Evening Star Newspaper, March 7, 1924, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition, WABHINGTON,D. C. FRIDAY..........March 7, 1024 THEODORE W. NOYES. . ..Editor #he Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, X Chicago Offic European Office: 16 Evening Star, with the fundey morning is delivered by carriers within the r month; daily only, 4 ooly, 20 centa’ per m Orders may be sent by mail or tele- phone ‘Main 5000. ~Collection is made by car- Fiers at the end of each month. . Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginis. Dally and Sunday.. .40 ; Daily only. Sunday only. All Otlier States, Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo., 85¢ Daily only ......1yr, $7.00:1mo., 60c Sunday only......1yr., $3.00;1mo., 25¢ The editi Member of the Associated Press. The Assoclated Press is exclusivels entitled to the use for republication of all news dis tches credited to it or not otherwise credited n this paper and also the local news pub. lished herein. ~All rights of publication of wpecial disoatches herein are also reserved. -_— Examining Park Sites. A subcommittee of the House Dis- trict committee has looked over those small tracts of land which the Com- missifners desire added to the park systém of Washington at the earliest moment. The lands over which the snbcommittee traveled are the Patter- son tract and the Klingle and Piney Branch valleys. It is encouraging that members of the House District com- mittee should take time and trouble to visit these proposed parklands, and shows that they feel great interest in «this matter. They could have accepted the reasons which have been put forth as to the desirability of adding, these lands to the park system, and they could have seen much of the force of those reasons by locking at the map of Washington. They could have done all this without leaving their desks. But the fact that they set foot on the lands to make an examination shows that they are interested. They found conditions as represent- ed. They found that Klingle and Piney Branch valleys are natural parkland, and would be valuable as gateways to Rock Creek Park. They found that the Patterson tract would be of greater use to the people of ‘Washington as a park than in any other way. They found the situation as it has been told to Congress many | times. In the case of the Klingle par- | cel they saw a steep and narrow val- ley which widens as it nears Rock creek. A little stream which was once an impetuous brook divides two sec- tlons of the city already built up or fast bullding. It was long thought that this land could not be built on, but it has recently been taken over for building purposes, and the work of changing it into a section of brick and mortar is held up that Congress may have an- other chance to preserve it as a park and add an entrance from the west to Rock Creek Park. The valley of Piney Branch west of 16th street is wider than Klingle val- ley. The sides of the valley are grown with: timber, and an old road runs through the valley to Rock creek. Bullding encroaches on this land from the north and south. The plan of sav- ing part of Piney Branch valley east of 16th street is supported by many arguments. The value which the Pat- terson tract weuld add to the park system of the District has been point- ed out many times. It is noted in the news report that two of the visiting congressmen said that Congress should kave acquired these lands long ago. A good many years have passed since the people of the District urged that this be done. Reduce Taxes Now. It is inconceivable that there can be any sound objection to the pro- posal pending before the Senate finance committee to pass a joint res- olution in Congress for a flat 25 per cent reduction of income taxes, appli- cable to the installment payment due March 15. The reason for the suggestion is plain. The provision for such a re- duction is carried in the tax-revision bill which has already passed the House. It is evident, however, to every one that it will be impossible to get the revision bill on the statute books for many weeks, maybe months, ‘Why not, then, it is urged, take the 25 per cent reduction out of the bill and pass it at once? The propo- sition’ need not even lead to. pro- longed debate. It is so simple that he who runs can read. Most assuredly it is demanded by the people. The Treasury Department is favorable to it, and the loss of revenue has been calculated by the government fctuaries, Moreover, the Treasury Department points out that if the reduction, which is certain to come Igter, is postponed considerable confusion will result in ‘the refunding of taxes that have al- ready been paid. The point is also made that taxpayers are delaying pay- ments in the hcpe that they can get advantage of the reduction soon. Viewed from whatever angle, there- fore, the proposal 1s sound, and the Congress is justified in acting promptly. . —_——— Even should Mr. Daugherty decide to resign, there has been so much public discussion that much of the -sentiment in the letter of acceptance ‘would lose its effect. i ————————— “ The tax-reduction plan proposed by Secretary Mellon served the useful purpose of convincing Congress that something would have to be done in that direction as early as possible. Prince Georges Dens. Close upon the raid on an ‘over-the- line “resort” by Montgomery county law officers comes news that the law officers of Prince Georges county have “declared war to the finish against _gambling houses located within a few minutes’ ride of the Capitol, just over the District line.” There was really ‘no peed to mention the Capitol in this matter, because -the patroms or the victims of these piaces go to them from many parts of Washington. It is reported in The Star that “al- fegad proprictors .of three gambling houses, to which hundreds of Wash- ingtonlans journey nightly to return empty of pocket and remorseful of brought into the affair, but hints have | mind, have been arreated, the gam-|been made pointing in his eirection. | bling houses closed and the men ordered to appear for hearing before a justice of the peace at Upper Marl- boro.” It' is also sald- that “Alan Bowie of Brandywine, newly