Evening Star Newspaper, December 12, 1926, Page 63

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS FEAR “POLITICAL GUNMEN” Mania for Investigations, Fed by Inter- ested and Plausible Persons, May Grow This Season. there is for ‘investigating’ the House and Senate themselves. The fomenters of these departmental in- quisitions don't really suspect there is anything criminally or even seri- ously wrong there. Their only object is to create in the public mind, on a nationwide scale, the impression that the State of Denmark seethes with rottenness. They want to blast some reputations. They desire to drive some people out of public life. They have some scores to wipe out. They have any number of axes to grind. Th-fll.t is the alpha and omega of their zeal.” This writer interrupted his inform- ant’s somewhat passionate denuncia- tion of Washington’s “gunmen” to ask just where this sort of thing is leading to. “‘Unquestionably to the growing dif- flculty,” he replied, “of getting men of caliber and character to serve the country. Americans of eminence and capacity are willing not to become Government officials at low pay. Hith- erto Uncle Sam, fortunately, has ex- perienced little trouble on that score. But as surely as we are witnessing the mania of ‘investigation,’ apparently soori to set in at Washington, the time is coming when it will be in- creasingly hard to find the right sort of men to place their characters in Jeopardy in the exposed Federal places. They will shrink from facing the poison gas of the political gun- men. They know they are defenseless against it. They will prefer the ob- scurity of private life to the risks of public service.” Cost of Politics Higher. There is now to be encountered in ‘Washington a sentiment which will find considerable expression when so- called “slush fund” Senators-elect— and some sitting Senators—are put on the grill of investigating committees. That sentiment is that the cost of poll- tics, like the cost of everything else in the United States, has gone up. Primaries and election campaigns, in other words, are going to be depicted as necessarily expensive things be- cause of the rise in price of every factor, human or inanimate, that en- ters into the conduct of a twentleth century political contest. ““Watchers” and other sorts of ‘'workers,” who cost $10 apiece on pri- mary and election days in Pennsyl- vania last May, could have been hired for $2 or $3 five or ten years ago. Everywhere in the United States a horse and buggy used to suffice to cart a voter to the polls. Livery stables them out for a couple of dollars a day or less. Now a candidate or his manager must charter an automobile, or a fleet of automobiles, at 5 or 10 times what election day transport for- merly cost. Senator-elect Vare of Pénnsylvania spent §150,000 on the one item of BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. MID the orgy of “Investiga- tions” pending, planned and threatened, official Washing- ton is giving serious thought to the underlying purposes be- hind these crusades, the general effect they may have, and the “psychology” which they represent. Individuals now or prospectively under fire do not enter into these reflections. They are of importance only as symptoms. Bluntly, what men sitting in the high places of the Nation fear is that the country may be on the verge of an epidemic of “investigations” with no more justification than the lust of politicians to smell fire where there is not even smoke. Another motive hardly less common is the determina- tion of special interests, balked in this or that direction by the policies or programs of some department of the Government, to secure revenge by subjecting it and its heads to “investi- gation.” A distinguished public servant, in position to know whereof he speaks, but whose name, for obvious purposes, cannot be quoted, thus epitomizes a situation which he declares is “ram- pant” in Washington: “Not all the gunmen in the United States operate in the Chicago area, nor do they work exclusively with ‘automatics’ and machine guns. “Poison Gas Is Weapon.” “‘Washifigton i3 full of ‘gunmen,’ whose weapons are gas and ‘whose favorite sphere of activity is Capitol Hill. They are not members of Congress. On the contrary, it is members of Congress who are these ‘gunmen’s’ particular objectives. It is impossible to estimate how many of the fraternity are now on the scene. But they customarily pitch thelr tents in the nelghborhood of the Capitol with the beginning of a new session of Congress. “The ‘gunmen’ of whom I am #peaking are usually plausible persons, and they are always persistent and rnuulve. It is the language of igh-minded patriotism and of the public welfare that they use. Francis Duc de la Rochefoucauld once sagely remarked: ‘Interest speaks all sorts ©of tongues and plays all sorts of parts, even that of distinterestedness.’ That describes _the polson-gas gunmen's squad of Washington to a T. ““There seems reason to suspect that the twelvemonth lying immediately ahead of us will be a wide-open sea- son for the character assassination which these resourceful and restless persons practice professionally. An- other presidential campaign is impend- ing. There are ambitious men in both great parties. Some of them are already in Government office; others are well known to aspire to secure office. ‘Investigations’ having become the modern American method of be- smirching reputations, there are Indi- catlons that it will be resorted to, with more than usual abandon, in the times to intervene between now and 1928 ‘Where the ‘gunmen’ come in is that the ground must be prepared in ad- vance by systematic and insidious campalgns of insinuation. That is their job. Two Departments Threatened. “It is circumstantially related that at least two great executive depart- ments of the Government are at this moment threatened with ‘con- gressional investigation,” probably with as little rhyme or reason ds printing and postage in circularizing Pennsylvania’s vast electorate of 2,- 000,000 voters. In 1906, or in 1896, Pennsylvania’s population was not only considerably smaller, but print- ing costs were immensely less. In McKinley-Bryan days political leaders could be employed at salaries running between $1,500 and $2,500 a year to or- ganize and run campaigns. Today wages three, four and five times those figures are required. It costs more to rent halls, lease headquarters, travel and do any of the things present-hour politics calls for. When slush funds come under fire the country may pre- pare to be educated exhaustively on the scores just above mentioned. (Copyright. 