Evening Star Newspaper, September 16, 1928, Page 38

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. €, BEP TEMBER 16, 1928—PART 2.4 e ——————————————————————————————————eeeeeeeeeeeeee THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SUNDAY.....September 16, 1928 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor tar Newspaper Company iness Office: Rate by Carrier Within the City. The Eveninc Star . 45¢ per month The Evening and Sunday Star .. ...60c per month andays) month | The Sunday Star o T copy ‘Coliection made at ths end of each month Orders may be sent in by mail or teiephone Main 3000 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. 1 yr. $10.00: 1 mo., 85¢ Daly only $6.00: 1 Sunday only 65¢ per Sc pe: $4.00; 1 mo.. All Other States and Canada. Daily and Sunday..1 yr. $12.00: 1 mo, $1.00 Daily only 1yr. $8.00: 1 mo., 75 Sunday only . 1 ¥r., $5.00; 1 mo, 50c Member of the Associated Press. The Associsted Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of ail news dis- patches credited to it or not otherwise cred- fled in this paper and aiso the local news published herein. All rights of publication of Special dispatches herein are also reserved. More Disarmament Snares. The correspondents agree that the | President considers the Anglo-French | naval agreement as concerning those two nations alone, and that it does| not change in any degree the expressed policy of the United States on limiting naval armament. That seems to be about as far as the President is willing -~ to go ‘at this stage of the game in| making his views known, even infor- mally. But there is a wealth of meaning in such an attitude, which may become more apparent if the President chooses formally to express himself in regard to | the Chamberlain memorandum. According to the Washington inter- pretation of this memorandum, France ’lnd Great Britain have agreed on a ‘program before the preparatory com- mission of the League of Nations' frtheoming disarmament conference | that would place restrictions on the arger type of cruisers and submarines, 1eld essential by the United States for its national defense, but would allow greater latitude in the construction of she smaller types of naval craft in shich the United States is not so much | interested. In other words, Great Britain has apparently won French support for Great Britain's stand at the Geneva Conference of a year ago. The inability of the representatives of the United States and of Great Britain to reconcile their different points of view on reducing naval armament broke up that conference and ended, for the time oing, further efforts to extend the provisions of the Washington Conference. One realizes, in view of the President’s reported state of mind, the new snares which now lie in the path of these efforts—efforts which should logically be redoubled and made successful as a happy furtherance of the pfinciples embodied in the Kellogg treaty signed in Paris a few weeks ago. The President is represented as being politely pleased it France and Great Britain have been #ble to reach between themselves an agreement to reduce their naval arma- ment. He cannot be so politely pleased over the evident fact that France and Great Britain, if their agreement is ratified and made permanent, thus shut the door in Uncle Sam's face and place him in the position of declining to discuss cutting down his Navy. So little is known of the Franco- British agreement that speculation on its results are premature. If it is a means of bringing France and Great Britain into accord toward the solution of their own problems regarding limit- ing naval armament, it will escape all criticism from this side of the water. If it is designed as a moral lever by which to hoist Uncle Sam over his own doorstep and into a false position before the world, it will doubtless. bend and break of -its- own weight. — it “Perhaps the political vocabulary will | have to be revised. Tragic experience with Western tornadoes may leave the term “whirlwind campalgn” tinged with sinister suggestion. e President Coolidge, as a faithful public servant, does not allow the fact that he is not in line for another term to inter- fere with his duties in regard to na- tional and international politics. | | Hopes for Record Vote. In the election of 1924 the total| “opular vote was 29,000,000, only a fraction of the possible vote of the rountry. Unusual efforts were made by the political organizations and by civic groups and business combinations to stimulate the public interest in the con- test and to arouse the electorate to a discharge of the duty of citizenship by going to the polls on election day. Yet the total fell short of the possible vote by many millions.” This year similar endeavors are being made to stimulate the “public to the point of an exercise of the franchise on the 6th of Novem- ber. It is probable that they will suc- ceed in larger measure than heretofore. | ‘The issues of the campaign are such a3 to arrest the attention and excite the interest of a greater number than for many years past. The vigor with which the campaign is being prosecuted by both sides is calculated to bring out & record vote. Some estimates place the probable total at 35,000,000, some 2s high as 40,000,000. There is no way 1o tell now how high the tide will rise in November. There is a new factor in the case that is likely to elicit a larger response to the call to vote than heretofore. That is the radio. Almost daily speeches are being broadcast on every phase of the campaign questions. More and more the “air” will be filled with radio an- nouncements, proclamations and appeals as election day approaches. The other day the Republican national committee inaugurated & series of daily campaign talks over the radio which should, re- gardless of the manner of voting, have helpfully stimulated the public interest. This series was begun with a number of short talks by the national chairman and his assistants at headquarters, giv- ing an outline of the mechanism of campaign management. The same thing should be done by the Democratic com- mittee. The educational effect of such a serles of statements is certain to be great. | has been defeated by the “silent vote," listening to political effusions and news will bestir themselves on election day to go to the polls. Some, too many in- deed, forget or fail to register in season to qualify thems®ives as voters. Some register but forget to vote or are too | much preoccupied by other matters to do so. It should be the aim of the two natfonal organizations to drill into the public mind the fact that voting is not merely a privilege but is a duty which should be discharged regardless of all plans and engagements, diversions and amusements on election