Evening Star Newspaper, January 4, 1930, Page 2

THE EVENING POWERS OPENYEAR | [ sEA ROADS TO PEACE WITH NO ALLIANCES| Seven Leading Nations Held Politically Isolated With Rival Allies Vanished. BY PAUL SCOTT MOWRER. d the Chicago By R News, Copyriehs 10800 PARIS France, January 4—The year | 1930 begins without a single real alli- ance among any of the seven major powers. The British Labor government broke the Anglo-French entente and with the help of Washington greatly improved Anglo-American relations, but failed to establish that real Anglo-American en- tente ‘which was its aim. The Franco- German rapprochement and the Fran- co-Italian friendship treaty negotiations are both riarking time. The Russo-German entente has con- tinued to cool and its political value today is probably slight. Thus, st the present moment, the United S:ates, Creat Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia are all politically isolated. The old system of the balance of power, which involved two sets of opposing alliances, seems to have completely vanished. Germs of close understanding still ex- ist in the Anglo-American naval agree- ment, the Franco-German industrial cartels, the Russo-German political treaty and the Franco-Italian friend- ship talks, but whether or not a single one of these germs will sprout during the course of the present year it is still im ble to say. Tpl:empouuml uncertainty resulting from this situation seems, if anything, to strengthen the relative importance of the United States and to increase its facilities for taking the initiative in the international arena. This importance ‘was emphasized recently when for the " first time in history a British prime minister went to Washington for & political conference. ‘The organization of world peace, earnestly supported by the United States as by most other powers, seems to be steadily advancing. The Kellogg pact has been twice invoked by the United States to prevent war between China and Russia over Manchuria, not, however, with complete success, 5o that Foreign Minister Aristide Briand in France and Charles Evans Hughes in the United States both now propose to fortify the pact by an agreement of signatories to confer in case the pact appears to be threatened at any time. Will Join World Court. ‘The United States is at last about to join the World Court and has con- tinued to co-operate with the Leagus of Nations, which, however, was not ap- be “seen clearly” Navies Declared Factor The victories of sea powers over comti- nental mations is discussed by Edward Price Bell in this article, the third in a series on sea power. BY EDWARD PRICE BELL, ‘What sea power consists of and what it does, according to its great inter- preter, the late American rear admiral, Alfred Thayer Mahan, previously have been shown in broadest outline. We have seen that sea power depends upon depths and number of harbors, length and navigability of rivers, extent and richness of territory, size and quality of population and character of govern- ment. Wealthy or of high excellence in these things, a nation well may aspire to a position of importance on the sea. If such are the constituents of sea power, what does it do? Mahan says it rules, and always has ruled, the world. Authoritative opinion agrees with him. We have quoted the British authority, Admiral Viscount Jel- licoe: “It had fallen to the lot of a dis- tinguished officer in a foreign navy (Mahan) to point out the all-important influence which sea power had exerted, and would exert, on history.” And we have quoted the French expert, Auguste Moireau: “It was seen clearly (from Mahan’s works) that sea power was the principle which, adhered to or departed from, would determine whether empires should stand or fall.” Blockade Powerful Weapon. Instructed as to what sea power con- sists in and what it does, we are led to the next question—How does it do it? Mere matter or form or theory by no means attaches to the questions we are examining. They are practical. They are agitating the thought of the spe- clalists in statecraft and war in every first-rate foreign office in the world. They lle at the back of the whole manifestation which governments and delegates to the forthcoming London Noval Conference are preparing for the international public. Naval nations par- ticularly, America prominently among them, should do what they can to ap- prehend at l;lut the elements of the maritime problem. Sea povger, as Mahan caused it to (Moireau's phrase), determines the course of history par- tially by blockade. Blockade is an in- strument thrown athwart the lanes of ocean transport. It stops both exports (which are vital to a nation’s war finance) and imports (which are vital to a nation’s stamina and equipment for action in the field). “You shall not trade,” says blockade. “You shall not use the oceans for warlike purposes. ‘The world’s productive labor and its ‘wealth are closed against you.” pealed to during the year in any urgent manner. The cause of peace has been ap- parently encouraged by Briand's rro- posal for a “United States of Europe, the establishment of an international bank in oon{xecuolg with the Y;)llh: reparations plan, the suggestion for Medltzmnnpn pact between Great Britain, Italy, Prance and Spain, the evacuation of the Rhineland by the last British and Belgian troops and the French promise to evacuate by next June if the Young plan goes through. Meanwhile most states in ony way or another have continued to arm, var- ticularly in ships. Not only France, Italy, Japan, Great Britain and the United States are building, but Ger- many, Holland, Spain, Russia and others as well. Germany has produced a new and stronger type of cruiser than any before seen, and France has launched the world’s largest sub- T here 1s 1 tendency to cut ‘There a general tendency down land forces numerically, but at the same time to strengthen them in mobility and fire power by increased ‘mechanization. Air Forces Increased. Air forces are also being increased | everywhere. Germans during the past| year built two new large types of planes which, by landing men and machine | guns within enemy lines at vital points, may completely transform the char- acter of any future war. The French have just decided to build along their entire eastern and northern frontiers an uninterrupted series of defensive works which will b: unique in the world. In the way of disarmament about the only concrete achievement has been the reduction of military service in France to one year, with the result that the Prench Army numerically and per- haps also in actual fighting strength is at the lowest ebb in the present century. But the new year opens with an im- mediate prospect of having perhaps the greatest disarmament conference ever held—namely, the five-power naval reduction conference called on the in- itiative of Great Britain and the United States, to meet in London, January 21. ‘This conference bids fair to affect not only the world’s whole disarmament program, but also the entire interna- tional political situation. The success in naval disarmament should, it is estimated, hasten land and air disarmament and facilitate further Rglllicll agreements, while failure would ve a contrary effect. Outlook I¥s Obscured. Preparation for this conference has been under way for some months. Great Britain and the United States sre almost completely agreed as batween . themselves, but Japan and especially France will make claims for ratios which neither the United States nor | Great Britain seems disposed to accept, and Italy claims parity with France, which France refuses to admit, so that the outlook for the conference is ob- scure. 3 Perhaps that pert of the world which At the present time most seriously threatens peace is Asia. Arab lands of the Near East are still restless, as wit- ness the recent bloodshed in Palestine. India is in ferment with anti-British Afghanistan | and nationalist agitation. continues to be a pawn in the age-long struggle between Great Britain and Rus- sia, with the present advantage with Great Britain. China continues to be even.more of a Prosien luan it was a yeu. ago. It national unity, though loudly ~pro- claimed, seems highly precarious, but this has not deterred the Chinese from offending Western powers by summarily denouncing treaties which hitherto have protected foreigners in China from hav- ing to submit to justice as understood in Chinese courts. The respective policies of Russia, Ja- pan and the United States in Manchu- ria are also causing some anxiety. Business Was Not Bad. Business throughout the world was not bad in 1929 and promises to be fairly good in 1930, but, financially, the year ended with an almost general slump, the correcting of which will be one of the first problems of the new year everywhere. Italy and Germany both require for- eign capital. The Spanish peseta has slipped. Investments abroad by the United States have declined and nobody seems to know just what use is going to be made of the large amounts of foreign capital which were employed until recently on call in New York. ‘The responsibility for world-wide financial disturbances can scarcely be to governments, for with the French debt settlement finally ratified Nations Seek Sea Outlet. That is what blockade says; and, to the extent of its effectiveness, what it says is final. Think for a moment of one of the deepest aspirations—perhaps the deepest aspiration—of land-com- nations. It is the yearning for unobstructed access to the sea. Russia has, and long has had, this yearning; remember her pushes toward the Bos- porus and the Yellow Sea. Poland and Jugoslavia have it. Bolivia has it. Every non-maritime nation must have it, because national longing for the sea is part and parcel of national passion for the fullest possible life. Ancient, medieval and modern annals furnish many instances of sea power as the touchstone of political fortune. Those peoples” of classical times who knew how to use, and did use, the seas martially were victorious. Their rivals failed. The middle ages, nnninfilly opulent in historical potentiality (the chief glories of art and of civilization were germinant then), saw no remerk- able development at sea. British Take Lead. Immediately afterward. however (in the age of discovery), great maritime activity reappeared in the world and empires rose and fell. Portugal, Spain and Holland came and went as sea- ruling states, Nelson overwhelmed the French and Spanish fleets at Trafalgar (1805), and the British Empire, navally and colonially, assumed the premiership of the world. Let us wave aside ancient and me- dieval history. Let us wave aside mod- ern history also, exceflt for the triumph of Nelson (with its military complement 10 years later at Waterloo, when Wel- lington and Blucher tore the mantle of conqueror from the shoulders of Na- poleon), the victory of the North over the South in the American Civil War (1861-1865) and the overthrow of Ger- manic autocracy by the allied and asso- ciated powers in the Great War (1914- 1918), the three events signalizing—the triumph of Nelson and the defeat of the autocracies overwhelmingly—with what deadly effect naval power can be used in conflict with land power, however great the land power may be. Napoleon Defeated at Sea. To the end of time, probably, the pro- longed struggle between the France of Napoleon and the England of Nelson will remain the classic example of what habpens when land power and sea power meet in life and death combat. I have referred to Wellington and Blucher as divesting Napoleon of his conqueror’s mantle at Waterloo. But did they? Not truly. Napoleon lost that particular garment elsewhere. He lost it on the sea. Admiral Rod- ney got a piece of it at Cape St. Vin- cent in 1780, and Admiral Nelson firmly gripped the rest of it a quarter of a at_Trafalgar. Nor is this fact too easily understood, for as late as July, 1807 (noarly iwo at the zenith of his career. He had had his conversations with Czar Alex- ander and Frederick Willlam of Prussia | on a raft moored in the River Niemen, | the peace of Tilsit was arranged, Cen-| tral Europe lay prostrate before him,' and Russia was his ally in the East. Never before or since has a single man stood lonelier or loftler on a military eminence. Sea Power Victorious. Yet his power, military and not na. al—endine with th2 Shore--ne wu | doomea. All his genius for politics and | Ing from the effect of a severe cold and | war he threw against England, the sole | Nas been confined to the White House nation still defying him. He tried to! ruin_her commerce by the so-called. continental system. L. Was & borme.