Evening Star Newspaper, June 18, 1923, Page 6

P THE EVENING STAR, With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY.........June 18, 1923 THEODORE W. NOYES. Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, 11th 8t. and Pennayivania Ave. ew York Office: 130 Naswau St. Chicago Office: Tower Bullding Furopean Office: 18 Regent St.. London, England. The Evening Star, with the Sunday moraiog wdition. la delivered by carriers within the cits 2760 Centa per month; Gaily onlr. 45 cents per | unday only. 20 cents per 7 may be kent by mail. or telephone Main 5000, " Collection 1s made by carriers at the end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Tatly and Sunda; Dally only...... €unday on!; All Other States. Daity and Sunday..1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo., 85¢ Datly only ~yr] T$7.00: 1 mo. Sunday onl Ay Member of the Associated Press, The Associated Press is exclusively entitled %o the use for republication of all news dis. r hes credited to it or not otherwise credited I this paper and also the local mews pub. ' 1i herein. All rights of publication of 0 reserved. *American Imperialism.” In a dispatch from Moscow telling of the meeting of the executive com. mittee of the third internationale uc-l curs the following paragraph: ! Alexander Trachtenberg of the } United States said the time had ar- vived when the exccutive committee should show ways and means of carrying on the struggle against “American imperialism.” He advo- cated summoning a conference of the parties in the ates concerned. He asserted that Karl Radek had ot § sufficiently emphasized the importance o American imperialism, which he rged with responsibility for Latin rerican revolution Doubtless this declaration was ve- | ceived without question or dissent. The executive committee of the third internationale is ready to believe any- | thing wicked of the United States or, | indeed. of any other government es- tablished on a rational basis. The words “American imperialism” un- doubtedly sounded good to the ears of | those present. and the picture of the United States promoting Latin Ameri. can revolutions, presumably for the purpose of eventually spreading the jurisdiction of this country over all the western hemisphere, was viewed vith unction. This man Trachtenberg, whoever he 1s. probably knows better, if he is in fact an American citizen. He should. it he does not. know that the United | States has a clean record in the mat- ter of Latin American turmoil: that it deplores the overturns that occur in | Central and South America: that it has repeatedly offered its good offices | to adjust differences between factions | ®nd to effect a settlement to the end ®f stable government with complete Sndependence. tut advocates of bolshevism. such | @ must be he who represents this ’mm( in the executive council of | o third internationale, are not ham- | yered by facts. The “parlor commu- nists” and other varieties of revola- | tionary radicals in this country do not hesitate to misinterpret conditions de- liberately, to distort history, to “see r. 1" when there is no color. A speaker at o meeting of this cult of political i mount | Saturda THE EVENING STAR. WASHINGTON, MONDAY, JUNE 18, 1923. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS By Frederic J. Haskin his political death warrant wheén he signed the repeal bill. He described this as an act of courage, but made it plain that contending for state rights would be offset by the effect of the repeal of the enforcement law. Politicians expect other democrats to come out in support of the position taken by Mr. Taggart, whoreally leads the procession of those politicians of prescience who foresee the necessity of sidestepping the wet issue. Senator McKellar, in passing, took a side- swipe at William J. Bryan's part in the convention. “Oh, Mr. Bryan will be heard from again: just heard from, that's all. Everybody is with Bryan, but no one seems to be for him when it comes to handing him the nomina- tion,” he is quoted as saying. * May not Mr. Bryan's friends be justified in observing that the Com- monér’s position on the dry question is now being supported by the practi- cal politicians in the party—the “hard- boiled” ones? Saturday Half-Holiday. The Saturday haif-holiday for fed-! eral workers in Washington is in tull swing, and this is complete testimony, it anybody requires such testimony, that summer is here. The Saturday haif-holiday is really in fuller swing than in other years, for the good idea has been taken up by the city post of- fice, and 2.000 workers there for the first time in history joined other fed- eral employes last Saturday in the half-holiday. Clerks and carriers laid aside their tasks at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. There was one less delivery of mail, but it is likely that no one is complaining. On the first Saturday in July District employes will join the half-Saturday vacationers. The custom of taking half a holi- day on summer Saturdaxs is growing. Many commercial houses have already {adopted the plan, and many which have not wholly embraced it are clip- ping off some of the working hours of the day. In connection with this it should be remembered that not many years ago Saturday was the longest working day in nearly all commercial Louses, and this is still true in some classes of trade establishments, but the Saturday half-holiday is gaining ground. and it seems reasonably safe to prophesy that within a few years the business houses in Washington that do not put up their shutters at n-on or thereabouts on summer Sat- urdays will be few. Some years ago there were chronic economists who chafed under the idea of closing the government offices at 1 o'clock on Saturday. They figured that the loss to the government would into the millions. If there is such a loss nobody seems to feel it or know anything about it, and it is quite likely that there is no loss at all. There is a strong belief that the half-holiday in the hot months results in a gain to the gov- ernment. The morale of the working force is better. There is happiness to look forward to on Saturdayv after- noon. There is refreshment in golf, tennis, boating and in trips and other kinds of play. Such things take the mind off one’s routine work. and it seems quite possible that the govern- ment force carries on with more vim and better spirit during the work days thought is never handicapped by the | truth. But here in the United States | misrepresentations and misstatements ! can be quickly checked and do little | harm. At Moscow. however. there is | no “comeback.” The most infamous lies about American policies and con- ! ditions may be told with impunity and | without correction, such as that' which has just been told by Trachten- | berg when he uses the phrase “Ameri. | can imperalism” and attributes to: this government a sinister purpose to ®ubjugate and control the American hemisphere. ; ——— | entire | The prophecy by Col. House that | the United States will take its proper | place in guiding world affairs is a safe one. Tn order to define that/ proper place. a little deliberation is ! deemed necessary, { —_——— | If Tammany can secure the 1924 town it will show more direct ence in national politics than exerted in & long time. e ———— influ- it has The summer excursion season is a great feature of American life, and it il be brilliantly inaugurated by the Leviathan “wrial wip.” ———— There are no doubt still a few Ger- fmans who would like to do away with passive resistance and substitute some- | thing aggressive. Sidestepping the Wets. | Democratic leaders of prominence | @re taking opportunities as they arise | to cut loose from those who would | seck to commit the democratic party | to a wet or near-wet platform for the ! presidential campaign of 1924. Oddly enough, the first occasion presented was offered by Gov. Smith himself, | touted as the prospective wet leader, efter his signing of the prohibition enforcement repeal bill, and the first to array himself in opposition was ‘Thomas Taggart of Indiana, closely seconded by Senator McKellar of Ten- nessee. More than ordinary significance is attached to the stand of these two leaders, one from the middle west and the other from the south, Mr. Tag- gart being generally regarded as a liberal on the prohibition question and Scnator McKellar of Tennessee as a «€tanch upholder of state rights. The trio met at French Lick, home of Mr. ‘Taggart. for a conference under the &uise of a golf game and taking the waters. Gow. Smith had two strings to his bow in his argument sustaining the signing of the repeal bill, conten- tion for state rights and for modifica- tion of the Volstead act. Both snapped, evidently. The conference was not long-lived ‘before Mr. Taggart issued a statement declaring that no party could win on @ wet platform, and that the demo- crats will not adopt it. He pointed the w:ay to modification of the prohibition Jaw, election of senators and repre- &entatives known to favor such action, but without party declaration. Sena- tor McKellar complimented Gov. Smith on his stand for state rights, @ut declared that the governor wrote j majority I only of the week. ————— Pennsylvania Railroad Rebuked. In administering an official rebuke to the Pennsylvania railroad for its refusal to count the ballots cast by the union shopmen for representatives on the employes’ board, the Railroad La- bor Board has shown its entire fair- ness in dealing with these questions of railroad employment. The action of the railroad company would seem to be entirely unwarranted and, in fact, in actual deflance of the law. By the action of the railroad com- pany the shoperaft union workers have been denied the right of repre- sentation on negotiating committees, while other workers have been grant- ed that representation. The company has, as the board now states, professed its acceptance and observance of the principle of employe representation, but has adopted rules governing the lection which cancel the right of a majority of the employes to part pate. The board’s language on this point in its published order is severe: Whilg professing its acceptance and observance of this principle of em- ploye representation the carrfer has set up a system which throttles the and establishes the repre- entation of a coerced and subservient minority. The Pennsylvania railroad is the system in the United States which has taken this position, and | the board is justified in declaring it to be “indefensible from every stand- point.”” Yet there is no way in law to correct this abuse. The Railroad La- bor Board has only the power of pub- lic rebuke. It cannot enforce its de- cisions by penalties or compulsion. It can only, as in this case, hold up the recalcitrant and offending party, whether union or employing company, to public condemnation. It now re- mains to be determined whether public ortnion can effect @ remedy for a prac- tice which is, in effect, a deflance of law and a flagrant denial of justice. ————————————— To many people of political experi- ence President Harding's Alaska trip looks like too good an opportunity for delivering a few messages to be over- looked by any sensible statesman. The President of China resigned by telegraph. The method is safe and speedy, even though a shade informal. A sentiment is developing in mari- time circles that prohibition is only fit for landlubbers. Back to Normalcy. ‘Washington has at last returned to normalcy in appearance following the visitation of the Shrine. All of the stands are removed, the decorations have been cleared away, the electric lighting poles have been uprooted, and nothing now remains but the some- what draggled pillars in the Garden of Allah and a few holes in the pave- ment. Gorgeous and gratifying as was the effect of the ‘‘party dress” which Washington donned for the oc- casion of the Shrine meeting, it is a relief to get back to plain clothes and simple living. As a matter of fact, Washington needs but little decoration to make it beautitul, if any. Its public building require no adornment, There are some of the structures, it is true, that were 'beller hidden entirely from an artistic point of view, but they cannot be so hidden, and the question arises whether it is not best to leave them as they stand without so-called deco- ration, which may serve, indeed, mere- 1y to call attention to them. Ore of the misfortunes of the big festival was the necessity of covering large spaces with reviewing stands These structures cannot be made at- tractive to the eye save by great ex- pense, as in the case of the Garden of Allah stand in front of the White House. Otherwise they are bare tiers of benches on which folding chairs are placed. In the multitude of things to be done here to prepare for the Shrine it was deemed necessary to erect these stands, including those of the “cireus” variety, well in advance of the affair, and consequently they blocked side- walks and even the pavements for a fortnight and more before