Evening Star Newspaper, May 20, 1924, Page 6

“THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. ' TUESDAY.........May 20, 1924 THEODORE W. NOYES. . . . Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Busiyess Office, 11th §t. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Office: 110 East 42nd St, Chicago Office: Tower Building. Turopean Office: 16 RegentSt., London, England. The Evening Star, with the Suiday morning edition, is delivered by carriers within the city af 60 cents per mooth: daily only, 45 cents per month: Sunday oniy. 20 cents’ pe month.’ Orders may be sent by mail or tele- phone Main 5000, ~Coilection is made by car- Tiers at the end of each menth. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance, Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..15r., $8.40; 1 mo. Daily only. . 15, $6.00: 1 mo. Sunday only 151, $2.40; 1 mo. All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00: 1 mo., 85¢ Daily only . 1¥r, $7.00; 1 mo., 60c Sunday only. 1yr, $3.00;1mo, Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exelusively entitied o the use for republication of all news dis patches credited 10 it or not otherwise credited n this paper and also the local news pub- Tighed herein. Al rights of publication of wpecial dispatches herein are also reserved. —_— The President Deserted. In December President Coolidge presented to Congress a program which was based upon a reduction of the tax burden, permitted by the pres ent surplus of revenues over the nor- mal expenditures. He explicitly stated that he did not believe in the granting of a bonus to ex-service men, which would entail a heavy addition to the government's expenses and would be reduction. The | ry of the Treasury laid before House of Representatives a tax- which, on a scien- tific basis, would ¢ffect a lessening of the revenues without a deficit. The House proceeded to frame a tax- revision bill differing in many respects and departing from the actuarial prin- viples of the Treasury plan. Notwith- standing the country-wide belief that tax revision is inconsistent with bonus granting, the House then pressed to passage a4 bonus measure differing somewhat in principle from the orig- inal plan by substituting insurance for cash in most cases. In consequence of what can be regarded only as legis- lative jockeying inspired by political motives this bonus bill was passed by hoth houses in advance of the tax- * revision measure and was laid before the President first. He vetoed it, in a message which plainly showed that the Treasury could not endure the strain of a bonus, even of the modified character proposed. Yesterday the Senate, following similar action by the House on Satur- day, passed the bonus bill over the veto of the President by a narrow but sufficient margin. The majority of the vote to override the veto came from the Republican side of the chamber, thirty to twenty-seven Democrats and two Farmer-Labor senators. The bill now becomes a law. In a few days the tax-revision bill will be laid before the President, ef- fecting a measure of revenue reduc- tion which cannot now be computed, but which may bring the govern- ment's income below the point of meeting the ordinary expenses plus the initial cost of the bonus. The para- mount question today is, Can the President consistently, properly and with due regard for his responsibility as the Chief Executive sign that bill if it does not assure the government the revenues that are required? Opin- jons differ on the point of the adequacy of revenue provision as the bill is now shaped. Hope prevails that a sufficient margin will be provided to warrant the President in giving his approval. Criticism of Mr. Coolidge as having failed to “lead” his party in Congress along the line of constructive, con- sistent legislation is obviously dictated by partisan coosiderations. He has acted in the bonus matter as he will doubtless act respecting the tax bill, not as a Republican nor as the prospec- tive candidate of the Republican party for the presidency, but as the Presi- dent of the United States. Had he been “playing politics” as such a pros- pective candidate he might without discredit at least have allowed the honus bill to become a law without his signature. But there is nothing in Mr. Coolidge's career to indicate a disposition to “play politics” in the face of principle. It is not to his dis- eredit that the members of the party in Congress which named him as Vice President in 1920, and which will name him for President in 1924, have failed to follow him in his course of states- manship. Rather is it they who have Played politics, who have voted as they thought perhaps some voters of their states might prefer on the bonus question, disregarding the voters in the country at large, the people who are to carry the burden of the bonus ‘in sustained high taxes, possibly in- creased taxes. Political histor is making here in ‘Washington these days. The Presi- dent has, it would seem, been deserted by his party on a vital question. In a few months it will be shown whether that desertion will cost him the presi- dency and will deprive the country of the services of an able, courageous and consistent Executive. ———— The resignation of Ambassador Cyrus E. Woods is to be regretted. A tactful man with all possible advan- tages of personal acquaintance. is es- pecially needed in Tokio as the repre- sentative of this government at this time. ——————————— Differences of opinion are becoming 8o direct in the United States Senate that senatorial courtesy itself may .. yet be threatened. . e A e the reduction measure 'peace settlement of the act of 19; York. They were good pictures, that is to say, they were capable of news- peper reproduction, perhaps not quite as “snappy” as reproductions from the direct photograph, but still re- markable in their clearness and fidel- ity. The test is declared to be a suc- cess. Meanwhile, efforts are being made to transmit not merely “‘still” photo- graphs but motion pictures by radio. A number of inventors are at work upon this problem, and from time to time promises are made that results will shortly be demonstrated. Only “laboratory” products have tHus far come. But faith is felt in the suc- cess of these efforts. Nothing is rated now as impossible. The radio itself, the seemingly impossible of a few years ggo, is a commonplace of the hour. The physical limitations