Evening Star Newspaper, February 3, 1929, Page 29

Editorial Page 'l | | EDITORIAL SECTION he Sundy Star, Part 2—14 Pages WASHINGTON, D. C., SUNDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 3, 1929. VETERANS’ BUREAU SET TO MEET BONUS CLAIMS Completes Machinery Enabling It to Meet Requests for Loans on Certif IVE years ago Congress passed the World War adjusted compensa- tion act_ over the veto of Presi- dent Coolidge, after one of the bitterest legislative fights in re- cent times. In placed an added burden on the Veterans’ Bureau, which under the law has the duty not only of issuing the certificates, but also of making loans on the certi cates when they reach a loan value, two years after issue. As the Veterans' Bureau nears the end of the first five years of its admin- istration of the so-called bonus act it has completed its machinery so that it can meet all claims promptly and at the same time lend money to those veterans who want to get a little cash on their certificates—the paid-up, 20-year en- dowment policies which' the Govern- ment gave the veterans as adjusted compensation. Creaks Under Weight. Notwithstanding the best efforts of Dr. Frank T. Hines and his lieutenanis, the machinery of the Veterans' Bureau occasionally creaks under the strain. | ‘The New Year is one of those periods. Under the law the certificate acquire: an increased loan value on each suc. ceeding January 1. It may be only § or so, or it may be $20 or $30, depend- ing on the size of the face or matured value. No matter how small the in- crease, there are many ex-service men who wait until January 1 before they file an application for a new loan, to | extract from their certificate all that it can bring them. Prom one end of the country to the | other the month of January brings a great increase in the volume of appli- cations, and this applies both to appli- cations for loans made with banks and | those that are made directly to the Vet- erans’ Bureau, or one of its branches. ‘The sudden increase in the volume of the applications makes it necessary for the staff of the Veterans' Bureau to put on extra spurt, and for some days after the first of the e'esr the order went out that those assigned to the adjusted compensation loan division would have to work an extra hour a day. 3,650,927 File Applications. Of 4,500,000 Americans who served with the armed forces of the Nation in 1917 and 1918, 3,650,927 had made * application for adjusted compensation by December, 1928, the latest date for which figures have been compiled. Of these, 3,150,825 served in the Army, 35971 in the Navy and 64,131 in the Marine Corps. Those entitled to $50 | or less were paid in cash. The Vet erans' Bureau has issued 3,396,921 cer- | tificates, of an average face value of $1,000, making a total, including cash payments, of $3,448,773,960. Curiously enough, even those who originally wrote to the War or Navy Department that they would not ac- cept a so-called bonus have for the most part come forward to file their claims for adjusted compensation. Offi- cials have made a check of many of these so-called protesters and have found that many filed their claims along with the rank and file, once the controversy had cleared and Congress had placed the adjusted service com- pensation act on the statute books. Relatives Make Claims. Several hundred thousand men gtill Temain to be heard from. The War and Navy Departments estimate that, there are at least this many men who are entitled to adjusted eompensation who ® far have failed to make their appli- cations under the law. In the case of some, wives, fathers or mothers have made the applications, a fact which indicates that the man entitled to the eompensation probably never returned home after he had got his discharge papers. . Under the law a man's wife, his father or his mother or his children are entitled to the compensation if the veteran dies, or disappears, with a pre- | P sumption of death. Applications have come_from nearly every foreign coun- try, Italy, Poland and Czechoslovakia contributing the bulk of the foreign epplications. American veterans abroad evidently soon got notice of the pas- sage of the bonus act, for the applica- tions from forelgn countries are now Zew and far between. What has happened to those entitled to compensation who have failed to apply though entitled to the certifi- cates? That remains a mystery, at least in part. Conscientious objectors <o not seem to afford the answer, for many of these have applied. Ignorance and carelessness may explain many of the failures, and then many men, now in affluent circumstances, may have had no particular desire to collect their war insurance. Under the law ex- service men have until next January to file thir applications. Thousands Seek Loans. To the ex-service man hard up finan- cially, the adjusted service certificate hes given him a ready means to get a little cash. About 880,034 veterans have applied for loans and they have realized on their