day. Many a candidate for public office the vote that is not cast, that would have elected him if it had been cast. It is probably true that there is about an even break between parties as to these absentees from the polls. In cer- tain seetions where the results are fore- shadowed by precedent and historical tendencies this absentee vote is par- ticularly heavy. This year it is likely that even in such sections there will be a larger percentage of balloting than heretofore, owing to the strenuous campaign that is being done to offset a spirit of revolt that now prevails. It would be a national blessing if in the election in November 50,000,000 votes were deposited in the ballot boxes or recorded on the machines. With such a total there could be no suggestion of “minority” rule, and no doubt, what- ever the result, that the will of the people had prevailed. et Policg Affluence. Testimony that is being given before the grand jury in Philadelphia investi- gating the illicit liquor traffic and police corruption in that city is reminiscent of old times in New York. For example, it is said to have been established that a certain police captain had in four- teen weeks made bank deposits total- ing $8,500, this captain having a week- 1y salary of $50 with no other visible means of income. He had no bank ac- count at all on the 15th of May. In another case it is reported that testi- mony pointed to a sergeant, just pro- moted from patrolman, who has within a very short time rolled up a bank account of $20,000. Other cases are indicated pointing to a veritable epidemic of affluence among the Philadelphia policemen. They bring back memories of revelations regarding the New York police organization during Croker's day as head of Tammany Hall, One of the several investigating com- mittees that probed vice conditions in New York by order of the State Legis- lature worked out a veritable schedule of rates paid by different classes of “protected” lawbreakers. Also there were schedules of prices for promotions in the police force. The job of patrolman was worth a certain number of hundred dollars. A sergeancy was worth more. A captaincy ran into the thousands, and so on. Numerous instances were brought to light of police officers retiring at an early age with large fortunes, aggregat- ing many times their total salaries for their entire police careers, In the light of these revelations in Philadelphia and the past experience in New York the situation with re- gard to the Washington police force now under inquiry is by no means at pres- ent distressing. If there is any such cor- ruption here it has not been brought to light, but on the other hand if there is a condition of police brjbery at the Capital it should be fully disclosed through inquiry and all who are guilty in any degree should be summarily pun- ished. ‘The police force of the city is created and maintained for purpose of public defense against all forms of lawbreak- ing, for the pursuit of the lawbreaker and the protection of the law abiding. Any one wearing the uniform who is in any degree guilty of bribe taking, however small, betrays his trust and is unworthy of continued connection with the organization. In Philadelphia the facts are coming to light regarding the illicit affiuence of the police through inquiry into their private affairs. Rapid accumulation of bank deposits or a marked change for the better in the style and scale of liv- ing should put any officer under sus- picion. In Philadelphia there has been advanced in some cases the suggestion that newly enriched police officers have been lucky at the race tracks, an alibl that should itself stand as an accu- sation of misconduct if true. For when a policeman takes his oath as a mem- ber of the force and puts on his uni- form and badge of office he must eschew all participation in any amusement or diversion or occupation that brings him into profitable contact with lawless en- terprises. B Plans for curtailment of oil output take into consideration the fact that an oll tank surplus may become as embarrassing as & treasury. Oil is be- ginning to assert a place as a standard of values, something that was once held by wampum or tobacco. vt Reports which Gov. Al Smith has felt called on .to deny have been traced to a card table conversation. Senator Smoot may have to revise his protest against “clothesline politics” and make it read, “bridge whist politics.” s g On the Beach. Like wanderers on the beach of a strange ocean at sunrise catching vague glimpses of islands of promise wrapped in crimson mist far away, the members of the British Association for the Advancement of Science looked out over mysterious and mystical vastnesses of unexplored nature at their annual meeting at Glasgow. Even for this great scientific body it was a notable meeting. The atmosphere was charged with expectancy of revela- tion—of the feeling that some great | secret of nature was about to be dis- closed; that the harvest of thousands of sowers in widely scattered fields of knowledge was to be reaped. One pro- fessor indicated that science stood on | the threshold of knowledge of the chemical and physical difference be- tween life and death, while another propounded & notable new theory of the primal nature of matter. In both cases the explanations. were profound and beyond the understanding of any but specialists. They were like waves thrown up from the “unknown vast” and breaking about the feet of the scientists. The very sublimity of the outlook before these men induced an atmosphere While it is true that the whole coun- try is “talking politics,” it does not fol- fow that all who are now rcading and of reverence—a feeling of helplessness nized that matter and life might be plumbed to their utmost depths with- out coming much nearer a solution of the first great mystery. The further men went the more these fundamentals of sclence resolved into drifting shad- ows on the face of a more fundamental reality, which, in turn, might itself be only a shadow. To express the nature of life, it was explained, it might be necessary to in- vent a new kind of mathematics, just as it has been necessary to make use of a new kind of mathematics to ex- press the basic nature of matter. Words are inadequate to convey the subleties involved in these advances of science— advances not toward the ultimate truth itself, but to the nature and form of the shadows, the realities of our world of time and space, which float on the surface of the truth. These shadows obey the laws of shadows—poor three- dimensional phantasies that they are, Beyond lies—what? The members of the British associa- tion were very reverent in the face of the question. et Cheops as a Tee. ‘The spectacle of the Prince of Wales driving