Evening Star Newspaper, June 1, 1924, Page 42

THE EVENING STAR, With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SUNDAY...... June 1, 1924 THEODORE W. NOYES. . ..Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company in Ave. Chicago Oftice: Tower Building. Buropean Office: 16 kegent St., London, l’.-mu The Bvening Star, with the Sunday mornisg odition, is delivered by carriers within the city 2t 80 cents per month; daily only, 45 cents per Sunday only, 20 ceats per month, OF- or 'telephone’ Main carriers at the end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..1 yr., $8.40; 1 mo., T0c Daily only. . ¥ . $6.00; 1 mo., 50e Sunday only.. \1yr, $2.40; 1 mo., 206 All Other States. Taily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo., §5¢ Daily only. 1yr.. $7.00: 1 mo., 60c sunday onl; 1yr, $3.00;1mo., 25¢ Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled fo the ‘use for republication of all news dis- patches credited to it or not otherwise credited this paper and also the local news pub- lished herein. ~All rights of publication of wpecial dispatches herein are also reserved. ‘Washington's Bad Traffic Record. Washington has a low rating among cities of the United States in respect to the percentage of trafic fatalities to population. It is reckoned as one of the most dangerous places in this country in point of street accidents. Whether this is due to a larger per- centage of motor cars in use here or to a greater degree of carclessness on the part of drivers or to conditions in the streets is not determined. The fact stands, however, that Washington's streets are the scene of a shocking number of casualties. Friday a life was lost in a col- lision of two cars at a stroet intersec- tion. Another life was lost in a wreck caused by the blowing off of a tire. A third person died from injuries re- ceived a few days earlier. Every week brings the serious injury or the death of a pedestrian hit by a motor car. Since the 1st of January last thirty- been injured. This is a shocking rec- ord. One of the causes of children being hit by motor cars so frequently in Washington is probably the presence along the curbs of strings of parked machines, some parallel and some at angles. These machines obstruct the view of drivers. People passing out from the curbs in midblock cannot be seen in some cases in time to prevent accident. Children are especially prone to run out without looking. The line of parked cars narrow the runming space in the street and lessen the chance of avoiding a collision. This parking question is a grave one. Cars have been purchased and drivers have been licensed in excess of the facilities for housing. All-night parking is common throughout the residential district. All-day parking is permitted save in the congested business area. Thousands of cars are brought down town daily and left all day somewhere in the streets for use at the close of office hours. They un- doubtedly add to the dangers. Unsafe speeds are the major pri- mary cause of accidents. A machine that is being driven at twenty miles an hour through the streets cannot be checked in time to prevent a collision in a sudden emergency such as the unexpected appearance of another ma- chine at a crossing or on a turn, or the sudden appearance of u pedestrian, child or adult, in the driveway. Yet the regulation of speed is not the sole cure for these mishaps. Drivers must be held accountable for whatever hap- pens, and that accountability should take the form of severe punishment ‘whenever life is endangered or is de- stroyed. ———————— Sentiment. A girl rides a horse from Canada to ‘Washington to bring invitations to the President, Chief Justice Taft, Sir Esme Howard and Commissioner Rudolph to attend at Belleville, Ontario, a celebra- tion of the 140th anniversary of the settlement of Upper Canada. One of the mounted policemen meets her at the District line, and officials give her the pleasant greeting she deserves. At all her stopping places in Canada and the United States along her 700-mile ride town officers and other townsmen gave her good cheer and glad hands There are persons who persist in saying that we are a practical people, and that this is a practical age, and they emphasize the words in a way to express belief that little romance and poetry are in the people and the age. The messenger from Canada to Wash- ington could have made the trip in less time and Jess expense in an auto- mobile, or she might have come through on a fast train. The invita- tions might have been mailed in Can- ada and delivered by a postman here. But to make the trip on the back of a horse was thought more expressive a the spirit of the affair. ———e—— | The-climate experts at least go so far as toassure the public that danger of a blizzard need not be considered. One difficulty a nation may experi- ‘ence in finding leadership is that there are too-many vociferous volunteers, ——ee The Park Commission. ‘The bill to create a park commis- wion, enacted by Congress, is still with the President, who, it is confidently expected, will approve it. The Secre- tary of the Treasury, Secretary of ‘War, chairman of the House and Sen- ate District committees and the En- gineer Commissioner of the District, with the officer in charge of public buildings and grounds as executive officer, will constitute the commission. In various ways this is a highly im- portant measure for the improvement of Washington. While the plan was #ndorsed and urged by a number of national and local civic associations, the enactment of this law will be reg- istered as another of the large civic achievements of the- Washington Board of Trade. The Board of Trade committee on parks and reservations at a special meeting October 23, 1922, drew up a report on this subject to the board and submitted with that report the draft of a Bl “providing for the compre- playground system of the National Capital.” The report said “To provide for a permanent commission author- ized to make a comprehensive study of the development of the park and playground system of the National Capital, and to acquire lands neces- sary for such development, both with- in the District and in adjoining terri- tory of Maryland and Virginia and to provide for regular annual