Evening Star Newspaper, March 5, 1923, Page 6

b {THE EVENING STAR, With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY.. ...March 5, 1023 THEODORE W. NOYES.......Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Office’ 150 Nass: Chicago Office: Tower Bul Buropean Office: 16 Regent St., London, Engiand. The Evening Star, with the Sunday morning #dition, s delivered by carriers within the city at 60 cents per month: daily only, 40 cents per month; Sunday only, 20 cents per month. i @ers may be sent by mai., or telephone Main 8000. ~Collection {s” made by earriers at the end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday. .1 yr., $3.40; 1 mo,, 700 Taily only. 1 yr., $6.00; 1 mo., 50c Bunday oniy 1yr., §2.40; 1 mo,, 20c for republication of all news dis- patches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this ‘paper and also the local news pub. Tished ‘lerein. Al rights of publication of special dispatehes herein are also reserved. e ————— Appreciated Benefits. Washington's disappointments over the eleventh-hour failures of whole- some, heipful and much-needed legis- lative proposals for capital upbuild- ing in the closing hours of the Sixty- seventh Congress will not be permit- ted to efface preciation of what this Congress has done to promote the well-being of the capital and its people. The establishment on a permanent Jegislative 1 s of the principle of definite proportionate contribution in the fi 1 relations of nation ana capital is the vitally important fe of the act of June 29, 19 which the sixty-forty ratio. surplus investigation by the Joint commns of Congress that the easury Depart- zes as on the books of to the credit of the Dis- o seven milllons of dollars, reduction by outstanding ob- approximately to five mil- that in the committee’s opinion wral as well as legal considera- tions enter into the calculations this d by two ar thousand dollars and and that this concrete sur- plus dec d by the Treasury au- thorities to exist cannot be either decreased or ir ed by the resur- rection of alleged past indebtedness, except by direct action of Congress on P tions reported from the legis- ative Distris mmittee: A distinet advance is also noted in the movement for political equity for the District. The constitutional amend- ment e Congress to grant wtation to the District has favorab reported by the 8enate District committee. If this ad- vance seems small, it is to be remem- bered that not until 1916 did even one of the g unizations of the District this constitutional amendment, and that slowly but stead- ily the proposition has grown in favor until now practically all of the city's Tepresentative organizations vigorous- Iy approv The growth of favor for this amendment progressing as steadily in Con s it did, for in- stan, n the I of Trade. The favorable report of t te Distric comumittee is not a slight and negligi- ble gain, but one of significance and Amportance. The District appropriations by the Congress while full of inevitable in- dividual disappointments) have been in eneral well rounded, built on right lines and perhaps as nearly adequate as could be expected in view of the polit necessity of a show of econ- omy all ‘national expenditures in reaction from essary war extrava- ganc The principle of cutting down in peace time necessarily extravagant war expenditures does not ¥ to municipal expenditures on National Capital, in respect to ‘which there was no war extravagance, but on the contrary patriotic serimp- ing. Neverthele this principle w. in fact applied, and we must accept this app ation. The and just reclassification law is the rea- sonabld cause of hearty congratule- tions to Congress and to the employes of the nation at the seat of govern- ment and elsewhere. subject to Valance may be reduc threc hundred no more, o 1powering national rep: been it civie or indorse is ress ar in —_——— Republican Leader Mondell says the retiring Congress has been “peerless’; Demoeratic Leader Hull says it has Dbeen “the worst ever.” Which means, probably, that it has been s ————— 0. Not even a zealous new Postmaster General will undertake to deliver let- ters written in the sky by venture- some aviators ———— is demanding absolute inde- So is the most dangerous maniac over at St, Eliza- pendence. homicidal betlrs. President Harding’s Holiday. Pregident Harding is on his way to- day to a. well earned vacation in the south, and the nation hopes he will have a corking good time. For two vears he has been on the job almost continuously, the few brief outings he has taken giving hardly a respite from the cares of office. He will not Dbe able wholly to shake off these cares while in Florida, but with Congress “oft his hands,” and with Secretary Hughes and other members of the cabinet “sitting on the 1lid” in Wash- ington, it will be necessary to bother him only with major matters, which it may. be hoped will be neither nu- merous nor trying. Mr. Harding came to the presidency in the prime of his years, in robust health- and with a temperament en- abling him to carry burdens of work under which most men would break. But at the end of two years he finds himself weary in mind and body, and it is fortunate both for him and for the country that he is able to get away for a few weeks of recreation. We cannot afford to bréak down aehother President by piling tasks upon him incapable of being borne. Sooner or later some way.must be found of releving the President of seme of sheburdens of hisoffice, He remembrance and ap- passage of a sound and wise ; is surrounded now by capable and will- ing helpers who do everything which can be done to ease his tasks, but so long as he cannot relieve himself of responsibilty for executive decisions he cannot escape the drudgery neces- sary to arrive at proper judgments. And each year, as the presidential duties grow more exacting and com- plex, this drudgery grows more se- vere, until now it has reached almost to the limit of endurance. Somewhere there must be a stopping place, or election to the presidency of the thoroughly conscientious will come to mean a sentence to death through overwork. Achievements and Omissions. By and large, Congress is to be con- | gratulated for the constructive work done In the session which ended yes- terday, and not unduly criticized for its omissions. “Tomorrow is another