1626.) Value of Citizens’ Assoc:iations (Continugd from First Page.) the hardest thing to do in either of those cities was to find out what the people of any particular section or group really thought about things. I remembered that that had been rather easy in Washington. ‘When it came to the matter of zon- ing, for instance, in both of those cities it was hard to get citizens inter- ested In considering the matter, while here in Washington the zoning regu- lations in 1919 were given the most careful consideration by scores of as- soclations and committees, considera- tion that resulted in advice which was accepted in large part by the Zoning n. At length it dawned on me presence of the ballot box in those two cities meant that the citizen had ac- customed himself to express his will ‘with respect to community affairs by choosing between PERSONS, and that done he felt that he was not called upon to do more; the absence of the ballot box in Washington meant that the citizen thwarted of his desire to express his will with respect to local governnient by choosing between PERSONS, found himself in his neigh- borhood assoclation actually choosing between POLICIES. In other words, when a committee comes to the city hall in a city ‘where all questions of personnel are, directly or indirectly, decided at the polls, the conversation its members hold with the administrative officlals concerning a proposed improvement or a projected change of policy, is shot through and through with the memory of elections in the past, and is overshadowed by the thought of the elections yet to come. When a citi- zens' assoclation in the District of Columbia discusses a new improve- ment or a project of policy, it is most frequently discussed on the basis of the merits of the thing itself. Thus it is that now, when asked for my reasons for my faith in the citi- zens' assoclation, I would not answer as I would have answered six years ago. I would not say that the asso clations are crude substitutes for the ballot box of which we are deprived. I would say, rather, that the neigh- borhood association of citizens that takes upon {tself the responsibility for the discussion of community prob- lems and the recommendation of com- munity policles is a necessarv part of the machinery of a dynamic demo- cracy. I would say that such ma- chinery ought to be set up in addition to the ballot box in all cities. I would say that these assoclations con- stitute an instrument for the con- tinuous recording of public sentiment with respect to the THINGS of local government, whereas the ballot box 18 too often only an instrument for the periodical recording of public senti- ment with respects to the PERSONS of local government. 1 would say today what I would not have dreamed of saying then, that in our local government we need more and more demoeratic participation in the day-by-day work of the commu- nity organization, and that the best ‘way to get that continuing and con- tinuous participation is not by elec- tions, which are impossible except at intervals, but by the neighborhood association. 1 would say today what I would not have dreamed of saying then, that in many respects the government of the District in Columbia, autocratic is more dem: the nt of many cities which the she most advauced - form, ocratically respon- sive to the people of the city than lll n vernment is, in form, of democratic model. 4 I am not altogether alone in my opinion. The great city of St. Louis, for instance, is consciously feeling the need of this form of continuing demo- cratic participation in the THINGS of local government. It is now setting up the machinery for that greater participation by dividing the city into geographical units, in each of which a community organization not unlike our own citizens' association is being formed. The city government, the public schools, the community chest, the Chamber of Commerce, all city- wide organizations, have participated in the business of organizing these neighborhood groups. The City Plan- ning Commission drew up the maps for the new communities, just as’Col. Kutz in 1915 drew up the maps for the citizens’ assoclations of the Dis- trict of Columbia. So the practice of the District of Columbia, voteless, is being copled by St. Louis, vote blessed, in order to in- troduce a greater degree of democ- ;cy!lnto its ordinary, everyday af- rs! Let no one think that I am advo- cating the abolition of the ballot box. I merely mean to say that I share with some other good democrats a suspicion that the ballot box has not yet solved all the problems of democ- racy, and that if it can be supple- mented and complemented by some other device, I welcome that device. see such a device in the citizens’ associations of the District of Colum- bia. They are not merely crude sub- stitutes for the ballot box. They are proper engines of democratic par- ticipation in local government that would be needed if there were ballot boxes all over the District and an elec- tion every six months. “But,” says the inquiring readgr, “you have not told me in what w§y the associations are democratic, since you confess that they still do not represent the whole people by your asking other