these simpie rules of health. “Keeping fit” enables the system to counteract attacks of disease germs, which easily overcome a person run down in vitality. Pneumonia claim- ed fifty-nine victims here last week Stoke the furnaces, but open the windows at night. * % * It may be all right to “say it with flowers” to a perfeotly well person, but the hospital at Berkelev, Calif has added another woe to the gor- rows of the romantic by ordering that no patlent shall be talked to in that way. Flowers carry germs, and germs mean disease and death. Firet the germ-discoverers told us we must not kiss, then they forbade shaking or holding hands, now we cannot even “say it with flowers.” Of course, everybody knew that some flowers carried hay fever germa, but who ever suspected sweet violsts in February to be loaded with deadly microbes? To some ro- mantic youths, the joy of life goes out with that edict: many a co-ed in the Berkely hospital refused to be sleck anotheér day and left the hos- pital immediately. * x % % What a great thing it would be ir Congress were to adopt for its mem- bers the same rule that is announced by the Salvation Army. The rule re- quires each of the Salvation Army of- ficers to produce one new constructive idea a month, for the good of the cause. There are members of Congress who have not advanced one new con structive idea for many months, Tie may speak often upon measures int duced by others. They can criticiz and find fault, but it is another thin to find 3 new way to do old thing: or a new thing that should be done in a new way. It takes an active mind. unafraid precedent, to present « new constructive idea. * % This shortdge of constructive ideas is not confined to Congress; every business house would profit if it could establish a similar rule for its em- ployes. Perhaps the management is too smug to admit that the office boy or janitor could possibly ever have 2 new constructive idea. But many a | great business organization offers monthly prizes to its employes who present, during the month, the best constructive suggestions. The great cash register company of Dayton paid $10 as @ prize to the man who sus- gested that in wrapping a certain” parcel once around with the string was all that was necessary. An extra length of string was saved, and that {amounted in the ourse of one vear to many times the $10 prize. Afr. Edi- son says that all that a young man eeds to succeed in life is brains— “just a little brains.” (Copyright, 1923.) s do Says Memorials Exemplify Lasting Democracy. To the Editor of The Star: Just south of the White House and due west of the Capitol are two memorials erected and dedicated to the honor of America’s two greatest men. Each stands to the memory of men who had the same exalted ideals, but far different in their op- portunities to establish and perpet- uate them in a new nation. One was born in a home of plenty with every possibility to become an aristocratic English gentleman, fail- ing to see the rights and liberties ot the masses, but he condescended to the level of the common people, suf- fered the pangs of DD\'erP’ and en- dured untold hardships ¢ that the ideals of democracy, which he fos- tered and cherished in his soul. might be born into a new nation whare the principles of equal rights, freedom and justice to all mankind are assured. The other was born in abject pov- erty, which, ordinarily. hampers the thought of liberty, but the ideals ll\fi principles of the former had beeX 8o instilled into his kind, loving heart by the early teachings of a Christian mother that he arose above this poverty and hardship in order that he might perpetuate these principles laid down in the new na- tion, where there was a great dan- ger of dissolution. Thousangs visit these two memo- rlals each year. They come, they see and they go. Eaoch, probably, carries away a different impression of this stately monument and mag- nificent building and the things for which they stand. The tali granite shaft erected in honor of the “father of our coun- try” and the colossal granite struc- ture built to the honor of the “great emancipator’ are admired by all alike, but few, if any, take cog- nizance 'of the 'foundations upon which they each stand, and the “mirror lake” between them, but in each are two great lessons in true democracy. A conglomerate mass of huge blocks of stone, smaller rocks, gravel and eand has been cemented together on solid rock in order to support Only 100 Days School for Colored Children To the Bditor of The Star: At Orange, Va., just eighty-five miles southwest of us, is to be found one of the most pathetio situatibne among people who are worthy and unable to help themselves. L One hundred and twenty-five chil- dren of colored parents, who are themselves engaged principally as farm laborers and domestics, must leave school for the year on Febru- 23, after but 100 days of attend- ance, because of lack of funds. The colored people recently purchased two acrés of land for a new schoolhouse. Imagine modern children forced to enter the competition of modern life with but a short term of school each year, and under most unfavorable conditions. These children have three self-sacrificing teachers, who have labored in many ways to open to them better waya of living and methods of making themselves useful and accept- able citisens. The county is unable to ay for a longer term, as the munic- pal expenses have been very heavy, and the parents are unable, because farm products have brought low i ; Drllc:v"lll take the sum eof $300 to keep this echool open for at least two N i these greay Superstructures, e Solid as' the'foundations may seen certain agencieg of weathering are silently and slowly disintegrating them until the superstructures will finally crumble and fall, though it takes countless ages, for they are material. = B ur portraits may never hang in the halls of fame nor our names be sung at the millions of firesides of this great nation, yet we are the founda- tion upon which the names of these illustrious men and the principles of de.r;mcl‘lcy which they advocated rest. Each year. as the millions of people in the United States become more and more a heterogeneous mass of humanity, with many agencies at work irying to break up the foundation which now supports the principles lald down and per- petuated by these two men, it is nec- essary that we bind ourselves to- gether with the cement of brotherly love by the recognition of the father- hood of God and the brotherhood h and man, so that this na- the principles for which it stands may never per Lying between these two memo- rials 18 a body of clear blue water known as “the mirror lake” which reflects the images of this stately monument and magnificent building. If surface water full of inert mat- ter flows into it and is stirred up. we can no longer see these memo- rials reflected. We, the people of this great na- tion, are a mirror through which the principles of democracy must be re- flected. ~Should our lives and hearts be so clouded with foreign matter to the extent that these principles of democracy can no longer be reflect- ed? We should purge ourselves of all impurities by, figuratively, passing through the garden of Gethsemane, a8 did these men at Vallev Forge and Gettysburg, until our lives are puri- fled, 8o that our children and all fu- ture generations may see the prin- ciples of equal rights, freedom and justice in us as they are reflected in the lives and works of theso two great Americans—Washington and Lincoln If these two lessons are strictly followed, though these memorials may crumble and fall, vet the prin- ciples for which they 'stood will live forevar. OSCAR M. MILLER. Black Mammy Memorial Suggestion Defended To the'Editor of The Star: The opposition to the “Black Mam- my" memorial, as expressed in The Star of February & by a contributor. indicates self-consciousness and a state of mind ungracious and ur- reconciled to the recognized processes of the development, Christianization and education of the negro since ar- riving on ths shores of this continent. It is not necessary to further touch upon_the friendly motives actuating the Daughters of the Confederacy in memorializing the “Black Mammy,” for individual types have been given @ place in history which will suffice. I am sure, to keep the records intact. ‘We would bett, ook to the comple- tion of the shaft now bullding, com- memorating Jefferson Davis in his native state, Kentucky, which state also honored in _contributing raham Lincoln. E. FOSTER. months longer. It is hoped that kindly disposed friends of the possibilities of child life will aid this worthy cause. Address all communications to Mra. Lella Scott Ware, P, C. Box 374, Orange, Va. Public acknowledgment will be ade of ft. © made AR S TRoMAS.