that science imposed less than a genera- tion back have been removed. Even at this particular time an ad- vance is being reported from Italy, where successful tests, it is stated, have been made of a selective radio process, appropriately called “narrow- casting” as aguinst broadcasting, the invention of John Hays Hammond, jr. This, it AS announced, permits the sending of secret messages by radio. If the Italian tests are conclusive a great advance has been made in the utilization of the etheric waves for ordinary communication. —————————— No Lump-Sum Payment Plan. The lump-sum payment plan should not be substituted for the definite® pro- portionate contribution plan: 1. Because it destroys the relation between national and local contribu- tions, the basic principle of the laws of 1878 and 1922, which causes an alien taxing body in taxing an unrep- resented community in some measure to tax also itself. The existence of relation is a safeguard against ex- cessive taxation of the unrepresented community. 2. Because it gives back to the na- tion its pledge of proportionate con- tribution, which accompanied national seizure of the Capital's power of self- taxation, without restoring to the Dis- trict this self-taxing power of which it had been deprived. 3. Because by destroying national obligation to make amy definite pro- portionate contribution it imposes a loss of millions upon the District when the latter's Treasury surplus, collect- ed under the 50-50 and 60-40 laws, comes to be appropriated and spent. 4. Because it violates wantonly the which levied taxes for five years to come, and thus promised stability on the 60-40 basis in the fiscal relations of the Capital for that period. It de- prives the District of the only impor- tant offsetting benefit continued to it by this law, in order to make heavier the new tax burdens which the 1922 law imposed. 5. If the lumpsum payment plan comes into being on the basis of its insertion by the House into an ap propriation bill under the application of the Holman rule, the decrease or elimination of the national contribu- tion through action on an appropria- tion bill will, so far-as the House is concerned, be invited and facilitated, while its increase will in effect be forbidden. The eight, nine or ten millions of original payment under this plan might in the hasty caprice of a subsequent Congress be the only payment. Will the Senate sacrifice a wise, sound fiscal principle to which it is traditionally committed and in the defense of which it is impregnably intrenched in law and equity and the rules governing such issues in confer- ence between the houses, when the only temptation to sacrifice is this in- adequate and prospectively vanishing consideration? ——————— Senator Johnson’s Withdrawal. Senator Hiram W, Johnson of Cali- fornia, in notifying the delegates who have been instructed for him in the Republican national convention that he releases them from their obliga- tion, virtually indicates that his name will not be presented to the conven- tion as a candidate for the presidential nomination. In political circles it is suggested that he may not even at- tend the convention, having no farther interest in the matter of the presiden- tial nomination. Politicians are said to think that Senator Johnson's course presages that he will not make any trouble for his party. Many of his friends would be gratified if he should show himself to be a good sportsman in politics and support the candidates and the party, although they realize that after the harsh things he said in the pre- nomination campaign about the Presi- dent and the organization of the party it might require some courage to do that. Still, the public is prone to over- look things “said in the heat of de- bate,” as they phrase it in Congress. Speculation has it that the senator is_preparing gradually to fade out of the political picture of his own voli- tion, and doubts are expressed whether he will be found taking an active part in political activities. His friends know that he is weary of public life and political strife, and fain would betake himself to quietude, except for certain Dolgflul conditions in his own state. ——————— German ships will bring into the ports of the United States liquor only under seal. America is gradually con- verting the sailor ashore of every na- tionality to the soft drink which turns away headaches. ———atee——————— Science is making repid strides in controlling the forces of nature, but a long time must elapse before science can do anything with the volcanoces. —_——————————— i New Marvels of Science. Effor(s to transmit photographs by wire have been made for a number of ‘years in this country, but with poor success. Various devices have been de- veloped which have given crude results of noparticular practical value. Butun- discouraged inventors have continued their efforts, and now it is announced that success has been achieved. Yes- terday in five minutes a photogreph was transmitted by e telephone wire from Cleveland to New York. In forty- five minutes after the picture was taken in the former city it was ex- hibited, completely developed, in New " Temmany Hall cannot work as fast in selecting a leader as the Democratic national convention will be expected to do. L —————t———— Monrog’s New York Home. Effort has not yet succeeded in sav- ing the New York home of James Monroe as e historic relic and as e memorial to that distinguished Ameri- can, but it is not Tikely that the effort 'will be given up. Last December there were ceremonies of public recollection on Monroe's message sent to Congress December 2, 1823, which contains the passages that when ‘“construed to- c constitute the original end ‘to be notable. \ genuine Monroe doctrine.” One part of the program of that celebration ‘was the raising of a fund to buy the small brick house in lower Manhattan which news report says “served as the home of Monroe during only the last few years of his lite.” No doubt it is the house in which Monroe died, for he passed from life at New York city in 1831, Twenty-seven years later his remains were reinterred at Richmond. This New York house was once in a fashionable quarter of the city. That is not its state now, and it is a rag- Dicker's shop. The New York Times, treating of the matter, says: “We have altogether too little reverence for the history of the city and country. There is no better way