Evening Star Newspaper, May 27, 1923, Page 1

WEATHER Mostly ¢loudy and soinewhat cooler toda; and tomorrow; rain: ended at 10 p.m. last nij possibly local Temperature - for _twenty-two hours tht: Highest, 81; lowest, 50.9. Full report on page b. No. WAR CLOUDS PASS - AS GRECO-TURKISH ROW 1S ADIUSTED - American Envoy at Lausanne Flays Important Part - in Settlement. 948.—No. 28,881. DEBT DECISION LAST OBSTACLE TO BE MET Greece Admits Owing Fund, Tur- key Carncels Payment; Dele- gates Friendly. 26.—Peace instead ©f war in the near east was the wel- #ome result of a dramatic session of the Lausanne conference held today st Ouchy Chateau to settle the Turco- Cireek reparation controversy. Com- plete arrangement was reached, and #s this was the only remaining prob- Jem between the Greeks and the *rurks, hostilities, which it was feared sright involve the Balkan countries, have been averted. The United States, through Joseph €. Grew, the minister to Switzerland, piayed an important part in the set- tlement. Mr. Grew's efforts for peace, ® hich continued throughout the night &nd today, are regarded by the con- ference delegates as having helped wonsiderably in preparing the agree- ment which the European powers bave been seeking for a fortnight. Accord Is Expressed. The happy ending of the war threats is expected favorably to in- fluence the remaining near eastern ne- gotlations and force an accord on the points still. disputed. Incidentally it will further the proposed revision of the Turkish-American treaties, which are still in the stage of informal con- versations. The gssential agreement are: Greece admits that she owes in- demnity to Turkey, while Turkey re- nounces enforcement of payments; the two powers agree to rectification of the boundary between eastern and western Thrace and to the restoration of the ships seized from one another since the armistice; the Turks agree to waive indemnity in view of Greece's precarious financial condi- tion, and Greece cohsents to the ces- - sigwto Turkey of Karwasateh and the raliroad from Karagatch to the Bul- garian frontier. points in today's Atmonphere Heavy. The meeting today began in the same atmospherc o8 attended the col- lapse of the previous conference, on February 4. The principal delegates, notably Sir Horace Rumbold, Great Britain, and Gen. Pelle, France, sol- emnly appealed to Ismet Pasha, head of the Turkish delegation, to walve all claims to cash indemnities and accept the offer of Karagatch. Mr. Grew, who until early in the morning had conferred with Ismet Pasha and M. Venizelos, counseling moderation, added America’s voice to that of Europe. Mr. Grew pointed out that both Greece and Turkey had| been engaged In a long struggle and | both were confronted with problems | ot internal organization demanding | self-cotrolled statesmanship. Tugkey, he said, seemed determined to reor- ganize her national life on broad modern democratic lines, and it would seem inconceivable that she would thrust this object aside in favor of war. Mr. Grew emphasized that Greece faced the terrible refugee problem, and direly needed national reconstruction: it was unthinkable she would abandon this to take up arms. He appealed to both countries in the interest of their future happiness and prosperity not to spare efforts at a solution. The settlement followed a long de- bate, after which Ismet Pasha and M: Venizelos shook hands and sat down and chatted in the most friendly man- ner. M. Venizelos thanked all the plenipo- tentiaries, as well as the American minister, for thelr efforts toward peace. Ismet Pasha remarked that he hoped Turkish concillatory attitude would help 0 influence the settlement of the re- maining problems between Turkey and the allies. The Jugoslav delegate said he opposed @ change in the Thracian frontier, but would not push his objection to the point of endangering peace. TEATTE e NEW BRITISH ATTACHE. Maj. Bethell to Return to London and Col. Charlton Coming. Maj. Gen. H. K. Bethell, who has been military attache of the British embassy here for several years, is to be relleved of that duty June 10, and returned to London for ‘assign- ment to field service. He will be succeeded by Col. C. E. C. G. Charl- ton. FAMOUS OCULIST DEAD. NEW YORK, May 26.—Dr. David ‘Webster, internationally known ocu- Entered as second-class matter post office Washington, D. C. CHINESE SOLDIERS OPEN ATTACK UPON * BANDI RETREAT Planes and Machine Guns Used in Effort to Res- cue Captives. PRISONERS’ HEALTH IS GOOD, REPORTED Brigands! Terms for Release of Foreigners Fail to Win Support. By the Associated Press. PEKING, May 26.