Evening Star Newspaper, July 4, 1926, Page 19

“sick a single mile BYRD, AT 12, ENCIRCLED GLOBE FOR ADVENTURE Polar Explorer Had Dangerous Expeti- ence in Philippines—Trip Had Great Effect on Career. BY RUSSELL OWEN. HE spirit of adventure that took Comdr. Richard Evelyn Byrd to the North Pole ha animated kim from his bo: hood. When he was only 12 years old he went around the world, fighting Filipinos on the way, daring cholera and figuring in military ex- peditions that followed Aguinaldo’s insurrection. He has always taken chances, and he took more on that first journey than most people care to take in their entire lives. Byrd is a slight, wiry man, but ©of much more powerful physique than is apparent on the surface. He has a keen, vouthful face, lighted by a smile that endears him to all who know him. When he was 12 he must have been an extremely good looking lad, but small—which made his travels all the more remarkable, for in those days just following the Spanish War, going about the world was anything but the pleasure trip it has since become, veled on an Army transport a British tramp. i now famous explorer doesn't talk much about that first journey, almost fights shy of it, in fact, for fear of appearing a Horatio Alger hero. But, looking back, he considers it to have been one of the greatest events of his life. In a way it deter- mined his entire career, for it gave him a love of the sea that led him into the Navy and interested him in navi- gation. His navization on the trip to and from the Pole was a remarkable achievement, and could have been ac- complished only by a man who had made a long study of the subject. Byrd even invented instruments to put into practice his thorough knowl- edge of the science. Saluted by McKinley. The trip to the Philippines came as 8 result of his boyhood friendship with Capt. Adam C. Carson, ni named Kit, who entered the law office of Byrd's father in Winchester, Va., and became the boy's comrade. That friendship has lasted to the present day. Carson's Irish wit and bubbling + good spirits attracted Byrd, while the Youngster's enthusiastic search for new things won Carson’s interest and support. When Carson Spanis nied which and on me back from the War young Byrd accompa- him to the military camp at Carson’s regiment was sta- tioned. When President McKinley reviewed the American troops in Washington Byrd was in the ranks in a licutenant’s uniform miles too big for him. The President noticed this youngster marching with all se- | riousness near his friend Carson and | saluted him. But Byrd did not notice | the salute, and. seeing the smiles of those on the side lines, was indignant at the amusement he scemed to be creating. Shortly after that Carson went to the Philippines, where he became a | circuit court judge. He wrote home | to his friend Dick to come out and | see an is Dick's mother did not much of the plan, but when the boy said he would run away if he did not receive pern n, he was told that he might go. So the youngster made 1is start from Washington to join the | transport §umner at San Francisco. His heart went down to his boots when he bade his mother farewell, but he bucked up under the excitement of the journey west and had a glorious time. That was in the Summer of 1902, The transport was crowded with | d officers with their wives. As a bit shaky when the ship first left the Golden Gate, but after those early tremors he was not sea- of the trip. Just before reaching Japan the ship ran into a tvphoon, the worst the captain had ever seen. The ship ran up the side of one ve and dropped on the | next with such force that everybody | thought she would break in two—all | but voung Byrd, who was having the | time of his life. Thought Storm Was Fun. He thought it great fun, and the plunging, groaning ship excited his fancy, so that even now he can live over again every minute he spent on board. He even took care of some of the woman passengers, particularly a school teacher, who was strapped to the bunk to prevent her from fall- ing out. Dick, clutching the edge of a transom to steady himself, held ice to the unhappy woman's head. “I thought that was a wonderful &torm,” Byrd said the other day. *T didn’t know enough to be afraid.” They reached Nagasaki and went nslrre, most of the passengers thank- ful’to find solid land under their feet again. Some had broken arms or legs, the result of being pitched about. Dick went eagerly exploring. He re- calls seeing a Japanese rickshaw man running wildly down a side street, belabored by the umbrella of an indig- nant woman passenger. The journey was continued, and when the transport reached Manila Byrd was met by his friend Carson, who hailed him with delight. The Doy went ashore and started upon probably the maddest adventures a vear-old has ever had. The islands were still seething with the effects of insurrection. Massacres were not un- common, and the bush was full of yengeful Ladrones. His first visit vas to Sorsogon, where he lived with Gov. Monreal. Here Judge Carson held court. Fined by His Friend. “My first escapade got me arrest. ed.” Byrd recalled with a laugh. “The judge had a punkah—a palm with a string attached to it that led down into the street, where a man was usually stationed to pull it back and forth to keep-the flles off the judge. 