- lang. In 1812 America joined Napo- | leon, in effect, but the American Navy| was not sufficient to rearess tne bai- ance. ‘The great trick against the| “Little Corporal” had been turned at| Trafalgar. ~Waterloo was merely the | military consummation, ! Admiral Mahan: “They were dull,| weary, eventless months—those months | of waiting and watching of the big| ships before the French arsenals. Pur-| poseless they surely seemed to many, but they saved England. The world has never seen a more impressive dem- onstration of the influence of sea power upon its history. Those far-distant, grand army never looked, stood between it and the dominion of the world.” Admiral Mahan's judgment is con- firmed by Woodrow Wilson in his “His- tory of the American People,” Wilsol dsclaring that England never coul h beaten Napoleon without her b ity to prevent American ships from car- presumably the effort which will be and with the final adoption of the Young plan apparently in sight at the conference now sitting at The Hague “financial liquidation” of the World ‘War will be practically complete. undertaken through the new interna- tional bank to sell German reparations century later, as he died on his flagship | years after Trafalgar) Napoleon was|2PPear for the plaintiff MRS. HOOVER IS STILL White House Reports Say Ailment storm-beat>n ships, upon which the | bonds to the public, especially the American public. The assumption is that once this “commercialization” is However, one of the big financial accomplished, reparations will cease to ‘effairs of the current year will be be a political issue, Determining Course of History Partially by Blockade. rying supplies to her great enemy. And that which was true of the Anglo- Napoleonic test of the fighting power of nations proved true also in the Amer- ican Civil War, in which the Federal Navy, by a drastic application of bei- ligerent tactics, gradually sapped every combative resource of the Confederacy. Despite the classic nature of the land- and-sea contest between Napoleon and Englend, the two kinds of fighting power were pitted against each other far more fully and gigantically in the World War. ~ Here, indeed, continent fought with sea to the bitter end, and the sea won. Navies not only stopped overseas importations to and exports from his enemy, but covered overseas importations to the friends of the naval rowen. Fleets, in a word, set the world n motion against their foes and for their friends, and the world was su- preme in the end—as it always will be. As sea power is ruling power, so the STAR, WASHINGTON, IWAR DEBT PARLEY DIFFICULTIES SEEN Stormy Days May Lie Ahead as Reparations Delegates Meet at The Hague. BERLIN, January 4 (#).—It was divuiged today that the German- American reparations agreement concluded on December 28 contains & clause whereby the American Gov- ernment declares expressly it re- gards good will as the sole and suffi- cient guarantee for fulfilment by Germany of the obligations assumed under the agreement. in German political circles this is interpreted as indicating the desire of the American Government to dis- B'Ol:llte itself from a policy of sanc- ns. BY WILLIAM BIRD. naval nations should try their political ethics with an especially powerful acid, lest they lose their power. For power and justice are wedded in the inex- orable scheme of things. (Copyright, 1930.) (The fourth article, appearing Mon- day, will point out the struggle of navies and democracy against armies and au- tocracies.) WAKATSUKI GIVES APAN ARMS VIEW Delegation Will Demand 70 Per Cent Cruiser Tonnage, Chief of Group Says. By the Associated Pres LONDON, January 4—Reijiro Wakat- Suki, formerly prime minister and now chief Japanese delegate to the forth- coming London disarmament naval con- ference, had his first general meeting with newspaper men in England yester- day and outlined the Japanese policies at_the conference. He said Japan was going to the forth- coming negotiations with a demand for a 70 per cent cruiser tonnage, would insist upon the retention of submarines 8s a necessary defense weapon and would be willing to consider prolonga- tion of the age limits of capital ships if this should be proposcd. “Is Japan putting the 70 per cent cruiser ratio before the conference as a demand, or is this figure to be used principally as a basis for argument?” the former premier was asked. Delegate Hesitates. M. Wakatsuki hesitated, smiled and replied: “Both. ‘The chief Japanese delegats reiterated Japan’s desire for a reduction in arma- ments for the purpose of relieving finan- clal burdens and bringing about endur- ing peace. The only necessary point to be considered by the conference was that “proper equilibrium be kept.” M. Wakatsuki said the Japanese dele- gation did not intend to bring up the Singapore base in the conference and also that the question of whether Japan would concur in a three or four power treaty had not been considered, as it was believed a five-power agreement was not probable. ding freedom of the seas, the Japanese delegate said: “Japan is in favor of the freedom of the seas in principle, but this involves so many principles of international law that one must refrain from going into details.” No Parity Demand. On Japan's cruiser strength Wakat- suki said: “So long as we can keep the ratio at 70 per cent we are willing to go lower than our 12 