certificates about $86,000,000. A good deal of confusion existed at first, for the reason that the banks were un- familiar with the law and with the pro- cedure. erans often had some difficulty in get- ting their money. The confusion, how- ever, has been cleared up and the banks now know what to do. Furthermore, the Federal Govern- ment has taken over much of the work of lending the money, and through the Veterans' Bureau. or any of its branches, an ex-service man can obtain a loan in short order. Provided his certificate is in order, a man can get a loan in a day or so, and in cases of emergency, the Veterans' Bureau can put through a re- quest for a loan in a few hours. The Federal authorities would prefer that the owner of a certificate hold it to maturity before trying to realize cash on it. The Government has pro- vided each veteran with a paid-up en- dowment insurance policy and the same arguments that apply against borrowing money on ordinary life insurance apply | also to the adjusted compensation pol- | icies. Officials nevertheless recognize that each man is a judge of his own needs ! and thet emergencies occur when the | holder of a certificate, even in his own interest, is justified in getting as big a loan as the law will allow. Since near- 1y 900,000 men have become borrowers, , it is a safe copclusion that borrowing has not been confined to those who have had emergency hospital bills to pay. Attempted frauds constitute one of the most interesting chapters of the story of adjusted compensation. Con- gress did not want to give the American veterans of the World War a cash bo- nus, but presented them instead with a paid-up endowment policy maturing in 29 years. To enable the veteran to get money in case of need Congress put in th bonus 2ct a loan provision. Banks may e loans at a rate 2 per cent higher than that charged at the time by the Federal Reserve banks so doing Congress | The result was that the vet-| icates. end of a eertain pericd sends in the Bureau for reimbursement. pays the bank what the veteran owes it, and then. will deduct the money | loaned, plus the Interest accrued on that amount, from the face value of the matured policy. Thus veterans who ave borrowed and who have failed to y back what they have borrowed | will find anywhere from $100 to $500 or |$600 deducted from their check when the time comes for the Government to pay the principal of the matured en- dowment policy. Frauds have arisen in this way. 400 Face Prosecution. A veteran will either try to borrow on his certificate before it has a loan alue or he will seek to change the ace value. Some frauds have occurred vhere a dummy not entitled to the certificate has tried to borrow on it by using the signature of the owner. The percentage of frauds is small, but the total runs up into many hundreds. Under the law the Secret Service of | the Treasury has the duty of running} own these irregularities and prosscut- ing those who violate the law. In theé fiscal year ended July 1, 1928, the Se- cret Service was called in on nearly 400 cases. And hardly a day now passes but what a new case is referred to it for investigation. A veteran got a certificate on July 1, 1926. Under the law this does not ob- tain a loan until July 1, 1928. What- ever the reason, the owner wants some money. So he exercises his ingenuity to change the date on the certificate, takes the document to the bank and borrows whatever the traffic at that particular instant will stand. Some banks detect the change and refuse the loan. Others will be more careless or the change will be made too skillfully to be detected by a casual inspection. Then the borrower fails to pay back the principal of the loan and the note and the certificate are. sent to the Veterans' Bureau. Experts Detect Fraud. Here the documents come into the | hands of experts, men and women trained in detecting fraud. The chany may be in the date, or it may be n the signature, or the total, of the pol- lcy. Whatever it is, the handwriting experts in the office of Director Hines nreApreX:.yksure to find it. Quick examination of the is sufficient, usually, to show wheltn}fs the case is one that warrants investi- gation by the Secret Service. If it is a case for investigation a Secret Service operator is assigned to the job to run g:m ‘25 tctln“pifltté ln': ‘;here necessary, e interests of of_nt‘hesfcemflcaw the real owner e ret Service makes a report the Veterans' Bureau, and wlflerempmts‘3 ecution is necessary the Department conditions it is not easy for those guilty of a fraud on adjusted compen- sation certificates to escape. A veteran with sickness in his fam- ily may try to borrow on his certificate before it has a loan value in order to get money to pay a doctor’s or hos- pital bill. The Secret Service will ascer- tain the facts and tell the man he has violated the law, but under such cir- cumstances the courts are not likely to deal severely with the offender. More serious are those cases where a man