appropria- tions to be used by said commission for acquiring such lands, your com- mittee has prepared and presents the following bill.”” The bill was enacted by Congress substantially as drafted by the committee, the principal change being in naming the chairmen of the House and Senate District committees members of the commission instead of the chairmen of the Senate and House committees on’ public grounds. For the purchase of land the act authorizes the appropriation each year in the District appropriation bill “a sum not exceeding 1 cent for each in- habitant of the continental United States as determined by the last pre- ceding decennial census.” Three- fourths of the sum appropriated shall be used by the commission for the ac- quisition of lands within the District and shall be paid from the revenues of the District of Columbia and the general funds of the Treasury in the same proportion as other expenses of the District of Columbia.” Land ac- quired in the District, and which shall be made part of the park system, will be under the chief of engineers of the Army, and lands suitable for play- ground purposes in the discretion of the commission shall be assigned to the control of the District Commis- sioners. In the selection of lands the advice of the Commission of Fine Arts shall be requested. The purpose is not only to provide more park and playground space, but to preserve scenery and forest in and near the District, to con- serve the flow of Rock Creek and other creeks and to protect those creeks, the Potomac River and East- ern Branch against poltution. The Chicago Crime. An amazing sequel to the Chicago kidnaping murder case comes in the confession of two young men. mem- bers of wealthy families, that they, in a spirit of adventure, planned and carried out this crime. Traced by a pair of spectacles which had for some unaccountable reason been left on the body of the dead boy when it was thrust into & culvert, these youths at first denied any complicity and offered an alibi which in itself indicated a shocking degree of moral delinquency. This alibi might have withstood all tests but for the fact that the family chauffeur declared that the car which they claimed to have been using on the day of the crime had not been out of the garage. With their alibi thus discredited they were subjected to in- tensive questioning and the confession finally was obtained. These young men were not needy. They had no motive for kidnaping for ransom. They were both well supplied ‘with money by their parents, perhape too well supplied. Yet, according to their story, they had been planning this crime for months, with the victim unchosen and only selected on the very day of the killing. Much mystery still attaches to this case. If it was a genuine kidnaping for ransom why should the boy have been killed? ¥ie was slain actually be- fore the demand for money was made upon his father. This is the first case known whére a stolen child has been killed prior to negotiations for ran- som. This fact leads to the suspicion that the killing was the result of un- speakable practices. At any rate these young men are by their own confes- sion guilty of one of the most shock- ing crimes ever committed in this country. Had it not been for the accident of the spectacles they would possibly have escaped detection. On such elight clues are crimes revealed and their perpetrators caught. No writer of fic- tion has ever contrived a story more strange than this shocking tale. Three families are stricken as a result of this escapade, stricken beyond com- fort or consolation. It is a sad com- mentary upon the tendencies of youth in America today. ——————— By holding the Democratic national convention in New York the managers gave Gov. Smith the advantage of being on the ground early to work up enthusiasm. Even in this instance, however, time is likely to bring the usual demonstration that a favorite son is a phenomenon pertaining rather to geography than to political science. —————— The man who claims to have dis- covered means of projecting a “death ray” may have to be reminded that civilization already possesses more in- genious mechanical toys than can be used with proper regard to public safety. —————— ‘The Dawes report found much fa- vor in Germany, but not enough to prevent it from being the subject of the usual controversy among political factions. Sociable Washington. ‘Washington is a sociable old town. It was thought of as being @ sociable and hospitable place when it was a small town, when the homes were set in gardens, when boarding houses were filled with senators, representa- tives and department officers, and bar- rooms were forums where the might- lest things of state and foreign nations were adjusted in words. Though great physical change has come over Wash- ington much of the character of the old city remains. Nearly everybody is a member of one or a dozen social or civic organizations, and everybody ‘who has the apirit of a joiner may join all good kinds of clubs and associa- tions, spend all spare time and more in warking on committees and can be & recording secretary, corresponding secretary, president, member of the board of directors or an officer of spome other kind. Glance through the pages of The Star any evening and this is plain. There is the story of the annual re- union of the high school class of 1886. Boys and giris of school days thirty- eight years ago get together. Some come from far away. Veteran teach- ers join their old pupils end the _bensive development of the park and) grown.up sons.and daughters—ef. THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTO pupils. Other classes of high school grads hold anneal reunions end call up the days when they worked om algebra and reveled in green plekies from the O Street Market. Something in the reunion line is always going on. Alumni and alumnae of colleges and universities outside of Washington hold reunions here. Close by the class reunion story was one that the District of Columbla Vir- ginia Soclety will give a reception and ball. A thousand cards are out. All the state societies in Washington go in for social evenings. The Massachu- setts Soclety holds a Lowell or Laon; fellow evening. The Vermont Society holds a maple sugpr party, the