Evening Star Newspaper, December 29, 1929, Page 26

2 THE ENENING: STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SUNDAY.....December 20, 1920 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company 11tn me SR Fen T anin, A . an yivania Ave. wew York Siee “THb Eeat 2a e, Ghicaso Ofice: Lake Michigan Bulldiie. uropean Of Regent 8t.. London: Englan Rate by Carrier Within the City. The Evenine Star.. +4: ;43¢ Ler month ven: Biar ;. . -60¢ Der month Siar -+..65¢ per month 5c per copy month. y Star ... Z t each by mail or telephone Collection made at the Orders may 'be sent NAtional 8000. 3 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. i T L1¥r. $4.00: 1 mo.. 4Cc An Olhuflslll” and Canada. a: ¢ | garded as about in the same class with itled traps would quickly get the better of nd also the local news . Al rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. —— No Pessimism Justified. First-blush reading of the memo- randum on the London Naval Confer- ence, just issued by the French foreign office, might convey an impression tha it jeopardizes the prospect of results at the London Naval Conference. France sets up a series of views which on the surface seem at wide variance with the standpoints of America and Great Britain, at whose joint initiative the five-power meeting was mainly com- vened. There is, in fact, nothing in the Quai d'Orsay’s memorandum that has not been known in Washington and London for a long time. French allegiance to ‘the fundamentals of the League of Na- “tions covenant; Prench anxiety that no naval-limitation agreement should im- pair the republic’s national security; French qualms as to the eventual ef- fect upon her of a fixed ratio of aux- :iliary naval strength; French desire for assuring her important position in the Mediterranean, and even French medi- - tations upon the true inwardness of the Kellogg-Briand pact, as a peace-guar- anteeing instrument—all these things have been matters of knowledge to the American and British governments, and to the world at large, for many months. ‘The public exposition of them at this particular juncture does nothing more than to lay France's cards graphically on the table in advance of the London Conference. Paris has its own concep- tions and pre-conceptions of the com- plicated issues with which the confer- ence will deal. No statesman or gov- ernment has ever expected that the five naval powers would assemble on the Thames next month, seeing eye to eye on all these points, or even on a large number of the more important ones. If the United States, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan viewed them through spectacles of the same color, the impending conference would hardly be necessary. Everything could be ar- ranged by diplomatic eorrespondence. Conferences are called to consider the " conferring governments’ divergent view- points, and to reconcile them if they are reconcilable. ‘That is the sole purpose of the London Conference, as it is of ull international parleys. At London, as has been the case since international time immemorial, the rule of give-and- take will prevail. France has signaled betimes what she would like to take. It *Temains to be seen how much of it will be given her. ‘That, and nothing but that, is de- noted by the news from Paris. To suc- cumb to the counsels of despair, because MM. Tardieu and Briand have spoken with uncommon frankness, four weeks before the Naval Conference is sched- uled to begin, is to mistake its cardinal object. It is gratifying to know that such counsels encounter no encourage- ‘ment in quarters at Washington where the ins and outs, and all the back- ground, of the London Conference are thoroughly understood and estimated at their real value. ————————— Many a youthful “anarchist” or “Communist” would find himself com- pelied to hesitate if called upon for a precise definition of the title he as- sumes. He is usually proceeding with 8 bold personal experiment in social economy, unfortified by intelligent study. ————————— What makes any kind of parley Necessary is the fact that there are points of disagreement to be recon- ciled. It is too much to expect to - assemble one on terms of a prearranged love feast. —_————— Foxes and Foot-and-Mouth Disease. | I It has been thought that the aban- donment of fox hunting in merry Eng- land would be deemed a worse cata- clysm than the revolt of the American colonies, the World War, or the failure | - to retake the America cup; that seis- mographs would oscillate violently and " Britons stationed all over the world would be utterly cast down. Talk about institutions—beef and ale and plum pudding are nowhere! Yet it looks as if an humble germ might accom- plish what the railings and ridicule of "the “submerged nine-tenths” and the rancor of restive agriculturists has never been sble to do. Dispatches from the island kingdom indicate that farmers, especially stock farmers, although hitherto acquiescent | @z to the traversing of their fallow fields by nosing hounds and thundering cav- alcades, are smarting under the steady #pread of hoof-and-mouth disease, the fight against which has long gone for- ward. They are blaming Br'er Fox, who has almost as much potential mileage as a Ford, for its transmission from pas- ture to pasture and from herd to herd. Exterminate the fox, they urge; instead of propagating him for sport. It must have taken a good deal to bring the British farmer to this point. His love of field sports is innate. He gets it from his Saxon ancestors as surely as do the gentry theirs from coursing and hawking Norman forbears. The old-time Saxons were wont to grumble loudly when compelled to leave their husbandry and act as beaters and game carriers for a bunch of scornful, lazy invaders, but the truth is they also probably got a great kick out of it. Their descendants today thoroughly enjoy the spectacle of the scarlet-clad hunt with its tooting horns, myriad Cogs and quaint, unchanging gibberish. jond, they are asking that the risk of | “Reynard.” Who in England does not, for that mat- ter? Fox-hunting there, as in Ireland, seems an institution for the whole peo- ple. Farmers have been usually co-oper- atively courteous to the many “hunts” maintained throughout England, and the hunts have been correspondingly generous to the landowners who make their sport possible. But there appears to be a vast difference between some “corn”—wheat—and vegetable marrow trampled down and the lingering death of hundreds of exceedingly valuable draft, beef and milch animals. Parm- ers, first, seem resentful at government- al tardiness in making liberal appro- priations for research looking to the discovery of cure or vaccine, and, sec- contagion be lessened by exterminating He is somewhat of a nui- sance at best, they claim, what with | THE SI'NDA:\' STAR. WASHINGTON. D. C., DECEMBER 