cruisers.” The idea, he said, was that naval armaments | should be reduced without “destroying the security of the people.” Japan was not claiming parity with any particular power and she was prepared to abide loyally by any decision of the London conference as she did at Washington. Asked how the French memorandum on France's attitude was liable to affect the general prospects of the conference, Wakatsuki sald he had not studied the memorandum carefully, but was of the opinion that the memorandum ‘would not have any effect on the for success. i bt ASKS $50,000 DAMAGES, ALLEGING FALSE ARREST Mrs. Pattie Rose McCormick Sues Wardman Park Hotel, Accusing Proprietor of Prosecution. False arrest and malicious prosecution are alleged in a suit for $50,000 dam- ages filed in the District Supreme Court by Mrs. Pattie Rose McCormick, 1424 Chapin street, against the Wardman Park Hotel. She says she was arrested October 23, 1925, on complaint of an agent of the hotel on a bad check charge and the. case against her was | nolled October 30 last by the United States attorney. She charges she has been humiliated and has suffered in her | Teputation as the result of the charge. Attorneys Wilton J. Lambert, R. H. Yeatman and George D. Horning, 2N | | SUFFERING WITH COLD Is Not Serious and Improve- ment Is Noted. By the Associated Press. Mrs. Herbert Hoover is still suffer- for more than a week, with one ex- ception, when she accompanied her son, Allan Hoover, to the train. It was said at the White House today that her ailment was not serious and that her condition was steadily im- proving. TCHITCHERIN RETIRES. Soviet Commissar of Foreign Af- fairs Leaves Berlin. WIESBADEN, Germany, January 4 (A”)—George Tchitcherin, commissar for foreign affairs in the Soviet government, bas interrupted his carcer here to return to Moscow by way of Berlin and War- saw. It was generally believed his visit to Russia was of an advisory nature in the selection of a successor. Tchitcherin, who is 57 years old, hu' By Cable to The Star. THE HAGUE, January 4.— Beneath the surface calm the Wwaters of the second Hague conference on repara- tions are already troubled and stormy days may lie ahead. Foreign Minister Curtius of Germany and Premier Tardleu of France con- ferred privately Friday night, and while mno communique was issued, this corre- spondent was reliably informed that some brisk words were exchanged. Herr Curtius, it is reported, took sharp exception to Premier Tardieu's Question as to what validity German's signature here would have if —as is more than possible—the Reichstag over- throws the cabinet on a vote of confi- dence after the return of the German leaders from The Hague. Herr Curtius bristled, but ended by giving assurance that Dr. Schacht, the Reichsbank presi- dent, who has been the German gov- ernment’s most influential critic, would come to The Hague if required and would commit the Reichsbank to any decisions to which the German govern- ment agrees, America remains the big unknown quantity here. Much annoyance is felt among the delegates of the allied powers over the fact that Jackson E. Reynolds, one of the American experts on the international bank organizing commit- tee, sailed only today from New York on the Berengaria and cannot arrive at The Hague for a whole week. Meanwhile, all discussions as to the participation of the United States in the international bank and American banking aid in commercializing German paper must mark time. 1t is unofficially stated here that Mr. Reynolds is bringing authorization from the Federal Reserve Board to advise the conference that the board will par- ticipate with J. P. Morgan and Owen D. Young in naming the American di- rectors of the international bank, one of whom will be elected president of the institution. Gov. Moreau of the Bank of France will probably leave here with- in a few days to consult Montagu Nor- man, governor of the Bank of England, in Brussels or London on this question. (Copyright, 1930.) UNCLE OF BRADY HELD FOR INQUIRY IN BOMB PROBE s OoRRONSL R Wirel ENgR) | attorney pointed out that feeling of residents of the county was “running high” and he wished to do nothing to excite mob violence. Both men were arrested by County Policeman Frank Prince, who was the lone Maryland officer assigned to the case prior to Gov. Ritchie’s dfplomatic inter- vention. Prince had been assisted by Headquarters Detective John Fowler of this city. Parran invited the Baltimore au- thorities to give assistance after the governor had sent the State's attor- eney a telegram advising him that Baltimore detectives were “available” for the asking. Ritchie is known to have been concerned over the elapse of time since the explosion without any suspects being taken. The State’s attorney said that the first man arrested was permitted to go after questioning convinced the officers there was nothing to connect him with the crime. Apparently the other man was placed under arrest immediately after the quizzipg of the first prisoner. ‘Three members of the Hall family will be unable to attend the funeral of Mrs. Brady and the baby this afternoon for they still are confined to Provi- dence Hospital with severe injuries re- ceived when Naomi's “Christmas present” blew up as the young bride and expectant mother was opening it in the kitchen of the Hall home. ‘The surviving victims are Mrs. Nora Hall, mother of Naomi, and her two sons, Leslie, 16, and Thomas, 8. Mrs. Hall remains in a critical condition from a punctured abdomen and mutilated head, but the boys are recovering rapidly from mangled hands. Leslle and Thomas both lost fingers as a result of the blast. State’s Attorney Parran, Sheriff Charles F. Early, Policeman Prince and the Washington and Baltimore detec- tives conferred together at Marlboro this morning and then left in the direc- tion of Seat Pleasant to visit the scene of the tragedy. PAY TRIBUTE TO been the people’s commissar for foreign affairs since 1918. 