Evening Star Newspaper, October 11, 1925, Page 51

" ARMY AND NAVY HEADS FEAR COOLIDGE SPEECH Think Pacificist Movement Encouraged, and See Little Funds Held Needed. BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. RESIDENT COOLIDGE'S Oma- ha speech has thrown a bomb. shell into the ranks of Armny and Navy men. It comes at the very moment that the mili- and naval budgets for the fiscal venr 192627 are under consideration. Leaders in hoth services fear that the effect of the President's freshly pro- claimed demand for economy in de fense expenditure will make is ex- ceedingly difficult, if not impossible, or efther the War or Navy Depart- ment to obtain the minimum appropri- &tions each of them is asking for. Tt is recognized that Mr. Coolidge effectually “sold” his economy n to the country that the peo- vle, acging through Congress, are like- 1¥ to heed the President’s arguments in favor of progressive retrenchment in the realm of prepuredness. Mill- tary and naval authorities believe it would be relatively easy to prove that not a dollar or a man can be tuken from the existing defensive es tablishment of the United States with- | out endangering national safety. But 1ose who hold this opinion admit in same breath that as against the “‘oolidge economy policy neither proof | 10r argument would make much head- | way. In any event, the Omaha speech fairly effectively puts an embargo on titempts within the Army or Navy to h0osL” preparednes: Anything in t line must emanate from civilian sources. Wadsworth to Lead Fight. | From such quarters strong voices | wiil be raised up as soon as Congress | rogran paredness matters. & = Wadsworth, jr.. Republican, of New | Vork, chairman of the Senate com- niittee on military affairs, will be in rhe forefront of the budget battle for adequate Army apropriations. In a special interview with this writer, Sen- ntor Wadsworth sald: “‘The annual cost of the entire mill- iary effort of the United States is 261.600,000. That is less than one- tenth jof the total annual cost of the I"ederal Government. This expendi- ure is the result of five years of constant, severe pruning both by the Bureau of the Budget and Congress. in each of these years the appropria- tlons have been cut down. I know from constant and intimate contact with the War Department and fts work that the most rigid economy has heen practiced—so rigid that the ‘whole system is subjected to a terrific strain. In other words. the national defense act is barely surviving, and that is all. If the support accorded 1o it by Congress is further diminish- »4, portions of the machinery will <top functioning, and all of it will hecome inefficient. There is nothing this world as extravagant as an inefficient military establishment. ‘There is no economy in a third-rate Army. It should be first-class, or we =houldn’t attempt a national defense <cheme at all. Sees no Room for Cut. “Frankly, I cannot see where any substantial cut can be made unless we are content to reduce the National Guard or the reserve, or both, or dis- charge some thousands of men from the Regular Army. In contemplation of this last alternative we must re- member that the National Guard and the reserve cannot possibly continue in a reasonable state of efficiency un- less the regulars are able to supervise 1heir training. If the regular estab- lishment, already stretched to the breaking point, can't perform its function, the wholé scheme must fail in a short time. “Go to any Army post or training camp today and you will find the regular units just hanging together, mere ekeletons, so greatly have they heen reduced in strength. You will find that the horses of the Cavalry and Field Artillery average 15 years of age and that hundreds of them are 1) years old or more. You will learn that there are fewer civilian Chance to Get You will find also that 40.000 the Regular Army are today in ricket wooden war-time conton- ments with leaky roofs and sagging THE SUNDAY BY HENRY W. BUNN. The following is a brief summary iof the most important news of the world for the seven days ended Octo- ber 10: Great Britain.—A fortnight ago Pre- mier Baldwin issued an interpretation adverse to the miners’ clalms on a minor wage question relating to the trace agreement between miners and mine operators. On Thursday = floors, hecause we have made no ap | propriation for permanent barracks. ! You will find that there are not any- where near enough modern gas v K on hand to equip the Regular Army and that there are none at all for the Natlonal Guard or the rescrve. Sees Plane Shortage. “We are fearfully short of modern alrplanes. The alircraft inqui has brought that out with tragic P ness. Go to Panama or to Hawail and any intelligent staff officer can point out (o you the need of weapons and facilities vitally necessary for the de- fense of the Panama Canal and our naval base at Honolul Many of the surplus supplies left over from the war are nearly exhausted. The Army cannot live on its fat much longer. The fact is that the B of the Budget and the Congre self have | been terribly severe in thelr treatment of the Army. If this seve is_in creased in the form of further reduc- tlon in personnel or the continued denial of supplies and facilities, the whole machine, creaking and groan- ing as it is today. will break down.” Congressional believers in naval pre paredness will be heard from in the same strain in which Senator Wads- worth will oppose inadvisable cuts of the Army budget. One of the most prominent Republican members of the Senate committee on naval affairs, with whom the writer has conferred, holds strong views against slashing expenditure on the Navy below pres: ent figures. The senatorial authority in, question, desiring to avold unoffi cial controversy with President Cool idge, is averse to speaking for quota- tion, but the following is a verbatim account of what he has to say: “The Navy has already been cut to! the bone in annual appropriations, and 1 cannot see how further cuts n be made without impairing Its efficiency. While I approve thoroughly of economy in all branches of the Gov- ernment, it seems to me that the pres- ent move to reduce the Army and Navy is & move not to cut out un- necessary extravagances, which I per- sonally do not belleve exist, but .ta save a certain amount of money for ty | down miners’ convention, called to consider | the issue, voted to boycott the royal jcommission set up to investigate the mining industry. Persistence in the boyeott would go far to nullify the commission’s usefulness. ~ It is a dis- heartening development. On Thur v little Miss Eileen Joel, aged 18, riding Hogir, won hands the 4-mile Newmarket Town Plate at Newmarket, England, oldest of turf events, instituted by Charles IT in 1666. Miss Irish Rickaby was second and the three man entrants no. where. Rally, boys, rally! ® ok % % Morocco.