to stimulate a proper interest than to preserve as many places of historic importance as pos- sible.” We have trouble in Washing. ton to save historic places, and some- times they are not saved. Monroe was a notable man in a period which gave great opportunity His service to the re- public at its birth and in its infancy and youth was eminent. He served in the Continental Army. In the Con- gress of the Confederation and in the Virginia convention to consider rati- fication of the Constitution he wus conspicuous and important. As United States senator and as Governor of Virginia he was able. As minister to France in 1794 his record shows ef- ficiency, though.the conduct of his mission was denounced by Federalists, Later, as envoy extraordinary to France by appointment of Jefferson, he aided in the Louisiana purchase. Again, as Governor of Virginia, then as Secretary of State and as President for two terms, during which momen- tous domestic and foreign questions arose, Monroe earned his place as one of our great Americans. Monroe was born in Westmoreland county near Colonial Beach, forty-two miles south of Washington in an air line and ahbout seven miles northwest of Washington's birthplace. The Mon- roe birth house disappeared many years ago. After his service as Presi- dent he retired to a fine home in Loudoun county, northwest of Wash- ington, and that Monroe house is held in veneration. The little building in Fredericksburg in which he had a law office after retiring from the Congress of the Confederation in 1786 is stand- ing. It is probable that after more effort the people of New York will buy his New York home and keep it as a memorial. Here in Washington the building in which he was living when he became President, and in which he resided for several months efter his inauguration, thus being the execu- tive mansion of the Uniteq States, is now the home of the Arts Club, which is preserving it as a landmark of American history. B Prohibition has its exhilarating pos- sibilities. Reference to Dr. Nicholas M. Butler as “the autocrat of the But- ler's pantry” discloses Col. Bryan in one of his merriest moods. Earnest admirers expect Robert La Follette to step forward at a few weeks' notice and organize a Grand New Party. If time permitted, a joint debate by Col. Bryan and Gov. Smith would be an attractive feature of the New York convention. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. A Few Million Years. In a few million years—so the scien- tists say— The coal from this earth will be all burned away; The forests will fade from the north and the south ‘ And the weather will be either deluge or drouth! I sit and I sigh till I'm almost in tears About what may befall in a few mil- lion years. In a few million years all the tales will be told; All the songs will be sung; everything will be old. And even the money we like to pursue Will all lie inert in the hands of a few. No wonder we shudder while facing the fears ’ About what may befall in a few mil- lion years. “In & few million years.” That's a long time to wait. And life has been gracious and kind up to date. . So why shouid a frown cross the citi- zen’s brow ‘Who has the good fortune of living right now! I'm heartily glad when a birthday ap- pears That it wasn't postponed for a few miltion years. Restrictions. “Why don’t you throw your hat in the ring?” ' ‘‘Accommodations are growing limit- ed,” answered Senator Sorghum. “No ring is large enough nowadays for more than one hat at a time.” Jud Tunkins says one of the hardest workers is the man who has nothing to do and is trying to keep from being lonesome. The Great Contention. ‘The politicians disagree. A battle they rehearse. The public is the referee ‘Who never wins a purse. Calmly Considered. “Would you marry a man for money?” “Never!” replied Miss Cayenne. “At the same time I wouldn't feel much confidence in @ man so reckless as to be willing to marry when he was broke.” 4 Tentative Socialism. “Why are all the boys in favor of Three-Finger Sam for postmaste “We think that it would be an ad- vantage if the salary was distributed around,” answered Cactus Joe. “Sam is the worst poker player in the Gulch.” “I knows a 1ady,” said Uncle Eben, “whose husband qult playin’ de banjo an’ took up de ukulele, owin’ to de latter not bein’ liable to hurt so much when she throws it,” ! ] THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. TUESDA America’s Future and Problews NO. Farm Relief and Government. Vi BY MAGNUS JOHNSON, United States Semator From Minue- wota. After thirty years of farming, twenty years of experience in co-0p- erative effort and fifteen years of po- litical work, I am convinced that the three outstanding issues now before the American people are the follow- ing: Governmental marketing of farm products. Public ownership of railroads sad public utilities_generally. Government control of banking. Naturally I consider farm reliet legislation” mo; important of all at this time. By farm reliof legislation I do not mean, of course, the spurious sort that actually has no merit what- ever and is really intended to benefit others rather than the farmers, The farmers are the victims of un- favorable circumstances. They have become the exploited of the banks, the railroads and the grain specula- tors. This triumvirate of enemies has been with them for a good many years. Out in Minnesota where I have farmed for thirty years we first made war on the grain speculators. We tried all sorts of methods to free our- selves from the manipulations of the speculators’ monopoly, otherwise known as the chamber of commerce. Now, we understand full well that the railroads and the big banks operating through the federal reserve system are as great, if not greater, enemies of the tiller of the soil. The Chamber of Commerce of Min- neapolis is not as its name would in- dicate a large association of business men like a commercial club; it is not that at all. * % ¥ % The chamber of commerce was or- ganized in 1881 under the laws of the State of Minnesota. It is a non-stock corporation engaged in the business of conducting a grain exchange for the exclusive use and profit of its members. It handles annually about 200,000,000 bushels of grain grown in the states of the northwest. When the law was passed by the Minnesota Legislature, it was provided that the chamber of commerce should be a law unto itself in_establishing