34 of Steamer's Crew Saved. ALESUND, Norway, January 4 (#)— Thirty-four members of the crew of the Dutch steamer Hofflein were rescued today when the vessel went aground and broke in half. Five of the crew were still missing and they been it was f that ht . leared ‘ ad Peggy day placed of ‘the pri versary of The birth of Lucretia Mott, D. g, BANK ROBBER'S ARREST EXPECTED Virginian’s 17-Year-0Old Wife Tells Police Florida Was Intended Goal. Special Dispatch to The Star. FREDERICK, Md, January 4.— Police combing the mountains in this section expect momentarily to arrest Francis Lindsay, alleged robber of the Farmers & Merchants’ Bank at Ham- ilton, Va., yesterday, who, after a wild automobile chase through the two States, left his car, occupled by his wife and containing part of the bank loot, and fled. The wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Lindsay, 17 years old, denied any knowledge of the robbery or of the money found in the car. Prom her cell last night she told police that she had received a tele- phone call from her husband yesterday informing her to meet him; that “they were off for Florida.” 8She said he picked her up at Walkersville and they started south. She was later released without bond. $2,367 of Loot Returned. Meanwhile bank officials at Hamilton report that $2,367 has been returned to them. A shortage of $1,879 is re- ported. The lone unmasked bandit shortly after noon yesterday walked into the bank and engaged Cashier Theodore Reid in conversation, “It's warm here,” he told Reid; “I think I'l stay a while. My little girl got a gold piece for Christmas. Have you got one here tor my little boy?” Reid nodded and went to the vault and the bandit slipped through the door in the cashier’s cage, following him to the vault. “Put ‘em up,” sald the robber and Reid obeyed. Escapes With Currency. “Get under that shelf there,” com- manded the bandit, pointing out a shelf @ bit above the floor within the vault. Reid did s0 and the robber scooped uj & roll of currency, slammed the vault door, which falled to lock, and made good his escape. The amount of the loot at that time was placed at $4,400. Reid managed to get to the bank door just in time to see the bandit sweep out of town in a blue coupe. Gordon Warner, Roy Flippo and Herman Brown, all of Hamiiton, also saw him, and acting on a clue that the man was from Lovettsville—where Lindsay lives—gave chase. They over- took him just outside of Frederick, at Yellow, with his wife in the car. Lindsay leaped from his car, disap- peared in the underbrush alongside of the road and headed for the mountains. The wife was then arrested, the money found in the car, and a search for the husband instituted. WATSON ASKS BOARD FOR PLAN ON GRAIN Suggests Formal An- nouncement of Corporation Policy for Information of Congress. Senator Watson, majority leader in the Upper Branch of Congress, has sug- gested that the Federal Farm Board make a rorm,; -nnmnu nuglvex:‘bo of “l‘r; grain corporation policy. Watson he would suggest to Chairman McNary of the Senate agriculture committee that members of the board be invited to discuss their program with the com- mittee with a view to a determination of its policles. The Republican leader expressed no opinion on the board’s program. He merely proposed that it give a more def- inite pronouncement of its intentions, particularly with respect to whether it intends to take over existing grain elevator facilities in connection with its national grain corporation program. SENATOR SACKETT HERE Senator AWAITING NEW HONORS | His Appointment as Ambassador to Germany Expected at Early Date. Senator Sackett, Republican, of Ken- tucky, and active member of the Scnate District committee, who is slated to be- come Ambassador to Germany, returned to the Capital today. It is not yet defi- nitely known how soon his new appoint- ment will take him from the Senate. In addition to being a member of the District committee, Senator Sackett is chairman of the subcommittee han- dling the investigation of police affairs. It Senator Sackett leaves in the near future for the diplomatic post a new chairman will have to be named to car- ry on the work of the subcommittee, which planned to resume its work soon after Congress resumes the session next week. The time of Senator Sackett's appointment™to be Ambassador also is important to the Republican committee on committees, which is now engaged in rearranging the membership of many Senate committees. MOTT I LUCRETIA pe Anthony, members of Susan B. Anthony's family, yester- h on the statue of one of the pioneers of equal f the National Woman's Party in observing ré ts as pa the 137th am; Stafl P SATURDAY, JANUARY ¢4, D} in his bool 1930. CLARE BRIGGS, PORTRAYER OF EVERYDAY LIFE, IS DEAD Cartoonist Actually Lived “Days of Real Sport” He Exalted in Drawings. Work lllustrated Ridiculous- ness of People in All Walks of Life. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, January 4.— Clare Briggs, who caused many a chuckle by his newspaper cartoons depicting the human side of American life, died last night at_the Medical Center of pneu- monia. He was 54 years old. with bronchial pneumonia, but until a few days ago he seemed on the road to recovery. Yesterday he took a sudden turn for the worse and died before members of his famlly could reach his bedside. At the time of his death he was on the staff of the New York Herald- ‘Tribune and his work was syndicated throughout the country, Last Summer he was threatened with blindness in his right eye. He under- ‘went an operation for sinus trouble at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, and six weeks ago entered the Neurological Institute of the New York Medical Cen- :;r. He contracted pneumonia while ere. He will be buried Monday. Few men have lived more zestfully than Clare A. Briggs and fewer yet have shared so widely with the world the fun of living. Lived “Days of Real Sport.” It was his keen recollection of his own childhood life that enabled Briggs to delight hundreds of thousands with Skin-nay,” “Buck” and