elected prosecyting attorney for Prince Georges country, is squarely behind the movement to abolish gambling houses in the county.” The clean-up will be in the interest of morals, and persons who have un- derstanding of the evil influence of betting places will give their encour- agement to the law officers. The clean- up movement ought to be accepted by the patrons of these vicious places as in their Interest. It is believed that fev; adventurers in these places ring up any winnings worth mentioning. Sometimes they win, for some win- nings must be thrown out as bait. The games played in these “resorts” are no better than bookmaking. A man has only to persist in any of them to lose his coat and socks. And sometimes he does nqt need much per- sistence, but drops his money quickly. If these over-theline gambling places depended for their patronage on the people of the county it is likely that they would close for good for lack of business. The District is directly concerned because the losses fall upon Washingtonians. Hence it is locally gratifying to note the activity on the part of the county authorities, ———————— “Good Citizens” and the Law. Evidence of a hysterical tendency to exaggerate and to imagine things induced by the disclosures of the navai oil investigation is furnished by statements made before congressional committees in the course of their va- rious and wide-spreading inquiries. There is no restraint. Generalities are pitched in the key of specific asser- tions. Broad indictments are being drawn by individuals. One of these instances has just oc- curred before the House judiciary committee, Where a speaker in oppo- sition to the child labor bill now un- der consideration declared: “Wash- ington i8 the most lawless city in the country.” To justify this astounding statement he went on: “You are shoot- ing United States senators in the street in the shadow of the Capitol, endeavering to enforce a law that is unenforceable.” Discounting the evident prejudice that inspired this remarkable declara- tion, it is needless to search for the degree of error in it. Yet it stands on the records of a congressional com- mittee as made and unchallenged at the time. Washington is branded as “‘the most lawless city in the country. The simple fact is worth repeat- ing: A man passing along the street at night was hit by a stray shot fired by officers of the law at fleeing boot- legzers. He chanced to be a member of the United States Senate. It was a most deplorable accident. The law was being broken and the law-enforce- ment officers were i3 the dis- charge of their duty, possibly made overzealous by taunting criticisms on the part of those who, though rated as high-standing citizens, are endeav- oring in every way to nullify that law, who violate it personally and encour- age its violation by others. If Washington is a lawless city— and every city has its meed of law- lessness, for the millennium has not arrived—it is in large measure due to the constant disregard of the law by persons of eminent position and per- sons of accepted social standing. It is due to their desire to see the law nullified, not by regular processes, but by breaking down the methods of en- forcement. But Washington is not the most lawless city in the country. And those ‘who declare it to be so deny them- selves the right of respectful consid- eration for any cause they may es- pouse. For they betray their complete inability to state conditions as they exist. —_——————— ‘When American statesmen can be misled as they were by the Doheny in- terests there is a natural disinclination to leave the unsophisticated Filipinos burdened with too much unfamiliar responsibility. —_———— Stage hands are to give Equity ac- tors full support. They are masterful allies. If stage hands decide to quit work- all argument ends so far as the immediate performance is concerned. ———— Progress is reported by Gen. Smed- ley Butler's forces, but the job of re- forming Philadelphia is taking a few days more than was at first thought necessary. ———eme————— In the excitement over oil the pub- lic forgot its indignation concerning the price of anthracite and other fuels: One way to keep a profound secret from the government is to borrow the code of the Department of Justice. —————e The Ludendorff Trial. An amusing development has oc- curred in the trial of Ludendorfr, Hitler and other participants in the Bavarian “beer-hall putsch” of last November. The chief prosecutor, an. noyed by the attacks and criticisms of the counsel for the defense, de- clared that he was no longer willing to continue the prosecution and left the case. Thus far the trial has been conducted in secret, and there is no public knowledge of just what has oc- curred behind the closed doors. But evidently a lively time has been had. Republican newspapers have declared that the trial is the most scandalous ever conducted in’Germany, and it is being urged that it be transferred to the state court at Leipzig. Intimation is given that ome of the points of dispute relates to the fallure of the chief prosecutor to bring charges against von Kahr and his as- soglates, who, it is alleged, were im- plicated in the “putsch.” Political considerations, it would appear, are strong factors in the case. Luden- dorff and Hitler are claiming, through thelr counsel, that they are the “goats” of the prosecution. Evidently they were betrayed by somebody “higher up.” The name of Crown Prince Rupprecht, in whose interest the Tevolt was supposed to have been undertaken, has not yet been directly, It may be for this rekson that & move will be made to transfer the trial from Munich to Leipzig. At the outset of this case it was predicted that it would lead nowhere, that Ludendorff would be let off with a reprimand, and Hitler, who is an Austrian, would probably be sentenced to banishment from Bavaria. Perhaps aot even those consequences will fol- low, for the trial seems to be fliv- vering. - ———— Signboards at the Gates. A fight on disfiguring signboards has been started by the Arlington County Civic Federation. That or- ganization has adopted a resolution declaring these signs along the county highways, and especially at the