rules and regulations for its members. The courts were ousted of jurisdiction in matters per- taining to ‘the chamber and its niem- bers. Under its 1ules sales of futures are permitted and these reach billions of bushels each vear. By flooding the market with these phantom bushels of wheat the market prices can be de- pressed to the extent of ruining the market for actual grain. Now without going into any further history of the chamber I want to say that the farmers of Minnesota and other states of the northwest organ- ized a grain commission company of their own entitled the Equity Co-oper- ative change. located at St. Paul We have done business there now for about ten years. Our great handicap has been the unfair practices of the chamber of commerce. We considered these practices so unfair and so ruin- ous to our organization that we asked the aid of the Federal Trade Commis- sion to compel the chamber of com- merce to cease its unfair methods. * X x * Last December the commission ren- dered its decision. It sustained us all the way through in our complaint against the chamber. What effect it will have, I do not know. As it ap- pears now, our old enemy is going to take the case into the courts. That means further delay, for the courts have always shown a good deal of favor to such Institutions In prolong- ing the time for the litigation until the weaker contestant is worn out. But since starting out to fight the grain speculators through our own grain commission companies, the v-L o Ownership of Railroads Held al to Nation’s Advance. farmers of the northwest havs learned something. If politics could be used by the grain buyers and speculato in creating a monopoly for themselves in the field, why can't the farmers also use a little politics? It seems to me that that is only logical. So we e On the job trying to put over some legislation on our own behalf. T have been fighting to secure the passage of some real farmer relief legislation. What we farmers want is a government marketing corpora- tion as contained in the Norris-Sin- clair bill. This marketing system would stabilize prices on farm prod- ucts. It would also put the grain speculator out of business. * % ¥ X But we need more than this sort of legislation to improve conditipns for the farmer. I think that high freight rates are more responsible today for the awful condition of agri- culture than is the grain: speculator. The grain speculator steps in and drives prices down at a\time when the farmers are compelled to sell, but the railroads charge extortionate rates on freight, which, I fear, will make farming impossible even if we overcome the influence of the market manipulators. And how are we going to remedy this situation? Frankly, I am of the opinion that there is only one remedy—government ownership of the roads. For years we have been endeavoring to ~control the rates charged by the railroads both through the Interstate Commerce Commission and state railroad commissions, and we must acknowledge that control has been a 100 per cent failure. Ac- tually today we are forced to admit that in_ some respects government control has proven an advantage to the railroads instead of an advantage to the shippers. * ¥ % ¥ In looking over the history of the railroads briefly, we find them, with- out exception, grossly overcapitalized. In many cases the outstanding bonds and stocks exceed by several times the actual investment in the roads. And the injustice of it all lies in the fact that this increase in capitali- zation results in an increase in rates. Under the Esch-Cummins law the roads receive what In fact amounts to a guaranty of 5% per cent on a “fair valuation.” This “fair valuation” in- cludes billions of dollars of water. That is why freight rates were increased by better than 35 per cent immediately following passage of the act. * x ok % Now rates were high even before tho passage of the Esch-Cummins law. Rates should have been reduced and not increased. The burden upon the farmer resulting from high rates was already making the situation a difficult one. But an increase of 35 per cent, and In fact a littlo more than that, in my district, has made farming practically impossible. 1 venture the prediction that unless the railroad situation can be remedied in the near future, tens of thousands of farmers will go out of business en- tirely and flock to the cities, even though other remedial legislation be enacted. 1 am unqualifiedly in favor of public ownership of public utilities. The people own them and should have complete control of their own prop- erty—such natural resources as water power, coal and oil. The tele- phone and telegraph companies should be made a part of the postal system, as is the case in all European countries. Tomorrow: Senator Samuel M. Ralst: (Copyright. 1924, in U. &. and Great Britain by North American Newspaper Alliance. Al Fights reserved.) WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE Current events lend unusual in- tercst to the incorporation under California laws of the “first Japanese, University of America” It has just been founded at San Francisco by a committes of prominent Japanese and American friends of Nippon. An initial capital of $1,250,000 has been underwritten for the purpose. The object of the university is to incul- cate a better understanding of Amer- fcan institutions by “native TUnited States citizens of Japanese parent- age” These, on their part, are “to spread the spirit of American de- mocracy and hasten the cause of Americanization among descendants of the golden race who are living in the United States” American stu- dents desirous of “acquainting them gelves with the arts. cultures, ma- tured philosophy and civilization of Japan” will be eligible. Dr. Taibel Tsuji of Washington, Dr. Russell H. Conwell of Philadelphia and Bishop Henry B. Restarick of Honolulu are among the first elected trustees of the new university. * X ¥ ¥ Mrs. Izetta Jewell Brown of West Virginia, well known Democratic leader, is conducting an active cam- palgn for the United States sena- torial nomination in her state. Her opponent is former United States Senator © William E. Chilton of Charleston. Mrs. Brown, who is an exoeptionally attractive woman and was once on the stage, has recently n betrothed by Dame Rumor to :“promment West Virginia politi- cian. The other night at one of her campaign_meetings Mrs. Brown brought down the