Evening Star Newspaper, April 15, 1923, Page 1

WEATHER. today; cloudy; no chaage in temperature. Temperature for twenty-two hours Rain or sleet ended at 10 p.m. last ni 44; Towest, 32.6. Full report on page 5. tomorrow ight: Highest, No. 942.— No. DENBY T0 DD " RULING AS TO WH RUNS DEPARTHENT Will Call for Showdown After Clash of Authority With Controller. 28,839. TOLD FISCAL OFFICER’S ORDERS MUST PREVAIL McCarl Insists Secretary Has No Right to Cancel Accounting Office Mandates. Mccarl of Nebraska., who two unostentatiously took up of the newly created office of controller general of the United States, yesterday laid down the law to & etary Denby in support of his claim that even cabinet officers must bow before the authority of his office in fiscal affairs. At the sume time Secretary Denby prepared to take to the Attorney Gen- eral for an opinfon the question of far the authority of the con- troller mencral legally extends into the administrative worki Department. Many nd enlisted men have complain- vy Department officers sald, that Mr. McCarl had, in eff ruled formal naval orders. Warning in Letter. Mr. McCarl's action, constituting a waruing to all government depart- ments that he intends to force strict compliance with the law in the ex- penditurc of public money. became known through a letter he addressed to the Navy Sccretary, in which he asserted that so long as he ruled on Tiatters within Lis jurisdiction, his auhtority, under the law, could be questioned by no official of the ex- ecutive bLranch of the Provisions of the budget act, in which the office of controller general was created, specifically that he, head of the general accounting office, may exerclse his powers “without di- rection from any other offic The controversy over Mr. McCarl's au- thority came to a head through & protest by Secretary Denby against the controller's rullng in a minor case involving the ovéFfayment of an enlisted man. the Navy Department disbursing of- ficer to get the money back. Secre- tary Denby opposed the action as “in- terference” within his department and Mr. McCarl sent a letter along which informed the Navy Secretary, in part, as follows: ow To Force Showdown. “There was no authority in such administrative powers as are given the head of the Navy Department to issue an order annulling a request of this office to protect the fiscal affairs of the United States and which might jeopardize such recovery (of govern- ment money) as the action appears to have been in this case.” Mr. Denby’s objection to actlvities of the controller general was not his first nor the first that had reached the general accounting ofiice from other departments of the government, and, backed by the best counsel in his de- partment, he appeared yesterday to be ready to force a showdown, Informed of the reported intention of the Navy chie Mr. McCarl de- clared he had no thought of abandon- ing his position. “I conceive it to be the duty of every administrative officer,” the controller general wrote Mr. Denby, “to facllitate action to protect the in- terests of the United States when matters arlse involving erroneous or even doubtful payments. * - Would Give Orders Direct. *This officc must perform the du- ties imposed upon it by law and will undertake promptly to recover back overpayments made by disbursing of- ficers of the Navy Department or any other branch of the government in such manner as will best conserve the interests of the United States. It must take such action in the ac- counts involved as the facts present- ed may require.” Mr. McCarl also informed Mr. Den- however, that if it would be of the controller’'s oftice hereafter would send instructions to the Sec ¥ of the: Navy. rather than to the persons directly involved, The Seeretary. it explained, could then issue the instructions as formal orders. It was pointed out, however, that the officer issuing or- ders, either in the War or Navy De- partment, could by law be held strictly responsible for them, and to that extent the suggestion if carried out might serve to narrow the con- troversy to the two government offi- eers. b, sistance was Tesponsible Only to Congress. Whether an “open war” will con- tinue between the two scemed unlike- | 1y, although Mr. McCarl's determina- tion to stand his ground did not promise an early compromise. The law provides that the controller's fifteen-year appointment is subject to termination only by Congressional action, and Mr. McCarl's supporters referred last night to reports by Con- gressional committees which handled the budget measure which say, in substance, that Congress desired that it alone should control the pulse beat of federal expenditure and, therefore, the controller general was made re- sponsible to Congress alone. Secretary Fall, prior to his retire- ment as Interior Department head, encountered the positive stand of the controller general on several occa- sions it was recalled, and half a lozen instances where his decisions had caused & furor among Army officers were mentioned. None of those cases, however, developed into controversies of the character of that between Mr. Denby and Mr. McCarl and the disposition last night ap- peared to be to let the issue be Zought out between those two, Entered as second-class matter post omcs Washington, ‘b, O, WASHINGTON, Sims Says U.S.W ould Have Sunk Unwarned Ships Like Germany America Scared to Stay Out of War, Admiral Declares—Found Chivalry Among Teuton Commanders. Special Dispatch to The Star. ! NEWPORT, R T, April Admiral Willlam Snowden 1to the war?’ the correspondent 14.