day,” is the trite expression suggest- ing that the running start attained may be carried to a winning goal in the next Congress. Congress did make a good beginning on many projects of national and local importance. For the time being the thing is to be gratetul for what has been received and hope- ful for more another time. The two outstanding constructive acts of the session were the authoriza- tion of the funding of the British debt and the farm credits legislation enact- ed at the eleventh hour. Of the first- mentioned, only wide benefits to this country and to Great Britain—indeed, probably to other nations later—are confidently expected by statesmen and diplomats. As to the other, varying predictions are made. Only time and experience can determine whether, as claimed upon one hand, the legis- lation will relieve the distress of the agricultural and stock-raising indus- tries; or, as asserted on the other, will only add opportunities to the farmer and stock raiser to sink them further into debt. However the ex- periment authorized under the farm credits act turns out, the farmers themselves must shoulder the responsi- bility, since it was the “farmers’ bloc” in Congress which drove the leglsia- tion through. To discuss the last session alone, however, would be inadequate, for it has only occupled a few days over three months; the entire Sixty-seventh Congress should be taken into con- ideration, constituting four sessions— a record-breaker. During that time nearly 500 laws were enacted. Return- ing to comment upon the session just closed, regret must be expressed for the failure of several proposed meas- chief being the merchant marine ation—the much-maligned “ship bill. What's in a name? Well, death lurked in the word *‘sub- sidy” for one of the most worthy and unquestionably vitally — necessary measures of legislation proposed in re- {cent years—death not only for the bill, but threatening the merchant marine of this/country. Several propdsed amendments to the Constitution failed in the preliminary stage of submission to the states. Sena- tor Norris' amendment to advance the presidential inaugurations and the convening date of Congress came a cropper at the very last hurdle, Others that stumbled to a hait were the child labor amendment and Senator Wads- worth’s proposition for a popular refer- endum of future constitutional amend- ment; —_———————— Teachers’ Pay Bill. The teachers’ pay bill, drawn in the interest of the school system, designed for the benefit of teachers and chil- dren and backed by public sentiment so strong that it might be reasonably called unanimous, failed of enact- !ment. Tt was caught in the closing {jam. One legislative disappointment jafter another has been experienced in {the matter of this bill. The failure of the House to recognize District day, thus sidetracking other impor- tant measures in addition to the teachers’ bill, was the main reason the measure could not be brought to a vote. In the closing hours of the session members of the House who ihad opposed certain features of the [ bill as it passed the Senate proposed ito the House leaders that if they would allow the Senate bill to be called up there would be no opposi- tion to it. The reply seems to have been that there was no chance for {he measure. Time was pressing and too many other bills called for ac- tion. There are charges of broken promises in the matter of getting this bill before the House, but it is a waste of time and energy to harbor resentment. The thing to do is to accept the situation and get the bill before the next Congress early and push it to enactment in the best pos- sible shape. The movement for wise public school development has brought wholesome, practical results in this Congress and sound sentiment has so crystallized in our legislature that the next Congress may reasonably be expected to round out a model school system. ———— | The La Follette report characterizes |the control today exercised by the Standard Ofl companies over the oil industry as “subtle.”” The same ad- jective could no doubt be aepplied to the headlock as operated by ‘“Stran- gler” Lewis. ————— Was it just a curious coincidence that the weather report for the day after the end of the session should read, “Colder—diminishing winds"? ——— Reclassification Won. That the closing hours of the late Congress saw the enactment, not sim- ply of a reclassification law, but of a law that is pronounced by experts to measure up to high standards, is a matter for sincere congratulation. That it does not take effect for sixteen months is, of course, to be regretted, but to have at last, after years of work, @ good law on the statute books, is so much better than was often anticipated that the present disappointment should sink into in- significance in the face of actual ac- complishment. : The reclassification act of 1923 is firm!y planted on the report of the reclassification commission of 1920. In conference nearly all of thé ideas ana proposals not based on the re- THE classification report were eliminated. This should mean that the vast amount of highly expert work that went into that report should be fully utilized by the personnel classification board established to administer the law. The personnel classification board will have great responsibilities and an opportunity unique in the history of the government service. First, in view of the bitterness and animosities that have been engendered during the years of preparation and the clash of opposing ideas, the board will, no doubt, make a determined effort to prove its entire fairness. Inasmuch as next year's estimates must be based on reclassification, speed is nec- essary to complete the allocation of the government employes. The need for speed should, however, not result in scamped work. How can a thor- oughly good job be quickly done? In order that the government may under this act start off right, and quickly perform its highly complicated duties and develop the best personnel administration system, The Star sug- gests that at the outset the board should try to secure the most expert advice from the outside. For example, it has the duty of allocating a large number of professional, scientific and technical workers. To aid in this task the board could easily secure the coun- sel of the officers of the great national