citizens to join them.” My answer to that is this: When- ever, when I was Commissioner, and I assume it is still the same, some little group of people in any com- munity calling themselves a citizens’ association expressed an opinion about anything, if it were actually the opinion of that community, nothing else was sald. But if the association guessed wrong, the people of that sec- tion found means, and instant means, to let the Commissioners know what it really felt. And at the next meet. ing of the association there would be a bigger crowd and a big debate and maybe a reversal, This I do know: That in Washing- ton the administrative government seeks the advice of the people with respect to the community problems; that it relies with increasing confi- dence from year to year upon the citizens’ associations; that the citi- zens' associations are increasingly sensible of the burden of their re- sponsibility, and that here in Wash- ington, deprived of the ballot box, we have devised a new engine of dynamic democracy which is not a mere sub- stitute for the polls, but a comple- mentary necessity of popular govern- ment. So I say, if you have any public .nterest or any public spirit, or a happy iInfusion of both, don’t delay. Join your citizens’ association today! e T Many new and modern buildings are being erected in Shanghal. Not only are up-to-date office and indus- trial bulldings being constructed, but hundreds of attractive residences are built. Apartments are becom- eight story ng common ildings are not 1 and six office and apartment unfamiliar sights, THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. O, DECEMBER 12, 1926—PART 2. U. S. Bureau of Mines Specialist Sees Plenty of Oil for the Family Flivver BY JUDSON C. WELLIVER. NCLE SAM has a neat trick of getting expensive people to work for him for small pay. Of course thousands of his employes are paid all they are worth, but for technical, sci- entific and_administrative tasks he keeps an astonishing proportion of people working for him at ridiculously low wages. Herbert Hoover, Secretary of Com- merce, is paid $15,000 a year, though dozens of corporations would gladly pay him 10 times that. He recently required a chief for the Bureau of Mines, which pays $7,500 and needs a $30,000 man. Hoover decided on Scott Turner, and sent for him. When they talked it over, Turner had en- listed, at something like one-fourth the salary he could have commanded elsewhere. ‘Turner, like Hoover, is an engineer, and takes the practical engineer’s view of social and economic prob- lems. Conservation? Yes, these en- gineers are for it; but to them con- servation means the efficient, result- producing employment of both effort and resources. Your engineer hates profligacy; but he also despises parsi- mony. He wants us to use things, but use them for all they are worth. He believes in spending, usually on a huge scale; but he wants 100 per cent return, and more I;f possible. * ok x X The Bureau of Mines has chiefly to do with natural resources whose supply is limited. It wants us to make the most of every ton, or bar- rel, or kilowatt-hour of them. It guesses that if we use them in this way we will find new supplies, de- velop better modes of utilization, dis- cover substitutes and improve our scientific methods fast enough to keep industry moving and human wants supplied. The engineering mind con- ceives that if we run short of lumber we can use steel, brick and cement. The inventor, first cousin to the en- gineer, hears that increasing popula- tion may outrun the supply of tex- tiles for clothing. He also notes that the ladies want to wear silk instead of cotton. So he turns cotton fiber and wood pulp into artificial silk. A few years ago economists were wor- rying about supplies of lumber and cotton. Now, folks who have lumber and_cotton to sell are worrying be- cause substitutes are elbowing their goods out of the market. e o Lately, the Bureau of Mines and other Government and business ac- tivities have been wondering about supplies of petroleum. Wherewith shall our 20,000,000 cars be propelled, how shall the vast mechanism of this machinery age be lubricated, if petro- leum runs out on us? What will those people do for light who still find kerosene the one cheap and efficient flluminant? With this country turn- ing out 70-odd per cent of the world's petroleum, running most of the motor cars .and ever more dependent on petroleum products, it {s no wonder such questions are asked. So I went to the Bureau of Mines, one of whose specialties is petroleum, to learn what they thought there. Scott Turner, who is big, blunt and knows exactly what he is about, re- ferred me to Harry H. Hill, chief of the petroleum division. Hill is an- other of these specialists who work for the Government -for modest frac- tions of what they could get else- where, because they like the work. After hearing his story I decided that we wouldn't sell the old family car VARRIE = &V HARRY H. HILL. immediately. He thinks there will be something to run it with so long as The Story the Week Has Told BY HENRY W. BUNN. HE following is a brief sum- mary of the most important news of the world for the seven days ending Decem- ber 11: United States of America.