Evening Star Newspaper, April 1, 1923, Page 35

EDITORIAL SECTION The Sunfly Star. SUNDAY EDITORIAL PAGE NATIONAL PROBLEMS SPECIAL ARTICLES Part 2—16 Pages WASHINGTON, D. C., MORNING, APRIL 1, 1923. DRAINING U. S. OF OIL FOR BENEFIT OF RIVALS DlSC]OSlfl‘eS Made l)y TWO Official lnves- tigations Expected to Lead to Action by Congress. BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. ETROLEUM and its by-products, dominating influences in com- merefal development and po- tentially vital necessities for national defense, have recently been brought to the attentlon of Congress wnd the people through two ex- haustive reports. One of these is the report of the Senate committee on manufactures, primarily dealing with the prices of gasoline in this country. The other is a report of the Federal “rrade Commission in Tesponse to @ senate resolutlon asking for informa- tion regarding forelgn Interests en- ged in oil production In this coun- v and the discrimination by foreign countries against American interests sceking to develop ofl within thelr borders. IEmphasis is laid in both these re- vorts on the need of the United States <conserving its oll resources for its own people and the n ssity of ob- taining ofl supplies in ogner flelds to supplement American production. It is to expected t at its coming session Congress will be ask- ed o take some definite action look- ing to these ends. What Inquiries Disclosed. The Senate manufactures commit- tee submitted its report the very day That s adjourned—too late, of course, for\an action. The report of the Federal Trade (ommission been pri d in detail only during the he report of the Scnate committee on manuf: ures had among its rec- ommenda l-rm‘.lhe following: “The exportation of petroleum and its products hould either be prohlb- ited or regulated as not to permit the export from this country of those ducts for nd in treme of crude on this country. It Is ex- » permit our resources oline and other prod- ucts to ined out of this coun- try and sent abroad while a domestic demand exists suflicient to absorb at reasonable prices the entire produc- tlon of this country.” Grip on Ame: The report of the 5 buteh, erties in this country, same foreign intere have oil prop- id undeveloped, in world. fon points out of the world wkening of a spirlt all the important the world. involving preservation and na- The fdea of natfonal security immediately suggested the importance, the reportisaid. of con- serving the natural resources 1 5 i of ading hold- ings by acquisitions in other countrles. “Due to the demonstrated vital im- portance of lurge supplles of petro- leum products In the world war,” sald the trade comm: “for ofl-burn- ing navies, for t merchant marine, or airplanes and for the transporta- tion of army supplies and equipment, there widespread realization that tion possessing umple pe- serves had a tremendous ntage over any other natfon not possessing adequate suppliez of pe- troluem products.” teras British & vast oil prop- «nd that these one of war the national countries of tdeas sel tional security B a ne um T a Discriminates Agninst United States. 1t appears from the investigation made by the Federal Trade Commis- that Great Britain, France, the| Netherlands, Russia, etc. have not| Leen slow to lay down restrictions against the citizens of the United| States in the matter of developing oil} properties within their territories. The United States, on the other kand. up to Febr eign capital the sion eloping oil properties in this coun- s it accorded its own citizens. ng American Railroads on Way To Biggest Year in History vision of the American rail- a ragged beggar, passing his bat for alms, is about due now to fade out of the picture. For, unless signs fall and official s reaching Washington are to distegarded, the railways will eak all freight trafiic records in When trafic slumped in 1921, following the high level attalned in 1920, predictions were freely made that not until 1930 at the earliest would traflic stage a complete come- back. During the first nine weeks of 1023, however, the railways ac- rually handled 570,000 more carloads of frelght than during the corre- sponding period of 1920. If this in- crease is maintained through the vear, the loadings will top those of 1920 by nearly 3,000.000 cars, Likely to Hold Up. be But will the increase be maintain- | ed? Indications point to a record- Lreaking trafiic through the spring which there is pressing | forelgn competitors and | |lunds of the Creek Indians in Okla- {homa. flmerea‘m | Royal | pantes operating in this country | port and recommendations on the oil | leasing law, relating to oil, coal, etc., in the public domain, and in that law it provided: “That citizens of another country the laws, customs or regulations of which deny similar or like privileges to citizens or corporations of this country shall not by stock owner- ship, stock holdings or stock control own any Interest in any lease acquir- | ed under the provisions of this act.” But this provislon relates to de velopment of.oil leases ow the gov ernment domain. Forelgn interests| may still acquire privately ojned oil| properties in this country. From a British Viewpoint. In this connectlon a statement made by Sir Mackay Edgar, head of | Sperling & Co., London bankers, in ' 1920 on the international