a golf ball from the top of the pyramid of Cheops in Egypt is not es- pecially thrilling, nor does it arouse any particular degree of admiration for the nerve or enterprise of the British royal scion. Indeed, there is some ground for suggesting that this misuse of the not altogether appropriate. To use Cheops as a tee may gratify a sport- ing impulse, but it does not prove any- thing or solve any problem. It is, in- deed, a little short of desecration. For after all this great pile of stone is a burial place, and although it may have been maltreated in the past by tourists and adventurers it should be respected as a place of interment. Some years ago certain base ball players achieved passing fame by catch- ing balls dropped from the top of the ‘Washington Monument, a feat of real difficulty and requiring great skill and pluck. Although the accomplishment was praised, the use of this shaft for such a performance was deplored, and now all such doings are properly for- bidden. The climbing of Cheops is itself quite an achievement. It calls for strength and endurance, but it is usually accom- plished by the aid of experlenced guides who do most of the work, hauling their charges up the steep steps which consti- tute the present surface of the pyramid. It should be enough for the venture- some traveler to reach the apex with- out mistreating the venerable pile in a senseless exhibition of golfing skill. Were any less distinguished personage than the Prince of Wales to play this prank he would probably be officially rebuked and perhaps punished for mis- conduct. ——one ‘Whichever way the market may go momentarily, there can be no doubt that a heavy volume of legitimate trading indicates a high level of prosperity. .o Mechanical speed has reached won- derful development, but it has not attained a pace that enables the stock ticker to keep up with the market on a busy day. Paris theaters will insist on more clothes for the chorus. The tide of frivolity may yet turn across the Atlan- tic and find Paris talking about “Gay New York.” ‘The duties of a publicity expert grow more and more complicated. He must know not only when to say a great deal, but also when to say nothing at all, N SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Upward Thought. I'm hungering for travel— I pine for craft so proud, ‘With speed that can unravel ‘The silver from a cloud. ‘The elephant and donkey I view with mild disdain; ‘With them I shall not “monkey”— I want an aeroplane. ‘The old “band wagon” frets me. For later lays I yearn. ‘The buzz of motors “gets” me, As fiyers rise in turn. And so my faith most hearty ‘That emblem soon will gain, ‘Which, heralding a party, Displays an aeroplane. Even the good old Eagle, That flies into the sun, Seems formal—though quite legal— ‘When deeds are to be done. ‘To realms of High Ideal Our hopes must turn again. . For Inspiration real, Let's try an aeroplane. Comparisons of Destiny. “Politics has made you famous, but not rich.” “You can't expect to be both,” saild Senator Sorghum, ‘“unless you can qualify as a gilt-edge pugilist.” The Irresponsible Thermom. Of Christmas we begin to dream. We shall be going very strong, ‘Unless to spoil our annual dream Another hot wave comes along. Jud Tunkins says if you take care of the pennies, the dollars may not take care of themselves, but you'll, at least, have exact change for carfare. Exaggerated Imagination. “Does your wife make home brew?” “Yes,” answered Uncle Bill Bottletop. “We're afraid to turn on the phono- graph at night for fear the dear old home will be padlocked.” “Each tells others what they ought to do,” said Hi Ho, the sage of China- town, “which leaves a sense of duty satisfied without the personal exercise of moral endeavor.” Response to Criticism. 1 wrote a little letter Unto my radio, For I had nothing better ‘To do, as time went slow. 1 thought of a reply serene; My heart began to jump. They merely gave the old machine Another jazzy bump. “You got to depend on de Good Book,” said Uncle Eben, “foh all de best ideas. PFisherman goes on tellin’ won- in the face of the enormous expanse of the unexplored, It was {rankly recog- derful things, but dar ain' none of 'sm dat ever yet come up to Jonah" ... GRS " Y B ) ancient tomb of one of Egypt's Kings Is | EVERYDAY RELIGION BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMES E. FREEMAN, D. D, LL. D, Bishop of “He that doeth the will of God iflb}lfl,!e"l. forever” (I Epistle St. John, 1.17). The Universal Quest. I stood one evening on little Round Top at Northfield, Mass., to pay rev- erent tribute at the grave of one of the greatest evangelists and preachers the world has known, namely, Dwight Ly- man Moody. On the large granite slab that marks his last resting place were carved these words: “He that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” Here in a briet sentence was the expression of what had constituted the deep, under- lying and animating philosophy of his life. To do the will of God had been his supreme endeavor, and in the doing of it he had found not only joy and satisfaction, but the assurance of per- manence. I recalled his observation to a friend when he said, “Some day, some one will tell you, Dwight Moody is dead; don't believe him. At that hour I shall be more alive than I have ever been.” Here was the expressed conviction and assurance of a man who believed that in some way he was so vitally and es- sentially related to the divine scheme of things that he was actually a “par- taker ‘of the divine nature.” To him the supreme purpose of life was to know and fulfill the will of God. Life’s studies, its occupations, its whole existence had this one end. He firmly believed that with the poet “all are but parts of one stupendous whole.” and that however inconspicuous and seemingly inconse- quential the part we play may be, it is indispensable to the outworking of a mighty plan. Such a philosophy of life gives to it a new interpretation, stirs it to finer service, lends to it freshened zest and an impulse that is altogether stimulating. It makes the lowliest, humblest duty take on a finer signifi- cance, it gives to every incident, every experience, a larger meaning as well as greater seriousness. If we are doing the will of God, and if what we do is the fulfillment of His plan, we are bound to regard all our service and all our work— yes, and all our play—in a new light. We are workmen, building that which shall endure; life has permanence; its issues are related to the eternal scheme of things; we are actually co-operating with God in working out our own sal- vation. With this conception of the meaning of life, every day becomes an essential part of a well ordered plan, and every duty performed takes on a Washington