Evening Star Newspaper, April 7, 1923, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR, ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY.. ...April 7, 1023 THEODORE W. NOYES... The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, 11th St. and Peanssivania Ave. e ce: Tower Bu 5 Puzopesn Oice: 16 Regent St . Lozdon, Eagland. Egitor ‘The Bveping Star, with the Sundary moraing #dition, is delivered by carriers within the city 2t 60 cents per month; daily only, 45 cents per mouth; Suaday only, 20 cents per month. Or- ders max be went by mail, or telephone Main L3 Collection is ma by cal at the ‘ead of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. £8.40: 1 mo. .1yr., $8.00; 1 mo., 0c .1¥T., $2.40; 1 mo., 20¢ All Other States. Sunday..1 3y only.. 1yr, Sunday only 131 $3.00; 1 mo., 25¢ Member of the Associated Press, Tie Assoclated Press s excly o the use for republication of atehes credited tn it or not otherwise crodite: 0 this puper and alko the locAl mews pub- + dished ‘hercin. Al rights of publication of *pecial dispatches herein ars also reserved —_— e The Retirement Annuities. In recent editorfal comment in T Biar on civil service annuities it was stated that the invested fund for meeting them is approximately 000,000. Review of these figures shows that it is, in fact, $27,984,250, as since the investment in United States bonds in June, 1922, there has been another investment in the current year of $10,- 000,000, Moreover, Jacob W, Starr, v ent of the Association of Re- tired Employes, says that in addition to the invested fund there is a re- served cash surplus of $2,668,682.92 to meet the cost of annuities and refunds to June 30, 1923. More power to this revised showing. It is not only additional but is incon- trovertible argument in support of the clalm that the law should be expanded in several respects. The annuities should be raised for one thing. The happy financial condition of the retire. ment system is ample proof that the pian of raising the fund by the 2% pec cent salary reduction is working admirably. Money enough to meet the obligations can be and is being raised, without prospect of the government being called upon to contribute for fifteen or poseibly twenty years. Both the maximum and the minimum an- nuities should be raised. When the original law was framed it provided ® minimum of $180, but was changed to take in salaries of $600 and le graded in proportion, so that it falls out that some annulties are as low as $85 a year. Senator Sterling, cf man of the civil service committee, will propose legislation at the com- ing session to expand -the law and smooth out some existing provisions which are claimed to present inequali- ties. Suggestions come to The Star from time to time from beneficiaries of the mct, present and prospective. All urge that the annuities should be in- creased. It is also suggested that the ege limit be reduced; that régardless of age the annuity should be paid after thirty years of service. The Tornado. American spirit s shown by the prompiness with which wind-torn Sil- ver Spring plunges into the work of setting itseif to.rights. Scarcely does the tornado pass when the people of the town begin clearing away wreck- &ge and rebuilding. Saw and hammer play their’ merry measures within a few hours after the wind-roar has hushed. Some folk call this enterprise, and others call it “pep,” and by what- ever name it may be cailed it is com- mendable. Such a blow as hit Silver Spring s not apt to visit there again. Tornadoes arc rare in this part of the country, though strong winds are common enough. Men usually build their homes to withstand such winds, but @ tornado is not to be reckoned with. It {8 not only a wind of extraor- dinary violence, but it is a twisting or “‘turning” wind, hence the name “tor- nado.” It displays on a small scale the characteristic freakishness in de- struction of the funnel-shaped whirl- wind of our northwestern cyclone belt. Meteorologists at our weather bureau say that only a few of these ‘winds have blown in our section, and that they were only squalls in com- parison with that which struck Siiver Spring and its neighborhood and fol- lowed & course ebout 300 yards wide «nd two miles long. The meteorologists recall that one of these turning winds came upon Sandy Spring in 1879, and that in 1891 the village of Nottingham ‘was struck. The peace and quiet of ald Prince Georges county is not often disturbed by a tornado. ———— Instead of sending 6500 kiddies to %the circus this year the Kiwanis Club is going to apply the sum involved to- ward a necessary operation upon a little cripple. When all of us start treating our ‘“circus money” similarly the world will be a whole lot happier place. ——— Naturally the President is anxious to get back to Washington. The air is balmy. The cherry trees are begin-| ning to bloom. i ———— Food prices in Washington show a decrease of 1 per cent. In the words af the poet Coleridge, “Spring comes elowly up this way.” B e — Railroad Traffic. Executives of many American rail- roads, believing that they must pre- tumn of extraordinary passengtr travel and _freight traffic, are con- sidering resort to some of the war measures taken to increase carrying ocapacity. One of these measures would be a freer interchange of cars and interchange of locomotives. While government control worked hardship on the railroads it must have pointed to some lessons in economy in the matter of cutting o duplication of affort, elimination of competing traigs, common use of terminals and longer and fuller loaded, though less fre- quent, trains. It is generally believed that government control of the rail- roads, undertaken as a war measure, Aala not work well. Pay of employes went up by leaps and bounds, ef- 4 $17, pare for a spring, summer and .ul ficlency of labor declined and treck and equipment deteriorated. Whether these conditions were due to govern- ment control or to the times is a ques- tion on which men disagree. Pay of employes in every other line of indus- try rose to an unprecedented level and efficiency of workers declined. Tracks deteriorated perhaps because of the scarcity of man power for that kind of work! and because it was felt that much of the wark could be let go 1l the war was ended. Equipment deteriorated because it was loaded and worked as it never had been before, and in the haste for winning the war not enough equipment was lald off for repairs, end such repairs made & demand on man power which was not | as easy