1 got hold of the punkah string and worked it so vigorously that T knocked plaster off the celling and ruined the dignity of the court, Judge Carson ordered the arrest of the person who did it, and although 1 ran like the dickens they caught me ¥nd marched me solemnly back. Kit sidn’t crack a smile, but fined me coundly, which I didn't mind at all, decause 1 had some of his money in my pocket. This incident was not mentioned by either of wus until twenty yvears later, when we had a good laugh over it. “A little while after that I had a birthday party on October 25. I must have been 13 years old. There were roast piz and all sorts of delffious things to eat, and wine in a long. Necked decanter with & small hole in the end. I had never tasted wine, but 4t seemed the thing to do, so I tipped one of these decanters, got the small stream from it running into my mouth and then didn’t know how to tip it back. The wine ran down my shirt front, but enough of it got into 1 enjoyed things much more atterward."” Byrd wagged his head in amuse- ment at the recollection of his first celebration in the Philippines. “Why they let me run around as might take part in an expedition to arrest a German who had been killing Filipinos and generally raising the deuce in a part of the country where we were trying to conciliate the na- tives. We went out and arrested him and brought him back. I felt sorry for him locked up in a cell, for he was an amiable person, and took him magazines and books and things to eat. That was all right until it was found that he had cholera. I didn't get it, however. Rode With Constabulary. “The constabulary were alw ing around the country investigating insurrections and massacres, and I de- cided to join them. I wanted to see what was going on. One day when we were at Albay we rode to a village 27 miles inland to look into a massacre. There T had the closest call I had in the Philippines. “Albay was a beautiful spot. I re- member a volcano there with a per- fect cone going to a smoking point 9,000 feet above the water's cdge, the most beautiful volcano I have ever seen. When the day arrived to return I started ahead of the party. and found myself alone in a village that had been pointed out to me as a dan- gerous place. The people there were supposed to be treacherous. They in- ted me to stay, but T didn’t dare, and arted back along the trail to meet the others. I had a pistol tucked in my waistband and was prepared to use it if necessary. Why I wasn't shot from behind a tree I don’t know to this d “I was hurrying along the road where the massacre oceurred, when suddenly, as I was approaching a small stream, several ladrones with bolos in their hands jumped out at me from the bush. They waved their holos and I whipped my pony, head- ing for the river and forgetting all about the pistol. Luckily, T made it in time and managed to get through the water ahead of them. They fell behind, and I didn’t stop until I had caught up with the detachment. I was reproved for my rashness in be- coming separated from the rest. 1 agreed with them, particularly as I 1d almost been fired on by the sentry when I rode in at a gallop. He came so near shooting me that his hand was trembling when T dismounted. Was Kicked by Pony. Some shooting had started near the village after 1 had left and the others were still in the village. My only in- juries were from the pony. He kicked me five times and bit me eight. Thos ponies were the most vicious animal T ever saw. “After rejoining Judge Carson and spending some time more or less quietly, I decided to cut loose on own and went down to Darim Island, near which the Ballengiga massacre d taken place not long before. Se eral companies had been entirely wiped out by the Filipinos. There were two companies of soldiers quar- antined on Darim for beri-bert, a trop- ical disease, but there was a greater danger than from the ladrones. “Cholera was prevalent down there, | and soon after I arrived one of the a profes: Gorgas might have envied, I it the man's pulse, took his tempera- ture and declared him sick. The poor fellow had cholera and died a few no doubt about my hav- ing been exposed to it, and cholera is highly contagious. That night I was sure 1 was going to die. T imagined I had pains in my stomach and never expected to see the morning. I spent the night writing letters to my family, {so that they might have a last word from me. When morning came I found, much to my surprise, that I was still alive and apparently did not have cholera. With the doctor, a Lirother of Carson, and another man, 1 was quarantined on a hilltop 100 vards from the camp. “All during the next days we could hear the groans of the men dying in the huts. Cholera is a painful dis- ease, and the effect of those long nights upon a boy was terrible. We lived on parrots and monkeys, for we were cut off entirely from the world and our companions were depressed by the suffering below and were un- able to help. I shall never forget that experience as long as I live. “Finally the doctor smuggled me on a native boat and got me away to & port where I could get a ship for Manila. After a short stay there 1 left for home on_a British tramp. I had been in the Philippines nearly a year. “On the way home we went around by Ceylon and up through the Red Sea, a fairly uneventful voyage ex- cept that in the Red Sea the second mate, whom I disliked, forgot to wind the chronometer, and we got lost. I was tickled to death, for the mate got in bad. He was an Eng- lishman and used to tease me about my country. I couldn’t see the joke. I remember I disliked him so much that one day when he was sitting at a table in the saloon playing soli- taire I poured a bucket of water on his_head through the ventilator. “The incident of the second mate impressed on me the value of chro- nometers. I don’t suppose I had ever thought much about navigation before. I knew the compass was nec- essary and had seen the offieers shoot- ing the sun, but I did not know that time was a part of the calculations for determining position. Navigation became at once a mysterfous and im- portant function, and I suppose my interest in it dates from that moment. “I remember that we steered due west as the only means of finding our- selves until we hit Madagascar and then piloted our way up the coast to Port Sald. That may be the wicked- est place in the world, as it has the reputation of being, but to a boy of 13 it was merely dirty and interesting. “In due time we hit Boston, and I went home. It was quite a minor tri- umph, and my adventures had a tre- mendous effect on my later education, for 1 was allowed to enter a military academ ead of the age limit.” Byrd has kept the smile, the en- thusiasm and the idealism of a boy. He still hunts adventures. Quest of