they were needed. It is to be hoped that if a similar occasion occurs again it will not be requisite to be so forehanded as to discommode the public and even 10 endanger it by choking the passage- ‘ways and adding to the congestion. B — Civitans. These are busy days for Washing- ton Civitans in getting ready to wel- come the International Association of Civitan Clubs, which comes to Wash- ington to hold its third annual conven- tion. The work will be well done, and the visiting Civitans will like Wash. ington. From the various speeches of welcome the visitors will learn how glad Washington is to have them ‘“in our midst,” and the responses will tell to Washingtonians how happy the visitors feel at being in the city of the great dome and the tall Monument. Our own Civitan Club has distin- guished itself in various ways, and there is no doubt that Civitan clubs of other cities throughout the United States and elsewhere about the world are made up of fine fellows who be- lieve in progress and practice it. It is quite remarkable how within a few years men and women have been forming clubs. the better to express themselves on maiters of human con- cern and the better to make their in- fluence effective. One can readily call to mind quite a number of national organizations and international or ganizations which have clubs in Washington. They go in for deeds of charity and good will. and they dis- cuss the economic and moral issues which bear upon mankind. Each of these clubs is a forum, or perhaps it might seem to some that it is a broad- casting station where good thoughts are sent out. A generation or so ago when men organized a club it was usually a democratic club, a republican club or 2 social club where foaming lager was often the main feature of the so- ciability. Now men and women organ. ize clubs which are broadly educa- tional and have the aim of conferring benefits on people outside their mem- bership. ‘Washington is glad that the Inter- national Association of Civitan Clubs chose it as the place for its conven- tion, and hopes that the weather will be conservative. If one would take the trouble to consult the weather records | for a series of years he would find that the kind of weather which blistered ‘Washington in Shrine week is un- usual here. and that in general June days are mild and pleasant. 3 —_——————— A young man has just paid $91,000 for a seat on the New York Stock Ex- change where, till recently, he was a page. His career will be held up as an example of what can be accomplished by industry and frugality—combined with a little luck. —————— The conservative Briton will con- template the new plans for cooking the lord mayor of London's celebrated banquets by electricity without agita- tion. With women being admitted to parliament anything can happen. ——— After undertaking enormous respon- sibilities Stamboulisky, once Bulgarian premier, finished with the single mod- est hope that his departure from Sofia { would not be delayed by a flat tire. ——— The German mark meets one slump after another with passive resistance. —————— i SHOOTING STARS. i BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. . Swift Variety. The gay weather man thankful. I vow. His troubles are tiny and few. Though the weather he called -for is not with us now, It will come in a minute or two. should * be Effort at Philosophy. I'm not hanging 'round with a word of complaint, 'Cause maybe things might have been worse.: - - .-+ I'm not finding fault with what is and what ain't, | ’Cause maybe things might have l been worse. There's fever an’ ague an’ rheumatiz, too, . An’ there's bunco an’ green goods an’ swindles more new, An’ I've gone right ahead—Ilearnt 'em ‘all through an’ through: But maybe things might have been worse. The climate’'s a misfit, howe'er it may change, But maybe it might have been worse; And luck always strikes a bit out of my range, But maybe it might have been worse. An’ sometimes I look at the stars shinin® fair An’ wish I had lit on a planet up there; But on second reflection I don’t so much care, ‘Cause maybe it might have been worse. Two Types of Promoters. No honest statesman ever boomed Some plan for public benefit, That some shrewd schemer did not seek 3 To make & profit out of ity i ! | i i Q. Has any one in the District claimed the distinction of being an older resident than Gen. Gibson’— G. 0. A. Gen. Gibson has just passed his ninety-sixth birthday, while John B. Lord of 1212 Monroe street, Brookland, is about seven months older. He has been a lifelong resi- dent of the District, having been born here November 10, 1826. Mr. Lord is a Mason, being a member of Federal, No. 1, and also a Shriner of Almas Temple. Q. 1 understand that Washington poker players have a hand which they call the “Washington Monu- ment.” What is it?—L, D. A. In Washington poker games a hand consisting of three fives is sometimes called the “Washington onument,” as three tens are called thirty miles” The Washington Monument is 555 feet high. Q. What is the botanical name of the Japanese cherry tree’—R, S. A. These trees, strictly speaking, are not cherry trees, but a_species of plum. The blossoms are the same as represented on the “Hawthorne v of the orlent. The botanical name is Prunus pseudo cerasus. Q. Is there any way gas can be treated so that it would be impos- sible for a person to commit sui- cide by inhaling it>—F. R. A. Tt has been suggested by Gen Fries of the chemical warfare serv- ice that a compound be introduced into {lluminating gas which will cause any one who breathes it to sneezo violently and repeatedly. This would prevent suicides by asphyxi- ation and deaths from the accidental escape of gas in burners und stoves. Q. What is the best season of the year to deaden a tree’—0, I A. A tree may be most easily kill- ed without the annovance of sprout- fng from the roots by cutting out a band of its bark all around its trunk at some time during midsum- mer. If it {8 so cut in spring, fall or winter it is likely to sprout from the roots. Q. How large an area can be pho- tographed in a picture taken from an airplane’—A. G. L. A. Formerly only an area of three- quarters of a square mile could be covered with one picture taken by aerial photography, but a new meth- od has been worked out by which it is claimed that an area as great as fifteen square miles can be shown on each picture. Q. What is the new system for scoring tennis games?