to meet as in normal times. ! Many considerations enter into the question, but it has been maintained by railroad officers, and is generally believed by the public, that the gov- ernment did not do as good a job in runnihg the railroads as could have been done by the rallyoads themselves if released from the restrictions put upon them by state and federal laws. In the present gathering of railroad executives are two things worth noting. One is that the railroad man- agers seem to expect through the re- mainder of 1923 a much larger volume of business than they now have, and that they are considering restoring some of the measures adopted during { the war for handling traffic. Democracy and the League. President Harding and the leaders of the republican party ought to be well satisfied with the general political situation as it exists today. It is true the republican party is not wholly united, and that there are dif- ferences of opinion on national and international issucs, but the party in power presents a relatively united front when compared with the opposi- tion. And while the indications are that differences within the republican ranks will grow less, those with which the democrats must contend apparent- ly are widening. If the trend of events today is a re- liable indication as to what the situa- ition will be a year from no the democrats are headed for a wideopen split over the question of the league of nations, not to mention violent dif- ferences of opinion within that party on prohibition. John H. Clarke, former associute justice of the Supreme Court, has formally opened his cumpaign to commit the democratic party to further advocacy of the league of na- tions, and expresses confidence that it wiil be the paramount issue in next year's campaign. At the same time Senator Gilbert Hitchcock, who led the fight in the Senate for ratification of the league covenant, comes out with a declaration that the league never again will be an issue in a presi- dential campaign. There is no way at the present time by which relative support for these two extremes of democratic epinion can be measured, but that both have formidable strength cannot be doubt- ed. Much is likely to depend upon the attitude of former President Wilson. Should he indicate sympathy with Judge Clarke's efforts to make the league next year's leading issue en- thusiastic Wilson and proleague democrats would flock to the Clarke standard by the scores of thousands, and the “practical” politicians of the party, who had their lesson in 1820 and are anxious to keep the league in the background, would have difficulty in stemming the tide. President Harding was on safe ground when he said at Augusta last night that domestic affairs constituted the chief concern of the nation today. Having given evidence by his proposal $or membership in the International Court of Justice that his administra- tion stands ready to play a helpful part in Europe, he could ask nothing better than to have next year's cam- palgn center around domestic prob- lems. With the country in the midst of an era of prosperity, the party in power would reap the political bene- fits. Hope for Alley Dwellers. If the corporation counsel's inter- pretation of the alley-closing law is upheld it will simplify a very dis- agreeable and threatening situation. The act provides for the abandonment of all dwellings on alleys less than thirty feet wide throughout their whole length, and which do not run straight to and open upon two streets bordering the square and are not supplied with sewer, water mains and gas or electric light. The District sur- veyor estimates that 75 per cent of alley dwellers live in alleys that are thirty feet wide, and it may be as- sumed that most of these ave lighted and have water and sewer service. It would seem that the way is open for saving several thousand poor people from eviction who would probably not be able to find other quarters. In- genuity should work out some con- struction and application of the law which would enable the community to rid itself quickly of the alleys which on moral or sanitary grounds are nuisances and pest holes, without compelling the immediate wholesale exodus which threatens injury to the community. ————— Petrograd is reported in panic, be- lieving a coliision with Jupiter will end the world, but it is not explained why any one in Russia should object to the world's end. ———— President Harding is confident the country is not in danger of having a sectional “‘southern™ bloc. —————— Vice President Coolidge does not in- tend to be “premature” with any an- nouncement in respect to 1924, _* Bank Deposits. The returns of the banks to the con- troller’s call for reports of condition give a measure of the prosperity of the District. . Never before have so many persons in the District had so much money on deposit. Never before have the banks had so much money with which to make loans for the ad- vancement of business. The figures far exceed those registered in all other +good ‘times” and “boom times.” We are living in a boom, though people generally cannot recognizs it. Boom, times in the past seem not to have been recognized till they were gone. It may be that the present tide of prosperity may ebb, and it may be that it will rise higher, but it is hoped that the setting in of the ebb tide will be long pastponed, and it is belleved that when it shall come it will not go to the low marks of other years. Just now, because so many people in the District are making more money than they ever made before, they are spend. ing more money and they are savimg more money. Not all the spenders are saving. There never were so many reckless spenders, and these will feel remorse should flush times pass. Now is the time when they should mend their ways. Bank deposits have been built up to their present height not by the spenders, but largely by those with whom they. spent their money. In peace prepare for war, in fair weather prepare for foul weather, and lin a time of high earnings men should prepare for a time of lower earnings. Such a time may not come, but if it should the prudent man will be ready. Rock Creek Golf Course. he eyes of many golf enthusiasts will -be turned to Rock Creek Park, for there men are turning a bit of beautiful scenerysinto an eighteen- hole course. It is easy to be super- lative and certain officlals and non- officials are saying that this is to be the finest goif course in the District and adjacent territory. Other men, keeping enthustasm