ofl race is| of interest and significant. He said: “While America is exhausting her supplies at a prodigal rate of speed| we are getting a firmer grip upon the world's ofl reserves.” It appears from the report of the| Federal Trade Commission that the United States now produces over 60‘ per cent of the world's total output of crude petroleum, but that. never- theless, its productfon has not Iept Pace with its requirements for domes- | c and forelgn trade. In 1517 the production of this country was 33 316,000 barrels, and in 1921 469,639,000 barrels, while the net imports in- creased from 26,009,000 barrels in 1917 to 116,367,000 barrels in 1921. To meet the growing domestic and export trade—growing rapidiy—the | known oll fields of this country are belng rapldly depleted. The present sources of supply of this country are located within the United States and in Mexico. The supplies of its chief are distributed widely geographically, which is an advantage in case of war as well as in time of peace. Barred From Public Lands. Former Secretary Fall of the In-, terior Department while in office de- nted applications of the Roxana Pe- troleum Corporation for leases of ofl i Thi§ action was taken in the of the conservation of for the Roxana is own- the Shell Union Ofl Corpora- tion, controfed by subjects of Great, Britaln and Holland. | The report of the trade commission | goes in great detall into the ramifica- | tions of forclgn Interests in the ofl- | producing flelds of the United States, | crude petroleum production of the | crude petroleum productio nof the Dutch-Shell group and also! the proportion of the production| handled by this group abroad. A list of seventeen British oil com- is} siven in the report also. That the Senate committee on manufactures will follow up its re- situation with proposals for legisla- tion is confidently expected. The agitation for protective measures s growing sironger and stronger. In past years bills to protect American ol resources from exploitation by forelgn natfons have been offered by Senator Curtls of Kansas and former Senator Phelan of California. { World 01l Production. The Royal Dutch-Shell group pro duced in 1921 84,032,000 barrels of pe. troleum, of which 9,032,000 - within the United States. The total world production of petroleum in 1921 was 765,065,000 barrels, of which the United States produced the largest amount. It is not difficult for the American who drives an automobile, who uses 2 gas engine on his farm or in his factory, who heats his home with 1920, allowed | to realize that to just such an extent ame privileges as the oil resources of the country in the matter of ucquiring and de-|are depleted for the benefit of forelgn put through a general |paying for his fuel ofl und summer months, with the possi- Lility of some slowdown in the fall. Iiven so, it uppears likely that the year 1923 will surpass the record of 1920 by an appreciable margin. The problem hefore the rallways today is to furnish the transportation adequate to meet this trafic de- mand. A year ago nearly 500,000 idle frelght cars were standing on sidetracks walting for freight that did not offer itself"today there are only 20,000 tdie cars. The whole of the raflway plant {s now functioning. On the other hand, the demand for freight cars in excess of the avall- fuel oil or drives his ships with ofl |nations so much will he be affected {when it comes to obtalning and to able supply is less than half what it was in October, {ndicating that the rallways are now meeting shippers' needs more promptly than during the strenuous weeks following the set- tlement of the coal strike. Getting Equipment in Shape. In addition, the railways are whip- ping their equipment into shape to meet the heavy demands of the next few months. They have speeded upy repairs to their locomotives and cars. Thelr frelght cars are in better physical condition than for two years. The number of cars in need of repair has decreased 138,000 since August and the percentage has fallen from more than 16 per cent to only 9 per cent. The number of unser..ceable locomotives has been raduced by 4,500, or from 31 to 24 per cent. This tmprovement is equivalent to adding 4,600 new locomotives und 138,000 new freight cars to railway facilities. That further efforts will be made to increase the serviceability of rallway equipment seems reasonably certain. Not only are the raflways improving the physical condition of their equip- ment, but are adding new stock dally. In 1922 they placed orders for more equipmerit that in any year since 1916. During the first two months of 1923, daily orders for new equipment averaged 15 locomotives, 350 freight cars and 11 passenger cars. Locomotive orders were placed at twice the rate of 1922, and the equipment construcfion plants are booked for months ahead. Many of the locomotives and cars ordered in BY'N. 0. MESSENGER. RESIDENT HARDING will be Lome in a few days now, and with his re- turn may be expected an access of political activity. “We certainly have missed you” the politicians will be en- titled to say—likewise the corps of Wash- ington correspondents who have been put to it at times for live news. To be sure, the President has been in the midst of politics with his conferences and everything. The President gave the politicians and the political