robs another veteran of his com- pensation and seeks to borrow money on a certificate that does not belong to him. Such attempts have not been al- together rare, and if the facts show de- l_ll?]erau fraud the offender may go to jail. Bureau Faces Big Task. The Veterans’ Bureau faces today another big job. Congress last Spring mamdt % ‘i,lhe“:emerzelxel;y! hotim:ers‘ retire- en’ T & ve fight that lasted for several years. Under this bill emergency World War officers who are 30 per cent or more disabled as a result of their military service are to be placed on the retired list of the Army with the pay and allowances given to the retired Regular officers of the corresponding grade and service. The adjutant general of the Army gives the Veterans' Bureau a list of emergency officers, with their services, their hospital and wound records, etc., and the Veterans’ Bureau must decide Wwhether in each case an officer under the requirements of the act is entitled to compensation or not. The Veterans’ Bureau is utilizing its full machinery to speed up the claims under the emergency officers’ act. About 7,000 former officers have made application for retirement privileges, and the Veterans’ Bureau has already accepted about 2,000 of these. who will go on the retired list of the Army with pay and allowances. It is examining as rapidly as it can the records of the other 5,000 applicants for the benefits of this legislation, and before it completes its work, 1,000 or more other former officers should have come under the benefits of this legis- lation. For the Veterans’ Bureau the war is not yet over. With its 4,000 or 5,000 employes it is one of the busiest of- fices in Washington, and its officers can never tell when Congress, by a change or an amendment to the law, or by new legislation, will not give it additional work to do. (Copyright, 1929.) Air Unit in Japan Largest in Far East Work has been completed on the largest wireless sending station in the Far East and formal inauguration cere- monies will be held in February or March. The station is located near Nagoya, half way between Tokio and |Kobe, and will be able to transmit messages to any station in the world. Charges for sending wireless messages will be approximately the same as those for cables, while the transmission time will be much less. Tests carried out with the co-operation of large stations in Europe will be continued so as to per- fect operation. The opening of the plant {to regular service is expected to mark a great step in the progress of Japan's | communication facilities. Monument Is Planned To Book by Italian It isn't every day that a statue is | erected to a book instead of to a writer jA generation ago a Edmondo de Amicis wrote a book of short stories called 1 ,” which is Italian for heart. When the book first appeared th critics tried their very best to deride in that particular district. The bor- rower turns in his certificate as secur- ity, gives a note and gets his money— Sro\'ldryd he is properly identified. But he fails to an the principal of the loan and the interest, the bank at the together with its “sentimental” auth- But to no result as far as the popu- larity of the book was concerned. The statue will be inaugurated next Spring at Imperia (Liguira), where the author | fishiny was born, and will personify the eight charastars Af th= hook. A certificate and the note to the Velernns'| The Veterans' Bureau, for its part, | of Justice takes a hand. Under these | PART 2. DEDUCTION OF SOME IDENTITIES The vanishing of “curyature’ will be expressed by this identity— Equation No, 2 L ox=l .+ By i o .Acl A () ¢ - -A"" Afl This identity we use in order to work out one which will be satisfied by tensor capital Lambda. One forms both equations which arise from ‘equation Ne. 1 through cyelic per- mutation of indices k 1 m, and hdds three other equatiohs. Then_one gets immediately, by appropriate repetition. this identity v t . Lot SR e T Bo 'Avk le t @ il - *8g Lt Bonly, We form. this equation by intro- ducing in place of the usual deriva- tives of ‘the Lambda the covariant derivatives. So after ah appropriate permuta- tion of the members we get without difficulty the identity. o= Equation Xo. 3b ‘The tensor density . LY fulfills still & second identity which is of significance for the foliowing. ‘We are supported in this deduction by the following law of exchange of divergence formations “in tensor density in any order desired BY ALBERT EINSTEIN. HILE physics wandered ex- clusively in the paths pre- pared by Newton, the fol- lowing conception of phy- sical reality prevailed: Mat- ter is real and matter undergoes only those changes which we conceive as movements in space. Motion, space and also ttnae ll'e" ’I‘l:ll forms. l:vfi{y attempt to deny pyslely reality ntmceeolhpsutn‘oe f"the law of ‘inertia. For if acceleration is to be taken as real, then that space must also be real within which bodies are conceived as accelerated. Newton saw this with perfect