under restraint, say that it will be *“one of the finest golf courses” in the United States. ‘When this new course is to be opened is not safd, but May 15, weather and other things favoring, has been tenta tively agreed on and it may be that President Harding will drive the first ball. Here is another step toward bringing the parks to the highest de. gree of usefulness to plain people. Traditionally the use of e park is limited to riding. walking and resting. There is plenty of room in Rock Creek Park for walking and resting, but the roads on bright and otherwise agree- able days are becoming crowded with autos and driving is not as carefree as it was. However, it seems to be the fate of all roads that happen to be good roads to be crowded. The walkers, resters and drivers cannot begrudge golfers the use of & slice of the park. There is also room for the accommodation of votaries of other outdoor games.when the de- mand for piay space becomes pressing enough. —_——— A bill before the Connecticut legis. lature would make public display of daylight-saving time an offense sub. ject to fine and imprisonment. Jails then would be equipped with time locks. ————— A Boston judge has sentenced four- teen fish profiteers to jail. Yet, com- pared with coal and some other neces- sitles, the cost of fish is a small item in the average family budget. ———— ‘With a presidential boom for Sena- tor Carter Glass, Virginia has hopes of reclaiming from Ohio the title of “Mother of Presidents.” SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON Ambition. sunghine sweeps the - When vernal scene, Ambition thrives anew: Full many are the things, 1 ween, I started out to do. The sands of time within the glass Flow fast and never stop. ‘Tis years since T et out, alas! To learn to gpin a top. T wound it carefully with string. 1 hurled it to the pave. 1t bounded like a living thing Full bent to misbehave. A window smashed, a stranger gashed, A shout of “Hi The cop! In constant fear of being thrashed 1 strove to spin a top. How gracefully for other boys 1t glided through the air! How sweetly soothing was its noise As it stood humming there! 'Twas then I learned how often pride Is donmed to take a drop. 1 tried and failed and failed and tried To learn to spin & top. In spite of wealth and fame that spread Allurements more mature, When skies grow bluer overhead And songbirds trill secure, And all the world is fair with youth, 1 scorn the garnered crop Of worldly things—to tell the truth— T'd like to spin a top. A Mission Fulfilled. Jes' to cheer us up a bit, Birds keep chirpin’ as they flit On their errands, day by day; An’ the sunshine’s golden ray, ‘With a gay and roguish gleam, Laughs and loiters on the stream; An’ the stars at night are lit, Jes’ to cheer us up a bit. Life can't all be serious toil, 'Cause the sunshine and the soil, ‘While they cause the cak to grow, Set the wildflowers, jes’ below; Nature doesn’t scorn to bring Care to some slight, triflin’ thing; Seems to think right well of it 1t it cheers us up a bit. ————— News from Paris announces the ad- vent of silk stockings so sheer as to give the effect of no stockings at all. ‘Wouldn't it show more progress if we could have no stockings at all that would give the effect of stockings?— Cleveland Plain Dealer. If people were a little less honest, collection agencies would starve. If they were a little more honest, there would be Mo agencies—Hartford Times. One drawback to motoring is that it is so much easier to get batterles charged than to get gasoline charged. —Baltimore Sun. Isn't our slanguage wonderful? We say that a man has a slim chance ‘when we really mean that he has a fat chance.—Asheville Times. ‘The point of saturation is that long @go reached by the average post office biotter.—Rochester Times-Union, A ‘WABHINGTON, D. C, SATURDAY, THE WAYS OF WASHINGTON BY WILLIAM PICKETT HELM. - It you will turn your footsteps to the great building Which houses the Interfor Department, you can hardly fail to find him. The chance that he will not be there is as nothing. A flash of gay color from a many-hued blanket, a tuft of waving feathers, the musical tinkle of a dangling peadant, and Lo, the poor Indian, is before you. S A picturesque fortal is this son of & race that dwindled to a handfull, but now is coming back. He takes himself out in the giaddest of shout- ing raiment. . He robs the eagle of its tail to decorate his coal black hair. Or, maybe, it Is the turkey. He bends the rainbow to his will, scrambles Its tints with the hues of man, makes of the whole one grand, resounding crash of fighting colors, and puts it on his back. Thus, inconsplcuously attired, he {slips-quietly into Washington, on his way to the Interlor Department, and out of the city again. He attracts hardly less atiention than a sachet kitten at a picnic or an enforcement officer at a bootleggers' banquet. 1 trailed a pair a block or so the other day, wondertng what brings an Indian to Washington. They were in thelr usual party clothes and con- versed with thelir customary vivacity. Not & word was spoken—no, not even thought—by ecither of them. 1 sup- Pose they had decided that their clothing talked enough. “Morning, chie! said, scraping acquaintance as I quickened my pace and drew abreast. They both looked up. “Ugh!" replled onc” The other, more splendld, sald nothing. “Fine day,” I hazarded. “Been long in_the city? “Ught - And so we chaited as we walked along. We talked of this and that and the other thing; of politics and religlon and the higher education; of the stuff coming in fronfthe Bahamas and the cost of Hving; of the squirrel that crossed our path and—oh, al- most everything. “Him John Thunder Cloud” was the extent of the conversation from my newly found friend peaks no Engllsh. 1 am interpreter. Mr. Thunder Cloud had the strong family resemblance of all Thunder Clouds, & coincidence I had noted even before my introduction. His welcome was as cordlal as that I received one day when, as a cub reporter, 1 told a loading citizen the chauffeur had eloped with his wife. But I wanted to find out why an Indlan comes to Washington, so I tralled along. Not objectionably, of course, but as one in, not of, the party. We went to th. office of E.. B, Meritt, the assistant commissioner of Indian affairs. And there 1 faded from the picture, not wishing to in- trude on Mr. Thuhder Cloud’s personal affairs. Later I came back. Mr. Meritt had received them, as he ceives hundreds of such within a year. with profound courtesy. He is. one might say, the father con- tessor, friend and adviser of the Amcrican Indlan. They come to him from almost every place where float the Stars and Stripes. And almost every mother's son ha a grievance. John Thunder Cloud no_exception. One must be gentle and patient with the Indian. He must speak his piece without interruption. To interrupt is to 1tat to argue is to upset him S0 following the usual pro- callers | ests, cedure, Mr. Meritt seated his. told called for a stenographer ant them to turn on the current. 