—T. S. A. The French have devised a new system of scoring for tennis by which the player who first wins nine games wins the set. This would do away with deuce sets and end long-drawn- out contests. With a best two in three. instead of the best three of five sets, no match could consist of more than fifty-one games, Q. What is the predominant re- ligion of the Egyptians?—C. G. A. Ninety-two per cent of the 9,000,000 people Who live in Egypt are of the Mohammedan faith. The remaining 8 per cent are mostly Christians and Jews Q ‘What is the most powerful of all colors?—V. T. L. A. Red s the most powerful color and has the most stimulating and exciting effect upon the sensibilities. Q. Who sald that the brain of an ant is the most marvelous thing in the world>—F. C. 8. A. This version of the statement is incorrect. Darwin called the pin- head brain of the ant the most mar- velous atom of matter in the world. This is criticized by ~modern scf entists. who say that the human ovum is more marvelous still Q. Was Pete; the Roman Catholi E. D. L. A The “the first head of Church, married”— Gospel of St chapter 8. verses 14-15. describes the healing by Jesus of the mother of Peter's wife, who “lay sick of a tever' at Peter's house. This indi- cates that Peter was married Canada get its name?— How did D The name of Canada s due to « mistake. Canada was the native Indian word for village. When the Fromdh Sl orers firar wailea up the St. Lawrence, they pointed to the land and asked its name. The na- tives who accompanied them misun- derstood. They thought the ex- plorers were asking about a group of wigwams on the shore, and they replied Canada—meaning village. D.C A in to There is Do _rot (The Star hi retained Mr. H answer question he R0 charge. except for return po {ilephone Four inquiries, but write to The Ktar Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, direc. | tor. 1220 North Capitol street, Washiagton, D e Fuad of Egypt, Unhappy on Throne, Said to Long for Gardens of Ttaly BY THE MARQUISE DE FONTENOY. in Egypt That King Fuad should have pur- chased a palace in the outskirts of Rome at a cost of $300.000. no mys- tery being made about the identity of the new owner. lends color to the rumors which are rife in the land of the Nile concerning the alleged inten- tion of its ruler to abdicate before the situation becomes untenable and while he is still in a position to make terms of a financially advantageous character. Fuad has never been rated as possessed of a very high order of ence. It is no exaggeration to assert that the members of his uwn family looked upon him as stupid. and he has made the same mistake as several of his predecessors on the throne of Egypt: that is to sav. that he has intrigued with the nationalist anti-British elements against the English government, to which he owed his elevation to the crown. And then from time to time he co-operated with the English in such a way as to win the suspicion and the resentment of the nationalists. the end of it be-1 ing that he was equally distrusted by both. When the new constit came to be drafted, he first of all took exception to the refusal of Great Britain to permit his being styied therein the King of the Sudan, which is to remain under English rule by virtue of a guarantee accorded to the native population of the Sudan which, subject to English administra tion since 1898, views with dread any attempt to transfer the control of their destinies to the Egyptians. whom they have abhorred since time immemorial. Fuad appealed to the na- tionalists in the matter and raised much i1l feeling against the English in lower Egypt in connection with his pretensions. But shortly afterward he was at war with the nationalists, who objected bitterly and vigorously to his demands for eomething akin to autocracy and his objections to the Ilimitations of his sovereignty by any parliamentary form of government P This led him to appeal to England for support. But Lord Allenby, the British plenipotentiary at Cairo, was the very first to point out to him that in view of the fact that Great Britain had assured through Egypt a consti- tutional and parllamentary form of government, he must submit thereto, and that England could not lend it- self to anything that would lead to a revival of that autocracy and des- potism of the Nehemet Ali dynasty. which had reduced the land of the Nile to chaos and ruin. and from which it had to be rescued by Great Britain after the Arabi Insurrection. the bombardment of Alexandria and the English military occupation of the country in 1882. The consequence is that since par jiamentary rule s to have its trial in the at Cairo, and that the nationalists will have a considerable say in the course of the government the position of Fuad on the throne will be very uncomfortable indeed It is no exaggeration to state that not only the nationalists in EgYpt, but likewise the entire native popu- lation, are against him. —He was brought up almost entirely abroad. maiply in Italy, having accompanied his father, ex-Khedive Ishmall, into exile in 1879 when he (Fuad) was a boy of ten years of age. The result is that he speaks both Arabic and Turkish with a very marked foreign accent and has never been able to master many of the idioms of the two languages spoken by his subjects. He has never been really at home in Egypt. He longs for his former Italian environment, and I have not the slightest doubt but what he would readily step down from his throne and escape from the imminent perils of assassination by which he is beset, if he can succeed in secur- ing guarantees of the payment of dt least a molety of his present. civil list for the remafnder of his days. Of one thing there's no doubt, that without the presence of the English would not be wortli & moment's purchase, since he has not the slightest vestige of any hold upon the affection and loy- alty of his people. * k% K The difficulty is about filling his place. and it is this that is account- able for the activitles of ex-Khedive Abbas. now in Switzerland, with a | view to his restoration. He still has some friends in Egypt in spite of his sacrilegious dishonesties in connec- tion with the religious foundations and ecclesiastical and charitable properties, of which as khedive he had the chief administrative control But as the British dethroned him in the late fall of 1914. both by reason of these dishonesties, his other dis- honesties in connection with his man- agement of the khedival family es- tates and on account of his open en- mity ~with regard to evervthing English. the latter as long as they retain