29, he fled and in the pursuit his home was searched and it was found to be a veritable arsenal of deadly weapons and a treasure hofise of valuable loot. The fugitive was quickly identified as Frank Burke, “wanted” for crimes in several places, and one of those suspected of participation in the St. Valentine's day massacre. Now it has been discovered that some of the bullets found in the bodies of the victims of the February killing were fired from one of the guns taken in the raid on Burke's deserted home in St. Joseph. That settles it. Burke is one of the murderers of that oceasion. But meanwhile where is Burke? He has been “seen” in many places, far apart. Posses are hunting for him in several States. He has been identified by mo- torists and shopkeepers in an area so wide that he must have seven-league boots or an airplane. He will probably his taste for poultry, but as a disease- spreader a positive menace. Hitherto he who shot a fox was re- a man who would insult King George. Rifles, fowling-pieces — shotguns — and the fox who now raises his family in peace and has his long Winters made be caught, and meanwhile it is to be hoped that he sees some of the humor of the situation—if a ghastly tragedy can ever be said to have a funny side. — The “Foolproof” Plane. One of the greatest works undertaken by the Daniel Guggenheim Pund for pleasant by brisk exereise in connec- tion with glittering hunts and his ears tickled with cries of “Yoicks,” “Tally- ho” and whatnot. As vermin the fox was originally regarded and was venge- fully hunted. As vermin he may one day be again regarded and be hunted not in play, but in deadly earnest. . China and the Prei A dispatch from Shanghai states that official announcement. has been made that on the first of January Chiang Kai- Shek, head of the Nationalist govern- ment, will proclaim & comprehensive program for sweeping political reforms. President Chiang has furthermore asked the press of China to engage in free and constructive criticism and discus- sion regarding matters relating to party and government affairs. It is somewhat of a coincidence that simultaneously with this news from Shanghal The Star has received a letter from the editor and publisher of the Shanghal Evening Post calling at- tention to the fact that that paper, the only American newspaper published in that city, has been barred from the malls by the Chinese authorities and asking for an expression in comment that can be reprinted to indicate to the Chinese government American dis- approval of this form of press censor- ship. ‘The barring of newspapers from the malls is practiced in China for dis- ciplinary and coercive purposes. It has been done frequently during the past few years. In some cases there has been no justification from the western point of view. In other cases the gov- ernment has been warranted in the application of this form of punishment, In almost all instances, however, the ban has been quickly lifted. There is no “freedom of the press” in China in the western sense. Free and independent criticism of public officials and actions is virtually impos- sible save by the payment of “cumshaw,” which in polite parlance is a tip to the officials who have to do with press regulation. In consequence both the native and the foreign publications are under restraint that doés not make for that “free and constructive eriticism and discussion” for which President Chiang Kal-Shek now calls. Press censorship has been exercised in China on a long-distance basis dur- ing the past year, or rather has been attempted. About six months ago the government at Nanking ordered, or demanded would perhaps be the better term, the deportation of the cor- respondent of the New York Times at Peiping on the ground that he had been misrepresenting the facts and giving false color to the news of Chinese happenings. In point of fact, that correspondent had been exceptionally successful in getting the facts and scrupulously careful in stating them. But the facts were not wholly to the liking of the government at Nanking. Hence the demand, which was ignored by the American Minister and was later dropped and the correspondent was promoted to & wider fleld, in China, where he remains today. ——ee China is preparing to adopt a new system of national organization. That estimable but puzzied old nation is in prospect of having as much trouble with its religions as it has had with its politics. ——— Burke, the Fugitive. If Prank Burke, late of Chicago, has any sense of humor he is perhaps get- ting & Jaugh out of the formal finding of & coroner's jury in that city that it was he who participated in, perhaps directed, the St. Valentine’s day mas- acre. Not that there is anything espe- clally funny about the situation. For Burke is now a fugitive, fleeing from Justice, a price on his head, practically certain eventually to be run to earth and caught or killed in the melee of capture or fo take his own life before surrender. Yet a sense of humor may sustain him in his predicament. ‘When on the 14th of last February seven men were lined up against a wall in a garage in Chicago and shot down with machine guns and other weapons by a band uniformed as po- licemen, who ‘then drove away leaving no tangible trace, even that somewhat callous city gasped in horror. This wholesale slaughter was altogether toq, strong & dose of crime. True, it was probable that the victims were them- selves law-breakers, and that the mas- sacre was something in the line of an organized “racket,” something between crooks. But that reflection did not ease the minds of the Chicagoans, who sensed a reign of terror, visioned a com- plete collapse of law, dreaded the chaos of soclety. There was a tremendous arousal of official activity, Several inquiries were started. Many theories were advanced. i 1 the Promotion of Aeronautics, that of searching for the “foolproof” airplane, is drawing to a close, unfortunately without bringing the results that were hoped for when the competition was Text, Genesis, xxxiil7: “Whose art Thou; and Whither Goest Thou?” The above text sounds like the chal- silent rounds in the lonely hours of the night. To one and all there come times in life when some such searching inquiry as this is made. Self-identifi- cation we are compelled to consider on the one hand, and our objective in life on the other. In the hurry and rush of busy days we give ourseives too in- frequently to the consideration of these things. There is so little of leisure, so little of opportunity for reflection, that we go along our way, year in and year out, without seriously considering what we in our personality represent, the re- lation we bear to individual and cor- porate concerns to which we are com- mitted and the purpose of life as we are related to it. We are careful at this season of the year to re-examine our