end of the Key and Highway bridges, to be a public nuisance. There 1s justification for this protest, and it is to be hoped that the county citizens will persist in their endeavor to rid the roads, especially at the very gateways of the Capital, of these dis- figurements. In some cases these great sign- boards actually obscure the vision and increase the dangers of the roads. They .are huddled at the corners so close to the highways that a view of drivers is blocked. They are planted Wwherever permission can be obtained for their placement. Often this puts them close to the roadsides, sometimes in a solid row. Apart, however, from the question of interfering with the traffic is the matter of their inartistic appearance. ‘They are a'blight on the landscape The best of them is a blot on the scene, and many of them are positive- ly hideous. They are of very doubtful value to their owners and users. They simply fill the open spaces with blatant colors and cause more annoyance than interest. The approaches to Washington should be cleaned of these disfigure. ments, and the people of this city owe a debt of gratitude to their neighbors of the Virginla community for moving thus to free the Capital's gateways of these nuisances. —_——— New York and Grade Crossings. There is a strong sentiment in the state of New York for solving the grade crossing problem in the only way it can be solved, which is by abolishing the grade crossing. There is public indignation against grade crossings, but it takes more than pub- lic indignation to get rid of these dan- gers. It takes money and it means taxes, Some time ago the New York public service corporation reported that there were 4,000 grade crossings in the state which ought to be abol- ished and that it would cost about $400,000,000 to do it. New York already has a law that when it is determined to do away with a grade crossing half the cost must be paid by the railroad, one-quarter of the cost by the state and the remajnder of the cost by the local community that is directly bene- fited. It has been held that the rail- roads, state and communities cannot undertake on a cash payment basis the elimination of all the grade cros: ings in the state. The legislature has a proposal submitted to it by Gov. Smith that the state issue bonds to pay the full cost of the work and assess one-half of the cost against the railroads and one-quarter of the cost against the communities, giving them a long period in which to pay their share of the charges for the great work, Meanwhile the railroads and the communities will bear their proper share of the interest charge on the bonds. So much opposition is felt in New York against grade cross- {ngs that the plan to get rid of them at one stroke may be adopted. ——— A number of statesmen would be content to organize a new party and allow the two old ones to pass the summer investigating each other. During this oil agitation the esteemed Dr. Coue is not saying a word. ———— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNEON. Intellectual Exhaustion. ‘When language thick and fast Has been paraded, And repartee at.last Is growing faded, Though lingering dismay Men cannot smother, All that is left to say Is “You're another.” ‘The argument is stale, The mind is weary, Thought 1s of no avall, Life is uncheery; Our fellow man no more Seems like a brother, ‘When all that he can roar Is “You're another!” Comfortless Coin, “Do you think a man could live in comfort on & hundred thousand dol- lars?” “Hardly,” answered Benator Sor- ghum; “certainly not if he had to stand an investigation as to how he got 1 Jud Tunkins says a good-natured man may be imposed on, but he stands a better chamce of evening up his Juck than & grouch. Mark of Durability. If as a governmental elf A life job pleased my humor, I think I'd go and get myself A resignation rumor. Feminine Wisdom. “Why do you insist that women have more wisdom about politics than men?" “For the reason,” said Miss Cayenne, “that so many more women than men know enough not to run for office.” No Credit. A bootlegger’s business is all cash. “Has to be,” commented Uncle Bill Bottletop. “‘How does he know whether @ customer is going to be alive next |2 day?” “De only time you can persuade some men to admit dey don’t know ' mos’ everything,” sald Uncle Eben, “is when you git 'em on de Witness stand. CAN YOUR TAXES A Series of BE CUT? Articles on .the Cost of Government; Where the Money Goes, and Why. ————— BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR, Author of “Can Europe Hold Together?” The Department of the Interier. The Department of the Interfor ‘was established In 1849. It started with just four bureaus: The general land office, taken from the Treasury Department; the Indlan office, taken from the War Department; the bu- reau of pensions, also from the War Department, and the patent office, from the State Department. Many other duties of government during the suoceeding seventy-five years have been added to the Interior Department—some Important, like the reclamation service; some unim- portant. But the four original bu- reaus are still the blg Important spending bureaus in the Department of the Interior. Dr. Hubert Work fs the present secretary. When Wil Hava resigned as Postmaster General in March, 1922, his first assistant, Dr. Work, became postmaster general. Then when Al. rt B. Fall resigned as Secretary of the Interior, March 5, 1923, Dr. Work ez hifted from his osition as Post- eneral to thal ecre of the Interior. ey r. Work {s from the west—Colo- rado. He can be seen at his office in the magnificent new Interior Bullding without a previous appoint- ment. He is the most accessible to the public of the nine members of the cabinet. “There are two kinds of minds in Washington,” declared Dr. Work, slowly, in réply to my question as to where taxes could be cut. “The or- ganized mind and the organizing mind. N6w the organized mind is needed, useful an careful. It I8 strong on details. It works on precedent. The vast majority of workers in the public service are of this kind. “The organizing mind is different. It in very rare, It may be poor on detail, poor on order, but It is the one which spots the