—Machine guns and rifles tonight are attempting to force the release of fourteen foreign- ers, including six Americans, held by Chinese bandits in the hills above Lincheng. For three weeks crowds of official negotiators have labored in vain to free the captives who were kidnaped from the Shanghai-Peking express near Suchow May 6. Now the mountain paths of the home district of Confuclous, China’s greatest sage, that for days have been filled with runners carrying terms back and forth between the Paotzuku fortress and the negotia- tors below, are being put to other Old Tien Chung-Yu, tuchun, or mili- tary governor of Shantung, is hav- ing his way, and three brigades of his troops, with machine guns and two scouting airplanes, have plunged into the hill deflles to “dig the bandite out.” Already the soldiers have had two brushes with the outlaws with fatali- ties on both sides. Gen. Tien has thrown his troops in a wide circle about the bandit hot- bed and he is gradually tightening his strangle hold, cutting the outlaws’ communications, and hoping finally to isolate the gang that is holding the fourteen foreigners. Crisis In Nearing. Far above the clouds in the moun- tain prison, a crisis is believed to be approaching. The outlaws are sald to be eager to make terms, but they fear the promises of Peking. Alse they know Gen. Tien, who has a repu- tation for separating the heads brigands from their bodies. In what they declare is a final effort to come to an agreement, the brigands yesterday sent out a spokesman, ac- companied by J. B. Powell of Shang- hai, one of the American prisoners. Hitherto, all overtures have failed owing to the kidnapers’ demands that any agreement with the Chinese offi- cials must have an officlal foreign guarantor. The captives are reported to be generally in good health, except the wealthy Italian attorney, G. D. Musso, who is suffering from an injured leg. Their clothing is poor, living condi- tions in their prison are bad and food is none too plentiful, but in spite of all they are said to be standing the strain well. Officers Investigate. Behind the Chinese lines, at Tsac- chwang, is a military commission of foreign officers, headed by Brig. Gen. Willlam D. Connor of the American Army, which is investigating meas- ures being taken by the Chinese gov- ernment for the release of the pris- oners. The commission will report its findings and make any recommen- dations for action it sees fit to the diplomatic corps at Peking. The movement of Chinese troops toward the outlaws' retreat followed on the heels of statements in diplo- matic circles that it has been defi- nitely established that politics and not ordinary banditry was behind the hold-up of the Shanghal-Peking ex- press. It was freely intimated that one political faction, hoping to embarrass another, had instigated the raid. It was hinted further that the diplo- matic corps was considering taking steps to seize the real and personal Pproperty of certain high official plot- ters in an effort to force action out of the Peking government. The next day Gen. Tlen's troops be- gan to file into the hills in the direc- tion of the Paotzuku stronghold. Demands have been made at various times during the past two weeks by foreign circles in Shanghal that the powers undertake the release of the captives either by direct negotiations with the bandits or by the use of for- eign troops. Action Is Delayed. The diplomatic corps, however, i Sunday Star WASHINGTON, D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, MAY 27, 1923.-EIGHTY-EIGHT PAGES. Forty Noted Americans Deny L lvl ; ‘!‘}"‘J" | SQUASH CENTER GERMANY T0 RAISE REPARATION OFFER Forthcoming Note to Tender 50,000,000,000 Gold Marks to Allies. By Cable to The Star. BERLIN, May 26.—While, accord- ing to authoritative information, dis- patch of Germany's forthcoming reparations note will not take piace before the end of next week, it is possible to give today broad out- lines of the Cuno government's pro- | posed new settlement offer. As in the case of the last offer, which Chancellor Cuno and Foreign Minister von Rosenberg agreed to present oniy after strong political pressure, both at home and from abroad, had been brought to bear sthe chancellor and. for- ter have been compelled to n their initial determina- tion not to raise Germany's settle- ment bid above the sum of 30,000,000,- 000 gold marks, and now they will acquiesce in a proposal which, though elastic and open to modification through negotiations, approaches closer to the Bonmar Law plan sub- mitted at Paris. Acceptance Doubted. Germany now intends to offer 50,000,- 000,000 gold marks as a reparation total. Taking into consideration France's rejection