dignity and an importance that makes the doing of it a joy and a satisfaction. “Our wills are ours, we know not why, Our wills are ours, to make them ‘Thine.” ‘This was Tennyson's conception of the purpose of life, and it colored all his thought and inspired all his work. This is what we commonly call inspiration. This is what makes the difference be- tween work well done and work poorly done. Yes, this is the deep meaning of immortality. Most of us work and struggle for what we can get out of life; we give little consideration to what we can put into life. We think of it in terms of acquisition. To have and to hold is of more fmportance than to create and to give. The real benefac- tors of mankind have been those who lived to the advantage of their fellows; their work endures because they lived and worked with a consciousness of the significance and value of what they did. We sometimes speak of such as having immortality. They live. on in lives made richer and finer by their service. A mother gives the best she has to give to her children; they become in & very real sense reincarnations of her person; they are the recipients of her -8ifts and virtues, She builds something more than the physical; she creates moral and spiritual ideals that produce ultimately strong characters; she literal- ly inspires in her children the passion for life, the will to live, the high and holy aspirations that furnish inspira- tion to deeds of selfless service. To them she is the very expression of the will of God. Thus mankind is blessed, and the riches and virtues of true worth are transmitted from generation to gen- eration. To build a home that is whole- some and clean and pure is a contribu- tion to the enduring values of life, and to be in partnership with the giver of every good and perfect gift. No life Is so humble, no occupation so lowly, no work so obscure as to be regarded as nf unimportance. The whole great plan cannot be effected without our contri- bution. The design and purpose of a perfected scheme cannot be accom- Plished without that which we have to give. There is no waste in nature; everything is conserved; the whole uni- verse witnesses to design and plan and purpose. Our life must fall in with this orderly plan; it must fulfill that for ‘\.Nhlch it was created. It must be in tune with the infinite”; it must come to know the will of God, and, knowing it, 1t must give the right to immortality. “He thet doeth i Carever s the will of God abidetia BY WILLIAM HARD. ‘The most important object in Wash- ington at this week end is the flat green box in which there lies a thin green book the leaves of which display the words of the Kellogg treaty for the re- nunciation—or “outlawry”—of war. Mr. Kellogg brought this box back from Paris and with it an immense and fun- damental controversy as to the ulti- mate meaning of its contents. On the one hand, it has been main- tained by numerous European editors and by a considerable number of emi- nent American commentators that this treaty immerses the United States into a vague and limitless sea of responsi- bility and of “obligations” regarding the outbreak of any war anywhere in the world, The treaty is a universal treaty, well on its way toward gaining the sig- natures of all the world’s governments. It is contended that if any of these governments violates the treaty and starts a war, then the United States will be under an -obligation—of some sort—to visit upon the offending nation a chastisement of some sort, diplomatic, economic or military, That interpretation of the treaty is being expressed in a whirlwind of words all over the European continent. The highly responsible newspaper of Paris, France, called Le Matin says: “Henceforth, whichever political party is in power in Washington, the peace of Europe is placed under the moral gnar- antee of the United States.” Even more importantly the distih- guished American publicist Prof. James T. Shotwell ‘of Columbia University lends the authority of his name to that same general view, Prof. Shotwell had a conversation with Foreign Minister Briand of France just before Briand last year extended to the United States the invitation of which the Kellogg treaty is the diplomatic outcome. In consequence of that fact, Prof. Shot- well has been supposed to have a spe- cial knowledge of the treaty's inward intentions. He is contending that if any foreign government signs the treaty and then proceeds nevertheless to make use of war as an' instrument of national pol- icy, the United States will be under an obligation to refuse “neutrality” to that government. £ In other words, the relations between the United States and that government will cease to be relations of peace. They will become relations—in some degree—of sundered friendship, of hos- tility, of discrimination, of interrupted trade, of broken diplomatic intercourse, or even (conceivably) of armed rebuke. If Prof. Shotwell is right and if an obllsltlon of this nature does indeed reside in the treaty, then its chances of easy sailing through the Senate are nil. Inquiry among Senators shows that nothing is more certain than that a treaty containing implicitly any such obligation will encounter at any rate a long serles of severe senatorial storms before it arrives in the harbor of rati- fication. In these circumstances the opinion of the State Department regarding the meaning of the treaty becomes of prime importance. The State Department, as the negotiator of the treaty, should | know its meaning better than any com- mentator can know it. The assertion can be flatly made that in the view of the State Depart- ment the treaty contains not one scin- tilla of any obligation of the sort here discussed. The State Department con- fidently belleves that not one word of the treaty can in any way justify the conclusions reached by such analysts as Prof. Shotwell and the editor of Le Matin. According to the State Depart- ment, if any foreign government vio- lates ‘the Kellogg treaty and engages in warfare as_an instrument of national Polwy, the United States simply regains ts freedom of action toward that gov- ernment, just as it has that freedom now, and no “obligation” of any kind is created for the United States to carry. ask_the questio “If Italy, a signatory of the treaty, starts a war of conquest against Jugo- slavia, a signatory of the treaty, what bwill the United States (under the 1 treaty) be obligated to do?” The Shotwell school of throughout the world answers: “Take sides in some way against Italy ‘The State Department answers: “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” A violation of the treaty by Italy, in the State Department’s opinion, would simply restore in full the relations which now exist between Italy and the