military control of the land of the Nile are not likely to allow him to return to Egypt, much less to re- ascend its throne. In fact, the Egyptian outlook thanks largely to Fuad. much promising than it was two or three months ago. and no one will be as- tonished if conditions there result in the eventual withdrawal by Great Britain of the experimental independ ent sovereignty which she accorded more than a year ago to Egypt, as a total failure, and her re-establishment of her protectorate over the country. as a more or less autonomous vassai state of the British Empire. * % % % Since a controversy has arisen over the date of the opening of the straw hat season, and the manufac- turers and venders of straw hats have even appealed to the head of the United States weather bureau for a definite ruling on the subject. it may be of interest to recall that straw hats were first of all heard of in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Possibly they may have been worn before that. But the poets and writers of her day are the first of those in whose works any mention thereof is made. Thus, Spenser, who was the poet laureate of the “Virgin Queen,” speaks in one of his poems of “some plaid, with straws,” while Shakespeare, in “The Tempest,” makes Iris sing as follows: You sunburnt sicklemen of August weary, Come hither from the furrow merry ; Make holiday; put on. * And in “A Lover's Complaint” the bard speaks again of “a plaited hive of straw being worn by a fickle maid to preserve her complexion from the sun” In the reign of James I, we learn of Lord William Howard paying the then large sum of £3 6s. for two straw hats, while Queen Anne and her great ladies were addicted to leghorn chips, which, indeed, were carried into overwhelming popularity on the lovely heads of those famous beauties. the Misses Gunning. Nowadays, straw hats do not find much fayor among the masculine ele- ment of old world royalty. King Kdward eschewed them, and King George does not 100k upon them with favor. Indeed. the only sovereign whom 1 can remember having ap- peared in a straw hat was the late Leopold of Belgium, who in hot weather affected a' remarkably fine panama. Germany's ex-crown prince likewise had himself frequently pho- tographed in a panama hat prior to the great war, a form of headgear which did not 'add to his looks. On the other hand, presidents of repub- lics in Europe do not hesitate to in- dulge in straw hats. President Mil- lerand’s white hair is frequently capped by a panama hat, following this in example of his predecessors. It suggests democrac simplicity and good nature, even if it be of the costliest panama straw. his throne is. less and be your rye straw hats e ——————————————————————————————————————————————————— Singing of Anthem. To the BYitor of The Stas Apropos of the President's ex- pressed - wish that ‘“every American child would learn.the words of our national air,” also a query in the news as to “who started the ques- tion of reverence for our flag.” I would like to relate an experience of along these lines. T the year 1891 1 returned from Europe on the Majestic, in Feb- ruary. Among the passengers Was an Englishman, who talked much of his country and its colonies, ~also of 'the protection vouchsafed to every English subject under their flag. At that date I felt keenly that there was very little I could say of my own country. in this regard.” He finally offercd to wager me £5 that there was not one Amer- jcan on board who could sing one verse of our national air. Provi- dentially T had been taught it in my patriotic home, and even though I am a blue-stocking Presbyterian and do not make a babit of betting, aven on a sure thing. 1 was delighted to ing it with much gusto and received | great applause from the Americans |on board, among whom was Mr. | Clark, afterward Senator Clark of | Montana. My conscience is clear, for I did not exact the £5. At that time my husband, Col. L. Mervin Maus, U. S. A. (retired)’ was stationed at Fort Porter, Buffalo, N. Y, and Mrs. Cleveland's mother was about to marry Mr. Perrine of that clty. His daughter, Mrs. Corne- lius Rich, who was a friend of mine, asked me to meet Mrs. Cleveland and her mother at an informal tea, and 1 told _her of this incident, deplored the fact that even our soldlers were not familiar with the .words of their national air and told other experi- ences to prove that patriotism was &t a low ebb in our country. It is sufficient to say that when Mrs, Cleveland returned to Washington the Secretary of War, Mr. Lamont. issued orders requiring the Army bands to play “The Star Spangled Banner” whenever our flag was low- ered and all men to stand at atten- tion. 1 trust President Harding's idea will be carried out in -every home and throughout our Army and Navyy ANNA RUSSELL MAUS. Matthew, | s — CAPITAL KEYNOTES BY PAUL V. COLLINS EAST IS EAST Article No. 1. By Frank H. Hedges. Writers of comic opera do not have to depend entirely on imagination for plot; there is always the republic of China. Borne into office as president on the wave of a great popular demand, but really by the favor of the then tri- umphant Gen. Wu Pel-fu, Gen. Li Yuan-hung ‘held office as President of China for a year and three days. For a year and two days he'held office in Peking and was honored as he passed through the throbbing, plcturesque streets of the capital. His last day of office was spent under military guard in one of the rallway stations of Tientsin. Today he is once more In his home in the French concession there, safe under the tricolor, safe in the elaborate nest which he prepared after having been driven from the presidency six years ago, for this is ot the first flight of Li “Tai-tal Mrs. Married-Woman” Li, as he is called by the masses of China. The political aspects of the return to power, first, and then of the return to virtual exile of Li Yuan-hung are easily told in broad outline, despite the complexity of all Chinese politics. Gen. Li has been the pawn of for- tune, opportunity and other people’ plans more than has any other living hinese. When the rebellion against the imperial house of Ta Ching broke out in 1911, Li was dragged from un- der a bed where he had sought refuge and forced to lead the revolutionary troops as their commander, hero and —figurehead. In fact, Li has been a figurehead for the greater part of his jcareer, and it is because he rebelled against this position and attempted to act on his own that he has met | disaster. " He has lost the presidenc which