the rest of the small town crew who made up the cast of “The Days of Real Sport,” “When a Feller Needs a Friend” and his other pictures of boy life. From boyhood he had shown a talent for drawing, but, as Briggs made clear k, “How to Draw Cartoons,” draftsmanship is a woefully small part of cartooning. In Reedsburg, Wis., Wwhere Briggs was born August 5, 1875, he went to a school taught by a Ger- man disciplinarian who tried hard to switch the talent out of the stubby, shock-headed boy. Forty Cents a Week on First Job. The schoolmaster's opportunity was limited, however, for Mr. and Mrs. Wil- liam P. Briggs moved to Dixon, IIL, when Briggs was 9 years old, taking their children with them. It was in Dixon that Briggs started his news- paper work. When he had been there only & year he got a job delivering the Dixon newspaper to village subscribers. It paid 40 cents a week. When he was 4 the family moved to Lincoln, Nebr. Brigg's father was an expert in farm machinery, but farm machinery did not appeal to Briggs. He studied from 1894 to 1396 at the Uni- versity of Nebraska, where John J. Pershing taught mathematics. While a student, Briggs took up stenography, and was able to make $6 a week at it when he could find a job. He also jolned a drawing class at a normal school. In 1896 Briggs packed a portfolio of drawings and left Nebraska. He went to the office of the St. Louis Democrat and asked Joseph McCullagh, its editor, for a job. McCullagh offered him $10 & week and Briggs snapped up the offer. Photography was still in its infancy, photo-engraving processes did not yet form part of the make-up of a news- paper, and the sketch artist was relied upon for most of the illustrations in the daily paper. Briggs was kept busy, and a series of sketches he did after the St. Louls cyclone of 1896 won fa- vorable comment and served tempo- rarily to convince him that he had found his place in life. Within a year, however, the half-tone process was per- fected and the sketch artist could see ;.E;ltul‘l’h future in newspaper work was Briggs took up cartooning and when war was declared against Spain took a Job at $25 a week with the St. Louis Chronicle, specializing in political car- oons with a war-time angle. When the war ended, however, his job did also, and he went to New York looking for work and to enter a class at Pratt In- stitute, Brooklyn. Picking Exceedingly Slim. ‘The picture of Clare Briggs looking for a job in New York and unable to find it is a strange one, but true, and might have been entitled, “When a Fel- ler Needs a Friend.” Briggs had not yet found himself. He was still a news- paper sketch artist, a dwindling clan, and regarded then with callous glances because of the growing popularity of the half-tone reproduction. After working as a sign painter and catalogue illustrator Briggs returned to Lincoln and married Ruth Owen, July 18, 1900, and then, with new determina- tion, returned to New York to get a job. After a period of hard sledding, Briggs got a joh on the New York Journal, where hif' work attracted such attention that he was sent to Chicago, where his work appeared for the next seven years in the Chicago American and Examiner. . In 1907 Briggs went to the Chicago Tribune, and it was from the staff of that newspaper that he returned to New York in 1914 to draw for the New York Tribune, remaining after the con- solidation of the Tribune wiih the New York Herald, and until the time of his death. It was as a caricaturist of the every- day things of life that Briggs was great, and once he had found his line he stuck to it, though he always was ready to lend any of his devices to a cause which had his sympathy. Drawings Seldom Preached. It was seldom that Briggs had any preachment in his drawings. His func- tion was not to harangue but to exalt the commonplace. He was consistent and it is doubtful if any cartoonist ever had a wider appeal, Briggs had a fair voice and a better ear and his cartoons called “The Male Quartet” were a direct reflection of a pastime which, perhaps, he enjoyed more than any other. He liked old songs and would sit for hours at a time with three or four others recalling the air and words and singing them. His repertoire was extensive and de- cidedly masculine. There was no malice in his drawing. He saw clearly and transcribed hon- estly. He had the ability to recognize immediately in the little customary things what was typical of humanity as a whole and these were the things Wwhich he put into his cartoons. For hundreds of years people had been do- 'ing these things and seeing others do them with scarcely a passing thought 1at_the sight. It remained for Briggs, with his faculty of seizing upon the climactic posture to illustrate the utter ridicu- | lousness of people, all with the same | petty emotdonts and all reacting in pre- cisely the same way. Took His Job Seriously. One thing Briggs always took pretty seriously and that was his work. It was something which he had bullt up himself where nothing of the kind ever l,\;ci"em'ed before, and he took pride He invented new characters, new casts and new series as ideas occurred to him which seemed to them. In one way the most conservative of cartoon- ists, in another he was the most versa- tile. Two or three times a year a new B idea would take convincing though ridiculous form and strut in pen and ink across the pages of the news- papers subscribing to the syndicate. Briggs' cartoons of boy life were adapted to the motion pictures in 1919 and his “Mr, and Mrs.” was dramatized He had been ill for the last month | the | Y. CLARE BRIGGS. POLITICAL PARTIES REPORT FINANCES Democrats Owe $449,686, as Against $136,363 Surplus for Republican Committee. Funds of the Republican national committee total $136,363, while the Democratic national committee has out- standing obligations of $449,686, it was disclosed in reports yesterday to William Tyler Page, clerk of the House. In the documents filed in accordance with the law the Anti-Saloon League