—~On De- cember 6 the Sixty-ninth Congress convened for the short session. On the 7th the President’s message was read to both Houses. Its chief declarations and recommendations may be summarized as follows: (1) It is recommended that each Congress in its opening session make appropriations to cover two years, thus saving time for other activities, (2) Our present state of prosperity is largely due to the economy pi ticed by the National Government; to the elimination of many kinds of waste, and to a general raising of the standards of efficiency. From the combination has resulted at once a reduction in the index price of com- modities and anKlncreilt-le in the index rate of wages. Keep it up. (3) The Congress is advised to “avoid at the present session all com- mitments except those of a pressing nature.” A Treasury surplus of $383,- 000,000 is estimated for the end of the present fiscal year. Unless otherwise ordered by the Congress, this surplus would be used toward retirement of the public debt. Though the President favors speedy reduction of the debt, he declares himself of opinion that the country would be benefited should reductions be allowed in the tax pay- ments, due March 15 and June 15 next, to a total within the limit of the estimated surplus above stated. The President is, however, opposed to “permanent” tax reduction at this time, as the present revenue act has not run long ;:‘v;ugh“to Justify long lculations based on it. 45 Tho tariff is eulogized and agitation for tariff reduction is deprecated. “Those,” says the Presi- dent, “who wish to benefit foreign producers are much more likely to secure that result by continuing the present enormous pu:chasing power which comes from our prosperity that has increased our imports over 71 per cent in four years than from any advantages likely to accrue from a general tariff reduction. (5) Next tomecgn:flgdynigggl;;r:hl: subject whicl ‘Pl:'eesldm’lt. The wide gap that existed a few years ago between the index price of agricultural products and the index price of other products has been gradually closing, though the recent depression in cotton has somewhat ed it. engi‘;tg though, speaking in the large, the agr.cultural (including the lve stock) industry has notably picked up since the depression of 1921-1922, some parts thereof, the President ad- mits, are still lagging behind other in- dustries on post-war recovery. What further, then, may be done by the Government toward expediting the re- covery of the lagging parts? The President lists the congressional measures of the last five years in aid of the agricultural interest, includ- n chief: In€ stabiishment of the intermediate credit banks for agricultural purposes, two co-operative marketing acts, en- largement of the activities of the De- partment of Agriculture, enlargement of the scope of loans by the Loan Board, that part of the tariff which applies to agricultural products and large Federal expenditures in im- provement of wal s and high- ‘What more can we d0? Already the Iaterstate Commerce Commission 1s A 3 £% 17 ™ (ate) P~ Mr. Hill’s impromptu sketch of an oil dome to illustrate his description. any of the family are around to use it. * ok kX “One reason why there is nothing to -worry greatly about,” sald Mr. Hill, “is that people are worrying about it. When interest is aroused in such a question, at the right time, it is the best insurance against dis. aster. The President and the Federal Oil Conservation Board have done what was needed, at the right time. The country, the oil industry, -the motor car bullders, are forewarned. They will be forearmed. “We don’t know how much petro- le\m‘lh left in the ground, nor how much of it can be recovered. We don’t know what new fields will be found, nor how productive. We do know that most of the petroleum thus far has come from rather .limited areas within the United States, and that even from these areas only a small proportion has been taken out. We know that ofl produced by gas pressure capable of lifting it to the surface when we drill holes is but a small proportion of all the oil con- tained in the sands. Even from the best pools, recovery by the old methods is small, perhaps one-half in under orders from Congress to in- vestigate the freight rate structure and to make indicated changes look- ing to greater freedom of movement of agricultural products. Development of railroad consolidation would have a like happy result, and the President seems to recommend legislation on this head at the present session. Similarly the farmer would benefit from improvement and development of the internal waterways, especially as regards the Mississippi system and the conversion of the great lakes ports into ports for ocean shipping, either by way of an all-American canal or by way of improvement of the St. Lawrence. Apparently Mr. Coolidge would have the present Congress decide as between the all-American canal and St. Lawrence projects and proceed to implement its decision; and ap- parently he would have the Congress sanction Mr. Hoover's magnificent Mississippi system and provide for commencement of work on the trunk lines. J There should be legislation to regulate grazing in the natlonal forests and on the vast public domain in the special interest of stabilization of the live stock in- dustry; but apparently the Presi- dent does not contemplate such action by the present Congress. Abundance of cheap fertilizer would be an immense boon to the farmer, and apparently the President would be gratified if, to this end among others, the present Congress would finally settle the Muscle Shoals question. (I must justify my frequent repe- tition of “apparently” the President seems to say. ‘“Gentlemen there is a good deal of important legisla- tion which it behooves you to enact as speedily as possible. But your time is limited and you must con- centrate on the few items which seem to you most pressing. In only a very few instances do I undertake definitely to guide your choice.”) As of old the President looks to orthodox development of co-opera- tive marketing as offering the main hope of further rellef to the farmer. Apparently he regards the legisla- tion already on the books as fairly answerable to the necessities in this connection. But he admits the possi- ble desirability of supplementary legislation in this sense. For ex- ample, the Federal credit agencies might be broadened and strength- ened for the benefit of the co-oper- atives. But, having reasserted his old well known position, the President feels it necessary to take account of the clamor for more drastic