standing and place so far as our business is concerned. Every commer- cial concern is having its books bal- anced, and when the figures are dis- closed they will indicate either the profits or the losses of the past year. These figures will largely determine the course to be followed in the year that lles ahead. Far more important than all that our ledgers tell us is that which we discover in our own lives as we survey them in the light of accomplish- ment, as well as in the light of their announced. Only two planes are left in the running for the grand prize of one hundred thousand dollars, and the manufacturers of these ships each claims that the other has infringed on patent rights. Of the two planes re- maining in competition, both having successfully passed rigorous tests as to flying ability and general safety fea- tures, one is American and one is Eng- lish, the American plane having already won a ten-thousand-dollar prize in a preliminary test. The English plane has not yet fully qualified to enter the contest for the grand prize, and it seems likely that the American plane may be declared the winner by default. It seems a pity that a contest with 80 much potentiality for benefit to avia- tion has to a certain degree fiivvered, After all, the one aim of aviation is to provide the type of plane that can be flown by “the man’ in the street.” Un- til this plane is produced there can be no general participation in flying. If it does nothing else, however, the con- test has stimulated interest in safety in flying and has properly astressed safety as one of the paramount developmen's to be made. In fact, safety has been so much in the minds of the contestants that when one of the “foolproof” planes crashed in a take-off, the avia- tor, uninjured, smilingly emerged from the complete wreckage of his machine and said laconically, “I guess I have got a safe plane. It crashes and does not hurt its pilot.” So that, despite the partial failuré\of this particular work undertaken by the Guggenheim Fund, which has been one of the greatest alds to aviation in all of its researches, there is no reason to feel discouraged. The “foolproo plane is bound to come—that is, proof” to the extent of the automobile. It is obvious, however, that the search for either a foolproof motorist or air- plane pilgt will be & vain one. Manu- facturers are able to build certain in- herent safety festuges-inpoth types of machines, but atter®all it4s the human element that counts in the final analysis. —_— e A formal inauguration is not desired by Mayor Walker of New York, who points out that he is not entering into office, but continuing in it. And, any- how, it is altogether unlikely that the weather will be suitable for a parade, —_— e ‘While Gene Tunney's literary inclina- tion is well known, he is careful to offer no encouragement to any person de- sirous of contributing material for a romance in real life. RN ————— Bootleg liquor is sald to be less poi- sonous than in the past. Possibly the poison adds to the expense and 1is avolded for purposes of profit, ——— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. ‘Well Tried Friends. ‘When the announcers mention ‘Talent that should be known, Each with the best intention Steps to the microphone; Each with the memory glory Going so glad and strong, Telling the same old story; Singing the same old song! ‘Words of the ancient sages, Tunes from the classic scales, Scenes from historic pages, And the oldest of fairy tales— And with each Winter hoary, For the ways of yore we long, ‘Telling the same old story, Singing the same old song. Tariff Generalisation. “What is your ides about the tariff?” “I hope to see everybody pleased,” an- swered Senator Sorghum. “I have not yet formulated my optimistic senti- ments beyond the customary greeting, ‘Happy New Year!’" Jud Tunkins says & man has a right to change his mind in politics, If he hasn't, what would be the use of all the arguments? Santa and an Antique. He went his way ‘Without & sleigh, And said in a despairing tone, “With motors here, The sleigh, my dear, Is found in museums alone.” Taetful Radio. “Do you think home is happier with a radio?” “Very much,” answered Miss Cayenne. “You can always depend on it to in- terrupt a tiresome conversation.” Some arrests were made. But nobody was (o’nd who fitted into the picture of the crime as it was known to be. The victims were buried, and after a few weeks the massacre faded into the background of Chicago's record of tragedies. Then suddenly. it was revived as a fresh memory. A supposedly re- spectable retired business man living in St. Joseph, Mich.—they call it “Saint Jo” up in that region—got into & quar- rel with a trafic policeman over a minor accident, was cited to appear in court, and in & moment of panic or anger shot officer to death. Then “Mistakes,” sald Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “are reminders that, strive as we may for perfection, we are still relation to the ideals we set for our- selves when we entered upon our fixed careers, Whether we will or not, we do come at length to identify ourselves with certain interests, we do set for ourselves certain standards by which we measure our relation to those with whom we have fellowship. Strive as we may, we cannot avoid being classi- fled, and our classification is largely determined by our fellowships and as- sociations. It is quite universally true that “birds of a feather flock together.” Our professional, business, political and religious associates largely give us our place of standing in the community in which we live. There are few of us that can survive the influences with which we have identified ourselves. It is only now and again that some one boldly disavows his affliations and is classified as “independent” and “un- related.” As & matter of fact, such a one does not occupy an enviable dis- tinction, “Whose art thou?” is a solemn and lenge of some sentry as he makes his | 1929—PART TWO, “A NEW YEAR’S CHALLENGE” BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMES E. FREEMAN, D. D, LL. D., Bishop of Washington. serious question, and the gnswer to it necessarily gives us our place in the scheme of things. This question an- swered, we are confronted with the other ‘query, “Whither goest thou?” “Whither bound?” “To what port are you shaping your course?” The answer to this must have a determining effect upon our life. It affects vitally, not only our ambition and our determina- tion to achieve what we set out for, but as well the method of its attainment. The youth who aspires to a profes- sional career bends all his energies | regards even sacrifices of ease and con- | venience with readiness and satisfac- tion. Transcending even the matter of fixing one’s career and determining one’s place in the business or profes- sional world, is that which relates all