of Bonar Law's plan last January, there is, however, little hope that this offer will be ac- ceptable at Paris. What Germany hopes to achieve is rather a continuation of reparation discussions. This is made especially clear by the fact that the 50,000,000,000 offer is intended only to serve as the basis for negotiations, and that the new plan will leave the final total to the de- termination of a commission of ex- perts. ‘ This commission, according to the German proposal, would be appointed by the reparation committee with the proviso that Germany must be repre- sented on it. Its task would be to de- termine Germany's capacity to pay, together with ways and means whereby her paying capacity can be strength- ened. Loan Plan Dropped. The recent proposal for a series of international loans as a means of cov- ering reparation payments will be abandoned, and Germany instead will undertake to ralse the reparation pay- ments out of the country's own re- sources. This, however, will be made contingent upon the granting of a five-year moratorium. The, total sum finaily agreed upon is to be made payable in thirty-five years, or thereabouts, on the basis of regular installment payments. As guarantees on payments on interest and amortization of her debt, Ger- many will offer to place part of her customs receipts at the entente's dis- posal. In addition, she will offer the proceeds on a tobacco and whisky monopoly to be specially created for this purpose, the proceeds to be placed exclusively in the hands of the reparation commission. Germany also_will undertake to (Continued on Page 3, Column 1.) SCHOOL GIRLS’ HAIR BOBBED; (Continued on Page 2, Column 2.) OFFICIALS FACE PRISON TERM Special Dispatch to The Star. CUMBERLAND, Md., May 26.—Mr. and Mrs. H. F. Griffey, superintendent and -assistant superintendent of the West Virginia state schools for the 1ist and eye surgeon, died today after a long lllness. He was eighty-one years old. . WOMAN DEAD IN BATH. By the Assoclated Press. NEW YORK, May 26.—Mrs. Belle Scott of Erie, Pa, was found dead today in a bath tub filled with water, in her apartment, at the Hotel Essex. A maid discovered the body. The police learned that Mrs. Scott was subject to epilepsy. deaf and blind, Romney, W. Va., were found gullty by a jury of assault and battery in clipping the hair of Nellle Brown, a student of the institution, as punishment. At a special term of court today, it is stated that seven other similar indictments againstthe Griffeys are to be tried at later dates. A motion was made by attorneys for the defendants asking that the verdict be set aside and'a new trial granted. The sentence, which is In the discretion of the court, Judge A. W, Dailey, ranges from a fine to three years' imprisonment, it is un- derstood. Following the alleged acts several parents withdrew their children from the school. The defendants were in- dicted at the last session of the grand jury. They contended that they bobbed the hair of several pupils of the school because the pupils themselves had ineffectually tried. to do s0, leaving their locks ragged. The plaintiffs, however, insist that the act and others subjected them to indignities and were in the form of needless punishment. The accused, it is alleged, cut the girl's hair close to the head after .the puplls had bobbed each others, thus disfiguring them. “| airman ever encountered. EW, gc\gvskf" TWIST - 2 = 1 3 - o VOB Seiid COMMENTS ON GOV. TODAY’S STAR PART ONE—36 Pages. General News—Local, Natlonal, Foreign. The Qivillan Army—Page 9. Army and Navy News—Pages 14 and 15. Music Week Program—Page 15. Aviatlon Activities—Page 16. Radlo News and Gossip—Page 20. Veterans of the Great War—Page 21. Schools and Colleges—Page 23. Trace Union Activities—Page 25. Financlal News—Pages 26 and 27. Classified Advertisements—Pages 28 to i PART TWO—16 Pages. | Editorials and Editorial Features. Washtngton and Other Society. | Review of New Books—Page 13. ! D. A. R. Activities—Page 14. | Notes of Art and Artists—Page 14. 1 Girls and Their Affairs—Page 15. Girl Scout Activities—Page 15. | Boy Scout News—Page 15. | Parent.Teacher Activities—Page 15. | Community Center News—Page 15. PART THREE—12 Pages. { Amusements—Theaters and the Photo- play. Around the City—Page 2. Music in Washington—Page 5. gqmm and Motoring—Pages 6 to 9. raternities—Page 10. Spanish War Veterans—Page 10. Boys and Girls' Page—Page 11. PART FOUR—4 Pages. Pink Sports Section. | PART FIVE—S Pages. N ROTOGRAVURE—S8 Pages. World's Events in Pictures. COMIC SECTION—1 Pag i Mutt and Jeff; Reg'lar Fellars; Betty. Mr. and M 2 (GULF-TO-LAKES ARR 'FLIGHT IN 12 HOURS Lieut. Crocker Sets New World Record for One- Man Plane. By the Associated Press. MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich., May 26.