01d Thunder Cloud began his plece and rambled on for more than two hours without & break, save to af- ford the Interpreter a chance to in- terpret. And when the powwow end- ¢d the stenographer's notebook had it 3 “I come,” said Thunder Cloud, “from the tribe of Winnebago, in the far- away place called Wisconsin, n the great lakes. The Winnebago fe the white man's friend; the friend of the white man's friend. I come as a friend to my friend, the White man, to ask the white man to right a deep and grievous wrong. 5 “Five years ago or more some of our lands were sold. The white men who bought those lands paid many dollars which were to have been di- vided among the Winnebago tribe. For five years I have walted for my share. My patience has departed. “My interpreter's patience, too, has departed, .for neither of us has re- ceiyed his share of this money. “Too, the nights of winter are long and cold among the Winnebagos. Long huve I needed blankets. My in- terpreter is of no warmer blood than 1. “The white man's agent made me the loan of two blankets, that I might guard myself against the cold of win- ter. But the white man's agent 15 a cunning agent. Before he would give me the blankets he made me sign a paper. Thunder Cloud knows not the written words upon that paper, but he fears they were of evil omen, for not vet has he received his money ‘And 80 we come. Thunder Cloud and his Interpreter, to ask the white pay us $68 each for our That {8 what it resolved itself into, this two-hour wordy rambling. Mr. Meritt made as If to go, but the in- terpreter lald detaining hand upon his arm. ‘Not yet, white brothe ‘There is more. “The Winnebagos trust their white brethren. They love the great white father. They love the Secretary of the Interfor. T love the Indian commissioner. They love you, Mr. Meritt, for vou always are good and kind and just. In your ears always the plea of, the red man finds lodgment—-" “In other words,” Mr. Meritt said, “you're broke."” Yes, sir. we're broke.” How much?" “‘Hotel for three or four days and the fare back home.” he said. Thay were told to go back to the meodest hotel where thev had quar- tered themselves. Meantime, from the voluminous fllea recording the history of every Indian ward's llife, Jir. Meritt learnad that their tale was ©of the stuff that leavens dreams. | But they are childish. theses Indian wards like Thunder and the government has their need for protection. An emergency fund has been established for just such cages. So their hotel bill was paid and they wers sent back to | Wisconsin at” the governments ex- | pense. Almost Indian ward that | comes to shington taps the | Emergency fund in much that man- ner. They sesm to be broke when | they get off the tratn. And now T know why an Indian comes to Washington. Tt is to get ! money to go back home again ever, EDITORIAL DIGEST Butchkavitch's Execution Arouses Bitter Resentment Everywhere. The execution by the Russian soviet govérnment of Vicar General Butch- kavitch as a plotter when his only proven offense seems to have been that he carried out his duties as a priest of the Roman Catholic Church has brought about unanimous con- demnation from newspapers every where. No excuse Is found for the killing which, to many editors, was simply a cold blooded murder, and they insist that it means that never #o long as those responsible for it rule in Moscow will there be any recog- nition of the Russian republic, “That the execution was a blunder Yneeds no argument whatever.” the New York World insists, in holding that “blundering is the speclaity of opportunist governments. Historical- 1y the cause of terrorism Is fear. What has sovietism to fear, now, that it should so shock the pubiic opinlon of the world by inexpiicable and un- excused cruelty The executio; places the soviets “beyond the pale, as the Philadelphia Public Ledger views the killlng, even though “the soviets may be within their rights as they read these rights. But for a people striving for recognition in an unfriendly world they are the poorest politicians since ever the morning stars sang together. When Denikine, Wrangel and Kolchak have been for- gotten even in Russia; when the great famine of 1921 has faded from memory and the czars of yesterday are no more than a legend on the steppes, the story of the martyrdom in Moscow will be allve in the world. The soviets have raised against them- selves new and powerful enemies who will not forget.” That argument re- ceives full indorsement from the New York Herald, which characterizes the execution as “the soviet's defiance of all Christendom” and insists that, “‘of course, this policy of blood and cru- elty i3 folly on the part of the men who carried it out. It confirms the nations of the world In their esti- mate of the Russian government— that government of whose stability its admirers prate. Stable in repu- dlation, stable in confiscation and stable now in a cold brutality from which Christendom recolls. 'If the soviet had wished to make the real Russlans turn more fervently than ever to their religion they could not have accomplished it more easily than by such crimes as they have just committed.” Attention is directed by the Peters- burg Progress and Index Appeal to the fact that “the bolshevik govern- ment had guaranteed to the Catholic priests freedom to profess and preach and _practice their religion,” while the Boston Transcript adds, that “the slain prelate had committed no crime. Vicar General Butchkavitch is & martyr to the insensate hatred of the communists for all the things 'thnt hitherto have kindled the rev- erence and_the veneration of man- kind. For king and priest are hated by the communists with the same hate and are cursed in the same preath., The Russlan communists have gone still further than the most lrun.cficu of the French revolution- In a Few Words. 