clarity, and consequently he called space “ab- solute.” In his theoretical system there was a third constituent of inde- pendent reality—the motive forces act- ing between material particles, such forces being considered to depend only on the position of the parti- cles. These forces between particles were regarded as unconditionally as- sociated with the particles themselves and as distributed spatially according to an unchanging law. The physcists of the nineteenth cen- | tury considered that there existed two PROF. EINSTEIN. On either side is illustrated the manner in which he works out his theories, 2 kinds of such matter, namely, ponde: able matter and electricity. The parti- cles of ponderable matter were sup- posed to act on each other by gravita- tional forces under Newton's law, the particles of electrical matter by Cou- lomb forces also inversely proportional to the square of the distance. No definite views prevailed regarding the nature of the forces acting between ponderable and electrical particles. Space Theory Shaken by Light. Mere empty space was not admitted as a carrier for physical changes and processes. It was only, one might say, the stage on which the drama of ma. terial happenings was played. Gonse- quently, Newton dealt with the fact that light is propagated in empty space by making the hypothesis that light also consists of material particles in- teracting with ponderable matter through special forces. To this extent Newton’s view of nature involved a third type of material particle, though this certainly had to have very dif- ferent properties from the particles of the other forms of matter. Light par- ticles had, In fact, to be capable of being formed and of disappearing. Moreover, even in the eighteenth cen- tury it was already clear from ex- perience that light traveled in empty space with a definite velocity, a fact which obviously fitted badly into New- ton's theoretical system, for why on earth should the light particles not be able to move through space with any arbitrary velocity? It need not, therefore, surprise us' that this theoretical system, built up by Newton with his powerful and logi- cal intellect, should have been over- thrown precisely by a theory of light. This was brought about by the Huy- gens-Young-Fresnel wave theory of light which the facts of interference and diffraction forced on stubbornly resisting physicists. The great range of phenomena, which could be calcu- lated and predicted to the finest detail by using this theory, delighted physi- cists and filled many fat and learned books. No wonder then that the learn- ed men failed to notice the crack which this theory made in the statue of their eternal goddess. For, in fact, this the- ory upset the view that everything real can be conceived as the motion of par- ticles in space. Light waves were, after all, nothing more than undulatory states of empty space, and space thus gave up its passive role as a mere stage for physical events. The other hypoth- esis patched up the crack and made it invisible. Ether Admitted as New Matter. The ether was invented, penetrating everything, filling the whole of space, and was admitted as a new kind of matter. Thus it was overlooked that by this procedure space itself had been brought to life. It is clear that this had really happened since the ether was considered to be a sort of matter which could nowhere be removed. was thus to some degree identical with space itsef; thit is, something neces- carily given with space. Light was thus viewed as a dynamical process un- 1t | body Einstein’s New Theory Famous German Scientist Tells of His Recent Deductions Arising From Theory of Relativity Equation No. 1o ka 3 and the equation Equation No. 10b Equation No. 10b supplies in re- gard to cquations Nos. 8 and 9, first (th(s, & -9, &), -h(#,67-2,87IL5 ) v0 We introduce now provisionally for abbreviation tensor closeness W =h(8 6% - 8,65) Atcording to equation No. 5 Mk~ Wi, = (wl:;. L': )o =0 thet the equation to be calcu- lated can be written in the form (Wig= Vot Liv -\'J;‘! L:'TA-. *e In this equation’ both last mem- bers may he elimingted. By imme- diate calculation there results w;!/Ek(,‘i;v.-{f;_) The transformed equation No. 106 accordingly reads dergone, as it were, by space itself. In this way the field theory was born as an illegitimate child of Newtonian physics, though it was cleverly passed off at first as legitimate. ‘To become fully conscious of this change in outlook was a task for a highly original mind whose insight could go straight to essentials, a mind that never got stuck in formulas, Far- aday was this favored spirit. His in- stinct revolted at the idea of forces acting directly at a distance which seemed contrary to every elementary observation. If one electrified body at- tracts or repels a second body, this was for him brought about not by a direct action from the first body on the sec- ond, but through an intermediary ac- tion. The first body brings the space immediately