—Tt is reported that the main bodles of the French force mov- ing north from Kifane and the Span- ish force moving south from Alhuce- as Bay have made contact so as seriously to contract the RIiff uarea under Abd-al-Krim's control and to hold | hero effectively blockaded on the east. But there seems to be some | reason for doubting the accuracy of this report and for inferring from previous reports that been made by only. At any season appears to be on, and important fur- ther aggressive work by the French and Spanish woull seem unlikely be- fore next It remains to see whether o Petain’s dis. positions for the Winter will prove effectlve, neutralizing Abd-el-Krim's advantage of far greater mobility and making futile the familiar Riff Win- Iter tactics of harassment and infilt tion; and it remains to see whether | the Spanish can hold thejr gaing in the Ajdir and Larache sectors (the French and Spanish are in contacton | the Loukkos River). It remains also | to see what the French Parliament on its reconvening will have to say aboui Morocco. A dispatch of the Sth tells of o Riff night attack near Ajdir. * x % % Italy.—The Confederation of Fas- cist Trade Unions (representing about 2,000,000 organized Fascist ‘“work- ers”) and the Confederation of In- dustry (representing practically all the great Italian employers) have concluded an important agreement. the Government by a reduction in necessary appropriations. It carnot fal to be hurtful to these two branches of the service. Says Navy Cannot Be Cut. “Hearings during the last Conzress showed that the appropriations for the various bureaus barely enzble them to get along without deterioration &nd with the possible exception of the cut- ting out of the dirigible alrship service in aviation, 1 can think of no naval activity that can safely be eliminated. Whether or mnot it will be found ad visable to keep up this branch of the service will be brought out by the Shenandoah investigation. “The 1925 naval bill worked out at a total of $330,000.000 odd. The 192§ bill amounted to $287.000,000 odd, a re- duction of $43,000,000. This means that we have already made a very large cut in naval expenditure. The 1927 bill must carry an adequate ap- propriation for building the eight new 10,000-ton light cruisers, which, under the act of Congress, must all be start- ed during the next fiscal year. Fur- ther appropriations must be made for the two new “V" submarines author ized and soon to be lald down. The President’s aircraft board will prob ably call for larger, rather than smaller, appropriations for the Naval Alr Service. The Marine Corps wa< cut down 1,500 men in last year's ap propriations. A further cut in its per- sonnel cannot but result in the de- terforation of that service. ‘A suggestion will no doubt be made to cut down the personnel of the Navy. | This cannot be done without serious { damage. The 86,000 men that we now | have are the minimum that we can ! afford properly to run the fleet and to take care of replacemen recently had occasion to of the navy vards in the countr employes under the War Department than there were in 1913, in spite of the fact that the administrative and clerical work of the department has srown tremendously since that time. They all show the results of the econ. { omies that we have already made and all are in need of additional appro- jriations for malntenance.” (Copyright. 1925.) SOVIET MISSION PAINTS RUSSIA AS CONTENTED, BY ROBT. UNDERWOOD JOH) Former Ambassador to Itals The arrival of three officials of the| Soviet government, who announce that they come “to look at and learn in an academic way what the United States has done in port development,” has just been reported. In an inter- view they gzave to the press the fol- lowing oceur: | “According to them, the people of Russia_are contented, there is no want, the children are compelled to attend school. and the ignorance| which once characterized the peas- | antry is dying with the present gen- | eration.” | The first three of these statements | may well be doubted by well in-| formed students of the Russian| situation, while the fourth, though | more likely to be true, has a sig-, nificance quite different from the one | that apparently the delegation wished it to carry. What the Soviets have to fear is the disillusionment of the peasants throngh education. That this is immlinent is perceived by the Bolshevist leaders themselves. Let us call our witnesses: Uprising Mere “Criticism.” Addressing the Moscoy Party ference January 197 alin, as vaported by the newspaper lzvestia, said: The question is this: Either we, the Communist party a whole, | must allow the non-partisan peas- antry and non-partisan labor to criti- cize us within the Soviet institution, or they will begin to express their! criticism by rebellf The uprising in Georgla was The up-} rising in Tambov v ticism.’ The rebellion In Kronstadt—was that not likewise ‘criticism'> ¢ ¢ © The peasantry rems ally that is capable of g lutlon assistance. By t] rect assistance, now, at ment. All the other allies present tremendous possibilities for the future. They are the greatest potential reserve for revolution. But to my regret they cannot at this time give any assistance 10 our rule and to our state.” Addressing the same meeting Kame- neft sald (Izvestia, January 30): ““The problem as it stands is whether the political urge of the peasant will be exercised through the Soviet sys- tem or In spite of . The essence of this general peasant factor in the situatfon lles in the efforts of the peasantry to {nfluence the government in spite” of and against the -Soviet stem.” Not much contentment of the peas- | antry in this! Peasant Support Needed. At the meeting on Soviet structure, January 7, 1923. inin is reported as maying: . “Step by step we must cure the NSON. | ns the only g our revo- T mean di- this very mo- THRIVING LAND ' population, and particularly all peas. of the idea that the Communist | party is the actual governing power. ® ¢ * Our task Is to direct the accumulated energy of the laboring masses, and, in particular, that of the peasantry, where the accumulation of energy s speclally evident, into the channels of the Soviet structur | And now the gentle Zinovieff, who, as soon as the crafty Krassin had| been received as Ambassador by M. Herriot, proceeded to write an in.