1t will take longer to whip the im- perial German brewers in America than it did the imperial German army b3 3 ) in FrancLLiaM H. ANDERSON. There is no representative govern- ment in the United States today, be< cause the great majority of those who are best fitted to take an intelligent and helping hand in choosing our rapreungnu‘vu wil have nolhfng to Teh it G0 with'it- . _gENRY H. CURRAD ‘We must frankly recognize that the Sunday school has no future. The enly successful ones now are those which show ;natlnl': pictures or have entertalnments. O R WILLIAM E. GARDNER. Soviet Russia is making an_ effort to throw the world into barbarism that the few may gain without work- ing what the many have fought for ntless T8, through coul Zours iy It you match just an average man with” a superior woman the woman will still be superior. But match a superior man with a superior woman and the superior man will be the best. —AMY LOWELLy ists. They have trodden stil] farther the’ path of sacrilege and implety.” |The very fact that the accused | priests vere tried by a pe court - after the well unde soviet Tfashion” f{s significant, the Binghamton Sun holds, as Indicating the whole matter, trials and execu- tions, is a part of the anti-clerical soviet program. The murder of pricsts and ministers is a part of the plan of Lenin and Trotsky in- the subjugation of Russia. The soviet officials have admitted the putting to death of many of the clérgy. The plan of terrorism has been wimed directly at the church.” ,,Crecdal differences,” argues the Chicago Post, ‘should be obliterated by the sense of horror and indigna- tion which this bolshevik attack upon religion and its courageous ex- onent must evoke. Moscow should ear the protest of men and women of faith from every corner of tha world. ~ On such an fssue as this Protestantism must stand with Ca- tholicism. It is a challenge to all thit they hold in common of faith in God ‘and admiration for heroic lovalty to that faith. For America, and for all lands which cherish re liglous liberty, it is a challenge of & new despotism of unbelief, intol- erable in the modern world as any tyranny of creed has « r been in " history.” TIndorsing to the tull this statement, the New Bedford Standard insists “the Russian oligar- chy views with hatred the few rem- nants of religion that they have not as yet been able to destroy. It con- siders that whatever moral power a church may have detracts so much from the supremacy of the govern- ment” The execution constitutes a challenge to all the world, as_the Buffalo News sees {t, because “civ- ilized. countries cannot look unmovad on the execution of men for faith's sake, whatever their religion. Hun- dreds of thousands of persons have been put to death in Russia by the soviet government. Among the num- ber were many high figures of the Greek Orthodox Church. But these executions were in the dark. The outside world only recently heard of them. But in this case the soviet flaunted Its viciousness in the face f the world” And by this killing the world knows that justice in Russia is dead and that the judgment of a soviet court counts fof nothing human Iwuh honest men,” insists the Youngs- town Vindicator. “That Mgr. Butchkavitch was put to death, and so promptly,” says the New York Tim ‘suggests the gov- ernment was stung to anger and, perhaps, went oft halt-cocked. It had ecome & point of honor to show once more that it didn’t care what foreigners thought about it The execution strongly emphasizes, the Chicago D1 fews asserts, that “the bolshevist government is car- rying on a bitter and ruthless war against religion. The youth of Rus- sia is being educated in the ma. terialistie loctrines of the co munist dogmatists Such senseless and obscurant tactics are bound to fail. The blindness of bolshevik fanaticism {s nowhere more striking- 1y illustrated than in the immoral and irrational attempt to destroy re- ligion. And in the killing, as the Buffalo Times points out, “Russia herself has affiixed the final seal upon her own outlawry from the com- munity of nations. Agrees With Lord Cecil * In Defense of League To the Bditor of The Star: I fall to find in the verbatim re- port of Lord Robert Cecil's speech in New York city that he sald: “You did not know what was best for you when you elected to stay out” (mean- ing the league of natlons). I do find he said: “Can you afford to stay out?” The writer has been able to read English for over, a half century, and Pead the league of nations many times, and never could see the scare- crows_that politiclans and radicals read into it. Have never believed that President Harding, ex-Senator Root, Kécretary Charles E. Hughes or ex-President Taft saw the mag- nified dangers of it either. I do not now believe that any of these dis- tinguished republicans at heart can take exception to anything Lord Cecil ald in this New York speech. Brain- storm politiclans, radicals, etc., may A1l their lungs with alarming hot air, but sane civilisation has a burning devotion to this great ideal to stop war, and whether the martyred a thor of the league of nations or his distinguished lleutenant, Lord Ceeil, leads the movement shouid not its attainment. &!JAH E, ENOTT, " APRIL %, 1923 The Library Table © By The Booklever Persons who are troubled by the supposed conflict between Christian- ity and evolution aie recommended to read the little book entitled “I Belleve in God and In Evolution,” by Dr. Wil- liam W. Keen. The author, who is eighty-six years of age, but who writes with the vigor of young man- hood, has been a student and teacher of anstomy and surgery for sixty- two years, and I8 emeritus professor of surgery in the Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. The substance of this book, recently published, was given as/a commencement address before a theological seminary. The attitude of the author Is shown by its dedication: “To all sincere seckers after truth; who revere the Bible as the word of God; who revere nature as the work of God, and who believe that rightly interpreted they must surely agrée” The author draws largely on his great knowledge of comparative anatomy for his evi- dence, but also includes other strict- ly up-to-date scientific data for his conyviction that “man’'s ascent, from animal of low intelligence seems * * 1o be absolutely proved * ® The ascent of man, {n perfectly ordc=- 1y sequence, {s far more probable thun g::;re;:l’:llon progressed up to the nthroj apes and stopped there, and that God then made man by & separate, speclal creative act.” * X % % Exactly what Is the theory of evo- lution and what is its place in the ecientific thought of today? These questions find very satisfactory an- swers in the new book, “Sclence and Human Affairs from the Viewpolnt of Blology,” by Dr. Winterton C. Cur- tis. “Organic evolution {s,” he says, ot a theory of the origin of men from monkeys, but is concerned with the origin and development of &ll of the animal and plant bodies which now exist.” The author makes clear the distinction between organic evo- lution, which, he says, “has been sub- stantisted by evidence thal s now overwhelming,” Darwinism, meaning natural selection, to whith he states “the investigation of recen years have assigned less importance.’ This well written, authoritative end absorbingly interesting book is de- voted, one-third to the history of science, another third to modern biology and a final third to the pres- ent and future importance of science. In tracing the Influence of science on the development of mankind, the author’s purpose is to stress its spir- itual aspects, in order to point out the possibilities for the eugenic ad- vancement of mankind. * % % 1t the reader is disposed to carry his present study of evolution farther, and especlaily If he wishes 1o know the latest and most reliable judg- ments on the theory as applied to man, he should read the new book, “The Evolution of Man,” which con- sista of a series of six lectures, given at Yale University a year ago, all but two by Yale professors. These lec- tures comprise the following: Prof. Richard 8. Lull, on the antiquity of man, giving the paleontological evi- dence for his evolution; Prof. Harry B. Ferris, on the natural history of man, giving the evidence for evolu- tion as found in the development and structure of present-day man; Prof. George H. Parker of Harvard, on the evolution of the nervous system of man; President James R. Angell, on the evoiution of intelligence; Prof. Aibert G. Keiler, on social evolution, that is, evolution in the variosfs in- stitutions of human soctety, and Prof. Edwin G. Conklin of Princeton, on the trend or future of evolution. These lectures are thoroughly mod- ern and authoritative and also are intensely Interesting reading. * ok x % The method of Thomas Hardy and intimate knowledge of the. vast stretch of farming country north of the great lakes in Canada are com- bined in the novel, “Possession,” by the Canadtan writer Mazo de la Roche. The characters of Mis de la Roche, like those of Hardy, seem to be products of the scil and almost fatailstically determined in their life courses by the soil. “Possession” is the story of the growing respons bility and with it the growing en thustasm which comes to Derck Vale after he falls heir to the run-down farm of Grimstone and begins to savor the meaning of possession. He works out his fate with the heip of two women—the inevitable two women—one the daughter of a neigh- boring farmer, and the other an In- dian girl. The minor characters are as well done as the major ones, and include farmers, farm hands, country preachers and Indians. Vivid pic- tures are given of the strawberry- picking season and the calamities-to farmers resulting from drought and bad weather. It is sometimes asserted that the conditiors in Russia are not néarly 8o uncivillzed as generally represent- ed. A Red Cross rellef agent re- turned to Washington, expatiated within the last week upon his love of the Russians and admiration of the accomplishments of the soviet government. Judging from his en- thusiasm, we of Ameriea mighit well emulate the liberty and enlighten- ment of the Russian bolshevists. As iIf oonfirming this rosy picture of Russian conditions, there comes an- other American traveler —James ¥. Cannon, chairman of the workers' party of America—who, fresh from alleged Intimacy with Trotsky and Lentn, lectured in Washington, be- fore an audience of “wWorkers. Amongst other statements made by Mr. Cannon was this: “Although the soviet government is hostile to re- ligions end the established church"— evidently so hostile that almost while he was speaking it shot an arch- bishop for upholding his faith and appealing to his flock to remain true to religious beliefs —“it refuses to interfere with any persons who care to belfeve in their gods. Current news gives the lie to such representations of liberty of con- science, but, what is more enlighten- ing, is the form of Mr. Cannon's own language—"any per: 8 who care to believe in their gods. He adds. “It does, however, put up communist ideas against Christiun ideas.” * X ¥ ¥ This champlon of bolshevism, in ridicule of the practice in the Roman i Catholic Church, described the burn- ing of candles before the shrine of a saint's bones, and added: “I do mot know who bought the concession on the enterprise” The sale of rights to make profit on shrines, like ancient customs of selling the right of tax gatherers, appears a legitimate money-making enterprise, to the bol- shevists. His description of the civil marriage ceremony or license, and the ease of sovering it, at the option of either party, without any evidence of rea- sons ' for the annulment, brought cheers from the Cannon audience of Washingtonians. * % % All this would be of no interest to enlightened Americans, perhaps, for there aro savages In many parts of the world and barbarous customs can not be cured suddenly, but the actual conditions In Russia are of interest, in view of the misdirected enthusi- asms und sentimentalism of Ameri- cans who urge official recognition of the soviet government. * % ox % In case of forcibis ejection of 14,- 000 alley tenants June 1 by United States marshals or local police, will the jall be enlarged in time to re- ceive that many? That will make quite @ bullding boom, which will keep mechanics busy. Such a jafl enlargement should include all mod- ern and sanitary Improvements. What if_there are strikes? Wil the government, which takes over the property of the alley houses. Compensate the owners? The evi tion law says nothing on that sub- ject, but the United States Consti- tution does. *ox ok Once there was an old man who had lived a lfe of isolation and Ig- norance. e found it difficult to express himself intelligibly, and in his distress he ejaculate: “Puzzlin’ work—talkin' {s." The framer of the eviction law BY THE MARQUISE DE FONTENOY. Ex-Emperor William has created profound irritation among his rela- tives and indignation on the part of all the monarchists of Prussa by be- stowing upon his present wife, in re- sponse to her persistent demands, the of the Hohenzollern Swan, h, on the occasion of