leaks. It is the one great need in the public service today.” Land Office Gave Billions. But let us see what this big Inte- rior Department does, outside of Ine dian affairs and peasions. These bu- reaus will be taken up in our next article. There {s the general land_ office. It is a very old bureau. It was organized in 1812 under the Treasury Department. The Secretary in his 1923 report Llists 57 distinct accom- plishments of the land office for the year. Probably no bureau in the whole range of history has handed over to the citizens, free of charge, such stupendous wealth In the form of agricultural land, mineral land, oil land and timber land, For the fiscal year 1923 a total of $2.844,000 was spent by this office. This amount is increased by approximately $100,000 In_the estimates for 1924, It is safe to say that If the vast land wealth had been conserved for the people and not exploited for pri vate gain this department today could pay all the,civil expenses of the federal government. The total value of ‘the natural wealth given away will reach many, many billions of dollars. Many people now believe this pol- fey was dead wrong. They contend that all these vast resources should have been conserved for future gen- erations and that no lands In fee of any character should have been given v ave what is now left,” “lease what may be ab- solutely necessary but give no more land away.” Then ‘there is the geological sur- was organized as a bureau This bureau classifies all lands, examines and reports the geologic structure, mineral re- sources and mineral products of the national domain. For some years it has been engaged in making a geo- loglo map of the United States and Alaska involving vast_ topographic and geologic surveys. It is colle ing each year statistics on mineral production” and conducting investiga- tions relating to_surface and under- ground waters. The Secretary in his 1923 report relates forty-seven im- portant phases of this work carried on in 1923. It is a large, important work, having a_ wide appeal. The bureaus "received 340.000 letters 1923 and sent out 1,400,000 pleces of mail and spent $1.413000. The esti- mate for 1924 s about $300,000 more. Government Gets Royalties. The bureau of the mines is another division. Its activities are wide in scope. It deals with the whole prob- lem of mining and mining conditions, treatment of ores, oil and gas. It concerns itself with tests and analy- ses of coals, lignites, ores; it admin- isters all regulations governing the production of coal, oil, gas and phos- phate from lands mined under gov- ernment lease. For Instance, 37,894,000 barrels of oil were produced ‘on 'the public do- main in 1923, which yielded royalties to the government of 7,647,000 bar- rels, valued at §10,244,000. The Secretary mentions sixty dls- tinct activities of this bureau in his report for 1923. A total of $4,124,000 Answers Bonus Friend. Compensation Measure Foe Says ower Claims in Error. To the Editor of The Star: I have read very carefully in The Star of February 25 Mr. John R. Dower’'s answer to my letter of Feb- ruary 15. I regret that he finds the anti-bonus “propaganda” unconvinec- ing in tone. However, that is char- acteristic of all propaganda as viewed by an opponent. I camnot give him statistics regarding the proportion of officers above the rank of captain in the Ex-Service Men's Antl-Bonus League, but I do know from seelng the memberships as they come in that they are a negligible percentag I note with some amusemept tha he credits our advisory council with two generals and one colonel, actually are not on this council nor the national administrative board. Whether or not they are members 1 do not know. However, this error Is not so surprising when the source of information is given. Mr. Dower’'s recollection as to the proportion of veterans in the Ameri- can Legion is In error. On the basis of paid-up membership the leglon had last fall slightly over 400,000 veter- ns in its ranks. This is somewhat Jess than 10 per cent of the total of 4,500,000 of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Army Nurse Corps. The twenty-five American Legion posts opposed to the bonus when I wrote my_previous letter have been augmented to sixty-five—an extreme- 1y small percentage of American Le- fon posts, to be sure, but neverthe- ess satisfactory evidence that the American Legion membership is far from united, in -its demand for a PO e fact that a minority of mem- bers of the various veterans' organi zations, comprising all told not in ex- s of 16 per cent of the total of rvice men, have placed their organ- izations on’ record as w-';':;;?,f Ane not in an: O stantia) mumber, much less & of all veterans desire a bonus. usually join an organization whoa they have an ax to grind. It s not unreasonsble to suppose that practl all the veterans who de- sire the bonus would be glad to in- vest the small sum involved in legion mombership, Wwith the prospect of was spent by this bureau for the flscal year 1923 This s cut t $1.799.000 for 1924. An item for 1923 of $2,309.000 “for adjustment and pay- ment of mineral olaims” does not appear for 1924, The national park of the nineteen natlonal parks and the seventeen national monumiente: The Secretary enumerates in his 1923 report twenty-eight activities of this divislon during the year. A total of :g}qulxxoo_rwmu japent in 1923 by this . s i increawed by almost $125.000 for 1924, * The patent office was first organ- Ized as & bureau of the State Depart- ment In_ 1836, and became @ bureau of the Inferior Department on the foundation of the latter in 1849. This bureau has charge of the adminis- tration of all patent laws and .su- pervision of all matters relating to the granting of letters patent for in- ventors, For 1923 the number of ap- plications toral 102,188, The patent office sells 200.000 coples of patents a month. For the fiscal year 1923 this bureau spent $2,149,000, and {s asking for $200.000 more for 1924, However, it Is more than self-supporting, for 1923 Its recelpts were $3.026,000, Reclamation Funds a Loan. The reclamation service is one of the most Important In the depart- ment. It was organized in 1902. This service