| cendlary letter to the African subject. of France. | “In 1921 we witnessed the growth! of peasant political activity in the village. In these days this was tivity’ with a background of declining welfare, a_background of acute dis- satisfaction with the Soviet govern- ment. That was the first great inter- nal crisis of Soviet rule * * * At present we have a growth of peasant political activity with a background of | increased welfare * * * The least ! concesslon to the theory of ‘the eman- cipation of the Soviet from the party is a blow to the very idea of the hege- mony of the proletariat.” Students Question Policies. Here is other evidence that peasantry is not content. As late as| June, 1925, at the commencement ex- | ercises of the Marxian School, the! Swerdloff University, Stalin under. took to answer interpolations from | the students as to the policies of the | government. Some of the question- ers, though in guarded language, challenged the communistic idea in the boldest way, and confirmed the most_slgnificant fact in the recent history of Russia—the appearance and growth of political unrest among the peasant masses. In some of the | elections the so-called middle peasants | —those of the villages—have not fol. | lowed the proletariat, but have seemed | to follow the “kulaki.” or well.to-do farmer. In the various statements quoted above can be seen a definite admission that the people of Russia are not con. tented. A statement to the contrary by their latest emissaries must be re- garded with suspiclon. It is only dis. guised propaganas- (Copyright. 1925.) | | the Wolves Near Moscow. Fifty packs of wolves have been counted in the Yegorievsky and Moja- isky districts, about 20 miles from Moscow, and the Moscow Hunters' Union has taken upon itself the task of shooting them before Winter weather makes the animals’ appetites dapgerous for traveler: even of wolves, is permitted in Russia only to those having union cards. which cost 25 cents each, Hunting. j It sets forth that the former is the only organization recognized by the! latter as empowered to speak and| act collectively in the name of Ital-| ian industrial workers, and that the| latter is the only organization recog- | nized by the former as empowered | to speak and act collectively in the name of Italtan industrial employers. The agreement abolishes the present constitution of shop committees by secret vote of ithe workers in each | factory: henceforword, the members are to be uppointed by the union | heads. It avows the principle of}| collaboration between Workers and employers and denounces the Marxist principle of class war. Tt acknowl edges the authority of the govern- ment over industrial relations. As officially announced mnot lons ago. Fascism has arrived at its cor structive phase. Those who have fol- lowed the speeches of Mussolini since STAR, WASHI 11919 will not be too greatly shocked | by the resolutions passed this week by the great Fascist council under Mussolinf's chairmanship. These resolutions will be presented to | Parliament for enactment, and it may scarcely be doubted that Parliament will enact their substance. They contemplate .he political reorganiza- tion of Italy very largely on an gccu- pational bas The following ac- | count of their main features is di- gested from the dixpatches, subject to correction as fuller informatien arriv 1. For each art, craft, trade or profession, one Fascist trade union or yudicate representing workers and one corporation (affilfated with the | Confederation of Industry) represent- ing employers, to be legally sanc- | tioned and to be subject to state ipervision; mno other syndicate or | corporation” “for such art, craft, jete, to have legal standing. | All labor disputes incapable of | simaple adjustment to be referred to labor courts, whose decision shall be binding and backed by the necessary force. 3. Three “corporations” to be or- ganized in each province, represent- ing respectively agriculture, (b) industry and commerce, (c) the “in- tellectual” professions. each of these corporations to consist of two parts, one representative of workers, the { other of employer ch corporation to set up a labor court to be pre- sided over by a labor magistrate ap- pointed by the central government. Each corporation to elect represents tives to the councils of the great municlpalities and to Parliament This feature greatly requires elucida- tion. 4. The constitution of the Camera or lower house of Parliament, to re- main unchanged, but the Senate, much enlarged, to consist four-fifths of representatives of the corporations as per above and one-fifth of appoin- tees of the king; save that (though this sounds a little questionable) the present senators will retain their jobs for life. . The powers of government to be much enlarged; the premier, aided by a legislative council of his own nomination, to he vested with effec tive control of the new system of col porations and syndicat The above vroposals are vague, but no doubt they will be clarified and made precise in the process of enactment. Their grand tenor is obvious: namely, as above stated, politival reconstruction on an occupational basis. The world would be greatly beholden to Italy for a thorough try-out of the projec - periment. but at first blush, the mag- nitude of the powers proposed for the premier must provoke question- ing doubts. Not vainly did Musso- lini years ago declare: “The Fascist revolution tepds to destroy all the ideologies and in a certain sense the liberal and democratic Institutions which were the outcome of the | French Revolution One hears that the present @ bill to Par ing for abolition of the as at preser a little pvernment will | ament, provid town councils constituted in muniel thun 5,000 population, the administration of such municipal- | iti=s to be vested in “l comn lers with | “podesta | appointed | interests. by the And Rome it {MAN IS LOWER THAN ANIMALS, CLAIMS AUTHOR OF NEW BOOK Has Reason, But Will praved Creature, Delib: t Use It—Pictured as De-| erately Seeking Misery, By French Psysiologist, Nobel Prize