measures. On this head the President is non- committal; adversely so, one pre- sumes. “Attention,” says he, ‘is again directed to the surplus problem of agriculture by the present cotton situation. Surpluses often affect prices of various farm commodities in a us manner, and the problem urgently demands a solution. Discussion both in a,n? out of C;:Bn; gress during the past few years given us a better understanding of the subject, and it is my hope that out of the various proposals made the basis will' be found for a sound and effective solution upon which agreement can be reached.” The solution, of course, must “avold putting the Government into the buntnsfl-u o: lprmlllctlam or marketing or pi xing.” The_President, obviously, gives no lead, but, with a suggestion of sly humor, he intimates that he is wait- the most favorable conditions, oftener one-sixth, or one-seventh, or one- tenth. But a considerable part of what still remains in_the ground can be recovered by methods now estab- lished as technically and economically practicable. These methods will be Improved and new ones devised, as occasion demands.” * ok kK “What about producing oil from coal and shales and by mining the oil- bearing sands?” I asked. “Entirely possible,” replled Mr. Hill; “experiments are going on in these directions, and if we ever have to fall back on these resources we will be ready. For a long time, however, the present methods of exploration and drilling, with improving processes to-assure larger recoveries, are likely to suffice.” Mr. Hill picked up a paper and pen. “I am no draughtsman,” he said, “but maybe I can draw something that will help explain.” He made some lines and held up the paper “There’s an oil dome. The shaded part at the bottom is a deposit of ofl- bearing sands—sands saturated with ofl and gas and with an impervious rock stratum above. A wildcatter ing for the farmers themselves to evolve a solution that at once shall satisfy them all and shall not traverse orthodox economic principles. As to the immediate cotton crisis, the Gov- ernment has co-operated in providing ample facilities for the storage and carrying of 4,000,000 bales of cotton. (6) On the subject of reclamation the President talks over the head of the present Congress to future Con- gresses. “It i{s increasingly evident that the Federal Government must in the future take a leading part in the impounding of water for conser- vation, with incidental power for the development of the irrigable lands of the arid regions.” (1) The President has little of im- portance to say on the melancholy subject of the mercantile marine. He advises against new Government con- struction, and he recommends a single responsible head for the operation of the Government mercantile fleet, leaving the Shipping Board to deal only with general matters of policy and regulation. “The great need of our merchant marine is not for more ships but for more freight.” Our merchants will persist in using foreign shipping. (8) The President strongly recom- mends immediate consummation of radio legislation, to end the chaos. He is for giving the Department of Com- merce all necessary power in that connection. He also recommends prompt consummation of long pending legislation regarding Federal branch banking, and of legislation to increase the salaries of Federal judicial officers. (9) Not the least important of the definite recommendations concerns the bituminous coal industry. ‘“As the wage agreements in the unionized sec- tion of the industry expire on April 1 next and as conflicts may result peril- ous to the public interests, I again recommend passage of such legislation as would assist the Executive in deal- ing with emergencies through a spe- cial temporary board of conciliation and mediation and through adminis- trative agencies for the purpose of distribution of coal and protection’ of the consumers from profiteering.” (10) The President’s observations on the Philippines will give little comfort to the advocates of immediate Philip- pine independence. Evidently, in his view the day is far ahead when the islands may properly be turned over completely to the Filipino people; the day, that is, when they shall be at once politically fitted for self govern- ment and economically independent. The President favors all due en- couragement to development of the rubMer industry in the Philippines; as BY EUROPE drilled the hole A-B and gas pressure caused ofl and gas to flow. After a while the gas pressure wasn't suffi- cient to keep up the flow and they pumped until ultimately even this ceased producing. * ok ok ok “Nevertheless, most of the oil was BY SIR PHILIP GIBBS. still left sticking to the sand| LONDON.—As this year draws to grains. Then the operator drilled |a close the international situation in the well C-D, which flowed for |Europe is becoming troubled by new a time; but most of the oil !land grave problems, which will reach was still down there in the sand. If|their climax next year. As far as the gas pressure could be restored |Great Britain is concerned, her imme- more would flow. So the operator in-|diate anxieties are directed mainly jects gas into one well, restoring the |to internal conditions resulting from pressure and causing the oil to resume | prolonged industrial conflict and fail- flowing from the other. After a time|ing export trade due to that crisis. the flow will stop again; but still much | British hopes for a rapid recovery are of the oil will be left. In some flelds|still high, but in certain directions it has been possible to obtain addi-|they are checked by adverse condi- tional amounts of oil by introducing|tions in forelgn countries. g water in some of the wells and forcing | ~ British exporters to the Far East the oil to others. The addition of a|are gravely concerned by the danger- chemical such as soda ash to the water | ous situation in China, and public may assist in