the unknown, the untried, has kept him young. He is only 36 now, and there are lots of things he wants to do before he writes finis in the log of his travels. Perhaps the South Pole Will be the next. London Society Dances To U. S. Jazz by Radio Late dances to jazz music direct from the United States have been glven by several American hostesses in London. These dances usually start about 2 or 3 a.m., when condi- tions are best suited to long-distance reception. People dance to London bands until about 2 a.m., and 10 min- utes later are dancing to WGY, Sche- nectady. On some important nights during the season the British Broad- casting Company arranges an interna- tional dance program for the benefit of those desiring novelty in the way of dance music. The program started I did I have never known. I suppose Carson kept a good eve on me and +had others take care of me, but I remember that once I was commis- sloned as a @eputy sheriff so that 1 LR TSN with a relay of tango music from Spain, waltz and fox-trot music from Italy, France and Germany, and from 2 to 4 a.m. a relay of American broad- cast music, THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JULY 4, 1926—PART 2 How to Secure World Peace HE cart has been standing be- fore the horse so long in the search for International peace that it seems as if somebody ought to havo discovered why it never moves. The talk is continually of contrivances to pre- vent” war. Only occasionally does any one mention the only real force that can create peace, international understanding and friendship. lleve that we need international courts and associations, but to make them function, to make them any- thing more than a plous gesture, there must be between nations the same sort of good will, understand- ing of problems and respect for dif- ferences that exists within a civilized nation. To achieve this understanding among peoples patience and hard work are essential. It exists, but im- perfectly, within the nations. Many agencles are at work in aid of it. 1 wish to discuss some of those agen- cies and in particular the institution which seems to me incomparably the most_powerful weapon for peace or war that exists, the press. * ok ok % In former times the question of peace or war was determined by the attitude of Kings, emperors —and czars. Where they were friendly their nations remained at peace. But if one of them wanted to pick a quar- rel, at least two nations would be plunged into war. Therefore it was of the greatest importance for their subjects that the soverejgns should he on good terms with ohe another. The ambassadors they sent to foreign courts went as thelr personal repre- sentatives. Marriages contracted by members of the different royal fam- ilies were supposed further to cement the personal relations of the ruling princes. In the last 60 years, both the num- bers and powers of these monarchs have been greatly reduced. <ome of the outward forms have been retained, the power has changed hands. Ambassadors still go to some foreign courts: but they really go as representatives of governments—not of individuals. Foreign affalrs are no longer con- ducted by hereditary kings. They can still help In some instances, but the decistons of each nation are made by its government. The dipldmatic corps is less occupled with intrigue and more concerned with business rela- tions. The personal relationships are as important now as they ever were, but they include a larger group. It is necessary to have the friendship of a whole people, not merely of a roval mily. Here, in my judgment, is the central fact of the debate concerning peace. i x o ok % g While it is a great step forward for natfons to have their business trans- acted by organized governments rather than at the whim of individual rulers, we are seeing a further ad vance in popular control. We are no longer entirely dependent on diplo- matic agents for our information about countries. The field which they can discuss is more or less limited. s trade has picked up and business relations have expanded there has been a closer contact, some of it per- sonal and, of course, a certain amount by correspondence. Our methods of communication have greatly improved in the last few vears, and with better methods of transportation we see more of each other. If the newspa- pers continue along the lines they are now following all people should be better informed thun they generally have been as to the aims and ambi- tions of other nations. We are learn- ing each other’s point of view and are more likely to get along. Newspapers are in a very favorable position for stating public opinion, as there is no reason why they should not say abso- lutely what they think. The concen- sus of opinion of the leading papers 1 be- | While ! OGDEN should give the best thought of the people. Governments, on the other hand, frequently act from partisan motives and say what they believe the yoters want. International negotiations must be carried on through official channel but there is no question that govern- ments are paying more and more at- tention to the voice of the people and being guided to a considerable extent by its demands. In this country the public is exerting a constantly in creasing pressure and we are ap- proaching the stage where the will of | the people is the dominant factor in establishing understandings with other peoples. That situation is being brought about by a press which is sensitive to its responsibilities and powerful in its influence. The press has become by far the greatest of all agencies in the formation of public opinton. Beok It s almost platitudinous to say that this is a peace-loving country, that we | are a peaceful people, anxious to live on good terms with all other peoples. | Our whole history shows us as a peo- ple anxious not only to live in amity with our neighbors, but to assist other natlons in froning out their dif. ferencks. Over a long period this country has taken a forward part in urging the development of interna tional arbitration. Recently the United