professional and sclentific associa- tions. Inasmuch as some of the great corporations of the country have al- ready developed highly expert person- nel administration departments, very likely some of them would on request send their skilled personnel experts to ‘Washington for counsel and perhaps to assist in some of the detail work. There are several privately financed organizations, national in scope, de- voted to the problem of personnel ad- ministration, whose help could prob- ably be secured. The issues are 80 great, the time in which to do a thor- oughly good job is so short, that no sentiment of pride should lead the board to follow any plan but the one that is likely to secure results that will be most satisfactory from the point of view of the government {tself and of the employes. The long-sought law is at last se- cured. The interest now shifts to its administration. With broad-spirited end enlightened administration there is high hope that the government service may be vastly improved, bet- ter work secured, disgruntlements eliminated by fair play and fair pay, with the results that the government ‘work will be more efficiently and more economically done and zest be put into the government workers. The Alley Law. The failure of Congress to pass elther of the bills for the relief of alley dwellers will probably bring hardship upon a large number of poor people, and result in greater crowding of houses in those sections of the city where the poor live. The fact that the Commissioners’ bill to extend the time for abandoning alley homes to Novem- ber 14, 1924, failed, is to be regretted. The substitute for that bill providing that onethird of the aliey houses should be closed June 1 next, one-third a year later and the remainder June 1, 1925, would have helped solve the problem by letting the alley popula- tion, estimated at 14,000 or 15,000, find quarters and gradually adjust itself. The law for closing alley homes was passed in 1914. The weight of public opinion in Washington was against the use of buildings in alleys as dwell- ings, and against the erection of small houses in alleys. Public opinion is still strongly against the use of alleys for habitations, though alleys are much cleaner and more orderly than when the demand arose for the passage of the law against dwellings in these by- ways. When the war came on, and the city became overcrowded, it was thought best to let the alley dwellers keep their shelter because of the diffi- culty they would have in finding any other. Under the law as it stands, the alley dwellings must be vacated by June 1 next. ———— 1t is being insisted that the streets of the National Capital are dangefous- 1y dark. Maybe an investigation by the Sixty-eighth Congress will throw a lit- tle light upon the subject. ————— The precepts laid down by a New York society for “perfect wives'™ are excellent, yet they omit the all-tmpor- tant admonition, “In winter take your turn at opening the window at night.” ————— Now that the farmer has easy credit it is to be hoped the ultimate con- sumer will not have to pay usurious interest. ——— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Polly. ‘When unto lectures long I hark, Both erudite and jolly, I'm often tempted to remark, “Hooray for pretty Polly!” My brain is often in a whirl Amid the dissertation. For Polysyllable’s the girl ‘Who lends the inspiration. Basing an Opinion. ““What's your opinfon of the league of nations?” inquired the visitor from home. “Friend,” replied Senator Sorghum, “I never antagonize @ voter. What's yours?” s Jud Tunkins says the way gals dress nowadays don't make nobody happy but the pneumonia germ. Musings of a Motor Cop. “Hortensé Mages, please marry me!” Said I. But she protested: “How could one wish your bride to be ‘Whom you have oft arrested?” Astute Performer. “Who is the begt poker player in Crimson Gulch?” “I am,” admitted Cactus Joe. “But you invariably lose.” “Sure. I'm runnin’ fur office, and T'd rather be popular than have the money.” “When you thinks you has powerful enemies,” said Uncle Eben, ‘‘mebbe you's only '1:-' exaggeratin' yoh own House. swan song opened the ball, intonat- ing undying faith in the G. O. P. as the real bulwark of the republic. Then Sutherland, another departing l i : ! | WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE It was the atmosphere of a college commencement, tinged with tragi- comedy, that prevailed on Capitol Hill Sunday. Partings in the Sen- ate seemed to onlookers more polgn- ant than leave-takings in the Frelinghuysen's sonorous figure, reading into the record a ‘West Virginia schoolgirl’s prize es: Bay on the joys of life in the bitu- minous commonwealth. Comes Pat Harrison in a heart-throbbing pane- &yric on John Sharp Willlams, quit- ting the Senate for his Yazoo county plantation “to spend the rest of his days listening to the mocking birds &nd kissing the dewdrops from the flowers.” A baby filibuster to block consideration of the Bursum pension bill in the remaining minutes of the expiring session. ing in fine frenzy th Overman on federal finances, with Brookhart on sugar prices and with “Dave” Walsh on the wool tariff. Then Coolidge's drawl that, under the Constitution, the deathknell of the Sixty-seventh Congross must now ring. Comio re- lief—a senator shouts, “Good night!" And all is over. ‘ * ok k% Somehow Atles Pomerene's deser- tion of the scene he has adorned for twelve years seemed peculiarly sor- rowful. It means more to the Ohioan than the loss of a senatorial seat. Defeat for re-election, by fairly com- mon consent, robbed Pomerene of his party's presidential nomination fn 1924, with the alluring probabilities that all good . democrats assoclate therewith. Pomerene, always the incarnation of solemnity and dig- nity, is visibly moved as he performs the 'last rites of clearing his desk while the hurry and scurry of ad- journment proceed. Senator Willis, his republican colleague from Ohio, crosses the aisle and, taking both of Pomerene's hands in his own, clasps them in heartfelt farewell Then Pomerene is besieged by pages, armed with autograph albums. They are the last to pay him obeisance in a forum oft distinguished by his courageous and patriotic conduct. ‘Tis said that Frank B. Kellogg. Who goes to the pan-American con- forence with Pomerene, takes his re- tirement