also stated its financial condition as of December 31—showing that its treasury then was empty. The statement of James W. Gerard, | treasurer of the Democratic committee, showed the Democrats had reduced their obligations from $1,600,000 since December 31, 1928, after the Hoover- Smith presidential campaign, to $449,- 686 on December 31, 1929, The cash on for the radio this year. The beginnings of his last illness already were u him when “Joe” and “Vi” began their intimate dialogues over the radio. A divorce, which was obtained by Mrs. Briggs, became final last Spring. There are three children and several grandchildren. One of his daughters, Sarah Stewart, was married in 1924 to Reuben A. Lewls, jr, now executive manager of the trust company division of the American Bankers’ Association. His son, John O. Briggs, married Vir- ginia 8. Ensil of New Rochelle in 1926, while he was a student at Washington and Lee University. A daughter, Ruth, born in 1918, lives with her mother. Three brothers also survive. Briggs was a member of the Forty Club of Chicago, the Calabash Club of Bermuda, the New York Newspaper Club, the Lambs, the Coffee House, the Dutch Treat Club, the Buccaneers, the Illustrators’ Society, the Wykagyl Country Club, the Bailey Park Country Club and the Cold Stream Country Club. Briggs as “Math” Student Proved Worry to Pershing |Instructor’s Cryptic Com- ‘ment Decided the Future of Noted Cartoonist. | By the Assoclated Press. OMAHA, Nebr, January 4.—Clare | Briggs, noted cartoonist, who died yes- | terday’ in New York, ‘spent his own | “days of real sport” in Nebraska. As a boy of 16 young Briggs moved to Lincoln with his family, where he attended school and later the State university. One of his classmates was Herbert Johnson, another promihent cartoonist, and one of his instructors was John J. Pershing, later general of the Armies of the United State: Even before he enrolled in an art class at the University of Nebraska Briggs had aspirations to become a newspaper cartoonist. These hopes, he once said, crystallized after an embar- rassing comment from the then Lieut. Pershing in a mathematics class the latter was teaching. “If ever a fellow needed & friend, I did in mathematics,” Briggs had said. “It happened that Lieut. Pershing was my instructor, and I believe he will testify that it was easier to conquer Germany than to teach me ‘math.’ One day he ordered me to the blackboard to demonstrate a theorem, and while I was giving the problem a hard, but losing battle, he remarked, ‘Briggs, sit down; you don't know anything.’ Right then and there I decided to become a newspaper man.” MuUSIC DONNA ORTENSIA'S RECITAL. The Countess Mignano-Piercy, who professionally appears as Donna Or- tensia, has many friends in Washing- ton, and leaders of diplomatic and resi- dent society attended her program yes- terday afternoon at the Carlton Hotel. The event was sponsored by Mme. Clau- del, wife of the French Ambassador; Nobil Donna Antoniett de Martino, wife of the Italian Ambassador; Charles A. Davila, the Minister of Rumania; Mrs. Truxton Beale, Mrs. Perry Bel- mont, Mrs. Tracy Dows, Mrs. Henry F. Dimock, Mrs. Warren Delano Robbins and Mrs. Lawrence Townsend. Donna Ortensia, who has appeared here several times in previous seasons, has a beautifully cultivated voice. She is artistic and shows much skill in the effective, soft tones in which she sings her German lieder group. “Dein blaues Auge,” by Brahms, was one of her love- lies numbers. In’ the first group were old Italian songs by De Luca and Scar- latti and two by the present-day Ital- ian composer, Ottorino Respighi. Both of the latter, “Nebbie” and -Pioggia,” are particularly beautiful songs. In the French group also were rare and lovely songs by Reynaldo Hahn, the Venezuelan, and the French com- posers, Faure, Duparc and Debussy. Perhaps the most exquisite song of the afternoon was “L'Invitation au Voy- age,” by Duparc. The last grouj two countries of sia’s parents were natives, Italy and Rumenia, showed the singer in a more informal and sympathetic manner than did the art songs. The coy, almost flip- pant, tone of a couple of the folk songs cffered pleasant contrast to what might have been otherwise rather a monotony of tone color and mood interpretation. | The one encore was “Psyche.” Mildred Kolb Schulze was unusually | sympathetic to the singer's interpre- | I,Millnns, in her accompaniments at the plano. FRIDAY MORNING PROGRAM. The members of the Friday Morning | | Music Club enjoyed the first program of | 11930 yesterday in Barker Hall of the . W. C. A. The music presented was varied, and the performers all showed skill as well as talent, each in her par- | ticular field. Minnie Hoxsey, & young planist who is frequently heard in local programs, | showed musicianship and particularly | keen sense of interpretation in the De- bussy number, “La Terrasse des Audi- ences du Clair de Lune.” It is a lovely, subtle composition depending almost entirely on intelligent reading of the mood meant to convey in the impres- slonistic fashion that is characteristic of this composer. Heilman's “Prism in the Sun,” which opened the group, is an unusual selection, and the Dohnanyi difficult and brilliant arrangement of Delibes’ “Nalla Waltz" was a colorful finale. The encore was “Danse d'Olaf,” by_Picknangueles. Lucv MacMorland, the one singer of the morning, sang a group of especially lovely songs very well indeed, with ex- ceptional charm to the evenness of her runs and the lightness of her trills In the dainty coloratura work which seems to be her special forte. She was at her best, both vocally and from the point of view of interpretation. ‘The third artist of the morning was Carolina Randall, a violinist, who has unusually rich, mellow tone and excel- lent command of technique. She plays with musicianly authority and artistic feeling. Mrs. Randall had admirable of folk songs of the which Donna Orten- -8 P hand as the year ended totaled $15,404, During the past year receipts of the Democratic committee amounted to $1,- 462,203 and the expenditures to $1,446.