would have come sooner or later, but it may be that he has re- gained much of his own self-respect. Elected vice president in the only strictly legal election that China has experienced, Li Yuan-hung chose (o play a martyr's role under President Yuan Shih-kai. He went to Peking and stayed there, virtually a prisoner in the island palace where the oid em- press dowager had once kept the em- peror captive. With the death of Yuan, he succeeded to the presidency, but in little more than a year the monarchial flasco of 1917 sent Presi- dent Li flying to the Dutch legation for protection from his own people, just as he fled to the French conces- sion in Tientsin last Wednesday. When the plot to restore the monarchy failed a few days later, Li refused to return to the president's palace, offering his resignation in- stead. ' The vears passed, and the for- mer president led a peaceful exist- ence in his country home and in Tientsin. In the late winter and spring of last vear the guns of Gen. Wu Pei-fu began to rumble, but above their noise was to be heard Wu's volce, demanding that the then president quit office, that Li Yuan-hung once agaln take up the reins, and that parliament be reassembled. The guns of Gen, Wu were more powerful than those of his rival, and the capital city of Peking fell into Wu's hands. The Peking politicians. ever watchful of their jobs, and a number of the mem- bers 6f the old parliament joined Wu the chorus demanding the return of Li as president. Reluctantly leav- ing the security and quiet of Tien- tsin, Li_went by special train to Pe- king. The great gate to the Tartar the gate that is called Chien- men. swung wide its middle doors on June 11 last year to admit the re- turning president. It was not legal resigned Li had previously the presidency: parliament. i whose hands lies the presidentiai election, had been twjce diseolved, and in addition the terms of its mem- bers had expired. Li's return was not legal, but it was the nearest approach to a legal government that China had seen for five years. Li refused to occupy the president's palace. living. instead, in a private mansion on which he spent a fortune. He is democratic—too democratic to be the ruler of a people to whom sym- bolism means much. T have often seen President Li astride his great white horse. riding about the streets of Peking attended only by two or three officers. The procession of the emperor in the old days, when the streets were cleared and the blinds drawn that none might gaze upon the Son of Heaven, had far greater effect in increasing the power and prestige of the ruler than had Presi- dent Li's democratic action: Li Yuan-hung, who had always played the part of a figurehead, de- veloped a streak of stubbornness last fall, a stubbornness that led to his own undoing. He went into office pledged to fight militarism, and fight it he has, albeit his power as a fighter is not’of the highest order. He rebeiled under_the tyranny of his patron. Gen Wu Pei-fu’ For a time it seemed that he would range himself under the banner of Marshal Tsao Kun, but instead he opposed the schemes of that militarist and his wily politician- (friends. This was not to be tolerated {1t was preposterous that a mere President of China should oppose the will of a militarist. and above all of ia militarist who controlled a large section of parliament. most of the cabinet ministers, a rather formidable army and a well filled war chest. The most recent cabinet resigned. the mu- nicipal police struck for their back pay, and the President of China made a sensational dash for the special train waiting to take him to the {safety of Tientsin All well and good. It is probable that no attempt would have been made to stop President Li's flight. except that the seals of state were missing. The troops that surrounded the train at Tientsin were unable to find them, and then it was learned that Mme. Li Yuan-hung had taken them with her to the French hospital in Peking. Not until the Chinese language secretary at the American legation, Willys Peck, had crossed the street from the legation to the hospital and assured Madame Li of her husband's safety, would she sur- render them. There are other political ramifica- tlons of the most recent farce in China, but they are detalls of persons, offices and money. The president's flight will make no great difference in the future of China, either inter- nally or in her foreign policy. It is one more _episode in the great pageant of Peking, a_pageant of am- bition. of greed. of sensation, of pathos and of humor, the pageant of a great people struggling to catch step with a world that has marched bevond them. Ask Right to Review School Estimates To the Editor of The Star: 1 wish to take this opportunity to express my approval of the most ex- cellent editorial uppearing in tho celumns of your valiable paper of June 14, in reference to the board of education’s refusal to permit any individual or organization to review their esiimates Lefore same are pre- e=nted to the board of Commissioners and Congress. The attitude of certain of our cit- izens toward our school appropria- ions last session. of Congress had much_to do with the defeat of the school bill. The manner in which delegations of women were paraded 1o the Capitol was most unfortunate for the success of the school appro- priations bill, and a most disacree- able effect on Congress. It is to he hoped that more conservative meth- cds will be employed during the coming sessicn it any lobbying i contemplated. As ove greatly Interested in our public schools, and board of educa- tion, I am perfectly willing to allow the excellent men and women of the Leard to prepate and present their cstimates in accordance with the law. without outside interpretation. with o feeling that our interests will be well looked after. A. J. DRISCOLL, President Mid-City Citizens’ Associa- ever since Betsy Ross made the first flag in 1777 has there been o little knowledge of the proper respect for the flag,” says Mrs. Harding. She arose 110 times and gave the full military salute to Old Glory passing in the Shrine pageant. She is eager to help make the flag salute more popular. * ok k¥ It the new flag code, adopted by the flag conference of sixty-eight patriotic socleties last week, is ac- cepted by the country, it will not be required that ladles raise the hand to their millinery, but they will stand erect, eyes on flag and right hand on heart. There is nothing radically new in the code, but what has been vaguely