harder than anybody else caught in the November typhoon. The Minnesotan was not in evidence at Surlday’s obsequies. * ok ok % Pennsylvania, her republican faith- ful feared, would be doomed to slim patronage pickings from the Harding administration with the passing of Penrose and Knox. Late develop- ments in the plum section of the White House orchard indicate that Pennsylvania has come handsomely back into her own. Nomination of Cyrus E. Woods as envoy to Tokyo and of Alexander P. Moore to Madrid gives Pennsylvania three ambassa- dors—Henry P. Fletcher, at Bruss being the other. With Secrerary Mellon and Secretary Davis. two ac- credited Pennsylvanians are In the cabinet, while Dr. Work, now Secre- tary of the Interfor, is a Pennsyl- vanian by birth. Irwin B. Laughlin, slated for the ministership to Greece. s a Pittsburgher. The deluge of patronage that has so suddenly descended upon Pennsylvania is by Repd Smoot, fenc- way of compensation for the unreal- {sed_ambitions of Judge Mobschzisker of Philadelphia to become a Supreme Court justice and of Representative Crago of Waynesburg to achleve the assistant secretaryship of war. * K ok ¥ President Harding, himself an edi- tor, apparently has the same predi- lection for journalist ambassadors as Woodrow Wilson. Alexander P. Moore's dispatch to Spain makes him the third Harding newspaper man envoy, Harvey at London and Child at Rome being 'the others. Senator Moses of New Hampshire, who was pitchforked from a country news- paper office in 1909 into the minister- ship to Greece, told Mr. Harding the other day that he found the tran- sition easy and natural. He said that any good managing editor was a born diplomat and averred that a man who dealt professionally with men and matters as they crop up in the kaleldoscoplo world of news was a combination of that tact, discretion and resourcefulness which are the bone and sinew of diplomacy. * X % % One of the Senate's final acts of parsimony was its refusal to include in a deficiency bill an appropriation of $12,000, strongly urged by Secre- tary Hughes, &8 ‘compensation to George Horton, American consul gen- eral at Smyrni. " When the Turks sacked Smyrna in September they burned down our consular premises, including every stitch of "personal property belonging to Mr. Horton and his family. Their losses -included a priceless library and art collection, including autographed books, letters and ‘manuscripts from Bret Harte, Mark Twain, Edmund Clarence Sted- man, Willlam Dean Howells, Joel Chandler Harrig and other confreres of Consul General Horton. The lat- ter, now in Washington on leave, is virtually stripped of his earthly pos- sessions, thanks to the marauding Turks and an ungrateful republic. * % X ¥ A champion athlete and regular fighting man is now second in com- mand at the War Department, with the accession of Lieut. Col. Dwight F. Davis of Missouri to the assistant secretaryship of war. Davis saw ac- tive combatant service with the A. E. F. He was twice recommended for the distinguished service medal and once for the distinguished service cross for gallantry during the St. Mihiel and Argonne campalgns. A long-time tennid player of uncommon skill, Davis' latest athletic honors came with his capture of the squash racquets champlonship of the Wash- ington Racquet Club last month. Col. Davis marked his recent election to the presidency of the United States Lawn Tennls Association by institut- ing a campaign for municipal tennis courts in every city of the country. He I8 forty-three years old and an overseer of Harvard. * k * ¥ No successor to Judge Sumuel Al- schuler is to be appointed on the Federal Coal Fact-finding Commis- sion. Chairman John Hays Hammond told the President it would be easter for the commission to worry along with six members than to put & new commissioner through the laborious course of SProuts necessary to an understanding of their problems, (Copyright, 1 ) EDITORIAL DIGEST It May Be a Smoke, or—the Way to the Nearest Jail. A good cigar or a cigarette may be a smoke, but it may also prove a one- Wway route to the nearest jail, as “four prominent citizens of Salt Lake City" have just discovered. And all be- cause of the apparently slight reason, as the Wichita Eagle puts it, “Utah's legislature, in an outburst of patri- otic devotion, enacted a law prohibit- Ing smoking in public place: Now that a zealous deputy sheriff has brought that law into the open by making arrests under it, the law It- self comes in for considerable edito- ria] attention, the burden of which is ¢hiefly to propound the unanswerable question, “Where, oh, where is this mania for Ilegislative regulation of personal affairs to end?” “Four free-born white adult Ameri- can citizens,” announces the San Francisco Bulletin, “have been ar- rested and charged with the crime of smoking fn a hotel in St. Lake City. Five others have been arrested for a similar offense perpetrated at the Utah state capitol. In addition, there have been arrests for buying and selling cigarettes” And while the Bulletin considers this anti-smoking law “the limit in absurd regulation,” it Is apparently a variable limit, from the viewpoint of the paper. for it goes on to say that “from forbidding to- bacco it s only a step to forbidding coffee and tea—a step that will be taken unless the democracy awakes to the menace of the creeping paraly- als of personal legislation .that is now threatening_it. * * ¢ In the dawn of the republic there was organization for liberty; now most of the organiza- tion is for the purpose of destroying that liberty.” Personal liberty is still inviolate in Utah to the extent, the Springfield Union points out, that “one may smoke in the privacy of his home or office without breaking the law, pro. vided he does not use s cigarette. But there it ends, and “to appear in a public place with even the most aromatic of Havanas is a Sin against the state,” quite as if, the Chattanooga' Times interprets, “the offense is not in smoking cigarettes, but in where you smoke them.” However, “one thing is almost cer- tain” to the Charleston (W. Va.) Mail; that is that “even if the law is going somewhat to an extreme, it would never have been put on the statute books unless there had been conditions prevailing that had become more than a mere nuisance” and the extent to which enforcement