our ambitions and aspirations to the high ends of character building. Life is something more than mere achieve- ment, however satisfying that may be to us. It is suggesied in Holy Writ that a man may in the whole world and lose his own soul.” We do not have to search far to discover men and women who are willing to sell them- selves for a “mess of pottage.” Our daily papers tell the tragic story of lives that began with promise but ended in disappointment and failure. To a care- ful observer it becomes increasingly evident that the deepest and finest salisfactions we experience come to us nat from the acquisition of material th%ugs, nor yet from the favor and praise we recelve from those we seek lo serve. To know that we have con- sistently done our duty, that we have rightly appraised our relations to our fellows, that what we have earned is clean and uncontaminated by question- able methods, that our motives can stand the closest and most critical in- vestigation—these lend more of peace and satisfaction to life than what we ave in our strong box, or what we n of praise from our associates. The end of the old year is the normal time for “checking up” and a careful survey of our present position is indispensable to an effective and promising new beginning. We do not have to be morbid to be introspective. We are certainly improvident if we cross the threshold of a new year without ac- quiring a better understanding of our- selves, our relation to the world about us and the worthiness of the objec- tive to which we are committed. Russo-Rumanian Dispute Over Bessarabia Worries Peace Workers BY WILLIAM HARD. Keen interest has been created in Washington by the way in_which the intervention of our State Department in the recent Manchurian 'air has resulted in_a violent outbreak of bad feeling in Russia against Rumania in the matter of th" n:ovince of Bessarabia, which is r- n 4,000 miles away from M .. It 1s perceived that our op. ~ns under the Kellogg-Briand peace pact may lead us indirectly into every corner of the world and may stir up any international political question anywhere existing. Opponents of the administration's policy under the peace pact contend that the emergence of the Bessarabian question into the orbit of the conse- quences of American diplomacy proves that we are embarked upon what they call a ‘“dangerous meddlesomeness,” which might some day involve us in re- mote and unnecessary wars. Defenders of the administrations policy, on the other hand, maintain that only by a world-wide moral interest in the per- petuation of peace under the peace pact can the American Republic preserve it- self from becoming entangled in the spread of “remote wars,” and that it is necessary ‘and wise to take what are called ‘“risks for peace.” * K ok X This debate has been in progress In ‘Washington for a long time, but it has now come to a high heat through the addition to it of the fuel of the Bes- sarabia controversy and through the in- teresting coincidence that the present Rumanian Minister here, Mr. Charles A. Davila, was the Rumanian repre- sentative at Moscow in the early part of this year for the signing of the spe- cial “outlawry of war” peace pact be- tween Russia, Esthonia, Latvia, Poland and Rumania, through which it was reasonably supposed that the Bes- sarablan question had been set at rest and that Russia had accepted the in- clusion of F ssarabia within Rumanian territory. That special peace pact of last Feb- ruary brought the terms of the Kellogg- Briand peace pact into operation be- forehand between Russia and its four western neighbors south of the Gulf of Finland. In the preamble to the spe- cial pact the five signatories to it stated that it was their intention in the pact “to contribute to the mainte- nance of existing peace between their respective countries.” In the case of Rumania this reference to “existing peace” was of high significance in re- lation to Bessarabla, which lies on the Rumanian-Russian frontier, and which now has suddenly become, by indirec- tion, an object of American concern. * K K % Bessarabia, which contains very few Russians in proportion to its total pop- ulation of approximately three millions, was annexed by Russia from Turkey by war in 1812, It lay in the posses- sion of Russia, though half its popu- lation was Rumanian and though most the rest of it was Ukrainian and Jewish and German tii! toward the end of the late Great War. Then the national Bes- sarabian_council, entitled the “Sfatul ‘Tarel,” first declared Bessarabia to be independent and then declared its union with Rumania. “This union, however, was never recog- nized by the Russian Soviet authorities, who continued to allege that Bessarabia was in Rumanian power, through the use of troops and through a condition of war, until the signing of the special five-power peace pact last February, the preamble of which contained the already quoted words, “the maintenance of existing peace between the respec- tive countries.” ‘The statement that peace existed be- tween Russia and Rumania was taken by the Rumanians to mean that the Russians were now willing to admit that a condition of war did not exist in Bessarabla and that the peaceful and lawful union of Bessarabla with Rumania was now recognized by the Russians, even as it had already been and France and Italy. * k% % ‘This was the situation until this last week when the Rumanian government, desiring to co-operate with the United States in its Kellogg-Briand peace pact policy, dispatched to Moscow a note in which, in sthct harmony with the precedent set by the American Gov- ernment, it politely asked the Russians to remember the Kellogg-Briand peace pact and to be guided by it in their re- lations with China. ‘This note was to be transmitted to the Russian foreign office in Moscow by the French Ambassador stationed in Moscow, but the transmitting of it met with failure. in human brotherhood.” Providential Arrangement, It makes us gay to see the way ‘That Johnny smashes up his toys, And leaves them scattered where they may Not be the source of further noise. “I's willin’ to pay 'tention to well meanin’ advice,” ‘sald Uncle Eben, “but some of it ain’ no mo good dan s tip on & hoss race.” note, then refused to have it read to him, and then refused to have it left on his table. His manifest lact of cor- diality toward the note is not, however, what especially distresses the Ru- manians. Their resentment is much more particularly aroused by the in- stant revival at Moscow of official verbal attacks upon Rumania on the point of Bessarabia and its future. e offic! organ of the Russian Soviet _government, the newspaper called Isvestia, has discussed the in- formally recognized by Great Britain | The Russian foreign | minister, by all accounts of the incident | here received, first refused to read the | Rumanian