— It is just a daylight journey from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. Lieut. Harrison G. Crocker of Kelly Field, San Antonio, Tex., proved this today when without a stop he drove a specially built De Haviland plane from Ellington Field, at Houston, Tex., to Selfridge Field, near here, in eleven hours and fifty-four minutes. The distance, measured in time, be- tween the gulf and Canada is less than that, for Lieut. Crocker swung over Canadian soil at the mouth of the Detroit river just eleven hours and twenty-nine minutes after he hopped off Ellington Field at 5:21 o'clock, central standard time, this morning. Incidentially, he set a new flying record, being the first birdman to make such a distance at one hop while ‘traveling alone. Flies Near Ground. Lieut. Crocker's victory was against odds probably as great as any During 800 of the 1,400 miles of his journey his highest altitude was 500 feet and dur- ing a large part of the 800 it was as low as 100 feet, due to clouds. Between the Texas-Louisiana’ bor- der and Defiance, Ohio, he encounter- od twenty-nine distinct storms. As he entered the storm area the flyer was forced nearer and nearer the earth, finally fiying as low as 100 feet in order to observe land marks and thus keep on his course. Seeing a group of tall trees looming direct- 1y in his path Lieut. Crocker caused his plane to shoot rapldly into the skies. It was necessary for him to attain an altitude of 3,000 feet be- fore he could see the sun. He drove for an hour by compass. Only once during 800 miles of struggle against storms did plane’s engine falter. Tt sputtered “AL Magazine Section—Features and Fiction. | SEEMS LIKE THEY R RYIN' To MA SARNYORK LEAVE. THE SMITH’S DILEMMA. SUSPELT CARRANZA LEADER INBOMBING Mexican Police Believe Man Has Fled Over American Border. | By the Associuted Press. |ing of the American | 1 ! | i | | the hope | doctor in M MEXICO CITY, May 26.—The bomb- consulate here in the early morning hours of Ma: ) 18 is attributed, according to an ar- | ticte | prominent printed by the Grafico, to a follower of Gen. Pablo Gonzales, former commander of the rranza forces. The name of the omber is withheld by the police 'n that they may be able to arrest him if he has not cross~d into the United States. Inspector of Police Pedro Almaga {has had a conference with President Obregon and has handed over to the {president documents seized by tha po- [lice in a raid on a hotel where the alleged bomber given to the pol ed. The clue was e by a prominent xico City, whose name also iy withheld The doctor, says the Grafico, asserts that on the night of May 17-18 he met a man who had been his life- long friend and accompanied him to the American consulate. The man descended from the automobile and pushed open tHe consulate door, which was unlocked, remaining for several minutes within the building. The next day the doctor read reports of the outrage, and, knowing that his friend was an enemy of the present administration, notified the police of the occurrence. Investigation followed, but the man had made his escape from the city. After a chase as far as Guadalajara the police gave up the pursuit in the belief that he had embarked for the United States by way of Manzanillo. Orders, however, have been sent to the border to keep a careful watch in the possible event that the man is still in the country. - U. 3. PRIMARY FIGHT ENDS IN DEADLOCK Progressives and Conserva- tives Both Fail to Gain in States. Popularly elected delegates— through tha presidential preferential primary—still will be somewhat short of a majority in the national conventions of the republican and democratio parties next vear, due to the fact that many of the state leg- islatures in session this vear failed to enact primary laws. The progressives, who have pledg- ed themselves to the presidential preferential primary. and the con- servatives, who have strongly op- posed such primaries, have fought a won | bitter fight in many of the states. And while the progressives have not succeeded in putting thfough their Dbills in states where the presidential preferential primary does not now ex- ist, it may also be said that the con- servatives have failed to get favor- able action on bills repealing the! primary laws in states where they are now on the statute books. Drawn Battle. In a measure, it may be said the two groups have fought a drawn battle, though the opponents of the primary system have prevented the domina- tion of the national conventions by popularly elected