is being carried suggests to the Mail a seri- ous purpose, for “arrésts-of prominent citizens are unusual. The Ohio State Journal (€olumbus), on the other hand, inclines to the be- 1lief that “there is no broad sweep of public sentiment against tobacco, any. more than there is against tea and coffee; hence laws prohibiting the use of it will be either winked at or soon repealed. In the present state of public feeling such laws ought not to' be enacted.” because .the success of laws “intended to place restrictions on personal habits depends upon the volume of popular respect and S.p- port they can master and hold ‘Warning that “law is a majestic af- fair in Utah,” the Boston Traveler advises “cigarette smokers who have occasion to travel across the continent * * * to watch their step” while pass ing through that-state. Then it re-. Jates that, due to ‘carelessness” in the matter of cigarettes, a well known Massachusetts manufacturer “was pl under arrest, nominally at least, though he wasn't thrown into a dungeon,” because the police caught him fairly in the act, “not exactly of smoking "a cigarette, but of having an unlighted one in his hand.” Since the contraband was unlighted. “he was allowed to slip away before the complaint against him had been en- tered. And he ‘slipped’ quite will- ingly, leaving behind him a few re- marks.” But the Buffalo Times refuses to be amused at the situation. declaring that “it is no joking matter. It is a gross invasion of the rights of the citizen, and it is designed as an en- tering 'wedge for a Jaw to prohibit the use of tobacco altogether.” The Spokane Spokesman-Review presents a different interpretation. As it sees it, back of the anti-tobacco movement can be perceived “the connivance of the wets who are aiming to make in- terference with personal liberty and the pushing of alleged reforms come as thick and fast as possible, to the end that the thou-shalt-not season may be the sooner ended.” From a different angle the Pittsburgh Chron- icle-Telegraph : speaks - of the two movements, but denies any eonnec- tion, asserting that “the plain pur- pose” of tracing a connection “is to bring the prohibition law into disre pute, for “some irreconcilables whe ever they hear & Hint of legislative in- tolerance in_any form endeavor to onnect it in some way with the ighteenth amendment.” while, as a matter.of fact, “prohibition opponents have no fear of a_constitutional amendment against tobacco.. They are raising the bogey in order to foment resentment against the en- foreing of prohibition. their silly device should be apparent to_all” “Most of the people that read of the new law thought that it referred to some other fellow and was never intended for him," the Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune thinks., But disil- lusion in the form of “an active deputy sheriff” awaited them. and the paper “rather admires the deputy sheriff. He is going at his job ail right, and if he keeps on with it we would not be surprised if the gov- ernor would have to call a special session of the legislature to repeal that smoke law or call‘put the mili- tia to aid the braye sheriff in its en- forcement.” Meanwhile, the Indian- apolis News reports “the peéple of Utah do not seam disposed to take recent invasfons of their liberty ly- ing down. They have organized a ‘freemen’s league, which is certainly needed * * * and ft ds needed in other states than Utah. The movement ic likely to spread.” ECHOES FROM CAPITOL HILL BREAKING DOWN THE RAILROADS. Government regulations and dema- goglc denunciation 'heré and else. where are slowly breaking down this great industry, until today very few of the men of wealth of Amric&i ln.v: sted in railroa o Semator Calder, New York, republican. NO MORE DEFICIENCY APPROPRIATION! 1 served notice yesterday that this is the last deficlency bill I am Eoing to vote for. I propoe, as chairman of the subcommittee, if I am con- tinued as ehairman, to notify the de- partments that they must recommend ' what they need, and the department must get along with what is appro- priated and not come in afterward for deficlency appro- wulan:_agu s for ot A _DEFINITION OF BANKING. Banking is the means by which persons engaged in trade, in manu- facture, or exchange of commodities, can prosecute their business with le inactive caplital - than - they would otherwise be compelled to employ.— From the last speech of the late Representative Cockran, New York, democrat. NO MORE SACRED . THAN OTHERS. . Somehdw or other, I do not fee] that the man who' works for the govern- ment is any more sacred than the man whe works for himself.— Senator Caraway, Arkansas, demoerat. THE WAY TO RULES. An Irish member of the house of commons said that the way to learn dts rules was to break them.—Repre- sentative. Luce, Massachusetts, republl- By this time | MONDAY, 'MARCH. 5, '1923. Lauds Retired Senator Correspondent’s Good-bye Trib- ute to John Sharp Williame. To the Editor of The Star; Tke lg_t.va-hklnt of Senator John Sharp Willlams trom the official -lite of Washington. depsives. it - of & Htefary/lfght. The beauty of English as he commanded it took: from the drab and gray monotone of the Sen- ate chi : It 18 ot given to many to have the Bift of expression that was his, that is born and not obtained, and as he passes from our midst we pause to glve him tribute. 1f there is aught that can charm the soul in the last part of the pilgrimage it s in the ‘world of letters. As he lays down the mantle of the Senate he will take up the more Intensive study of literature, and in this way will find no lament at the close of his career. Like the ‘Martin” of Joyce Kilmer's poem, we fancy we can see him now “wearing an overcoat of glory.” To have time to read books long held in desire was the reason Justice Clark of the Su- preme Court recently gave for the hope that was his as he gave up public work. ~Thus it may be seen that the bells which ring between |sixty and seventy years do not “toll the ‘knell of parting day.” To men who have the love of literature it is but a time when they may have closer communion with the things that are worth while, where thoughts_trans- cend and illusions fade. Senator Williams sald he was going back where he could gather flowers still wet with dew and hear the concert of the birds at the close of the day. The