Evening Star Newspaper, December 21, 1923, Page 6

8 !, THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY......December 21, 1823 THEODORE W. NOYI‘TS . Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, 11th St. and Pennsyivania Ave. New York Office: 110 East 420d St. Chicago Office: Tower Bullding, European Otfice: 16 Regent St., London, England, The Evening Star. with the Sundas morning wdition, fs delivered by carriers within the city 8¢ U0 cents per month: daily only, 45 cents per month; Sunday oniy, 20 cents’ per inonth. Orders may e sent by phone Main 5000. Collection fs made by car- Tiers at the end of e Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. 1ail or tele- | { the territorial governmen? in 1871, yet after abolishing the Levy Court the territorial act makes mention of the county of Washington and specifies that it is that part of the District out- side the city. The Levy Court, when Washington was incorporated in 1802, had au- thority to assess and collect taxes for maintaining roads and bridges in the county and caring for the poor of the county. It was composed of county magistrates, and had power to levy a tax on inhabitants of the city, as well as of the county, for county purposes. In 1804 the court was deprived by Congress of the right to levy taxes on the inhatitants of Washington, but it Maryland and Virginia, and Sunday. nly onl! All Other States. T., $10.00: 1 mo., mo., T0¢ * Sunday Daily and 5e 60c | Daily only Sunday oniy Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled | to the nse for republ.cation of all news dis. patches credited to it or mot otherwise credited n this paper and also the loral news pub. @ lished “herein. ~All rights of pi ion of special dispatches hereln are also reserved. e | i A Revenue “Raising” Measure. When the bill proposing to levy a gasoline tax in the District, framed to | conform to the Maryland require- | ments to permit motor reciprocity be- tween that state and the Capital, was | reported in the Senate Wednesday | and immediate consideration was | asked, a senator objécted. Whatever | his actual objection may have been, he couched it in terms of protest that the bill was a revenue-raising measure, and therefore should, under the Con- stitution, originate in the House of Representatives. The chalrman of the committee rejoined that the intent of the’ bill was not to raise revenue, and further, that the bill as prepared “‘does not propose to increase the rev- enues of the District of Columbia or the national government.” This bill was introduced simultane- ously in hoth houses, and in its orig- inal form was not a revenue increasing measure. It proposed merely to change the basis of motor taxation from per- sonal and license taxes to gaso- line and u <es, to yield, it is estl- mated, the szme amount of rev enue. But in committee it has been changed to include in the new sched- | ule the personal taxes already im- posed. That is to sav, to add to the personal tax that of 2 cents a gallon on all gasoline used. The effect would be to add, it is figured, about haif a million dollars @ vear to the District’s ., and therefore to take half a million dollars more from those Dis- trict residents who are owners of motor cars. Thus it had become by amendment @ revenue increasing measure. In the House, where revenue “raising” meas ures must originate, however, the same procedure has been followed thus far in committee, and the bill has been amended to retain the personal taxes while adding the gasoline tax. That committee, halting in its consideration of the bill, has postponed action until after the holidays, when it is possible that on reconsideration this additional revenue feature will be eliminated. Inasmuch as the sole purpose of this proposed legislation is to enable the District to secure from Maryland the benefit of motor reciprocity, and is not in any way intended to raise additional revenue, it i3 hard to see why advantage should be taken of its presentation to increase the tax bur- den on motor owners in the District by 50 per cent. The District does not need the revenue, in terms of its per- mitted expenditures. It already has a large surplus of unappropriated tax funds Iying in the Treasury to its credit, which it has not been permitted to use to meet its accumulated neglect- ed municipal need: It has heen pointed out to the House committee that throughout the coun- try there is a demand for tax reduc- tion. Congress is expected to reshond to that demand by lowering the Treas- ury exactions. A bill to that effect is in preparation now. Yet it is proposed as one of the first actions of the Sixty-eighth Congress to add half a million dollars to the taxes of the peo- ple of Washington, with no prospect of the early use of that money in meeting the municipal necessities. Such a course cannot possibly be justi- fied. ——————e Sun Yat Sen, the Chinese dictator, resents American warships at Canton at a time when he contemplates per- sonal supervision of customs collec- tions. The theory that the United | States Navy is a negligible force finds | no consideration in China. —_——————— { A bonus to the soldiers and a tax re- fduction both at once represent too| much of a problem, according to the Secretary of the Treasury, even for a financial Santa Claus. Name of the Capital. Senator Ball has introduced a bill drawn by Dr. Willlam R. Tindall to apply by authority of Congress the name City of Washington to the Dis- trict of Columbia. Such an act would legally extinguish “the county of ‘Washington.” Dr. Tindall believes that the county of Washington is still that part of the District outside the limits of Washington as first surveyed and as it was incorporated In 1802, nnd‘ outside of the original corporate limits of the city of Georgetown, when ‘Washington and Georgetown were joined by ect of Congress in Febru- ary, 1895, which act recited that “‘Georgetown shall no longer be known as the city of Georgetown, but shall constitute a part of the city of Wash- ington.” Further on in