- 798. The year previous the Democrats received $5444,058, including loans :gn;‘uzngifig to $1,600,000, and expended $70,000 Owed to Raskob. Of the present outstanding obligation $375,000 15 owed to the Bmkers""l‘ruu Co. of New York and $70,000 to John J. Raskob, chairman of the national com- ml"dtef. l;)r lms, T;u rewlinder is owed for furnishings of the Washington office and for lnmr‘esh ‘The report of J. R. Nutt, treasurer of the Republican national * committee, showed no outstanding obligations. The reveipts for the year amounted to $49, 411 and the expenditures totaled $198. 685. During the campaign year 1928 contributions to the Republican com- mittee amounted to $6,541,748 and ex- penditures to $6,256,111. The Anti-Saloon League report, filed by Edward B. Dunford, treasurer, showed campaign expenditures and re- ceipts for 1929 each to amount to $11,« 927, the expenditures including $2,541 in campaign ~contributions which were transferred to the general fund of the organization, The largest contribution to the Demo= cratic fund in the last quarter of 1929 came from the Texas State Demo- cratic executive committee and amount- ed $3419. The second largest donation was $2.500 from Mrs. Charles Cary Rumsey of Middleburg, Va., and the third largest was $100 from Mrs. F. Winn and friends of Philadelphia. Dry Fund Donors Named. ‘The remllgdcr‘ t.;' t?l‘e m;\‘mu’ms were grouped Wi 0se less than $100 each and were not carried individually. The other contributors were announced in’quarterly reports: Among contributors to the Anti- Saloon League fund were James M. Gamble, Cincinnati, $300; Willlam Al- 1 bert Harbison, New York, $250; H. W. Eakins, Springfield, Ohio, $120, and $8,515 in contributions of $100 or less. The report showed that some funds were transferred to the Anti-Saloon League of Michigan, Nebraska and Kentucky for miscellaneous purposes. HOOVER CHEERED AS U. S. BUSINESS GAIN IS REPORTEL (Continued From First Page) clude industrial and factory improve- ments or building construction. A spe- clal committee was set up at the De- cember conference of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States to make a survey of the prospects in these fields. The effect of the drive, the Chief Ex- ecutive was told by the steel companies, already is beginning to show in their orders which already have grown (o a volume beyond their expectations. While the President was disclosing the results of the drive, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States said in a statement that no loss of momentum had been shown in the business reports to the national business survey confer- ence committee. The American Federation of Labor in its monthly business survey said today that employment probably would be low for the first few months of the year, but would improve later. “Looking ahead to 1930, it is obvious that fewer automobiles will be manu- factured, probably from 700,000 to 1,000,000 less,” it said. ““There will, therefore, be less demand for steel, and steel production also will be lower, unless offset by increased structural demand. Certain factors point to a better year for building.” “In building,” it added, “the reces- sion of the past few months has appar- ently been checked, and for two months contracts awarded have not declined except seasonally. Owing to the small volume of contracts awarded this year, however, there is considerably less work for building trades men now than at this time last year.” Its survey said that the President's conferences had given industrial leaders a new sense of responsibility in which they had been called upon to act to- gether in preserving business stability. “In earlier recessions they have acted individually to protect their own inter- ests, and often curtailment and lay- offs have intensified depression,” it said. “One of the main factors in averting depression is maintenance of wages and employment,” it added. “Never before have manufacturers been so generally willing to abandon wage reduction as & means of reducing expense. action indicates a fuller realization of the glln working men and women play in the Nation's prosperity. Due, no doubt, largely to the buying of w: earners, retail sales have held practically the same level in November and Decem- DIVORCE DECREE ASKED FROM REALTY DEALER Mrs. Ethel J. Crawford Charges Misconduct in Suit Against F. A. Crawford. (Prom the 5:30 Edition of Yesterday's Star.) Francis A. Crawford, local real estate operator, was sued for absoiute divorce in Equity Court today by his wife, Mrs. Ethel J. Crawford of the Argonne apertments. Misconduct was charged in the suit of the wife and a co-respondent named. The bill states that the parties were married in Rockville, Md., June 10, 1909, anq have one daughter, whose custody is sought by the wife. Mrs. Crawford alieged that for several years past her husband had assoclated with various women and some of them embarrassed her by calling her home on the tele- phone. On September 1 last, it is alleged, Crawford packed up his belongings and moved out of their home and has not since returned. Attorneys Raymond Neudecker and Jean Boardman appear on behalf of the wife, —— VOLUNTARY BANKRUPTCY. J. E. R. Smith, trading as Cut Rate Dnlf Store, Seventh and O streets, has filed a petition in volun- tary bankruptcy. He lists his debts $6,712.96 and estimates his assets at the Smith ensemble balance with the plano work of Mildred Kolb Schulze both in the charming “Sonata in E Major,” by Haendel, and the two shorter numbers, “Chanson Louis XIII et Pavane," Couperin-Kreisler, and “Eili, Eili,” the Hebrew melody arranged by Mischa El- man. y H. P, T $5,155. He is represented by Attorney Frederick J. Rice. George Metrakos, proprietor of a lunch room at 2810 Fourteenth street, has alsc filed a voluntary petition to be adjudged a bankrupt. e gives his glebfil. at $5, lfiul;q.’hl: assets l:ogflnlq“l‘ e is represent ttorney Bittenbender,