dross of public_conflict can be seen by the gold of his words. In a scene such as he paints may his love of the beautiful in language find its fulfillment. The place that is called “Arcadta,” of which the editorial in The Star had reference in this con- nection, has no counterpart in Amer- ica, but there is an arcadia all of its own in the south to which the thoughts of those who are born there ever turn, so they may continue to have faith in the romance of poetry. It also could have been said by him that in the south the winds in the pines give a message or sing a lulla- by: if the day is far spent: that the iolets cover the mountain sides when spring is abromd ir the land, and ferns grow by cool streams which afford resting places, 1f Senator Williams does not find in his arcadia all that youth promised and did not provide, he will at least be nearer its inspiration. We bid him adieu. May he always see the blooming of flowers and hear he melody of music. he MIARY MOORE MISCHLER | Plea for Beauty Spots Their Disappearance Is Lamented in Letter to The Star. Lost, obliterated, overgrown, not by a tangle of sweet wild things en- croaching upon it, which would be lless grievous, but by apartment houses. The winding trail, which has been « pathway to peace for many, ot only when other feet were set 'lherfln. but when they followed it by sight only from the window, and Where vision ended imagination took up the clue. T Tirned at right angles to Con- necticut avenue, just at the approach to the bridge of the lions. It mean- Gercd along the high bank of Rock Creck, through woods tragically thin- Aing vear by year. but stil beau- tiful. Lovely in springtime's tender Dromise. in summer's verdure, in the gay dress of autumn. and alluring even in winter, when the trees stood patient and stark, waiting_for their Piurrection morning. Bob White hid T the grasses along the margin, and announced himself with sweet per- sistence to his mate; brown rabbits Scurricd across (1, the Kentucky car- 1 flashed his brilliant wa e 0 iree. colonies of blackbirds spilled thelr liquid music on the alr Toring thelr spring and fall migra- ons . Uhvalry has ridden down its wind- ing way, for once 1 saw Gen. Per- INing ‘on his splendid horse, disap- Pearing at ita turning. Romance trod D heaten track, as lovers loitered Along It in the wloaming: youth Aohhed 'it. for. young college lads, Sooks in hand, made of it & short-cut Yo Georgetown. Schoolboys loved it, as they joyously raced along "“l Sinding way, bound for the “old Swimmin' hole” under the bank. Washington is becoming a big <ity and we ynust take our losses with Aoy Eains, byt Is there no way to S eome of the natural beauty still Tomaining? . - CLARA C. LENROOT. e s Gives Missouri Decision On Frats in Schools To the Editor of The Star: In connection with the present con- troversy relative to secret socleties in the high schools of Washington, it is worthy of note that by a recent de- cision of the supreme court of Mis- souri, handed down on December 6 last (246 Southwestern Reporter, page 43), it was decided that the school boards of that state do not possess the power to forbid membership in high school fraternitiés, it being held by the court that: ““The powers delegated by the legis- lature to boards of education being purely derivative, only such powers can be exercised as are clearly com- prehended within the words ‘of the tatute or that may be derived there- rom by necessary implication, regard always being had for the object to be attained. ““A regulation of the St. Louis board ot education forbidding membership of high school puplls in secret organ- izations, and not allowing pupils violating the regulation to represent the school in any capacity or to par- ticipate in graduation exercises, held not authorized by Revised Statutes, section 11457, as to powers of such boards of education: for mno rule should be adopted which attempts to control the conduct of pupils out of school hours after they have reached their homes which does not_ clearly seek to regulate actions which, if permitted, will detrimentally interfere with the ‘management and disciptne of the school.” WARREN H. HUNT. Plea for Larger Fines In Bootlegging Cases To the Editor of The Star: T notice In the splendid Sunday edi- tion of your paper that enforcement df prohibition law has occupied much time of the police. Record of lquor arrests and the amount of liquor seized by the police department are enumerated. Would it be possible to further inform the public how much in fines was collected? Should not the fines be larger than the ex- pense of enforcement? In too many cass the fines are so small it is easy for_the 'bodtlegger to pay and im- mediately forget. Referring to the raids on bootleg establishments. 18 there any reason why the names of our high Army and Navy officers should not be made pub lic so our good President can dismis: them as having failed to to-operate with the civil authorities in behalf of the best possible administration of the laws? These officers-ire sworn to protect the Constitution of the United States and that- means to - enforce the eighteenth amendment, MABEL H. WINKELHANS. Hints at Inconsistency. . To the Editor of The Star: If the administration has the inter- est it professes to join the Interna- tional Court, why is not an_extra ses.. sion of Congress called to decide the matter? “Now is the accepted time. How. 1s.the. 3 EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. O, . CAPITAL KEYNOTES BY PAUL V. COLLINS. And the sénator from Massachusetts “kept on chawin’,” when the wild man from, not Borneo, but Towa, quoted poetry. This is what Senator Smith Wildman Brookhart quoted: The home of the bean and the cod, Where the Lowells speak only to Abbots And the Abbots speak only to— “Does the gentleman yield?” “I yield to the senator from New York.” “Not the Abbots, but the Cabots, is Wwhat the poet said, I think,” sug- gested Senator Calder. ., And the senator from Massachusetts kept on chawin’ * K ok ¥ How dull and prosaic will Wash- l.nglon be, now that Congress is ad- Jjourned and the wild men from the wild and woolly west return to their horny-fisted constituents to relate how they kept their pledges never to disgrace their calling by wearing a swallow-tail coat, instead of overalls, while at work in the Capitol of