house by begin- ning her remarks as follows: “My friends, you and I have heard certain rumors that are flying about. I want to say just this to you—I have only one engagement that I know of, and that is to meet Bill Chilton at the primaries on May 27!" ‘Mrs. Brown placed John W. Davis in nomination at San Francisco in 1920. When she took the platform the convention band struok up “Oh, You Great Big Beautiful Doll.” * x kX A bell struck by Paul Revere, who was a bell founder and silversmith at Lexington as well as a patriotic night rider, will soon resume active service in the belfry of a Washington church. It is now being installed in the tower of the beautiful new' All Souls’ Church on northern 16th street, where Chiet Justice Taft expects oc- casionally to appear as a Unitarian lay preacher. The Paul Revere bell has been on duty in Washington for more than a century. First it was in a church at 6th and D streets and later in another church at 14th and L streets. When Washington was little more than a village it was the official bell which tolled on the oo- casion of all funerals, weddings ana high affairs of state. It has pealed mournfully. in memory of all the Presidents of the Ulnhefl States wndo passed during its long career, an last rang out in honor of Woodrow Wilson. At All Souls’ it will clang n Memorial day and regularly ereafte?. * k¥ X 0il may nat mix with water, but it got tangled up with the newest ele- ment—radio—in Washington the other night. On the evening in question, Senator Thomas J. Walsh, chief prosecutor of the late oil In- vestigating committes, was “on the air’ with a talk on the committee's work. Just before Walsh left his home foy the broadcasting station, he received a “warning letter.” It was from Frank J. Hogan, Doheny’s bat- tling Irish lawyer, who admonished his brother Celt from Montana to remember that the federal grand jury was then sitting on the oll cases and that many, if not all, of its mem- dbers, like the rest of the world, would probably be “listening in.” Under the circumstances, Hogan thought, Sena- tor Walsh ought to “lay off.” Evi- dently the senator was not impressed by the lawyers argument, and took the air in accord with his original in- tentions. * x x x According to exclusionist spokes- men who are holding the fort in ‘Washington, California is embattled and embittered with regard to Pred- ident Coolidge, and in mood to threat- en him with dire vengeance if he ve- toes the immigration bill. One of the most outspoken anti-Japanese on the coast is John L. Davie, former mayor of Oakland. Though & lifelong Re- publican, and hitherto a warm sup- porter of Coolidge, Mr. Davie has just stated publicly that if the ex- clusion law is vetoed he will take the stump against the President this year, no matter who the latter's Dem- ocratic opponent may be. The White House is said to be “deluged” and “bombarded” with pro-exclusion tele- grams, letters and appeals from coast regions and from labor organiza- tions in all parts of the country. The anti-exclusionists are also pouring their viewpoint into the presidential ear and mailbag. * %k ¥ ¥ Despite pacifist opposition and in- trigues, the citizens’ military training camp movement is on the threshold of its most successful summer. Secretary Weeks and Gen. Pershing have been informed that there will be more applicants than can be taken care of under the appropria- tions made by Congress. With the campaign for recruits not yet half over, 65 per cent of the quota of the entire country has been filled. There are now about 26,000 applicants, as compared with 12,000 for the same period last year. The Fourth Corps area, extending from the southern border of Virginia to the Gulf states, is leading, with applicants for 93.3 per cent of its quota. A close second is_the Ninth Corps area on the P: cific coast, with 92.2 per cent. The first state to go over the top was Florida, with West Virginia a close second.” B. F. Riley of the University of Flori@a, a civil aide to the Secre- tary of War, is the champion “en- thuser” in the field of citizens’ mili- tary training. He has been asked to crusade in the middle west as far as Wisconsin. * x x ¥ Clarence W. Barron, famed finan- clal authority of Boston, says that the reason Henry Ford isn't bidding for Muscle Shoals on a cash basis is probably that “Henry can't spare the cash.” Explains Barron: “People think Ford is rolling in wealth. They don’t know that he is now buying on credit or time where he formerly pald cash; nor do they know that of late he. has been putting more money into the expansion of his works than he has been earning.’ e (Coporight, 12349 Y, MAY 20, 1924 NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM BLACK MAGIC. Kenneth L. Rob- erts. The Bobbs-Merrill Company. The magician is Benito Mussolini The magic is that of Muesolini and his black-shirted Fascisti rescuing Italy trom the political ambush of soctal- ism, communism, bolshevism. Ken- neth Roberts here tells the story of Mussolini and the Fascisti movement. Tells it, chiefly, for the sake of ar- riving at another story, nearer home. Dried out from the sloppy wordiness in which it is so much concealed, Fasclsm is, it appears, merely the application” of common sense to the business of government. And Musso- lini is, or thinks he is, the strong- armed man who is able to turn this plain business trick. Yes, a dictator. Nothing less. A name and office of reproach in these days whose preach- ments are all of freedom and frater- nity, especially freedom. But, so far, Mussolini has been a good dictator. Those who know, in contrast to those who merely have bubbles of feeling on the subject, agree that for Italy the man and the movement were needed, that these are saving the na- tion from political and financial ruin. Mussolini did not invent Fascism Nobody did. It was, at first, one of those loose, diffused, ineffectual states of mind, & great number of people possessed of it, but an inoperative thing, nevertheless, since there was no one to inject into it the element of coherence and direction. Mussolini supplied that element. - This stats of mind was “the opposife of wild ideas, of lawlessness, of injustice, of cow- ardice, of treason, of crime, of class warfare, of special privilege. It rep. resented patriotism and common sense.” This self-delegated dictator possessed just the brand of common sense, just the quality of