United States—relations which enable us to go to war with Italy or to remain at peace with Italy, as we please, with no obligation upon us one way or the other. It can be further stated that Briand of France and Cushendun of Britain, who signed the treaty on behalf of their respective countries, understand that this is Mr. Kellogg's attitude toward the treafy's implica- tions—or lack of implications. It can also be further stated that not one responsible Furopean stateman during Mr. Kellogg's trip to Europe ever said c.e word to him In support of the potlon that & violation of the treaty thought In other words, to be specific, let us | absolutely | Anti-War Treaties Arouse Conflicting Views of Effect would impose upon the United St any duty whatsoever, lnurpretnuno!:: which discern such a duty in the (pl;:;at[y a{e regsl}‘:fld by the State De- ment as wholly a. - resIDonslble. ly amateur and fr. n corroboration of its content the State Department points !o‘on: speech made by Mr. Kellogg before the New York Council on Foreign Re- lations while the treaty was being negotiated. Mr. Kellogg said: “Since the purpose of the United States is, so far as possible, to elim- inate war as a factor in international relations, I cannot state too em- phatically that it will not become a party to any agreement which, directly or_indirectly. expressly or by implica- tion, is a military alliance. The United States cannot obligate itself in ad- vance to use its armed forces against any other nation of the world. It does not believe that the peace of the world or of Europe depends upon or can be assured by treaties of military al- liance, the futility of which as guar- antors of peace is repeatedly demon- strated in the pages of history.” In sum: A lot of people who crashed the gate at this treaty's christening say that it looks as if 1t wanted to grow up to be a fire-extinguisher in Europe's next war, The treaty's parents maintain that it does not look that way at all. In December the parents will en- deavor—with ~ presumably some suc- cess—to persuade ihe Senate that they know their own child. (Copsright. 1928.) R Grocers to Confer on Problems of the Trade BY HARDI COLFAX. Little imps—and big ones—which plague the grocery business are to be dragged from their hiding places, given the third degree and sentenced, then paraded in irons before the entire popu- lation. ‘This is a manner of stating that food distributors of high and low estate, wholesalers, brokers, independent re tailers and chain store operators, to- gether with some processors, are to meet next month in a trade practice conference under the anuspices of the Federal Trade Commission. ‘The varfous groups through their re- spective organizations have been at work on this subject for several months. ‘They submitted to the commission yes- terday their individual resolutions, which are to be circulated among all inter- ested for consideration and will be brought before a steering committee of the industry at New York October 1 ‘The program then will be submitted to the conference, over which Commis- sfoner C. W. Hunt will preside, at Chi- cago on October 24, EE Tnasmuch as the consumers of the country spend about $30,000,000 for food every business day of the year, they naturally have a very vital interest in this approaching conference, which is designed to establish ethical busi- ness standards which will eliminate un- fair commercial practices. Not unly the consumer’s purse will be affected by this meeting, if the plans work cut, but the results may have some bearmng on the service, which he ha$ grown to expect from his grocer. The machinery under which the Fed- eral Trade Commission operates in these trade practice conferences is to bring together. the various elements of an industry, have them discuss their kinks and agree upon what is fair and what is unfair, and thus give the com- mission A basis upon which it may pro- ceed in citing before it, as the court of business, any persons who infringe upon the standards established by the indus- try itself. LA This grocery conference will be the first time that opportunity will be af- forded for independent merchants and thelr chain store competitors to mect across the same table with impartial observers present. In view of the keen .and growing rivalry between these two systems of merchandising the experi- ment is most interesting, for it is in the grocery fleld that the chain store has made its most pronounced strides. As matters stand now, approximately one out of every seven retail grocery stores is @ unit in a cnain, but chains sell something more than one-fourth of all groceries. In other words, chain grocery stores are only a little more than 14 per cent of the total in that fleld, but they do in excess of 25 per cent of the total business. No one knows exactly how many retail grocery stores there are in the United States, but trade authorities estimate 430,000, in addition to which there are some 4,200 whole- salers, besides brokers, specialty men, and manufacturers and processors of foodstuffs. The independent dealers have made some. bitter charges against the chain store operators, which have been denled born with rich parents, ___ e & W Capital Sidelights The historic model of the Capitol Bullding, made some fourscore years ago, and which has been stored for many’ years in the attic of the Capitol, is being repaired and brought up to date at a cost of about $500, and is to be sent to Seville, Spain, as part of the United States Government exhibit at the exposition in which ail of the former Spanish colonies are participat- | ing. One of the features of the United States display will be a facsimile of the Government Buildings and of the new triangle development, on which the Commission_of Fine Arts, the Public Buildings Commission, Capital Parks and Planning Commission and the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks are co-operating. The model of the Capitol, made according to the 1850 plan, is now in the crypt of the Capitol. * K K K From various States word Is trickling back to Washington that members of Congress seem to have caught the spirit of the Americans-gll and, aroused to the interest of all the people in the Capital City, are making speeches describing the work that is being done by Congress and other agencies of the Government to make this the most beautiful city in the world. An illustration of this is that when the writer was on a recent trip to Ver- mont, he attended a church service at New Fane, the county seat, where Jus- tice Wendell P. Stafford formerly pre- sided in one of the most beautiful old colonial courthouses, and was pleasant- !ly surprised to r Representative Ernest W. Gibson-give a very graphic description of Washington, the “City Beautiful,” in comparison with other world capitals, emphasizing the further work that Congress has in mind for this “soul city.” Reports from all parts of the United States show that the people wherever they get a chance are encouraging the | development and embellishment of the National Capital. * K K K Another Government employe s about to enter upon distinguished serv- ice in his home State. Ernest W. Gib- son, jr., until recently employed in the Coast and Geodetic Survey here, while taking his law course at George Wash ington University, is conceded the ele: tion in his campaign for State’s attor- ney. He is credited with having more practical court experience ihan any other young attorney in his county. * kK K Two officers of the House, really the agent of their respective political par- ties, about which the public_knows Jit- tle, are the Republican and Democratic whips. Representative Guy U. Hardy of Colorado, one of the bright news- paper men in Congress, who is educat- ing the public by explaining some of the overlooked things about the ma- chinery of legislation, furnishes the fol- lowing interesting information about the “whip”: ‘The ofl{’ce of whip comes to us from the British Parliament—that s, ihe name does, and it _has been used fflrK some 200 years. It is probable thatl every legislative body, as long as there have been such bodies, have had some person who has acted in this capacity. The whip looks after the member- | ship of his party and endeavors to have them present to vote on impor- tant measures. When the vote is apt; to he close he checks up, finds out who is out of the city, and advises absentees | by wire of the important measure com- ing_up. There are many hours of long debate when many members do not feel it necessary to be present and listening and they go along attending to their other business, which in many cases | is pressing. The whip keeps posted on' the daily program, and if something important comes up where votes will be taken he notifies the membership of his party. Occasionally members’ offices are notified by phone from the whip's office that “All members are de- sired on the floor immediately.” After such notice is phoned around you will see the House gradually fill up with members. The Republican whip has also a duty ;0 perform in connection with the White House. The President occasionally seeks information from the whip as to the sentiment of the House on important administration measures, about the prospect of passage of certain bills, and the whip naturally reflects the Presi- dent’s views about many things and is in a position to know the administra- tion's policy. The Republican whip was formerly appointed by the Speaker, but is now | chosen by the party caucus. Represent- | ative Albert H. Vestal of Indiana is| serving as Republican whip at this | time. He has served six terms in Con- | gress. Some others who have rendered iistinguished service as Republican whip have been Thomas B. Reed, James Wil- son, later Secretary of Agriculture; James E. Watson, now United States Senator from Indiana; James A. Taw- ney and John W. Dwight. On the Democratic side, Representative William Aifloldfleld of Arkansas is the party whip. _— by the latter, who, in turn, have charged the independents with inefficiency and failure to keep abreast of the times. The friction between the two systems of merchandising has involved whole- salers and manufacturers. * oK KK This conference of the various ele- ments of the grocery trade will help the Federal Trade Commission in its study of chain store operations, which is just getting fairly under way, and also in| its study of price maintenance, the re-| sults of both of which are to be reported to the Senate. The chain store systems are increasing: it has been estimated | that at least $100,000,000 of new capi- | tal will have been invested in merchan- dising chains of various kinds this year before December ends. There are nearly 4,000 chain systems, operating more | than 100,000 stores in the various flelds of merchandising. An interesting de- velopment is the spread of retail stores | owned by mail order houses, one large | firm alone last Spring having announced | a program of 1,500 such outlets ulti- mately, while there is a distinct trend toward chains of department stores. In some communities, if not in all, certain classes of the chain stores which advertise “leaders” that are sold at a loss have been hit because of a tend- ency of a growing number of “sharp- shooter” consumers to purchase the| “loss leader” and nothing else. Inde- pendent merchants are forming pur- | chasing associations to meet the bulk buying of the chains, emphasizing serv- ice, and otherwise changing their busi- ness methods, but the future of the competition remains largely clouded. A Among the subjects which the grocery | trade conference will consider are mis- | representation and secret rebates: “free deals,” by which manufacturer or whole- saler gives a quantity of goods “frez” with a paid order: commercial bribery of purchasing agents and of salesmen: lottery schemes, discriminatory priccs, uniform practice on trucking charges, discounts, sales below cost, “full-line” sales, fraudulent manufacture, wasteful practices, and certain phases of resale price maintenance, ‘This agenda alone is- sufficlent to make merchants in all lines watch the proceedings closely and to demonstrate that the consumer has a vital ‘interest in the conference, s (Copyright. 1928, —vore In Round Numbers. From the Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch. A news item says that 25 people were OUR SOUTHERN OUTPOST BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Nearly 4,500 miles from San Fran- cisco. the Stars and Stripes flies over the southermost of the United States detached territorles, certain of the Sa- moan Islands. Nearly 50 years ago re- lations were so friendly between this country and Samoan chiefs that it was possible to establish a naval station there, and.since the beginning of the twenfieth century the islands have formally by international treaty and cession of the natives been under the control of the United States. Because of the great open spaces the National | In the Pacific Ocean, it is hard to re- |alize that these islands are almost as | far from Hawali as the distance across the North Atlantic. . Dots in that great expanse, they afford anchorages for American ships where supplies can be obtained, and where oll-burning naval vessels can put in to take on oil. It is obvious now, after the flight of the Southern Cross, that American Sa- moa and the mere pin-points on the map, belonging to this country—Howland, Baker, Jarvis, Christmas. Palmyra and Wake Islands—may afford stepping stones