—Rear | saced 3 | - | “We went into the war because | tian et Pl i‘::fl::n{ue were scared to stay out,” said the | admiral. . 1 naval forces operating in European| The interview with Admiral Sims | waters during the war, expressed the | WaS Sought for the purpose of get- | opinion today that if the United|IN8 an elaboration of a statement| States had been in Germany's fix this | ¢ made before the Los Angeles City | D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, government. | Mr. McCarl instructed | jcountry would have used submarines to sink merchant ships without warn- {ing. just as Germany aid. “If the situation Lad been versed.” declared the miral. {we had been in Germany's place, and £ we had believed that losing the war would have meant the domination of our country by Germany—be sure to make that point—we, too, would re- “Then Ambassador Harvey was right | when he stated our motive for going ALLIES STILL SEEK - BRITISH RUHR AID |France and Belgium Spur,| Efforts to Bring Germany | to Her Knees. 1 i By Cable to The Star and the New York Tribune. Copyright, 1923. PARIS, April 14—The policy of France and Belgium at the conclu- sion of the two-day conference be- tween Premiers Poincare and Theunis {and Foreign Minister Jasper of Bel- glum, may be briefly summed up as| comprising an effort to re-weld allied | | unity by way of diplomatic exchanges | between the varlous allied govern-| ments, with, Itaneously, an in-| | tensification of the Franco-Belgian, operation in the Ruhr in order to| bring Germany to her knees as quick- 1y as possible. The ministers met twice today— first at a luncheon at the Belgian em- bassy, later at tea, as the guests of President Millerand, gt the Elysees Talace. At 6 o'clock the Belgian chiefs left for Brussels. Will Keep British Informed. Despite developments which now make it clear that the views of Eng- land do not coincide with those of France in regard to the Ruhr and & p-ssible settlement of the reparation p-oblem, Premier Poincare, as a re- | sult of the present Paris conference, will keep England closely informed as to developments and steadily carry on conversations with London. On the | other hand, the Belgians have been | delegated to keep Rome informed, and Premiers Theunis and Mussolini arc expected to begin an interchange of views immediately. Both the Beigian ministers made it plain at today’s meeting that they do not feel optimistic over the reports brought back from England by Louis Loucheur, and they entirely confirmed the impression that they think it highly desirable to have Great Brit- ain again in the allled fold—so much [ <o, that they feel it might merit cer- { tain concessions on the part of both France and Belgium. Sees End to Resistance. | Perhaps the best view of what has been accomplished.in a political way in Paris during the last two days fs contained in a statement made by Premier Theunis tonight before he left for Brussels. “I am convinced,” he said, “that the !time when England and Italy will say, "We are completely on the side of | France and Belgium, and we again | have a common allied policy, the Ger- | man resistance’ is a question only of |days. The resistance of Germany | could not exist, either morally or po- litically, unless it was based vpon hope of British divergence from the views of the other allies. “Berlin has entirely given up hope of mediation by the United States. 1t is, though, perhaps dangerous for lus to enter into cpen negotiations with England at tris time, because 1t | they fall, German resistance will be | materially strengthened. It is bet- {ter to have a discreet exchange of | views, and to let Germany live in | tear of an allied rapproachment. H Don't Propose to Stay. “We can stay in the Ruhr as long as we desire,” continued M. Theunts, “but that Is not our purpose. Our purpose is purely to liberate the world from the burdens and anxleties of the repa- ration problem, and.to bring about a settlement. Every week we must ! make progress in our exploitation of ! the Ruhr, and we shall. Every week, through mutual confidence. we shall (Continued on Page 2, Column 2.) 