around it into a certain condition which spreads itself into more distant parts of space, according to a certain spatio-temporal law of propa- gation. This condition of space was called “the electric field.” The second experiences a force because it lies in the field of the first and vice versa. The “field” thus provided a conceptual apparatus_which rende Innec (Continued on Fifth Page.) Play Hobbies of Presidents BY MARK SULLIVAN. R. HOOVER is spending fully 50 per cent of his Florida visit with a fishing rod in his hands. The early part of each week so far he has spent at the house and office at Miami Beach. The latter part, provided the weather is right, he spends on a boat located some 50 miles down the coast. Early each morning his boat is off lon the half-hour trip to the deep-sea fishing ground. Lunch is always taken along. Practically the whole of the day is spent with rod in hand. Late in the afternoon as the sun is setting he turns homeward with his day’s catch. Fishing is practically Mr. Hoover's sole recreation. Nobody in Washington can remember ever having seen him with a golf club in his hand or a tennis rac- quet or a gun. Nobody can recall see- ing him on horseback. He does much automobile riding, but hardly ever for the sole purpose of recreation. Almost always his automobile rides have an ob- jective. Fishing is his one form of rest and refreshment. During the eight years he has been in official life in Washington he has fished several times in Chesgpeake Bay, about 30 miles from the Capitol. Occa- sionally he has taken short journeys to the mountains in Pennsylvania or elsewhere for fresh water fishing. Twice in the course of official journeys he has stopped off for a little fishing in the Pacific Ocean. Several times in the course of journeys to his home in California he has fished in the rivers and lakes of that State and Oregon. Fishing is Mr. Hoover's one variation from concentrated and continuous work. Whatever intellectual traits go with fishing, Mr. Hoover has. What- ever temperament takes to fishing is |the temperament of Mr. Hoover. On that broad subject there is a consider- able literature. Consideration of the particular traits that cause a man to take pleasure in fishing has engaged the study of several classic authors. With one partial _exception, 3 Hoover is to be the first pflshermnnm: President since Grover Cleveland. Cleve- land was as ardent at it as Mr. Hoover. Cleveland used to spend his Summers near Buzzards Bay, Mass. For months he used to go out on the water every day. Cleveland’s most frequent com- panion was Joseph Jefferson, the actor, familiar and beloved to a whole Ameri- can generation as Rip Van Winkle in the Washington Irving play. Much of the newsgnper wit and verse |of America during the early 90s played about the fishing trips of Grover Cleve- land and Joseph Jefferson. The one other President who has done some shing is Mr. Coolidge. His interest in this form of recreation arose during his presidency. During the long, earnest PRESIDENT-ELECT HOOVER IN FISHING ATTIRE. and hard-working period that Mr. Cool- idge gave to the public service in Mas- sachusetts he had practically no recre- ation at all. Certainly he did no fishing. He be- came interested about four years ago and started to learn the art. He learned well and is today a good fisherman, who commands the respect of others in the fraternity. Mr. Coolidge has even learned to cast with a dry fly. That is & difficult art. Few men in their fifties would try to learn it. Fewer yet would suceeed as Mr. Coolidge has. ‘Theodore Roosevelt was a man of many recreations. They did not in- clude fishing. Fishing calls for patience and Roosevelt was not greatly endowed with that. Fishing calls for reflection and Roosevelt was, in the phrase of one of his biographers, “all act.” Roose- velt liked strenuous sports. One of them was tennis. Roosevelt played ten- nis a great deal. I doubt, however, if there is any existing photograph of Roosevelt playing tennis. Certainly I|Rooses have never seen one. Roosevelt had a theory that the public would not ap- prove of tennis and consciously avoided having his photograph taken in tennis Of photographs of Roosevelt o hereeback or in hunting costume Hoover First Outstanding Disciple of Angling Since Cleveland—Practically His Sole Recreation there are literally hundreds and thou- sands. Roosevelt felt that those two sports were familiar to the common man and approved by him. Roosevelt was definitely confident that golf was no game for a man in public life. He felt that the average man at that time looked upon golf as a “sissy” game. It was easy for Roosevelt to avoid golf, for the game did not appeal m :flm. There was not enough action t. Roosevelt disapproved of Mr. Taft playing golf. After Mr. Taft had been nominated for the presidency he went to Hot Springs, Va., to rest. Occasionally he played golf and the newspapers recorded the fact. Roosevelt sent word to him that the game would