removing the oil from|opinion in England has been disturbed the sand grains, but neither plain|py rumors of war or military adven- water nor water containing chemicals | tures in that country. Those rumors, should be introduced into an ofl sand | ytterly unfounded, have not been dis. except as a last resort, for it is likely | polled by recent utterances of public that the water, which travels faster[men in opposition to Premier Bald. through the sand, will get to the onen | win's government. Lloyd George's wells ahead of the ofl, and when the | ragh and provocative speech in which flow is resumed under pressure Water {he denied that bolshevik propaganda instead of ofl will come out. 11| ¥as at the back of all Chinese hos- “The gas escaping from an oll well | ¢j)i¢y "t5 foreign settiements and ac- carries with it a proportion of gaso-|gougeq greedy traders of desiring to line, which in the old days was 1ost. | provoke war n China may or may not Nowadays it is extracted from the gas | have had some element of truth, but and saved, while the dry gas can be | cortainly it will not be helpful at the forced back into the ground to main- | pregent time when British and Ameri. tain pressure. The processes seem |can agents are endeavoring to ar- simple, but in operation are far from | range affairs in China b; aceful and it, and betheyflcaznl a goo;l d‘ea). Thes; reasonable means. kik have en develope uring _recent years, and their operation products a Lloyd George Scored. Lloyd George has been severely blg aggregate saving. 3 b ¥ trounced by Lord Birkenhead on be- hx):r of t:n: Brm;h govermlnent. n:‘d o S st oil |other statesmen have utterly repudi- oo e T i etorcanean |ated any sinister designs in China, Water. Water flows through the oil |That, I belleve, is strictly true. If sands faster than ofl, and by sur-|there were any stable government in rounding the bottom-of the well keeps | China, Great Britain would revise the ofl out. How to shut eff the |her treaties, with only one ambition, water and permit the oil to run out | Which is to maintain and develop is & problem with which the engineers | her trade relations. Meanwhile it is have long worked. They have made | Probable that the situation in China great progress and so increased re.|Will be onme of the most dangerous coveries, pro'l()lex‘ns of 1927, Russia intends to “In earlier times most oil producers | make trouble also. carefully guarded all information | In Burope, political and financial about their wells and experiences, but | trouble is brewing in France, Italy and latterly there is co-operation in these | Germany. To some extent it will de- matters. Bureau of Mines engineers | Pend upon private conversations now are able to get the ‘logs’ of wells, | taking piscer at” Genviel hetwsn showing geological formations and |Chamberlain, Briand and Stresemann Eeneral conditions, from the study of | Whether that trouble will be scotched which, in connection with increasing e " v A general knowledge, a fund of help RE . information can be placed at the serv- F.;l:" Pfi’"“’: cotlmor; m;z:r!nment :1'; ice of producers. Geologists and pe- o8 0 SN0 Aecus e enure ffice and French public opinion is be- troleum engineers, once derided by the | © ‘practical’ oil men, are more and more m’?—t’u n&itateddby many caukes for accepted as guides and mentors. Of [ Uncertainty and uneasiness. Poin- course, there is still a lot to learn, m“"l ’!";;C”; n "“”h ;ge e down- but it is being, learned, and this new of the fiunc has been toc tri knowledge is constantly increasing |Umphant. Speculators and traders recoveries. These various methods |have been badly hit. French foreign e trade has been severely checked, now are already making posslble recoveries | that the franc is worth almost double plished under earlier procedures, and 't“l ‘;::“' less ‘:U‘hlz )'(“‘“""“ ago. H“* these will go higher as methods are |tel keepers and shopkeepers are suf- perfected.” ering because foreign visitors refuse Asked about the various plans and |to pay inflated prices. Unemployment experiments for literally mining oil, |18 creeping up and whereas there was Mr. Hill said that in Lorraine they |hardly one Frenchman unemployed have dug shafts down to the oil sands, | 1ast year there are now 300,000. and nct;mtlly broux‘ht !h%v m:;ia ol;t. Result of Fluctuations. like coal from a mine. Washing the | iy nevitable result of raj A pld oll from the sands assures substal:| guctuation in money values is destroy- v L ey ing public confidence in Poincare and 80 expensive lhat‘we can hardly imag- |5/ my belief that various political fne it as practical in this country. | g oupe "led by Herriot and the Social- Xk ko ists, will withdraw their allegiance. “Another mining process,” the engi. | But external affairs are reviving ex- neer continued, “is to sink a shaft to | treme natlonal views in France which at once hastening the economic inde- pendence of the islands and minister- ing to one of our most crying neces- sities. Of course, such development should primarily regard the interests of the Filipinos, but American capital and enterprise should not lack of a proper reward. Gen. Wood's adminis- tration is highly praised; but complete abolition of military control “at an early date” 1s advised. (11) “As a whole our military power is ‘sufficient.” (12) Allen property should be re- turned and legislation should simul- taneously provide for liquidation of the claims of our citizens now secured t. (13) Stricter prohibition enforce- ment is recommended and the States are urged to co-operate more zeal- ously in that connection. (14) The President is complacent concerning our international rela- ‘Watch the cauldron bubble. |attended by his chief friend, Georges the oil sands, and from its bottom | Were appeased and quieted for some (Continued on Fourth Page) time by Briand’s policy of conciliation GRAVE PROBLEMS FACED IN NEW YEAR Chinese Situation