'FORD REPORTED By the Associated Press. ST. PAUL, Minn., April 14 —Reports ‘were current in rallroad and financial circles here today that control of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad is sought by Henry Ford to facllitate distribution of his products throughout the northwest and middle west, according to the St. Paul Dis- patch. Such a purchase would be epochal in transportation history and would involve hundreds of millions of dol- lars, as the value of the road's prop- _erties_ja_estimated z" more than I Club on April 3, when he said: “The | APRIL 15, 1923.— I press | their names were disclosed to accounts of the ‘terrible atrocities’ ganda. The British naval records and our own are filled with reports showing that German U-boat com- manders aided in the rescue of crews and passengers of ships they sank. If they could not tow the ships to safety, they would always, by means | the position of the crippled vessel.” Leaning back In a window seat in (Continued on P: g SUEAR PRCE PROBE FURTHER EXTENDED Transactions on Exchange Between January 1 and tontttopesoumes. | CHANCES BRIGHTER By the Assoclated Press. NEW YORK, April 14.—The gov- ernment’s investigation of the high rrice of sugar, which had been cen- tered upon the New York Coffee and Sugar Exchange during February, was widened today to include all transactions in sugar in the period between January 1 it was learned today on good author- ity, agents of the Department of Jus- tice have been examining the Febru ary transactions of several of the largest brokers and dealers In sugars, paying particular attention to the names and addre: 8 large sugar contracts. The inquiry has been carried on quietly and was cnly known to the firms concerned and their customers, whose permission was asked, in most cases, before the government's agents. The greatest secreey has been observed by th { government and no clue to the nature or scope of the investigation had been | obtalned until today. Today the inquiry was broadened to include all transactions in sugar in the first quarter of 1923, and the en- tire list of brokers of the New coffee and sugar exchange received a letter signed by David A. L'Esperange, special assistant to Attorney General | Daugherty, requesting detailed in- formation of all transactions during | that period as promptly as possible. Ask for Names. The letters also expressed the desire of the government's investigators to have the names and addresses of the customers of the firms addressed. There was no hint of compulsion in the letters. While the sugar brokers were dis- cussing the business ethics involved in a disclosure of their custimers’ names, without their permission, an agent of the Department of Justice | visited the floor of the exchange and invited several brokers to present themselves at the office of United States District Attorney Heywood next Monday morning. One of the brokers, M. R. Mayer, sald that he would accept the invitation, and would be glad to assist the government in any way that he could. The brokers were not asked to bring any of their records. Several of the brokers went to work on their bookd compiling the data requested by the’Department of Justico, while others believed that it would take Some time for them to gather the information and put it in shape. Customer List Sought. One of the largest brokers on the sugar exchange, whose transactions have been under investigation for the past two weeks, sald that until to- day the principal object of the gov- ernment’s be the names and addresses of their customers who had had large trans- actions in sugar futures during Feb- Tuary. Franklin W. Hopkins, president of the clearing house for the coffee and sugar exchange and a member of Hopkins Brothers, said that his firm’s customers had made no objection to the disclosure of their names and transactions to the government men. “They sald they had nothing to hide,” said Mr. Hopkins, “and I have learned that that attitude has been general throughout the trade. A Mr. Benham, a Department of Justice in- vestigator, who examined our ac- counts, told me that he had been sur- prised by the helpful attitude of the sugar brokers and commission men | during his Investigation.” AFTER CONTROL OF $500,000,000 C., M. & ST. P. LINES $500,000,000, the Dispatch said. Arrangements have just been made by the St. Paul road for building a spur to the site of the $10,000,000 manufacturing plant which the De- troit manufacturer plans to erect here. One of the road's reaches the coal fields near Terre Haute, Ind., and ‘another, extending eastward, reaches to within 100 miles of the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton railway, which.Mr. Ford now éwns. The combined properties would cre- ate one of the largest railroad sys. temy in_the world, it . was ssid, subsidiaries transactions of the | and | { APril1,1923. For the past two weeks, of buyers of | York | were nothing but propa- | have sunk ships without warning.» | ©f the radio, notify other ships of | one of them into the ring. TRACTION NERGER | opaY's star | PART ONE—i4 Pages. [ General News—Local, Natlonal, Foreign. Boy Scout News—Page 22. Aviation Activities—Page 24. ! Review of Books—Page 25, | ‘Schooll and Colleges—Pages 26 and 27. 