patriotism that Italy had to have, and had to have right away, if her life wero to saved. The' prompt and heroic treatment &0 imperatively required was given, is still being given, by the self-assertive, spectacular, overrid. ing, ewift-charging Mussofini. Clear- ly a patript, clearly a man of hard sense—a ot usual combination. A romantic and absorbing story—elimb. ing action, tense Ssuspension, sudden turns, uncertain outcome—the one that Benito Mussolini is writing, s. " But—it is 2 that we are after here, * Ol neT StOTY * k% x And how did Italy get that way? So ridden by radicalisms as to be SWept to the brink of irretrievable ruln? Italy got that way through the invasion of polittcs by red radi- calism on the one hand, and through the political inactivity of the con- Servative majority on the oth. Coming nearer home, and to gfirhfl:s-% story now. It began in Italy when the radicals became politically strong enough to put over projects of gov- ernment ownership, Take the rail- ways, for instance. Under govern- their pockets the wages for 75,000 new rallway employes, without any ex- tension or betterment of the rallway System to account for this. It is true accounting lay in the frequent changes in the government. Every time this came to pass a great many more political supporters had to be supplied with jobs in return for thelr services at the polls. “The politicians of every nation,” according to Ken- neth Roberts, “are invariably brought into the world with a highly develop- ed determination to use all govern- ment-owned propositions as a means of buying or paying for votes.” One might reasonably have expected Italy to be the traveler's paradise with a rallway worker in attendance upon nearly every traveler who paid for a ticket. Not at all, as a matter of fact. - “The worst in the world.” The author steps aside here to mention other cases of government ownership of railways, as examples of loss and ineflicient management. “The Cana- dian government-owned railways show a heavy annual deficit; the govern- ment-owned railways of Switzerland lase money with great vigor and enthusiasm; the single state-owned railway of France chalks up a yearly loss and those of Germany, the best of the government-owned ~ railways before the war, were inferior to the privately-owned British railways and operated at a much greater cost” We are given a graphic picture, too, of the innumerable projects by way of which radicalism in Italy sought to ruin the country, and came near doing it too, through the delirium of government-supported projects. If there had been no Mussolini to round up the conservative majority to ac- tive resistance, the thing would have been done. * %k * We. too, have a radical minority— an active one. The radical is always active. We, too, have a great con- servative majority, relatively inac- tive, as this majority is likely to be. The quality of governing bodies, from Congress down to the town council, should be determined by this con- servative majority, and would be if they did their political duty at the polls. “It is no longer fashionable to vote in the United States,” so Ken- neth Roberts says—'no longer fash- ionable, that is, to pay attention to the business of government. Out of all the eligible voters in the United States only about 49 per cent of them are sufficiently interested in their government to step up to the polls and cast their votes on election day. Less than half ¢f America’s qualified voters, on the face of the returns, have safficient patriotism to partici- pate in the running of their country. The place of honor among the states is held by Delaware, where 75 per cent_of the voters go to the polls At the bottom of the list is a state ‘where only 812 per cent of the voters are sufficiently interested in good government to get out on election day and subject themselves to the arduous task of marking an X on a ballot with the stub of a lead pencil.” And so the ever-active radicals send men to Congress—one, on only 29 per cent of the eligible vote; another, a famous man., on only 28 per cent, or less than a third, of the voters. “One of the interesting features about a vote of any sort is the fact that ex- tremists, the radicals, the fanatics, the people who are supporting pas- sionate causes, are always numbered among' the voters. So it must be ob- vious to even a slightly warped com- munistic or sovietish intelligence that the great mass of the people in the United States is strongly and deter- minedly conservative.” Now, if this “great mass” could take on some of the zeal and activity of the minority, if this great mass were only just decently patriotic. there would be quite another story to tell. But “so long as 51 per oent of the nation's voters are content to remain inartica- late the country is getting exactly Wwhat it deserves in the line of legis- lators and laws, but it most emphati- cally isn't getting what it deservea” * k ok % Out in Grand Rapids, a few years ago, the folks woke up to the fact that less than half of their voters wers doing their duty. It was clear that on election day the control, in- stead of being held by the electorate, as we Americans like to say, was held pretty completely by self-seek- ing demagogues and professional politiclans. They woke up. They ‘banded their local agencies together in the business of promoting good citizenship. They got busy, as a de- cent, self-respecting community can get busy when it wants to, to size up the general situation, to define the speclal duty and obligation of each voter. The churches, the schools, the clubs, took a hand. As a& result the vote rose from less than half to per cent. Good for Grand Rapids. In the present zeal for Amer- icanization why not begin with the American himself, to the end that he may realize his part in the game of good government, he may play_the game with ardor, to the dis- comfiture and overthrow of the radi- cal “Constitution-busters!” You would better read this book—you American citizen, R LGM ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN Q. What is jhe highest temperature that has ever been recorded in Wash- wagton, D. C.7—E. L R. A. The hottest day that Washing- ton has had since records havs beer kept was August 6, 1913, when the official temperature reached 106 de- grees. Q. Must T have a fishing license in order to fish at Benedict, Md.