writers a jolt last week, if he was responsxble for a dispatch from Florida .ndxca(mg that he was not altogether pleased with Attorney General Daugherty's an- nouncement of his candidacy for renomina- tion. It caused consternation until it was discredited. If it had been true, and the public left in a state of uncertainty as to whether he would run again, a lot of fine political machinery and plans, and things would have gone to scrap. President Harding Looked Upon to Put Ginger into Party When Vacation Ends ord beingmade that will be of help in the campaign. The President, in his speeches to be defivered on his forthcoming swing around the circle, will lay out the program of legis- lation the party hopes to secure—and then it will be up to the republicans in House and Senate to carry it out in time to be of good in the campaign and the elections. The presence of discordant elements in the republican party in the House and Sen- ate, in the Sixty-eighth Congress, is recog- nized, and it is realized that it will require the highest order of leadership to harmon- ize them into effective action. * K % % The big leaders in the party are looking facts in the face and getting ready to tackle them. They say it is a good thing once in a while to get into a strain of pessimism over the political outlook, as it serves to brace up the rank and file and put the work- ers on their mettle. Usually there is a slump some time in a campaign, followed by in- creased activity and vigilance, and they say it will not hurt tg have the slump come early they will urge broadening it into some form akin to the league of nations, If he aban- dons it, they will charge the republican party with failure to do its duty in the world sit- uation. B The farmers are said to be imbued with the idea that their prosperity is being mili- tated against by Europe’s sad plight, and that in some way the “government” could better things by participating in European affairs The farmers are always strong on appealing to the government for relief for every ache and pain, and they have seized upon the idea that the government is remiss in its duty by withholding from the settlement of Eu- rope’s problems. Very active propaganda is going on to ncourage this thought, with the object of having the farmers bring pressure on the administration to’ “get into the European situation.” * * If you ask republican politicians what PLANNING TO GIVE D. C. MORE SELF- i'year. cover?” the questioner continued. ways has,” came the answer. That conversation reflects the many republicans at this time. when talking frankly with each “things don’t look good at present writing.” but they are possessed with the they will be better when the campaign of 1924 attains headway. A prom politician came to town last brought disturbing news of repu ditions in the President’s own stat urge that the President make an early trip ~ to Ohio and cheer the party workers up as well as get in touch with the people. leaders have great faith in the magnetism’'and his ability as a conciliator * ok ¥ Many with apprehension to the coming Congress, and in some quarters feeling of pessimism as to a legi: 1822 have already been delivered and | the equipment is now In active serv- | ice, while deliveries in quantity are | being made every day. If a shortage of cars develops this summer, it wall occeur in spite of these efforts to pre- | pare for heavy traflic. Show Increased With the increased traffic of 182 the rallways should experience a improvement in net fncome. In 1520. nothwithstanding the heavy business of that year, they earned no net in- come whatever. and were saved from bankruptcy only by a government! uarantee during eight months of the In 1921, their financial condi- tion improved to the extent that the roads earned 313 per cent on their! property value. This rate of return rose to 4.14 per cent in 1922 In Jan- | uary of this year the rate stood at 5.54 per cent, or within reach of the §% per cent fixed by the Interstate! Commerte Commission as a falr re- turn. February and-March returns when complete, will probably show return as high, if not higher. For | he year as a whole, the railways should earn close to the fair return, and may even surpass it. A year ago this prediction would have seemed but an idle dream. Earnings. (go00d deal on this condition. Look to United States for Automobile Lead | It may be repeating what has been said before, but it is worth while re- peating the fact that five out of every | six automobiles in the world—to be | exact, according to latest available | figures, 12,357,376 out of a total of 14,612,161—are found in the United States. The United States is so far ahead of the rest of the world in auto. mobife manufacture and use that the activities of other lands in this direc- tion are virtually negligible. The whole world looks to the United States for leadership in the latest methods of manufacture and utiliza- tion of the motor vehicle. Recently old Egypt, which of late has gotten her name in the papers quite prom- inently because of the latest activities of King Tutankhamen, sent six of her foremost engineers to this country to be placed as observers In six large automobile manufacturing plants, in order that they might become famillar with “such means of transportation and communjcation as are produced in the