delegates. The extension of the primary sys- tem has been denounced by the pres- ent administration. The conservative groups declared war on the proposal for extending the~primaries. On the other hand, the progressive “bloc” thelin Congress, formed largely through the ‘efforts of Senator La Follette of and threatened to dle in the midst of | Wisconsin, had made the extension of a terrific electrical disturbance over|the primary laws one of the major Loulstana. w vl SEREEE" planks in-its platform . PR A joint statément holding that there is no antagonism between science and religion was issued here last night as representing the con- clusion of a group of forty dis- tinguished Americans on a subject which recently has aroused bitter and widespread controversy. The names of two cabinet officers, Secretaries Hoover and Davis; three bishops, and many others in posi- tlons of leadership in the political, business, scientific and religious world, are attached to the declara- tion, which was prepared by Dr. R. A. Millikan, director of the Norman Bridge Laboratory of Physics at Pasadena, Calif. } “The purpose,” said ar ccompany - "1n$; explanation, “is to assist in cor- |recting two erroneous impressions {that seem to be current among cer- tain groups of persons. The first is that religion today stands for | medieval theology; the second that STEWARD CHARGES CLASSIFYING BOARD WITHBREAKING LAW Claims D. C. Workers Rated by System Rejected in Congress. i i The reclassification act for govern- ment employes in the District of Co- lumbia is being violated by the per- sonnel classification board, it is charged by Luther €. Steward. presi- dent of the National Federation of Federal Employes, in a letter ad- dressed to Brig. Gen. H. Lord. chairman of the board. public last night. Application of the schedules devised by the bureau of efficiency to the federal employes in the District is | the reason for the charge. Mr. Steward calls particular atten- | tion to the fact that very different treatment is to be accorded to the employes of the government “in the | field.” since the iaw is being followed in providing for their reclassifica- tion. Says Plan Rejected. Mr. Steward insists that the plan devised by the bureau of efliciency was before Congress and “was over- whelmingly rejected by the House. It had almost no support in the Senate. “I regret personnel clas that the action of the ification board in re- Columbia makes it imperative for me to protest on behalf of the National all others who seek to have the classification carried out in accord- ance with the classification act of 1923, said Mr. Steward, in his letter to Gen. Lord. marily that the plan proposed by the board for the District of Colum- bia is not in accordance with the law and it will not achieve the re- sults sought by the legislation Basis of Law. “The fundamental aims of this leg- islation are: That pay shall be based on duties performed; that the rates of pay for a given kind of duties shall bé fair both to the employe and the taxpayer; that the rates deter- mined upon as fair shall be paid uni- j formly throughout the departments wherever positions of that character ore found, and that standard titles with adequate descriptive specifica- tions shall be adopted so that all concerned, employe, administrator, legislator and the public can deter- mine from the record the facts. The law provides classification and pay on the basis of duties and responsi- Eilities and provides for legislative as well as administrative control by systematic collection and presenta- tion of the facts. “Congress itself in the classifica- tion act has established the general salary levels that are to be pald for the different grades in the several services with the District of Colum- Lia. To the personnel classification board it has delegated the respon- sibility for determining that the salary standards set up in Congress are uniformly and fairly applied and the duty of preparing and publishing the Jetailed claes specifications that are to insure uniform interpretation of the zct and furnish the oasis for {a critical review of its application. | Requirements of Act. | “The law provides that the esti- mates for the next fiscal year shall be made in accordance with the act, and the act contains a mandatory provision that the board “shall pre- pare and publish an adequate state- ment giving (1) the duties and re- sponsibilities involved in the classes to be established within the several grades, illustrated when ndcessary by examples of typical tasks, (2) the minimum qualifications required for the satisfactory performance of such duties and tasks, and (3) the titles given to said classes.’ “Compliance with this provision re- ing preparation and publication of class specifications is regarded by those who have studied the subject Pttt i s bt (Continued on Page 2, Column 7.) and made | {Smoke Screen Foils Pursuit Federation of Federal Employes and | “The reason for this protest is pri- | ! i 1 | | i 1 The Star’s carrier &Mmm to Wi as the papers are “From Press to Home Within the Hour” system covers every homes as h: Science and Religion Conflict Each Represents Vital F unction of Soul of Man, Says Joint Statement Deplor- ing Recent Bitter Controversies. science ligious.” The statement itself follows: is materialistie and irre- Controversy Deplored. “We, the undersigned. deeply re- gret that in recent controversies there has been a tendency to present science and religion as frreconcilable and antagonistic domains of thought, for, in fact, they meet distinct human needs, and in the rounding out of human life they supplement rather than displace or oppose each other. “The purpose of science is to de- velop, without prejudice or precon- ception of any kind, a knowledge of the facts, the laws, and the processes of nature. The even more important task of religion, on the other hand, to develop the consciences, the ideals, and the aspirations of man- kind. ach of these two activities represents a deep and vital function (Continued on Page 2, Column 3.) Bulgars Revolt, Premier Fleeing, Bucharest Hears By the Associated Press. LONDON, May 27.— A revolu- tionary outbreak in Bulgaria is re- ported in a Bucharest dispatch to the FExchange Telegraph Com- pany by way of Carlsbad. The premier, Alexander Stam- boulisky, Is said to have fled, hav- ing been sentenced to death by the revolutionaries. Many of the revolutionaries are reported to have been killed. The situation is critical. GRASH ENDS FLIGHT OF RUM GAR: 3 HURT Till Mishap Reveals Heavy Whisky Load. Chased by revenue men over a ten- mile course, starting on the Leonard- town pike near Reds Corner, Md., an alleged rum car ended its flight last night when it crashed into a machine at 2d and K streets northeast, prac- tically demolishing the latter. Harry Miller, 4203 12th street northeast, his wife and three children, occupants cf the wrecked automobile, were in- jured. The liquor-running machine was abandoned near the scene of the colligion by its driver, an unidenti- fied white man, who escaped. In it jspect to positions in the District of | the police say they found 132 gal- lons of corn liquor intact. imately fifty gallons ran strest from containers, broken in the crash. Car Sighted Speeding. Revenue Officer Fowler with four Baltimore agents sighted the rum car near Reds Corner, speeding toward Baltimete, and immediatelx gave chase. The bootleg machine let down a smoke screen which hid it from view of the pursulng prohibition agents. With the revenue men close .be- Approx- into the which were | hind, the liquor runner sped through Maryland to Good Hope road and turned into 11th street. In the city the car followed a zigzag course which took it around Lincoln Park and to 2nd and K streets, where the accident oceured. TUnder the dashboard of the rum car was found a tank operated by a hand pump, which contained a mix- ture of oil and ammonia. The de- vice, the revenue men believe, was used to throw out the smoke screen which prvented them from captur- ing the machine early in the chase. The liquor-laden machine was had- 1y damaged in the collision. I: was owned, according to the police, by Madeline Johnson, 965 Girard street northwest. A passing automobilist took the Miller family to the Casualty Hos- | pital, where all five were treated for lacerations on their faces and necks caused by broken glass from the windshield. Only one of them, Al- bert, eleven vears old, was kept at the hospital for further treatment. He will be released today. Besides Mr. Miller and his wife, Laura, the others injured are Robert, thirteen vears old, and Henry, nine years old. POLISH MINISTRY DEFEATED IN DIET Deputies Vote Lack of Confidence by More Than Two to One. By the Associated Press. WARSAW, May 26.—The Polish diet has adopted a vote of want of confl- dence in Gen. Sikorski's ministry, 279 to 117. This means the collapse of the Sikorski cabinet. Adoption of the vote came after debate on the provisional budget, the majority of the diet members refus- ing to approve the secret service funds. Besides the nationalists, all { i 1 FIVE CENTS. SHRINE THOUSANDS BEGIN T0 ASSUME CONTROL OF CITY 20,000 to 30,000 Visitors Already in Capital for Great Festival. 