>—T. C. A. The Department of Agriculture says that it is not necessary. There was a talk of a fee for non-resident fishermen in Maryland, but no action has been taken. { Q. If the government builds an archives building, will the employes be under civil service?—E. Lo W. A. Since Congress has not yet passed the bill for such a building, it is too soon to know what form the enterprise will take. However, it is probable that the various departments would send clerks with their files who are accustomed to them. These are under civil service. Q. Was Nome ever the capital of Alaska?—F. E. K. A. Nome never was the capital, but ka was. Juneau is the present capital of Alaska. Q. Which are the ten greatest chapters in the Bible?—A. D. N. A. The answer must be largely a matter of personal opinion. The fol- lowing are suggested: Creation, Gene- sis, i; fall of man and hope of re- demption, Genesis, i-ii; Command- ments, Exodus, xx; the 23d Psalm David's Psalm of Repentance, Psalm li; birth of Christ, John, i; Sermon on the Mount, Matthew, chapters v, vi and vii (counted as one); cruci- fixion, John, xix; resurrection, John, xx; revelation, Revelations, xxil Q. Why is a nautical mile longer than a statute mile?>—P. R. A. The statute mile is based on the arbitrary fixing of the length of a smaller “unit of measure, while the nautical mile is the unit itself. It equals one minute of arc at the equa- tor. There are 60 minutes in each degree, 360 degrees in the circum- ference; therefore, there are 21,600 minutes or nautical miles in_the dis- tance around the earth at the equa- tor. Dividing a nautical mile into the foot measure of the land mile, there are 6,080 feet in the nautical mile, while there are but 5250 feet in the statute or laid mile. Q. What is the name of a sail rigged out from the boom on_the beam of a government ship?—F. R. T. A. Tt is called the lower studding sail. Q. Cah a soldier ranking as tech- nical sergeant also be on the officers’ reserve list?>—M. E. A. The War Department says that enlisted men in the service can hold commissions in the reserves. Q. What is the meaning of “putsch” as used in connection wi the Gen. Ludendorfr trial at Munich?—E. O. W. A. The German word “putsch” means an unsuccessful or abortive uprising. The reference is to the recent uprising in Bavaria. . In Utah there is a mesa called the “Wild Horse.” Can you tell me the origin of the name?—S. H. A. The secretary of Zane Grey says that the name is derived from the So far as the American press views it the result of the French election lies chiefly in the effects which the probable elimination of the National- ists from power will have on the set- Many editors feel that local issues, such as increased taxation and the decline of the franc, had more to do with the defeat of M. Poincare than did international questions and that there will be no essential change in French policies. Yet the result en- courages the hope of an early settle- ment of the European deadlock and acceptance of the Dawes plan, they say. In the opinion of the Roanoke World-News “there are at least two things to be expected of the new gov- ernment—a less definite and less rigid policy and greater amenability to reason than characterize the Poincare regime.” The St Paul Pioneer-Press declares “the essentials of French foreign policy will not change,” but “moderation has won on both sides of the Rhine,” and the way to the execution of the Dawes plan, the Columbus Dispateh holds, “may prove to_have been made smoother. No matter who heads the govern- ment, continues the Indianapolis News, “the government will be able to move forward on the lines of the Dawes report with the consciousness that it has the support of the people. If the coalition majority im the new French chamber “have, as reported. a platform of ‘peace, economy and international agreement,’” :the To- peka Capital considers,” “the whole World can be grateful for such a turn in the French elections” = Tf it “makes toward peace, toward friend- liness, toward anything that recos- nizes the brotherhood of the races, the Birmingham News regards it as “mothing less than a clear gain for the world.” TPoincare's defeat, ac- cording to the Lincoln Star, ' ‘“can mean nothing more than a slight tem- porary delay in clearing up the prob- Jems connected with ‘the reparation matter.” * koK K The Louisville Courier - Journal thinks the radicals taking over the reins of government “is no bad omen for peaceful settlement of.the Euro- pean muddle,” because “there will now be no reason for timidity; the past can be broken away from with- out fear of losing prestige.” There. fore, “France is expected now to co- operate rather than to see how far she can limit the Dawes plan,” sug- gests the Milwaukes Journal, and “this throws an even greater respon- sibility on the world to co-operate with her.” After all, the Boston Transcript points out, “the French people, whether radicals or conserva- tives, generally know a good bargain when they see it.”" The significant thing. the Omaha ‘World-Hearld clalms, is that “it re- veals, in France as elsewhere, a re- vulsion against war and international hatred on the part of the common people.” The Portland Express ques- tions whether the overthrow of Poin- care will in the end work out for the benefit of France, because it may serve to encourage the German gov- ernment to further resistance. For, as the Lincoln State Journal puts it, “the junkers, unfortunately, cannot be counted upon to distinguish mild ness from weakness." The Atlanta Journal answers, “If any group of Germany tukes this to mean that France has weakened in her in- sistence upon reparations, it will be stupidly mistaken,” because, “far from weakening, she is but moving in 2 more practicable way to get that to which she has not yet attained.” This is indorsed by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The. views of the New Or- leans Times-Picayune, the Cincinnati Times-Star and the Kansas City Jour- nal may be summed up in the words taken for granted that the excessive domestic taxation which is insepara- bly linked up with the foreign poli- cies was one of the strongest weap- ons in the hands of the government's opponents,” and “certainly the elec- tion cannot reasonably be construed as any material change in the anti- belief of the Mormons that it was the last stand of the wild horse. Q. What do sea shells contain that are dug out of the saund—hydro- carbon or oil?