United States.” Egypt had the best vehicular trans- portation in the world three or four thousand years ago. She hopes to modernize King Tut's chariots and propel them by gasoline. Danish Emigrants May Colonize Madagascar The international labor office has been informed that the French gov- ernment has communicated to the Danish minister of forelgn affairs a scheme for settlement ‘on a large scale in Madagascar. A large area of arable and forest land would be placed at the disposal of Danish emi- grants; they would be permitted to bring their own teachers and their own ministers of religion. Some well known members of the medical pro- fession in Denmark have offered to accompany the emigrants and to stay with them for some time. Public opinion In Denmark is not at present unanimous as to the advan- tages of the scheme. There is a cer- tain amount of opposition on account of the bad climate and high disease rate of Madagascar. They admit republicans are looking forward ting will and gotten over with in time for the natural 1‘ IS reaction to set in. “It al feelings of 34 o jts toes.” * K other that > The democrats, for belief that dizzy overconfidence. to express any other they “have the republ ing in a rout They believe that inent Ohio week and blican con- te. He wi The President’s A 1 > of foreign questions. mors recently of republican doubts as to the renewing and pushing the project which the President launched near the close of the last say that whether he drops it or renews it, they will find advantage expediengy of of the next there is a slative rec- There is no question that the slump is on now, and the task will fall largely on Presi- dent Harding to “jack up” the party and “put the leaders declare. with confidence, and some of their leaders fear it may develop into dangerous You cannot get a democrat plan for an interpational court, if it when the next Senate meets, afford them opportunity to make capital out the factor I gress, they general most on. % % their part, are fairly sentiment than that icans going.” and go- President Harding's he renews is going to Railroad There have been ru- and cotton tax returns money. session. Democrats If he renews it, not, the poli 'WORRIES OF PRESIDENT NOT ABATED BY RECESS ‘Despite Absence of | to- Harding personally. prosperity They feel it coming, they say to certain tangible signs in evidence. party in power usually benefits from thriving business conditions, the people when prosperity slackens. indications of reviving prosperi to show that prosperous conditions are in the making, and the republicans hope the crest will be reached during the campaign. they think will be their strongest asset, or ikely to contribute most to the victory they are hoping for in 1924, next to the record of the administration and the ex- pected record of the next session of Con- say that revival in business and are what they count and point The . just as it is blamed by Many v are cited statistics show healthy condi- tions in transportation. Substantial increases in wages have been granted by the woolen goods manufacturers. Income tell that people are making Credit for all these things will be taken by the republicans, whether due or ticians declare. 0o Hoover, Harding had to more r less force him down the throats of some of the most powerful repub- licans in the Senate. Mellon, when Harding appointed him Secretary of {the Treasury, was wholly unknown The appoint- {ment was made as the fruit of a Congress, He will| Find Perplexing Problems Waiting When He Returns to Capital. BY MARK SULLIVAN. RESIDENT HARDING, when he returns to Washington, will be * fres from ‘the presence of | Congress. To that extent he! will be relieved from the strain which has developed in the relations be- tween him and the Senate and House. To that extent also he will have an opportunity to make his own personal impression on the country, not bb- scured by the impression that Con- gress makes. For elght months Hard- be the whole republican far as the country sees it in action and in office. President Harding’s friends counta They think that when the public gets & clear picture of Harding and his ministration—when all the news that comes out of Washington deals with the administration only and is not overshadowed or confused by the news of what Congress is doing— the public will then think more tavorably of Harding, his Cabinet and the work they do. Not Free of Prol There may be a good deal in this. At the same time, when Harding re- turns, while he will be free from Congress, he will nevertheless have to face a world of difficulties and em- barrassments. Not only are there ahead of him many complex public questions for decision; in addition, there are to be several investigations conducted by committees of Con- gress or otherwise the outcome of which may vitally affect the public's judgment about the success of the administration. Of these investigations the cne that Just now s most discussed in Wash- ington is that which proposes to go with execeptional thoroughness into the management of the War Veter- ans’ Bureau. If a fraction of the rumors and allegations eoncerning the War Veterans' Bureau that float about Washington turn out to be well founded then it will follow that the pudblic knowledge of the facts will have an unhappy effect on the public confidence