States Senate agreed that it was the part of wisdom for this country to become a member of the Permanent Court of International Justice. A certain amount of opposition to this step came from those who contended that the World Court was the crea- REID. tion of the League of Natlons and therefore something to be shunned. They ignored the fact that long ago this country suggested to the European powers the advisability of establishing an international tribunal on the same basis on which the World Court was built. President Coolidge had the support of Elihu Root, Charles E. Hughes and many other prominent statesmen in his advocacy of our en- trance in the World Court. In no small degree the American press helped to influence the World Court decision. Regardless of party affilfations, the press urged our en- trance into the World Court. Repub- lican and Democratic newspapers were lined up in support of the President. On the other. hand, there were Re- publican and Democratic newspapers on the opposition eide, their chief argument being that our adhesion to the World Court meant the abandon- ment of a traditional policy. A de- bate in the American press on these grounds can do only good. As a people we are naturally in- clined to hold aloof from situations in which we feel we have no direct in- terest. Today we find the world grow ing smaller, shrinking through the de- velopment of communications. Travel has become greatly simplified. News. papers have developed their interests through the wider employment of the hle and wireless facilities. The move- ment has barely started. The possi- BY OGDEN REID, Editor of the New York Herald-Tribune. ter one knows one's neighbor the less likely one is to harbor serious diffier- ences. In any case, the possibility of settling differences by means of the recognized departments of _arbitra- ment rather than through recourse to force is increased immeasurably. The “shrinkage of the world"” means that we are all more interdependent, the widening of our interests, the growth of our responsibilities. The American press is alive to the possibilities of the situation. The leading journals of this country are reporting foreign events better and hetter. The quality of the forelgn correspondence is stead- ily improving. Our representatives in the foreign field are better trained, better equipped and are doing better work. As time goes on and they gain in experience there Is no reason why the corps of American correspondents should not perform a function as valu able as that of the corps of ambassa- dors. In some respects it may be more influential, hecause they have a vehicle which brings them in direct and immediate contact with the public. Public opinion demands a fair pres- entation of the facts. The newspaper which refuses to publish the facts is insulting the intelligence of its read- ers and doing a disservice to its coun- try. / R Relatively unimportant things influ ence public opinion. Some trivial in- cident may sway a whole people and undo the work of ambassadors and statesmen. In our own experience we have many striking fllustrations of the Kaleidoscopic changes in public opinfon. Professional sports furnish countless incidents showing how eas it is for the idol of the hour to shattered. Frequently a single false step resuits in a serious fall. In recent years we have had a serfes of conterences all aimed at improving international relations. Varlous sub jects have been brought up for gen- eral discussion, and a serious attempt has been made to find an agreement of benefit to all. From an American point of view perhaps the most im- portant of these international gather- ings was the Washington conference which reached an agreement on the question of the limitation of naval armaments. Another international conference in which American repre- sentatives played an important part was the one in which Gen. Dawes and Mr. Owen Young helped to work out a plan for the rehabilitation of Ger- many. Looking back over these im portant meetings, credit must be given the American press for its attitude to ward these events and the manner in which the news was handled. An attempt was made to organize the foreign correspondents who were assigned to the reporting of the League of Nations conference at Geneva. The announced object was the ‘“co-operation of the press in the organization of the world,” but, ac- cording to recent reports, little prog- ress has been made, chiefly becau: one of the promoters of the plan ex- pressed the view that “‘the press might render the greatest assistance to the League of Nations." This incident a8 highly significant. It was a strik ing illustration of the fact that the press desires to maintain complete in- dependence. It is not prepared to follow any formula, to align itself with any particular group, to be bound by a hard and fast set of rules. TN press may do much toward the strengthening of international rela- tions, but perhaps it can help most by acting independently, by following the course best suited for {ts own par- ticular case. Recently the Pan-American Union held the first American Congress of Journalists in Washington. All who Were privileged to attend its sessions profited by the discussions, the con- tacts which they made. Conferences of that kind are bound to be fruitful. bilities of the early future are pro- found. Cable and wireless communi- cation 1s bound to increase in effici- ency. Air travel will be developed be- vond our wildest imagination of a few vears ago. As a rule among individuals the bet- ‘The American press cannot prevent wars; it can be, and it already is, the greatest single force creating those friendships between peoples which are the only real basis of peace. (Copyright. 1926.) The Story the Week Has Told BY HENRY A. BUNN. HE following is a brief sum- mary of the most important news of the world for the severe days ended July 3: The British Empire.—The govern- ment bill making permissible (should the miners consent thereto) for the next flve years an eight-hour working day in the mines has been passed by the Commons. In the debate thereon the Labor extremists outbillingsgated billingsgate. The reorganization bill has not yet been voted on. It pro- vides, in chief, for amalgamation of the mines, improvements in organiza- tion and methods and establishment of a miners’ welfare fund to be main- tained by a 5 per cent levy on royal- ties. It does not provide for purchase of the royalties by the government, as the coal commission’s report advised; but no doubt that will come later. The shortage of coal is becoming very serious. Arrangements have been made for great shipments in the near future from the United States and Germany. Effects from the coal strike are more_and more alarmingly apparent in industry and trade. Railroad earn- ings are desperately hard hit. The British iron and steel industries are practically out of the foreign mar- kets. Unemployment increases by about 20,000 weekly. Premier Mackenzie King of Canada and his Liberal government resigned on June 28, after Lord Byng, the gov- ernor general, had declined to accept Mr. King's advice to grant a dissolu- tion. Arthur Meighen, leader of the Con- servative party and formerly premier, was thereupon invited to form a gov- ernment. He was at once sworn in as premier and formed a temporary mif- stry. On July 2 the new government was defeated on a non-confildence mo- tion and again® advised to grant a dissolution. This time Lord Byng acquiesced. Parliament has been dis- solved and general elections will be held in September, Mr. Meighen to re- main premier meanwhile. The line-up of parties in Canada is unsatisfactory. In the Parliament just dissolved the Liberals numbered 101, the Conserva- titves, 116. Neither party being a majority, the balance of power was held by 28 progressive and independent members. The same situation seems likely to obtain in the next Parlia- ment. The resignation of the King cabinet was precipitated by bitter de- bates over scandals in the customs department involving a minister and a former minister. The refusal of Lord Byng to dis- solve Parliament at Premier King's request brings up a vest of preroga- tive likely to flgure prominently in the coming election. Bl France.—Tuesday Premier Briand made his ministerial declaration and received a vote of confidence, 290 to 130. But that vote was unsatisfac- tory, because 160 Deputies (all, or nearly all, of the Right) abstained, unwilling to comimit themselves be- fore M. Caillaux should clearly dis- close his plans. The declaration was very cautious, not to say vague, in expression. Moni- tary stabilization must be achieved at once; the life of the state hangs there- on. The state must not repudiate any of its sacred engagements. The de. preciation of the franc has to be ac- cepted as fate is devising, but what remains of the franc must be sta- bilized at a new par. Without such abilization budgetary equilibrium is usory. But how to achieve stabilization in the government will base action to this end on the plan of the commission of experts (not vet published) with which the government is in substantial agreement, which plan presents ap- propriate formulas for liquidation of the short-term engagements and re- establishment of the treasury in a safe position. In this connection the gov- ernment (certain changes having been made in the bank’'s management) maw now count on the hearty collaboration of the Bank of France, though its in- dependence will continue to be scrupu- lously respected, and fits credit must remain distinct from that of the state. So far, so good; but not enough. So here is something more; decidedly so. The government recognizes that (to stabilize the franc) international help will not be unessential. In no case will it permit even the slightest in- fringement of the country's sov- ereignty, but it recognizes that the settlement of the debts to Britain and the United States is one of the nec essary supports of solid and wise stabilization. The Chamber will soon be asked to make its decision concerning the agreement with the United States, but not before a definite understanding has been reached respecting France's debt to Britain. The full liabilities of the treasury must be known be- fore ratification of any agreement. A clear outlook is essential to a cou try when it subscribes such solemn engagements. A scrupulous debtor government will wish to be certain that jt has at its disposal the indis- pensible means for safeguarding the monetary unit against depreciation. ‘What, really, is intended by the last crgptic paragraph? Is it hinted (in line with a rumor much bruited abroad, some think floated by Cail- laux himself) that pledges will be asked from the United States and Britain (preferably from the New York Federal Reserve Bank and the Bank of England) of credits for pro- tection of the revalorized franc against speculation on the New York and London exchanges, just as the New York Federal Reserve Bank pledged credits for protection of the sovereign when Britain returned to the gold standard; such credits to smooth the path (otherwise effectively choked) to ratification by the French Parliament of the Berenger agreement and a sim- ilar Franco-British agreement? Discussion of the declaration in the Chamber assumed that negotiations looking to such pledges were in process or contemplated, and the gov- ernment was given to understand that consummation of a banking conven- tion assuring such credits must have the prior approval of the Chamber. It is conceivable that Parliament would ratify the Berenger agreement and a similar Franco-British 'agree- ment if such credits were forthcom- ing and not too great a price. What security would the American and British banks require? We are prom- ised for Tuesday a complete disclosure of his plans by M. Caillaux. There is probably nothing whatever in the rumor that Washington will be approached with proposals contem- plating_modification of or additions to the Berenger agreement, such as a “transfer” clause, a “‘safety” clause or elimination of article VII. It was un- fortunate that Caillaux would or could (probably rather “could” than “would”) not immediately announce his program. Presumably he found it necessary to feel his way a little. The delay, If it has not fatally affected confidence, has caused extreme nerv- ousness, reflected in the behavior of the franc, ‘‘wee cowrin, timrous beas- tie.” On June 15, the date of the res- ignation of the Briand cabinet, it stood at 2.72% cents on New York ex- change. On June 24 it had rallled to 2.9 Thereafter it fell gradually to 2.78 on June 30. The next day it slumped terrifically to 2.661%, the low- est_ever. Two developments call for particu- lar comment. Caillaux has begun firmly to retrench and he has dls- missed M. Robinau from the post of governor of the Bank of France, re. placing him by a man of his own close following, M. Moreau. In anmouncing the change M. Caillaux said: “M. Moreau has been trained in the school of the great financiers of state. In accordance with their doctrines, he will fully maintain the independence of our great bank of issue, whose credit must remain distinct from that of the state.”” That is reassuring, but is it consistent with the ensuing sen- tence? ‘““He received this mission from the government, of whose policy he will be a faithful interpreter.” doubt apprehension as to M. Caillaux's intentions respecting the specie re- serve of the bank is responsible for a good deal of the general nervousness. On Friday the franc slumped fur- ther to 2.65%. * ok ok X Austria and Hungary.—On June 30 League of Nation's control of the Austrian fisc was definitely ended, and after three years of hard work the league high commissioner for Austria, Dr. Zimmermann of Rot- terdam, left Vienna. On the same date league control of the Hungarian fisc was practically ended, with the departure from Budapest of Jeremiah Smith, jr., Boston economist and law- yer, after two years of strenuous labor as the league high commissioner for Hungary. Technically, league control of Hungary continues until the league assembly votes its termination; but no doubt the assembly will so vote this September. The departure of Mr. Smith was marked by a pleasant incident. Ten- dered _a check for $100,000 by Pre- mier Bethlen as compensation for his services, he declined it, and did so in a style of gracious modesty that beau- tifully adorned the act. * k ok % 4 Italy.—Perturbed by the continued size of the adverse trade balance and the depression of the lira, Mussolini has issued a decree which contem- plates increase of production, decrease of importation, and decrease in con- sumption (especially of luxuries). Among its provisions are the follow- ing: 1. The working day increased by one hour. 2. Construction of expensive pri- vate buildings prohibited for one year. 3. Prohibition for an indefinite pe- riod of new cafes, saloons and the like. 4. No newspaper issue to consist of more than six pages. 5. All gasoline used In motor ve- hicles to be mixed with alcohol of native production. During the coming 12 months build- ing activity is to be confined to con- struction of public utilitles and to homes for industrial workers, peas- ants and the poorer bourgeoisie. Every effort will be made to increase the production of native raw materials. There is even talk of mixing other flours with wheat flour up to 15 per cent. Enforcement of war-time reduc- tions would furnish a real test of Fas- cismo. History (and in particular the his- tory of old Rome) does not justify expectation of great success from the sumptuary features of this degree. Nor does recent experience justify the theory obviously entertained by Mus- solini as to the relation between the trade balance and the monetary unit, for note how the pound sterling climbs to parity and above, while the British excess of imports increases from £200,000,000 in 1923 to £350,000,- 000 in 1925, while France has a favor- able balance as the franc declines * k% ok Greece.—A great earthquake oc- curred on June 27 with its center probably at the Island of Santorin in Aegran. There was little loss of life, but there was much material destruc- tion, especially on the Islands of Rhodes and Crete. After shocks were felt all over the Greek mainland and islands, in Egypt and Palestine, in the East Indies and even at Santa Bar- bara, Calif. One grieves to learn that {rreparable injury was done to some of the price- less Minoan relics in the archeological museum at Candia, Crete. * ok ok ok Poland.—On June 26 the Polish Sejm, under the spur of Pilsudski, passed a budget of 450,000,000 zloties for three months commencing July. A good deal of labor unrests re- ported. The Socialists are demonstrat- Ing more and more fiercely against the present regime, demanding dissolution of Parliament and new elections. E;l)n;e clashes are reported with blood- ed. Pilsudski has entered a sanatorium for nervous diseases, and, of course, the air is thick with rumors in con- sequence. Some say the 3ld warrior is completely down and out, others that he merely needs a brief rest and after a trifling treatment will be back on the job in a few days. Meantime the gentlemen of the Sejm are talk- ing each other to death, which may have been Pilsudski's idea. * ok Kk % Senate Tuesday rejected, 54 to 26, the Fess farm credit bill (the old Tincher bill, somewhat modified), strongly backed by the administration, but later the same day it passed the House co-operative marketing bill, also strongly supported by the admin- istration, authorizing creation of a division of co-operative marketing in the Department of Agriculture. The Housp readily concurred in the Sen- ate’s unimportant amendments to this bill apd the President signed it. The act carries an appropriation of szg),ooo. < n Friday President signed the Army aviation and the war veterans’ bills. Congress adjourned yesterday. A STATES PUSHING SAFETY Hoover Conference CAMPAIGN TO SUCCESS Bearing Fruit Move for Uniform Highway Rules. Pedestrians Will Benefit. BY WILLIAM ULLMA! Automobile Editor of The Star. ROAD movements, with their universal aim the promulga- tion of uniform trafiic laws and ragulatiops in the inter- est of safety and efficiency, are now under way in a_majority of the States, and the first fruits of the Hoover conference on street and high- way sofety, held in Washington last March, are ripening, slowly but sure- ly, on many boughs. While the office of the conference {s not yet in receipt of complete notices regarding steps taken to effect the conference's decrees, the word from authoritative sources is that a definitely encourag- ing nation-wide movement is taking place as a direct outcome of the meeting's endeavors. Observers who have kept in touch with the sftuation indicate that dele- zates have not allowed it to rest upon their return home and are now engaged in the work of enlightening public opinfon, placing the confer- ence’'s decisions before interested bodies and in spreading generally the important points placed on record this year's safety meeting at the Na- tion's Capital. It is true, of course, that it is still a trifle early for the full effects of the conference to be noted in the varfous States represented at the Washington gathering. Not enough time has elapsed since the delegates left Washington and returned to their respective communities for the de- velopment of a full reaction; yet an attitude has been set up which is highly important to the whole ques tion of street and highway safety and uniformity of laws and regula- tions. Real Desire to Achieve. A great proportion of the delegates left Washington fully resolved to have placed upon the statute books of their States and communities the spirit—and in many cases the letter if possible—of the conference's recom- mendations. The présence of Secre- tary of Commerce Herbert Hoover throughout the sessions, the general wisdom, understanding and sanity of the provisions brought forward by the various committees combined to awaken in the keenly alive to the importance of the subject—a very real desire to re. double their efforts in behalf of the méeting’s proposals. It can be said with a great deal of assurance, then. that the work of the conference is not being allowed to remain simply in committee reports, but that it is belng carried forward, slowly but surely, by an activ group in each of the States repre- sented at the Washington conven- tion. That it will be a long time before the public at large sees any sweep- ing results of work accomplished by these farseeing groups is certain, considering the great breadth and scope of the task in hand. However, certain sections of the country will achieve their goals first; it can- not be expected that such a program will be adopted with equal dispatch everywhere. Work Is Well Under Way. The work, therefore, is now well under way. That is, the work of carrving out that which the Hoover conference set forth as being the best in_modern safety thought. The sig- nificance of this statement 1s better delegates—already | stones have been latd posals and ‘The final pro- recommendations have been cerried. The delegates have returned to their respective com-. munitles. And now they are engaged -——or are preparing to engage—in the business of putting into practical use the great principles and important de tails outlined. The success of the conference, the ultimate success of that meeting, now depends upon the amount of energy put forth by the delegates and by those who will rally about them in the different States. The conference itself could go so far and no further The conference could lay down sug gested rules and regulations; could set forth in detall the newest and most practical highway control and gafety plans. These things it d\d The delegates could elther approve or disapprove. They gave thei unanimous approval to all the broad principles involved and agreed upon details. That approval carried with it a solemn promise. Had the delegates disagreed, had they failed to reach a final under standing, had the conference ended with dissatisfaction on every hand. the representatives there would have been absolved from further responsi bility. But such, emphatically, was not the case; and now the delegates are called upon to give their best efforts toward effecting that to which they pledged themselves. Importance of Action Seen. If well posted observers are not mis taken the conference succeeded i driving home to delegates the portance of the work at present i hand. It is understood that in a m: Jori of the States represented | Washington the delegates already | have taken some steps in the dire | tion advocated and that where such steps have not as vet been taken t} are being activ ontemplated. That is the important point. Noti ing started nothing gained. There must be a beginning somewhere and this is that place in a very real and important sense. How long it will take to achfeve the kind of results desired no one can tell. How long it will be before State legislatures and communitles can be thoroughly awakened to the full significance of the whole ques tion remains to be seen. At least things are under way. TIn some States they are well under way in others matters are lagging, or are being permitted to lag. This much can be said: Never before in the country's history has there been sue 1 concerted move, such a universal one, on a problem of this character. Good Results Held Certain. Out of such a_ widespread effo some great and lasting good mu come. Eventually it will be possibie for a Massachusetts motorist to drive in Tlinois without fear of vin lating some unknown regulation, and the Illinois motorist will be able to propel his car through the New Eng land States with a similar ease o mind. Not alone will this movement bring about better driving conditior in every part of the Nation; it wi have the effect of cutting down the staggering total of deaths and ir Juries; it will act toward making the streets and highways as nearly fool proof as possible. Furthermore, the pedestrian understood when it is realized that in upwards of 40 States of the Union a coterle of earnest workers is put- ting forth effort to gain one end— uniform traffic laws and regulations and a greater degre of street and highway safety. In other words, the foundation will benefit work, through State and community activities, is carried to widespread culmination. . Thus universal betterment will be the fin: reward of those efforts of which ful observers now can see the i strong beginnings well as the motorist the conference's are Defeat of Confiscation Strengthens Cause of Republic in German People (Continued from First Page.) could not but fulfill his oath of office. He accepted the republic. For a mo- ment ft seemed as if the reaction- aries had won a great victory, but in reality they had forced their most conspicuous figure to swear public allegiance to the republic. Against Socialist Regime. If there had been a real republican sentiment in Germany the evolution would hate been simple and the lines at once drawn bétween monarchists and republicans. But no such senti- ment existed. There was a socialist sentiment, but it was, altibugh repre- sented by the largest party in the Reichstag, a minority in the nation, and the German people would not have endured a socialist republic. If the republic was to endure it had in some fashion to get its support from other quarters. The republic had to develop a sentiment which had not existed. But when the hourgeois parties de- cided to accept the republic, to ac- cept it for the purpose of controlling it, to protect themselves and their in- terests by controlling the machinery of government, when they recognized that only the republic could enlist for- elgn loans and terminate foreign oc- cupation, then the real issue was de- cided. Today the 15,000,000 votes cast in the referendum give the bourgeois parties a new position from which to deal with the Nationalists. This enormous mass of anti-mon- archist voters indicates that restora- tion means domestic revolution, which could only mean foreign complica- tions. It also means a mass which can only be prevented from controlling Germany and ruling it through con. trol of the republican machinery in a wholly Soclalist fashion by a combina- . tion of all the moderate and conser tive elements, Conservative and Re. publican. In effect, the bourgeols par- ties can now to the monarchists, “Quit pursuing the empty dream of restoration, which can only bring ruin to the country, and come into the ac- tual business of controlling German and thereby protecting your property against Socialist assault.” 3 Future Chances of Republic. The republic remains weak senti- mentally. It has no great following. Germany is divided between Mon archists and Socialists, but the re. public is the single possible system because the Socialists will endure it and the Monarchists, lacking the force to overthrow it, must endure it. N until 1935 can the monarchy be re stored in Germany without immediate foreign complications growing out of the presence of armies of occupation Meantime, the sentiment against the monarchy 1 rising, as the recent vote showed. Thus the German republic, ke the third French republic, seems likely to endure, not because it rested at the outset upon a republican sentiment but because it supplies the only con celvable solution to the complex proh lems of foreign and domestic char acter. Moreover, in Germany it has emerged from the situation, where it was identified with misery and hu milfation, and is beginning to prosper a8 Germany is beginning to prosper. What is also true is that, despite the show of debates, all sensible Germans have recognized for several years that for the present the republic must en. dure, and the issue has lacked real importance. Meantime the republic tends to become a habit, and every alternative implies change and chaos. . This, after all, i more than half the battle. Children and Adults Use More Words Than Has Been Children, and their elders, too, know more words than they are usually given credit for. Even peasants have large vocabularfes. Time was when it' was pretty generally conceded that the poor laboring man worried along with a vocabulary of only a few hun- dred words, while the verbal lacks of the college freshman have continued favored material for columnists’ jokes. Now, apparently, this was all wrong. According to recent sclentific investigation, we do the hard-working laborer and the college student a great injustice. Mrs. Margaret Morse Nice of Oklahoma State University has proposed to find out just how many words are used by people of the vari- ous classes, children, workers and in- telligentsia. “Inetead of making un- founded guesses,” she says in a forth- coming issue of American Speech, “let us examine the array of facts in regard to little children and the esti- mates by means of various tests in regard to others.” Beginning with children, it was found that a little girl of two had more words at her command than were formerly ascribed to college students. Generally Believed The large varfation in the age at which children begin to t:lk makes it practically hopeless, however, say Mrs. Nice, to settle upon any sati: given age. ‘With older children and adults a dic- tionary test was used, wherein every tenth or fiftieth word from a small dictionary is tried out on the subject. The tabulated results of several differ- ent investigators showed widely var; ing numbers, but boiled down to mea average. Mrs. Nice makes a conserv- ative estimate that the fairly well read man or woman fs master of frog 33,000 to 70.000 words. . The peasant type, she declares, has never been adequately tested. Pre sumably he should have a larger stock of words than his ancestors because of the spread of literacy and the increase of mechanical devices for which he must have names. Judging from the conservative estimate of 3,000 words of French workers and the high aver- age of 20,000 of an American etymolo- gist, she concludes that it is safe to say he has at his command from 4,000 to 15,000 words, depending on his native Intelligence and education. in factory average for children at any