government, whose troops and gendarmes still occupy Bessarabia.” ‘That word “still,” in that connec- tion, in an officlal Soviet organ, makes the Rumanians justly feel that the Russian government has gone back to expecting and purposing the re-annexa- tion of Bessarabia to Russia, an ob- Jective which could be accomplished only by force. * ok ok ® Thus, through an effort for peace on the other side of the Asiatic conf nent, the Rumanians discover a dis- turbance of peaceful relations on their {frontier at home. They tossed a con- doning note into the dove-cote of the dove of peace, and, instead of the dove, out comes a hornet. They feel slightly dismayed. ‘They feel also slightly miffed, at least, when distinguished American ' journal: ists seize upon the new topic of Bes: sarabia and quote with approval some- body’s bitter remark to the eff that some day “the Rumanian rabblt will regret having stolen a province from the Russian bear.” The Rumanians do not feel at all like rabbits and, in compapy with their allies, the Poles, are - pared, they think, to Wltm% ly drive by the Russian bear A The Russians claim to be able to put some three million soldiers into the fleld, but it is thought that it would (l’lk’ct them three or four months to o it. ‘The Rumanians and the Poles, on the other hand, though perhaps they could not mobilize more than two million men right off, could do it extremely right off, which means within three weeks or ‘These ike figures along the western frontier of Russia become of considerable importance in the wake of the effort to cause Russia to be peace- ful in China. One thing is certain: The Rumanians, now that their peace pact efforts at Moscow in the Manchurian affair has evoked a revival of the Bessarabian argument, will experience no tendency toward diminishing their earnest and effective military preparedness. (Copyright, 1929.) ——— Motor Bus Regulation NowCommands Attention BY HARDEN COLFAX. Proposed legislation affecting rail and motor transportation promises to play an important role on the congressional stage early ‘in the new year and to wrest at least a few beams of the spot- light from such spectacular subjects as prohibition and tariff. Hearings on bills to regulate inter- state traffic by motor bus and truck are scheduled to begin January 8, be- fore the House committee which will Teport a measure soon thereafter and press for its passage. Now that the In- terstate Commerce Commission has re- ported a tentative plan for consolida- tion of the railroads of the country into 19 groups, it is likely that this same House committee will not be long in again ordering hearings on that sub- Ject, although definite steps in that direction have not been taken. Interstate regulation of motor busses and trucks is pressing for attention, but presents problems less easy of sat- isfactory solution than may appear at first thought. In this subject the rail- roads are interested deeply, for motor | transport over the highways is both a partner and a competitor of the rail carriers, * K ok K More than 100,000 passenger-carry- ing busses are in use on regular sched- {ules. © The number has more than {doubled within four vears and it is | estimated that in this expiring year they have transported nearly 2,000,000,- | 000" passengers. Those engaged in in- | terstate commerce represent a minor fraction of this total, but still form a respectable number and one that is growing. More than 40 per cent of the motor busses are used in school work and do i not enter interstate commerce. The bus has revolutionized the rural school system. The national motor bus division | of the American Automobile Association i estimates after a survey that approxi- | mately 35000 one-room schools have { closed since 1920 and have been re- placed by 7,000 consolidated schools. Interstate bus transportation has gone forward astoundingly in 1929, There has been a tendency toward mergers, which has resulted in improved service. New lines have entered the | fer1.” Routes, direct or by connections, IE -+ been extended greatly, ‘The same things are true of motor truck transportation of express and ireight, perhaps in even more marked degree’ as to accelerated development {in 1929, Two major lines of thought have | crystallized regarding proposals for 1 terstate regulation of motor transpor- tation, One leads to the Interstate Commerce Commission as the proper Federal regulatory body. The other favors joint action by commissions of the smm -lg':cr':; ‘:n e-c? specific in- stance, Tegulations of the State authorities' to be issued as Fed- eral agents. L] tervention of Rumania in the Man- churian affair and has described it as follows: “A plece of cynical insolence by the - After presenting an almost united front antagoniztic to motor bus and truck lines, mgny railroads have ex- to accomplish the ends he seeks and | Capital Sidelights BY WILL P. KENNEDY. Assistant Attorney General George R. Farnum is an enthusiastic collector of old documents, papers and manuscripts. One of his interesting recent finds is the original enrollment of the North River steamboat, issued in favor of Robert Fulton by the customs house in New York on September 3, 1807, and a new certificate of enrollment issued the following year in favor of Robert A. Livingston, then American Ambassador to France. ‘These old documents ¢ame to his at- tention, Mr. Farnum explained, dllllnl‘ the performance of his dutles with ad- ministration over the admiraity law for the United States Government. In discussing the remarkable ¢ velop- ment of steam navigation since th~ first steamboat was thus registered by Fulton, Mr. Farnum pointed out that Fulton did much of his experimenting at Plombieres in France some years be- fore the construction of his vessel, which was first called the North R.ver steamboat, but afterward the Clermont, so it is interesting to note how Am- bassador Livington became acquainted with the pioneer Fulton boat. Previously an exclusive privilege had been obtained from the State of New York to navigate such a vessel upon the waters of the State. Mr. Farnum calls attention that the authorities did not conceive that they were granting much in view of the then apparent chimerical character of the scheme. “You can imagine what might happen in New York today,” he comments, “it such a monopoly was sought to be ob- tained, to say nothing of how the Federal Government would react.” He then explained that the United States Government has predominant control over waters adapted to interstate and foreign commerce. This exclusive privilege was again obtained from the State of New York by Livingston in 1803 with the sole condition that the vessel should be pro- pelled by steam at the rate of 4 miles an hour within a prescribed space of -time. ‘The Fulton craft is described in the enrollment as having one deck and two