Indiana Soclety meets to read James Whit- comb Riley’s poems, the Maryland So- clety gives a beaten-biscuit party, and 50 on. The Society of District Natives holds rollicking meetings to review the days when everybody in Washington knew everybody. Running through the local news are meetings of scien- tific societies, the chemists, biologists, anthropologists, astronomers, ete. There is no lack of scientific-social ac- tivity. Scientists address this essocia- tion on how to know the wild flowers and that association on how to call the birds by name. The citizens' associa- tions keep busy, the big trade-civie bodies give shadbakes, rain or shine, banquets and booster picnics. The oldest inhabitants gather and tell of homes that stood on the site of a ten- story office building. The musical so- cieties are in the news, and there are community concerts, community sings and all that. There is “lots” of so- ciability in Washington. e —r——————— The patriotic New York representa- tive who wants a law to compel all civilians of this city to salute the na- tion's flag is profoundly correct in principle. He is only reasonable in suggesting that every state should enact a similar measure. The District of Columbia should not be alone in ex- pressing the reverential regard which every true citizen of the republic honestly feels even though inadvertent at times in taking due note of the emblem he so deeply honors. ——v—t—————— The positive assertion by nations that they do not desire another war is by no means to he taken as positive assurance that there will never be one. All wars are approached by lead- ers in international competition with great ostentation of pious reluctance. ————————————— No stage artist can hope to com- mand the nation-wide publicity in- stantly accorded the chorus lady who, resolute as Lady Macbeth herself, steps into court with a revolver in one hand and a bichloride tablet in the other. I — The assumption that a “‘gentleman’s agreement”’ can be given the force of definite governmental obligation again brings up question as to the point in public affairs at which pitiless pub- licity properly ceases. —_——————— It occasionally becomes necessary to remind ardent students of the prob- lems of law enforcement that there is a great deal of importance In the United States Constitution besides the eighteenth amendment. —wt——— The inventor of the so-called ‘‘death ray"” is in controversy with govern- ments about his compensation. He has not quite the heartless effrontery to tryto market his device on a royalty basi —————————————— It is pointed out that Col. Bryan's rank as a scholar is attested by nu- merous college degrees. If he can prove that Darwin was all wrong he should have still more of them. —_—————————— Even the weather bureau has been compelled to remind the public that the result of an investigation, in order to be accurate, must occasiomally be depressing. ———r——————— It would scarcely be logical for Von Tirpitz to go before the people of Ger- many on a “good-old-times™ platform. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Friend Butterfly. Friend Butterfly, you fling A gorgeous wing, And feel that we Should grateful be So wonderful a sight to see. And so we should ‘While you ure good. Friend Butterfly, you bring The moths that cling, And grubs that eat ‘Whate'er they meet ‘Till devastation is complete, ‘While you deceive the eye, Friend Butterfly Tickets, “It's hard lines when a financial backer deserts you.” “It is,” assented Senator Sorghum. “It's bad enough to be running behind your ticket, politically speaking. But it's worse when you find you're not keeping up with your meal ticket.” 01d Story. The optimist who was so gay Finds sadness grimly lurking, Because the plans of yesterday This morning are not working. Jud Tunkins says even if bobbed halr makes women bald they won't look any funnier than they used to in curl papers. Metaphysical Politics. If balloting cannot avail To find great minds that will not fail To wield the intellectual sway That will produce the perfect day, To science we may have to turn And call, with resolution stern, ‘The psychoanalysts to plck ‘The persons who can do the trick! Mental Competence. “*"Was the prisoner crazed by liquor?” asked the stranger in town. “No,” rejoined Cactus Joe. “Any- body that'd drink the stuff he got from Snake Ridge was crazy to start with,” “I is de possessor,” said Uncle Eben, “of a rabbit's foot, three hoss shoes an’' & fo'leaf clover; an’ I'm wishin’ I could be lucky enough to' trade 'em off for & Democracy Must Find Test Of Office-Seeker’s Fitness THOMAS R. MARSHALL, Former Vice President of the United States. The enlarged and growing oppor- tunities of the American are produc- ing some strange ideas abeut democ- racy. It is mot emough any longer that a people may be free; that there shall be equal rights for all and spe- cial privileges for none; that every man and woman shall have a right to vote and take a hand in the selection of public officials. These principles which were established after years of waiting are now regarded as common- place. Out of our hazy conception of democracy has come an {dea that each one of us must have the right to run for any office we would like to hold, if we are to enjoy the full privileges of a citizen of a republic. This would not be 50 bad if it were not for the belief of many persons that a right imposes an obligation. True, obligations often do follow rights, but the right to run for office does not carry with it any duty to run. T am rather disposed to belleve that the right to run for office im- POses upon most of us the duty of not running, if R imposes any duty at all. Otherwise the constant appeal to the people to take charge of their own affairs will produce a national situ tion not unlike our local situatl in which we are called on to mi selectjons for offices from a multitude of unknown candidates. * % % % The loosening of party ties and the formation of factions and blocs with- in parties ultimately may have a blighting effect on representative government. Even now we are be- ginning to speculate on what may follow tke pext general election. Ob- servers of cvents are saying they will not be surprised I the people fail to select a_President and a