the act it is said that both cities shall constitute the federal Capital, and because of this it 18 held that “federal Capital” is the legislative name, or one of the legislative names of Washington city. There are those who hold that the county of Washington survives and includes all that part of the District outside of the extended or present limits of the city, but they cannot de- fine or find the city limits. We used to hear a good deal of the fire limits of the city, but it will probably tax the District surveyor to define “city limits” unless he uses the District line as the limit. Others hold that the county of Washington has had no sep- arate existence sinoe the abolition of « the Levy Court by the sct cresting |o | is nearly extinct. { requisition is for $12, continued in its right to levy taxes on the inhabitants of Georgetown until 1526 After the abolition of the Levy Court there was no separate county government in the District, and under the territorial government and under our present government the District executives had and have jurisdiction ver every acre of city and country. where there is any country in the Dis- trict. The term “county of Washington” Only occasionally does an old inhabitant use it. Over the old “county” have spread parts of the city, and these sections in many cases have taken the name of a for- mer suburb or subdivision, as Mount Pleasant, Cleveland Park, Brookland, Mount Rainier, Chevy Chase, LeDroit Park, Tenleytown, ckington, Pe worth, Bloomingdale and others. The name “Anacostia” suburb by act of Congress, but a large section Is called Anacostia which was not built up when the name of the Uniontown post office was changed to Anacostia. = The Ball bill opens up an interesting subject. Part of the Budget. Fourteen years ago Washington be- gan to accept annually “fourteen op- portunities” to aid the unfortunate members of this community. Under the auspices of the Associated Chari- ties each year fourteen family groups or individuals were selected emong the many cases of need and presented anonymously to the community for specific donations to their support dur- ing the coming year. Not once has Washington failed to discharge this item of its budget. This year the ‘“‘opportunities” The four- teen cases include sixty-six individ- uals, adults and children. The money asked, therefore, Is an average of about $196.50 a head. That is a very small amount for a year's support of a human being. The groups range from three to seven. Twelve of them comprise widows or deserted women and their children. All of them are known. Every case is needy. Every one Is worthy. If the money is not forthcoming for their help they must be maintained during the year out of the general charity funds. The “‘op- portunities” subscriptions will simply make sure of their proper care for the next twelve months. These cases change from year to year. For in most instances the year's help starts the little family groups upon the basis of self-support. By means of these opportunity gifts the families are kept intact. If this money is not forthcoming in some instances children must be taken from their mothers, families broken, homes de- stroyed. This is part of Washington's annual budget. It must be met as other char- ity demands are met, without stint or curtailment. It should be met by the greatest possible number of gifts, so that the largest number of people may be interested in the work, and thus the largest number be themselves benefited by their giving. Chief of all, the budget should be met by Christmas, the day regularly set as the “limit” of the opportunities. Let not the chance pass in this year 1923 for a prompt and full discharge of an obligation that custom and in- clination have imposed upon the com- munity. ———————— Cox a Candidate Over in the James M. Cox stable there are sounds of grooming, be- tokening likelihood of the trotting out of a presidential steed. No, it-is not to laugh, despite the signal defeat of 1920 of the prospective entrant. If he should enter the race Le would at least demonstrate that he has cour. age. Let us consider Mr. Cox's possible line of argument in support of the idea of becoming a candidate for the democratic presidential nomination. Imagine him saying to himself: “I may have a look-in; suppose McAdoo does not make the two-thirds grade, and suppose Underwood is ruled out on geographical lines, and suppose Ral- ston is found too old and Al Smith too wet—why, the lightning might strike me.” 1t sounds plausible—to himself, any- how. Friends of Mr. Cox ever since 1920 have resented the avalanche of blame which fell upon him for the democratic defeat of that year. They have contended that he should not bear it all, and that, in point of fact, the party was doomed to defeat at the start. It was a republican year, a year of reaction, and no democrat stood to win. The democrats seem to feel that 1924 is to swing the pendu- lum their way, and the presidential nomination is worth the having. —— The fact that Congress has not yet done much does not prevent several of its members from feeling that they have transacted quite a large amount of political business. —————————— Republicans are intimating to “Iib- erals” that there is danger in a liberal- ity that becomes reckless. —————— Oysters. ‘The decline of the oyster and the Increase in fits price are often dis- cussed. The oyster business in Wash- Ington was once of much importance. Many oyster boats came into our har- bor. When Washington had half its present population it probably had more ‘‘oyster houses” than now. It is perfectly safe to say that not so large a part of our people eat Oysters as used to eat them, and it is perhape fair to say that although Washington has daubled in population In the past stands in a ('m’“lhls i by itself. That name was given to the | THE EVENING forty years not so many Washing- tonlans eat oysters and not so many oysters are eaten here now as then. Old Washington people remember when terrapin, shad, sturgeon and other water foods