Checks British Com- mercial Recovery—Franco-German Relations Again Delicate with Germany. Briand's ideas of en economic union with Germany have been arrested. At Geneva now he le struggling to give something like face value to his emotional words before the League of Nations Assembly last September. Now he is face to face with Germany's emphatic demand for complete evacuation of the Rhineland and freedom from military control. Stresemann _ argues, reasonably enough, that after the Locarno pact and her entry into the League of Na- tions, Germany ought to be treated on an equality with other nations and she cannot be dealt with as both en- emy and colleague. Left to themselves, Stresemann and Briand probably would come to an amicable arrange- ment, abandoning strict interpretation of the Versallles treaty for peaceful and progressive understandings. But they are not left to themselves. Briand's belief in Germany's good faith is not shared by Poincare or his friends. Generals and ex-ministers and conservative groups in France are reviving war memories and de- nouncing this betrayal, as they call it, of those who died to save France. They insist upon military control of the Rhineland and resist any general lscheme of European disarmament, which was one of Briand’s plans. Italy Another Bogey. Then there is another bogey fright- ening the French public opinion. It is the growing fear of Italy under Mussolini and his black shirts. Dur- Ing the past few days French troops have been concentrating on the Ital- lan frontier between Mentors and Ven- timiglia in the Riviera. Old English ladies and retired officers basking in Winter sunshine along the azure coast have sbeen surprised during their morning promenade by the sight of French tanks and artillery and ma- chine gun sections passing toward Italy. Mussolinl has severely rebuked his Fascists in that region for provocative acts and demonstrations against France, but popular passions are aroused on both sides of that frontler, and France is justified in protecting her citizens from some sudden act by local black shirts. My own opinion is that there is ne danger of war between France and Italy at the present time, but this state of affairs keeps nerves on edge and is not helpful to the spirit of peace in Europe. Chamberiain Seeks Peace. Foreign Secretary Chamberlain is having a busy and private conversa- tion at Geneva with French, German and Italian delegates. There is no secret about his line of policy. It is to get some effective compromise be- tween France and Germany which will be accepted not only by Briand and Stresemann, but by public opin- ion in other countries, and to help Italy and France to a friendly pact which will relieve France of anxlety and satisfy Italian aspirations. It is not an easy part to play, but I am personally convinced that neither France, Germany nor Italy is out for international trouble of any kind at present. They are busy with internal Ppolitics and business. ‘This year will end peacefully in Eu- rope, although its problems will not be solved norits political crisis avert- ed. We move slowly toward those united states of Europe, but thero are no signs of any near conclusion. (Covyright. 1926.) Carthage, Ancient Wicked City, Yields Carthage, one of the most wicked and most mysterious of all cities of the past, is slow! lving up its buried tions. The absence of reference to o e ton the World Court or the Turkis] treaty will be thought strikin, “It is needless to' say,” clares the President, “that at the proper time I shall be prepared to proceed along practical lines to the conclusion of agreements carrying further the work begun at the Wash- ington conference in 1921.” So much for the President’s views and wishes; and now for those of Congress, D in the annual report of the Smithsonian Institution just issued. The ruins which have been exca- vated were found by two amateur archeologists. By following an Arab who was selling Punic inscriptions in the market place of Tunis, they came upon the sacred precinct in which e the goddess Tanit had been worshiped by_the early Carthaginians. Great Britain—Commencing Janu-| When excavation was started, the et B Midlo brisdcasting in SRR L N Cerreeponging (o & Great Britain is to be an absolute different period of Carthagihian his- government monopoly. Scarcely a|tory. The sanctuary dates back to volce was raised in the Commons|the foundation days of Carthage, against the proposal, though its im- | which, Count de Prorok declares, are portance in respect of the principle | “lost in the night of time.” of free speech is sufficiently obvious. “The temple of Tanit is our first The Conservative London Evening |clue to the Phoeniclan city that dis- Standard correctly observes ‘“power |appeared from the face of the earth over so important an agent of pub- during the dreadful conflagration licity is enormous and capable of | when the city burned for 17 days and s abie: the smouldering ruins were plowed Londaport by & roval commission on | through by the revengeful Romans,” ndon’s cross-river traffic recom-|pe gtates. “The excavation produced mends expenditure of the equivalent of $137,600,000 for construction of five | t1OUSnds of beautifully painted urns new bridges across the Thames and reconstruction of existing bridges, in- cluding Waterloo Bridge, which many think the finest bridge in the world. * x ok x Italy.—A decree just promulgated by the Itallan government imposes a tax on bachelors between the ages of 25 and 65. “Italy,” declares Mussolini, “is & |recover their lost provinces, and this prolific nation and intends to continue | would involve Jugoslavia and Czecho- prolific.” Spinsters are let off be-|slovakia, the partners of Rumania in cause, as the Duce sagely observes, |the little entente. Bulgaria, too, might “failure to contract matrimony is oft- |be moved if any reasonable opportu- en, in the case of women, not to be |nity presented itself to seek to recover attributed to unwillingness.” the Dobrudja. Another decree provides for creation | gych in broad general lines is the of 17 new Itallan provinces, involving | place of Rumania on the map, a state general reorganization of the provin-| with an area greater than Italy and clal structure. capable of maintaining a larger popu- Hereafter sporting activities in Italy | feton.