in Harding's ad- ministrative ability and his judgment of men. The men whom Harding chose to manage the War Veterans' Bureau were, in a pecullar and ingi- mate sense, personal appointments, If_the coming investigation shows that these men have failed to do well it must be & cause not only of grief and humiliation to Harding himself, but will also furnish material for acute criticism of his administration. | It should be made clear, of course, that these allegations are as yet wholly in the fleld of ex parte charges. Also it is among the pos< sibilitles that the investigation may place the blame in other quarters than on the men whom Harding appolnted personally. Pays Out Vast Sums. The War Veterans' Bureau is an fmmense institution. Omitting the Treasury itself, It pays out more ymuch complaint of money than any other one govern- ment institution. When Harding came into office there was already. lack of efficiency in it. That early talk, it should be | sald, went no further than to say that | the management was slow and cum- bersome. This was no serious reflec- | tion on any one, because the institu- | tion was then in its beginning. Soms | hundreds of thousands of cases had piled up on which the bureau ought | to have taken action, but had not vet found time. The cleaning up of these delayed cases was very much on Harding’s mind. The veterans were muttering about them with just cause. When Harding came into office and made his new appointments to man- age the bureau he thought he was do- ing well. There was frequent evi- dence of a kind of naive confidence that the management of the War Vet- erans’ Bureau was going to be one of the outstanding triumphs of his ad- ministration. He used to tell with satisfaction how fast the delayed | cases were being disposed of, and more than one of his messages to Congress reflected his confident satis- faction that the War Veterans' Bu- | reau was being managed with excep- tional efficlency. If the coming in- vestigation shows that all this was not true and that the War Veterans' Bureau, instead of being one of the triumphs of Harding's administration, is one of its fallures, the blow will be as great to Harding's public prestige as to his own confidence in his selec- tion of men. As has been said, his selections for the management of this bureau wtre personal in an especial sense, | | Dr. Sawyer Big Aswet. Some of Harding’s personal ap- pointments have caused a good deal of dismay. Some others of them have turned out to be among the best he has made. For example, it is a fact that the man who appears to have been most diligent in finding out that all was not well with the War Vet- erans’ Bureau and most active in urg- ing it on Harding's attention and bringing about a change was another of Harding’s personal appointments, namely, Dr. Sawyer. In this and in other respects Dr. Sawyer has ac- quired an exceptional reputation for ability and for the kind of devoted loyalty to the President which s ac- | companted by sound common sense and vigilance in behalf of the Presi- dent's fortunes. = Also, when criticism is made of the less happy of Harding's personal ap- pointments it is necessary to remem- ber that the number of them in pro- portion to all his appointments has been small, and that such disasters as have accompanied some of his per- sonal appointments should be bal- anced against the extraordinary qual- ity of those appointments as to which Harding went completely away from his personal circle and chose men for their ability and standing solely. Selected Able Harding chose Hughes to be Secre- tary of State without having any per- sonal relation to him and also against the determined opposition of many of the republican leaders. As Men. search for the best possible man. And today there is not a man in Wash- ington. not even a democrat, fails to take pleasure in proclaiming that Mellon {s a very great Secre- tary of the Treasury. Another ap- i pointment as to which Harding went completely outside the circle of his personal acquaintance was that of Denby as Secretary of the Navy. Denby was not known to Harding personally, and Harding chose him |largely because John Weeks recom- mended Denby on account of the fact at during the war Denby, although a mature man and an ex-congressman, had joined the Marine Corps und in this simple capagity had done a not- able work in the like of building up morale among the enlisted men. Still | another appointment as to which Harding went outside his own per- sonal or political circle was that of culture. Henry Wallace as Secretary o Agn Two Lines of Criticism. One of the unhappy results of the | dissatisfaction with the management of the War Veterans’ Bureau and of the fling of the administration is that it is on the defensive in this respect is that there is unwillingness on the part of many men assoclated with this work to say publicly certain things which they say “privately with great force. Because of the defects in the management of the government's relations to the veterans the veterans have real grievances. TIn the con- fessed presence of these grievances it Is not possible for men in the admin- istration to say some things which they actually feel. If you talk for half an hour with any of the offictals whose duties bring them into contact with the vocational training for