Winner. BY E. W. HOWE. 1 have just read a bool written, called ““ldiot Man. . profes: cducational institution and nner of a Nobel prize. The author apparently a considerable person- age. His contention is that wiile man has been called homo sapiens (wise man). such praise is undeserved: he should be called homo stultus (stupid man) because of abundant evidence of extraordinary dullness. It is unplea: ant to be told one is stupid; it more unpleasant to encounter proof hter comes dis- ving. Other Races Ignored. lie pays almost no attention to the black races, which for 30,000 years have lived in Africa and have done is agreeably near {little to improve themselves. The red and vellow men are also disposed of in a few pages, that the author ma burry to the stupidities of the white: who have. at least, a few &ketchy at tempts at 6clence and art, analytical treatises on geometry and morality. dictionaries, plays, cathedrals, sy phonies, universal exhibitions, physi cal laboratorles and astronomical of rvatories. Very little, says the au- hor, after 300 centurfes, but still | sométhing: enough to give white hu- | manity an appearance of intelligent, | if not reasoning, life. This he denies it has, and concludes | that mankind should return not to the savage but to the animal state, since animals never are degraded beinge. They live @ serious, serene existence, hunting or grazing as_they are car- nivores or herbivores. Those living in herds have a vague social order, which consists_essentially in_combining to escape dangers and to find easler con- ditions of living. Certainly they never | engage in general wars, starve and | murder; each other by wholesale, o) destroy their pastures, as has alw: been the habit of men. Walk Into Misery. To. walk straight into unnecessary misery in obedience to prejudices, mis- | takes or defective reasoning is the in- xeusable thing he says we are guilty of. A few great minds have emerged from the herd; therefore man is not destitute of reason, but this very rea- son, instead of belng an argument against his stupldity, is a terrible proof of it. To have reason, and be unreasonable, is much more serious than to lack the faculty of reasoning. Intclligence yoking ~herself with stupldity, so Prof. Richter sums up human evolution. | The author frankly confesses he is not mad and presumptious enough to suggest a system of reform, and to add yet another book to the vast lit- erature of social economy, which is already of such rank. yet barren, growth. There could be no stronger proof of man's inability to solve so- cial problems than to examine the bog in which we actually wallow— Y Charles | o+ of physiology in a | | foods, and rejected hy all men. withiout giving any pre the guod or the brave. list creed were adopted | e should wit- | ness iniquities differing in kind but | not in degree from those with which | we are familiar. The idler, sur {his comfort, would tw!ddle his and watch the industrious working. The Gospel says: "I tree th | bringeth not forth good fruit is h jdown and cast iuto the fire’ 1 | not go so far as to suggest that idiers | be cast into the fire. I should be auite content tu leave them in the | bestial poverty which they carned. It is absolutely right that | workers and intelligent people be re- | warded; that slackers and imbec | should expiate their slackness and | imbecility by actual want. Absolute | 2quality 1s so gross an error that it | has been able to sprout only in the | befogged brains of theorists. or does he expect betterment from | { religlon, but refuses to embark on any religipus discussions lest some one re- proach him with attacking the faith | {of his grandmothers. | Denounces Drinking. Prof. Richter denounces drinking in- toxicants as one of man'e follies it | would have been perfectly casy to do unequaled Wine, whisk: corrupt, putrefied every MNvi-g | thing except man. Were it only on account of his taste for drink, men would deserve to be set apart from the whole animal creation for stupid ity. The ugliest thing in creation is the drunkard, but not among piss, jackals, donkeys is such ignominy | to be found. The evil of alcohol has been oft exposed, but men act as if {key had never heard anything about t. Much {s made of war in the in- dictment against mep. The author likens humanity td a’sultan who has two wives. One is young, beautiful and healthy, radiantly graceful and| sweet. To her husband she gives| pleasure, mirth, tenderness, love and serenity. She is science. common sense. The other wife is a dirty old hag, abject, blear-eyed, a walking skeleton. She has only a few scanty tufts of gray hair thick with vermin, toothless jaws and fetid breath, a body ravaged by disgusting ulcers and covered with filth. She is violent, full of lies and fury, given to frenzied rage; she foams and bites. She roars Instead of speaking. Even from afar { she stinks. She is war. Man Embraces War. Yet she is the favorite wife of this | egregious fool. He inhales her deadly | breath and presses his lips to her de- | caying gums: he swoons with love | before this sinister creature and com- pels the other to be her abject slave. “Oh, men of taste,” the author says, in completing the picture, “how will you judge this sultan? Our civi- is without. and wh the animal worl | beer are depraved, in pamphlets, lectures, phrase-making, arguments which have accumulated in thousands, and which only make us_worse. Nor does he claim to be better than others. He belleves the use of to- bacco to be an evidence of our stu- pidity. “On this subject,” he wittily says, “I can speak as an expert, for I am a great smoker, and know it is extremely harmful.” Opposes Socialism. The author does not seem to believe in socialism, the remedy pro- posed by most professors. “Nothing more lawful, he writes, “than quired wealth. The principle of Epcla.lum 8 to Impose the same yoky lizations have never dreamt of in- terrupting the joys of war that they may heal their sores. They don't want to be healed; they want to fight. And that Is why the human species is a thousand times more stupid than the stupidest animal.” ‘This author believes a tariff, a pro- tective policy, one of the greatest stupidities of men, as it encourages idleness and medlocrity, and increases prices. He believes in free trade be- tween nations; in free effort, and re- ward for good work. “But T am not such a simpleton,” he adds, ‘as to believe that any one will listen