harm him in the v}xbll;% 8mmd. That was in the Summer o . In the 20 years intervening there has been a_revolution in popular point of view. No politician today would think of avoiding golf or tennis out of fear lest the public regard those games as frivolous. The revolution has been due in part to the enormously increased numbers of Americans who themselves take vacations and seek various forms of recreation. In a different field, the fleld of intel- lectual diversion, Mr. Hoover has a taste similar to one of Roosevelt’s varied traits. Roosevelt liked to have literary; people about him, and teachers and scientists and people who knew the latest developments in many arts. Mr. Hoover, likewise, likes that kind of company in his hours of leisure. ‘The one fairly large dinner Mr. Hoover has had in Florida was almost a dupli- cate of a characteristic Roosevelt din- ner. It was not a large dinner at all, the guests numbering only 10. One guest was Irvin Bacheller, a kind of dean of American popular literature. It was in 1900 that Mr. Bacheller's “Eben Holden” was a best seller of the year | h: and for some time later. Since then Mr. Bacheller has written many stories, including “Keeping Up With Lizzie” and “D'ri and I” and a book about Lincoln. All are very American. The scene of several is in northern New York State and Vermont. A Aonther of Mr. Hoover'’s guests was Cyrus H. K. Curtis, undisputed dean of American perfodical publishers. ‘Two others of the guests were writing men. One other was an ex-Governor of Indiana, who is also a trustee of Wabash College and of the American Child Welfare Association. That kind of informal dinner and the kind of talk that goes with it is one of Mr. Hoover'?c diversions as it was one of velt’s. ‘When Mr. Hoover, as Secretary of Commerce, gave one of his annual cabi- et to Cool the net. dinners Mr. lidge, all invited guests from out of town were Br college A (Copyrient. 1029) Policy Would Make * BY FRANK H. SIMONDS. HILE it is fair to assume that when J. Ramsay MacDon- ald, the former Labor pre- mier, was thinking prima- rily of his British public and the approaching general election, he bestowed upon the United States Sen- ate the rather amazing warning that passage of the naval bill would spoil the effect of the Kellogg pact, two facts must be noted by all American observ- ers. First, one must recognize that the effect of his proposal is precisely the same as that of his Tory successors in power. So far every British proposal, official and unofficial, would in effect leave the American Navy in a position of hopeless inequality. The single dif- ference between the arguments of Mr. MacDonald and those of the Tories lies in the fact that Mr. MacDonlad is seeking to involve moral reasons for insuring the permanence of American inferiority. Proposal Held Inconsistent. The second point about the MacDon- ald proposal is that it is totally incon- sistent with his own record when in power. The Labor government over which he presided came into office ;fi:;r an election in the last weeks of One of the very first measures he presented to the new Parliament was a bill for constructing five 10,000-ton cruisers, the first Britain—and I think any country—had undertaken after the Washington Conference, which ended its work in the Spring of 1922. The measure was not a party bill. MacDonald did not have a clear ma- jority in the House of Commons and the legislation was passed by a combi- nation of Labor, Liberal and Tory mem- bers. But Mr. MacDonald was not then willing to run political risks, such as the possible fall of his ministry, to invoke party discipline against the bill. actually stood aside and permitted the passage of the measure, which opened the way to the creation of a decisive British superiority irethe cruiser branch in post-Washington craft. It is this fact which makes it a bit inconsistent, to say the least, for Mr. MacDonald to appeal to the American Senate to dis- play a moral standard somewhat above parity with his own. Moreover, the example of the Labor government in 1924 was eagerly fol- lowed by the succeeding Tory ministry of Baldwin. In 1925 the provision was made for six new Washington cruisers, two charged to the Australian Navy ac- count, while the next year two more were authorized, along with one 8,000~ ton cruiser, larger than any we had or had authorized since the conference. Thus in three years the British pro- gram now approaching completion undertook to build thirteen 10,000-ton cruisers and one 8,000, in all 14 ships of 138,000 tons. In this period we built and authorized none. Difference In Strength Cited. ‘We have today ten 7,000-ton cruisers, the only cruisers in our fleet which have not become obsolete by age. We also have eight building. Against the 10 pre-Washington cruisers of our Navy the British have 49. Against 8 standard cruisers authorized after the big British expansion begun under MacDonald, we have 8 authorized. If Mr. MacDonald's proposal prevailed, ‘we