Vice Presi- dent in November. This would mean, of course, that the election of the next President would be thrown into the House of Representatives. That possibility, which many regurd as a probability, threatens the established right of & people to select their offi- cials. Politicians foresee a_ third party movement with a presidential ticket in the field if the nominees of the regular party conventions are not satisfactory to the blocs within the old parties. Looking forward to the mecting of the electoral college after the election, they visualize a deadlock produced by the inability of any one of the three candidates for President to obtain a majority. * % % It is apparent that the present House of Representatives, divided al- most equally between the two major parties, and the balance of power be- ing held by a small group which owes allegiance to no party, would not be able to elect a President; and it is almost apparent that the Senate could not elect a Vice Presidentsif called on to do so, unless it entered into a compromise with certain disgruntled members who have a habit of block- ing action if prevented from having their own way. Thus arises the con- tingency whereby the American peo- ple may be deprived of the right of free expresslon as to who shall be President and Vice President of the United States. It arises, I may say, as a result of the striving of Ameri- cans to get away, as a matter of Women’s Political Plattsburgs BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Women continue to take politics seriously. Whea American women first displayed a solemn interest in national affairs and a strong sense of personal responsibility regarding the vote a frequent comment was that they would soon enough begin to take politics as a matter of course. The tendency appears to be quite other- wise. Women of the Republican party are holding campaign training schools, or political Plattsburgs, in different cities to prepare for the coming election contest, and the re- sults indicate that the feminine poli- tician, professional or amateur, is de- veloping Into a new and very earnest political type. So intensely do the women hold | their political ideas that instructors find it almost impossible to get a | woman student to make any humor- ous remarks in a speech or even to tell a funny story in illustration of a point. The woman pelitician can appreciate the effectiveness of Mrs. Harriet Taylor Upton's ten rules for woman speakers, including the fa- mous suggestions, “Don't dress like a bareback rider or a tinseled circus dancer” and “Don’t yell at your audi- ence as if you were calling Johnny in to lunch.” But when she comes to make her own speeches, the amateur woman politician is so fired by the impor- tance of what she wants to say that she cannot drop to the casual level of sharing a jest with the audienc This is a little thing, but it is signifi cant. “When one of the Republican train- Ing schools was held In this city, not long ago, 308 women enrolled. ' Sena- tors’ wives, club women, writers and women who hope to become cam- paign_speakers for that party at- tended the course. The students paid a ‘tuition fee and attended classes and lectures day and night for four days. At the end of the week 285 of the 308 students took the examina- tion to obtain certificates. Seme of the Questions Asked. The examination was not & seap. The students were required to dis- cuss such questioms as: “What are the three essential functions of gov- ernment? State one fundamental differenice between the two parties. What is meant by freedom of speech In the Constitution? What has been omitted from this course which yeu would like to have included?” The students taking the osumrse were addressed by eight congress- men, three cabinet members and other government officials. These men discoursed on such matters as the intricacies of the budget, taxation problems, immigration, the Constitu- tion and foreign relations. Of all the subjects presented, the women were most interested in the budget and the tarifft. Man poli- by this interest fiiany rere g 2y s et sonal subjects in government affairs, but to the women the reason was Most of them had clear anon%“ "‘L.“ ien tions in their experience, they felt that prices on food, clothing and other necessities were matters that directly concern the women of the colintry. Ba‘l{gel aequiring cold facts and arguments about party politics, the woman students also took dally les- sons in public speaking, to enable them to communicate their ideas. The public speaking el conduct- ed by Mrs. Anne Renshaw, was par- ticularly interesting to a non-partisan onlooker. The budding campaigners were advised not to attack the oppos- ing party, but to concentrate on the affairs of ‘their own party and on its platform. They were given three D. ¢, JUNE 1, it actuality if not of theory, from rep- resentative government and to sub- Stitute the principles of a pure de- mocracy. The original ldea of the framers of the Constitution was that the presi- dential electors of the various states should be the kind of men who could confer after their own election and select the two best and most avall- able men in the country to be Presi- dent and Vice President. But the na- tional conventions long ago changed all this. Nominees are named long in advance of the election, and the electors, like 8o Mmany animated rub- ber stamps, merely go through the form of an election, doing no more than register the vote of the people for the candidates named by the con- ventions. This does not worry me a bit. My only worry is that the elec- tion of a President may become the object of political barter in the Sen- ate of the United States. * K ok % T do not conceive that T am de- prived of my freedom or have lost an iota of my democracy because some one other than myself selects the President. T place this among innu- merable things which I as a free agent infinitely prefer to. trust to the judgment of other men. rather than to my own judgment. When it comes to marrying and rupning a business, man may insist upon his own way of acting, but in other activities of life he may well defer to the m: judgment of his fellows without ing to conmstrict freedom of mind. And in no essentlal particular does