2 A d N N Page 20. Settlement of Pepco Valua- | spansn war vetorans—page 10 tion Dispute May Bring |artand Artiste—page 31. | Around the City—Page 30. e 5 | Parent-Teacher Avtivities—Page 32. Joining of Trolley Lines. ! Radlo News and Gossip—Page 33. | Financial—Pages 34 and 35. d Advertisements—Pages 36 t sputed valua- | of the Potomac ectric Power | Veterans of the Great War—Page 43. | Company, the Washington Railway | PART TWO—16 Pages. {n"d .'A Bctoic “V”“p“""‘ axu‘l fhe Sy ‘Eultorlall and Editorial Features. [l Traction Company would be a|ZZEOTe and SeHenal Featur | step toward r:ncrgor. persons fnmnlarl In the Civillan Army—Page 13. with the utility situation declared | 1L 11 BIVEAT ATONTRE0S 13 yesaroax: |D. A, R. Activities—Page 15, In the Community Centers—Page 15. " 5 -R. Bowen, vico president and PART THREE—12 Pages. sttlement of the d { eounsel for the power company and [tiié Washington Rallway and Elec-| tric. said last night that if the; valuations could be adjusted it un- | doubtedly would bring the city near- ler to a consolidation of the com- | panies. Br. Bowen play. Music in Washington—Page 5. Motors and Motoring—Pages 6 to 9. | Fraternities—Pages 10 and 12. Boys and Girls' Page—Page 11. that Congress still would have toj pass an act removing the legal re- PART FOUR—{ Pages. ;str(crlou which now exists against a} Pink Sports Section. | merger. . ! PART FIVE—$ Pages. Oyster Urges Agrecment. | Magazine Section—Features and Fiction. Commissioner Oyster came out last | ’ SR = night in favor of the suggestion put ROTOGRAVURE—S8 Pages. ‘World Events in Pictures. forth a few days ago that the com- COMIC SECTION—1 Pages. mission and the power company get | together in an effort to AET€C ON &|nuwt and Jeff; Reg'lar Fellers; Betty: Mr, and Mrs. valuation. The Commissioner also, voiced the opinion that it would be; easier to accomplish a merger with pointed out, however, Captured Documents Indi isements—Theaters and the Photo- | investigation appeared to| R the property values definitely de-| termined. | At the present time thg commission is looking into the advisability of a valuation conference with the power company only. It Is entirely possible. however, that if a compromise should | be reached on the value to be allowed the power plant, negotiations might | ey R X be entered into with respect to the | two street railway companles. It 1s understood that Corporation Counsel Frank Stephens has reached the conclusion that there is no legal obstacle in the way of a movement to reach a compromise with the power company. Valuation Held Too Low. 1t is seven years since the commis- sion valued the power property, and about four years since the two rail- way systems were valued, and all three valuations still are tied up ‘in the courts. The present proposal that a get- together effort be made is a result of the declsion of the United States Su- preme Court that it had no jurisdic- tion over the valuations. This action by the highest tribunal left as final the decision of the District Court of Appeals, which held that the commis- sion’s valuation was too low. If the compromise is not now brought about, the commission and the company must go back to the Di trict Supreme Court and engage another extended period of litigation to have the value of the power prop- erty fixed. Seven Years om One Sue. The outstanding point of dispute in the cases of all three companies is that the commission did not give proper consideration to the high prices that prevailed when the valua- tions were made. Seven years have been devoted to trying the power company’s case lalone. The suits brought by the two | street railway companies are still pending in the District Supreme Court awaiting the outcome of the power case. : In giving his indorsement last night to the proposal for a conference. b tween the commission and company, Capt. Oystér said he felt such a step would be in the interest of the public. Expect Decision Soon. “I believe the people want to see these valuations settled, and if there | is any 'chance to bring about a fair | settlement 1 feel that we should make ! the effort.” ‘Whenever merger of the two car companies and the power company has been under inquiry the point of disputed valuations has been raised as one of the deterring factors. The commission probably will decide within a few weeks whether it will propose a comference to the power cate Intention to Surrender. Only Two Leaders Still Free. | By the Associated Press. DUBLIN, April 14—The capture to- day of Austin Stack, chief colleague ot Eamonn De Valera, while important in itself, is overshadowed by the dis- covery on his person of a document indicating that the complete surren der of the irregulars is at hand. The document, made public tonight by the Free State army headquarters, reads: “Realizing the gravity of the situa- tion of the army of the republic ow- ing to the great odds