§ e ATy I &m to be under the direct control of | It has a very strongly developed sense e Fascist organization. of nationality which goes back to re- * % Kk X mote Roman tlmel':‘lrl ’l:ml a magnifi- The Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats | cent peasantry, so far, however, lasge- and Slovenes—Not without plausi- |1y ignorant and without political bility the Jugoslavs charge that by |training. its recently signed treaty with Italy| Capable of very great economic de- the Albanian government accepts an | velopment, Rumania can only achieve Italian protectorate over Albania. The first reaction in Jugoslavia was one |and undoubtedly the hope of all Ru- of ferce indignation, but responsive to [ manians Has been to attract American British and French advice, the Bel-|investors and capital, but political cir- grade government is refraining from |cumstances have so far prevented this. positive action. It is one thing to as-1It is a very great question whether sert, but quite another to attempt the |the far-reaching reforms which must exercise of protectoral powers. But |take place in the whole national polit- comment a:“ this Impnmntl business | ical :st&uctm fiao‘:kea';xlfi‘m :vgl:::lxé ac st await further developme: domestic revol 2 Ly . revohéuon l:orllld att tl;a.lt dl:thurb the On Friday, just after the King had | situation of the southeastern called on him to form a cabinet to|Portion of Europe. deal with the critical situation caused | Something of the same struggle is by the Italo-Albanian treaty, Nikola |now taking place in the new state Pashitch, Serbia’s most distinguished | of Jugoslavia between the inhabitants statesman and indeed one of the |of the old Kingdom of Serbia and the ablest statesmen of his time, died sud- [ Croats and Slovenes who were Aus- denly of a stroke of paralysis. trian or Hungarian subjects before * Kk ok gn: :m;, and :ure uccnnonrgod to a & igher and more modern Notes—Claude Monet, the French | ifcal life. Between the fractions of painter and rightly known as the the Polish 1o wh Russi: “father of impressionism,” is dead at | the, Folish people Who were Russians 86. A notable scene, the deathbed at (314, the smaller but far more devel v . £ o n osen, which was lovely Giverny; that prince of painters Prussian, and Galicla, which was Austrian, the same differences have led to slighter but still considerable difficulties. Neither the Queen nor her hus- band, of course, is Rumanian, is part Russian end part English, ani " Should Dynastic (Continued from First Page.) Clement o on Mon exclusive post im) “fruits of Locarno.” I next week motice of that usiness: this development by foreign loans, | maki Buried Secrets to Scientific Search containing rare and preclous amu- lets and other treasures and elegantly sculptured inscriptions of the days of Hannibal and hundreds of strange votive altars unknown as yet to archeology. Each time that this great cemetery was filled with offer- ings it was covered over with a layer of protecting clay and refilled.” Count de Prorok reports that in a period of six weeks hundreds of vases were dug out. Nearly all the vases contained ashes of children, and the only explanation is that dreadful rites took place on this site in an- tiquity. This is in agreement with the reputation of the city, for the Carthaginians were abhorred by other ancient peoples because of their ter- rible custom of “passing their people through fire” or, in other words, sac- rificing young children to a deity built in the form of a flaming fur- nace. Some of the bones have been examined by the Pasteur Institute and found to be those of infants, he says. The lowest and oldest level of the area has ylelded stone tables bearing important inscriptions in Phoenician writing. These inscriptions differ slightly from those of ancient Phoe- nicia and are considered valuable additions to writing in the first known alphabet made by Rumanian Crisis Holds Peril to Balkans Trouble Get Started he is a Hohenzollern German, which buts the dynasty upon a totally dif- ferent status f'nse!;“mm from the jeorges of ‘bla, who back, not so distantly, to one of ths‘:nnnt leaders of the wars of liberation against the Turks. Moreover, the dynasty suffered severely because of the efforts of the present King’s fa- ther to bring his country into the war on the German side, which . would have meant the denial of all hopes for racial unity achleved by the union with the old kingdom of the Haps- burg provinces with Rumanian ma- oorin ¢ r the student of modern Euro) and its problems, racial, social, D%.- litical, as of the new states and the new order created by the war, Ru- mania is a fascinating subject, be- cause it has all the problems of every sort, but this naturally does not - :ktlh‘:"cotempon;y“‘ situation in e le country fectly haj or immediately promising. S (Copyright. 1926.) Whaling Crews Paid Well for Their Work The Vastfold district of Norway, .where many of the old Vikings had thelr homes, is still the recruiting re- gion for one of the most romantic callings of modern times—whale hunt- ing. Leaving their small farms in the care of wives and children, the men po- | set out for South Georgia and the Ross Sea in September and return at the beginning of the following Sum- mer. The Norwegian whale-hunting fleet numbers about 20 ship» and em- ploys 4,000 men. ‘The work recelving a royalty the oatch. Some men average $8,000 a year, and the ablest, after years of good service, 1s trusted with the harpooning.