these United States! * K K ¥ 3 Time was when the Ralleries were interested in studying the natives of Kansas who wore no socks in the House of Representatives, but Kan- Isas is becoming quite too effete—no reference to the sockless part of their anatomy—to interest the blase news- paper gallery gods any more, now that Jowa Is distinguished by its wild men in overalls, who essay o pose as ‘literary fellers” in the presence of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. * K X x Next winter, in case of a coal short- age, all that Washingtonians need to do will be to go to the movies. There calorics are to be found without coal. Encoked thrills are all that are need- ed at a show to drive shivers up one's spine out behind the rear collar but- ton and inspire the chilled victim with the autosuggestion that he is as warm as toast. Thrills are provided by all good shows. If they are lack- ing, the fault is entirely with the show. not the local management of the halls, No coal is needed. *The thrill's the thing”—the modern fuel for theaters, according to the decla- ration of the managers. A big audi- ence heats a theater better than coal. Having tried to heat a house with some coal, most folks are prone to accept the new caloric producer. If the audience starts to roast the man- agement or the tragedian, so much the better. Just open the exits and the cool air will do the rest. * o % % The Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Wallace, thought he was giving a treat to his fellow agrictltural edi- tors who met in Washington last week when he gave them a dinner, at which he served butter only three years old. Some of those editors live in boarding houses and are used to the spread of real strength and an- tiquity. Why did he not hoil some of the dodo eggs recently found “quite fresh” in Michigan? Are they all in the incubator? * x x In the west, where potatoes grow, the farmars are selling their entire crops at 10 to 15 cents per 100 pounds and the tubers are being fed to hogs. In the east potatoes in carload lots sell at from $1.40 to $165 per pound sack. How much are con- sumers paying at retail? Note the spread between the fleld and the ta- ble. Does the farm problem need so- lution? ~From potatoes starch is made. Let the farmers keep a stiff upper lip, for Congress will meet again next December. Only one pore Gonp before the next filibuster. Cheer up! * % % ¥ Out in the state which is repre- sented in part by Senator La Follette the soclalists are demanding the dis- armament and disbanding of the Na- tional Guard. This is alleged to be part of the general socialistic scheme to sap the military power of the country, and if successful in the Bad- ger state it will spread to other states. Mrs. La Follette, wife of the doughty genator, is' supporting the movement, but Senator La Follette opposes it. A waiting country hopes that the spirit of Gladstone hovers over one American house divided against itself in this instance. Gladstone was asked who was hoss in his house, and he replied wittily: “When Mrs. Gladstone insists, 1 sub- mit, and when I insist, she submits.” Here’s hoping that the senator at least will filibuster. In the classic language attributed to the A. . “We are here, La Follette!” * ¥ ¥ Senator New and Representativ Mondell, stepping out of defeats $7,500 jobs into $12,000 positions, have re-edited the familiar adage, “It pays to advertise,” so that now the amendment reads, “It's unsuccessful.” Here's to—but can we toast without a Beveridge? R Scientists of Johns Hopkins Uni- versity point to ancient skulls with their perfect teeth, and argue that they prove that we moderns ruin our molars by eating white flour. Aren't they generalizing from too few ticulars? Have all those has-been retained their teeth? Very well, didn’t they live before there were any dentists? What does that prove? Nebuchadnezzar ate greens, just as the doctors now insist we must do if we would preserve our digestions and teeth. But where, oh, where. are Nebuchadnezzar's teeth now? When he swore off on greens he resumed his throne. How about the skull of Pat of Patagonia? Has it teeth? He lived Pefur‘: dent Some cay he lived 500,000 years ago. Some others, af examining the rings of his teeth, think he must have lived milllons of years before the ice age. Did he cat Bskimo pie? Baltimore is about to erect a st of Adam. Now, Adam atc uppl What effect did that dict have on h teeth? Baltimore must commit self, under the guidance of Johns Hopkins University, and the worid will want to look at Adam’s teeth as 500n as the statue is unveiled. The teeth of the Aztecs abounded in gold fillings, showing that dentists must have had their infernal d whirring _and torturing long before Cortez arrived. Did they have white bread or was it tortillas that drummed , up trade for the too borers? Merely ornamental dent try? Well, what is some of the mod ern work? Must be ornamental, not being too useful. * K kX% Col. Theodore Roosevelt, men to exercise their muscles and “keep hard” physically. The advice 1s decidedly Rooseveltian, but it must be qualificd. Overexer does as much harm to the physique as seden- tary living does. The athlete may he “as hard as nails” and yet drop from an attack of an overstrained heart, while the man who has simply o for himself in a normal, moderate Bime may prove tter. even for strain of the then ball champion. war some of the E golf flend and could endure the strain Outdoor fresh air and moderate ex- ercise which keep the blood from stagnating and the nerves f N Erow- ing rusty make a _man “healthy and wealthy and wise.” Walking to and fromn office is as good for the heulth as a round of golf or a bout with a boxing mate. and does not cost so much. If walking fa to exercise the arms and chest enough. follow the example of the exile of Doorn— saw wood and split it! Exercise, like dentistry. may be useful as well as ornamental. Taking care of a fur- nace has its fine point (Oopyright, 1623, by P . urges the foo! . Collins.) |Gen. Trepoff, Speaking for Romanoff Protests Sale of Russian Jewels BY THE MARQUISE DE FONTENOY. | Gen. Alexander Trepoff, who was the most powerful, loyal and useful of the mlnisters of Nicholas IT during the great war, who drove the pro- German Prime Minister Stuermer and confederate of Rasputin out of office and