misunderstood by the masses is there crystallized. The sixty-elght patriotic societies, the public schools and every committee which has to do with ceremonies of a patriotic nature will hereafter have a clear guide. Perhaps fewer flags will serve a tablecloths, while _eloquent orators send up eagle after eagle in their enthusiasm for the glory of the re- public. Fewer will be twisted into butterfly festoons. Fewer will be left out overnight in rain and storm. S The question has been asked whiether it is permissible to wash or dry clean a flag. There is a tradi- tion in the Navy and Army to the effect that it is contrary to regula- tions. A flag must be burned as soon as it becomes soiled, but officers in both Army and Navy confess, “un- officially,” that this rule is violated, and flags are often cleansed. Cer- tainly for a clvilian to cleanse a flag is no more disrespectful than to patch it, when it becomes ragged by wear. Ag one of the prominent patriots of the Daughters of American Revolu- tion remarke: ““We are not like the Army and Navy: we have to pav for our flags, and they are costly * * * % One of the largest chain groceries of Washington persists in selling ex- cellent bread at 5 cents per pound loaf, in spite of the fact that other bakeries have boosted the price to 9§ or 10 cents. The excuse for last week's rise in price is that the working bakers demanded and got, through threat- ened strike, a raise of 10 per cent in their wag So wholesale bakeries raised their price 20 per cent—a cent a loaf wholesale. Some retall bak- erjes thereupon are reported as hav- ing added 2 cents to the retail price. * ok k¥ It is alleged by the working bakers that the labor of producing a loaf amounts to only 25 per cent of its cost of production. while flour amounts to 50 per cent. If that be accurate. 1,000 loaves costing 5 cents a loaf to produce would cost a total of $50, of which the labor would amount to $12.50 and the flour $25. total $37.50 The rise in the wages. 10 per cent then, would bring the labor cost up $1.25. making total labor cost $13.7 Flour has dropped 30 cents a bar- rel within the last fortnight. A bar- rel costs about $6.75, now. * o ox % The proportion seems roborated by the authoritative state- ment of a master baker that a barrel of flour produces from 280 to 300 loaves of bread 280 per barrel, 3.57 barrels would be needed, which at $6.75 per barrel would cost $24—which. is 45 per cent of the total cost of 1,000 loaves at 5 cents a loaf. The drop of 30 cents ‘a barrel would amount to 21.07 on 3.57 barrels in 1,000 loaves, which comes within 18 cents per 1,000 loaves of offsetting the rise in wages. On the strength of that 18 cents. the wholesale bakers add $10 to the wholesale price, and some retailers add $20 to $30 ‘Where is the joker? These figures to be cor- are not carried out to the nth decimal, | but they vation. illustrate the general sit- * o Kk Bret Harte was wrong. We are rot Yruined by Chinese cheap labor’ we are flabbergasted by the unre- lablility of history. Not only was the revolution all wrong and the Decla- ration of Independence a plagiartsm on the Magna Charta, but William Tell never shot the apple off his boy's head, for the apple crop failed that season; no boy ever stood on a burning deck, after hearing “Come on in, the water's fine”; also- Mary's little lamb was her goat. George Washington never owned a hatchet but girdled the tree—a pear tree- with his penknife, for which he had traded “side-on-see.” All such inac curacles of history are not included in Muzzey's, but here is a bomb shell which comes out of the Smith sonlan Institution, where it was sup- posed only “duds” were kept. A scholar of that reservoir. of highbrows rises to remark: “The truth about this Pocahontas stuff wil! never be known." 3 If it is such a confidential secret why barrow up our feelings abou it? “Some writers think,” says the pro fessor—and that is a most notable concession—'"some writers think that John Smith, whose life she is alleged to have saved, when her estecmed father was about to behead him, was never so saved at all.” 1f_she saved John. why didnt he marry her, instead of letting that other John beat him to it? This man Smith, weak in courting his life- saver—never mentioned his own romance until after Rolfe had eut him out, after Powhatan had failed to cut him in. The son of Mr und Mrs. Rolfe was born in England znd did not come to the land of his In- dian grandfather until he was thiriv. three vears old. Then he married a white girl. Miss Povthress, and from that union all descendants of Poca- hontas sprang. The commonplacs part of the story is confirmed; on'y the Interesting vamping of John Smith is questioned. Now see how many Smiths there are in the word And’ Pocanontas risked having har own hair bobbed for one Smith win did not appreciate her. Why, oh, why did she butt in? Wasn't there a su- plus of Smiths, even in her day? * XX % Mr. Peyton n. United St district attorney of the District Columbia, brings relief to the bEmas legging hotels and restaurants by denying that he had any plan to padlock hotels and other drinking places, summarily. Such places could Gord For 1,000 loaves, at | not be closed, he says, pending trial and appeal to the higher courts; Consolingly he explains that tha government can do no more at the outset than to get a temporary re- straining order from the court. en- joining the alleged violator from continuing his violation of law. When the case comes up on its merits and the government is sustained. then thn injunction will be made permanent }1In’ the meanwhile the temporary in- junction is not a padlock—it is just a bolt. Mr. Pevton has a number of such cases on the docket. and in every cass he seems to be asking for & bolt as aforesaid—not a padlock. | ik | Also. Mr. District Attorney has dis- Tcovered that when a landlord charges a bootlegging tenant two or ten timee the normal rent for his prem is presumptive evidence that knows why the tenant is willing to {be gouged. It looks like a con | spiracy between temant and land lord—and a conspiragy to violate the {law means the penitentiary for al! | conspirators involved. | wets New York were rejoicing | that the licuor cases would no longer be nrosecuted in state or local cou The first case of selling one quart of | whisky that came up in a Federal | court drew a fine of $1.000. Commis | sioner Haynes is mobilizing forces tn | march against New York bootleggers in force. and many $1,000 finee ma result. Local court fines