were so plentiful that plain men could afford to eat them. These foods have hecome rela- tively scarce and high in price. The oyster is passing in the same way the terrapin passed. In Maryland the sub- Ject of restoring worn-out oyster beds with oyster shells that the “spat” may have what it likes to cling to isa public question. There are advocates of an upward revision of the cull law, STAR, WASHINGTON, C, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 19 WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. Plenty of authorities are saying that Ford's indorsement of Coolidge for President is just more “Coolidge luck.” Others suggest that it isn't luck at all, but shrewd “Coolidge politics” that has turned the trick.! It is recalled that Ford conferredl| with the President on December §, the day Mr. Coolidge delivered his message to Congress. Did the now which requires that oysters be of a| certaln size before being sent to mar- | ket, and there are many other ques | tions which oyster conservationists in | Maryland are discussing, but as the discussion goes on so does depletion of oyster beds. | It is hard to talk to oystermen | about the future while in the present | they are drawing three times the wages they got a few years ago and are selling oysters at three or four times the price they used to bring. Like most other men they are “get- ting while the getting is good,” and are out for immediate profits. The oystermen generally feel that the fu- ture may look out for itself. So it seems that the oyster will soon be- come a rarity in the Chesapeake country. “Safe With Coolidge!” Henry Ford has not only contributed vote to the President for| nomination and election, and pos- sibly those of such of his “followers™ as may actually follow him in his poli- tical judgments, but he has given the Coolidge campaign a slogan. In his statement issued from Detroit the other day he said: “I am satisfled that 90 per cent of the people feel perfectly safe with Coolidge, and I feel, too, that the country is perfectly safe with him."” Slogans are effective campaign ma- terial. These political “war cries” are vote getters, if they are apt and truth- ful. In the McKinley campaign of | 1896 the “Full dinner pail” did serv-| ice for the republican candidate, and also the cry “Open the mills and not | the mints,” which countered the free- silver proposals of the democracy.| Very much farther back in American political history that rhythmic cry of “Tippecance and Tyler, too,” helped to sweep Willlam Henry Harrison into the White House. “Safe with Coolidge” might well be adopted by the President’s nomination campaign managers and by his cam- paign managers in the event of his nomination. It is short, it is expres- sive and the President's supporters believe with Henry Ford that it is true. If Mr. Ford's estimate of the public feeling on that score is correct it is all over but the shouting. —_———— Some of the statesmen most con- fident In their assertions that the bonus is a foregone conclusion, veto or no veto, will be the very ones to insist on making long speeches about it ——re————— Fortunately for the interests of the country, a tie-up in the Senate inter- state commerce committee does not | immediately affect the transportation facilities of the country. ————— . The Italian artistic temperament may have influenced Mussolini in de- ciding on no election where it ap- peared impractical to call satisfactory rehearsals for it. ———— The statistics already available as to this year's holiday shopping are | enough to compel the hard-times | shouter to admit that he has no argu- | ment. ———— The world has at last reached the happy stage where it can proceed with usual business without getting a daily report from the seismograph. —_— ‘There will be no limit to the achieve- ments of Magnus Johnson if he be- comes eventually as influential as he is now famous. ———e————— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON, A Plea, Oh, children, try to bring good cheer And do not be so stern. Remember that your parents dear Have such-a lot to learn. Do not forget, when they were young ‘They did not have your chance. ‘These new songs were not being sun; They had no modern dance. The great inventions which to you Are all familfar joys, Your elders, maybe, only knew As strange and fragile toys. And ethical debate today Creates a public fuss On topics which the old folks say They really can’t discuss. Unto your parents let there be Some gentle deference due, Although they are, it's plain to see, Not near so wise as you. Cautious Csmpaigning, “80 you are a candidate for the presidential nomination?" “Not irrevocably,” answered Sena- tor Sorghum. “Until I decide which band wagon offers the most favorable inducements I'm going to leave my bat in the ring. After that I'll stand with it in my hand." Jud Tunkins says when & man al- ways agrees with you it's a sign he’s not paying much attention to what you say. Out of His Jurisdiction, ‘When Santa Claus reveals delights ‘That charm us more end more, ‘We know i is not he who writes ~ The price tags in the store. Polite Security. “Did you enjoy the play in Italian?” “Very much,” answered Miss Cay- enne. “The fact that I do not under- stand the Janguage left me perfectly confident that nothing in the dialogue ‘would shock me.” | | “Patlence 1s @ virtue” said Uncle Eben, “until it gets to be an exouse foh doin' nuffiare® 3 {his fate acknowledged political ekill of Cal- vin Coolhlge work new wonders at the White House and turn the motor magnate into a Coolidge hooster? Nearly everybody is agreed that thers fs more than has so far met the eye in Ford's announcement. Time perhaps will tell what happened to about the most sensational spment of the presidential ok K % Charles Benter, conductor of the Navy Bund, and Senator Pat Har- risor of Mississippi were on the same broadcasting program at etation WRC in Washington the other night. The Navy Band was giving a concert and Harrison was preaching “Amer- icanization” through the