300,000 ARE EXPECTED BEFORE END OF WEEK Radiantly Decorated City Ready for Vast Crowds; Ave- nue Jammed. The caravans are coming! Summoned from every m the annual call of the Shrine hosts throughout the nation . have turned their eves toward Washington. Where for a week they will sit in imperial conclave. By seaplane, railroad train, automobile and boat they are hurrying here— and by next Sunday they will even be arriving by horse and carriage and on foot. que by muezzin. One week from today the churches of Washington will inaugurate Shrine week by throwing open their doors to the visiting hosts, and from that hour until midnight Thursday. when a mile-long choir will sing “America” on Pennsylvania avenue, the Nation's Capital will virtually be owned by the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. It will be a week the like of which Washington has never known. City Gayly Attired. Not even for the pampered princes of mighty foreign nations or newly elected Presidents of the United States has the National Capital donned such gala attire as for the caravan hosts who will swarm in at least 300,000 strong. Gayly dressed in the yellow, green and red of the Shrine, the city waits in proud readiness to be captured by its guests. Pennsylvania avenue—the same old histcric street down which the blue- uniformed armies of '64 and the khaki-clad divisions of 1917 marched in victorious array—is a maze of fluttering flags and bunting by day and a sea of vari-colored lights and throbbing humanity by night. And next week it will gaze upon the strangest pageants that ever trod its sacred way, when the Shrine hosts pass in review before the President of the United States—a noble him- self. Capitol View Beautiful. Inspiring as “the Avenue” may ap- pear beneath its necklaces of shim- mering lights, the scene from Capitol Hill is even more gorgeous. From the Capitol—itself brilllantly illuminated —the spectator gazes across the golden canopy of the historic thor- oughfare to the Washington Monu- ment, its pinnacle bathed in the rays of powerful searchlights. And in the distant background the stately Lin- coln Memorial stands out in ghostly silhouette, a shrine itself shimmering in a flood of soft reflector lights. These are only a few of the wonder vistas that will greet the Shriners upon their arrival. If they were to drop in tomorrow, however, they would find Washington virtually ready. Between 20,000 and 30,000 of the visitors are already in the city according to official estimates, and by next Saturday it is expected fully 100,000 will have disembarked and set up quarters for the week. Increase Noticeable. The increase in Washington's popu- lation was easily noticeable last night when thousands of persons turned out and claimed Pennsylvania avenue for their own. With all vehicular traffic except street cars diverted, the multi- tudes took possession of the grand- stands, swarmed over the sidewalks and marched In an incessant stream from the Treasury to the Capitol and back again, listening the entire time to the music of a Victrola, served from the summits of the poles from which the lights were strung. Bizarre as the spectacle may have appeared last night, however, it was but a miniature of what Washington is to experience all next week. The crowds will continue to increase until next Saturday night, when the first of the special trains are to arrive. From that moment the ci.y's popula- tion will grow by leap¥ and bounds until it has almost doubled itself. Committees End Tasks. Tension at Shrine headquarters has been almost at the breaking point for the last ten days, but virtually all of the thirty-two committees in charge of the pageant have nearly completed their respective arrangements, and the rush will begin to ease up so that the various officials can give more time to the reception of incoming guests. “The Garden of Allah,” one | of the few unfinished large projects of the conclave, will be completed Dby the middle of this week, according to Frederick D. Owen, In charge of the work. The ticket committee worked until midnight last night and will continue to work today and tonight mailing out the grandstand seats reserved by the visiting temples. It is expected that announcement will be made to- morrow of the number of seats avail- able for the public and where they may be purchased. The committee authorized the announcement, how- ever, that there will be ample room to meet the needs of every person in the city. Wateh Food Prices. The question of preventing food prices from soaring was. the most important problem remaining to be the non-Polish deputies voted against | settled. The food committee announc- Gen. Sikorski. —— (Continued on Page 4, Column 6.) |