to NGTON, | win out, or the joint program of Japan ! probably | scope was the largest of its kind in| i Campbell has been president of th3 | combination of prisms ‘and lenses. | From the amount and djrection of me. Writing down to public preju: dice is the lowest of trades, (Conyzight, 19260 D. C, OCTOBER 11 deprived of self government, to lose her mayor, board of aldermen and municipal council and to have in- stead a governor, 2 vice governors, 10 rectors and 80 consulters, all ap- pointed by royal decree. The gover- nor is to have autocratic power, sub- Ject to the minister of the interlor. The vice governors, etc., will be very strictly subordinated to the governor, A scrious affair occurred in Flor- ence the other day, result of the Fascist antl-Freemason policy and enactments. Under circumstances of great provocation, a Freemason mur- dered a Fascist. At once Fascist “‘reprisals” began. The murderer was beaten to death by a Fascist mob. Reports differ as to the conduct of the Florentine authoritles, but it ap- pears cerain that for hours the Fas- cists of Florence ran wild, destroying much property of Freemasons. mur- dering several Freemasons and badly beating others. At last quiet was restored by telegrams fromi Mussolini and Farlnaccl, secretary general of the Fasclst party, sternly command- ing an end to violence. * k% % Russia.—Busy days in Moscow. A Russo-Japanese rallroad conference be- sins tomorrow. W1l the Russian rail- road program respecting Manchuria and her protege, Chang Tso-Lin, super- tuchun of Manchurfa? Or, belike, will a compromise be reached, Japan mak- ing concessions regarding Manchuria in return for Russian concessions re- garding Sakhalin? Among the guests of the Muscovite government are a Mongolian delega- the chlef of staff of Feng Yu- the Chinese “Christian gen- and an important general from Canton. One hears that the Soviet govern- ment will begin next Spring copstruc- tion of a rallroad to connect the Trans- Siberian with Urgas the chief town of outer Mongolia. The Hejaz.—It will be recalled how, last October, the Sultan of Nejd, head of the Wahhabis, those dour funda. mentalists of Islam, after capturing the holy places of the Hefaz and causing King Hussein to abdicate the crown of the Iejaz in favor of his son Ali, proceeded to besiege King Ali, defended by only a remnant of the Hejazi army, at Jidda, the port of Mecca. and how, except for Jidda and the harbor town of Akaba, the Wahhabis seemed to be masters of all Hejaz, with the prospect, almost, it seemed, amounting to certainty, that ere long the entire Arablan peninsula (bounded on the north by regions under British mandate) would be brought under the sovereignty of the Sultan of Nejd, except the coastal regions under British “influence,” and perhaps excepting also Yemen under its iman. But the Sultan, Ibn Saud, could not take Jidda, and we have | had vague reports of defects of Wah- | habite detachments here und there at the hands of Hejazl tribesmen. We have no precise information as to the present situation, but apparently Ibn Saud hus decided that he hus bit off more than he chew. It is reported | that he is about to negotiate with King | Ali under the auspices of Great Brit | in, which power has largely patroned | the house of Huss (still patrons | ihe sons of Hussein in Irak and Trans- | jordania) but, not wishing to be in-| he religious broils of Islam, | withdrew from the affairs | 1925—PART ? of the Hejaz when Hussein was so mad as to set up for.caliph. If the report as to the coming negotiation is correct, no doubt the British govern- ment has consented to participate only at the urgency of both parties and after satisfying itself that such participation will not affront the gen- eral sentiment of Islam. * ¥ % % United States. — The Shipping Board has deposed Rear Admiral Leigh C. Palmer from the presidency of the Emergency Fleet Corporation and has appointed Capt. Elmer E. Crow- ley in his place. The sequel of this serfous challenge to the administra- tion will be watched.with interest. Not the least important business of the week was the convention of the American Federation of Labor at At- lantic City. The proposal of Arthur Purcell, a British guest, that the fed- eration “establish the closest fraternal relations” with the workers of soviet Russla was not indorsed—quite the contrary. Mr. Purcell is a member of Parliament. On October 2 the airplane carrier Lexington was launched at the Fore River yards of the Bethlehem Ship- building Corporation. She is a sister ship of the Saratoga, launched last April, both being converted from un- completed armored crpisers, doomed as such by the Washington confer- ence. Thelr displacement is 38,000 tons; length, 888 feet: speed, 33 knots. ach carries for maln armament elght 8-Inch guns. Each can accom- modate 70 planes. They are far su- perfor to any other airplane carriers afloat and apparently superfor to any others under construction or defi- nitely projected. 3 Miscellaneous.—Anatole de Mofizie has been eppointed French minister of justice, succeeding M. Steeg, who replaces Marshal Lyautey as resident general in Morocco. The French cereal harvest is almost sufficient for domestic requirements. The conference of Locarno, looking to a British-French-Belgian-Italian- German' security pact respecting the frantiers between Germany on the one hand and France and Belgium on the other (and perhaps, also, pacts re- specting the German-Czechoslovak and German-Polish frontiers), opened Oc- tober 5. It will probably last sev- eral weeks. Our information thereof to date is only vague and gossipy. The overseas emigration from G many in 1924 amounted to only 000 persons, as against 115,000 in 1923. It would seem that during his visit to Berlin, just completed, Chickerin, the Muscovite forelgn minister, in- sured consummation of the long- debated Russo-German commercial treaty, secured German private credits 1o a total of one hundred milllon gold marks to cover Soviet purchases of agricultural and industrial machinery | and made sure important German collaboration toward realization of Trotsky's grand program (Lenin's dream) of Russian electrification. I said, “it would seem.” It is just possible that the reports cited above are propagandishly exaggerative.) The ‘expedition to Palestine of the Musem -of the University of Penn: vania has unearthed at Beisan (lhel gcriptural Bethshan) the remains of | a temple of the Goddess Ashtaroth.