air. Musi- cian and senator met in the vestibule of the broadcasting studio. Quoth Harrison: “That was a_delightful rogram your band just played.” Re- ted Benter: “Glad you liked it | ‘s your chance to do something | Navy Band in Congress. a bill’ up to put us on the| el us the Marine Band and ll-grade lieutenant.” | T for it So did 'f Oregon, who came | ator Pat's malden effort Benter's band ac- Harding to to watch S as a broalcaster. companied President Alaska * ok K ¥ Dean Bratenahl of the Washington Cathedral relates an inspiring experi- ence while strolling through the cloge. All of a sudden he heard the voices of singers. No services were in progress In the Bethlehem chapel, where they are ordinarily held on the uncompleted cathedral premises, and the dean was nonplusged. To his astonishment he discovered that the forty or fifty workmen who are building the new cathedral wing were the singers. They were not lamenting the shortage of bananas, but chanting “Rock of Ages.” The contractor, who I8 doing the buil ing. says it is the Arst squad of worl en he ever encountered who eschew profanity on their jobs. * ok K K Cramton, representative and the successor of Louis C. from Michigan, Andrew J. Volstead as dry leader in the House, Is a Hiram Johnson lieu- tenant. He was active in the Cali- fornian's behalf in 1920, when John- son captured Michigan from Lowden and Wood at the end of a whirlwind primary contest. Cramton’s identi- fication with the Johnson campaign Is adduced by the senators friends as evidence that Hiram Is not, as sometimes alleged, a backslider on prohibition. He is sald to have &n untarnished dry record on_prohibi- tion votes in Congress. Johnson's misfortune in missing a train which Wwas to have brought him to Wash- ington to vote on the Newberry case is dolng him n ich oo o good in Michigan * ¥ k* * Senator Robert L. Owen of Okla- homa, who has reopened the nine- year-old controversy as to who “be- &an the war," must have been pretty wel) loaded up with German ma- terfal during his recent trip to Europe. If he had cared to collect secret documents available {n Lon- don and Paris, Senator Owen doubt- less could have made out an equally strong case proving that Germany was the author of the war. The bat- tlo of the white papers, the blue books, the yellow papers and the green books, which Berlin and Paris, London and Moscow, Rome and Bru sels have been waging since 1914 I8 not yet declded. Probably a gen eration will pass before precise re- sponsibility for Armageddon ~will be fixed. The Owen “revelation” that the guilt ller on the heads of France and Russia |s neither new nor con- vincing. ¥ o k¥ The only “Coolidge headquarters"” in Washington, outstde of Bascom Slemp's office, s the suite main- tained by “Jimmy" Reynolds in the Transportation building Reynolds s & banker for a couple of hours a day, and the rest of the time he pursues the profession of a consul- tant on the twin subjects of tariff and customs laws. He s never so busy these days, however, that he hasn't time to talk about “Cal” There are few cannier practical po ticlans at large than the former sec- retary of the republican national committee. Reynolds knows every trick of the trade, and all of the tricksters. * X % ¥ Congress is on vacation for ten days, after three strenuous weeks of doing nothing. The score stands: Congress, 57 varfetles of procrasti- nation; Uncle Sam, 0. (Copsright, 1623.) Fate of Grand Duke Michael Again Matter BY THE MARQUISE DE FONTENOY. Impenetrable mystery has always 1 as to the fate of Grand Duke | ael Alexandroviteh, in whose fa- | h brother, the late Emperor! 11, abdicated in February, throne of Russia, whic Michael, however, refused to accept until his possession thereof had been ratified by a constituent assembly of the nation. The only thing known for certain is that he disappeared | mysteriously, in the closing days of | July, 1918, from the city of Perm, on | the Kama river, where he was living in relative liberty, in the leading ho- tel, allowed to recelve visits of friends and where his morganatic wife, the Countess Brussoff, was allowed to join him and to spend several weeks there in his company. jt attended by his devoted sh secretary, Charles Johnson, who had been with him for years; by his valet, Basil Tehllicheff, and by his chauffeur, Barounoff. Then he vanished, and the only intimation that | has been given out or published as to being a story, open to con- siderable doubt, printed last year in the Moscow Kommunisticheksi-Trud, the “oficial orkan of the Lenin- Trotsky bolshevist junta, to the effect that he had been shot it Perm on or mbout the 20th day of July, 1918, that is to say, a few days only after the of the emperor and the em- and thefr children, at Ekat- nburg. The statement was signed ‘'omrade Miasnikoft,” one of the closest confidants and old-time friends of Lenin, who klorified in the fact of his having blown out the brains of the grand duke. * Xk k X That the soviet government, as now constituted, should wish the world, and especially the people in Russia, to belleve that Grand Duke Michael was no longer in existenco Is easy to understand. For his name is still cherished by the peasantry, who con- stitute 90 per cent of the population. They recall his long struggle with his family over his romantic mar- rlage to a woman of the nobility, a lady in every sense of the word, al- though not of royal blood, as & proof of his democracy and of his sin- cority. Old storles of his generosity are recalled, and among the numer- ous imperial princes who took part in the great war, with the ex- ception of the generalissimo, Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholaiovitch, none but Michael Alexandrovitch won famo and honor. In command of a division of the army in the Carpathians, he led his men with reckless courage, exposing himself to shrapnel and shell and encouraging his soldlers by eloquent appeals to thelr bravery, and offering a stubborn resistance to the Germans, Austrians and Hun garians in the reglon