mays that 1,202,130 acres of land were Irrigated In 1922, The to- tal value of crops produced thereon was $60,300,000. This service operated more than 14,000 miles of canals, ditches and drains, 600 miles of pipe line, 140 miles of flume, A total of §5,659,000 wa# spent in this bureau in the fiscal year 1923. This will increase to an_estimated amount of $11,919,000 for 1924. These funds, however, which are put into these |irrigation projects are only loaned to the farmers. Provision is ot to_carry out the work. This has been one of the most useful departments of the government. The Alaskan engineering commis- sion was created by Congress in March, 1914, to build a railroad from the interior of Alaska to one or more open seaports on the co This work was entrusted to three engi- neers appointed by the President. They began the work of construction in 1915 and completed it in the early summer of 19 a total by the government States in building this Alaska rail- road. During the fiscal year 1923 a total of $4.472,000 was spent on this government railroad. Thig figure | cut down to an estimated $2,7 for 1924, From present plans the governm does not expect to invade the re of private enterprise in_operating this rallroad. Secretary Work says in his report for 1923 that “in order to encourage private Investment the Alaska railroad has recently coal mining . A as possible the Al be divested of all its other extrane- ous activities not directly related to its primary function, viz. the manu- facture and sale of transportation. Has Charge of Two Territories. ‘The United States still has two ter- ritories, Alaska and Hawaii. These are under the supervision of the De- partment of Interior. Both the gov- erning of Alaska and the governing of Hawall are under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior. A total of $793.000 was spent in these two territories out of the federal treasury This is to be decreased by $100,000 for 1924 er, far more than Since the organiza- i as a territory it has paid into the United Si ates Treasury more than_ $100.000,00 the During, the United States government, how much? Just $16.000,000. The Department 'of the Interior distributes $2.550,000 each year to col- leges for agricuiture and mechanics: its bureau of education cost $1 for 1923, which is Increased by $33, for 1924. Salaries and printing in the department proper (excluding those in the pension bureau and In- dian affairs) add $5,935,000. Certain public_institutions plie up $1,132,000 more for 1923, Then there are certaln specfal and trust funds set aside (like the civil service retirement fund of $7.673,000 for 1923), which total approximately $10,400,000. These can hardly be classified as expenditures. Altogether, leaving out of account pensions, Indian affairs and trust funds, the department spent $31,- 329,000 for the fiscal year 1923. This is Increased by approximately $5,- 300,000 for 1924, On the other hand the department receipts exclusive of trust funds were $16,410.000. The net cost of the Department of the Interior —exclusive of Indian affairs and pen- sions—was about §15,000,000 for the fiscal vear 1923. (Copyright, 1924, is U, 8. and Great Britain ¢ N American Newspaper Alliance. reserved.) Tomorrow: The cost of the Indians. by North All rights Asks Large Annuity. Writer Also Favors Provision for | g, ‘Workers’ Dependents. To the Editor of The Star: As an erhploye of the government and one interested In the subject of the annuity to be glven when one reaches the retirement age, I wish to thank you for the strong editorlals that are belng written asking for larger amounts than the maximum sum now given annuitants. The suggestion is nothing more than what is just, since there is ac- cumulating an enormous amount taken trom the salaries of government em- ployes who seem to be the omly ones to be benefited as annuitants while they live. Should any of these con- tributors die before they become benefited, no provision is made to take care of their dependents, such as wife or children, from whom moneys are being taken to maintain the fund from which annuitants are paid. It would seem a just and equitable plan that, inasmuch as the fund | Woods, Not Words BY JOHN CARLYLE, Eighty-one million acres of forest land—land which is not good for anything except to raise forests— have been cut bare of trees. With reforestation mostly a matter of con- versation In the United States, the time Is rapidly coming when we must demand woods and not words. Regders of trade journals read ad- vertisements not long ago calling at- sorvice hap[tention to the ability of Germany to charge of the work of supervision |furnish print paper to American cus- tomers. The whole area of Germany is less than that of Texas. So far has the German policy of reforesta- tion gone, over a long period of years, that there Is pulp-wood to spare and to expért. Norway and Sweden are little coun- tries compared with the United States, and yet these Scandinavian countries maintain a steady stream of print paper flowing to the publishers of this country. It is made from the wood which a wise conservation and replanting policy has made it pos- sible to produce. Print paper is only one of the prod- ucts of wood. Your home, your city, your state and your nation without wood—without a plentiful supply of wood—is almost unimaginable. Think of the patient years that have produced a tree and that are necessary. to produce another tree! Think of the certainty of a tree crop, once we have become sufficlently in- telligent to raise tree: Think with what ruthless waste we have hewn down, without replanting, the splen- did forests of this rich and productive land of ours! Canada, fortunately for American Wood users, is many years ahead of the United States in reforestation policy. Leases on the crown lands of Canada, now in control of the great forest-cutting concerns of the north, require that timber must be replanted, foot for foot. About all we know about grow- Ing new forests in the United States we learn from Presidents’ messages. To the credit of all recent administra- tions it is to be said that they have been for a strong reforesatation polley. Congress has too many