supplanted the former in the pre- miership, which he then held until the outbreak of the revolution—a man who, moreover, is looked upon in Europe as_the one acknowledged leader of the monarchist party of Russia, as president of the Russian Monarchists' Unfon—has just issued a noteworthy statement to the lead- ing jewelers and precious stone con- cerns of Great Britain, France, Hol- land and Ttaly, and to their respec- tive syndical chambers and unions. In it he places on record and enters a_formal protest against the steps which are now being taken by the bolshevist government at Moscow to dispose of the principal jewels of the Russian crown, which, " in spite of their having been sought within the last few weeks in the grave of an American sailor_in the naval ceme- tery on Cypress Hill, Long Island, still remain as yet unsold at Moscow. The Muscovite authorities have re- cently opened negotiations with & big London concern with a view to the sale of the historic Orloff diamond, one of the most famous in the world and_ weighing 194 carats, which fig- ured on the scepter of the czars since | the latter part of the eighteenth cen-) tury. Gen, Trepoft declares, in the name of the Russian Monarchists’ Union and in that of the Romanoff dynasty, that the real Russia will never rec- ognize in future any rights or claims that may be Set up by those who secure by purchase possession of the Orloff diamond and of the other so- Ithe Order of St called Russian jewels of the crown, which are the private property of the jmperial house of Romanoff and of their dynasty. (s That is to say, that in the event of a monarchial restoration in Russia, which is far from being beyond the bounds of probability, the imperial government will at once take steps to recover these jewels from their purchasers as stolen property. ¥ ok X % = In one word, Gen. Trepoft insists that none of these jewels can be ac- quired by purchase with a clear title, and inasmuch as the Trotsky-Lenin junta at Moscow has never been rec- ogmized by the United States, Great Britain or France, there Is nothing in the law of these countries to distinguish the bolshevist leaders from any other robbers, thieves, bandits and inter- national outlaws, endeavoring to get the best possible terms for their under. P rehasers, after having been duly warned, will render themselves amenable to the laws provided for the punishment of “fences.” They will be called upon to ‘surrender the stolen property without compensa- tion, if ' fortunately, indeed, they do not ‘suffer a worse fate. The Orloft diamond was stolen by a French soidier in India from the ye of an idol in a* Brahman temple, stolen again from him by the captain of @ sailing ship, from whom it was purchased for the sum of $100.000 by Prince Orloff, the favorite of Empress Catherine the Great, and presented by him t6 her. Tt is of a somewhat yellow tinge, and is obviously too jarge in its present shape to be com- mercially exploitable. The danger is | that it will be cut up before being put upon the market, as was done in the case of the Grand Mogul, the enor: mfi 187 carats which van ished from, s hundreds of years ago. According to some, Orloff diamond of the Romanoffs ani the Kohinoor of the British crow, represent portions of this colossal gem. * ok ok ok Ex-Premier Trepoff is a man for whom the highest regard is ente: tained by the leading statesmen in London and in Paris. He was the only one of the Russian minister who was worth his salt during th great war, when he wrought miracie. as minister of railroads, of transport and communications. confronted oy every hand by the dishonesty and in- capacity of subordinate officials and by the conspiracies of the Germans for the purpose of wrecking all means of transport, as they did herc in America both prior and subsequent tn the United States actually going into the war. In spite of this, he managed construct, in the face of appalli difficulties and discouragements, the Murman railroad, which enabled the Russian government to obtain arms munitions and war supplies of every kind from England, France and from the United States after the ice which closes the port of Archangel through- out eight months of the yeur had: rendered it unavailable as a Russian terminal. 8o keenly did the British government appreciate (ien. Trepoff's work in this connection that it bhe- stowed upon him the Grand Cross nf Michael and 8t George. A The speech which Trepoff delivered in the duma on his taking over the reins of the premiership from Stuer- mer (who was little short of a tr tor) was declared both at Petrograd and in foreign capitals to have baen the strongest utterance from the Rus- sian_government since the outbreak of the war, and it may be rccalled that he then proclaimed, in his ow: name and that of his unhappy sov ereign, their resolve to remain true and loyal to the entente and to fizh: the German Invaders to the very last gasp. * ok o* It is a matter of record and of pro- found regret that Gen. Trepoff should have reached supreme power as pre- mier too late to have averted the revolution, to which even certain members of the Romanoff family con- tributed and to which Grand Duke Kyril gave his public and written ap proval, driven thereto by his hatred of his cousin, the ex-emperor Gen. Alexander Trepoff has little to do with the latter and with his pretensions, which are treated with contempt by the empress’ mother, Marie Fedeorowna. But ex-Premier Trepoff is a_warm admirer and svm- pathizer with the Grand Duke Nicho- las Nicholalwitch, the one-time gen- eralissimo_of the Russian army and the most knightly distinguished and unselfishly patriotic of all its officers Trepoff is a factor of whom sight should not be lost in the development and final outcome of the present situ- ation in Russia. Still on the sunny side of sixty, enjoving the utmost confidence of the empress’ mother, of Grand Duke Nicholas and of all the best element of the Russian mon- archiists’ party, Trepoft was the one, liberal minister of the war cabinets of Nicholus 1I who urged upon the czar the necessit¥ of giving the peo ple a consultative voice in the gov ernment of the nation. His f who flourished as chief of polic the reign of Alexander Il, was a foundling, having been found on the teps of a house at Petrograd, whence, the name of Trepoff (Trep-auff),