government differ from several other activities of life. There must be common sense in a democracy; in.fact, common sense is a characteristic of any good demo- crat. If the idea of the right of every one to run for office is to pre- vail, then we will have to strike out state lines, establish a centralized government, apportion senators and representatives according to the pop- ulation at large and take our chance on good government. But it will not do to change representative govern- ment for a pure democracy unless we | devise a way of learning all there is to be learned about men who offer themselves for office. We suffered much from incompetency in appoint- ive office that we adopted the civil service. Strangely enough, we are unwilling to forego it or to extend it | to elective office | * * k% In the republic of Uruguay each candidate for office 1s required to sub- mit to an intellectual test before a| national board, which determines | whether he possesses sufficient quali- fications to justify his request for a lace on the ballot. Something of the ne kind is being agitated in Aus lia. If we keep on nomin dead men for oflice and who never had a con: even though phys! E o { Uruguayan idea may in_the United Stat vindicate itself, justify prote itself, whether 'we wiil no. But | if we come to this, we 1 have | merely traveled in a circle and got back to representative government. What's_the difference between the original presidential electors, who Jected our Presidents and Viee Presi- | dents on the basis of character and | fitness, and th e h examiners w r of in Uruguay and Australia, where mental and physical tests of cand dates are held desirable? My view is that our old-fashioned representative government is just as likely to preserve our freedom and our rights as any pure democracy of modern times. (Copyright, 1924, by 21st Century Press.) sally applled. would revolutionize po- litical campaigns. The rules were: Have something to say. Know how to say it. Kmow when to stop Mrs, Renshuw says that in the past America has produced a few oul- standing orators, men inspired to| great cloguence by sublime idealism | Toduy we in a practical age Cumpaign oratory is over. but cam- paign speeches are steadily gaining {n importance. The successful _po- itical speaker today is the man or woman who can explain a cause so clearly, simply and convincingly that the audience is not only emotionally aroused, but is also made to think and act. Spoken arguments have an advan- tage over written ones in that the voice makes the words dynamic, and the vital contact between the speaker and the audience is immediate, : The student speakers were not ai- lowed to imagine that holding and winning an audience depend on luck and sincerity. FEvery woman in the class took several turns at practi ing expression on the class, so that experience might show her and her fellow students what to do and what not to do. Some Good and Some Poer. Brief speeches that any seasoned Ppolitician might envy were made. Other trial speeches were delivered timidly and in muffled tones. A few speakers revealed a lack of a fund of definite knowledge about political matters. But, one and all, the women were there determined to learn. Their attitude made clear the statement of an English expert on public speaking, who says: “Today the average woman is more successful in public speaking than the average man, for the simple rea- son that she appreciates the fact that nothing good is ever achieved with- out trouble. She therefore takes far more pains than the man and devotes much more time te the training of her voice, the accumulation and prep- aration of matter and careful prac- tice in the art of speaking.” Mrs. William Wolff Smith, who. or- ganized the training school held in this city, predicts that women will take a prominent part in speech- making in the coming eampaign. In past elections, she says, woman speakers have spent much time ad- dressing clubs and other non-political organizations. This may have given amateur speakers practice, but so far | over the country.” 924 —PART 2, Capital Sidelights g s BY WILL P. KENNEDY. Do yon know that there was once 8 Speaker of the national House of Representatives who was elected and served but one day? Do not feel too muéh abashed be- cause you did not know this. There are very few members of Congress who ever heard of “the Speaker for & day.” In fact, William Tyler Page, clerk of the House, In testifying be- fore the appropriations committee, recently admitted that he wasn't sure of this former Speaker's name. He said, "I think he was Speaker for one day. 1 believe his name was Pomeroy. A portrait of this former Speaker has been hung beside the entrance to the west lobby door of the House. The appropriations committes was constdering an item, of $2,000 to pay for this portrait. Mr. Page was ex- plaining that this appropriation was authorized by a resolution of the House after a hard fight. Representative Theodore Medad Pomeroy was a native of Cayuga, N. Y., and district attorney of that county; served in the New York Gen- eral Assembly in 1557, and in_the Thirty-seventh, Thirty-cighth, Thirty- ninth” and Fortieth Congresses. He was clected Speaker of the House on March He was later mayor or ., and a state sena- tor. vice president and general counsel of the American Ex- mpany, and was temporary an of the Republican national convention in 1876, . * ¥ ¥ X It has just been disclosed that there was a Secretary of the Navy in the interim between the “resignation” of Edwin Denby and the appointment or Curtls D. Wilbur to the Wavy port- folio, and up to the present time the public has not been let in on this secret. Soon after Secretary Denby's re- tircment there was considerable talk among the friends of President Cool- idge in Massachusetts that Frank Stearns, who is “next friend” of Mr. Coolidge, might be sent as a dele- te to the Republican national con- vention. As soon as he heard this proposal, Mr. Stearns declined the honor, saying he was a business man und did not care to enter into any political position. Within a day or_two President Coolidge met Mr. Stears and said, “T understand that you are nct going to be a delegate” Mr. Stearns re- plied, “Yes, that's g0, as you know I am not a politician.”