now facing them and the losses lately sustained, and being of the opinion that further military efforts are futile and would cause only injury to our country with- out obtaining any advantage; and be- ing convinced that the defensive war waged by the army for the last nine or ten months has made it impossible for the Irish people ever to accept less than their full national rights and fearing that it would cause too much delay to await the summoning and holding of & full meeting of the army council or executive, we, the under- signed members of the army council and of the executjve, and other army officers, hereby call upon. and author- ize the president of the republic to order an immediate cessation of hos- { tillttes. “Volunteers are requested to hand in their arms to , pending the election of a government by free ‘\s cholce of the people.” The document was not signed. It contrasts strongly with the address attributed to Eamon De Valera in commenting on Liam Lynch's déath, that document seemed to contem- |plne continuatice of the fight, but little -importance is,attached, to this ’dlacre,‘n\:y. as De Valera's eloquent appeal is regarded merely 4s a final gesture. Stack was found in a fleld near IClonmel, County Tipperary, unarmed and alone, and the “act that he car- ried no weapons - in his favor if he is brought al. He is an old member of the .sh Republican Brotherhood; was ioremost in the preparation of the Easter rising of 1916 and+ was -assoclated with Sir t in the latter's efforts, Tepublice 3 he Sundiy Star, NINETY-SIX PAGES. cil defivered to “From Press to Home Within the Hour” The Star’s carrier system covers every block and the regular edi edition is Washington homes as fast as the papers are printed. Ship Over Grave Of Titanic Asks All Join in Rites NEW TYORK, April 14.—The coast guard cutter Modoc of the international ice patrol tonight sent a radio message to the As- soclated Press asking that all churches be requested to join with it tomorrow morning. in commem- orating the sinking eleven years ago today of the giant liner Titanic, with a loss of 1,503 lives. The Modoc said she would take up her position over the spot where the Titanic sank at 10 o'clock, . eastern standard time, and would commemorate the trag- edy with full military honors for the Titanic's victims All ships at sea have been asked to hold memorial services, and beginning at 10 o'clock all radios will observe a five-minute period of silence. ? | | 1924 PARTY WOES BESET PRESDENT | Troubles Started by Daugh- News Note: President Harding has been presented with three Straw Hats, but he will toss only i STIRRING SCENES BPECTEDBYDLAR. i Congress Opens Tomorrowj i With 2,500 Attendance | From Over Nation. | At the clarion su ms of a Marine | bugler more than 300 members of | | the Daughters of the American Rev-| fon will asse in Memorial | | Continental Hall at 10:30 o'clock to- morrow morning and convene their | | thirty-see atinental congress. i When M rge Maynard Minor, jthe president general, bangs down her gavel a moment later it will fmark the offictal opening of what promises to be the most exciting | convention in the history of that | blue-blooded society. | . Before the congress is adjourned | fext Saturday it will have been! { ealled upon to decide not only ques-} tions of high moment to the future | progr of the society, but it willy | have selected an entire set of new| | national officers, including a presi-| ident general, seven vice president] | generals, three honorary vice presi- | dent generals and nine other officers | immediately subordinate to the | reigning head of the organization. i Excltement of Seasion. | | Scldom has a convention charged iv\uh the important task of selecting | 2 President of the United States open- | ed under more exciting and uncertain | circumstances than this convention { in whose keeping rests what is widely | considered to be the highest gift in | the hands of American womanhood— ithe presidency general of probably | | the most noted association of women |on this continent. - { This morning presidency gener- |al of the Daughters of the American Rgvolution almost seems within the grasp of any member of the society who chooses to run for it, according to members who have been watching the campaign. Only three candidates have announced themselves openly thus far. They are Mrs, G. Wallace W. | Hanger of this city, Mrs. Anthony Wayne Cook of Pennsylvania, and liam Cumming Story of New More Candidates Likely. | Between now and Thursday, how- | ever, more candidates are likely to| have been placed in the field by ad- miring friends unless signs fall. So close is the contest between Mrs. Hanger, Mrs. Cook and Mrs. Story that it is regarded as highly possible that one of the large western delega- tions may attempt to get a delegate from their state into the president general's chair as a compromise can- | diddte. In the meantime, however,| the political pot is boiling merrily| and furnishing the delegates to this| congress a contest that has no prece- dent in the history of the society. During the week the Daughters will be addressed by the President, many of the members of his cabinet, i ful erty Foreshadow Greater Strife to Come. BY ROBERT T. SMALL. Pre ent Hard!ng’'s political trou- bles, which were patiently awaiting his return from Florida vacation, lost no time in leaping full upon him. It he got back to the| once more to take up burdens of office, that Mr.