of the Lomma, and numerous stories of his heroism | still circulate among the masses. In' spite of the statement issued by the| Lenin-Trotsky official press, at Mos- cow, proclaiming his death, the Rus- stan people insist taat Ho ls still ve. This bellef has just received a considerable amount of corrobora- tion by Princess Olga Poutlatine, a close friend of the grand duke and of his morganatic wife and children, who has just published, in_ the Revue des Deux Mondes, '{n Paris, a remarkable and convincing ac- count of his disappearance. * Kk k Princess Poutlatine relates that, after the revolution and the grand duke's public refusal to accept the throne which his brother, Emperor Nicholas, abdicated in his favor, until the nation had had the opportunity of giving expression to its wishes in a national constituent assembly to be held at Moscow, he was allowed to remain In perfect liberty and un- molested, with his wife, Countess Brussoff, and his children, on his es- tate near Gatchina. By and by, after the overthrow of Kerensky, he re- celved orders of the Soviet govern- ment to move into Petrograd, o as to permit of a closer survelllance of his movements. There he took up his residence with his wife and his English secretary, Johnson, under the voof of Princess Olga Poutlatine, other members of the princess’ house- hold being_her children’s English governess, Mrs. Amy ing, who had been prevented from following remainder of the family to sm:lucrlud because of i1l health. The d duke's frien: treated ds en! him tako advantage of the lack of anl- was of Controversy mosity toward him manifested by the soviet authorities to leave for ingland, and two passports, one for himself ‘and the other for his secre- tary and Fidus Achates, Johnson, were placed at his disposal by the British embassy. But he absolutely declined to make use thereof, firmly convinced that he was in no danger of any harm, and that his duty was to remain within call of the people. But in February, 1915, he was suddenly arvested one night, along with Johnson, and conveyed, as a prisoner of state, to Smolensk. Sev- eral weeke later, thanks to the in- fluence of the soviet commissioner, Joffe. he was transferred, with his English secretary, to Perm, and, in- stead of being lodged in prison, was permitted to establish himseif in relative liberty at the leading hotel, where he was vVisited, not only by his wife, but also by Princess Poutfatine. * x k% One day, toward the end of July, 1918, Basil Tehillicheff, the valet, and Baronouff, the chauffeur of the grand duke, arrived at Petrograd and re- ported to Princess Olga Poutiatine that a few nights previously a large troyka had arrived In the middle of the night at the hotel with five men, strongly armed, and who had made their way into the bedroom of the grand duke, declaring that they had orders to arrest and seize Michael Romanofl. ‘When the secretary, Charles Johnson, attempted to in- tervene, and to resist on the ground that, as being under the special pro- tection of the soviet of Perm. they were immune from arrest, the leader of the band whispered a few words into his ear. The fears manifested on Johnson's face at once gave way to an expression of profound rellef, and, indeed, of delight. He whispered a few words in English to the grand duke, and then turned to the valet and muttered to him: “It's all right, Basil. It's the best thing that could happen. I am delighted,” intimating that the armed men disgulsed as bolshevist soldiers were monarchists, who had come to save the grand duke. The valet and the chauffeur assisted the grand duke and Johnson to get into the conveyance, alongside the driver, the guards piling in on the other seat. and then they vanished into the night and that was the last seen or heard of them. * ¥ % ¥ Now, In conjunction with Princess Olga Poutlatine's story, as related In the Revue des Deux Mondes, must be taken the fact that, although the grand duke, while living in England with his wife and children, during the interval between his marriage at Vienna on October 1 1911, and his reconciliation with his brother, the emperor, a few months before the outbreak of the great war, had in- sured his lite, in London, for a very large amount in favor of the Countess Brussoff and thelr children, who were residing with him, at the time, at Knebworth, Lord Lytton's picturesque country seat in Hertfordshire, the in- surance has never yet been claimed by the countess. Indeed, I am given to understand that the annual pre- miums on the policl still_continue to be paid, presumably by the count- ess, In whose name her husband in- vested a very large amount of money in England, and in Paris, befors re- turning to Petrograd In the winter of 1918-14. Nor does the countess con- vey the (idea of a grief-stricken widow. *x * k X All sorts of rumors have been cur- rent to the effect that her husband is living in the strictest concealment, according to some in the remotest portions of Siberia, according to oth- ers in Japan, under the protection of the prince regent and the Empres: of Japan, on one of their more closely guarded estates; according to others somewhere in Annam, or else- where in Indo-China under the pro- tection of the French. Wherever he is, the secret of his refuge has been well kept, the reason for the secrecy being that, if it were known, the soviet government, now in the final stages of its existence and alarmed at the rising sentiment against it by the masses of peasantry, would not hesitate to have him murdered by one of those unscrupulous agents which it maintains in every foreign country, and especlally here in the United ‘States. for the purpose of communistic propaganda. It s believed that the grand duke's wite, his mother, the widowed Empress Marle, also the Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholalovitch, without being aware of whereshouts) have assurances that he is alive an n-.u. ‘waiting for the &m bzw-.it" m’”fi“:; as the and regenerator Reduce Speed Limits to Solve Traffic Problem Less