ex- soldfers, with the providing of hospi- tal facilities and the like, you discover a deep conviction on their part that in addition to the things which were done badly and which give many of the veterans a real and crying griev- ance there are also some respects in Wwhich harm {s being done to some of the veterans by too easy-going a pol- icy on the part of the government. Too Much Spending Money. For example, the following story is told as it came to the writer, with- out knowledge of such qualifications as might be developed by more inti- mate acquaintance with the facts of this particular case. A certain rich man has a son in one of the large universities. The father, having made his own money, wishes to be careful not to deprive his son of the value of his own experiences of thrift and care in the manflgement of money. In that spirit this wealthy father gives his son & ceriain sum per month, and re- quires the boy to keep his expendi- tures within that llmit. On an occa- slon when the father inquired of his son as to whether his monthly stipend was enough he was amused to dls- cover that the son's complaint lay In the fact that two of his fellow-stu- dents had more money than he to spend. The two fellow-students were exssoldlers who were being educated by the government as a part of the system of vocational education, and who were actually being pald by the government for their personal ex- penses considerably more money than the som of the rich father. Among (Continued on Third Page.) who | One Reform Propo [ BY WILL P. KENNEDY. UNDAMENTAL changes in the way Congress deals with the National Capital are going to be pressed in the next Con- gress by administration leaders and others. is to remove the National Capital from the jurisdiction of the budget officer and treat the District of Co- lumbla under commission govern- { ment in much the fame wayv as ter- ritories are now treated. Leaders in Congress are coming to realize that it {s a waste of time for committees of Congress to concern themselves with hearings and inspec- tion trips to determine the proper a! location of funds for street imp; ments, opening and closing of streets and such relatively small matters officlals. Friends of the National Cap- ital now recognize that by having all its affaire legislated upon by an al- ready burdenéd Congress much legis- lation of vital concern to W ington city is continually shunted astde be- cause of the press of relatively more fmportant matters of general lagisla- tion. Early Action Is Urged. Frank W. Mondell, until March House leader and now managing d rector of the War Finance Corpora tion, in a prepared report on th. work of the Sixty-seventh Congre and later in a public speech, empha- sized that some new plan of dealing with the National Capital must be adopted by Congress. Administration advisers. after a careful consideration of the matfer, are now recommending that this change be made during the next Con- gress, and they stress that in any proposal looking to reorganization of the administrative branch of the na- tional government the matter of turning over to the District govern- ment all activities of a local charac- iter must be seriously constdered. This is, in part, covered in the plan of reorganization recommended b President Harding to the joint con gressional committee. Representative R. Walton Moore of Virginia, a member of the joint com- mittee on reorganization, has already Introduced several measures looking to that end, and has received the vol- untary pledges of support from mem- bers from all parts of the country. Separate D. C. Budget. As urged upon the adminis | by counselors engaged in making special study of needed governmental reforms, the District of Columbia bud- get ought not to be handled as part of the federal budget. The local and national governments ought to be | completely divorced. A number of public works now performed by vari- ous {nstitutions of the national gov- ernment ought to be turned over to the government of the District as purely municipal matters. The municipal government ought to determine its own revenues and ex- {penditures In the same way that a lof the territories do. the administra- tion leaders have been advised Congress is responsible for the gov- ernment of the territories. but Qoesn't feel called upon to satisty 1 self that the territory is.spending its money in exactly the way that Con- gress might want it spent. means that the final approval of the budget would rest with the Distric Gommissioners. i on Might Increase Commission. In that case {t might be desirable, the administration counselors say, to increase the size of the commission. The purpose of that would be to bring the form of government more nearly to the commission form as it exists in other cities. Instead of having one The United States government the greatest purchasing agent in the world, and its “specifications for pur- chase,” as adopted by specifications board, represent the best avaiflable standards in existence. Working on the theory that the es- tablishment of standards for products of industry promotes econo- mies in manufacture and tends to stablize production, thereby saving for the nation that which would other-, wise be a social’ waste, the United States bureau of standards has set about developing the government's