political problems to solve. It hasn't time to think of tomorrow's timber supply. The preservation of woods and the growing of woods in the countries of Europe is a government matter. It is recognized as a matter vital to the welfare, the progress and the happiness of the people. We must take time to regard it so In America and to act in accordance. Timber barons are heading us to- ward a treeless nation. It is time that the government laid down an unmistakable program that will bulld gain and again the rich, replaceable resources of this lind, andpreserve for our children a part of the great wealth we have inherited from na- = (Copyright, 1024.) Defends Statement. Bonus Advocate Takes Issue With C. of C. Writer’s Claim. To the Editor of The Star: I have before me a letter which was published in The Star of Febru- ary 29, 1924, signed by Mr. Frank C. Page, in which he shows by detalled figures my error in stating that & referendum vote of the United States Chamber of Commerce on the adjust- ed compensation measure now before Congress resulted in a vote of 4,116 for and 2,657 against this bill. While acknowledging my error, due to mis- Information, I must disagree with Mr. Page In his assertion that my state- ment is in “absolute contravention of the facts.” Instead, my statement was correct in fact, though in error as to the exaot vote. The adjusted compensation bill, as most people are aware, consists of four optlons, as follow: 1. Farm aid, either through provid- land on reclamation projects for ex-gervice men or advancing cash to be applied to the purchase of a farm. . Home aid, by advancing cash to be applied to purchase or construce tion of homes. 3. Vocational education, by pay- ment of tuition for ex-service men, in any school or college. 4. Adjusted service credits, in the form of certificates, payable In twenty years. The maximum amount, according to length of service, is $625. A fifth op- tion was provided, to take care of men whose adjustment amounted to 350 or less, to the effect that these men were to be paid in cash. . The information given by Mr. Page shows the following vote by mem- bers of the United States Chamber of Commerces: Optlon. Total. For. 172" 12505 1,028 1,879, 48, © 5 Certificates 1,009 72 Totals.... 6,18 © The above figures will illustrate the fact that the United States Chamber of Commerce, by their rule that a two-thirds vote {8 necessary to com- mit them either for or against any proposal, stands committed to sup- port optlons 1 and 3, in favor of, though not committed to support op- tion 2, and against option 4. Reduced to totals of the entire bill, the vote was 60 per cent, or 4,120.5, r and 40 per cent or 2,69 against, almost the exact figures I quoted In my previous letter. These figures were taken from a magazine with a national circulation and were no doubt arrived at in this manner. In the closing paragraph of Mr. Page's letter he states that his body s committed to oppose the adjusted compensation bill by an adverse vote on one of its options. He says noth- ing concerning the fact that the United States Chamber of Commerce is_committed to favor two of the options by a two-thirds vote, or that 60 per cent of their members favored option 2. I have yet to hear this body advocate either of the proposals to which they were committed as a re- sult of this referendum. JOHN R. DOWER. Charges Ball Measure Unjust; Asks Change To the Editor of The Star; Can any fair-minded person belleve that the owner of a house should be made up of the money contributed b; jdeprived of the opportunity to rent the people themselves, and since the mame because a man occupying a government is too parsimonious in its ‘basement room which he furnishe: dealings with its worn-out servants, they make provision for their fam himself refuses to vacate In order ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS I BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN I Q. Is there a difference in tolls for a vessel passing through the Panama canal without passengers or cargo?— I3 w. A. Vessels in ballast without pas- sengers or cargo pay 40 per cent less than the rate of tolls for vessels with passengers and cargo. Merchant ves- sels carrying passengers or Cargo pay $1.20 per net vessel ton—each 100 cu- bic feet—on actual earning capacity. 9., How many rooms are there in Tut-ankh-Amen’s tomb?—F. §. A, There are four. Q. What s the national flower of Belglum?—H. A. G. A. The Belglan embassy says that no flower has been adopted as the na- tional flower of Belgium. The per- sonal flower of Queen Elizabeth is the forget-me-not. Q. How many concerns are there in | this country ihat mandfacture air- planes?—G. L T. A. In 1921 there were twenty-one establishments in the United States engaged in the manufacture-of dir- planes, seaplanes, airships and parts. e . Please ou: Planta—t w o 0¢ 18 lesyminous A. Balley’s Encyclopedia Bays thiat there “are about 1,00 spacies of 16- guminous plants. The most commen are alfalfa, beans, clover, vetch and peas. Q. What does Maun: — U s Loa meant. A. Mauna Loa is Hawaflan for long mountain. Q. What is included in a New Eng- land boiled dinner?—T. M. A. Corned_beef, potatoes, carrots, turnips, cabbage astd enions are the .| usual ingredients of a New England Q. What does “tao” mean?—E, L. L. A. Authorities differ concerning the interpretation of the word ‘tao.” Broadly speaking, it may be defined as the proper, the right road, a con- duct of life 'designed to give the greatest individual happiness. Tao- ism is a system of phllosophy whose greatest exponent was Lao-tse, who embodies his teachings in a book Tao- teh-king, supposed to have been writ- ten shortly before he went into re- tirement. He.taught that contempla- tion, reason, avoidance of force and disregard of mere ceremonies are the means of regeneration. Q. How many world war are now in our hospitals?—G. A. The Veterans' Bureau says that there are 24,155 disabled world war yataracs In hospitals at the present time. veterans . A, Q. Why are criminals executed at sunrise?