| believed-to be the very shrine {n which | Baul hung his battle armour after his victory of Gilboa. The shrine is said to contain an image of the god- dess, Wwith bronze serpents, doves and other sacred objects. “DIRECTORY” OF TAR CATALOGU Astronomers Busy for Ye: locities of Stellar Bodies to Determine Path and . Speed Our Sun Is Traveling Through Space. BY JAMES STOKLEY. Tu recent years there has been a tendency to build great observatories on mountains. One of the first and the Lest example of such an institution is the Lick Observatory ef the University of California, sit- “d on Mount Iiamilton. 4,209 feet | above seu level, near San Jose. Un ke the Mount Wilson Observato Pasadena. from which nd other peaks may be seen higher in the distance. the | Tamil observatory is on .est peak for many niiles. and | - be seen, when the air, the Sierra Nevadas. nearls Baldy™ tower Mo the hiz by James Lick, a San Francisco mil re. who died in 1576, and In 1888 scientific work was begun. Lick founded it as a personal memorlal, and it is truly such, for under the! castiron pier of the great 36-inch| refracting telescope, in the masonry | base, are deposited his mortal re- mains, and on the side a simple bronze tablet proclaims, “Here lies James Lick.” When built, this tele- | the world, and even today it is ex- ceeded in size by only one-other, the 40-inch at the Yerkes Observatory of the University of Chicago. How- ever, it is prebable that the su- riority of the climate at the Lick bservatory over that of Wisconsin more than compensates for the dif- ference in the size of the lens. Big Lens Gives Good Service. Since the completion of the ob- servatory many famous astronomers have used the great telescope, and the excellence of its manufacture is{ evidenced by the fact that since then it has required no important repairs, and_is still apparently in as good condition as when constructed. One of the chief researches that it has been used for recently has been to make spectrum photographs for the preparation of a catalogue of radlal velocities of stars down to the fifth magnitude, the limit of naked eye visibility. This catalogue, when published, within a year or so, will tell the astronomer just how fast these stars are moving away from or approaching the earth. It was be- gun and much of the work on it since was done by the director of the observatory, Dr. W. W. Campbell. For the last two vears, however, Dr. University of California, and has been unable to give full time to its com- pletion. Dr. J. H. Moore, astrono mer at the observatory, is now giv- ing most of his time to the work. Since the catalogue will include stars not visible in the Northern Hemls. phere, a large number of the spec- trum photographs have been made by the southern bragch of the observa- tory, located near Santiago, Chil Some of the photographs have been made with the 36-inch reflecting tele- scope at Mount Hamilton. Seek Sun’s Destination. The method consists of measuring the displacement of the -dark lines which appear In the star's spectrum formed after its light has been passed through a narrow slit and the proper this displacement, the astronomer can determine the radial velocity of the tar very accurately, within less than mile & second. it the measures of the ragial velogities af thess stars, | will seem HEAVENS, ‘ E.NEARLY READY ars Measuring Radial Ve- 2,600 in all, has been but a means to an end, ‘o find out how fast and in" what direction the sun. with the eurth and the rest of the solar sys- | tem, s moving through space: For many vears it has been known that the sun is moving toward a point ar the bright star Vega, in the con- | stellution of Lyra. At first it mig ia GROWTH OF POPULATION PROMISES FOOD CRISIS Drift From Farms to Cities Leading to Synthetic Food or Rigid Curb Upon Increase, Census Indicates. BY E. G. MELFORD. OPULATION is growing so fast in America and moving away from the farms and into the cities at such a rate that America faces the problem of a food shortage in a few years. This is the nearest approach to |2 prophecy T was able to get out of Dr. Joseph A. Hll, assistant director of ‘the census, to whom I had-gone for some flgures on what America would be like when the nexf census 1s due. Dr. Hill demurred at prophecy. His business is tabulating cxisting facts, not forecasting future ones. Nevertheless, he could not entirely resist a little speculation about some of the problems which are being manufactured for us by the sheer growth of population. Here are some of his speculations: By the time the next census is due our population will be more than 119,- 000,000. people. There is_plenty of room for that number and a great deal more. The trouble is not room. but food. People are abandoning the farms so fast at the same time that the num-| ber of mouths to be fed is increasing that a food shortage will some day contront us. The remedy may be in nature—that is, food will become so dear that peo- ple will be again tempted back to the farms, or we have to face special measures as, for instance. birth con- trol. The doctor is the typical student. with Vandyck beard, of serious ex- pression, yet with eyes that twinkle with animation and observation. Seat- ed in hin large office in the fire- trap B building, on Sixth street, south of Pennsylvania avenue, this city, by documents, statistical tables and census bulletins. His secretary, while not playing “The Wedding March,” on her typewriter, was clicking at a great rate, the while the doctor talked —he couldn’t smoke, for the building is of wood, erected during the war and meant oMy as a temporary structure —seven years ago! Plenty of Room Here. We discussed prophets and the doa tor was disinclined to prophecy. So 1 renamed it “speculating.” Q. Will you gpeculate on the future? A. We can Wli guess, but have no assurance that our guesses are worth more than that of the next man. What shall I guess about? Q. About our tota! population years hence. the doctor was completely surrounded | duction, whether in wheat or huma: beings, is bad. We need better physi- cal and mental production, not merely quantity. Q. Does the increase in populatio: during the last 10 years warrant such a speculation? A. It does. We increased by more than 16,500,000 in the last 10 Even with reduced forelgn influx, we are likely to do better by 1930, for the added 16,000,000 will have children too—and it ail counts. Q. Do statistics prove anything’ A. Yes; all you have to do is to take the popuiation per square mile. I 1790 it was in 1850 it had in creased to 7.9. In 1860 it was 10.6. Then came great jumps. In 1890 it had risen to 21.2. Tn 1900 it was 25.6 in 1910, 30.9, and in 1920, 35.5. Q. Are there any spectal sections. aside from the wide open spaces the West, where the increase has been unusual? A. Take Rhode Island. In 1900 it {bad 401.6 inhabitants to the square | mile. Ten vears later this rose to 508.5, and in 1920 to 566.4. Mass chusetts is not far behind, with 47% in 1920, an increase of 130. Of course in some sections of the country ther- is still ample space, but a great dex! of this land is unfiy for agriculture or, as a matter of fact, for anything else. For instance, the per square mile population of Nev: 1 has been that for the la 3 Wyoming is the next most spal settled section. Its population is on 0. an increase of just one-half a per on in 10 years. There are 11 States whose population is less than 10 to't | square mile. Food Chief Problem. Q. Does not this indicate plenty of | room for more population | "A. For the present, yes | not worr room. will be sbout food. Q. Where will that come from the farmers stop farming? A. Imports and synthetic food. W¢ can import so long as we have the money to buy and other nations have | the f00d to sell. Of course if the drif! |to cities continues. foodstuffs ai bound to reach great price heights Then the city dweller, lured by the prospects of money. will go back f the farm. Q. Is there an: | ing at population density? | "A. The density of population ma | be indicated by average area for eaci: | inhabitant, expressed in acres. The | census statistics show that each in | habitant here had a theoretical 30.: We need Our worry other way of look A. What can I guess? The popu. lation is increasing by leaps and bounds. T shall say offhand that we are now a tot beings. We have been and are likely cent a yvear. cu And this in spite of the urtailed influx of foreigners. Q. Where will it end—I mean, ho soon will the limit of room and food be reached? - A. Not in your life or mine. or dur- ing that of any one living. You see there is still plenty of room. It is a question of feeding those who are yet to come, that will perplex and worry the future generations. extent upon the farming element? A. Yes; and the trouble is the drift laway from the farm to the city. | There {8 no immediate way to stop it. | {much as has been written on the ques- tion. No one has a solution, for there is none, save a natural one. Q. What do you mean by that? A. A natural adjustment of things. In a comparatively small number of | vears, the drift to the cities will cause food shortage. which can be met only in two ways. The first of these is a reaction in food prices due to scarcity, which will encourage farm- ing, for there will be profit in agri- culture if prices are sufficiently high. Population Control Essential. Q. And the second” A. A forced reduction crease in population. Q. You mean killing the undesir- ables—the deformed and defectives? in the in- seem herd to see the relationship be- tween the promiscuous motions of the | stars and the path of the sun, but | t is not so difficult as it seems. If| the stars are moving in all possible; airections and measure thel; velocities, there should be just as many moving one way as another in all parts of the sky, provided the earth is standing still. But if the, sun and the earth with it is ftself moving rapidly in a certain direction, | most of the stars in the direction we | are going will seem to be apbroach- ing, while the greater number of stars | in the direction from which we come to be receding. In this way, Dr. Moore his found that the sun s moving through ‘space with the speed of about 12 miles per second.| Heavenly Twins Listed. Vor has this been the only npp]i-! cation of the measures of the stellar spectra, as over a thousand spectro- scopic - binary stars, or “doubles” have been found from the plates. ‘These are pairs of stars that revolve around each other, but are so close that even the highest powers of the telescope do.not reveal their duplic- ity. The spectroscope does, however, or when one member of the pair is moving from us the lines are dis- placed in one' direction. At the same time the other member is moving to- ward us, and it displaces the lines in the other direction, the result being that the lines appear as double when the line-joining the stars is at right angles to a line to the earth. When the two stars are in line with us the spectrum lines appear single, and from the alternation of single and double lines the time the stars require to revolve around each other may be determined. Nearly 5,000 Discovered. However, not all binary stars are spectroscopic—some are far enough apart to be seen as double with the telescope, and it is these that Dr. R. Q. Aitken, assoclate director, who is in charge of the observatory in the absence of Dr. Campbell, {s studying and measuring with the 36-inch tele- scope. 8. W. Burnham; at one time with the Lick Observatory and later at the Yerkes. Observatory, was one of the first’ 10 catalogue thesé stellar twins, and upon his death, his papers and books . were turned over to the late Dr. Eric Doolittle of the Uniyersity A. No: birth control. Limit the newcomers and give those here a chance to live useful lives. Overpro- of 114,000,000 human ! to increase at the rate of ahout 1 per | Q. Does not that depend to a g‘reatl acres in 1890. Ten years later thi had shrunk to’25. In 1910 it had | Bone down to 20,7, and in 1920 to 15 This means a reduction of 40 per cen: in 30 vea Q. Has the shifted much there is room: A In 1790 it was 23 miles east o Baltimore: in 1860 it had reached Chil {licothe, Ohio: in 1580 it was | miles uth of Cincinnati, it Ken! 1900 it was 9 miles | southeast of Col Ind.: in 19 it was 1.8 miles west of Whitehal Ind. So't progress has been { comparatively small. What the fu ture will bring. no men can say. Q. Now to the rural and urban populat Has there been muc chang: center to tie of population West, wher n. Drift to Cities Growing. A. Decidedly! In 1880, 28.6 per cen: | of the population lived in citles an | towns, and 71.4 in the rural sections | Ten years later the urban percentage {had risen to 35.4 and the rural droj iped to 64.6. In 1900 the rural popu {lation had gone down to 60 and the | urban risen to 4. Another 10 years | brought the urban up to 45.5 and | dropped the rural still farther, dow: to 54.2. The last us showed tha | the urban percentage was §1.4 and the rural only 48.6. And then the busy doctor declined {10 venture anything further. content {ing himself with giving me a huge mass of statistics tending ta prove that we are a diversified country, wit} jmany human beings capable of man: things, faced with the choice of syu thetic tomatoes and factory-made ho dogs. or, on the other hand. with | searcity of babies (Co i 19: HIGHWAY BUILDING PROBLEMS ENGAGE 53006 RESEARCH BODIES BY PROF. S. 8. STEINBERG, University of Maryland. Motker Shipton’s prophecy made 300 vears ago that “carriages without horses shall go" has been abundant- States. We now have 18,000,000 motor vehicles on our highways. And ret we appear to be far from any stopping point. Indications are that motor transportation is going to de- velop beyond anything we can now visualize, and in so doing it will con- tinue to make changes in our dally life and in our business. in our cities and in our towns. Upon the motor highways of the future will depend how rapid and in how satisfactory a manner this development will take place. This year, as last year, another billion dollars will be expended in highway work. thus indicating that crease in number of motor vehicles for a road 2 miles long was considered are let in 10 and 20 mile stretches. In one day recently Pennsylvania let road contracts totaling $12,000,000. The previous record was that of Illinois, with a letting of $9,000,000 in one day. As a fesult of this stupendous pro- gram, it has been truly said that the construction of highways will be the most active American industry during the current year. 500 Research Bodies Busy. Fortunately, highway engineers real- ize the necessity of having this great development of our highway system proceed on sound principles of engi neering and of economics. This is evi. dent from the fact that the Federal Government, the State highway de- partments and many universities are engaged on an extensive program of research into the preblem affecting highway finance, construction and of Pennsylvania as the leading authority then on the subject. When Prof: Doolittle died, Burnham's re- sults, as well as his own, were given to Dr. Aitken, who is now e in an éxtemsion to Burnham's catalogue, whieh will be published by the ob- servatory within a year. The im- portance of thexe doubles is shown by the fact that 1 star out 'of 18 in the sky can be seen as double with the 364dnch telescope. - Altogether this observatory has been responsible for-the discovery of nearly 5,000 of them. 3 Froui tbs Pittsburgh Chronicle and Telegraph: That West Virginla man who walk- ed to New York to an election bet, because John W. vis was defeated, bas {eund's. place i b SuR, maintenance. A recent census showed that there are almost 500 highway re- search projects under way throughout the country. It is the function of the Highway Research Board of the N: tional Research Council to co-ordinate these researches, spread as they are over such a wide territory; to prevent duplication of effort, by putting the workers in touch withoneanother,agd, finally, to make known to each State the findings which may be immedi- ately applied in practice; thus result- ing not only in the better construction and maintenance of highways, but also in a great saving in the taxpayer's dollar. The Highway Research Board thus occupies & unique position as a serv- ice organization to highway engineers and to the public, and it enjoys the complete confidence of all agencles throughont the country engaged or in- farested in highway development. v realized to the people of the United | the people of the country expect the | highways to keep pace with the in.! Whereas a few years ago a contract | a large undertaking, now contracts | One of the mosi important invest: ons now being carried on under | the auspices of the Highway Research [Board is on the development of earth {roads.. Although we may now trave: | with good speed and comfort from one end of the country to the other. we must not forget that 85 per cent of all jour rural highways are still in a state of nature, and many of them impas {sable for several months of each vear |1t may help us to realize what a grea: economic loss this means when we conelder that one-third of all the aute {mobiles in use are owned by farmer- most of whom are_compelied to use these earth roads. This problem is |especially significant one in the We: lern States, where there is a grea: |mileage of highways to improve and |maintain and the funds are so limited }th any extensive program of surfuc ing with more costly types of pave ]ments is out of the question. Less Costly Surface Sought. Many attempts have been made to solve this problem. For instance, in North Carolina. where they have a sea of sand stretching for hundreds of |miles along the coas, the State High {way Commission has developed, as « iresult of research, a sand-asphalt sur face made up of a mixture of 93 per cent local sand and 7 per cent of as phalt. This renders very satisfactory service to that locality. In South Caro | lina; Illinols and California tarsandofls {are being used; efther by mixing with the earth or as surface applications. In the Southern States either the toj jsoil of the flelds or a mixture of sand iand clay is used. In Iowa, Missouri and South Dakota experiments are be Ing conducted in which the natural oil is mixed with hydrated lime, or in some cases with Portland cement, in an attempt to stabilize the natural soil. alizing that this is one of the most important problems confronting highway engineers, the Highway Re.® search’ Board is attempting to co-ordi nate completed and current research on this subject with the hope of devel- oping a low-cost road surface that will be suitable for light traffic. $10,000,000 for Sugar. To the extent of $10,000,000 the Free State is subsidizing the growth of sugar beets in Ireland. The first tactory for the production of beel sugar is to be erected by a Belgian drm which obtalned the ¢oncession. There was lively competition among {Irish towns seeking to be selected as the place for the factory. Carlow was chosen, ard when the decision was announced the town band turned out and serenaded the representatives of the Belgian firm. Bonfires were light- ed and there was a general cele- biation. y