its founda- tion some two centuries ago, was re- siricted by sovereign edict in its membership to the queens consort of Prussta. It is an order which is only, therefore, unique in this sense, that it is limited to a single holder. Its insignia consists of a diamond and ruby swan, the stones being of exoeptional size and purity, and it is worn suspended from the neck by a wonderful gold chain. It was the one gem which was retained by Queen Louise when she, followed by most of the women in Germany, sacrificed her jewels in order to provide the fund: needed by the penniless Prussian go ernment to embark upon its war of liberation at the beginning of the nineteenth century, when gold orna- ments completely 'disappeared from public view for femining wear, and even wedding rimgs of iron took the place of any costlier metal. The order of the Hohenzollern Swan has been worn Queen Elizabeth of Prussia, consort of King Frederick Wi{lliam IV; then by his sister-in-law, Augusta of Saxe-Weimer, first the queen and then the empress off the old kaiser of the Bismarckian era e Frederick, sister of King Edward VIL retained the order only during the hundred days of her ill-fated hus- band's reign, and then its surrender was exacted from her by her unfillal son, ex-Kaiser Wilhelm, to confer it upon hls_wife, the late Empress Au- * * ¥ ¥ In an article on ‘Religion and the Younger Generation,” in the April Yale Review, James B. Pratt makes these comments on the widgspread ig- norance of the Bible. Many a college student today, 1 feel sure, would fail to find anything funny in Tom Sawyer's predicament when_before the assembled Sunday school he was asked to name the firat two disciples, and answered David and Goliath, When Mark Twain wrote his earlier books, Hebrew kings and prophets, Christian apostles and martyrs were famillar acquaintances of elementary school children. Many of our recent college graduates know as little of them as they do of Greek mythology. Not long ago ene of the students in the course on the history of religions which I have mentioned, informed me (on paper) that the an- cient Hebrews were fairly moral con- sidering their times, “though, of course, they did not have our Ten Commandments.” Examples of the consumption of in- digestible food for the express pur- pose of superinducing wierd litera- ture are given in a recent letter in the: Manchester Guardian. Tradition says that Mre. Ann Radcliffe, who flourished at the end of the eighteenth century, was table to produce her un- canny storles of ghosts and other hor- rors by eating pork chops just be- fore going to bed and remembering the resulting dreams. Some years ago H, G. Wells gave as the first step towards Iiterary production, this reci- pe: “It is imperative, If you wish to Write with any power and freshness at all, that_vou utterly ruin your di- gestion.”. Perhaps Victor Hugo had the same ides, for according to hi biographer, Edmond Leroy, it was hi invariable custom, when eating crabs and_crayfish, of 'xhlcn he was very fond, to devour their heads, claws and tails, and when eating an orange, to swallow the peel and PIps. * % xR The death on November 18, 1932, of Marcel Proudt at the . of fifty-one has taken from French literature one of its leading representatives in the field of minute psychological analysis Proust was a thorough Parisian, and from his observation ' of modern French Wfe pitilesaly caracatured va- rious social types. ~He created s colossal work of fi to Balzac’s “Comedie called “A 1la -Recherche du Temp: Perdu,” of which only nine volumes have appeared and six remain in manusoript. The first section of this work cailed “Du Cote de Ches Swann” and has been transisted into years ago; while sharing her hus- band's refuge and exile at Doorn, after witnessing his loss of throne and honor and of every shred of rep- utation that he may have ever pos- sessed. No longer a reigning soverign, he has_ceased to possess any right to confer titles and orders of knight- hood, which are prerogatives re- stricted exclusively to reigning mon- arcl His bestowal of the order of the Hohenzollern Swan upon the de- signing widow who induced him to marry her g0 s0on after the death of his devoted empress, and in deflance of all propriety and public sentiment, is therofore just as unlawful as his conteding to her the title of Queen of Prussia. * % K X With regard to thes jewels of the dead wife of the ex-emperor, & ques. tion has arisen with regard td the whereabouts of the celebraied jewels of Empress Catherine, the cqnsort of Peter the Great in Russia, which were known to have been In the ex-kaisér's ossession, end dt is feared by his amily and by the Mmaining adher- ents of the Hohenzollern dynasty that they may have been obtained from him by his present wite. These jewels have an extraordinary history. When, during the first decade of the eighteenth century, Peter the Great, :' llal?; w-rhrmn the T:r)}(‘u. t e 10 | found’ himself ‘and his army wholly English under the " title “Swann's| ur ounded by a far superior force Y- &% of the enemy on the banks of the +|Pruth and wholly at the mercy Some time ago a collection of stories fof the sultan's generalissimo, he was extricated from his predicament by e retorpioce ot Boctaouis | Empross Catherine, who wusned over all her magnificent jewels to the Ot- and written by various authors, was|toman commander-in-chief, ~who, published in twe volumes under the thanks to this bribe, not only let title “The New Decameron.” A thi Peter the Great and his army with- volume hss now been added. THe draw to safety, but even tonsented to authors sented irclude D. a treaty of peace unexpectedly fi Lawrence, Robert le, Copipton -able to Russia. The episode is de- Mackenzie, Norman ' Davey, Btorm ibed with much gusto by Voltatre Jameson, V. Sackvill Wlllf J. -D.lin his life of King Charles XII of Beresford and Michael Sadlefr, Sweden, and he relates that the Turk- since then by | Empress ! gusta. The latter died barely two| CAPITAL KEYNOTES BY PAUL V. COLLINS must sympathize with that old man, ‘Puzzlin’ work—writin' .awe.” Xk E . A woman judge sentences a 0 judge to jall for contempt of court. The man merely shows the decre to the Court of Appeals, which de cldes that the lady was wrong and that the male judge need not go to jail. Did they think that ended tha case? Who ever heard of a woman Wwho did not have the last word? Why, she may send the Court of Ap peals_to the penitentiary yet. * % % * In spits of general prosperity throughout America—or perhaps be- cause of {t—travel to Europe has de- . creased. Last year, in March, the number of tourists who left Ame for Europe ranged from 2,453 to 4,098 weekly; this vear the corre- sponding weeks showed only from 2,090 to 2,695. It is possible that two incentives 1o stay at home are operating. The in terest in Turopean battlefields may - be decreasing, as time rolls on, and the caution against the precent me: acing conditions throughout Burope centering in the French invasion of the Ruhr, are influencing travelers to “see America first.” Travel may well turn southward and find unlim ited interest in South and Central American_scenes. Ths picturesque ness of Mexico and the countries of South America is not second to that of the more familiar Burope. Thers is unrest still in Mexico and open re- bellion in Brazil, however, which nar- rows the fleld of travel in that di rection. but the continent is lurgs and the sights varied enough. Com- mercial ties will greatly enhance the future interest in travel upon the Western Hemisphere, The recent re vival of interest in archeology wiil find no limit to the wonders of the prehistoric ruins in both Central and South America, indications Df. the marvelous civilization of pre-Colum- bian ages. * % K % How styles of millinery change! major of the United States Army has found Magellan's helmet which ha* wore when he discovered the straits now called Magellan, and the Philip- pine Islands. It Is of brass, and has been kept by tho Moro chiefs—de- scendants of the aborigines who, in 1521, slew the first would-be circum- navigator. Compare that fine bonnet with the tin 1ids worn by the A. E. F. in the * world war. Just as the ladies are now emulating the fashions of Tu- tankhemen's reign, let the Americ soldler boys adopt brase Magellan headgear. It wiil enable them to stand more erect, for who did not feel inclined to hide behind the next rank ahead when he had to spoil his looks with the rusty red iron cover? Ncver once did_an ‘American doughb “stick a feather in his helmet = call him ‘macaroni.’ Besides, comrades would have thought he w aping the Italiens if he had. Bu with a shiny brass heimet there would be some chance to duzzle the eves of both enemy and friend. * * ¥ ¥ A The question is often raised by lay- men, whether, after all the science and care, the present generation real- ly ‘profits by living longer than did previous generations. Statistics show that the averags longevity is in- creased fifteen years since 1850. With the care In Washington traffic, the average number of fatal accldents per month for the first three months of this year is 50 per cent less than in corresponding months of 1921. The care of children has reduced tha acci- dental deaths to gix in three mouths, 11923, as_contrasted with 87 in 1921 and ‘30 f 1922, Thinking for safety brings safety. (Copyright, 1923, by P. V. Gollias. Ex-Kaiser William Irritates Relatives In Conferring Order on Present Wile ish commander on his return to Con- stantinople met with his death b: means of the bowstring, while Em press Catherine's jeweis passed | the treasury of the terribly indigna sultan, where they remained until t first of the several visits paid by ex- Emperor Willlam to the Golden Horn What happened then ‘is given here on the authority of the late Prof. Vambrey, the celebrated Hungarian historian’ and explorer, who was on terms of the utmost intimacy with Bultan Abdul Hamid, and who was summoned by him from Budapest to act as interpreter between himself and the kaiser. It Seems the latter re- peatedly expressed the desire to see Empress Catherine's jewels. Finally, the sultan had no_ aiternative, but to yield with a rather il grace, and with manifest reluctance. They were brought for the purpose of inspection from the imperial treasury in the | ol seraglio. When Willlam saw theém | he admired them with so much en- | thusiasm and _ fervor that | Abdul Hamid bent at the time upon | securing Germany's support in difficulties with the other great pow ers of the concert of Europe, fel himself compelled nolens volens to present the entire collection to the kaiser, or rather to. the kaiserin as a memento of her visit to Stamboul. | % % % X | While the empress scemed to be disposed to demur at the gift because of its enormous value, Willlam made no difficulty about accepting it and | carred oft the entire collection of | Empress Catherine's jewsls to Berlin, Where they remained until the be- ginning of the great war. Then the Russian armies, when they penetrated g0 far into Germany in the early stages of the conflict,” were deter mined to recover them from Berlin and to bring them back to where they belonged—namely, to Petrograd. Of course, the kaiser's possession of Empress Catherine’s jewels was throughout his reign, a source o irritation against him, not only on the part of the court of Petrograd, but also among the Russian people | If, as ls feared, the ex-kaiser mav | have transferred these Russian crown jowels to his present wife it would account for & grext deal—not only for | the utterly repellent marriage which she contraoted last year, but also for the recent independence of her atti- ! tude and for her leaving him for a stay of two months or more in Ger- many, efter having driven al} his for- mer cronles and most devoted and loyal retainers from his side. 'In- deed, it 18 & very lomely ex-kaiser whom she has left at Doorn. Rk k% It may be added that Peter the Great, in recognition of Bmpress Catherine’s sacrifice of her jewels and of her successful ingenuity in saving both him and his army from annihila- tion by the Turks on the River Pruth. founded, in 1711, the Order of St. Catherine, of which she was the grand mistresh It was an order re- stricted to the imperial princesses of the reigning house of Russia, to for- eign ladles of soverelgn rank and to a very limited number indeed of women of the very highest rank of the Russian nobility—not more than a dozen at the most. Its last recipient before the overthrow of the monarchy in the spring of 1917 was the late Lady Georgina Buchanan, the only forelgn ambassadress to have ever been thus honored, and which was Dbestowed upon her as a unique to- %en of the gratitude of-Nicholas IT for the loyal friendship and support which he d his family had received until the very last from Sir Georg: Buchanan and his wife. That in it- self disposes of the lies of the no torious Princess Paley in the Revue de Paris of the alleged enmity of the Buchanans toward the late czar.