should be limited to 18 cruisers with a tonnage of 150,000 against about 400,000 tons of British cruisers dis- tributed among 64 ships. And in post-Washington strength we should have 8 ships of 80,000 tonnage against 15 British of 146,000 tons. While the Washington ratio, fixed for battleships and designed to extend to cruisers was 5—5, between the British and ourselves, Mr. MacDonald would have us, for moral considerations, agree to a cruiser ratio about 3—5 in British favor. Since there is at least a strong prob- ability that Mr. MacDonald wiil be the next prime minister of Britain, Amer- icans must be prepared to meet this line of attack. What Mr. MacDonald is certain not to propose is any form of naval equality which would be ar- rived at by the scrapping of British tonnage not become obsolete. No La- bor government could survive in pres- ent-day Britain which advocated any such policy as Mr. Hughes proposed at ‘Washington involving the scrapping of nearly a quarter of a million tons of new craft. America Placed In False Position. ‘The real trouble in all the naval dis- cussion lies in the fact that the scrap- ping of this tonnage placed us in a hopelessly false position. At the close of the Washington Conference Great Britain outnumbered us in cruisers three to one. In the next few years, the British proceeded to authorize a large number of new cruisers, while we sat still. The country was first under the mistaken impression that it had obtained parity in all branches. Later the Coolidge administration became convinced that it could get parity with- out building. Thus while the British were building 13 standard cruisers, we limited our efforts to talking and then reluctantly undertook eight cruisers. Unless we are prepared to accept the principle that at any time when Grea! Britain is at war our commerce and our merchant marine will be subjected to: regulation in accordance with British interests, which amounts to accepting dominion status, we must be prepared to defend our rights with the amount of cruiser as well as battleship tonnage requisite. As long as there is ureuvgrl advantage for the British in invading our rights than in respecting them. they will do as we have done and would do_under similar circumstances. ‘What is hopelessly illogical about our position is the continuing notion that we can attain equality without con- struction, that the British will obligingly surrender a 3-to-1 advantage to please America. There is no reason why they should, and there is not the smallest chance that they will. Sees Sentiment for Big Navy. But, of course, as even Senator Borah as recognized, sooner or later the well nigh unanimous sentiment of this country will back a proposition to give us a navy which will take us out of the prospective position of a colony or a dominion, in case Great Britain is in- volved in war. And every discussion which ends without adjustment will simply add to American and British bad feeling and suspicion. British policy at Geneva was stupid in the extreme, because it haggled over details with a country which always He | W MACDONALD BRITISH NAVY VIEW HELD THREAT TO U. S. America Colony of England, Unable to Maintain Own Po- sition in War Times, Writer Says. very considerable number of the small- er British cruisers will be approaching the age limit. Then the question of equality can be regulated by an adjust- ment between replacements and new construction. Agreement on 350,000 tons might prove a reasonable compro- mise. But to go to the confeernce with 150,000 and ask the British to come down to our level would be absurd. To reason that because we have been most active in pushing through the Kellogg pact we should abandon all adequate naval defense is, in the ver- nacular, “the bunk,” pure and simple. No other signatory of that document has given the smallest evidence of in- tending to make it the basis for a re- duction of its means of defense. No signatory has suggested that a co-sig- natory should do this, with the single exception of the British, who, through Mr. MacDonald, urges that fe should indulge in this pleasant experiment. Borah's Parallel Is Given. Senator Borah has referred in the Senate to the parallel between Ger- many and Britain before 1914 and the United States and Britain now. I have myself written of this parallel and been severely criticized by British friends. Yet it does remain true that the naval dispute has created a bitterness today strongly reminiscent of the earlier epi- sode. We are undertaking to challenge Blrm?h posmgn on the seas, just as Clearly as and even more dangerousl: than the Germans did. Thexeflflth}{ are resisting this challenge, but pas- sively rather than actively and with no thought of war. They have resolved that even if we build a fleet equal to theirs they will not fight us. But, on the other hand, they are just as firmly resolved not to help us by scrapping their cruisers. They will not go to war with us, but they will oppose us by every