—F. E. C, A. The bureau of fisheries says that the composition of sea shells, or the shells of any mollusks, varies with the kind or species. In gencral, the shell is composcd of about 92 per cent calcium carbonate, 6 per cent organic matter and 2 por cent water. The organic matter present in mus- sel_shells is conchiolin, a substance very similar to keratin. 'Keratin is an * albuminoid, or sclero-protein, very rich in sulphur, insoluble in neutral solvents, but which may be dissolved upon warming with concentrated al- kalis. 1t is not belicved that shells have any appreciable amount of hy- drocarbon or oil. Q. What is the most important in playing golf—correct stance, proper club or proper swing?—M. C. G. A. Jim Barnes says that all three are part of & good gamo of golf, but that no one of them is the most im- portant thing in golf. He cmphasizes the very great importance of mental control. ~Decide upon the club to use, deeide upon the stance, decide upon the swing, and then dicide to hit the ball. “After the stroke is started think of nothing elsc Lut hit- ting the ball. Q. What is th food with the Chinese?>—W. . . A. While cattle, hogs, sheep and fish provide part of the meat dist in China, probably the most common of all meat food is poultry. Many va-? rieties of chickens, ducks und geeso are raised and caten. most common meat Q. Does damp air weigh mcre than dry air?—K. P. M. A. The weather burean says that damp air weighs les than dry air. The dampness is due to the vipor of water in the air, and vapor of water is lighter than most of the other gases of the atmosphere Q. What kind of a ecard all fours?—W. D. T. A. Al fours is the original form of the game called seven-up, or old sledge. The all fours family luo in- cludes such variations as fornia’ Jack, auction pitch, smudge, Prdro and cinch or double Pedro. Q. What is the difference between gn Jconoclast and an iconoplas An iconoclast has come to mean one who attacks cherished beliefs as impositions or shams, but its first meaning was a breaker or destroyer of icons or images. An jconoplast, on the other hand, is a maker of images Q. Do hummingbirds honey?—F. O. M. A. Hummingbirds are supposed to live on the nectar of flowers. While this does form the principal part of their food, they also eat insects and spiders. Q. How often should a person have his teeth examined?—T. O. A. The public health service savs that every one should have a careful ex ation made of the whole mouth v a qualified dentist at least twice , a year v (Let The Star Information Bureow swer your questions. There is no charge Jor the service except 2 cenls in stamps. AU replies are sent direct to the inquirer. Write your question plainly and brufl Address Frederic J. Haskin, Director, live on tlement of the reparation problem. | of the latter, which says “it may be 1220 North Capitol street.) Peace Nearer as Poincare Falls, Most Editors Feel German generally The Duluth Herald agrees “though it is by no means to be supposed that the new government will go to the other extreme and give Germany everything, still there is good reason to expect from the new regime a ner tolerance, a larger vision, and greater consideration for the ends of lasting peace.” The Canadian view- point as expressed by the Toronto Star is that “the defeat of Poincare will not reverse his policies,” because “the fact is that his policy as regards ! Germany has been so generally sup- ported by all the other parties that it was scarcely an issue elections. titude of the French people * % % % Whether Poincare went down br- cause of domestic policies or not, the Lynchburg News feels his defeat means “in large sense the defeat of his most important policies in respe.t to foreign as well as home affairs" but “it remains to be seen wheth the opposition parties can bring abo a material modification of the acti which has been taken and the view which have been held by his ministry in respect to the Ruhr” Any way, It 1l be easier for the Germans. the Manchester Union maintains, because “they can go over the sam the same goal, and do the wh much easier in company Wi body whose name is not than they possibly could man who had become in their 1 the very embodiment of hatred for Germany. As the Des Moines Registir secs the election: '“The question is not as to whether France has taken the other road. She has. The question is how far and how fast she will be willing and able to change of direction is certain ising from the standpoint things that we in America pro least to want to see done. 1t 1 likely to give us the opportunits we have professed to W t operating more l'“:‘fill\ el Burope for world peace.” T 1yn Eagle concludes “with the ination of Raymond Poincare world passes another mileston the road to peace. Pleads for Children. Writer Deplores Efforts of Those ) Opposing German Relief. To the Editor of The Star: 1 was sorry to see tho letter of Gordon C. Blair in your issuc of the 16th instant, opposing relicf for the starving children of Germany. There would have been some point to his protest if.those same children had, in any way, been to blame for the world war, brought on mainly by the mad ruler and military party of that coun- try. According to report, the needs of those children are very real and pressing, and many may starve while We are quibbling about the why and the wherefore of the relief. As an American of a long line off ancestry, none of whom came from Germany, but as a lover of justice an@ mercy, 1 ask: Are the starving children of Germany not as much en- titled to be fed from our bounty as the Russians, Japanese. Chinese, Greeks, Armenians and others whom we have helped as the occasion arose? Are German children less worthy of help than those of other nations? Iy not the Germanic element of our owa country, in the main, worthy of re. spect and consideration; were they not loyal to the Stars and Stripes during the great war, by an ever- whelming majority? It we are £oing to help the world, wo_cannot make flesh of one nation and fish of another, and, above all, we must not war upon the weak and helpless, not withhold bread from the mouths of innocent childrem. It would sadden me to know thaf I hag caused the most insignificant baby, by any word or act of mine, to die for the want of simple nourishment. *In t inds rench asmuch as ye have done it unto thy least of these my brethren Yo hath done it unto me.” LINDSAY S. PERKING,