—J. A. A. It is quite customary for such executions to take place as early as possible on the date named by the court, and the custom of waiting un- til daylight undoubtedly originated among the military, in order that the ; .l:n of the firing squad might be cer- tain. Q. What percentage of the popula. tlon of Baltimore is colored?—Lu N. ¢ A. Of the 733,826 inhablitants of Bal- timore, 17.9 per cent are colored. Q. What was Dolly Madison's maiden name?—L. G. A. Dolly Madison at the time of her marriage to’'James dison was a young widow, Dorothy Payne Todd, daughter of John and Mary (Coles) Payne of North Carolina and a widow of John Todd. Her maternal grand- mother was a granddaughter of Sir Thomas Fleming, one of the plonaer settlers of Jamestown. Upon the death of her first husband, Mrs. Todd lived with her mother and assisted her in keeping a boarding house in Philadelphia. One of her mother's boarders was James Madison, repre- gentative from Virginia in the Third Congress. In 1794 Mrs. Todd and Madison married. Q. Upon what occasion was Pinck- ney's exclamation, “Millions for de. fense, but not one cent for tribute,” used as a toast?—A. M. H. A. A public banquet was given in New York in honor of John Marshall, who arrived in that city June 1793, after his eventful trip to France. Upon this occasion Pinckney's fa- mous reply to the French directory in 1796 was used as a toast. Q. How much stone is Great Stone mountain?—W. A. This mountain is composed of 7,600,000,000 cublo feet of dark gran- ite. there in T. IN TODAY’S boiled dinner. Semetimes galt pork or & ham bone is used as a basis for such a disn. S Q. What gave the iridescence to £lass found In anclent ruin T. P. A. This glase was not artificlally colored. The action of the moisture of the earth caused decompositipn of the glass, by which minute scales Wwere formed on its surface. Q. Wers any of the locomotives sent to France during the war sent ready for use?—V. Q. S. A. For the first time in history American locomotives were shipped across the Atlantic stacked on their own wheels. Upon the arrival of the first _consignment ~Gen. Pershing cabled “Shipment of erected locomo- tives transmitted on the Feltore very satisfactory. * ¢ *" Wive hundred and fifty-three locomotives went over in this manner. . What Is meant by Pollice Versc? | I think it is the name of a picture. —A H. 8. A. This famous painting by Gerome 15 that of the victor in a gladiatorial contest standing over his vanquished rival, looking toward the spectators for thelr verdict. They are repre- sented with thumbs down (the latter being the meaning of the words Pol- lice Verso), which signal meant death to the defeated. A well known philologist has passed the opinion ’ that the “thumb symbolized the short Roman sword, and the gesture which meant the death of the vanquished j Eladlator was given by turning the hand over, Into an unnatural pos tion, with ‘the thumb (sword) point- |In& at the defeated man.” Q. How ors?—F. Y. A. The stud books recognize the following colors in horses: roan, dunm, bay, brown, black and chestnut. Usually the variations of these colors are not recorded. are horses classed for col- guw long will a dollar bill last? A. The life of an ordimary dollar biil - averages 1.12 years. one- (Frederic J. Haskin is e ed b this paper (o Randle . the inpuey 2 our readers and you are invited to cail u{mn him as freely and as often as Yyou piease. Ask anything ihat i a matter of fact and the authority will be quoted you. There is no charge for this service. Aok what you want, sion Your Full e and adircss and ”inolos & cents s for _return postage. ' Addres Frederic J. Hoskin, Director. The ftar reau, 1220 N o tol strect.) DorN: Cagt SPOTLIGHT BY PAUL V. COLLINS Judging from the way in which serious-minded statesmen and scien- tists have turned to detective stories for relaxation, it is mnot surprising that the public generally is prone to surround the work of the secret serv- ice with highly colored romance and mystery of the most thrilling nature. Detective work in actual life re- sembles the detective stories about as closely as a stage reporter with pen- cil and notebook In hand button- holing a statesman, a soclety lady and a murderer in promiscuous and undiscriminating succession resem- bles the hardworking newsgatherer in actual! journalism. What 1s the gecret service of the Department of Justice? * Kk k Until 1908 the only federal secret service was connected with the Treasury Department. Its operators were often borrowed by the Depart- ment of Justice, but the main work was to look after counterfelters and protect the person of the President. That continues to be the work of the Treasury’s secret service. In 1308 there were members of Con- gress who could see behind every tree in the parks a spy of the gov- ernment watching and prying into thelr goings and comings. Condi- tions were compared to those of the French revolutionary days, when sples were everywhere. A new Na- poleon—an American relative of the Little Corporal—Attorney General Bonaperte, inspired the establish- ment of the secret service of the De- partment of Justice, when, in his an- nual report of 1907, he pointed out the necessity of looking.into facts of crime other than monetary. He was vigorously supported by the “First Consul” of his day, President Roose- welt, and the result was the inclusion in the sundry civil awrfibfln:;:n act, 5 rst si c ap- the secret service of the Department of Justice. A paragraph in Attor- ney General wlll%!::;_smma report for “'?z ?::‘;A'yos before July 1, 1908, under the direction of my predeces- sor, the first active steps were taken toward the organization in this de- partment of & comprehensive investi- gation service, for the purpose of collecting evidence for the use of the government in cases pending or about to be commenced in the fed- eral courts, and algp for the purpose of making other Examinations and investigations as the business of the lies in case they die before becom- |that the entire premises may befdepartment might require. ing benefited. |1eased to a yearly tenant. Yet this is It would not be amiss to see what yq¢ what the Ball rent act did to the plans could be made to give the m nor children of annuitants a small |Writer, who Is not a profiteer, but amount until they reach the age of jwho merely Is trying