Haste and More Policemen Needed to Protect Pedestrians. To the Editor of The Star: Our government purports to secure the right to life, liberty and the pur- suit of happiness to all its citizens. Every one of these rights is constant- ly violated by the traffic conditions now for a long time permitted to pre- vall here. Life s taken at the rate of 88 per vear, to say nothing of the 250 injured and the crippled, according to a recently stated printed report, and wo humble pedestrians are denied the right, with its attendant happiness, to go about upon our daily concerns freely and unafraid, as we formerly could. Many of the drivers of cars who kill us or maim us regard it as an act of presumption on our part to cross the public highway, which by right belongs exclusively to #peed on their way unconcern: ing their victims to thelr fat All sorts of preventive plans and expedients, none of them effective, have been tried by the authorities except the one certain to bring large and speedy remedial vesults. That {s an immediate and drastic reduction of the epeed limit. Before the coming of automobiles the limit was ten miles an hour, and serious accidents were extremely rare. It would be no hardship to any one to re-establish that rate of speed Wwithin the city limits. Averaging fit, it might make a difference of ten minutes in the time taken to teach one's office or other destination. Would not the lives certain to be saved, would not onie life saved, be of more Importance than the trifie of lost time involved o any ome or every one? Can our Zovernment be justified in permitting the slaughter to go on unchecked when it can be largely prevented? Add to this much stricter rules for the licensing of drivers and more traffic policemen at congested cross- ings, dirccted to hold up car move- ment whenever there are a number of pedestrians waiting to cross, and not only will accldents decrease, but pedestrians, who are still a majority of the population, can go about with- out & never-ubsent apprehension that thelr untimely fate may be treading on their heels. Of course, ail the speeders and the drivers, who have come to think by long toleration that they own the driveways, will raise a howl of pro- test, but humane and law-abiding citizens will refoice in the adoption of any measure which will help to 1ift from the community the burden and disgrace of things as they are it for month and see what will now a word for the un- happy, buffetéd, pedestrian strap- hanger, packed with fellow humans itke sardines in a box, and then ordered to move up front when there is no front. To have to get into or out of such cars, and they are run- ning morning and Dight, never too full to take in more, is not an incon- venience merely, it is a degradation. Under civilized governments, when the seats in a car are all taken it is placarded, and no more passengers allowed Untll there are vacancies. The convenience and comfort of ci zens perhaps of as much impor- tance as the hank accounts of the companies, who have received their franchises and their rights of w. from these contract at v s compelled to at e put on more cars at the rush If present conditions continue and I would be one to help, conductors forcibly prevented from letting more passengers be rammed into a car already crowded to suffocation. ARCHIBALD HOPKINS. Replies to Mr. Wile. ice. Tk on hours. we shall se National Council Against War Finance in America. To the Editor of The Star: The letter of Mr. Frederic William Wile printed in The Star of Decem- ber 17 requires an answer lest the readers of The Star be misled. Mr. Wile points out that I failed in my recent letter, which was published in The Star last week, to challenge “the accuracy of the Nicholson report,” referring to Mr, Nicholson's trip to Russia. I do challenge Mr. Wile’s statement and his presentation of the mat- ter. Mr. Nichoison is in Russia, not in Moscow, but in & famine section, and serving for the American Friends Service Committee. He was, but is not now, on the staff of the National Council for tha Prevention of War. The_facts of Mr. Nicholson's visit to Russia for famine relief work were set forth in the letter of Dr Lindley Clark, which appeared on the editorial page of The Star of Decem- fer 4. Dr Clark explained that the State Department was consulted be- fore Mr. Nicholson left this country. Dr. Clark's letter was a direct chal- lenge of Mr. Wile's statements re- garding Mr. Nicholson. Possibly Mr. Wile did not see Dr. Clark’s letter in Th? Star. . Mr. Wile's reiteration of Mr. Nichol- son’s presence in Russia {8 written in the same paragraph with, in the same sentence with and practically n the same breath with a statement about finances for pacifists being sup- plied from Russia. Such juxtaposi- tion of words and ideas, unsupported by quotation marks for his authority might give an erroneous impression: The use of quotation marks would have served to separate the words of the “Qlstinguished authority" from those of Mr. Wile. Mr. Nicholson is on a mission of mercy. Why couple up his name with alleged “soviet” activities? It is not only unfair, but might give the fm- pressfon_that Mr. Nicholson was in Russia for the purpose of financing truth. Mr. Wile's reiteration is print- ed despite the statement {n my recent letter that the mational council is d 100 per cent by America fmAL Per S AUSTIN STO Christmasandthe Animals To the Editor of The Star: Happy this season of the year, each ona preparing gifts for relatives and friends; happier those planning a bit of cheer to unfortunaté men, women and little children outside our family circle, but poor and suffering; hap- pler still those planning also to ex- tend the Christmas spirit to the lower animals. The papers are full of kindly suggestions for our unfortu- nate brotherhood in our own and other lands. May I make a few for our dumb animal friends? How about crumbs and grain for the pigeons and other birds, even those so-much abused little spar- rows? How about_ investigating the case of that