| ding realized the political pos: nto which he has been ma- ed by a combination of cf sumstances over which he at least feels he has no control. In Florida the President smiled complacently when he read the inter- view given out by Attorney General Daugherty, virtually placing him in the fleld us an aspirant for a second nomination and a second term. But here in Washington the President's| hot resentment of the comments made | upon the Daugherty announcement, and the inference drawn from it, has flarcd forth on more than one occa- | sion. his Political Deluge Breaks. The President has found that with | only a little more than one-half of his| term gone a political deluge has! broken about him, and that, strive as he may to do his full duty as President of all the people, already he is being judged In the light of a peliticlan seeking further tenure of the high office he holds. It is cer- tain that Attorney General Daugherty did not reckon the full force and! effect of all that he said that beauti- Saturday afternoon among the| palm trees of Miami Beach. He thought merely to squelch a few littlo | presidential boomlets that were springing up here and there and threatening to become troublesome in time. He did not realize the extent to which he was robbing Mr Harding of his presidential seclusion and pro- | jecting him once more full upon the | screen of national polltics. | Mr. Harding today, however, real- | izes the latter phase to the full, and | he frankly has stated that if he is| to be regarded as playing politics in | all that he may say or do during the next year he will stay strictly at| home in the White House, say as lit- { tle as possible and “fight it out with | Laddie Bo: The President hopes that frankness and a demonstration of his determination not to play poli- | | foreign shipping FIVE CENTS. ENOUGH 1. 3. SHIPS 10 TAKE AMERICAN CARGOES ASSURED President and Board Agree Merchant Marine Must Be Going Concern. PRIVATE SUPERVISION OR BY FEDERAL OWNERSHIP Auction of Ships After Routes Have Been Consolidated Efficiently. Notice was served on all concerned after a two-hour conference at tha White House vyesterday that the American merchant marine is to be malntained as a going concern, elther under privats supervision or under & straight-out policy of government ownership and government operation. The statement was made at tha White House that President Hanlin { and members of the Shipping Board | who met with shinping situati their opinion t it the tenance of him to consider the n were unanimous in at “the chief end to establishment and the American mer- be sou is ma chant marine. Tho statement from the con said Chairman Lasker, later, “means simply this: American and Interests may be assured that 8o far as this genera- tion can see ahead thers will b adequate American tonnage to carry any cargo offered to any port of the world With the conviction that priva | oberation has not vet been relegated to the list of impossible things the conference determined upon one more attempt to turn over established routes to private ownership. As an initial step the forty existing routes will be consolidated to insure more economical and efficient operation, and then will be offered for sale as going concerns, practically at auction, but with the stipulation that only “justifiable” bids will be considered. A condition of all sales will be that the vessels concerned be kept on their present routes. The consolidation is expected to jremove ome of the principal handi- caps under which the board has labored in its dealings with govern- ment operators. An example was cited yesterday in the case of cer- tain routes out of New York. An operator running ships to Amste dam, it was pointed out, might have an outward cargo and the oppor- tunity to pick up return freight at Rotterdam, but would be unable to avail himself because of ence of a separate route from New York to Rotterdam. The consollda- tion will combine routes to adjacent foreign ports under a single head with the view of handling the same amount of business with less shi To Reduce Operators. It is estimated that the number of routes might be reduced to eighteen by the consolidation, and the number of operators reduced in proportion. Chairman Lasker said advertisement of the sale would be ready in three weeks. “It must be understood,” he “the board does not contemplate sell g only the ‘cream routes’ and 1 ing the government stuck with une productive lines. 