masks, the length, 142 feet; breadth, 14 feet; depth, 4 feet, and measuring 78 71-95 tons. She was “square sterned,” had no quarter galleries and no figure- head. The engine for this boat was built in England, was received in New York in 1806 and the following year the vessel was compieted and enrolled under our navigation laws. On ‘August 11 of that year she made her first pas- sage from New York to Albany, a dis- tance of approximately 150 miles, con- suming in the voyage about 32 hours and clipping off about three days of the usual running time between these cities averaged by sailing vessels. The Fulton steamboat was, of course, & side-wheeler, as we call them now. But Fulton was not satisfied with his rlonur step in steam navigation, but later invented a submarine torpedo boat, Mr. Farnum reminds us. * k% X One of the holiday greeting cards sent out from the Capital that held closest to the spirit and history of Christmastide, carrying the recipient back over the centuries to the birth of Christ, was that of Representative and Mrs. Roy G. Fitzgerald of Ohio. They recently returned from a tour of the Holy Lands and brought the cards back with them. The little folder bears as & frontisplece a view of Bethlehem. Inside, opposite the customary message of Ty Christmas and Happy New Year,” is a small garland of pressed “flowers of the Holy Land.” * ok ok % An interesting little sidelight on the conditions in Haiti was given by Rep- reser'\’utlve Undel’hllll of Massachusetts, on a personal experience on the island, as follows: ¥ “I did not spend my time in Port au Prince, but went out as far as I could into the jungle. They were bullding a road away out some 280 miles from Port au Prince. The road had to cross @ deep stream at that point. On the other side was a jungle. When we ar- rived there in the morning rather early, because we started at 2 o'clock in the morning, we found a crowd of men gathered on the banks of the stream and they were gesticulating and jabber- ing in a very excited manner. The offi- cer who was with me at the time drove up and inquired, ‘What is the trouble here?’ They said that the laborers re- fused to cross the river and go into the jungle, because it had been rumored that Champaign, one of the former bandits, had returned to this life and was out in the iun.le. ‘The officer said, ‘Well, haven't you provided a guard?’ The reply was yes, that there are some 25 gendarmes—native guard—all armed Russia Introduces Education Program BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. The steps by which Russia under the Soviets is returning to the capital- istic system are almost imperceptilje because no very long step is taken At one time. These steps might be com- parable to those of a child learning to walk. The idea of a communistic government might be likened to a child. The infant state set out on its career more than 10 years ago as blindly but also as confidently as the infant hu- man. It smashed everything around it and laid down fresh rules of an amazing simplicity—the gist of which was to destroy everything that was incompatible with the communistic ‘whim. ‘The child has no idea whatever of property rights. Neither had the first Soviet state. But the child thinks that it has a right to grasp everything within reach. So did the Soviet state. The first returns to the capitalistic system are matters of familiar recent history—how_money was reintroduced and the baflc idea of capital recog- nized. Trade had been abolirhed in the beginning, but this, too, it was found, had to be restored. If today a comprehensive comparison of what was forbidden by Lenin and what now is not only permitted but fostered by the Moscow government were made, it would be seen that Russia {5 more than half way back to capitalism. Nearly 10 years Herbert Hoover, then Sec- retary of Commerce, declared that one of the gravest dangers Russia was fac. ing was the rise of a new generation which would lack the training of the preceding one, and be untutored in any fresh knowl . ‘When work was abolished in Russia by the advent of the revolution there was no incentive on the part of the youth of the land to learn trades or cultivate the habit of industry. The whole nation was in turmcil with civil war within its borders and aftacke threatened from without. There was no igcentive to raise crops because the Red Army would confiscate them. ‘There was no incentive to work for money because there was no money. There was no incentive to work at all because property rights were non-exis- tent. What Mr. Hoover feared took place. The apprentice system broke down completely. The youth of the land could see no point in learning trades when the state would not permit any benefit to accrue individually from ef- fort. Moreover, there was no one to teach a trade nor any one to set an example of industry. So an entire generation sprang up uneducated in practical handicraft and unimpressed by the importance of labor. Five-Year Plan. ‘The semi-capitalistic Soviet Russia of today is paying dearly for the origi- nal tantrum. Soviet leaders who have foreseen the necessity of creeping back as far as possible to the capitalistic system have launched the five-year plan for the industrial development of Russia. The capitalist system in the simplest terms means a system by which a man works for pay and is permitted to keep as his own what he earns, This is the system which Lenin sought to destroy but which present-day Russla is re-espousing. The industrialization of such a vast and populous nation as Russia cannot be accomplished without work, and work of a highly skilled order. It is at this point, therefore, that the economic trlgedz of abandonment of apprentice- ship 10 years ago is strongly felt. With the keen desire to emulate other industrial nations, espeoially the United States, the nuuhfn 'l'meldeer; nnak_::a: country empty of ned workers. ‘The revolution itself had the effect of driving out of Russia most of the trained specialists. ‘The story of Jack Cade's rebellion in England centuries ago is re- called to some extent by the effects of the Russian revolution. Cade and his followers were peasants, little more than serfs. As they marched on London in the ocourse of their uprising they captured many persons. Each man _captured would brought before Cade for examination. He would ask the man if he could read and write. If the man answered that he could, that proved his death sentence. The insurrectionists wanted no educated people in their ranks. Education carried with it that taint of superiority against which the workers had risen. Precisely the same thing happened in Russia. If a man were & skilled technician, had any sort of special training, he was suspected of sympathy with the old order and either killed or driven into exile, Technicians and Engineers Needed. The five-year plan has changed that attitude. The new Russian leaders have discovered that reading and writing are not shameful accomplishments and that arithmetic may be tolerated: in fi must be, if Russia is to bulld factos to enable her to compete with the rest of the world or even survive as a self- reliant nation. J At the start of the five-year plan the leaders rather grudgingly concluded that 35000 technicians and engineers would be required. This was raised to 50,000, then to 85,000, then to 100,000, and the latest estimate at this stage of the working out of the program calls for 175,000 trained techniclans in ad- dition to she thousands already at work. But, because of that decade during which learning was despised and work neglected, Russia has no fresh crop of technicians of her own breed coming on. The older ones have been driven into exile or are dead. Large numbers have been imported from the United States, Germany and other countries, but they are not enough. 