of $10 are out of style. Federal prisons at Leavenworth and elsewhere are not health resorts, but - landlords ara looking for company. (Copyright, 1923, by P. V. Collins.) in EDITORIAL DIGEST Leviathan Again Tossed by Heavy Political Seas. If the good ship Leviathan en- eéncounters as many severe storms on the water as she has raised on land life in her pilot house will be far from tame. She lay at her pier in Hoboken leisurely falling apart while courts wrangled over enjoining her right to exist; she lay anxiously awaiting in Newport News while New York cit] officials rowed with port commissioners as to whether or not the mighty liner should be given dockage in the Hudson. Now, in Bos- ton harbor, she is being lashed fore and aft by the storm that has broken | the proposed | her because of trip” with the Lasker over “trial aboard Generally speaking that storm is a political one, to the extent at least that it is chiefly democratic editors who are doing the thundering. Kut by no means all of the editorial criti- cism of the Lasker “junket” is to be found in democratic papers. The re- publican New Bedford (Mass.) Stand- ard, for instance. observes that “Chairman Lasker has let himself in for a lot of censure on account of party the Leviathan junket,” and the paper feels no hesitancy in declaring that “he deserves every bit of it In fact, as the Scranton Times (democratic) sa; he Lasker junket has come in for general condemnation by the press of the country,” as well as for an enormous amount of “oshing.” As officially announced, the Levia- than is to make “a trial trip to test the adjustment of her equipment and | the capacity of her crew.” But the Boston Post (independent ‘democratic) translates that announcement into “old- fashioned parlance” and calls it * junket, pure and simple, not a trial trip.” The ship “was reconditioned internally at Newport News," the Di troit News (independent) reminds u: “From that port she was sent to Boston, and the run between these ports was made an official test of her ma- chinery, her turbines, her boilers and her engines. The officials who con- ducted the tests pronounced her 100 per cent efficient and prepared’ for regular ocean service. ‘With this the- ory the Boston Traveler (independent republican) flatly disagrees. “The truth {s" according to this paper, “that the Leéviathan was not sufficlently tested in the trip morthward from Hampton | roads to this port. She proceeded under part steam all the way. More- over, her equipment has been so far altered since arrival here as to ren- der her seagoing performance uncer- tain.” Nevertheless, (democratic) suggests, plowed through the Atlantic with thousands of American soldiers on board. The monster rode the waves alone, scorning convoy. Her gunners the Charlotte News he Leviathan | battled with the submarines. trusting to accuracy of fire and the great speed of the liner to bring her precious load of doughboys safely 1o land." But ‘‘that, of course’ ironi- cally. suggests the Albany News (inde | pendent “republican), *was not a fair test. It doesn't prove that the Levia- | than ds a sturdy ship. a capable ship Nor. in fact, does it prove anything |of the kind, the New York Tribune ; (republican) contends, for “‘deterioration {had been rapid in her hull and en- | gines” during her long idiencss. * a matter of fact,” the Tribune insists if the Shipping Board had mnor | planned such a thorough test of the | rebuilt Leviathan it 1d have bee: | gullty of negligen: nounting to |a crime. A thorougl conspicuous trial trip s essential (v test the boa* {from every aspect and insure pub’ confidence in her safety,” especial in_view of the “rumors of Ger sabotage” which “have been spread. That *“‘characteristic” su gestion of the Tribune's the Hartir Times (democratic) finds ‘‘thoroughly amusing, if only for the implicatior that this noble ‘six hundred is to be taken to Cuba in a craft which ma\ for all or Mr. Lasker can tei sink_at any moment.” Therein o< the valor of the “noble six hund who “will risk their lives on the : conditioned vessel,” concludes th~ Omaha World-Herald ~ (independent) suggesting, as it does the reason *wi no ladies will go along,” since “perhaps the hazard is too great “Mr. Lasker is a publicity man | remarks the Roanoke World-News demr cratic). “He ought to know enoug: about advertising to know that he i« giving the Harding administraiio |about the wors bit of publicity could possibly get.” And “if the pur pose of this joy ride is to sell the ship to sea vovagers of America,” t) New Haver Journal-Courier (independ ent) “questions its wisdom,” for ‘“thers are better forms of advertising, cheaper {and less objectionable.” But, {ever the purpose,” the Chicago | bune (independent republican) feels that | “the party lacks prudence. | “The amount of the cost in dollars is not the distressing thing” te the Ohio State Journal (Columbus, repub- can): “the distressing thing is that we have high in the public service men whose sense of honor and ideas of the fitness of things are such that they can see N0 Wrong, no faithlessness ': thelr trust, no bad taste even. spending any sum whatsoever of i public money on having a good tim~ and entertaining their friends. But the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot (inde- pendent democratic), with a reminiscen survey of countless other g can't find “so much about Mr. Las | ‘mistrial’ of the Leviathan to wax ir | candescent over. It is not the first time that a government ship has bee put to a private use on_a fiimsy ex cuse of public service. Not long ago an Army transport sailed halfway around the globe for the purpos: among others, of carrying a Naval | Academy class to a reunion in Tokio. Private parties at public expense” ars a pastime to which the paper find- “both parties incurably addicted.” e i ————————————————————————————————————— Civilize the Chinese bandits with Krags s my advice, and I don't be- lieve many will have to be 5o civilized to make good little laundrymen of the rest. ~MAJ. ROLAND W. PINGER. U.§. (captive at Paotuzuku Mt.) To a properly intelligent man or woman the mewspaper i the living e of history. e =H. G. WELLS. | _There exists in this country a class | of short-sighted and long-haired in- dividuale who seem to feel that they were especlally created to combat | anything that savors of business and | the bigger the business the more zeal | they show in fighting it. WHITE F. EDSON 1t evolution is heresy then orths- | doxy is ignorance. | EV. CHARLES POTTER.