known means of peaceful obstruction. Instead of Tra- falgers and Jx&thgeds we have had as] an neva _conferences, and at Washington the success of Lord Balfour put both Nelson and Jellicoe to shame. And instead of making an alliance with a foreign country against us they are using pacifists like Ramsay MacDonald to appeal to the embattled pacifists of the United States. But the thing has gone so that sensible g:cple in both countries perceive that the only possible basis for adjustment of the troubles lies in the construction by the United States of a fleet. which shall be strong enough to insure that, when next Britain goes to war, the United States will not be transformed into a dominion or a colony, made an unconsenting accom- plice of British sea power and even- tually dragged into the British struggle, as we were in 1912 and 1917, because we were not able to “wage neutrality.” U. S. Should Decide Own War Status. Whether in the next war we decide to be neutral or the ally of Britain, we must be left with full power to make the decision on our own. Just as long as we cannot maintain neutrality, the British seapower will undertake to regu- late the seas in British interests, as we should do and have done under like circumstances. When J. Donald asks us, in the name of logg treaty, to abandon our naval pro- gram the effect of what he asks is that, as an example to the world of our own pacific intentions, we should agree to ‘;::mn Great Britain to continue to rule seas. And because, as a Briton Mr. MacDonald believes that British naval supremacy is inherently right, he mrcelves no inconsistency in this amaz- g demand. Moreover, what is most amusing about the MacDonald episode is that dis- tinguished labor leader is, in effect, bor- rowing a leaf out of the book of the late Lord Northcliffe, whom he despised. He is undertaking to break down the soli- darity of American public opinion. He is conducting what amounts to a peace offensive, which would win the naval conflict for Britain. /If it were success- ful, this appeal of a British pacifist to American pacifism would leave British seapower supreme—and, as a practical matter, would insure that American resentment would mount still higher and the conviction that we had been deliberately deceived, however, un- Just, would still further poison Anglo- American relations. (Copyright, 1929.) Never Take Medicine, Pharmacist, 84, Urges In one of the oldest parts of Rome (one of the oldest cities in the world) is to be found the oldest pharmacy in Italy, presided over by the oldest pharmacist of Italy. Founded in the sixteenth century by monks, it was op- erated under religious auspices until 1730, when it came into the n of the Prato family, which has con- ducted the pharmacy from that day to this—200 years in a single family. The store furniture and all the equipment are centuries old. Presiding over this ven- erable establishment in the Piazza della Maddalena is Dr. Recole Scaletta, who at 84 years of age is rounding out his sixty-second year of service there. Dr. Scaletta works 14 hours daily, as he t | has for three-score years. So vigorous is Dr. Scaletta that one would think him 20 years younger than his actual age. Asked for his formula for longev- ity and good health, Dr. Scaletta genial« ly replied that his first principle is never to take medicine! He drinks a half liter of wine and smokes two cigars daily. “Eat heartily and take a bath daily” is another of the counsels of this veteran pill dispenser in an establish- ment which might well be one of the sights of the Eternal City. First Trial by Jury Is Held in Tokio ‘Tokio held its first trial by jury with- out any serious mishaps. One of the few complaints which were heard came from the 12 jurors, who were compelled to spend two nights in the District Court building. Trial by jury is a new thing in Japan, having only been introduced by law on October 1. There have been a few such trials in other cities, but Tokio's first waited until after the close of the enthronement celebrations. The 12 men (women are not going to be al- ’.‘L‘;’ff w’ vote) chou‘n uz '.h: or inhocence of accused, pul up with the many novelties of their po- sition until it came time to retire. 0 the power to construct not an bee; equal but a dominant navy. But Amer- can policy in perpetually chattering about the right to parity and then shrinking from the costs of naval con- struction is quite as imbecile. If we build the 15 cruisers proposed in our naval program, then when the Wi n_Conference reconvenes in 1931 the actual situation between the British and American fleets, if the itish adhere to their present licy of a naval holiday, will be 4—3. But a them authority that several of the jurors had to be coached by their how to white sheets in true Western fashion. In this first jury chosen in Tokio there were, with others, a mnoodle keeper, two sake dealers, two farmers, a dyestuft , & machine shop worker and an They office. employe. nnmhmmnwgt’y'mn. b