8o another step back toward the capitalist system has been taken and Russia now is frantically trying to recapture technical skill through educa- tion. One of the first obstacles to over- come is the lack of teachers. Conse- quently the training of teachers is one of the first items on the program. Approximately $75,000,000 has been appropriated for the establishment of technical schools. The program for the present year calls for 40 new schools, 20 of which have already been opened. workers have jobs and attend night school, their work-day is short- ended by two hours with no reduction in wages. Chief stress is laid on tech- nical education. The schools will pro- vide, however, a four-month academic course during which the students are expected to master the classics and acquire the heritage of art and letters which has been accumulating for 3,000 years. Altogether the new educational plans call for the establishment of 110 en- tirely new technical schools and, in addition, 76 new de; nts in exist- ing schools. Students are being rushed through with as great rapidity as pos- sible in order that their knowledge can be utilized by the state in connection with the_five-year ization. that lan of industrial- The Soviet leaders are anxious there be no delay in the comple- tion within the allotted five years of the vast program of industrialization which has been laid out. Fifty Years ‘Ago In The Star Both great expectations and. grave doubts Were‘felt 50 years lfi?‘ “.:'g"flnl' § »g the practical utility of X Edison's oo gnew light, . The Star of Light, December 22, 1879, says: “The - proposed illumina- tion of Menlo Park with Edison's new electric light New Year's Evc has in- duced many cf the leading newspapers to publish full descriptions of the in- ventor's work and his method, together with illustrations of the machinery by which the light is produced. Prof. Edi- son claims that he has achieved suc- cess almost beyond his expectations, and that he can produce a light supe- rior to any in use—a light ‘without flame, without danger, giving out but little heat, vitiating no air and free from all flickering,’ cheaper than the cheapest oil. Being unable to find plati- num in the quantity desired, Mr. Edi- son devised apparatus in which paper can be used for the pu for which he intended platinum. Through a small with carbines, pistols and machetes, and these 60 men, these workers, refuse to follow those 25 Jjungle. “Their determination was that they should have a guard of United States Marines to accompany them. None was available, but some few miles back there was a sergeant in charge of & gang on the road; I think his name was Casey. At any rate, they sent for him. He ar- rived a typical Marine—puttees, flannel shirt, slouch hat cocked on one side of his head. The situation was explained to him. They told him that the work- ers refused to go into the jungle with thL!l pm:z;tggn of 25H welll llrmed Ing well equipped men. He simply steppe to the front, having nothing but a serv- ice pistol, or revolver, on him and a cartridge belt, and said, ‘Come on, let's go.' Without a moment's hesitation every one of those 60 workers followed him across the river and into the jungle. “It is the confidence that the people have in the American Marines that has made the place safe for these peasants.” ecuted an about-face and themselves have set up motor lines for both pas- sengers and frelght, using them as feeders for rail trafic and in some cases bringing about economies by sub- stituting vehicles on the public high- ‘ways for unprofitable local trains when permission to discontinue the latter could be obtained. Subjected to regu- lation in their every act, the railroads naturally desire regulation of motor transportation as a competitor, not- withstanding its partial position as a partner, And the organized motor lines also, would welcome regulations as a protection against unreliable elements | engaged in the business. A preliminary check of the situation following publication of the tentative plan of the Interstate Commerce Com- mission does not indicate that railroad consolidation has been brought ap- preciably closer. For three years, hear- ings on proposed legislation intended to facilitate voluntary consolidation of the rail carriers have been held by the House committee. Another hear- ing in the Spring will have before it the report of the commission, and the proposals may turn from voluntary to compulsory mergers. Inasmuch, how- ever, as the commission's plan is tentative only, being subject to revision by that agency itself, and does not claim to represent perfection, but only a general tentative agreement within limitations imposed upon the commis- slon by Congress, the final form of leg- islation is as uncertain as heretofore, * ok X % “The commission’s report on consoli- dation will have much weight, it ap- pears, in focusing attention on that subject, however, much or little it may influence the final outcome. Rall carriers enter 1930 in better physical and financial condition as a whole than in many years, and should be prepared well for the legislative dis- cussions affecting them that are ahead. Loadings of revenue freight in the first 50 weeks of 1920 totaled 51,308,000 cars, an increase of 1,287,000 over the corresponding period of 1928 and an increase of 1,183,000 over 1927. In the first 10 months of 1929, class one rail- roads had a net operating income of armed men into the|T! strip of paper an electric current is passed, producing a soft, mellow light. paper_is rendered ' impervious to heat by a baking process which leaves only its carbon framework. This car- benized paper is placed in a glass globe, connected by wires with the electricity roducing machine, and the air is ex- usted from the globe. Notwithstand- ing the announcement of the complete success of Mr. Edison's experiments with, carbonized paper, there will prob- ably be a good many doubting Thomases who will suggest the possibility that an- other little hitch may occcur to prevent the practical working of the ‘perfected inyention.’ ™ In a later issue, December 26, 1879, ‘The Star said: “The nmn%m stocks in Europe gnd America, following the last re success of Edison’s electric light, indi- cates that x,th! gas companies, which have doubtless kept themselves pretty well advised of the progress of son's experiments, think there is some- thing in i this time. The scientific men, with the excepton of Prof. Proctor, still doubt whether the Edison light wll'l“)‘amve a workln: :ucceum . rorln ‘tfli‘:“l lighting pur) , but that pol 50 seon to be tm practically that it is hardly worth while to waste very much time in discussing the question.” * * x Appointments to the civil service system had nlnhth been m:lg' flubl-t ed on mer: Census and prmlp,; &w ".‘“l g0, nage. and each decennial cen- Fauonsge sus organization of- fered opportunities for the distribution | of political “spoils.” Half a century | ago place-hungry partisans were eagerly | looking forward to the organization of | j the force for taking the tenth census. Francis A, Walker, the superintendent of the census, had other ideas. The Star of December 27, 1879, says: “Supt. Walker's determination to keep ' politics out of the census work is gen« | erally approved, but he will no doubt | meet with & good deal of opposition in, carrying out his plan. Patronage is | dear to the hearts of Congressmen, and they have been counting on distributing | the positions provided for in the census bill among their respective supporte and workers. rhaps not single member of either house who hl-s; nct received scores of applications for | appointment to these positions, and in | many of the delegations, comprising | members of both , Agreements have been entered into for the division | of this patronage. This indicates that Mr, Walker will not have the support of Congress in behalf of his non-parti- | san plan. ‘Therefore, he will have to| depend upon the -rpolntlng wer to select men well qualified for the work, re{lrfllfls of their politics. It is dif- cult to induce Democrats to consent to ! this, because they say that as the ad- | ministration is Republican it will nat- | urally lean tiward that party in fits. selections. Each party is very jealous of the other in this matter, for the rea- son that the enumeration of population Will affect representation in ] ‘There is probably no man who will not admit that the census will command more confidence if it can be kept free New State Department- May Result From Fire BY DREW PEARSON. President Hoover’s lightning shift of his offices, from the charred interior of the ‘west of the White House to . (he State, War and Navy Building marks the beginning of the day when that massive and ugly pile of stone is to become one of the most attractive and important edifices in the Capital. Incidentally. it also marks the day when the State Department, after hav- ing been shunted around from the side streets of Philadelphia to Trenton dur- ing the yellow-fever epidemic, to lower Broadway, in New York, and to the Washington Orphanage Asylum, will have a final abode comparable to the foreign offices of Europe. Even before the White House fire, which foreed -President Hoover into Gen. Pershing's offices in the State, War and Navy ‘Building, he had planned eventually to move the War Department out of the building and give all of its lroe to the State Department and ;l e executive offices of the White * kX % This plan cape to a head tn rather 4n amusing way. The State and War Departments for years had been argu- g back and forth about which of them' should have additional space in the bullding. The Navy, 10 years ago, had moved to an attractive building near the Lincoln Memorial, and part of the War Department had moved to the Munitions Building beside it. But the remainder of the War De- partment raised strenuous objections against any further shift and a request was sent the President that the State Department be given additional outside quarters, Mr. Hoover, however; replied that it was essential that the State Depart- ment be near the White House, from which the foreign relations of the United States are steered, and request- ed the War Department to take up the question of finding additional quarters for itself. This was taken up even be- fore the White House fire, ‘The reconditioned State Department Building, as envisioned at present, is to have all the trappings of the foreign offices of the Old World, including & state dining room for the entertain- ment of visiting sovereigns and presi- dents. * ok ok ok At present the State Department must take advantage of the hospitality of its Latin American neighbors by using the Pan-American Union when- ;v:;ndbmnmmwflnnuhk eld. There is also to be a tunnel under | West Executive avenue connecting the White House with the State Depart- ment, and the gray stone facade, which makes the bullding at present the ugliest in Washington, is to be removed order to make it similar to the attractive Treasury Building on the other side of the White House. No better barometer of the growing interest of the United States in foreign affairs can be found than the expan. slon of the State Department, which now requires increased housing space. When the State Department was first organized. it occupied a small house in Philadelphia at No. 13 South Sixth street. The two rooms on the ground floor were given over to clerks and sec- retaries, while the two rooms on the second floor were occupled by Robert Livingston, then secretary for foreign affairs, and his undersecretaries. Under ‘Thomas Jefferson, who first assumed the actual title of Secretary of State, the ent’s entire stafl consisted of 5 clerks, ‘Today the State Department has 700 clerks and officials in Washington and more than 4,000 in consular and diplomatic posts abroad. In those days diplomatie correspond- ence was entered, longhand, in a ledger called the “Book of Foreign Let- ters.” Domestic correspondence was entered in the “American Letter Book,” while the reports of the Secretary of \ State to Congress were entered in the “Book of Reports.” In contrast, the State Department now_requires t one floor to keep its flles and records. Instead of enter- rtant telegrai from the influence of politics. Supt, | $1,113,000.000, & sum of $127,000,000 mw' than in the same period of (Copyright. 1929.) Walker realizs this, and he is desirous, 80 he says, of completing & census that will be & thful and impartial exhibit in every of its features.” ing correspondence into ledgers, all im- im¢ iphed por within 5 or 10 minutes after arrival and are circulated by a messenger. system to all bureaus within the State Depart- ment concerned. A (Copyright, 1929.)