specifications for purchase to serve as standard for American business. These specifications for purchase are now belng called for by many state and municipal agencies and by business corporations throughout the country. Their value to the business man has been found in the fact that his business contact is simplified by having a good and common standard for a large number of his purchas- ers. The importance of this work to American business, according to those who are working to have the speci- fications for purchase widely adopted, can hardly be overestimated. Stand- ards in articles of commerce reduce the enormous cost of taking com- modities from the manufacturer to the consumer. They promote easy and complete understanding between the buyer and seller as to dimensions, welght, quality and performance of the commodities in question. There )18 & reduction of the waste which }accumulates from the distribution of goods of an inferior and unusuable quality. There is a further reduction of waste in the accounting, storage, Chief among the proposed changes| are properly the function of the local | * That | is| the federal | the | GOVERNMENT sed Is That Budget Shall Be Independent of Federal Estimates. { Commissioner. |purisdtetion partments, Commi; }have jurisdiction o partment, or at mos /number of departmen They point out that ¥ | ernment of Manila was being org ized the government of the Di of Columbia was followed to a c tain extent as a model, but there visfon s made for some ouncil of the peop aving a sort of advisory power. This gave an op portunity for the population least express their desi having legislative laws that Increasing the nu sloners from three, as five or seven is being This would not be n as ar pres over a numb conside: you have three Ci @epartment under th ers must have an head, where with five missioners each wo charge of one of ses Then they would havi ings as a board to decide upon ge eral regulations. It is argued tha this would give a simpler orga and that responsibility would be m dire No Revolutionary Proposals. There is no thought of disturbing commission form of goverr administration advisers advising that the Com be appointed rather than elected In the same way that the states providing for the government of the cities put certain limitati upon th powers of the clties, especially gard to debt limits and rates of u tion, 80 herg, these students of gov: ment reform argue, Congress would put certain limitations on the Commission- ers similar to those now in force. Con gress would probably say that they mus: not appropriate money in excess of r¢ ceipts—in other words, that they must not run fnto debt—where now a limit |plnced upon thelr pow to estimate. Congress doubtless would compel th District to adopt policy through lezal r Congress might ev local government of the D tal should not incur bonded fndebtedn; without the approval of Congress. With limitations of that sort, Co gress and the administration are a vised that it would be perfe | Congress to. surrender all dire; {over the munieipal budget. Not Burden on Treasury. issi I prote laguinst arbitrary District estimate ! year Certain pertinent phasize the of keeping the 1 the federal bud al bmh,xl(l B The Commission called attentio “a great city I Washington is @ living and growing thing and that its activities cannot be conducted upon the basis of a cons or diminishing scale of expenditures | streets are op houses are b |as the population cases and e | As | ereased expend | In showing haracter Commissioners pointed out: trict of Columbia i3 unlike the fede departments and bureaus, which, wit | scarcely an exception, are money ng agencles supported exclusively by | the federal Treasury, whercas the Dis trict of Columbia produces through loca taxation and from other sources of revenue more than 60 per cent of its annual expenditures. Furthermore, many of these expenditures are, at least {in part, reimbursed. and to that extent should in strict fairness not. be char; as part of the total.” American Business to Profit By Development of Standards packing, etc., and unnecessary variety in sizes, weights and qualities. Widely accepted standards, those favor of this standardization | ment argue, mean reduc human thought and effort required | in supplying the most common hun wants, thereby releasing a large su total of thought and energy toward developing new arts and sclences, soclal betterment and the improve ment of standards generally. The bureau of standards Is mnow promulgating standards through its contacts with trade assoclations and by its publications generally, and through its connectfon with the fed eral specifications board. In commerce, the primary purpose is the maximum satisfaction of human needs and desires. Standards are the vehicle through which scienc and industry aro thus applied human weltare, and their develop ment, therefore, are among the pri- mary achievements of civilization ve New Civil Service Chief is Sworn In William ¢. Deming of Cheyenne, Wyo., was €worn in vesterday afternoon as president of the Civil Service Com- mission, the oath being administered by John T. Doyle, secretary of the commission. Mr. Deming surprised officials by arriving here yesterday all ready to assume office, when it not been expected that he would be sworn in until tomorrow commission