~ Smiling benignly, Calvin Coolidge ~looked compassionately at his good friend and said, “) mind, Frank, 1 will make it up to vou. Consider your- f appointed as my Secretary of the How do you like being a offic . Stearns, who is a very modest wan, blushed in embarrassment, and to hem and haw. Before he ould say a word, however, President Coolidge broke in with, “Now I want your resignation.” So Frank Stearns of Boston, Mass., has it all over the late Theodore Pomeroy of New York, who was peaker for a day,” because he was cretary of the Navy for about two minutes. * x % % Sometimes an humble worker gets his meed of praise. This happened when David Lynn, architect of the Capitol, appearing hefore propriations committee, testified re- garding the valuable and expert work done by Charles E. Fairman, curator of the art works in the pitol building. Mr. Lynn said: “He is one of the most valuable men that we have connected with our office. He has had charge of the files of the office for several years. When he came there they were in very bad condition, boxed up and stored away. He has gone over the entire files of the office as far back as we have any nd has put them in splendid He book entitled of th which is a very publication. requests for it from raries and other institutions all * k% % One hears much talk about the “open door policy” on Capitol Hill, but there is only ome member of Congress who really practices it The western spirit of hospitality has been made more apparent in Washington by Representative Charles L. Richards of Nevada, the only member of Congress to have on his office door the sign, “Walk in." Richards apparently believes &o thor- oughly in the spirit of cosmopolitanism that even when he is on the floor of the House and his secretary, Miss A M. Huruenin, is _transacting business in government departments, one usually finds tha representative's door epen. ook ok A majority of the people in this country have the idea that members of Congress never have to spend any money for postage, but Frank W. Col- ller, postmaster of the House, testifies to the contrary. He sells members of the House between $40,000 and $45,000 worth of stamps a year for use on their letters other than those on of- ficial business £k * How much any one state in the Union owes to other states is not often con- midered these days. But an interesting example was given in the House during the woek when Representative R. Wal- ton Moore of Virginia made a retort courteous to Representative Thomas L. Blanton of Texas, who had been cen- suring Mr. Moore by innuendo. In re- ply, Representative Moore said: “I think he might now and then re- flect upon_what the state of Virginia has done for his own state. From my country across the Potomac and from other sections of Virginia young men went out to participate in the war with Mexico, the resuit of which meant 50 much to Texas. It happens that a kinsman, whose name I bear, was one of them. He and many others gave their lives in battle against those who questioned the right of Texas to be free. After a while a Virginia Presi dent signed the resolution which au- thorized the annexation of Texas to tho Union and placed the star of Texas on the flag along with the stars of as a party was concerned, these speeches were not vote-getters. The audiences were mixed. There were anti-suffragists; there were other women who would fight and die for a certain ideal of government and for whatever party happened to champion that ideal; there were women who were opposed to align- ing themselves with any party, and there were women who were Repub- 1tcans, Democrats and Laborites. They all sat politely and listened, and went away with their beliefs intact. There was never an opportunity for the speaker to turn her audience of in- dividuals into a single-minded .crowd and to swing that crowd by an appeal that would reach every section of it. This summer woman speakers are expected to campaign in larger num- bors, and they will be more promi- mently featured than in the past Many women still have more leisure than men, and 8o they can volunteer their time and services. The political training_schools of the Republican women, all planned and conducted by the women themselvse, are expected to equip 100,000 women for campaign work of various sorts. E 8o “far, courses have been held in different sections of New York State, in Baltimore, Washington, Columbus, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and in some other cities and some counties. Indianapolis and Denver are the mext cities which plan to hold Klaiisherss, the older states. “Before that a Virginia President had insisted upon the application of the Monroe doctrine with respect to Texas when two of the great powers of Furope were greedily asserting their right to establish colonies in Texas.” * ¥ ¥ ¥ There are some 15,000 libraries in the United States, and the Library of Congress keeps in touch with all of them, according to Herbert Put- nam, librarian of Congress. EE W. W. Lufkin, formerly private secretary to the late Representative Augustus P. Gardner and who later served in Congress, and who is now collector of the port of Boston, has just recetved authority to destroy some 26,000 gallons of seized alco- hol and other contraband liquor ‘which he had in storage. Thousands of gallons of Belgian alcohol were brought into Massachu- setts by rum runners and a large portion of it was seized. The Bei- gian alcohol, coming in tin contain- ers, after being stored for a while developed a tendency to eat its way through the container, leaking and spouting, so that it became a nuis- noe, especially as every one who worked near it went home with his clothing saturated with the fumes and was promptly viewed with suspi- cion of at least being intimate with bootleggers. This nuisance will now the ap-| As is always the case when a President brings a close personal ington has Veen endeavoring of lace to “find a place” for Frank W. Stearns, the Boston merchant, who has been almost an Inseparable com- panion of President Coolidge's ever since the latter was sworn in as Chief Magistrate of the United States, Mr. Stearns is down in the books as one of the men who “made” Calvin Coolidge. Washington did not know him, however, during the days of the Coolidge vice presidency. If Mr, and Mrs. Stearns came to town during those days it was not very often, and their entertainment was not conspic- uous enough to attract any undue amount of attention, either socially or politically. But with the death of President Harding there was _a sweeping change. Mr. and Mrs. Stearns joi Mr. and Mrs. Coolidge on from Vermont to the Capital have been here most of the since. Mr. Stearns has not wanted an of- ficial position. He is a man of inde- pendent means. There has been talk that he might go into the cabinet if President Coolidge should be elected and should appoint a new official family on March 4, 1 But it is known that Mr. Stearns himself has cast no eyes in that or any other official direction. He has been more than content to stand at his old friend's side, to sit at supper with him, and to while away many an evening hour with down home talk and the spinning perhaps of an occasional New England anecdote or two. Now, however, there is soon to be a vacancy which Mr. Coolidge will be called upon®to fill and which the Bos- ton merchant might fit like a glove. This is the treasureship of the Re- publican national committee. Fred Upham of Chicago, who has served as treasurer for a number of years, is desirous of laying down the onerous task of managing the ecampaign finances because his health has not been good the last two or three years and he has found it pecessary to spend much of his time in travel and at health resorts. President Coolidge already has des- ignated his friend, William M. Butler of Massachusetts, as the new chair- man of the committee, so Washington and time dent may ask his friend, Mr. Stearna, also of Massachusetts, to serve as treasurer. * % k% What stranger coincidence could there be than that the Damon and Pythias of Washington should some day soon find themselves side by side in the United States Senate? The aforesaid Damon and Pythias are none other than Joseph P. Tum- ulty, one-time secretary to Presi- dent Woodrow Wilson, and Raymond T. Baker, mint. For twelve years these two Heard and Seen ‘The passing of Victor Herbert takes away one of the country’s “sweetest singers.” a musician with a surpass- \hl: gift of melodic invention, who |helped place so-called “light music” {on the plane it deserves Washington has a particularly warm corner in its heart for Victor Herbert and his music. For years and years there has been scarcely a band concert here but what the name Herbert was seen at least once on the program. Something there is about his tunes, bright, playful, yet worthy of true { musicians, that made and will always | make “an’ immense appeal to band {leaders of the Letter cla The fine | bands of the National been his steadfast adhere this they have honored and him “He has gonme away, left his music with us,™ music lover. “It seems that T was born with Victor Herbert's music in my ears, and undoubtedly this is true of thousands of others both here and throughout this country and the world. “What a world of melody is ours, as the result of his work! I can think of nothing more appropriate to compare it with than a lovely but he has said a local the real flowers beloved of honest person. “In him_the highest attributes of the trained musician met and mineled with the qualities of an intensely human man, one who loved the lilt- ing strains of the waliz and found it neccessary to make no apology for it “As a writer of waltzes he was, in many respects, America's Johann Strauss. Although he wrote no for- mal waltzes, he left dozens upon dozens of waltz themes of melodic worth equal to the best the writer of the famous ‘Beautiful Blue Danube’ ever did, “This is one thing T am convinced the vears will do for Victor Herbert Although he wrote no comic opera which will live as will Reginald de Koven's 'Robin Hood, he did write waltz melodies unsurpassed. “Where else shall we go for such a melody as 'Kiss Me Again,’ that supremely lovely theme so unlovely named? Its first name, If 1 were on the Stage, was bettet. “His ‘Little Gypsy Sweetheart, or ‘Gypsy Love Song,’ from ‘The For- tune Teller, will go ringing down the ages @as a supreme sample of the magic of Herbeyt, * * ¥ “The originality of the man was refreshing, in a day and era when there is much borrowing’ of thematic material. Victor Herbert did not have to borrow his tumes. They welled forth from his soul like pure water from a spring. “Each one, even from his lesser works, bore the stamp of his ability. I distinctly remember how _that thought struck me when listening to one of the last things he did, ‘the incidental music to a large motion e. PICLET Tt came over the ether lanes via radio, the music was strikingly Vie- tor Herbert. It was the sort of thing musicians delight to play. Lacking the old melody, it nevertheless in- trigued the musical fancy of the dis- ng. e fiia long list of light operas —The 1dol's Eye, ‘The Wizard of the Nile,—one pure melody after another ZThe Serenade’ ‘The Ameer,’ ‘Bab- ette, ‘Cyrano de Bergerac,’ ‘The For- fune Teller, ‘The Viceroy, ‘Wonder- land, ‘It Happened in ' Nordland, ‘Mile. Modiste, ‘Babes in Toyland, “The Red Mill, ‘Algeria’—the list ix lonk enouENiy believe, when all s said and done, that Victor Herbert Was as great in his way as Gounod Was in his. Both had their province, and both excelled. Victor Herbert, 1 am convinced, ranks with the world renowned forelgn masters of light opera; _ with Planquette, Strauss, Suppe, Millocker, Audran, Offenbach, Sullivan. every * * % “There is one quality of Victor Her- bert’s music that always appealed to me. It is a certain wistfulness, if one may call it that, a little sac; that creeps into his gayest measurce. You will find it in the music of tho greatest composers alone. g qual- fty ensures the immortality of Her- bert's melodies. You may not realize it, but they are vibrating In tune with your heart.” friend and adviser with him, Wash- | today is of the opinion that the Presi- | one time director of the | old fashioned garden, in which grow | BY ROBERT T. SMALL have been inscparable friends. Day ter day, month after month and year aftef year, they have lonched togethor at ths same table at the same hotel. They have been sepa- rated at lunch time only when one or the other was out of the city. The possibility of their going to the Senate 15 tounded upon polfticat fact, too, rather than fancy. Fvers one knows by now the story of the letter written by the late President Wilson just prior to his death, in which he said he felt that Joe Tom- ulty was as well equipped as any man he knew to make the race for the Senate in New Jersev. The for- mer gecretary to Mr. Wilson has been inclined to take the Semate rather lightly—especially that he should go there—but many of his friends are serious on the subject. Once not o long ago Joe said he would like to run for the Senate on a platform of {rearranging the seats so that he could put Magnus Johnson and Henry Cabot Lodge Tight next to each other. Ray Baker has definitely determined to make the ruce for the Senate from his home N when the term of Sena ~xpires. Mr. Oddie came in on Harding wave in 1920. Nevada has a way of going Democratic in the | off years, as a rule, and as 1926 will be such & vear, there may be quite a seramble in thé Demecratic party for the honor of opposing the Republican incumbe Mr. Baker's friends be- lieve they can win for him and with him. If these two voung raconteurs should by chance find themselves in the Scnate, there is no doubt they would lend a keen tone to the mus old chamber, e * K x % At this time of heavy European travel it is interesting to learn from shipping men that the popularity of an ocean-going vessel is only teo often gauged by the number of smokestacks she carries. First-class passengers as a rule are not so fas- | tidious about the number of rakish |looking funnels on the boat. but when you get down to the second clase | eabin and into the steerage you find {that the passengers are quite serfous and concerned on the subject. Bmi- grants from Europe have bsem known to refuse absolutely to sail in a ves- sel with only one stack because the beautiful poster shown them by the steamship agent pictured a fine color- | ful boat with at least two red stacks, ibly three. Tasker Od- evert! Ruropean steamship lmes which are adopting motor-driven ships are putlimg two smokestacks on their vessels, withstanding the fact that there is te be no smoke. One Italian line propokes to defy the custom or superstitio® or whatever it is, and has design tWo motor-driven ships with- out a stacks at all. These vessels will carry only a few first-class pas- sengers each, so perhaps that is the explanation of the defiance. If these stackl ships ever attempted to com- | pete for the second and third elass | trade they would be left at the dry dock. Fifty Years Ago In The Star After many weeks of testimony tak- | ing the joint congressional commit- | tee investigating The End of the the affairs of the . . District govern- Investigation. ,..n; reached the end of its work of inquiry on the 224 |of May, 1874, and went into execu- tive session to consider its report. The Star in its issue of May 28, 1574, “Well, the investigation is over and the memorialists can now take an account of stock and estimate profit Some m error and ¢ have been shown, such able from all work on arried on by human but nothing has been de- veloped to the prejudice of the per- sonal integrity of the District govern- ment; and it will not do to take a microscopic or marrow view of petty faults in the exccution of a vast scheme like the redemption of the National Capital. It should be judged as a grand whole, and in view of the | question whether it could have been effected well, or at all, by any other gents. This was the view held in the case of Warren Hastings, |on trial for the strong hand with which {he ruled in India. He was shown to have been faulty in particulars. but his faults were gloriously condoned the splendor and viger of his achievements, by which, despite fac- tious opposition at home and in coun- r‘.fl. he was enabled to preserve the EBritish empire in India from a for- midable combination of foreign and domestic cnemies. It has long been apparent, and was so pointed out many months ago in these columns, that the District machine was too large, expensive and unw eldy to be maintained permanently, and we urged that it should be curtailed just as fast as the completion of the Work of improvement would permit For what might be called the ‘peace estab) ment’ of the District a small official force only is requisite, and we doubt not that our best citizens of all classes would welcome any legis- lation by Congress that would temd to simplify the system of District” government and reduce the working expenses. “But it agenc not at all necessary for the memorialists to get up this te- dious investigation o show these petty faults in the working of a great remedial measure, and where nothing was to be gained by pointing them out since the work had been ac- complished and the engines were slowing down to &0 out of use. Curiously’ enough, the memorialis drifting from one point to another, have finally spent their main energies in the endcavor to prove that the gov- ernment has paid more than its pro- portion of the cost of improvement and the taxpavers less than then To this end all these tedious measure- ments and remeasurements have be made.” % “Washington is becoming, very nai- urally and properly,” says The Star of May 30, 1574, Many Visitors to “auitc an objec- . tive point for Washington. '\ cioniats, hot only in an individual capacity, but Ir some cases as bodies organized for the occasion, and in others as perma- nent associations. Two weeks ago the Tndiana Editorial Association paid us a visit, of which we are assured they carried home pleasant memori Day before yasterday the rich and beautiful County of Lancaster, the garden of Pennsylvania, sent a farge delegation of her sturdy yeomanry to feast their eyes on the beauties of which they have heard so much and which they found have not been over- praised. Yesterday the editors of Rlabama came here in force: todas the New York State Baitorial Ams.- ciation is with us, and next week a Similar organization from Illinois will be here. “Whatever trangers may have | heard in adyance of Washineton, are sure all will find of which find here more ithan a noc wel- come and something warmer than an ordinary interewl. in their enjoyaent band weltare”