to reduce her fifteen years. It should be considered that what- iresponsibilitles by taking a smaller (today there ever amount is deducted from the Place to live and leasing her home. salaries of government. employes is so much taken from the support of the family, and in making adjustment of the amount the annuitant shall re- ceive as an increase the family who might outlive the annuitant should ' | beit The Municipal Court has held that under the Ball rent law, because this man has a little furniture in a room for which he pays $10 a month rent while drawing a salary of $1,800 a year from the government, he cal n also held in mind and be provided for. |thus prevent the owner from securing H. E. BARNETT. such a splendid return on the invest- ment. That the number of veterans en- rolled in the America: on has | The owner 1 |for a mean: tenant for the houst dependent upon this rent of livelihood, and the sympathy of the Rent Commissi a permanen o |the District of Columbia is entirely th a_ tenant of this , and the X’éner“nn no redress but'to swallow tallen off instead of increasing since jtheir Injustice. d the legion took its bonus stand is the best evidence of the lack of desire for a bonus. That 8o few have join Anti-Bonus League_ for - the plrposs of maintaining that the desire o tho seldier 1z, above all things, to kee his service record clean : indicates: t! utter in rvice men, generally mass ex. view the whole bonus controversy. CHARLES 1. STANTON, ' i | with which the Vast [rent act were Some of those who are advocating the extension of the Rent Commission he ‘probably are not aware of the hard- under which' smull property, o are, 1aboring becauss of ity existence. The emergency for which the Rent Commission and -the reats Ing pass the law of “supply and demand’ uld now prevail. sho! ALY The personnel of the “bureau of in- vestigation,” as it was officially deslg- pated, consisted of twenty-two agents and twelve examiners. The number has increased, year after year, until s an agent covering every community throughout the United States, and reporting to a dis- trict chief in each of some fifty dis- tricts. How many such investigators there are is ome of the ‘“secrets. There are not enough, in view of the rapld increase of crime, particularly of communism and radicalism, but the several hundred at work are thor- oughly organized and used most ef- ficiently.” Each ‘operator.reports daily. ‘mot only to his district ~chief, but, through the chief, to headquarters in ‘Washington, Hia report is nernunh:} in both "offices and his work check for thorpughness and intelligence. { PP The office of 'the service. recetves dsily many lettérs regarding alleged crimss. * None- ls overfeoked, not . even, In cases of “white slavery,” from June, 1910, to July 1, 1928, there have E. LYDDANGZ, lbeen 3,912 convictions, with fines Bggregating $412,551 and totaling 2,313 S sentences etween October, 1919, an 1923, the Gacret cervlcs ricomerer e stolen motor vehicles, $4 686,793.20. ere will soon be organized nection ‘with Washingion: heagque ters a central office for filing &l ger prints and other means of identi- flcation, &0 that such means of fol- lowing "criminals will be centralised and available instantly throughopt the world, through wireless bhotog- raphy, by which finger prints even portraits can be transmitted. through the ether to every on In America. Many veterans of the world war are being rehabilitated by o training in finger print identifica- tion. * % k% Crime s increasing in America—es- pecially radicalism and treason. There exist no reliable statistics covering the entire country as to crime, but certaln great cities have local data, and the law of averages Is known to be so reliable that even from such a cross-section of facts it is recognized that crime is growing formidable. The radical propaganda inspired by the third internationale, centering in Russla, is so dangerous in Amerfea that it requires close watching. The alleged organ published in this coun- try used to appear weekly, but it s now published daily and fts clp- culation 1 Increasing. The third in- ternationale seeks the overthrow of all government and the upbullding of communistic soviet control. The following excerpt is from the program of the communists: _ “The fourth world congress (1922) calls upon the proletarians of the as yet capitalist countries, inspired by the example of soviet Russla, to strike a death blow against capital- ism, and to do their utmost for the world revolution.” Another excerpt: “Should the entire capitalism of Europe glve way under the hammer- stroke of the working class, there would still remain the capltailsm o! Asia, headed by the robbers of Japan, and the capitallsm of America, head- ed by the enormous robbers’ league named the United States of America. ® ® ® The program of the com- munfst party is not only a program for the liberation of the proletariat of one country—it i{s a program for the liberation of the &eoples of the entire world * * * Ve " adopt the method of supporting the interna- tional revolution of the whole world, the method of supporting uprisings in the colonies of these peoples.” From the above it is evident that the fundamental intent of the socinl- ists and communists s to. foment un- r and crimes of. violence. Thesa are watched by agents of the secret service, who often become members of the organizations for the purpose of keeping In touch with thelr Dlllg. * ok K ok According to Sir Basil Thompsor, head of Scotland Yard, London, one American out of every 12,000 is mur- dered, while In England only one out of 634,000 is 8o killed. Americans are the most violent people in the clvil- ized world, as shown by crimes of violence, but they are more honest than the English—there are fower cases of fraud and forgery per hup- dred thousand in America than in England, as Sir Basil testifies, + One of the most experienced war- dens of & penitentiary told the pres- ent writer that there 18 one crime of which the perpetrator never reforms. It is {"fl‘"’ The forger always at- tributes- his. detection to a bit of his own capelessness and he al he .can avold valued fin- (Copyright, 1024, by Paul V', Collinaj