for aircraft. Who knows but they will become busy. though tiny, communities in an air age, just as In- dianapolis and other inland towns be- came great railroad centers as a result of the advance of the iron horse? Poetic Names. Some of the islands have musical names, such as Tutuila, Aunuu, Tau, Olosega and Ofu, the last three com- prising the Manua group. Rose and Swains Islands are Samoan even if the appellations sound as though they might be found just off Blackwell's. Of volcanic formation they are all mountainous, the island of Tutuila af- | U fording a harbor that is known through- out the Pacific as a haven. In_ the worst storms ships can anchor in Pago Pago, that unusual bay which is formed in the crater of a volcano, one side be- ing open to the sea. There is located the American naval station, manned by 16 officers, who under the commandant supervise the islands, and a comple- ment of around 150 enlisted men. In an equable tropical climate which supports life abundantly with bread- fruit, yams, taro, coconuts and bananas, natives exhorted to industry by their chiefs gather and prepare copra for sale to tolletry manufactur- ers. This product, which is the dried meat of the coconut, yields oil, and is purchased by American and. European firms to be made into coconut butters and soaps—sometimes into salad oil At the request, yearly voted, of the natives the Government handles the copra contract. By the system of ask- ing for bids and by their better in- formation, officials are able to make the best bargains with the contractors. Benefit by Past Experience. Just as parents discipline their children for their good, so the United States protects its people by certain regula- tions. For instance, to help the Samoans help themselves, there is an edict that they may not sell their land. In this way white men, Americans or foreign, cannot ultimately push them into’ reservations by depriving them of their property. That this has proved beneficial to the natives of Samoa is demonstrated by the receipts they obtained from the sales of copra last year. They received only a little less than $100,000 for the erop that is their source of revenue, and which enables them to pay taxes and have cash for the few things it is neces- sary for them to buy. The taxes made possible by this money-making enterprise provide for the establishment of schools and for building roads, draining swamps and repairing buildings. Organized on a loosely communistic system, the family is the unit of Idcal government. All labor is done for and the rewards turned over .to the family. In turn the individual is provided for { by the group. It depends upon the | energy, ambition and eloquence of tha head of the family whether or not the family prospers. If a Samoan is | sufficiently inspired, he can do the hardest kinds of work. | The question arises as to how much the Samoans should be urged or edu- cated to wor Their wants are few, the climate not adapted to Industry, and they are a happy, lovable, peaceful people suited to and by their enviro ment, contented with the simple life which a bounteous nature provides for them. The men are splendidly built. tall and muscular, not given to corptlence. When young the girls have beautiful | figures. Soft black hair, sometimes wavy, straight noses and high fore- | heads suggest the European type Nat- urally hospitable and generous, the Samoans have not yet been imposed | upon by foreigners and they give | strangers -a cordial welcome. = Work, | play, religion, feasting—anything—is an | occasion for singing. even the language | being musical. They also love dancing, holding both singing and dancing con- tests. Fond of the water, they will spend hours swimming, fishing and paddling. Attend Christian Worship. Although attending the Christian church as a rule, the Samoans have their own Darwinian theories. Accord- | ing to their legend. creation began with Nothing, continuing with Fragrance, Dust, Perceivable. Obtainable, Earth, | High Rocks, Small Stones and Moun= | tains. Tagaroa, the creator of men, | was born of the marriage of the cloud- ss heavens with the spread-out heavens, Under the American Government the | population has increased to 8,724, prob: |ably due to improved methods of hy- | giene as well as the cessation of wars. | Whereas formerly two-thirds of the Sa- ! moans died in infancy, under the care | and education of American doctors and | nurses and the newly trained Samoan nurses, this great loss has been re- duced. In addition to good medical care | and sanitary inspection, there are other | New World perquisites in these islands | now, such as 28 miles of road fit for automobiles, bus service from the Naval Station to villages, a bank, schools. re- frigeration and electrical machinery, and a post office. It is believed that Jacob Roggeveen | saw the Samoan Islands in 1722. Then | he mistook the tattooing adorning the' | natives for silkén clothing. They in | turn _mistook the clothes of white men | for loose skin. They thought pockets were a “treasure door through which they plunge their hands into their bod- ies and bring forth cutlery and neck- laces and cloth and nails.” Soon after the missionaries had be- gun their work there, Charles Wilkes on an expedition from the United | States explored the islands, naming them Samoa in 1839. About 15 years later a United States consular agent was established. In 1878 a treaty, the first ever entered into by Samoa, was concluded between it and the United States giving this country the privilege | of establishing a naval station’ at Pago | Pago. | After years of difficulties occasioned | by German, English and American oc- cupation of these islands, it was found | impracticable to govern them by tri- partite methods. By the convention of 1899, the United States renounced all claim to certain of them and was given rights and claims over the Island of | Tutuila and all others east of longi- | tude 171 west of Greenwich. Soon this territory was placed under the control of the Department of the Navy for the operation of a naval sta tion. Later, making the tie really bind- “mg. chiefs of these islands ceded them | to the United States for the promotion lof the peace and welfare of the people |and the establishment of government. This and That By Charles E. Tracewell. Jack Spratt, the cat, always knows when some one in the room is talking about him. He will be stretched out on his soft cushion sound asleep, as far as any one can tell. Even his striped tail will be quiescent. His white face and forehead and leaming whiskers shine as he lies there, the picture of cat comfort. How they love cushions! No doubt this fondness for a soft bed comes about because of their own softness of body. ‘Whatever accounts