1f suflicient routes tics at this time in any of his official | are not purchased to insure success acts or views may ameliorate the po- | of private operation, the government sition in which he finds himself. He will proceed to hold them all, elim- 'count for hiy surest support in the is like a swimer breasting an Rd-‘ verse current, fighting the ebb tide | when he expected the flood. | Some Standbys Desert. Deeply as he resents the attempt | to strip him of his presidential robes | and stand him forth nakedly as a candidate for re-election, Mr. Harding | has discovered in the last forty-eight | hours that this is by no means the fullness of his political cup. e has ! found that his advocacy of America's | entrance into the international court| organized by the league of nations| has touched the wellspring cf added opposition within his party, and whereas a few weeks ago he could | count as antagonists only those pro- | gressives, or radicals, if you will, who | felt that Mr. Harding was perhaps| too much fo the stand-pat type, hel {is being opposed today by elements of | the party upon which he has had to| past. The seriousness of the situation which confroats the President is (Continued on Page 2, Column 3.) 1 (Continued on Page 2, Column 1.) WINTER OVERCOATS BLOOM, i i BUT-ALL ! i Cheer up! This extremely unusual April sleet and snow storm will prob- ably be over tonight, but is due to last all day. This isn’t any record, either, be- cause Washington had & snowstorm on May 10. That was in 1906. There was just a mere trace of snow. But the present one is just about as severe an April snowstorm as the old- est residents can remember. Accord- ing to the weather bureau records, the worst April storm was in 1889, when four inches of snow fell on April 6. ‘Winter overcoats bloomed out again last night, Even the great fur coats appeared, just as on the coldest days of the winter. Washington was surprised on its way. to ‘work yesterday morning to have to battle agalnst sleet, which .about 9.9'clocks but Jt_wes OVER TONIGHT amazed on its way home from work to walk into a srowstorm. The Capital city is faring better than its nelghbors, however, for a wide radius. The rain, sleet and snow extended from southern Penn- sylvania and New Jersey southward into northern Virginta and westwara into the upper Ohlo valley. Rain and snow were also reported from the upper lake region and the upper Mississippi valley. The dis- turbance which caused the storm here “was oft ' Cape Hatteras last night, and another one was detected cver the Ohio valley, which will con- tinue the unsettled weather, with rain and possibly sleet, in this region today. Cold weather prevails pretty gen- erally in the Atlantic coast states as inate the agency system entircly and embark upon a program of aggTes- sive operation itsel In this event, he declared, the board would be prepared to go before Con- gress in December and ask f a sub- stantial appropriation for ne con- struction, the first to be undertake: by the board since the war. Any pro- gram ,of government operation, the chairman explained, would include maintenance of “adequate surpius tonnage” to convince competitors that the American merchant flect was not intended to serve a temporary pu pose. Cost Plus Fee Gone. Regardless of the outcome of the proposed sale of existing routes, tho day of the cost plus fee operators is gone, it was announced officiully, Chairman Lasker characterized the system as “vicious,” declaring it of- fered no inspiration either to the agents or to government employes to build for the future. In this connec- tion, it. was learned yesterday, tho board has a list in its files of govern- ment operators who have maintained connections throughout their service with foreign shipping lines. Operators under the so-called “M- 0-4” contract, by which the ugent's feo is assured regardless of finar outcome, have been reduced from 50 to 89, and their privileges materially restiicted. Mr. Lasker said the ro- maining operators will be dropped if the government takes over operation. “It was continued,” he sald, “In the hope that the more efficient and ambi- tious operators could be developed into prospective owners, but this hope has been dissipated. The svs- tem was never commerclally sound.” The chairman emphasized tho re- pugnance he felt toward government operation. : “I despise the very idea,” he said. “The President and the board felt that private ownership was the ideal method to assure American shipping, but since the only way of obtaining this has been denied us, I for one will take any method which promises re- sults.” Survey of the entire fleet will be pushed in order that’ unsuitable ton- nage may be speedily eliminated and, in the meantime, ships not engaged in active service on government routes will be sold without restristions at al far south as North Carolina. But it will be warmer this week, | S world markets prices to American buyers if any are discovered.