thin, shivering horse you saw one day? Take a look at his drafty stable, surprise him with a square ‘meal of real oats and hay leave a blanket for him (one can easily and cheaply be made from six or elght large gunnysacks sewed together double weight), leave with the master the lesson of the moral value of giving his equine bread- winner good care. How about that old cow that you know is left out in a bare pasture too long in_the fidence you cannot provide a good home for it let it enjoy the shelter and good food at the Animal Rescue League for a few days before its future is decided upon. And if vou vourself can‘t feed that horse make your donation to the league’s holiday horse-dinner fund, and designate it for this particular applicant, to which the treat will be taken by some one. And don’t forget the suffering of the iivestock at market. This season to them is only suffering and death. If you must eat & fowl or a lttle pig to celebrate the occasion, at least in- sist lhd;t it is handled and killed decently. % VIRGINIA W. with the | | i Rt sropaganda. Such is mot the |and retirement, along With the na- ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN Where are the most pins and made in this country?— Q. needles H R 9 A. Waterbury, Conn., is the center of this industry. Needles, pins and hooks and eyes to the value of about $7.000,000 are manufactured there yearly. Q. How many letters are &ent through the malls?—C. K. A. The Post Office De ent says that approximately 11,250,000,000 leters are handled by the department annually. Q. What s considered the unlucky letter in Greek?—L. K. A. Theta is sometimes called the unlucky letter, from being used in anclent Greece by the judges on their ballots when condemuing, prisoner to death. It was used be ause {t was the first letter of the “death.” Krupp factory Greek word for Q. What s the making now?—L. M. A. One unit of this great factory 13 now making milk condensers and other dalry apparatus. Q. What was the cost of the American army of occupation?—K. L8 A. The costs of the American army of occupation, including the costs of the American section, Inter- alifed Rhineland high commliesion, from the armistice to April 30, 1923, amounted to § Q. What are t composing the hu A. The approximate chemical an- alysis of a man five feet eight inches in’ helght, weighing 145 pounds would be: Oxygen, $2.4 pounds: hy- drogen, 14.6 31.6; nitrogen, 4.6; pho -4; calcium, 2.8; sul- phur, 0.24; chiorine, 1.12; sodium, 0.12; iron, 1.0 potassium mag- nesium, 0.04; fourine total, 145.30 pounds. Q. In 1804, at the = fair, there What flowers we ornament?—J. C. D. A. The floral clock at the Louisiana Purchase exposition had the dial only of plants. The center of the dial and the rim were of verbena, artemisia and coleus. There seems to be no record of the plants used for the numbers. Louis world's floral clock. to make this e glve some information elia Beaux.—W. B. K. . Cecelia Beaux is one of the dis- tinguished American woman painters. She is practically self-taught. Wil- liam James sald of her: “She sud- denly became consclous that she was one of the competent ones of the world and that the world acknowl- edged her as a master painter.” Dur- ing the years of her novitiate, Miss Beaux did geological survey rk, | china painting and_crayon portraits | from photographs. In 1836, she took the French by storm. In this year) she exhibited “A New England Woman” at the Paris Salon. Miss Beaux, a Philadelphlan by birth, is| well represented in the great art col- lections of America. Her “Dancing Lesson” has just been added to the works in the Chicago Art Institute Q. What mountains are styled “the Alps of America”?—E. M. T. there is no wonder in 18 not surpassed in ( Park, while the la seale is : Europear ground ' Q. Are the bo Point durin, $60 bonus?- A. The War Departm hat Academy were not entitied to the $61 foaae led to the $60 who wera at West war entitled to the Q. How far apart are en. graphio north pole and Lnel::}.gxfi;w north pole and which is true nocth?— R. W. i A. The geological survey rays th the latitude of this magnetic pole 70° 05" and the lon nde, * 46 It is nearly 1,400 miles south of t north pole. Tru en the true merid The true north n north pole. _Q. What is th K L C. A. The X used in the abb Xmas 18 derived from the fac Christ was crucified. The symbol of the cross was thus i oduced ito the word Christmas. The custom 80 anclent as to be lost in antiquity. Q. What was don charter oak tree of CXa A. The tres was bl August 21, 1836 marks the spot whers wood of the tree was handsome chair, in the capitol at ge gin of Xma! tat! with the old Connecticut? Q. What is earth per mile? A. Th that the n the earth es per mile. Naval Obs asure of the cu s approximately Q. What is an making dill pickles? Pack fresh cu jar, placing b thin layer of dill cherry “leaves ma the dill. Pour over made of one gal one cup smalt. Cover, welght and stand for thereo or four weck casy 1e the hours that nos close?—J. B A. The Po that the kept open tions. Post he hours o Q. In what s grown’—K. L. U. A. The bulk of the cranbe is grown on the acid solls M The mountain d and West Virginia yield Berries many differe there in Q. Ho insects me there wer represented A. The Canadian Rockles are o ter advertised than those on this side of the line, but are no more beautiful scenically. It is probably true that i their ar Information Burcaw, Fre J. Haskin, director, 1220 North Cay tol street. Inoclose 2 cents in stam for return postag®) Editors Insist the Nation Needs Services of Pershing Secretary of War Weeks struck a popular note when he suggested that Congress enact legislation that will allow Gen. John J. Pershing to be re- tained in the active list of the Army regardless of the fact that he will reach constitutional retirement age September 13 next. In the face of this general indorsement, however, there is a growing pressure many Influential Army and govern- ment circles in opposition and friends of the general very frankly say that unless “Congress is shown™ the pro- posed Weeks legislation will be smothered in committee. As the New York Evening World sees it, Gen. Pershing’s “invaluable | experience on the battlefields of Europe, together with his virfle and progressive views on the subject of preparedness, make it quite impossi- ble to replace him with any other, equally qualified,” and it goes on to say his retirement “would be a blun- der,” and that “the nation wants Per- shing.” The country needs him, ac- cording to the Bridgeport Post, be- cause “it needs his training and ex- perience, leaving out of account al- together his place in the hearts of his countrymen. He is still the right man in the right place.” The Spring- field News also feels his presence “will mean much to the continued betterment of the service,” for “his brilliant mind and magnetio person- v to be kept it it is ) ousibic 1o Tetain them for the good of the country * ok k¥ Although Pershing has earned rest tion's gratitude, the Mobile Reglster agrees that “he is still vigorous men- tally and physically and is capable of doing more for his country in ex- panding and improving the natiow's military establishment,” and that “Congress will do well to defer to the wishes of Secretary Woeks.” It might be argued “that we are not at war and do not need an experfenced soldfer,” suggests the New London Day, but “Pershing is necessary whether we are at war or whether we are at peace,” and “If he wants to re Main In harness a while longer he should be given the opportunit anyway, the Rockford Republic main- tains, “the world never has enough Pershings to risk the unnecessary loss of one, especially at the very period of his highest mental develop- Tent”; furthermore, “Army retire- ment at any age, arbitrarily estab- lished, is ridiculous in the case of the higher officers who remain physically from | | adds | miral Dewey,” fc ‘.mp-»m serv i work he has do peace-time organ defense_entl tion.” Likewise, the Memy imitar feels he should be re nd 1d up national ing the spl he_desires to retire. Calling attention Pershing planned t ization which he Is now its developr Regular -Army, organized reserv ald claims “for that reason it is desirable to keep him on the § because “the general would find per sonal pride and isfaction in ing allowed to remain in charge un his work, if not complete, at least is far enough along to warrant turning it over to other hand: The Farge Forum also believes there @ much yet to be done in building up our de- fense, and “sound judgment should dictate Gen. Pershing's retention order that he may continue the work of bullding up ou m: ary e€s lishment.” To which the Albany Newa “his knowledge and experlen make him the best working order the tional defens gress can am Pershing's and it shoul¥l do * Though admitting that Gen, Persh- fag is one of the highest types of Army officers, and that he Is a good man to Keep at the head of the Army, the Detroit News, however, is tnclined to feel “if there is-any merit in dis- cipltne and uniformity in the Army, it may be doubted whether the reten- tion of a man over the age Jimit wiil be & good thing for the Army.” With the same views the Hartford Times conti “it remalns to be demon strated that special regulations should be made to retain the services of ev brilliant a commander,’ breause: “The country’s machinery of defense cannot be permitted to de pend upon an individual. It must go on, though men shall pass, as pass they must, and even though we seem to retire our generals in the prime of life. If there is to be a next war we should be preparing Pershing's successor for it now, rather than de- pending upon the atter's retaining his faculties until the war comes.” while the Terre Haute Star points out that “special legislation in behalf of individuals makes for jealousfe: The Star, nevertheless, concludes t “it should be sald for Pershing tt such {s his popularity, the Army probably would not object if he w authorized by law to continue to ¢ ry on." in Americans Prov a ntally fit.” iy A maer similar _conditions” _the Ohto State Journal argues, “no group of business men would even contem- Dlate o change. no matter how many Fules and customs might have to be disregarded”; moreover, “the services that Gen. Pml;:nxlcl:‘l! a’i‘vén to ::1: it the action of Congr Sountsy eage of that bill would be good publio service” while the At: lanta Journal holds that “every ele. ment of logio and propriety and sen- Tieient is on the side of Secrotary Weeks in his requést, which undoubt- edly will be acceded to with prompt- pese and enthusiasm by the national ress.” Conit * koK K As the war recedes “it is more and more recognized,” observes the Watertown Standard, that “it was the firmness of Gen. Pershing called se- verity by weaklings, which built an army second to none from raw ma terial. He looks at war as business and does not bend or shift for favor. The nation needs him for years to come.” Since there is no question of his fitness, the Buffalo News insists nation o bim the reward of ratention 1@ pearmaszant 8otive They Have Souls Again we are told by a European person that Americans have no sou Dr. Alice Salomon, doctor of political economy at the University of Berlin ys 80, after spending a week or two in this country.” This Is the foreign- er's revenge for our sending politi- clans to Europe to tell the Europeans what is the matter with them. If & nation has a soul or the peo; in it have souls, the fact should b: demonstrated by the expression of high ideals and exaltation of sent ment. We challenge the world ! produce more lofty ideals than ours on every subject from the down- trodden Armenians to the closed sea &on on chickens. We glo murderers, especiall gentler sex. We giv: large . sun to natio We preach democra s if it were something we had invented. We con quer foreign territory and pay for it afterward. We Americans are so all-fired als truistic that we often-negleet as ins dividuals to mind cur own businea S0 (hareat Paus Dispesan = ot y money in in _distres: aw: