Evening Star Newspaper, September 27, 1925, Page 37

] "not .alarm him in the least, but a EDITO NATIO SPECIAL FEATURES | RIAL PAGE NAL PROBLEMS . EDITORIAL SECTION Part 2—12 Pages ALL-METAL AIRSHIP MAY SUCCEED LOST DIRIGIBLE President Interested in Proposed Substi- tute for Shenandoah—Heralded as Fireproof and BY FREDERICK WILLIAM WILE. RESIDENT COOLIDGE and the Navy Department are taking lively interest in the construc- tion of the world’s first “all- metal” airship. If their find- ings are satisfactory, Congress -will probably be asked to appropriate money for a dirigible of that type to take the place of the doomed *Shen- andoah.” The Alrcraft Development Corporation of Detroit is now ready to build a demonstration vessel, the distinguishing feature of which is that it is metal-élad. The Shenandoah's steel frame was encased in a silk envelope. Some of the testimony just developed at the Lakehurst in- quiry into the Shenandoah's loss was to the effect that a silk-clad dirigible affords no adequate facilities for “‘an- choring” the girders of an alrship. That deficiency will not exist in an “all-metal” craft. In addition, the De- troft dirigible is claimed to be both fireproot and iweatherproof. Its con- structors also contend that it will have a speed, carrying capacity and range of action superior to any existing air-| ship of similar size. President Coolidge’s Position. Mr. Coolidge is as “game” as any sallor in the Navy in refusing, as it were, to “give up_the airship,” just because Comdr. Lansdowne's craft fell afoul the elements. The President has not the remotest intention of abandoning the dirigible system of aerial construction. He authorizes the statement_that there is as little justi- fication for doing so, on account of the Shenandoah disaster, as there would be in building no more ocean Uners for fear they would all meet the fate of the Titanic. Uncle Sam must continue his effort to conquer the air—by dirigible, as well as by heavier-than-air types, in Mr. Cool- idge’s opinion. He Is watching eagerly to see whether the Detroit engineers have hit upon a system for the dirigi- ble that will restore Congress’ faith in it. On all hands it is conceded that the lighter-than-air machine received a serious blow when the Shenandoah was destroved. It is largely up to the Detroiters to show that they have hit ‘upon a device. that is at least an ad- vance upon the system that fell rather easy prey to the winds in the Middle ‘West a month ago. Designers of “AllMetal” Craft. The man chiefly responsible for the creation of the “all-metal” dirigible is Ralph U. Upson, former chief engi- peer of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.’s aeronautical department, and four times winner of national and in- ternational balloon races. Howard E. Coffin, one of the Coolidge air board members, quotes Italy's greatest avia- iton expert, Signor Nobelll, as saying that Upson is the.leading aircraft en- gineer in the United States, it not in the world. The speed and power consumption of the “all-metal” vessel have been ac- curately checked by two independent series of wind-tunnel tests at the Washington navy yard and at the Weatherproof. In Boston. Likewise, the ease of “controllability” has been established, d4s well as the best shape and plac- ing of the control surfaces. The strength of the ship, in the resistance of its shell to distortion under vari- atlons in pressure and pitch, and in the disposition of the framing, has been checked by an overloaded hydro- static model, bullt one-tenth size, using the actual shell plating and similar seam construction and sealing me- dium, rivets and riveting process that will be used in the full sized ship. Valuable lessons were learned from the extreme conditions imposed. These confirmed former conclusions and demonstrated the dependability of the design. The problem of putting millions of rivets into the ship—work almost im- possible to perform by hand—has been solved by designing a riveting machine that stitches rivets as a sewing ma- chine sews cloth. With this auto- matic machine 5,000 rivets can be in- serted in an hour. In addition to devising a way of riveting the seams together, a means of making them gas-tight was neces- sary. The material, which was de- vised for this purpose, is a substance affected by neither heat nor cold, hav- ing a consistency that would stick to the metal and not run, yet sufficlently elastic to “give” with the metal. Instead of a silk envelope, the “all- metal” Detroit ship is covered with “duralumin,” which i{s a thin sheet metal of a fiber sald to have shown itself absolutely weatherproof in tests. A full sized experimental fin of dura- lumin was built and tested to destruc- tion. It stood a load of over five times the maximum flight . pressure, and yet weighs only 29% pounds. C. P. Burgess, an authority on Zeppelin construction and .an en- gineer of lighter-than-air craft for the United States Navy, made a thorough-going study of the “all- metal” dirigible and reported as fol- lows: “At the present time, the metal-clad alrship gives promise of important advantages over the Zeppe- lin type of rigid airships in regard to increased lift, security from fire, greater durabilitly, less cost of ma- terial, and less total cost, if the rivet- ing work can be done malinly by auto- matic machines.” Edsel Ford a Director. Among the directors of the Aircraft Development Corporation at Detroit are Edsel B. Ford, president of the Ford Motor Company: C. F. Kettering, president of the General Motors Re. search Corporation, and Harold H. Emmons, president of the Detroit Board of Commerce. William Mayo, chief engineer of the Ford Motor Company, is_vice president of the corporation. Wrapped up with the desire of the Detroiters to sup- ply Uncle Sam with the most modern type of dirigibles is the Motor City's anxiety to become the Natlon's prin- cipal aviation center from the indus- trial standpoint. The Fords are said to be ready to place, their fortunes and facilities at Detroit’s disposal to that end. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Copyright, 1825.) _Surface of Mars Mu | The Sunday Shar WASHINGTON, D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 27, 1925. Row in Shipping Board May Be Settled By Turning Entire Job Over to Hoover BY J. RUSSELL YOUNG. HEN the next session of Congress gets fairly under way, the United States Shipping Board, which came into being during the World War, is "going to be called upon to fight for its very life. There i8 no mistaking the gathering storm. In more than one officlal quarter there is evinced a determination to crush this powerful inde- pendent agency of the Federal Government, either by removing the board entirely from the fleld of operating the ships of the American merchant marine through separating it-from the Emrgency Fleet Corporation, or by com- pletely abolishing it. No time is being lost by some of those who intend to take a leading part in the fight this coming Winter to scrap, for all time, the Ship- ping Board, the majority of whose members have been in open conflict with Admiral Palmer in the administration of the affairs of the Emergency Fleet Corporation, of which he is president, and {n his attempts to sell ships to private owners. These opponents of the board are making no secret of their intentions to battle to the end. The opinion prevails in more than one quar- ter that it would not be surprising to see Presi- dent Coolidge give his support to those who are making ready to bring about the doom of the board by getting legislation passed providing for the board’s complete abolishment. President Has Been Sounded. The President already has been sounded out upon this proposed legislation, and although those who have discussed their plans of attack with him have not considered it prudent to di- vulge at this time his views, there are indica- tions that he is in what might be described as a very receptive mood. He has not committed himself. That is not the Coolidge way. He first will give the matter much study and will seek the advice of many in whom he has confidence before he reaches any decision. He will first want to know just what should be done re- garding the various functions of the Emergency Fleet. Corporation In the event the Shipping Board, its so-called parent, is killed off, and Jjust how to handle the regulation of maritime rates and other semi-judicial functions. Those questions do not present a difficult problem, the President is known to have been told by more than one of those who are pre- paring to train their heavy guns on the Ship- ping Board. = In this connection, one high official in whom President Coolidge is known to have the great- est confidence suggests that the semi-judicial functions, which, by the way, every one agrees were quite properly intrusted to the board, could ba turned over to the Interstate Com- merce Commission to handle just as it does the matters of rates and rate making of the railroads of the country. Not a Serious Obstacle. This official suggests also that the semi- judiclal functions could be by any board or special body designated by Congress. This de- tail is not considered important and those who are after the scalp of the Shipping Board do not expect to prove any serfous obstacle in their attempt to abolish the board. They argue that if there is any question in the mind of Congress as to what to do with the- semi-judicial and regulatory functions of the board, the Department of Commerce, which has already semi-judicial and regulatory powers regarding navigation, would be the most natural depository. As a matter of fact there are those who are ambitious to see the dreams and aspirations of this Nation for a real merchant marine come true, who would turn everything over to the Department of Commerce. Not only the semi-judicial and regulatory functions but the operation of the Government-owned ships themselves. The advocates of this step would have Congress create a new division of the Department of Commerce and place at its head a director of merchant marine, or an under- secretary for merchant marine. However, these advocates would not place the task of liquidating the present huge and costly fleet under such an officlal. They point out tbat the liquidation of this inheritance of the World War, which has cost so many hundreds of millions of dollars, is a temporary task; that it requires the skill and experience of a real spe- clalist. For that matter, the Emergency Fleet Corporation could be kept alive for the sole purpose of liguidating the fleet, and when this difficult job is completed, it could go out of existence—fade out of the picture, as it were. Hoover to Have Voice. It is natural to suppose that Herbert Hoover, Secretary of Commerce, will have much to say when the time comes to consider seriously the complete abolishment of the Shipping Board by placing its natural and original functions, along with the complete supervision and opera- tion of the fleet itself, in his department. Probably no official of the Government is any better equipped or more pecullarly fitted to take hold of this great National problem than Secretary Hoover, it is claimed by those who are seeking what they describe as the salva- tion of the American merchant marine. They argue further that with Hoover at the helm the President would be relleved of a great worry and his administration would soon be rid of one of its few real sore spots. Besides all this, they have a confident bellef that Sec- retary Hoover would handle this most difficult administrative task to the satisfaction of all concerned—that if he could not put across a real American merchant marine, no one could. But there is Mr. Hoover to be considered. Already he has a real man-sized job as head of one of the Government’s most rapidly grow- ing departments. Moreover, he is busy with no end of other important governmental activi- ties, and it would not be unhuman If he held up his hands at the suggestion to add to his burdens. But Secretary Hoover is not much glven to throwing up his hands, not even in the face of great odds. He is known to have more than an ordinary Interest in ths bullding up of a merchant marine as well as a strong longing to see the confusion which now en- velopés the Shipping Board and the Emergency Fleet removed and to stop the tremendous an- nual waste of public money in the struggle to operate a fleet. If the task is eventually turned over to the Hoover ‘would be found to possess well established ideas of what was before him. The functions of the Shipping Board and the Emergency Fleet are not unfamiliar to him. As busy as he is with other matters, he has found time to make a careful study of these warring agencies. In addition, his knowledge was broadened when he served as a member of the special commit- tee, principally of cabinet officers, appointed by the President in the Winter of 1924, to study and make a report and recommenda- tions on matters affecting the American mer- chant marine. This committee also considered matters respecting the future policy of the merchant marine and, according to its subse- quent report, went into different phases of the question. Among other things this committee agreed with the recommendation of President Coolidge in his message to Congress that the Emergency Fleet Corporation should be completely sepa- rated from the Shipping Board; that in affecting this separation the board should be restored to its original status of a semi-judicial regulatory body for the merchant marine as a whole, and, that the custody and operation of all shipping and shipping properties should be transferred to the Emergency Fleet Corporation. As for the promotion functions, economic investigations and the like, the speclal committee recommend- ed that these be transferred to the Department of Commerce. The negotiation and sale of the shipping should rest entirely in the Emergency Fleet Corporation, subject to approval of the board of directors, the committee also recommended. Although Mr. Hoover’s opinions regarding the abolishment of the board and the placing of all its and the Emergency Fleet Corporation’s func- tions In the Department of Commerce, are not known now, it is known that he belleves much could be accomplished if the next Congress saw fit to carry out the recommendations made by the special committee of which he was a mem- ber. Known Views of Hoover. Mr. Hoover makes no secret of the fact that he belleves the Shipping Board should function only as a semi-judicial body and should not be intrusted, as is now the case, with purely ad- ministrative functions. The latter is exactly the reverse of the basic principles of sound adminis- tration, he contends. In this connection he ar- gues further that boards and commissions are soundly adapted to the deliberate processes necessary to semi-judicial and semi-legislative and advisory functions, but that they ure ab- solutely hopeless where decisive administrative action is necessary, as is the case in operating the merchant marine. He contends that there is not a single successful business organization in the country that confuses such functions the way we do in the Federal Government. The Shipping Board, in the opinion of Secre- tary Hoover, is a glaring example of this con- - fusion of basic principles. By way of explaining this, Mr. Hoover contends that the board was originally created as a body to regulate rates 1nd abolish discrimination in ocean-going traffic. These he describes as semi-judicial functions that were very properly intrusted to the board, but, political jealousies and sectional jealousies, Society News Department of Commerce, Secretary Continued on Third Page) NICHES IN THE HALL OF FAME WILL BE FILLED IN OCTOBER| OF “COMMERCIAL REVOLUTION” |SEES TRADE CHANGES IN FORM Electors to Select Twelve Names From List of 27 |Phenomenal Growth of National Advertising and Fa- Outstanding Americans for Signal Honor Before Future Generations. t Be Very Dry, Spectrographic Observations Show If Mars has any inhabitants, they must be able to get along on about one-twentieth of the water one finds on the tops of the semi-desert moun- talns in southern California. Dr. Charles E. St. John, astronomer at the Mount Wilson Observatory, told the astronomers gathered thero at the un- nual meeting of the American Astro- nomical Society how he learned cf the Martian dought by means of the spec- troscope mounted on the great 100-inch telescope, the largest instrument of its kind in the world. When light passes through a sub- stance certain colors are absorbed, and what these colors are can be learned by means of ‘the spectroscope. Specifi- cally, light passing through water va- por of a certain density will always be absorbed in the same way. By catch- ing the light from the planet with the great reflector and analyzing it with the spectroscope Dr. St. John was able to determine the amount of moisture in the Martian atmosphere. There was a possible source of error in the absorbing effect of water vapor in the earth’s own atmosphere. This was corrected by taking spectographic pictures of the sky. When the absorb- ing effect shown in these was sub- tracted from the total in the plates from the planet the remainder repre- sented the absorption in the atmos- phere on Mars. This proved to be only 5 per cent as great as the absorp- tion of the very dry atmosphere above the summit of Mount Wilson, indicat- ing that the surface of Mars must be highly arid. Measured by the same method, the amount of oxygen on the nelghboring planet also is relatively very low. Ac- cording to Dr. St. John, it is only 60 per cent as great as the oxygen supply on Mount Everest, where explorin, expeditions have had to resort to thi use of oxygen tanks in order to keep alive. ‘Though deficient in water and oxy- gen, there is no doubt that Mars still possesses an atmosphere. E. C. Sli- pher of the Lowell Observatory, at Flagstaff, Ariz., showed that photo- graphs made with red-light filters made the planet appear larger and showed greater detail than those made with blue-light filters. Red light is known to have greater powers of pene- tration through the atmosphere than blue, so that the photographs would tend to indicate the presence of an atmosphere on Mars. Mars is more thrifty than the earth of the radiation it receives from the sun. Dr. C. O. Lampland, using the Coblentz radiometer, found that though Mars receives less energy from the sun, it absorbs all but 15 per cent of what it receives, whereas the earth reflects nearly half of the light and heat falling on it. The temperature of Mars, Dr. Lampland concludes, may not be greatly different from that of the earth. Dr. Lampland has also studied the planet Mercury with the radiometer, but finds Venus unap- proachable because of its dense enve- lope of presumably cloudy atmosphere. Monkey Very Like Human Baby at Birth, German Scientist What is a monkey really like; that s, when he is brought up without any training or furbelows whatever, when he is left entirely uninfluenced to fol- low his own sweet way and is not even given monkey companions from which he can learn what Is proper for mozkeys to do? That is the question Prof. Pfungst, a member of the Berlin Physiological Society, wanted to get some light on in a study he made on a monkey brought up just like that. As an infant the monkey was raised on human milk with some admixture of cow's milk, for the monkey brand was unavallable. His face was o light at birth that it was easy to mis- take him for a human infant when in his nurse’s arms. On the third day of his adopted life he began to suck his thumb, and has not gotten over the habit yet, in his fourth year of life. Thumb sucking had never been ob- served in other monkeys, Prof. Pfungst said. ‘The little fellow knew good manners from birth. He could not bear being shouted at, and he always turned his head and ignored the offender. It was just as bad when any one stared at him. In fact, sometimes he was so upset by it that he showed he would rather be dead than go through with it, for he_often lay flat on the ground and pretended he was. Anything that resembled big, stary eyes frightened him. The sight of a man’s head did gorilla’s head aroused great fear. Finds From Study laughed, although his mother before him had. He could not cry, and even onions held before his eyes failed to evoke tears. In four years he had seen practically no other creatures except man. On two occasions he had been shown a cat and then himself in a looking- glass. Then came his Introduction to one of his own kind. At first he was very exclted and afraid, but his cour- age eventually returned. Before long he became trustful and gave his new companion & “'skin treatment,” as Dr. Wolfgang Koehler, an authority on apes, calls the great social game of hunting for fleas and lice and any- thing else that monkeys can find' in their fur. . Suicide Curb Sought. In Berlin the number of suicides has become so alarming t a pro- posal has been made to create special relief stations where persons contem- plating self-destruction might go and receive the help they need, The causes of suicide are most often lack of money, illness, neurasthenia and unrequited or obstructed love. Could the sufferers recelve good advice, a little money or the interventioh of the proper person, it is thought their in- tention might be shaken and thelr lives saved. Pastors, lay confessors, psychoanalysts and regular physicians might be drafted into service. The 'The monkey yawned, not when he ‘was bored or tired, but when he was question remains whether intending suicides could be induced to have re- iemingatnenER, BY ROBT. UNDERWOOD JOHNSON, Director of the Hall of Fame. New York The selection in October of new names for the Hall of Fame is awaken- ing widespread interest in the press and among the people. The projsct was set on foot in 1900, and therefore this is the sixth quinquennial election. As heretofore, the cholces are made by a college of electors, consisting of approximately 100 well known men and women from every section of the country—college and university pre: dents, past or present; historians and professors of history; jurists, scien- tists, authors and editors; officials, past or present, and other persons of dis- tinction outside these classes. This year there are 107, the addi- tions being necessary in order to give representation to every State, instead of, as before, only to a group of States, and also in order to give a fairer proportion to certain classes. For the sole object of this unique in- stitution is, without prejudice, to pro- vide the best method of choosing for the colonnade at University Heights the most appropriate and distinguished names. In a multitude of counselors the is safety, and there has been little dissent from the choices made. The electors, who include such com- manding figures as Dr. Eliot, Senator Root and Secretary Hughes and the presidents of nearly all the Universi- tles, approach their work with a sin- cere desire to find and approve only names worthy of the recognition and the permanent honor which in the public Interest it is intended to be- stow. The plan adopted seems to be the best and it seems to be working well. As the Hall of Fame is likely to exist for an indefinite period, it is more important that no unworthy name should be included than that some worthy ones should be omitted, and of the surprisingly small measure of criticism of' the selections, most has been directed to the omissions rather than the inclusions, for which on full investigation there will be seen to be substantial bases in character, achfevement or public service. Nat- urally, after five elections all or nearly all the obviously appropriate person- ages have been chosen, such as Wash- ington, Lincoln, Jefferson, Franklin, Hamilton, Webster, the chief authors and others. Now, when the choice deals with names of less brilliance, though often of not less worth, the electors will be likely to give more ‘weight to the consideration that the work and influence of some given per- son ought to be better known than they may be to our generation. The institution, therefore, seems to be en- tering upon its “twilight zone.” Criticism Desired. There is no secrecy about the pur- pose or the methods of the Hall of Fame, and there can be no offense in any proper criticism of the results at- tained. The more comment and inter- est awakened by the elections and by the ceremonies attending the dedica- tion of tablets and busts, the more in- fluence will the institution have as a conservative force in American opin- jon. To serve one’s country well, one must love it; to love it, one must be proud of it; and one wiil be the more proud of it if he is familiar with the fame of those who have done most to make it what it is. The Hall of Fame, visited as it is by tens of thousands every year, and already in the foc of public attention, has become a breakwater of national defense againat those who would throw away our great past along with that of the world and would begin a new life from the chaos of this. It thus deserves the sympathy, not to say the support, of serfous opinion throughout the coun- wfi' of the noteworthy features of made on any pattern of sect or sec- tion or prejudice. The names of Grant and Lee are side by side, both being undeniably famous. The grounds of Poe's inclusion were different from those of Channing's, near whose name is that of Jonathan Edwards. Some- times we have our poetry or our the- ology in earthen vessels. The main consideration would seem to be the total influence upon American lite of the work of the man or woman chosen. So far the statesmen and the authors are in preponderating numbers, but hereafter the scientists and the artists are likely to come into the.r own. Twelve to Be Named. Following are the 27 names from ‘which the quota of 12 may be filled at the present election: Samuel Adams, Horace Bushnell, Edwin Booth, George Rogers Clark, John Singleton Copley, Dorothea Lynde Dix, Willlam Lloyd Garrison, Nathaniel Greene, Thomas Jonathan (“Stonewall”) Jackson, John Jay, John Paul Jones, Adoniram Jud- son, Matthew Fontaine Maury, Wil- llam Penn, Wendell Phillips, Henry Hobson Richardson, Benjamin Rush, Phillp Henry Sheridan, Benjamin Thompson, Henry David Thoreau, Noah Webster, Walt Whitman, Charles Bulfinch, Cyrus West Field, Sidney Lanjer, Paul Revere, James Otls. It is not likely that more than three-fifths of the electors voting will agree upon 12 names. It would be as interesting as a cross-word puzzle and of much educational value if individ- uals or schools would make their own selections in advance and compare them with the conclusions of the col- lege of electors. (Copyright, 1925.) cilities of Communication, National Indus- trial Conference Board Theme. Business in the United States, principally because of the phenomenal development of national advertising and the increased facilitles of com- munication and transportation, is in process of a transformation which is 8o radically changing the trade struc- ture as to be nothing short of a ‘“‘com- mercial revolution,” in the view of the National Industrial Conference Board. ‘The concomitant evolution of new business methods and tactics present problems to which public polley is slowly adapting itself, in the light of the conference board’s comprehensive analysis of 10 years' governmental regulation of competition under the Clayton and Federal Trade Commis- slon acts, in its study *“Regulation of Competitive Practices,” just com- pleted. Significant Facts Noted. Two factors stand out as significant in the changing picture of business evolution, according to the board’s analysis—the waning importance of the personal factor in trade, and the shortening of the process of distri- bution. Where formerly goods were bought on inspection and by personal bargaining, nation-wide advertising has made possible the more direct purchasing, by specification, of stand- ardized commodities at given prices without intermediaries. The manu- fecturer, brought nearer to his mar- kets through nation-wide advertising, depends less on salesmen or jobbers, or even the retailers, and prompt de- liveries by improved freight service and the auto truck make possible fre- quent ordering in smaller quantities, Editors in Daily Fear of Exploitation By Market Riggers and Propagandists The profound and nerve-wrecking responsibility of the editor of the mod- ern newspaper who would sift fact from fiction, and the extraordinary precautions of the Assoclated Press to protect the public from exploitation, are pictured in an article by Edward McKernon in the October Harper's Magazine. The writer, who is the superinten- dent of the Eastern division of the Assoclated Press, says that the bur- den of editorial responsiblility has grown enormously In recent years by the rapidly increased efficiency of the news-gathering and distributing ma- chinery, making possible the swift transmission of news, “for, be it un- derstood, too, that what science has done for the honest reporter it has done for the knave also. Once the news faker obtains access to the press ‘wires, all the honest editors alive will not be able to repair the mischief he can do.” Many persons—a far greater num- ber than most«eaders realf e n business of misinforming the public for their own ends. Of these, three— the market rigger, the news faker, and the professional propagandist—are de- scribed as the arch-enemies of the press and the public. To the market rigger the writer ascribes the origin of the false report of signing of the armistice in 1918. Of him he says: ““The market rigger, whose business it 1s to cause prices in Wall street to rise or fall suddenly in o dangerou: the psychological moment when the public may be most easily stampeded. He frequeptly originates and sets in circulation rumors anticipating such events as the passing of a man power- fu known to be approaching, is expected to affect the market. He can rarely hope that his fakes will be published. He is satisfled to have them well cir- culated. Wall street is sensitive to any rumor and brokers' wires, the most common channel for rumors, will carry to the street any rumor that can get any kind of a start. The President of the United States is his favorite subject. In the past 20 years the As- soclated Press has received mysterious reports concerning the health of the President or perhaps suggesting some accident to him on an average of about once-every four months. No rumor is 1gnored, but none is encouraged. “The struggle between the honest editor, on the one hand, and the would- be exploiters of the press, on the other, is never-ending. Today, as you read these words, men at newspaper copy desks all over the country are blue- penciling page after page of specula- tion, half-truth, propaganda and false- hood foisted upen them in the guise of news. Sometimes, with terrific odds against them of instantaneous com- munication and rapid printing, they slip. Theirs Is a tough job at.best, and they are not infallible. But in the main they are successful in their dafly effort to asseas the importance of what comes to them, to isolate ru- mors, 'eat news fakers and propa- gandists and present to you the honest facts you must have if your picture of the world in which you live is to be truthful and complete.” —_— Live Primitive Life. Armong the ‘“bushmen” of Africa there are no wedding ceremonies. The men make the clothes and the women build the huts. The moon is an object often referred to as “hand-to-mouth™ buying. The resulting quicker turr. over on a larger scale has released much cap- ital formerly tled up in jobbers’ stores, the board's report indicates. But the new ways of doing business also have brought many new problems of read- justment and of regulation, toward the solution of which the Federal Trade Commission’s activity is direct- ed, thus relieving the already crowded courts. Many Business Tactics. Among the novel business tactics developed under the new trade con- ditions are many not easily classified as falr or unfair, and some not wrong in themselves, yet undesirable for eco- nomic reasons, according to the board's report. As advertising takes the place of personal contact between buyer and seller, the report points out, the producer is forced to adopt new devices to develop and retain good-will 8o as’to assure himself of a steady volume of business. Brand- ing of products, intensive advertising of trade marks and trade names and of retail prices, and attempts to en- force such advertised prices thus de- veloped, according to the board, in the effort to capture and hold distant markets. In working out the prob- lems of regulation arising from these newer methods of marketing, and in the sifting of the “unfair” and the fraudulent from the legitimate, much co-operation is being given the Fed- eral Trade Commission by the trade assocfations and other voluntary busi. ness organizations, the board points out. A most reassuring feature of the situation indeed, the board finds, is the voluntary action taken by trade bodles in ridding business of question- able or undesirable practices of compe- tition. Business knows its own busi- ness best, to paraphrase the confer- ence board's view, and is making big strides in clarifying the standards adapted to the greatly changed meth- ods of trade. While there are big problems arising from the radical change in conditions which eventually must be solved through judicial pro- cedure, self-regulation Is emphasized by the board as the most effective means of trade discipline, and as the one positive hope for the further de- wvelopment of business enterprise along the lines of free competition. Discusses Government Policy. Government policy, the conference board finds in analyzing administra- tive and judicial procedure under the Sherman anti-trust act, the Clayton and the Federal Trade Commission acts, is slowly adapting itself to the changing conditions, and “big busi- ness” no longer s regarded with sus- piclon simply because it is big. This change in attitude, the conference board considers warranted by the ex- perience in Government regulation under the Clayton and Federal Trade Commission legislation during the 10 years of the commission’s existence. Most of the commission’s orders to “‘cease and desist” from unfair prac- tices, the board points out, were issued against small concerns of little con- sequence in their own fleld of trade, and occasions for [prosecuting big business enterprises, such as are popularly referred to as “trusts” were surprisingly few. — Light Bulb Shoe Drier. A novel and .very good way of dry- Ing wet shoes is to turn on an electric bulb and place it inside the shoe. The steady, dry heat from the bulb will evaporate the moisture without warp- the-shoes in-ADK WAl GERMANY RESPONSIBLE, NOT GUILTY, IN THE WAR Made Declaration, Which Brought It On, But Thought Herself Menaced by Russian Mobilization. BY FRANK H. SIMONDS. X-PRESIDENT POINCARE'S renewal of the controversy over war gullt has served to set in motion again a debate which has in reality never terminated, and to give a new Ameri- can angle to the disputed question of who was responsible for the World ‘War—responsible in the very precise sense of guilt. We have talked and we continue to talk of war guilt in the identical way that we speak of the guilt of a convicted eriminal, and Germany has been considered and continues to be considered in many quarters as the criminal nation. Nevertheless, it is plain that time has brought many modifications of war-time judgments. The passionate protest of the whole German people against a judgment written into the treaty of Versailles and calculated to place them permanently in the posi- tion of a pariah nation has found echoes in the calmer views of all his- torians writing objectively. There is indeed a whole school of American historical writers who have gone to the other extreme and have striven and are striving to establish the fact that, by comparison with other peo- ples, the Germans are the single inno- cent race and the victims as well as the vanquished of the war. It is against this school that the former President and Prime Minister of France is arguing in his recent address to an American audience. In reality he is defending France against their " indictment, and all his argu- ments have the double purpose to prove France was not responsible and | to demonstrate that Germany was. Nevertheless, one must immediately perceive that in his new brief M. Poincare unmistakably shifts from the ground of war guilt to that of war responsibility. Distance Traversed Since 1914. On the whole, moreover, this sig- nificant shift marks the distance which has been generally traversed since 1914. The bellef. of the war time and of the first period following the war that the struggle was the result of a deliberate conspiracy against peace on the part of the rulers of Germany, who willed the war, who | 0f her blank check to Austria. planned that it should take place as | there is nothing to show that it did, who on the morrow of the Serajevo assassination decided to take advantage of the propitious moment for launching a campaign for world domination, has gone by the board. Ex-President Poincare abandons all this n his own argument, which prac- tically concedes that the civil govern- ment of Germany was striving to avert war at the moment when cer- tain events—in reality a single event, namely, the Russian general mobiliza- tion—changed the face of affairs. Nevertheless, M. Polncare insists that the declaration of war was German, that until it came peace was possible, and that responsibility must there- fore rest with the actual declaration. Back of the crisis, prior to the criti- cal days immediately preceding the conflict, of course, lies the whole story of Europe, not alone for generations, !but in the days petween Tangler and Serajevo, when forces were shaping and "lines being drawn which fore- shadowed the conflict. The antago- nism between France and Germany— dating specifically to the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine—the rivalry of Britaln_and Germany on the high seas, of Austria and Russia in the Balkans—these weré in the larger sense the causes of the conflict. Question of Responsibility. In these circumstances, who was responsible? ~Germany, because she pursued policles which brought her into conflict with Britain and France? Russia, because she backed the smaller Slav peoples against Aus- tria? Britain, because she lent her support to the Franco-Russian alli- ance and thus revived French hopes on the Rhine and stiffened Russian policy on the Danube? -As to this phase, it i{s plain that one may be- lieve what one chooses, and that any belief will be influenced powerfully by inevitable sympathies. That Germany was alone or ex- clusively responsible for the European unrest which existed in 1914 and had existed for a full decade, while seem- ing patent to any French or British sympathizer and to many Americans Wwho belong in the same category, will hardly stand the test of history. In reality, a state of European anarchy had developed as a consequence of rivalries and distrusts between the several great powers. Not one, but all nations felt themselves menaced, Britain with the loss of sea supremacy, France with a new Invasion and mut- lation, Germany with a fatal encir- clement, Austria with disintegration. Status of Pre-War Relations. Peace between France and Ger- many, actual peace, was always pos- sible_provided France would acce 1, between Germany and Britain if Germany would accept British views as to her naval strength, between Russia and Austria provided Russla would renounce her claim to act as the protector of Serbia. But the re- fusal of all nations to consent to such sacrifices of national honor or of na- tional interests does not seem to me to convict any single nation of ex- clusive guilt or peculiar moral turpi- tude. 3 Since none of the nations would consent to any sacrifices, you had a steadily mounting atmosphere of doubt, dread and suspicion—you had an extreme sensitiveness. Instead of a supreme dread of war, you had this apprehension well nigh counter- balanced by other fears; peoples felt their inalienable right menaced, the capacity of European powers for col- lective action in the face of inevitable crises was well nigh abolished. You had, too, as one detail in the situa- tion, a rapldly mounting system of armaments. Nations went to un- dreamed-of limits in preparing for conflict. Dominant Desire of Nations. Nevertheless, it seems to me that history will find that in the case of each nation the dominant thought was not to make war but to find security. All peoples felt themselves truly pacific in spirit but hopelessly handicapped by the belligerent spirit existing in rival and neighboring states. Each people was conscious of the rectitude of its own governmen and purposes, but each arrived at ‘the fatal situation of feeling that its desires for ‘were deliberately frustrated by the war-will across an imaginary line which marked a frontler. In reality Europe was for all of 10 yearg—between 1904 and 1914—in a condition of diplomatic conflict, with the immediate possibility that military conflict would arrive. In this period, too, it was the fatal blunder of Ger- great powers into something like a close partnership against herself. Three times, at Tangler in 1905, over Bosnia {n 1508 and at Agadir in 1911, Germany precipitated crises in which war seemed inescapable. Yet there is rothing to show that she sought war or that the ends she actually strove to attain were not defensible in the light of similar objectives pursued by rival nations. That Germany should desire a part of Morocco, that she should support Austria in the Bal kans, that she should even dream of dividing sea power with Britain were aims morally Jjustifiable if, taken in combination, politically unwise. German Methods Provocative. That German methods were provo- cative will hardly be denfed, even by many Germans; indeed, the failure of German diplomacy and even of Ger- man statesmanship is never denied by Germans themselves. But in a pinch, as at Agadir time, vhen war would have been an easy escape from a hopelessly unsatisfactory situation, the German government accepted a compromise, which did in reality in- volve a virtual surrender little short of humiliating, given the tone taken by British statesmen notably Llovd George in the famous Guildhall speech. That German poli on the whole made for war, may well be the calm judgment of history, but that i sought war, that it deliberately at conflict, is hardly to be believ now. ‘When the archduke was a nated at Serejevo, the German gov ernment did a very foolish thing: It gave a free hand to the Austrians. This was a natural and human thing to do, but it was excessively foolish because Austrian purpose, well known in Berlin, led straight to trouble with Russia. Germany was bound to sup port Austria, even if in the end sup- port meant war with Russia. This was a duty and involved no crime. no wrong-dofng, it might even be the per- formance of a moral obligation. But Germany had no business to let her- self be dragged into . which was what ultimately happened It was very late when Berlin per ceived what the actual consequences but not surprised and even appalled by these consequences when thev becama apparent and it is clear that belatedly her statesmanship undertook to avert the catastrophe. That Germany want- ed war in the last days of July, is no longer arguabie, in m ment, nor is there much to prove at any stage in the debate she con sidered war beyond that between Aus- tria and Serbia, with the remote pos- sibflity that Russian interference might involve her as the ally of Aus- tria. Germany's Ultimatum Surprises. Nevertheless, all of a sudden, July 31, when Sir Edward Grey gan to have hopes, when Austria h self showed signs of weakening. Ger- many interposed with an ultimatum to Russia and followed it inevit with a shower of declarations of war. What was the explanation? For the world the simple and easy explanation was that Germany had always desired war, had only pretended to listen to peace proposals coming from London. and had thrown off the mask when it seemed that her desired objective was not to be attained and that peace might be preserved. Such an explanation, good enough in the time of heated war passion, does not, however, stand the test of time. On the contrary, the world has come to concede that from the first to last the German chancellor and the German government itself, despite patent blundering, really aimed at the preservation of peace, that chan cellor and Kaiser might have been able to avert the conflict. if the con- trol had remained in their hands. What happened, however, was that on July 29 Russia issued an order for general mobilization, an order which had not been suspended despite the direction of_ the Czar. Now it is the clalm of th® champions of Germany that the responsibility for the war, the gullt, rests with Russia and not with Germany because of this mobili- zation order. This is to assume that the issue of a mobilization order was tantamount to a declaration of war, and thus, in fact, Russia declared war, although technically Germany did the declaring after Russia had refused to obey an ultimatum calling upon her to cease mobilization. Interpreted as War Declaration. Now it was, in point of fact, the case that the order for general Rus- sian mobilization was tantamount to a declaration of war. But not for a Russlan, but a German reason. Rus- sia was wholly within her legal rights in mobilizing all her armed forces, nd she had, through the Czar, in a on be- be committed. She had protested that the general mobllization was no more than an answer to Austria, which had mobilized and was attacking Serbia What made the German declaration of war ifevitable was the fact that the plan for the defense of Germany, ‘which the general staff had been work- ing upon for yvears and which was now the sole reliance of Germany in war, was based upon assumptions which fell to the ground if Russia mobilized before the outbreak of hos- tillties. What actually occurred was that the chief of the German general staff, Moltke, having procured a copy of the Russian order, went to the chancellor and said that he would not be responsible for the defense of Ger- many if the ultimatum were not sent to Russia at once. Bismarck would have refused to yield. Even Falken- hayn, then minister of war and later Moltke's successor, thought there might have been delay without fatal consequences. But Bethmann surren- dered. Basis of German Action. Thus the actual explanation of Ger- man action must be found in the cele- brated Schieffelin plan, on the basis of which German military authorities snatched control of the situation from the civillan government at the mo- ment In which it was hopefully pro- moting a peaceful solution. Now the basis of this plan, which had been in existence for some years, was the assumption that France could be elimi- nated as a military power before Rus. sia was able to complete her mobiliza- tion and intervene, provided German attack were launched with full speed and cofnclde with mobilization orders. But if, while the statesmen talked, Russia mobilized in full security, then Russian armies could intervene at the moment of the ultimate declaration of war, and the plan to throw all but a skeleton formation in the east against the French armies would lead A