for it, the fact is that the house cat knows and appreci- ates the best chairs, the softest couches, the cleanest places to sleep. Jack has unerring ability to detect a clean bedspread or tablecloth. It amounts almost to a sense. If he has not reposed on the table during the day, the moment a clean cloth is put on, up he hops. * oK K K We were speaking about Jack's un- erring understanding when some one is talking about him. No doubt he knows this because of the tone of voice used, since practically all of such talk is by his admirers. Is not the situation of a good do- mestic cat unique? He is the confidant and friend of the entire household, and his meow is law. We speak, of course, of the home where the cat is really ap- preciated and loved. Some cats are tolerated, that is all. The best chairs, however, are always reserved for the favorite cats of man- kind. * Jack will even his whi one will say, pretty cat.” No sooner i3 this said than will stretch out his forepaws, be lying there, without ers quivering, when some “Jack is certainly a Spratt s if ng. fie will spread his toes wide, sticking out his white claws about an eighth of an inch, and then stretch luxurious! All this time he will not bat an ey The motion with his forelegs is the only sign that he has heard. Sometimes he will vary this program by rolling over at the mention of his name. It some one utters the word “Jac even if referring to some human being. sSpratt will_show his recognition in either one of the two ways mentioned. Upon rare occasions he will roll over and then stretch. * ok ok % Tt is difficult to believe, however, that house cats really recognize their own names. No doubt it is more the tone of voice which one unconsciously uses than any consclous recognition on their part of the name given them. Names, after all, are strictly human. A lion, to himself and other lions, is not a lion. He is nét anything. He just is. Names, with animals, are su- perfluous. So, often, two human beings dispense with calling each other by words, or names, since none is needed between | them. { ‘The one universal word all cats un- | derstand is “kitty.” | No matter what its ‘name may be, in human phraseology, he is “kitty” to | himself, if he is anything at all. | Any cat will come running at- the | sound of “kitty, kitty, kitty,” rolled over the tongue. I A Siamese cat, lolling in the luxury | of a nice cold stone palace in Siam, | would respond as readily as thé fattest apartment cat in Washington. robbed in a New York restaurant. But why specify 25?2 oo Solution Offered. From the Centon Daily News. The only way to preserve amateurism ' lln athletics is to have more sport stars In Germany, France, or where .vau‘ will, cats run from all directions when some one calls “kitty.” -~ Cats may be said to have a language | of but one word, and that orie a mere pleasing sound in the ‘wind, for it al- ways means that a fellow is wanted. And what word is more pleasing than ord that means that? _ in | .(uken of his hearing and understand- Fifty Years Ag; In The Star With the yellow fever outbreak in Louisiana constantly figuring in the news columns 50 Mackerel for years ago, many suggestions were Yellow Fever. y,ide of methods of treatment of this disease, all claimed to be efficacious. The following, printed in The Star of September 10, 1878, is an example: I send you a recipe for yellow fever which has been tried with success by |two of my cousins, who went to Key West during the war and both had yel- low fever and both were cured. while others in the same house. who were treated differently, died. Place the pa- tient in a bathtub wherein has been | placed one or two pounds of mustard, then begin pouring in hot water and raise the temperature gradually as long as they can stand it; then take them out and wrap in heavy woolen blankets, binding on their feet—the soles—a salt mackerel, one on each foot, just out of the brine. After remaining so about one hour, remove the fish and blan- kets, and your patient will be com- paratively well; then good nursing is re=- | quired. T think this will prove efi- cacious in nine case out of ten. If you publish, see that it reaches the fever- stricken districts.” * L% A short-lived street car strike occurred in Washington 50 years ago, as the following. printed | Street Car Stable e et a in The Star r;l | ‘e September 14, Hostlers Strike. Y75 qiscloses: “This morning at the stables of the | Belt Line Street Railroad. near the corner of Third and B strects south- west, considerable trouble occurred and it was nearly noon before all the cars | Bot out and were running on their regu- lar_time. It appears that there are em- ployed in the stables five hostlers, colored men, who have heretofore been receiving $7 per week and that a few | o the superintendent, Mr. S. S. Daish, notified them that in case | they were not willing to work for $6 per week they could quit. One of them { quit work yesterday, and the others, it | appears, determined on another course. | As the drivers appeared at the stables this morning. about 6 o'clock, the hostlers informed them that they could not get any horses or cars out, and one | of the directors, Mr. Fuller, having been | notified, went down to the stables and |after a conference with the hostlers, in | which he informed them that if they | worked on he would see that their | wages were paid and would endeavor to | secure a revocation of the order for a | reduction of wages, they returned to work and a few of the'cars got out, { when the superintendent, Mr. Daish, ap- peared, and. being informed of what had been done, he remarked that he was ‘boss’ about there, and one of the hostlers named Burnett thereupon at- tacked Daish, knocking him down, bu§ stopped on the appearance of the police. ir. Daish, though badly bruised. with the assistance of the former superin- tendent, Mr. J. W. Belt, and the drivers, at once sct about getting the cars out and, as stated. by noon they were all running regularly “It is stated in defense of the reduc- tion of hostlers' wages—which last ‘June were reduced from $1.25 to $1 per day, and which it is now proposed to reduce to $6 per_week—that the outside wages are from'$5 fo $6 per week, the aver- \age day's labor being about 15 hours, while in the stable the hours of labor are about 13. Last June the wages of the drivers were reduced from $1.60 to $1.40 per day—10 cents per trip—and at the same time the superintendent’s pay was reduced from $1,000 to $800 per annum and the president's salary from $500 to $360. Most, if not all of the drivers, appear to be well satisfied with their wages, as fhey have the assurance of the directors that when the road is able to pay more the wages will be in- ;rea‘sed New hostlers have been put